MLB Game Picks - Sunday: May 10, 2015

Happy Mothers Day everyone.

I picked both ends of a double-header correctly and was 5-2 with the first seven picks. Then the toilet flushed. I went 1-7 the rest of the way for a really bad day and another Pick of the Day down the tube. I don't know if they will ever play in Denver again as the Rockies were postponed again.

Sunday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: It seems the only team Bud Norris pitches well against is the Yankees. It's just like Wei-Yin Chen, who turns into Kershaw against the Yankees. But I'm still picking the Yankees because of Michael Pineda.
• The Blue Jays over the Red Sox: I don't know what to make of Clay Buchholz other than how I can't watch him because of that greasy hair. It's disgusting. He has been such a bust so far this year. R.A. Dickey is hard to trust as well. But he has had only one bad start in his last six, so I'll go with the hot Jays over the cold Red Sox.
• The Indians over the Twins: It's hard to pick against the Twins right now. They are playing amazing. But the match-up of Danny Salazar vs. Trevor May seems too much on the Indians' side.  It's still tough picking against the Twins...
• The Rays over the Rangers: The Rays are another team playing pretty well. They are two games back of the Yankees. Jake Odorizzi should have a good day and Wandy Rodriguez will have trouble.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Like I said yesterday, Bryce Harper is out of his mind right now and the Nats are making their move. Jordan Zimmermann needs some run support and to have a good day, but that should happen against Alex Wood.
• The Mets over the Phillies: I really am rooting for Clay Billingsley. I am a sucker for comeback stories. But picking against Bartolo Colon has been unproductive lately for obvious reasons.
• The Pirates over the Cardinals: Jeff Locke has pitched pretty well against the Cards in his career. I am not overly confident that Tyler Lyons is an MLB pitcher and Matt Reynolds is a poor substitute for a highly missed Matt Carpenter.
• The Brewers over the Cubs: The Brewers are suddenly hitting. Or, the Cubs have stopped pitching. Whatever the combination, I have been slow on the uptake. I'll go with Matt Garza (heaven help me) over Kyle Hendricks.
• The Reds over the White Sox: Michael Lorenzen has looked pretty good for the Reds and I think Todd Frazier will have a big day against John Danks.
• The Marlins over the Giants: Mat Latos was better his last time out and might be figuring it out. His five walks bother me though when he beat the Nationals. Ryan Vogelsong is what he is and will probably keep the Giants in the game at least.
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: Maybe they will get the game in today. Who knows. If they do (and I think the East Coast games will be more of a weather problem today), then Clayton Kershaw still beats Jorge De La Rosa.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: Do you want to pick against Felix Hernandez at home? I don't.  Jesse Chavez goes for the A's.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Andrew Cashner is 0-3 in his recent starts against the Diamondbacks. However, today, the D-backs don't have a starting pitcher and from all accounts I've seen, are going with a bullpen day where the bullpen will pitch the entire game. That doesn't sound very appetizing.
• The Tigers over the Royals: Oy. This series has become as unpredictable as they come. Shane Greene had a great start to his season, but has had three bad starts in a row. Chris Young gives up nothing but fly balls but that is a good thing the way the Royals' outfielders can fly around. I have no idea...

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Angels over the Astros: This pick went bad yesterday. But I have to go with what looks right each day and try to forget about yesterday. Garrett Richards has looked strong and his knee is holding up thus far. I think he will be much better than Scott Feldman.

Yesterday: 6-9, May: 67-58, Season: 231-223, Picks of the Day: 18-16

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: May 5, 2015

Happy Cinco De Mayo. I started early by going 5-5 yesterday. And, the Pick of the Day was wrong. Ugh. I guess I went with the wrong ace.

