MLB Game Picks - Saturday: April 25, 2015

I went 9-5 yesterday with one game awaiting completion after being suspended. The day finally brought me out of a deep early hole and I am above .500 for the season. Gosh, that was an uphill battle. At my lowest ebb, I was seventeen games below .500. At least I feel a little better about things. Once again, there were two extra-inning games and once again, both went against me. That was a common theme last year.

Saturday's picks:

• The Royals over the White Sox: I have little faith in John Danks, I have a little bit more in Edinson Volquez. I am also worried about the health of the White Sox' first baseman.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Alas, Shane Greene did not do well yesterday and that brings us today to Alfredo Simon who is also entering this game at 3-0. Will he fall too? Trevor Bauer has been outstanding for the Indians. Tough call.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Both teams are going to have gassed bullpens. So which team will have a starter rescue it today? I'm going with Anthony DeSclafani, who has been amazing over Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta.
• The Athletics over the Astros: The A's bullpen blew this yesterday. Perhaps that won't happen today. Scott Feldman goes for the Astros. Meh. Kendall Graveman goes for the A's. Meh. I don't like the match-up. So I'll go with the home team.
• The Yankees over the Mets: The Yankees have been killing aces lately and breaking streaks. And the team nobody likes is tied for first. CC Sabathia is 0-3 and Matt Harvey is 3-0. Something either has to give, or it will continue going in that direction. I am encouraged by the Yankees lately.
• The Nationals over the Marlins: I don't understand either of these teams right now. They are just spinning around going nowhere. Stephen Strasburg has to figure out how to win on the road and in Miami. Tom Koehler will keep his team in the game.  Not confident here.
• The Blue Jays over the Rays: The Rays got a big boost from getting James Loney back and the Rays are slugging remarkably well, which has been unexpected. The Blue Jays suffer when Jose Bautista is hurting and Daniel Norris has struggled thus far. So why am I picking the Jays? Because Erasmo Ramirez is starting for the Rays. That's why.
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: The Orioles have lost five in a row. Wei-Yin Chen isn't a great match-up against the Red Sox who like to go with the pitch. Justin Masterson has been encouraging with recovering strikeout and ground ball rates. Going with Boston.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: The Brewers are really bad. I mean, they are tank city bad. Wily Peralta is capable of a good day. But the Brewers cannot hit and Adam Wainwright should exploit that.
• The Diamondbacks over the Pirates: Rubby De La Rosa is one of two De La Rosa pitchers pitching today. I'm not sure about him other than that the Pirates won't be familiar with him. A.J. Burnett goes for the Pirates.
• The Rockies over the Giants: The other one, Jorge De La Rosa pitches against the Giants in his second start of the season. The first start didn't go well at all. Tim Hudson has to pitch at Coors. The winner of this game will score double-digits in runs.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: Ian Kennedy is coming off the DL to pitch this one. That makes me uncomfortable. Brandon McCarthy has been really good for the Dodgers and is pitching in a big ballpark. I like his chances. Puig is dinged up again though.
• The Angels over the Rangers: Old friends C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis square up here and I prefer Wilson at home.  The whole Josh Hamilton thing still bothers me when it comes to the Angels.
• The Mariners over the Twins: James Paxton is such a key for the Mariners and as of yet, has not pitched well. They need him to if they want to dominate the AL West. Trevor May pitched very well his last time out, but I don't trust that. Nelson Cruz is amazing.

And the Pick of the Day

• The Braves over the Phillies: These two teams will struggle this year and will play each other a lot. The pitching match-ups will mean a lot here. That being the case, I'll take Shelby Miller over David Buchanan.

Yesterday: 9-5, Season: 126-125, Picks of the Day: 10-9

MLB Game Picks - Friday: April 24, 2015

Thank goodness it is Friday. I've had a crazy two weeks! Yesterday was a mixed day and I came on the wrong side of a couple of ace match-ups. Two extra-inning games occurred and both went against me. And the Pick of the Day was wrong. But the total for the day was in the positive.

