MLB Game Picks - Friday: August 30, 2013

I am so bored with myself. Six straight days of mediocre, blah picking will do that. The week is only six picks above .500. Most of the days are above .500, but only slightly or barely. And yesterday was no different. Heck, I know you cannot predict what will happen in a baseball game. The mighty Red Sox can lose a game as Jon Lester was not quite as good as Chris Tillman. Yovani Gallardo can come back from the disabled list and be completely lights out. The poor pitching Angels can pitch a shutout against the Rays with Jason Vargas no less.

But still. Mediocrity day after day can get to you after a while.

Friday's picks:

• The Phillies over the Cubs: The Cubs will play their traditional Friday day game at home and those will be a lot more fun when the team is better. Jeff Samardzija is good enough to hold down the Phillies, but his team will not score against Roy Halladay, who is back and a welcomed sight (except in Chicago).
• The Yankees over the Orioles: I only pick the Yankees because they are at home where they have a better chance to win. All the Bronx team can really do at this point is act as spoilers. There are too many wildcard teams ahead of them. CC Sabathia over Miguel Gonzalez.
• The Nationals over the Mets: The Nationals are hot right now and the Mets are also playing pretty well. And Dillon Gee has been pitching better than Jordan Zimmermann has. But a hot Nats' lineup is much more imposing than a hot Mets' lineup.
• The Pirates over the Cardinals: The Cards have trouble against lefties. Francisco Liriano has been one of the hottest lefties in the game this season, even though he was humbled a bit in his last start. Shelby Miller can shut the Pirates down though. This game and this series will be interesting.
• The Blue Jays over the Royals: Mark Buehrle gets scoffed at pretty regular. But year after year, he is solid enough to make his mark. And he has been very good in the last month and a half. He can quickly shut down the Royals with an assortment of junk. Ervin Santana was pitching great, but has seemed to hit a wall lately.
• The Tigers over the Indians: The Tigers really spiked the Indians the last time they played and that was at the Indians' home park. This one is in Detroit. Rick Porcello goes against Zach McAllister which should be a pretty even pitching match-up.
• The Red Sox over the White Sox: I am hesitant to pick the Red Sox with Ryan Dempster on the mound. Despite his killer Harry Carey imitation, he has not pitched well this season. But this is the Red Sox we are talking about against the White Sox. Hector Santiago throws left-handed and that is the only reason he has a chance against the Red Sox. It sure seems like the Red Sox get more home games than anyone else.
• The Braves over the Marlins: Two young pitchers here. Julio Teheran goes for the Braves and the young phenom, Jose Fernandez, goes for the Marlins. If this game was in Miami, I would pick Fernandez every time. On the road, I will go with the Braves.
• The Angels over the Brewers: The Angels lose the DH in this series, but they really haven't had much of one since Albert Pujols went down anyway. Jered Weaver should win though the Brewers have been pesky lately. Wily Peralta goes for them.
• The Mariners over the Astros: This is a very exciting day for the Mariners and their fans as Taijuan Walker and his cool name and reputation takes the mound and makes his MLB debut. The #5 prospect in baseball has a big arm and his minor league numbers are a bit inflated because of the PCL. Brad Peacock goes for the Astros.
• The Reds over the Rockies: Bronson Arroyo pitching at Coors Field is a little frightening. But considering he is facing Jeff Manship, most reservations disappear.
• The Diamondbacks over the Giants: I really do not know how to pick this game. Tim Lincecum is so unpredictable and I don't like his chances in the desert air. Randall Delgado seems to have a better chance to me. But the D-backs have disappointed me all season.
• The Bay Rays over the Athletics: I get to rhyme this one if I say, "The Rays over the A's." But the good David Price better show up to make this prediction come true. Jarrod Parker is better at home though and that makes the pick more complicated.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: The Dodgers at home is always a good pick, even more so when Hyun-jin Ryu is pitching there. Eric Stults is going for the Padres. The Dodgers do need to just get over themselves about Puig though.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rangers over the Twins: This seems like a mismatch, which is always frightening to me for some reason. Yu Darvish should completely dominate this game and Liam Hendriks is a 4-A kind of pitcher.

