Bruce Chen. What is going on there? 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA? And he totally shuts down one of the best offenses in baseball? The world is upside down. Of course that game was the Game of the Day. And it was one of the two out of seven picks that were incorrect yesterday. The other was the Phillies destroying Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs. Samardzija drives me crazy. He is like the new Bud Norris: brilliant at times and awful at times.
And yeah, it looks like the Tigers totally spanked the Indians and told them maybe next year, kids. And you know Max Scherzer's 17 wins are stupid because wins are a stupid statistic. Whatever.
There are sixteen games on the schedule as the White Sox and Twins play two. Double your yuck, baby. Friday's picks:
- The Twins over the White Sox: I continue my Kyle Gibson fetish. But also, with John Danks pitching, the Twins are a much better hitting team against lefties. That seems illogical, but there it is. On the other hand, the Twins have hit .220 as a team in August so far. So there is that.
- The Indians over the Angels: One of two things is going to happen tonight. Either the Indians are going to take out all their Tigers frustration on Jered Weaver and the Angels, Or they will be so down and out after getting whupped by the Tigers that they will be helpless against Weaver. A 50/50 shot here. Scott Kazmir has been great.
- The Yankees over the Tigers: See above with 50/50. I have no business picking the Yankees here. But they are home. Ivan Nova has been great lately. Rick Porcello is the Tigers' most vulnerable starter. Let's see what happens.
- The Nationals over the Phillies. The Nationals now have no shot at all of doing anything this year. What a shocking season. Dan Haren was the most vulnerable pitcher in the NL for most of the season and lately has been throwing amazing. Go figure. John Lannon hardly seems capable of getting in the way.
- The Athletics over the Blue Jays: Esmil Rogers have been getting his butt handed to him for a month now. But Jarrod Parker does not always pitch that well on the road. The Rangers have caught the A's again and the A's have been sputtering. Tough call.
- The Reds over the Padres: You have to look for Bronson Arroyo to bounce back from his last start, which was awful. Andrew Cashner looked great against the Yankees. But then again, that is not hard to do these days.
- The Braves over the Marlins: Brandon Beachy's comeback has not been going well and Jacob Turner has been decent for the Marlins. But the Braves are on fire and their offense is clicking now. So I have to go with them at home.
- The Red Sox over the Royals: I am completely torn about this one. Ervin Santana have been terrific for two months now. He is in one of the best stretches of his career. At the same time, the Red Sox are starting Jake Peavy who the Royals know really well. But he also knows them really well. Gosh, I don't know.
- The White Sox over the Twins: Yuck. For the White Sox, Charles Leesman will make his Major League debut. Leesman has a great track record of winning games in his semi-long career (he is not a prospect) without the corresponding great peripherals to think it will transfer. Liam Hendriks and a whole lot of MLB sucktitude to his credit.
- The Rangers over the Astros: This one should be a no-brain pick. Matt Garza should shut down the Astros and the Rangers should hit Erik Bedard. I hate the word, "should."
- The Cardinals over the Cubs: The Cards had a really tough series against the Dodgers and need to rebound before the Pirates get out of sight. Lance Lynn should help make that happen. The Cubs go with Chris Rusin.
- The Pirates over the Rockies: Speaking of those Pirates, I think they will win again tonight. Francisco Liriano has been brilliant and my only concern is him pitching at Coors. But then again, so is Jorge De La Rosa.
- The Mariners over the Brewers: Joe Saunders is like Bruce Chen. How the heck does he ever get anyone out or win games? Saunders has won ten of them despite being his usual stinky self. Kyle Lohse is an old pro whose hot streak was cut down his last outing.
- The Bay Rays over the Dodgers: David Price should have a good game in this one. Puig is the only real challenge here. I love how Price is killing the strike zone. Chris Capuano will meet Wil Myers for the first time. I bet he will enjoy that.
- The Orioles over the Giants: Funny how two contenders in the AL East are both in the NL West this weekend. I am going with the Orioles because I never am comfortable picking a pitcher fresh off the DL like Ryan Vogelsong is tonight. Chris Tillman pitches for the Orioles who lose a bat from the DH.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Diamondbacks over the Mets: Patrick Corbin has been my guy all season long. Just like Miley was my guy last season and Kennedy the season before that. Now if only the D-backs could get follow up seasons by these guys, eh? Jeremy Hefner goes for the Mets.
Yesterday: 5-2
Week: 34-27
Month: 63-39
Season: 966-752
Games of the Day: 74-50 -3
No comments:
Post a Comment