Friday's picks:

• The Phillies over the Braves: Aaron Harang kills me. I am tired of him killing me. I will pick him this time. Alex Wood will go for the Braves. I'm sure Harang will get harangued just to spite me.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: Miguel Gonzalez doesn't have nearly the success over the Red Sox that he does against the Yankees. But he is catching David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia on really cold spells and Rick Porcello hasn't been all that impressive, which isn't good against a team that can hit like the Orioles.
• The Yankees over the Mets: This series hasn't gone well for the Yankees in recent memory and the Mets are one super-hot team right now. Jacob deGrom is tough. My thought is that Michael Pineda shuts down the Mets and the Yankees squeak out a run or two.
• The Tigers over the Indians: I am cheering wildly for Shane Greene. Go Greene Go! Danny Salazar can be tough too though. I wonder if Detroit will ever warm up any so the players aren't playing in survival gear.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Will Jon Lester turn it around? Will Mike Leake? Which one will be better? Or which team will out-slug the other for another double-digit run tally? We'll find out tonight.
• The Rays over the Blue Jays: Another round in the battle of the Ays. The knuckler of R.A. Dickey will have to dance for the Jays to win and it hasn't gone well for Dickey thus far. Drew Smyly, The Emoticon, gets his first start of the season. I've picked all home teams thus far. Disturbing.
• The Nationals over the Marlins: Things aren't going well for Mat Latos. And it makes me wonder about his health. On the other side, Jordan Zimmermann is too good to pick against. Ah, one for the visiting team!
• The Royals over the Whtie Sox: Danny Duffy has had a bad outing, a good outing and then a bad one. So, then it is time for a good one? I like lefties against the White Sox. Jose Quintana never has much luck, does he?
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: Now I've gone the other way and picked three straight road teams. Ack! I hate patterns! Carlos Martinez is a wild card and you just never know what will happen. Matt Garza is more predictable. He's usually terrible.
• The Rockies over the Giants: The Rockies have a better chance of being explosive at Coors than the Giants. Charlton Chris Heston goes for the Giants and he has been good. But that goes out the window in that atmosphere. Eddie Butler goes for the Rockies. Will he reach six full innings this season?
• The Pirates over the Diamondbacks: Thus far, Josh Collmenter has not repeated his success from 2014. Gerrit Cole will put the Cole in Collmenter.
• The Athletics over the Astros: Really good match-up here as Scott Kazmir faces Dallas Keuchel. I usually pay for picking against Keuchel, but I think the A's take this one as long as Kazmir has a good day.
• The Angels over the Rangers: Garretts and Jareds should all spell their names the same way. Keeping them straight is a yearly task. Garrett Richards looked decent coming off his knee surgery. Wandy Rodriguez is the wild card here. After bouncing around this spring, he is back home in Texas.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: Andrew Cashner has had two brilliant starts in a row. But his one bad start this season was against the Dodgers. Zack Greinke should prevail.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Mariners over the Twins: Felix Hernandez should enjoy pitching against Minnesota. Phil Hughes has reverted back to a homer-giving machine. I don't see Hughes out-pitching King Felix.

Yesterday: 7-5, Season: 117-120, Picks of the Day: 9-9

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: April 23, 2015

Last night did not go well at all. In fact, I was afraid of a total ruination when the picks were like 1-6. But most of the later games came out okay (except the Giants instead of the Dodgers). It wasn't a total disaster and the Pick of the Day was right. But it wasn't good either.

Thursday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Cubs: I obviously do not know what to do in this series. I haven't picked one of the games correctly yet. Maybe the fourth one is the charm. I'm going with Jeff Locke over Kyle Hendricks.
• The Marlins over the Phillies: This is another series that I've struggled with. And today is a mess with these two as I have little confidence in David Phelps and Dustin McGowan has pitched five times in relief but it slated to start today. He won't be able to go very deep into the game. Who knows.
• The Yankees over the Tigers: I haven't done well with this series either. Who know that David Price would get pounded? Anibal Sanchez has really struggled. Masahiro Tanaka is coming off a great start. So let's go with that. Hopefully, it won't snow today.
• The Braves over the Mets: Three reasons for this pick. The Mets' winning streak has to end some time. Bartolo Colon has to have a clunker eventually. And lastly, Julio Teheran has an awful lot of talent. We'll see.
• The Brewers over the Reds: Apparently, I am the patron saint of underdogs today. Kyle Lohse has been brutally bad. But he pulls it together tonight? The Brewers score some runs off of Homer Bailey? It could happen...
• The Padres over the Rockies: Another series I am really ralphing on. The bullpens have been deciding these games. And it's been a different bullpen each night. So will it matter what Jordan Lyles and Tyson Ross do?
• The Nationals over the Cardinals: This series is very tight and can go either way. These are the two best teams in the NL in my opinion and they are battling each other like that is true. Max Scherzer should be just a tick better than Michael Wacha. But just a tick...
• The Angels over the Athletics: Both Nick Tropeano and Jesse Chavez are making their first starts of the seasons. They cancel each other out. I'm going with the home team and what I perceive to be the better offense in the Angels.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: It's pretty safe to say that these teams don't like each other. I'm just not sure about the Blue Jays if Jose Bautista is out of the lineup. Chris Tillman got bopped his last time out and Drew Hutchison is due for a good game.
• The Rays over the Red Sox: The AL East sure is hard to figure out. As is Clay Buchholz. Jake Odorizzi has been dependable for the Rays. So let's go that way. I have no confidence in this pick from either direction.
• The White Sox over the Royals: It's tough to pick against Yordano Ventura. But don't you have to when Chris Sale is pitching? But say the two starters cancel each other out? Then this pick is in trouble because the Royal's bullpen is pretty killer.

