Friday, April 04, 2014

MLB Game Picks - Friday: April 4, 2014

I started yesterday at 0-3, so I was happy to finish up with a 6-4 record for the Game Picks. That Twins - White Sox game was wild, wasn't it? Seattle and Oakland played a great game with great pitching throughout. Coco Crisp does a lot of those walk-off kinds of thing, or so it seems. He hit his homer against old friend, Hector Noesi. There was one postponement, the second of the season, as the Tigers and Royals were rained out.
We are back to a full schedule today. With lots of day games! Yay! Here are the picks:
  • The Nationals over the Braves: The Nats have opened the season with a bang and seem really deep. MLB has a TBO next to who is pitching, but there are reports elsewhere that Jordan Zimmermann is pitching. David Hale goes for the Braves. He was not very impressive this spring.
  • The Tigers over the Orioles: It was nice for the Tigers to have Anibal Sanchez held back by yesterday's rain to start this one. He is tough and faces a tough lineup. Miguel Gonzalez goes for the Orioles and should be fine after taking a liner off his shin at the end of Spring Training.
  • The Brewers over the Red Sox: This is a big stretch, but Jake Peavy worries me and Marco Estrada is the kind of pitcher that can shut down Boston. The Brewers get an extra bat in the lineup too.
  • The Cubs over the Phillies: I have zero confidence in Roberto Hernandez. None. Nada. I do like Travis Wood a lot and especially his left arm against the Phillies.
  • The Indians over the TwinsDanny Salazar did not have a good spring, so that worries me. But despite the Twins' win yesterday, they don't look very good. And Mike Pelfrey never scares anyone.
  • The Rockies over the Diamondbacks: Neither Juan Nicasio or Randall Delgado set my heart aflutter. So without knowing what will happen, I will settle for the home field advantage.
  • The Royals over the White SoxJeremy Guthrie wins his share of games despite lousy peripherals. And Erik Johnson has yet to translate his winning ways in the minors to the Major League level. This is one of those coin flip games.
  • The Dodgers over the Giants: Isn't Matt Kemp back today? That will confuse the outfield situation. Who sits? Anyway, Ryan Vogelsong no longer worries me as a pitcher, which is not good. And Hyun-jin Ryu is pitching very well.
  • The Cardinals over the PiratesShelby Miller did not have a very good spring, but he has been a very solid pitcher since hitting the Majors. He and Gerrit Cole are both making their season debuts. I think it will be the Cardinals on top.
  • The Yankees over the Blue Jays: This game confuses me. I worry about Masahiro Tanaka against a lineup like the Blue Jays. I love Dustin McGowen's story, but doubt his ability to succeed as a starter. The Yankees had to fly all night. We'll just have to see what happens.
  • The Reds over the Mets. The Mets look dreadful. It could be a long season. But they have had stretches where they recover. I think they have to make a decision at first base and stick with it. Anyway, Mike Leake over Jenrry Mejia.
  • The Marlins over the Padres: I have no clue in this one. Tom Koehler versus Eric Stults. I don't know. I just picked four visiting teams to win in a row and it made me shake. So I picked the home team here. Yeah, this is weird.
  • The Rays over the RangersJoe Saunders? Oh please, no. I am looking for Wil Myers and Evan Longoria to clean his clock. Jake Odorizzi goes for the Rays an he looks like another good one.
  • The Angels over the Astros: The Astros are better offensively this season. But they still have a long way to go. The Angels have struggled out of the gate. I think Garrett Richards will be better than Lucas Harrell.
And the Game of the Day!
  • The Athletics over the Mariners: If you want to see something really funny, look up Chris Young's player page on MLB.com. He looks like Peewee Herman throwing a baseball. Dan Straily never does wow me, but I think he will win.
Yesterday: 6-4, Games of the Day: 2-2, Season: 30-20

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