I'm in a time bind this morning, so with apologies, I just give you my picks and the pitching lines:

• The Pirates over the Reds: Michael Lorenzen vs. Jeff Locke
• The Nationals over the Marlins: Stephen Strasburg vs. Mat Latos.
• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: Michael Pineda vs. Marco Estrada
• The Orioles over the Mets: Bud Norris vs. Bartolo Colon.
• The Braves over the Phillies: Chad Billingsley vs. Shelby Miller
• The Red Sox over the Rays: Drew Smyly vs. Rick Porcello
• The Indians over the Royals: Danny Salazar vs. Jason Vargas
• The Tigers over the White Sox: Shane Greene vs. Jeff Samardzija
• The Dodgers over the Brewers: Zack Greinke vs. Matt Garza
• The Twins over the Athletics: Trevor May vs. Jesse Chavez
• The Astros over the Rangers: Scott Feldman vs. Wandy Rodriguez
• The Cardinals over the Cubs: Tyler Lyons vs. Kyle Hendricks
• The Rockies over the Diamondbacks: Tyler Matzek vs. Josh Collmenter
• The Padres over the Giants: Andrew Cashner vs. Ryan Vogelsong

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Angels over the Mariners: Garrett Richards vs. James Paxton

Yesterday: 5-5, May: 32-23, Season: 196-188, Picks of the Day: 15-14

MLB Game Picks - Monday: April 13, 2015

Well, what do you know!? I actually had a good picking day and even had the Pick of the Day come in. And the Yankees actually scored a bunch of runs. What a good day! I am actually pinching myself in disbelief.

Here are Monday's picks:

• The Mets over the Phillies: Aaron Harang has made a career out of making me look foolish. In all his years of pitching, I have probably picked against him 85% of the time. And since he has won 49% of his decisions, that is a problem. And guess what? I'm picking against him again today. Jacob deGrom goes for the Mets.
• The Pirates over the Tigers: The Tigers have to lose some time and they lose the DH today. Anibal Sanchez was really good his first time out. I'm thinking Gerrit Cole will be even stronger at home.
• The Nationals over the Red Sox: The Nats and Jordan Zimmermann ruin the Red Sox home opener. The Red Sox have to be really tired today. Rick Porcello goes for the beantowners.
• The Royals over the Twins: The Royals' perfect record should not come to an end today. First, Trevor May has not proved he can pitch in the Majors and secondly, Danny Duffy should be able to hold down the Twins' limited offense.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: Anyone who has read my stuff for a while knows my feelings about Matt Garza. I don't respect him. I don't trust him. Adam Wainwright at home is a whole different story of comfort for me.
• The Giants over the Rockies: I'm not sure what will happen with the two starting pitchers. Both Eddie Butler and Chris Heston had very good first starts and that was unexpected in both cases. I just think the Giants will win their home opener.
• The Yankees over the Orioles: Perhaps last night made me a bit giddy, but I like the Yankees against left-handed pitching and think they are better served facing Wei-Yin Chen now than at any time last year. Plus, if Michael Pineda is on, he won't give up much.
• The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: In the first battle of the Ays this year, I give the advantage to the Blue Jays in their home opener. R.A. Dickey likes it at home and Jake Odorizzi faces a tough lineup.
• The Cubs over the Reds: Jon Lester makes his second start for the Cubs and they sure hope it gets better than the first time out. And it should. A lot will depend on the wind in Wrigley though. Mike Leake goes for the Reds. I hope the toilets work.
• The Angels over the Rangers: The only game the Angels have won is because Matt Shoemaker pitched. He pitches again today, so that should prove helpful. Ross Detwiler goes for the Rangers and that did not go so well the first time around.
• The Athletics over the Astros: It won't be a good day for Texas as both the Rangers and Astros lose. Scott Feldman goes for the 'Stros and Scott Kazmir for the A's.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Andrew Cashner was a little unlucky in his last outing and looked good otherwise. Rubby De La Rosa was awful his first time out and still got the win. So there you go. I'm guessing a 4-1 win here for the Padres.
• The Mariners over the Dodgers: I think this game will be decided by the bullpens. I think Brandon McCarthy and James Paxton will both be great and turn it over to the pens. The Dodgers' bullpen is a mess, hence, the Mariners' pick.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Braves over the Marlins: I have serious misgivings about Mat Latos. He just doesn't seem right anymore. The Marlins have come out of the gate very slow. Shelby Miller was a great pickup for the Braves and should keep the Marlins on the downside.

