MLB Game Picks - Monday: May 11, 2015

On a full day of baseball, I consider nine correct picks a good day and ten a great day. That designation hung in the balance last night until midnight with the Royals - Tigers game. It was 1-1 going into the ninth and the home field advantage of the Tigers was somewhat nullified by the great Royals' bullpen. The bullpen won out and I didn't have a great day. I had a good day.

Monday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Phillies: The Pirates came alive a little bit against the Cards. Gerrit Cole pitches and he has been great. Jerome Williams goes for the Phillies and he will pitch well about a third of the time. I'm counting on this not being one of those thirds.
• The Orioles over the Blue Jays: I don't think the AL East has played anyone but each other for the first six weeks of the season. And anything can happen in any match-up. I don't think the Orioles will have trouble with Marco Estrada. A lot will depend on how well Ubaldo Jimenez pitches.
• The Reds over the Braves: It's so weird seeing the Braves have such a bad bullpen. When is the last time it was like that? Considering this pick, Shelby Miller has been great for the Braves. But Mike Leake has been great for the Reds, I know as I have picked against him several times.
• The Rays over the Yankees: CC Sabathia has thrown a goose egg thus far and is 0-5. That streak has to end some time. Will today be that day? Alex Colome has had two very good outings and has yet to walk a batter. I'm going with the Rays at home.
• The White Sox over the Brewers: The White Sox have come alive and have started winning regularly. They will lose the DH today, but should still have more offense than the Brewers. Jeff Samardzija versus Wily Peralta.
• The Cubs over the Mets: I love me some Jacob deGrom and it pains me to pick against him. But he loves his fastball and the Cubs have all these young guys who can club fastballs. Meanwhile, Jon Lester is rounding into form after a slow start.
• The Nationals over the Diamondbacks: I'm still waiting for Max Scherzer to get all commando on the National League. It hasn't happened yet. Perhaps it will start today against his old team. Josh Collmenter will try to keep up.
• The Red Sox over the Athletics: The A's have yet to get it together this season. Neither have the Red Sox for that matter. But the Red Sox will win their second in a row and everyone will talk about how important that players-only team meeting was. Gag me. Rick Porcello versus Scott Kazmir.
• The Dodgers over the Marlins: Zack Greinke has been about as money as money can get this season. Tom Koehler should be good in a big ballpark. It might be a squeaker but the Dodgers will prevail.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Royals over the Rangers: Even now, I have a hard time believing that the Royals are a world class team. Some day it will sink in. Danny Duffy goes today against Colby Lewis and it may not be pretty for the Rangers.

Yesterday: 9-6, May: 76-64, Season: 240-229, Pick of the Day: 19-16

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 - Monday: August 18, 2014

Yesterday was a tough day. With what is going on in Ferguson overshadowing baseball, or at least bringing it to the insignificance that it is at times like these, I quickly lost stomach for following along yesterday. Perhaps part of it was how poorly the day was going with the picks as well. The one thing I know about yesterday is that I didn't know anything yesterday.

The biggest mistakes made with the picks were picking the Reds to sweep a double-header from the Rockies when they themselves got swept. And except for the Orioles winning, I was zero for the AL East yesterday. Somehow I finished 8-8 but it wasn't easy and it wasn't fun.

I pray that things settle down in Ferguson and that people's lives get back in order and cooler heads prevail.

Monday's picks:

