The week finished with a whimper on a day just barely over .500. I felt good about predicting one AL ERA leader (Felix Hernandez) would not fare well, but the guy right behind him (Hiroki Kuroda) faltered too and I did not pick that to happen. It was that kind of day. Edinson Volquez and Ubaldo Jimenez both had good days on the mound and as shocking as that is in tandem, it explains how they continue to pitch in the MLB. They have just enough glimmer of hope every once in a while to keep a team trying to "right" them. Call it the stuff conundrum.
Elsewhere, Rafael Soriano blew another save which I thought would save a pick. But the Nats held on in 15 innings with Dan Haren getting a save. As Mel Allen would have said, "How about that." And did you see that bomb that Giancarlo Stanton hit? Wow!
Sunday's picks:
- The Tigers over the Royals: What do you do when the starting pitchers are a combined 22-1? Uh. Bruce Chen is 5-0 and has not lost since last year. His whiffleballs seem to totally confuse people. And of course, Max Scherzer is 17-1. I will go with Scherzer at home. Somebody has to lose the game.
- The Giants over the Marlins: I hate making this pick because Stanton has a history of hitting his homers in bunches. But Madison Bumgarner over Tom Koehler is the right call.
- The Pirates over the Diamondbacks: Well...I guess Locke was not a lock after all. Will Charlie Morton throw salt in my wounds? Ha! I kill me. What do you mean you didn't get it? Oh well, after getting 20 hits yesterday, the D-backs will get bamboozled by Morton and Wade Miley will give up four or so.
- The Rockies over the Orioles: Perhaps getting Scott Feldman was not that great an idea. But usually, those kinds of trades work out for the Orioles. This one has not so far. Instead, I am going with Jhoulys Chacin who can go deep into the game with the DH.
- The Phillies over the Dodgers: Sandburg gets his first win as Cole Hamels out-pitches Ricky Nolasco, just like he has for a half a dozen years now. But maybe picking against a team that has won 42 of 50 is sort of a dumb idea.
- The Braves over the Nationals: Julio Teheran had his worst game in a while his last time out, but it was only four runs in six innings and he still struck out six. He bounces back and Gio Gonzalez is not quite healthy and it shows in his pitching.
- The Bay Rays over the Blue Jays: Chris Archer has not had any golden arrows in his pack lately. His last three starts have been less than stellar. He bounces back today and the Rays jump on Todd Redmond for a win at home in the latest installment of the Battle of the Ays.
- The Twins over the White Sox: The White Sox are on a little bit of a roll, but maybe that is because they are playing the Twins. Samuel Deduno has been letting me down lately with three bad appearances in a row and two straight losses. This must be my day for picking pitching redemptions or something. Hector Santiago goes for the Pale Hose.
- The Reds over the Brewers: Okay, maybe I should have picked Yovani Gallardo yesterday. But that does not mean I am going to pick Wily Peralta today. Instead, I will go with Homer Bailey who should have a better record than he does.
- The Cardinals over the Cubs: If I recall correctly, the last three times I have picked Adam Wainwright to win, the pick went south. But geez, he is supposed to be an ace, right? And who knows what you will get when Edwin Jackson pitches. Why did I pick this hobby again?
- The Astros over the Angels: I really like this Brett Oberholtzer kid and he has pitched three straight good games. I also like a lefty against the Angels. I am torn about picking him over Garrett Richards though, but that is my first instinct and I will stick with it.
- The Indians over the Athletics: After pitching really good for a while, Scott Kazmir's last three games sat there like a dead zeppelin. Did you see what I did there? Anyway, I am looking for him to have a good day today and for the Indians to scratch enough off of Tommy Milone for the win.
- The Mets over the Padres: Yeah, Matt Harvey let me down in his last start, but he is way better than the Padres and Eric Stults, so that is the pick IF the Mets can score a few runs for him. That is the big problem.
- The Red Sox over the Yankees: The Yankees should hit Ryan Dempster. But CC Sabathia always is terrible against the Red Sox and if you watched the game yesterday, every thing in the world seems to go the Red Sox way. It is their year.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Rangers over the Mariners: Erasmo Ramirez is 4-0 and has pitched really well. Who knew? But Yu Darvish has to be the pick here.
Yesterday: 8-7
Last week: 55-42
Month: 136-94
Season: 1039-807
Games of the Day: 79-54 +1
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