MLB Game Picks - Saturday: May 9, 2015

The numbers were good, getting ten out of fourteen correct with one postponement. But the Pick of the Day was Matt Harvey and he got beat by Cole Hamels. And I shouldn't have picked against those plucky Twins. But overall, a good day of picking. I hope David Price isn't injured seriously. Oh. and I still can't figure the Indians out. Why are they so bad?

Saturday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: I do worry about Warren and Chase Whitley being featured back to back. They are too similar. But at this point, the Yankees are tough to pick against the way they are playing. Wei-Yin Chen will try to even the series for the O's.
• The Blue Jays over the Red Sox: Both Drew Hutchison and Joe Kelly are struggling. I like the match-up of the Blue Jay batters against Kelly's fastball.
• The Tigers over the Royals: These two teams really play tough and the margin for error is small for either team. Anibal Sanchez is really throwing well now and Jeremy Guthrie can give up three or four runs.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Bryce Harper is out of his mind right now. Doug Fister is in a groove and I'm not sure even a great performance by Julio Teheran would beat the Nats.
• The Reds over the White Sox: The two teams will play two today after yesterday's cancellation. In the first game, Johnny Cueto should beat Hector Noesi.
• The White Sox over the Reds: I'm going with young phenom, Carlos Rodon over Jason Marquis in the second game.
• The Twins over the Indians: I'm done picking the Indians and against the Twins. That combination just isn't working for me. Phil Hughes showed promise in his last start that April is over and he'll be good now. Bruce Chen lives to fight another day for the Indians.
• The Rangers over the Rays: I have a good feeling that Ross Detwiler is better than he has pitched thus far and being in a big park will help him. Matt Andriese is an unknown for me as just another young Rays pitcher.
• The Phillies over the Mets: I will not pick against Aaron Harang. I will not pick against Aaron Harang. Even though I love Jon Niese against the Phillies. Hmmm...
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: What is this fatigue thing with Carpenter? What's that all about? He is a key player for the Cards. But I still think they win as Carlos Martinez has been really good and Vance Worley shows that the Pirates are too think in their rotation.
• The Cubs over the Brewers: Travis Wood relies on contact being fielded. That is troublesome. But it often works. Kyle Lohse is pretty much the same. This might be fun for the batters today. Whatever happened to Ryan Braun?
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: I'm not sure about Clayton Kershaw at Coors Field. But I also know that Jorge De La Rosa hasn't looked good so far. It looks like Puig is going to be out a while.
• The Diamondbacks over the Padres: The Padres are so hard to read. Great offense on paper. No defense. It's such a different mold for them. I like Chase Anderson today in a match-up against Tyson Ross.
• The Angels over the Astros: As one of my favorite commenters said the other day, It's weird when Dallas pitches for Houston. And Dallas Keuchel is very good. But he has to lose some time and to Matt Shoemaker seems like the right time to pick against him.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: I like this match-up for the Mariners when they are at home. I'm not sure I like J.A. Happ being their pitcher today. But then again, Jesse Hahn hasn't been great either.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Giants over the Marlins: David Phelps has pitched really well for the Marlins but has little to show for it. I don't seem him winning a head to head with Madison Bumgarner.

Yesterday: 10-4, May: 61-49, Season: 225-214, Picks of the Day: 18-15

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: May 3, 2015

Saturday was a 9-6 day but the Pick of the Day was wrong as the Cubs finally lost. My luck has turned on extra-inning games as the last three have gone my way.  Who knew that picking the Twins would be so fortuitous. Who knew the Astros were going to be this good?

I did have one incredible coincidence of bad luck yesterday and it cost me two picks. On the same day, the last out was recorded giving the Giants and the Dodgers wins because a batted ball hit a base runner. Both would have been base hits and both would have at least tied the games. How's that for incredible? 