• The Cubs over the Mets: With only eight games on the schedule today, I cannot afford to be wrong. Picking Bartolo Colon seems like a 50/50 proposition. Yeah, he might be great, but he might also be terrible. Kyle Hendricks, on the other hand, has been terrific. He beat the Brewers. He beat the Rockies going eight innings at Coors. He is a ground ball pitcher that is getting weak contact.
• The Braves over the Pirates: Ervin Santana has won seven of his last eight decisions including wins against the Dodgers and Nationals in his last two starts. It's hard to pick against him in this one. Vance Worley has been really good for the Pirates who are hanging in there without McCutchen.
• The Mariners over the Phillies: Jerome Williams has been threw three teams this season and hasn't pitched well on any stop. He was a nice story a couple of years ago and I'm glad he got a few years in at the Major League level. Roenis Elias has to have a good game though.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: Brandon Workman has been learning on the job and has been given quite an education thus far. He is 1-6. I don't feel all that confident about C.J. Wilson either. I don't like either way this pick could go.
• The White Sox over the Orioles: This pick assumes that Chris Sale will be Chris Sale and that if he does not finish the game, his bullpen will hold the Orioles and that his team will score enough off of Bud Norris for Sale to win. Those are a lot of dangerous assumptions. :::sigh:::
• The Royals over the Twins: Things are not going well for Trevor May thus far. He has walked nine batters in four and a third innings. It was his control that I was originally worried about and that fear has come to fruition in spades. Jason Vargas is a better option here.
• The Reds over the Cardinals: Another uncomfortable pick. Mike Leake in a small sample size has not pitched well against the Cardinals but has pitched well in two starts at Busch Stadium. So who knows. Justin Masterson seems to be a mistake addition for the Cardinals at this point. We'll see.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Nationals over the Diamondbacks: The Nationals are rocking it right now and are a walk-off machine lately. Jordan Zimmermann only has a few bats to worry about in the D-backs' lineup. Vidal Nuno might slow them down a little, but that seems unlikely.

Yesterday: 8-8, August: 133-102, Games of the Day: 74-55, Season: 1027-849

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: August 3, 2014

The picks are still stuck in Mediocre-ville, but at least they were a game over .500 instead of a game under like the previous three days. I can't seem to get anything going lately. The picks have started to resemble Tiger Woods' golf game. Oof. That wasn't very nice. Things would have been a little nicer looking if Robin Ventura had not left Scott Carroll on the mound for one inning too long and if his bullpen did not totally blow chunks. But, oh well.

Sunday's picks:

• The Rangers over the Indians: The Rangers have been so bad. As bad as they are, you have to give Yu Darvish the benefit of the doubt whenever he pitches. While it is never a guaranteed win, it's a good pick. Trevor Bauer goes for the Indians.
• The Tigers over the Rockies: Anibal Sanchez has thrown stinkers in four of his last five starts and has never been a second half beast. The Rockies, however, are not a good team and are worse outside of Coors. That said, Jorge De La Rosa is one of their better starters.
• The Reds over the Marlins: Thanks to someone I know, I am self-conscious of these pick now. I know the Marlins are a good team. And I know they excel at home. But I use as much logic here as possible. Mike Leake is a better pitcher than Jacob Turner. That's the gist of it. The Reds' offense is the only concern of this pick.
• The Giants over the Mets: Questioning Bartolo Colon is pretty stupid these days. He will have his clunkers, but more often is very good. The difference here is that so is Madison Bumgarner. I just don't see the Mets doing much against him.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: Cole Hamels is on fire. Stephen Strasburg is questioning his own team's offense. Hey, bud, don't give up runs and you win. Perhaps he won't today and harness is prodigious talent.
• The Orioles over the Mariners: Does Chris Tillman pitch ever third day? It sure seems like he does. While I do not think he is as good as Hisashi Iwakuma, the Orioles will find a way to win the game.
• The Rays over the Angels: Jake Odorizzi has won his last three starts and four of his last five. Did you know he has more strikeouts than innings pitched this season? Jered Weaver just doesn't do it for me any more.
• The White Sox over the Twins: I always pick against Kyle Gibson because he doesn't strike anyone out and relies on the ball being hit at people to win. But I am wrong at least half the time. Jose Quintana, on the other hand, has been great all season with great stuff and cannot get ANY support from his team. I like lefties against the Twins.
• The Blue Jays over the Astros: This pick has blown up on me all weekend. But I think I got it this time with Marcus Stroman. I can't believe I dropped him from my fantasy team. What a dope I am. Scott Feldman goes for the Astros.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: I have no idea what to expect from John Lackey for the Cardinals. It will seem so weird. And you never know what to expect from Matt Garza either. Oh well, one of them has to win.
• The Athletics over the Royals: I guess the A's answered my questions about their offense without Cespedes with the blowout win yesterday. James Shields may have a big day. I'd rather go with Scott Kazmir. Wo-oh Wo-oh.
• The Padres over the Braves: The Braves have fallen and cannot get up. They should have never gotten rid of Dan Uggla. Heh. I am going with Tyson Ross over Aaron Harang. It will be low scoring.
• The Dodgers over the Cubs: Josh Beckett over Edwin Jackson. That is all there is to say.
• The Yankees over the Red Sox: I haven't gotten one game of this series correctly yet. If the good Clay Buchholz turns up, I'll look stupid. If the one most often seen this season turns up, then I'm good. David Phelps will keep his team in the game.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Pirates over the Diamondbacks: Kirk Gibson has got to go. It's plain and simple. His tactics and his macho crap just reek. Sorry D-Backs fans. That's how I feel. Francisco Liriano over Trevor Cahill.

