MLB Game Picks - Monday: June 8, 2015

Saturday was an up and down day with some good picks, some bad picks (I'm looking at you Jordan Zimmermann) and a perfectly mediocre 8-7 final tally with a correct Pick of the Day. I suppose the results are better than the alternative.

A very abbreviated schedule today with only eight games. The picks:

• The Pirates over the Brewers: I don't think Ryan Braun's wrist is ever going to be the same. It's a shame really because the Brewers invested so heavily in him and built a lineup around him. A.J. Burnett is having a terrific season. Jimmy Nelson is not.
• The Blue Jays over the Marlins: Jose Bautista is really heating up and that bodes well for the Blue Jays, especially for as long as Jose Reyes stays in the lineup this time. Two soft pitchers in this one though with Brad Hand going for the Marlins and Marco Estrada for the Blue Jays. Could be high scoring.
• The Phillies over the Reds: Mike Leake has been really off this past month. I had to drop him from my fantasy team! Cole Hamels continues to audition for other teams.
• The White Sox over the Astros: This is a real interesting game here. Lance McCullers has been great for the Astros. But anytime the White Sox have Chris Sale on the mound, that has to be the pick.
• The Royals over the Twins: Another interesting game. The Royals don't walk and Phil Hughes doesn't walk anyone. So what happens to the balls in play? That's the key here. Jason Vargas goes for the Royals.
• The Cardinals over the Rockies: My only fear here is how well John Lackey will do at Coors Field. Otherwise, the Cardinals should have a hearty offensive day against David Hale.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: I have been doing really well picking Mike Bolsinger and he has been a nice addition to my fantasy team too! Rubby De La Rosa, on the other hand, after some good starts has begun to take a beating of late.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Braves over the Padres: I'm really surprised by how well the Braves are playing. Part of that equation is starting pitching and guys like Shelby Miller have really done well. Ian Kennedy is another story and has been knocked around pretty consistently.

Yesterday: 8-7, June: 52-45, Season: 430-398, Picks of the Day: 34-27 (+3)

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: May 23, 2015

It is the first day of Memorial Day Weekend and I woke up early to play golf...and it is snowing. What!? Snowing!? Sheesh.

Anyway, my picks are snowballing too as I went 12-3 yesterday after going 9-3 the day before. I'll take a 21-6 run. The only three incorrect picks were two emotions driven ones. I had the Yankees and they couldn't pitch or field. I had the Cubs and they couldn't hold a lead and I had the Rockies who were beat by the voodoo-driven Giants.

Saturday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Rangers: I know. The Yankees are terrible lately. I know. But amidst that terrible is CC Sabathia who has been pitching really well. I'm going with him over Nick Martinez. Martinez has been very consistent and decent for the Rangers.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: Robinson Cano hits a homer off of Mark Buehrle and James Paxton continues his good pitching of late.
• The Mets over the Pirates: A.J. Burnett has been pitching really well for the Pirates but in this case, I have to go with Matt Harvey. Harvey has simply been outstanding.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: This pick makes me a bit nervous because picking Stephen Strasburg never works out for me. But he does do better at home and the Nationals are being carried on Bryce Harper's shoulders. Cole Hamels goes for the Phillies.
• The Tigers over the Astros: The Tigers don't have the offense they had a year ago, but they score enough to win if they get good pitching. Kyle Lobstein has been inconsistent, but I like him in this one over Lance McCullers.
• The Indians over the Reds: Well, welcome back Mr. Corey Kluber. Where have you been? Judging from Kluber's last performance, picking against him would be stupid. Anthony DeSclafani is going in the wrong direction for the Reds.
• The Braves over the Brewers: Probably the only thing that could stop the Brewers right now is a very good Shelby Miller. Mike Fiers would have to match him. I don't know, this is a tough one.
• The White Sox over the Twins: You didn't expect the Twins to be that good, right? Chris Sale over Trevor May.
• The Giants over the Rockies: Charlton Chris Heston has been a nice story for the Giants. How will he do at Coors? He faces Jordan Lyles who hasn't been as good as last year. Giants...
• The Giants over the Rockies: Yeah. I'm going with a sweep. Yusmeiro Petit is a nice swing man for the Giants to have. Meanwhile, the Rockies have to dip and give David Hale a start. Not pretty.
• The Marlins over the Orioles: Dan Haren is 2-0 at home in Miami with a 1.80 ERA there. That seems like a good pick even though Mike Wright was outstanding for the Orioles in his debut start.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: I'm not buying Steven Wright as a starter for the Red Sox. And the Red Sox cannot hit lefties. Though Rusney Castillo might help there. I'm going with the Angels behind C.J. Wilson.
• The Cardinals over the Royals: It's hard to pick against the Royals these days. And John Lackey versus Edinson Volquez is a tough pick. I'm going to pick the Cardinals. And much to Bob's surprise, I have been fairly accurate with my Cards picks this season.
• The Diamondbacks over the Cubs: The Diamondbacks are playing well right now and Rubby De La Rosa has been very good. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta hasn't been as fine as last year to this point.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: Mike Bolsinger has been terrific for the Dodgers. Ian Kennedy is your average fourth starter. He'll keep the Padres in the game. No more, no less.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Rays over the Athletics: Shield your eyes. The A's are gruesome right now. And Kendall Graveman has a good name to be pitching for them. Nate Karns or Nathan Karns, whichever B-R wants for it's linker, has been very consistent for the Rays.

Yesterday: 12-3, May: 152-122, Season: 316-287, Picks of the Day: 25-20

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