MLB Game Picks - Monday, May 25, 2015

Memorial Day, 2015. Take a moment and reflect and honor our heroes before you barbecue or enjoy the rest of the day. And thanks to the holiday, we have a full slate of Monday games for our added enjoyment.

After two really wonderful picking days on Thursday and Friday to go a combined 21-6, the last two days have been completely the opposite to the tune of 10-21. Holy cow is that a turnaround or what!? How depressing. But, I press on because that's what I do.

Monday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Royals: Yes, I am warped and deranged and a homer. But gosh, the team has to win a game some time. You have two pitchers who don't strike anyone out and two lineups that don't strike out much. So BABIP is key. Can the Yankees take what Guthrie gives them and hit it to all fields? If they don't, they lose. Nathan Eovaldi and Jeremy Guthrie.
• The Rockies over the Reds: The Reds are scuffling as badly as the Yankees. Jason Marquis will be adequate. He is always adequate. If Eddie Butler is better than adequate, he wins.
• The Phillies over the Mets: Severino Gonzalez has been pretty good for the Phillies. The Mets are playing as badly as the Reds and Yankees. Do I see a pattern here? Probably. Bartolo Colon goes for the Mets and he is either great or awful. Which one will it be? The Mets and Yankees are both home. That's interesting.
• The Astros over the Orioles: The Astros have been unbelievable. I have to roll with it until they are not. Wei-Yin Chen has lost a couple of his most recent starts and Dallas Kuechel has been amazing.
• The Twins over the Red Sox: Ricky Nolasco has been good. That's so hard to believe after how bad he was last year. Joe Kelly has been a disappointment thus far for the Red Sox. Both teams have surprised. The Twins in a good way, the Red Sox not.
• The Brewers over the Giants: Tim Lincecum has had a good season so far. But his last two road starts were not good. The Brewers are somewhat hot right now. Kyle Lohse is pretty tough at home.
• The Nationals over the Cubs: Tsuyoshi Wada was pretty impressive in his first start of the season. He is a fly ball pitcher. So a lot will depend on which way the wind is blowing at Wrigley. Tanner Roark gets a start for the Nats. It's about time.
• The Tigers over the Athletics: Shane Greene has done well in the starting role for the Tigers. The bullpen is killing Detroit though. Jesse Hahn will probably get knocked around by the Tigers.
• The Rangers over the Indians: The Rangers just crushed the Yankees so their offense is clicking. Will Josh Hamilton enhance that or change the dynamic and slow it down? Hmm. Phil Klein goes for the Rangers and Shaun Marcum goes for the Indians.
• The Cardinals over the Diamondbacks: Carlos Martinez goes for the Cardinals who just roll along despite some injuries. Chase Anderson goes for the Diamondbacks and he can be tough at times.
• The Pirates over the Marlins: Andrew McCutchen is heating up and that bodes well for the Pirates. Charlie Morton doesn't thrill me though. David Phelps goes for the Marlins.
• The Bay Rays over the Mariners: This game is a toss up. Jake Odorizzi and Roenis Elias seem about the same to me. The Rays don't hit well at home. I don't know. Pick em.
• The Braves over the Dodgers: I'm just feeling this one. Brett Anderson goes for the Dodgers and he should be decent at home in that big ballpark. Williams Perez was really good for the Braves in his first start of the season. I'm going with the Braves in an upset of sorts.
• The Padres over the Angels: Tyson Ross has lost four of his last five decisions. But he has pitched well. The Padres can explode on offense or be dud-like. It goes from day to day. Jered Weaver somehow pitches at MLB level despite a shredded arm and 83 MPH fastball. Who knows.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Blue Jays over the White Sox: This seems like a mismatch, which is always frightening to say. However, Drew Hutchison should be much better than Hector Noesi, the fourth ex-Yankee pitcher starting today and the only one not having a good season.

Yesterday: 5-10, May: 162-143, Season: 326-308, Picks of the Day: 26-21

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 - 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 - Tuesday: April 14, 2015

Yesterday wasn't a great picking day, but at least it was in the plus column. I had a comment that my count was off the other day and I had an extra incorrect pick. That's all I needed. Heh. So I adjusted my final tally.

Tuesday's picks:

• The Nationals over the Red Sox: Stephen Strasburg was not as great as I thought he would be all last year and lost his first outing this year. But I am still a big believer in the guy. Justin Masterson goes for the Red Sox.
• The Tiger over the Pirates: Shane Greene was terrific his first time out and I have an emotional attachment to him. A.J. Burnett brings out emotions in me too, but they are mostly negative.
• The Yankees over the Orioles: CC Sabathia needs to show he can pitch. I think he'll do that today. The one problem is that the Yankees extended both of their power relievers yesterday. Miguel Gonzalez goes for the Orioles.
• The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: The Rays took the opening game in the opening Battle of the Ays for 2015. Tonight will be different. Daniel Norris is a rising star. Matt Andriese is an unknown quantity.
• The Indians over the White Sox: Jose Quintana will be a hard luck loser again as he faces a very hot Carlos Carrasco. It should be a low scoring game.
• The Marlins over the Braves: There are going to be some panic reactions in Miami if the Marlins don't start winning soon. Tom Koehler will try to get them tilted in the right direction and Trevor Cahill will try to prevent it.
• The Mets over the Phillies: The legend of Matt Harvey will continue to bloom and David Buchanan can only hope to limit the damage and keep up.
• The Angels over the Rangers: I have no idea what to expect from Drew Rucinski who is making his first MLB start. But he has a pretty big arm, so we'll see. Nick Martinez goes for the Rangers.
• The Athletics over the Astros: Brad Peacock has never been able to spread his tail feathers in the Majors. That's what sinks me for this pick. But Kendall Graveman doesn't give me good vibes either.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: I never know what to expect from Odrisamer Despaigne as he is either stellar or gets bombed. But I like him over Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson's fly ball tendency toward the fly ball won't be as bad in San Diego though.
• The Dodgers over the Mariners: I call David Huff, "David Hassle Huff." In other words, he reminds me of the world's worst actor. At the same time, he is capable of good starts now and then. Hisashi Iwakuma goes for the Mariners.
• The Giants over the Rockies: The Rockies are on fire. I think Tim Hudson will cool them off though. Besides, Christian Bergman doesn't fill me with confidence.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Cubs over the Reds: The Cubs got a bad outing from Lester and still won the game yesterday. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta should be better and Anthony DeSclafani at least gives us Italians something to cheer about.

Yesterday: 8-6, Season: 49-56, Picks of the Day: 3-5