Yesterday: 8-7, August: 15-15, Games of the Day: 65-50, Season: 909-762

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: July 12, 2014

The end of vacation curse is over. When the picks stood at 4-3 yesterday, I wondered if they were heading for another bad night. But they went on a 7-1 run thereafter and it was a very good day. The Yankees were as bad as expected. King Felix beat the A's. Tim Lincecum won. Dan Haren lost to my man, Jesse Hahn. Everything fell into place nicely.

I have a golf tournament today, so here I am bright and early to bring you the picks. They are as follows:

• The Indians over the White Sox: The last three times Zach McAllister pitched in the Majors this year, he was raked over the coals (cliche alert). But then he went down to the minors, went 5-0 and seems to be straightened out. I'll take him over Scott Carroll.
• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: This is a tough one. Wade Miley has been very good lately. But the Giants prefer left-handed pitching. Ryan Vogelsong has had an off year, but has been better lately. If the two pitchers even each other out, the Giants will find a way to win.
• The Braves over the Cubs: The trouble here is that you can never predict what Edwin Jackson you are going to get. It's very possible the very good one will come out today. Mike Minor has been somewhat disappointing. I'm still going with the Braves.
• The Orioles over the Yankees: The only chance the Yankees have is to bust out on offense.....bwahahaha....like that will ever happen. Chris Tillman over Shane Greene.
• The Red Sox over the Astros: The Astros are banged up. Jake Peavy is probably auditioning for another team. Brett Oberholtzer is still trying to prove he is a Major League pitcher. The Red Sox go 4-0 in the  post-Pierzynski era.
• The Marlins over the Mets: The Mets are playing well, but I like Tom Koehler in this one over Daisuke Matsuzaka in this one. If Dice-K is off on his game, the big bats in the middle of the Marlins' lineup will kill him.
• The Rockies over the Twins: Kevin Correia is already a bad pitcher. Put him at Coors and it could get ugly quickly. Tyler Matzek. Look over the pitchers I've mentioned thus far in this post and see all the "Zs" I've used so far. And I haven't gotten to Odorizzi yet.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: Jimmy Nelson has a nice debut his last time out. He should cherish that and then step aside and watch Adam Wainwright do his thing. I don't think Nelson can keep up with that.
• The Blue Jays over the Rays: The Jays are without some of that great lineup, but they have enough left to win this game with Drew Hutchison having a good game. The aforementioned Jake Odorizzi goes for the Rays.
• The Angels over the Rangers: This could be a slugfest. The Tolkien elf, Miles Mikolas was creamed his last time out. Jered Weaver couldn't even go his last time out because something hurt, so I am doubtful about his health. If it is a slugfest, the Angels can out-slug the Rangers.
• The Reds over the Pirates: Mike Leake has to be good in this game and the exciting Billy Hamilton continues to spirit the Reds beyond their injuries. Charlie Morton, as you know, is not my favorite pitcher to pick to win.
• The Phillies over the Nationals: The Phillies refuse to be dead so they can be scrapped for parts. They are, in reality, dead. But continue to win games anyway like the walk of the zombies. Stephen Strasburg never wins for me, so I'll go with Cole Hamels.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: His back is ever a concern, but if he is on his game, Hisashi Iwakuma is fun to watch.  Jesse Chavez predictably threw a great game his last time out after I dropped him from my fantasy team. I think he will get hit today.
• The Padres over the Dodgers: Paul Maholm? Ah. No. I don't think so. Ian Kennedy might be auditioning in front of a bunch of scouts. I think he'll do better than Maholm, but that won't take much.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Tigers over the Royals: :::SWAT::: Watch the Tigers swat the Royals away like some kind of pesky mosquito. Big Game James Shields never has a Big Game against the Tigers. Rick Porcello has been the bomb (as I predicted before the season by the way).