And the Pick of the Day

• The Dodgers over the Giants: Mike Bolsinger makes his first start for the Dodgers. He has been lights out in his two PCL starts. I think he will be terrific. Forget about what happened last year. He was in Arizona. Ryan Vogelsong goes for the Giants.

Yesterday: 6-9, Season: 110-115, Picks of the Day: 9-8

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: April 22, 2015

Last night was a good night as I inch closer to respectability. After a disastrous start to the picking season, I am no two games below .500 and at .500 with the Picks of the Day. What a long uphill climb.

Of the five incorrect picks, Chris Archer did indeed pitch brilliantly, but as hinted in the pick, his team can't hit. The Brewers finally scored as I predicted, but they couldn't pitch to save themselves and gave up three grand slams and sixteen runs. Wow! That's bad.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Indians over the White Sox: The Indians can throw some good pitching at you. Carrasco was great last night and Corey Kluber goes today. I don't think Jeff Samardzija will keep up.
• The Cubs over the Pirates: Man, the Pirates sure blew that game yesterday. Or, on the flip side, the Cubs sure put the medal down and made it happen. I like where the Cubs are right now. Jason Hammel over Vance Worley.
• The Phillies over the Marlins: The Marlins never do what I expect them to do. I thought they would have their way with the Phillies and they didn't last night. Today, they face Cole Hamels making it a Hammel / Hamels day. Jarred Cosart goes for the Fish.
• The Nationals over the Cardinals: The last time I picked against John Lackey, he pitched shutout ball. He won't do that twice in a row, will he? Doug Fister is terrific and thus, my pick.
• The Orioles over the Blue Jays: If Aaron Sanchez has another bad start for the Blue Jays, they will have to do some thinking of whether to keep him in the rotation. The better pick here is Ubaldo Jimenez. Now that is a scary thought.
• The Tigers over the Yankees: I think the Yankees are better against lefty starters as a team. But David Price isn't your run-of-the-mill starters. I cannot go with Adam Warren over David Price.
• The Red Sox over the Rays: The Rays are sinking and though Nathan Karns has been impressive, his mates just don't score. Joe Kelly will have a good night.
• The Reds over the Brewers: Jimmy Nelson has been one of the few bright spots for the Brewers, but he is facing Johnny Cueto and that's not good for him. That is unless the Reds are tired from all that running around the bases yesterday.
• The Royals over the Twins: The Twins had the least yesterday the whole game and then blew it at the end. That was troublesome to say the least. Jeremy Guthrie goes for the Royals tonight which gives the Twins a chance. But they can only counter with Mike Pelfrey.
• The Padres over the Rockies: The Rockies also blew it late yesterday after leading by as many as five runs. That was their best chance to win. James Shields has to tame Coors, but he has a good hitting team too. The Rockies are struggling but have the mostly solid Kyle Kendrick on the mound.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rangers: Archie Bradley has been impressive. But then again, Yovani Gallardo has been too and can hit mitigating the lost of the DH some for the Rangers. I'm still going with the D-backs.
• The Athletics over the Angels: The Angels sure pounded the A's yesterday. So much so that Ike Davis pitched. Jered Weaver has had a bad start to the season and lives on guile mostly these days. Sonny Gray is my guy here.
• The Mariners over the Astros: Ugh. I don't like any of my choices here. J.A. Happ doesn't fill me with glee and Roberto Hernandez can be awful. No, I don't like this pick at all. Blech.
• The Dodgers over the Giants: This is the must see game of the day as Clayton Kershaw goes against Madison Bumgarner. Both aces have looked a little human thus far this year and you have to wonder about the post season toll on these guys. I'm giving the edge to the Dodgers. It could go either way.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Mets over the Braves: The Mets keep the streak alive for one more night behind Dillon Gee. While Gee has not been great, I like him better than Eric Stultz. The Mets have been Amazin'!