Sunday's picks:

• The Marlins over the Phillies: The Marlins complete the sweep of the hapless Phils as Jarred Cosart finishes them off. Severino Gonzalez got rocked in his first start. What will happen today?
• The Indians over the Blue Jays: Trevor Bauer and Drew Hutchison have the exact same 2-0 record. The difference is that Bauer has had four starts and all were quality starts. Hutchison? Not so much.
• The Nationals over the Mets: I really shouldn't base so much on the starting pitchers. But I tend to. In this case, I like Doug Fister much more than the current iteration of Dillon Gee.
• The Reds over the Braves: Johnny Cueto versus Julio Teheran can be a pretty good match-up. That said, the Reds will score lots of runs and win this one.
• The Orioles over the Bay Rays: I bet the Orioles wish they still had Nelson Cruz. Holy cow, that guy is amazing. But anyway, the O's still have some punch and should take care of Nathan Karns. Then, all they need is for Wei-Yin Chen to pitch well.
• The Twins over the White Sox: I have picked against Mike Pelfrey all the time this early season and he is making me look stupid (not that it is difficult). So I will pick him today and probably still look stupid. John Danks goes for the White Sox.
• The Tigers over the Royals: The rubber game of the series features Anibal Sanchez against Jeremy Guthrie. Sanchez has made some adjustments and is pitching much better. Jeremy Guthrie should leaver a hanger or two about to cost the game.
• The Astros over the Mariners: I might as well stick with the very hot Astros. I wasn't going to because Roberto Hernandez is pitching. But he hasn't been half bad this season. J.A. Happ goes for the M's and has pitched well himself.
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: The Cardinals will complete the sweep. But it will considerably easier today as they should win easily behind Michael Wacha going against Vance Worley. It scares me whenever I perceive a mismatch, however.
• The Cubs over the Brewers: The last time I sang Jimmy Nelson's praises, he gave up thirteen base runners in 2.1 innings. Yeesh. Perhaps Nelson will get back on track today. But I'm still going with the Cubs behind Jason Hammels.
• The Athletics over the Rangers: The Rangers are playing better and Yovani Gallardo has been pretty good for them. But Sonny Gray is my guy. Whenever he pitches, it is a Sonny Gray Day.
• The Giants over the Angels: The better days are behind both Tim Lincecum and Jered Weaver. But Lincecum still has somewhat of a big league fastball. Weaver couldn't out-gun Jamie Moyer at this point.
• The Diamondbacks over the Dodgers: I do believe this is the second battle of the Andersons this season. Chase Anderson is the better one and Brett Anderson is not. So that is the pick.
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: The Red Sox will salvage the last game of this series as Joe Kelly is a better pitcher than Adam Warren. At least when considering how each will do against his opponent team. Kelly reminds me a lot of Eovaldi.

And the Pick of the Day is:

• The Padres over the Rockies: Kyle Kendrick has made a career of making me look foolish. Whenever I pick against him, he mocks me. But heck, I still think James Shields and the Padres will prevail today.

Yesterday: 9-6, May: 17-13, Season: 181-178, Picks of the Day: 14-13

MLB Game Picks - Monday: April 27, 2015

Confound it all! It took me two weeks to dig out of my early month hole and I finally did it and now I'm slipping right back down that slope! The extra-inning game thing is starting to really make me see red. I am now 0-8 in the last eight games that have gone into extra frames. How is that right? The Royals have gone flat. I'm a mess.

Monday's picks:

