Tuesday was just another crappy day of picking in what has been a fairly crappy month. It is a good thing that I have had four months to watch these teams to be able to tell what they are going to do. It is a good thing that I have been watching four decades worth of baseball games to get a feel for how this works. It is a good thing that I have been doing this column for four years so I know what I'm doing. Ha!
I mean, look at the Reds. They beat the Cardinals three out of four and then swept the Dodgers to get within a game and a half of the division lead. Now they have had their hats handed to them twice in a row against the Cubs. I can see losing a close game, 2-0, against a very good Travis Wood. But 9-1?
And the A's are grinding it out for the division title. The Rangers have been slipping and the A's have a chance to bury them. But then they lose to the Twins? Geez, Louise.
All I can do is keep plugging along. Wednesday's picks:
- The Indians over the Royals: Scott Kazmir has become quite a story hasn't he? There is nothing like a good comeback story. How can you not root for him? Well, if you are a Royals fan, you can't. James Shields seems to need to be perfect in order to be good. He has not been perfect lately. He is always capable though.
- The Rangers over the Pirates: The Pirates have had their way in this series thus far after taking the first two games. And as one of my Twitter buds, @juniusworth tells me, "the Rangers suck in day games." Which is what they play today. But two things: First, A.J. Burnett pitching in Texas seems like a loss waiting to happen. And secondly, Matt Garza is going to fight for this win.
- The Giants over the Rockies: Can you pick against Yusmeiro Petit at this point? Not until his good pitching streak is over at least. He almost got a no-hitter his last time out. Will that take something out of him for this one? Hmm... Juan Nicasio goes for the Rockies.
- The Yankees over the Orioles: Because I don't know if Scott Feldman can hold down the Yankees for a second straight time and even though I do not have much faith in Andy Pettitte, he at least has the possibility that he could pitch well. But the bullpen at the end for the Yankees is dicey at this point.
- The Padres over the Phillies: When is the last time that Eric Stults won a ballgame? It seems like forever. So he is due for a win against a weak-hitting Phillies team. Cliff Lee could put a monkey wrench into this pick though.
- The Angels over the Blue Jays: I don't know who will win this game. This is a battle of two teams that drive me crazy. R.A. Dickey goes against C.J. Wilson in a game of initials gone wild. I'm feeling the Angels.
- The Marlins over the Braves: I have been telling you all season that Jose Fernandez is a lock at home in Miami right? Well, until proven otherwise, try beating him there with his 1.18 home ERA. Mike Minor can match him and make it a bullpen game and then this pick will be in trouble.
- The Rays over the Red Sox: Okay, now that Clay Buchholz is back, can someone tell me why Ryan Dempster is still in the rotation for the Red Sox? Alex Cobb is better than Dempster by enough of a degree that the Red Sox better offense than the Rays should be overcome.
- The Mets over the Nationals: Dan Haren's season has been an awful sandwich. He started the season awful. They pitched three or four hopeful starts and now has gone back to awful. Zack Wheeler should have an opening to win this game then.
- The Tigers over the White Sox: Sometimes I think the Tigers just toy with us. Oh, we'll score ten runs for two straight games and then none for a couple. We will keep them guessing. Anibal Sanchez over Jose Quintana.
- The A's over the Twins: I bought into Sonny Gray immediately and he rewarded my picks. Until he didn't twice in a row and I picked against him and he won. Then I jumped back on his bandwagon and he lost. Aaaahhh!!! Surely, he can be Mike Pelfrey can't he? Please don't call me Shirley.
- The Cardinals over the Brewers: Lance Lynn has everyone mad at him. First, he would put up this maddening crooked number in the fourth or fifth inning of every game and deflate a victory into a defeat. Then in his last outing, he avoided a crooked number and gave up a single run in every inning he pitched. Either way, he is not popular in St. Louis. But he wins today over Marco Estrada. Take that, haters.
- The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: This match-up between Patrick Corbin and Hyun-jin Ryu has happened before and Ryu came out on top. He is certainly tough to beat at home. Plus, it appeas that Corbin has hit a wall. Dead arm?
- The Mariners over the Astros: I have no idea. When two teams this bad play each other, anything can happen. The Astros took the first two. Brad Peacock has been decent his last couple of times. But I am picking Brandon Maurer to have a good start after a season of learning stuff.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Reds over the Cubs: Well...this pick has been wrong for two days in a row, so why should you listen to me? Understandable. But I really feel that despite a big arm from Jeff Samardzija, the Reds should win behind Mike Leake.
Yesterday: 7-8
Week: 22-19
Month: 72-66
Season: 1214-961
Games of the Day: 90-67
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