Yesterday: 10-5, Season: 104-106, Picks of the Day: 8-8

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: April 21, 2015

I went back into the deep hole yesterday after spending three days trying to climb out. At least the Pick of the Day was correct. The closer ruined me in the Cleveland / Chicago game. The Mariners let one slip away after having a good lead. Alfredo Simon was either really good or the Yankees were really bad. The Orioles were sloppy.

Oh, and Jim Palmer? Right on. David Ortiz thinks he is bigger than everyone, including Hall of Fame players. Respect, Ortiz? How about you respect parents and children with your foul mouth?  Clutch player over the years...but otherwise...an irritant.

Tuesday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Cubs: I can't quite figure out these two teams yet. Francisco Liriano has always had brilliant stuff and inconsistent results. Travis Wood is sort of like Buehrle-lite. Both have to be on to win. Flip a coin.
• The Marlins over the Phillies: Dan Haren looked good his last time out and I like his chances against the moribund offense of the Phillies. Jerome Williams still has two or three good starts in him this season.
• The Nationals over the Cardinals: I'm really torn here. I really like Lance Lynn but I also like power lefties against the Cardinals like Gio Gonzalez. I'll go with the home team.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: I don't think the Orioles like playing a game in the morning. They looked so flat yesterday. I like the Blue Jays' offense against Bud Norris. It's just a question of how Mark Buehrle fares.
• The Yankees over the Tigers: I actually like the Yankees better against left-handed pitching. I think they have a chance against Kyle Lobstein. And it is time for Nathan Eovaldi to show some progress.
• The Rays over the Red Sox: Chris Archer is making his fourth start already and his last two have been brilliant. Wade Miley has been iffy for the Red Sox. The Rays aren't hitting at home, so there is that...
• The Brewers over the Reds: Mike Fiers is 0-2 and has a high ERA. But I think he's been a bit unlucky as the batting average against him has been very high. His strikeouts are there. The Brewers are due for a win. Jason Marquis goes for the Reds.
• The Indians over the White Sox: Once again, in Carlos Carrasco, we have a strong starter for the Indians and then fret about the bullpen. Hector Noesi goes for the White Sox.
• The Royals over the Twins: Tommy Milone is 2-0 including a win over the Royals. The Royals will have some revenge tonight at home as long as Jason Vargas can hold down the Twins.
• The Padres over the Rockies: The Padres' offense is explosive and they went off at Coors yesterday. I think they will hit again today off of Tyler Matzek. Brandon Morrow has pitched very well and has no decisions to show for it.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rangers: The Rangers lose some offense without the DH and Chase Anderson always keeps the Diamondbacks in the game. Nick Martinez is 2-0. Can he keep that up? I don't think so.
• The Athletics over the Angels: This again is a toss up to me and all depends on the pitching. Drew Pomeranz has looked good and has only walked one batter in twelve. He was a little unlucky in his last start. Hector Santiago is always there for me to kick and yet wins his share of games. So you got me here.
• The Astros over the Mariners: Collin McHugh is a good pitcher and the Astros' offense has come alive a bit. Taijuan Walker had a great spring and has looked lost once the season started. He is quite capable of making this pick look rather stupid.
• The Giants over the Dodgers: Tim Lincecum has looked good so far with no wins to show for it and is usually solid against the Dodgers at home. Brett Anderson is a five inning pitcher and the Giants can go after the Dodgers' bullpen. The Dodgers do have a win streak though.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Mets over the Braves: I have said it over and over through the years. Jon Niese is much better than people realize. I like him at home against the Braves. Trevor Cahill is ripe in my mind at least.

Yesterday: 3-6, Season: 94-101, Picks of the Day: 7-8