Yesterday: 11-4, July: 89-67, Games of the Day: 53-44, Season: 772-642

MLB Game Picks - Friday: May 2, 2014

The Boston Red Sox sure wanted to get those two games in yesterday. The Rays were sure upset about it. Perhaps the sweep of the two games by the Rays is a fitting end to the proceedings. I figured the Red Sox would win one of them, so that was part of the three incorrect picks for the day. Roenis Elias hamstrung the Yankees for the second one and the Dodgers coming back and beating the Twins in extra innings was the other.

But in the large scheme of things, three incorrect picks out of eleven isn't too bad. I was right about the Orioles taking both games against the Pirates but am sad about it. I was hoping the Pirates would be able to sustain last year's success. It's not going to happen.

Friday's picks:

• The Cardinals over the Cubs: Would anyone pick against Adam Wainwright right now? The only caveat here is that he is pitching at Wrigley. But if he pitches like he has been, his sixth win should happen. Travis Wood continues to toil in vain.
• The Indians over the White Sox: Danny Salazar has not put it together thus far. The strikeouts are there but so have been the high pitch counts and the walks. I think he'll have a promising game against the White Sox and the Indians hit John Danks around.
• The Rays over the Yankees: David Price is too tough for the Yankees tonight and Vidal Nuno falls apart a little bit against the Rays who won two games yesterday and that might start a roll for them.
• The Blue Jays over the Pirates: The Pirates are so down and though I like Gerrit Cole, he is a bit homer prone thus far and the Blue Jays can hit homers. Brandon Morrow cannot walk eight guys again though.
• The Phillies over the Nationals: I always root for Stephen Strasburg. But he often lets me down in games like this. Cliff Lee is a worthy opponent. And the Phillies are at home.
• The Marlins over the Dodgers: Tom Koehler has won both of his home starts with very good performances. It's the road he has trouble with. Josh Beckett returns to his roots, but you never know how he will pitch.
• The Reds over the Brewers: I have gone back and forth on this one. I like Wily Peralta better than Mike Leake. But I also like the Reds at home better than the Brewers on the road. Crappers.
• The Athletics over the Red Sox: Dan Straily has only had one bad start out of five. On the other hand, Clay Buchholz has only had one decent start. If Buchholz discovers his old self, this pick is in trouble.
• The Braves over the Giants: I am also really torn on this one. Tim Lincecum is unpredictable. And Mike Minor is making his first start of the year. While that could be a boost to the Braves, I hate picking such scenarios.
• The Orioles over the Twins: Ubaldo Jimenez has to win a game sooner or later. It might be this one as he gets away from the AL East to visit his old haunts in the AL Central. Ricky Nolasco has been hit or miss.
• The Tigers over the Royals: Really tough call here. Both Rick Porcello and James Shields have been off to good starts. Shields might be Scherzer's replacement next year.
• The Mets over the Rockies: If Carlos Gonzalez is out of the lineup, that makes a difference. Zack Wheeler has the stuff to overcome Coors. Jorge De La Rosa still has too many names.
• The Angels over the Rangers: Hector Santiago is due for a win and has pitched with some bad luck leading to his 0-4 record. The Rangers are a bit down on their luck and I am still not convinced about Colby Lewis.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Bronson Arroyo has a better chance to win at a big field like in San Diego. But Andrew Cashner is really good too. I'm going with the Padres.

And the Game of the Day

• The Mariners over the Astros: The M's just beat the Yankees two straight and have Felix Hernandez on the mound. That should equal another win for them. Brad Peacock looked promising in Spring Training, but has not put it together in the season yet.

Yesterday: 8-3, Games of the Day: 14-14, May: 8-3, Season: 241-177