Yesterday; 5-4

Week: 35-29

Month: 222-169

Season: 1125-882

Games of the Day: 85-60   -2

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: August 7, 2013

Tuesday was not a great day and just barely broke on the positive side of .500. But at least it was a darned sight better than the previous day which was a disaster. Even so, things like Wily Peralta out-dueling Matt Cain and James Shields being totally terrible were complete surprises. And while it cost me a pick, congrats go out to Andrew Albers who pitched eight and a third scoreless innings for his first major league win. Way to go, kid.

In a day of aces pitching, I correctly backed Justin Verlander, Yu Darvish and Mat Latos. But I also incorrectly backed Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw and Cain. I did correctly not back Hiroki Kuroda.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Reds over the Athletics: The one problem with the A's is that tough pitching will stop them. Latos did it last night and Homer Bailey will do it tonight. The only hesitation is that it seems Aroldis Chapman gives up at least one run with every outing lately. Bartolo Colon goes for the A's.
• The Orioles over the Padres: The Orioles have to win consistently to stay relevant as they have fallen pretty far off the pace. That means guys like Miguel Gonzalez have to pitch well. He should in San Diego and win over Eric Stults.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: J.A. Happ has not pitched in the big leagues since early May. This series has gone back and forth and it would be such a typical thing this season if the Blue Jays manage to beat Felix Hernandez one night and lose to Aaron Harang the next.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Kris Medlen has allowed four or more runs to score in five of his last eight outings. If he does that, Jordan Zimmermann wins because he will not allow more than two in this game. There could be some fireworks after last night's Harper incident.
• The Tigers over the Indians: The Indians sure lost a chance to pick up ground in this series. Danny Salazar was terrific in his first start, but I think the Tigers will get to him for a couple of runs early and then Doug Fister will do the rest.
• The Pirates over the Marlins: Tom Koehler has been pitching pretty well for the Marlins and pitched a scoreless six innings his last time out. But he did allow ten base runners, so that is flirting with problems. He will not be as good away from home. But that leaves me to pick Charlie Morton again. Yikes!
• The Mets over the Rockies: It is Matt Harvey Day and that is always an event. As always, Harvey's outcome will depend on if the Mets can score some runs. Jhoulys Chacin will be hard for the Mets to do that. But with his stuff, how can you ever pick against Harvey?
• The Red Sox over the Astros: Ryan Dempster has done nothing to show that he should be in the Red Sox' rotation as of late. But he is facing the Astros and should not be that bad. Jarred Cosart is a good little pitcher, but the Red Sox are just too powerful.
• The Twins over the Royals: I have been doing just fine picking Samuel Deduno the past month or so. He has been pitching really well. Danny Duffy will again try to establish himself in the Majors. Duffy has always had a great arm. But from his minor league numbers, still has not figured out the command issues.
• The White Sox over the Yankees: CC Sabathia has been terrible and seven runs a game seems to be his norm these days. Hector Santiago should not scare anyone, but the Yankees cannot score. Am I overly down on the Yankees? Possibly.
• The Cardinals over the Dodgers: I have not gotten any of the games of this series correctly. So why start now? Shelby Miller versus Ricky Nolasco is a decent match-up. But again, my rule is that when the pitchers seem to cancel each other out, go with the home team or the better offense. The Cards offer both.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rays: The D-backs are coming alive here lately and are getting more consistent pitching. Randall Delgado has been terrific for over a month now. Chris Archer can be very good too. But I am going with the D-backs.
• The Rangers over the Angels: Tommy Hanson just fired his agent, Scott Boros. But that will not mask the fact that Hanson's stuff has deteriorated since his early days with the Braves. I really like Ian Kinsler batting third. That was a great idea. Alexi Ogando has not been as dominating in his outings this year. That is a bit scary.
• The Giants over the Brewers: It simply is not healthy to pick against Madison Bumgarner on a regular basis. I think he will shut down the Brewers completely and give his team the opportunity to score a couple against Marco Estrada.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Phillies over the Cubs: Cole Hamels will try again to get a victory. He pitched superbly in his last outing only for Papelbon to blow his save in spectacular fashion. Travis Wood is a pretty decent pitcher for the Cubs though.

Yesterday: 8-7

Week: 19-20

Month: 48-32

Season: 951-745

Games of the Day: 74-48   -1