Yesterday: 10-5, Season: 42-49, Picks of the Day: 2-4

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: September 3, 2014

Tuesday's picks went a perfectly mediocre 8-7. I had picked the Indians, which looked good until the ninth inning. Carlos Carrasco did something never done before, but in vain. He struck out ten while giving up ten his while only allowing one run. And he did that all in 5.1 innings. I had said on Twitter that this combination had never been done before and was quickly shot down. But I was correct and when I proved it, the shooter never acknowledged that I was correct in the first place. Don't you hate that?

The Braves and Yankees continue to tank and my picks are not reflecting the fact. Both teams were brutal yesterday. I have failed to acknowledge the Cubs as they keep winning. And the Astros beat the Angels too. It is a pretty strange night when the Mets win a slugfest.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Braves over the Phillies: I must be stubborn or something as I keep picking the Braves when they clearly are in a slump. But, golly, Ervin Santana should beat David Buchanan, should he not?
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: You have to give the Pirates credit. If they can turn around Edinson Volquez, they can turn around anybody. And I would pick him today except that through all the miserable starts Shelby Miller has made this year, he has been great in day games. You have to dig deep to do this stuff. Heh.
• The Giants over the Rockies: There hasn't been any pitching in this series, so stating that Ryan Vogelsong and Christian Bergman are pitching doesn't mean a whole lot. The win will go to the first team to ten runs.
• The Athletics over the Mariners: Felix Hernandez has been a bit vulnerable in his last four starts and except for last night, the M's have been in a bit of a hitting funk. I like Jon Lester's chances in this one.
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: I have to be good here because forged will be on me, but I have just about had enough of the team from the Bronx. I want their season to end and for Derek Jeter to ride off into the sunset. So many emotions! Anthony Ranaudo has won all three of his starts, Hiroki Kuroda should also retire after this season.
• The Orioles over the Reds: Dylan Axelrod apparently has rebuilt his career as he is pitching great since his return to the big show. And Miguel Gonzalez is the Orioles' weakest starter. But can you really pick against the O's these days? Nope.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Danny Salazar has been very good his last three outings. The problem is that he doesn't go deep into the game. We are talking five innings here. And the Indians' bullpen is frightening. Justin Verlander would be the cheeky pick here. That was a pun over his recent exposed posterior being spread around. He can take his vengeance out on the Indians.
• The Mets over the Marlins: I really like both pitchers in this game in Jacob deGrom and Tom Koehler. I have had both on my fantasy team. I like deGrom more though, so that's the pick.
• The Blue Jays over the Rays: Marcus Stroman got bombed by the Rays on August 22. So either he will be shaky or have revenge on his mind. He had a great start his last time out. Chris Archer has been scuffling over his last month after looking terrific for most of the season.
• The Cubs over the Brewers: Okay, Cubs. I've started to belief. I especially like Kyle Hendricks. And I especially don't like Matt Garza. Besides, Cubs, Garza mouthed off about his time with the Cubs. Incentive enough?
• The Angels over the Astros: I really, really want to pick the Astros as Collin McHugh is a terrific young pitcher. And Jered Weaver isn't overly inspiring, though he wins a lot. The Angels are the better team and if Weaver has a good day, they should win.
• The White Sox over the Twins: Ugh. This is a match-up from down below. John Danks can never be counted upon and Trevor May isn't exactly enjoying his time in the Majors thus far and is 0-4. Like I said: Ugh. And it looks like Adam Eaton is out again.
• The Royals over the Rangers: Jason Vargas is never my favorite pick to make. And Nick Tepesch has pitched much better of late. The Royals have a slight edge at home and with their bullpen.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Josh Collmenter has had a very good season. Andrew Cashner has pretty much had a lost season. The pick comes down to how hot the Padres are as a team, especially at home.

And the Game of the Day

• The Nationals over the Dodgers: Jordan Zimmermann will have to have a good game as the Dodgers are a good team. Carlos Frias gets his first MLB start after five relief appearances. Signed as a 17-year-old free agent way back in 2007, Frias has paid his dues. He has good control but not a knock out pitch.