• The Indians over the Royals: Is Corey Kluber going to get going? This pick is based on what kind of pitcher he is supposed to be. Jason Vargas has always been solid no matter where he has pitched.
• The Orioles over the White Sox: Which pitcher will be worse, Hector Noesi or Ubaldo Jimenez? Good question. The Orioles will hit at least two homers.
• The Yankees over the Bay Rays: I don't think Adam Warren will last much longer in the rotation. We'll see. The Yankees have been on a roll. The Rays keep hanging around though and Nathan Karns is getting better.
• The Brewers over the Reds: I smell blood. Can the Brewers win two games in a row! Wouldn't that be something? I like Jimmy Nelson and am going with him today over Jason Marquis.
• The Marlins over the Mets: The Fish had a great weekend and can continue to do some damage in the NL East here. Giancarlo Stanton has been raking and I like Jarred Cosart's fire. Dillon Gee hasn't inspired much.
• The Nationals over the Braves: So...is there a manager crisis in Washington? What the heck is going on with this club? Doug Fister should elevate the team out of the mire today and Eric Stultz goes for the Braves.
• The Cubs over the Pirates: I keep picking against the Cubs like they are still...the Cubs. But they are not those Cubs. Jason Hammel goes against Vance Worley and I think the Cubbies will score five runs or more.
• The Rangers over the Mariners: Until Taijuan Walker gets better, I cannot count on him. I'll go with Yovani Gallardo instead. I'm not feeling real strong about the pick though.
• The Tigers over the Twins: David Price will bounce back from his start against the Yankees and Tommy Milone should not stop the Tigers attack.
• The Cardinals over the Phillies: Yes, the Adam Wainwright injury is a  blow to the Cardinals, but they will be okay. John Lackey has been pitching well and Cole Hamels has not. I don't think he's very inspired at the moment.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: The Rockies will keep the rotation intact after yesterday's postponement and Tyler Matzek will go today. Chase Anderson goes for the D-Backs. This is a 50/50 pick.
• The Astros over the Padres: I have to stick with a very hot Collin McHugh even if he is going up against James Shields. The Astros will miss the DH though. Two pitchers were hurt batting this week. Can we make the DH universal please?
• The Giants over the Dodgers: The Giants always seem to win these head to head battles between these two teams. Tim Lincecum has been pretty good. Brett Anderson is iffy for me in the Dodgers' rotation which took another hit when Brandon McCarthy left his last outing.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Red Sox over the Blue Jays: Watching the Red Sox without David Ortiz was kind of nice yesterday. But it was just one day. Aaron Sanchez has not pitched well and if that happens today with the Red Sox, he'll get pounded. The Jays aren't the same without Jose Bautista and it has showed. Joe Kelly goes for the Red Sox.

Yesterday: 5-10, Season: 136-143, Picks of the Day: 11-10

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 - Thursday: April 16, 2015

Wednesday was another terrible day of Game Picking. This April is killing me. I'm ready to throw in the towel, to be honest. I know, at least, that it can't get much worse and can only get better from here. But, at this point, throwing a dart at a dartboard would be more effective than I have been to this point.

Thursday is a short schedule, so let's take a brief look:

• The Royals over the Twins: The Royals finally lost yesterday and I knew sooner or later it had to happen. But now that we have that out of the way, I can concentrate on the match-ups and what should happen. While Tommy Milone won his first outing and was one of the few early Twins bright spots, I still think the Royals will win even if Jason Vargas doesn't have a great day.
• The Brewers over the Cardinals: Mike Fiers was awful in his first start and that is hard to jive with what he did last year once he got in the rotation. This pick looks for him to bounce back against the Cardinals and for John Lackey to have a spitting bad day.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: Cole Hamels is still with the Phillies and as such, always has a chance to throw a gem. If Doug Fister is his usual self, he should limit any Phillies damage with a lot of ground balls and strikes.
• The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: The Rays have held their own this series and have a pretty good start to their season considering who they lost and what they have left. Chris Archer is certainly capable of pitching well. Aaron Sanchez got beat up badly in his first start. I'm banking on him settling down and pitching well today.
• The Marlins over the Mets: The Mets have started well and the Fish have been disappointing. The difference today for me is Jarred Cosart who really is a bulldog. Dillon Gee, on the other hand, has been lost for quite a while.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: Archie Bradley has already beaten Clayton Kershaw and today attempts to take down Madison Bumgarner. How about those two opponents in his first two starts! I still don't trust Bradley's command and the Giants should eek out a win.

Yesterday: 6-9, Season: 61-72, Picks of the Day: 3-7   Terrible...