Yesterday: 8-7: September: 16-12, Games of the Day: 85-60 (-1), Season: 1146-946

MLB Game Picks - Friday: August 29, 2014

Finally a positive day! The day games all went wrong but everything after was positive and the picks went six out of nine for the day. The one big surprise was the Twins exploding in the tenth inning to beat the Royals. You could say the Royals took it off the Bruce Chen.

I don't have much else to say as I am simply relieved to have a positive day, so let's just get to Friday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Reds: I like Mike Leake but I see how his team is playing and I have to think that the Pirates (at home) will be all over the Cincinnati team all weekend. Edinson Volquez goes for the Pirates.
• The Blue Jays over the Yankees: The Yankees have two positives going for them. First, Mark Buehrle has had a heck of a time beating them over the years. And secondly, the Yankees have had the upper hand in the season series against the Blue Jays the past several seasons. But my gut is telling me that the Blue Jays will hit Chris Capuano hard and will win a high scoring game.
• The Red Sox over the Rays: Anthony Ranaudo has not been over-the-top fantastic since he was called up, but he has won both of his starts. So let's call him a good luck charm. Chris Archer is very good but the Red Sox beat him the last time they faced him.
• The Mets over the Phillies: The Phillies are fresh off of sweeping the Nationals so why pick them to lose here? Just because they had a good series, doesn't necessarily make them a good team. David Buchanan will try to prove me wrong. Jacob deGrom has been good for the Mets.
• The Marlins over the Braves: Tom Koehler impressed me very much by having a great outing at Coors Field. So I am picking him to win a pitchers' duel against Ervin Santana.
• The Royals over the Indians: I've looked at this one from every angle. Danny Salazar has been much better in his last two outings and the Indians are better than people think. But they do struggle against lefties and Jason Vargas is one of those. Royals.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: It is hard to predict how good or bad Justin Verlander is going to be these days. So there is that. Scott Carroll has looked awful at times and good at others. I have to go with the Tigers here.
• The Rangers over the Astros: The comeback by Scott Baker has been smile-inducing. It's just nice to see him back. He has pitched well too and beat the Royals his last time out. He doesn't walk people and is a contact pitcher. So the BABIP gods will determine his fate. Brett Oberholtzer keeps taking the ball every fifth day. That's about all you can say there.
• The Cubs over the Cardinals: Kyle Hendricks has had a great start to his MLB career. And some of the young studs recently promoted to the Cubs will ambush Shelby Miller and put the Cubs over the top.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: Both of these teams have big problems. So which one is worse? I would say the Rockies. Josh Collmenter hasn't had a bad season while I have less faith in Christian Bergman.
• The Angels over the Athletics: This is going to be a dramatic game and I like the fact for the Angels that they are at home. Jered Weaver scares me a bit and Jon Lester was brought in to win games like this. What it boils down to me is that the A's are sruggling offensively and that will key the win for the Angels.
• The Padres over the Dodgers: Dan Haren is too iffy to me to pick. Andrew Cashner was rusty in his first outing back from the DL, but I think he'll have a very good game against the Dodgers, especially at home.
• The Mariners over the Nationals: Felix Hernandez has not been as dynamic in his last couple of starts. He will have the benefit of being unfamiliar to the Nationals. Jordan Zimmermann can shut down the Mariners too and then I like the Mariners' bullpen better.
• The Giants over the Brewers: I never like picking Ryan Vogelsong. Ever. And I have been extolling the virtues of Wily Peralta who wasn't very wily his last time out when the Pirates roughed him up. This pick comes down to see the way the Giants have played lately and how hot Buster Posey is at the plate.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Orioles over the Twins: The Twins could continue to play spoilers. They are not that bad of a bad team. That said, I have no confidence in Trevor May after what he has done thus far. Miguel Gonzalez is the O's weakest starter, but I still like his chances here.

Yesterday: 6-3, August: 207-169, Games of the Day: 81-58 (+3), Season: 1101-918