MLB Game Picks - Monday: June 9, 2014

It would have been an 11-4 day if the Tigers could close out a ninth inning. But once again, they couldn't. It wasn't Joe Nathan this time, but Joba Chamberlain. Gosh, New York Yankee fans knows how that feels. And so it was a 10-5 day. Nothing to sneeze at with even a Game of the Day correct pick to add to the party. If only the Tigers could finish a win.

As for the Manny Machado thing...what a pure punk move, eh? He should be suspended for a long time and get drug tests every day for three years. That was pathetic and bush and has no place in the game.  I believe those back swings against the catcher's head was intentional too. Gosh, that's so out of control, it is breathtaking.

Monday's picks:

• The Rays over the Mariners: The Rays finish up their series with Seattle today in the afternoon. They are now sixteen games under .500. Unbelievable. David Price should be better than Erasmo Ramirez, right? Right!?
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: What could the rest of the Orioles be thinking? Stick up for their guy? Be mad and all get out? I would think the latter. In either case, the Red Sox should score against Bud Norris and Jake Peavy take the win.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: Edwin Jackson is all over the place. How can you predict what he is going to do? You can't. I hate when he pitches. Because of that, I am going to go with Charlie Morton, which just goes to show you how messed up Jackson makes me.
• The Reds over the Dodgers: Tony Cingrani seemed to gather himself a bit in his last start. If so, his arm could shut down the Dodgers and be better than Dan Haren. This could go either way though, to be honest.
• The Rangers over the Indians: T.J. House is a lefty. The Rangers have killed lefties this season. T.J. House is inexperienced. I don't think he lasts long today. I'm a little concerned about the Rangers starting Nick Martinez though.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: Hector Noesi has been pitching well. I am still confounded by that. So I want to pick him here, especially since the Tigers can't close out wins. But I cannot do it. I cannot pull the trigger. I have to go with Rick Porcello.
• The Royals over the Yankees: Words cannot describe how depressed I am about the Yankees. They can't do anything right these days. They can't hit. They don't have enough starters. The defense leaks. I can't even watch anymore. Jason Vargas over Vidal Nuno.
• The Rockies over the Braves: I think the Rockies will score big off of Gavin Floyd. That said, how well with the Rockies' pitcher pitch? I have no idea because an unheralded rookie is making his MLB debut. His name is Christian Bergman and he is not a power arm, but he has excellent control. He has survived pitching at Colorado Springs and if he can pitch there, perhaps he can pitch at Coors.
• The Diamondbacks over the Astros: The Astros have been killing the ball. But they lose the DH, and perhaps they have an off day against Josh Collmenter. I don't think Jarred Cosart will pitch badly and will keep his team in the game.
• The Angels over the Athletics: Garrett Richards was shelled his last time facing the A's. But that seemed more flukish than anything and he was terrific in his next game. I like him over Jesse Chavez.
• The Nationals over the Giants: Stephen Strasburg has pitched very well at AT&T Park and his last couple of starts have been totally dominant. The Giants are very good, however, and Ryan Vogelsong has been pitching much better.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Blue Jays over the Twins: It is unfathomable that the Blue Jays got only seven hits and no runs against the Cardinals in the last two games of that series. But they are back to having a DH and back against familiar foes. R.A. Dickey should be okay and better than Ricky Nolasco.

Yesterday: 10-5, June: 60-49, Games of the Day: 32-33, Season: 516-427

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: April 19, 2014

Wow! I am in a slump. The last two days have gone 10-17. Yuck! I haven't been able to pick a duck from a goose these last two days. I made a joke about Jered Weaver throwing a gem. He threw a gem. I picked the Mets to win!? Really? Of course, had I know they would trade Ike Davis on Passover, I would have known maybe. I stole that joke from Wendy Thurm. Come on, William, buckle down and let's get this right.

Saturday's picks:

• The Cardinals over the Nationals: I have the same situation as I had with Weaver yesterday. Jordan Zimmermann has been terrible thus far. If today is his discovery day, the pick is messed up. Lance Lynn goes for the Cards.
• The Indians over the Blue Jays: The Blue Jays won yesterday and I think Jose Reyes comes off the DL today. But I like Corey Kluber at home over Mark Buehrle.
• The Tigers over the Angels: Mike Trout and Albert Pujols combined for ten total bases yesterday. If that happens again, the pick is dead. But again, I like Max Scherzer at home over C.J. Wilson.
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: The Red Sox should jump all over Bud Norris (though he pitched well last time). My only concern is Felix Doubront who has been all over the place thus far.
• The Royals over the Twins: Bruce Chen at home? Oh yeah, that's a keeper. He has the most amazing home/road splits of all time. Kevin Correia doesn't scare me on this pick.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Tony Cingrani is pitching and I root for Italians. Hey, every prognosticator has their peccadilloes. Edwin Jackson is pitching for the Cubs and even if he does well, his team is not hitting.
• The Athletics over the Astros: Poor Brett Oberholtzer has been pitching so well and is 0-3. Oh, the plight of a pitcher for a bad team. Teams like the A's pick up guys like Scott Kazmir and they just work out. Pretty amazing that.
• The Brewers over the Pirates: This is another Jered Weaver situation. Wandy Rodriguez has not been able to put it together. He has looked terrible. Will today be the day he puts it together? The Brewers best hitters are right-handed, so I don't think it will happen. Matt Garza gets his first Brewers win.
• The Yankees over the Rays: This pick is totally based on the good Ivan Nova to show up. If the bad one shows up. Uh oh. Plus, Chris Archer has had the Yankees' number, but if I pick it that way, it will go the opposite way. Boy, two bad days really plays with your head.
• The Mariners over the Marlins: Roenis Elias will be pretty darned close to his Cuban home in Miami. He's been pretty good. Henderson Alvarez has not been good at all. The Marlins walked off yesterday. Today is a different day.
• The White Sox over the Rangers: The Rangers should have saved some of those runs. They will need them today. Jose Quintana is a good pitcher and Colby Lewis scares me to death.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: Mike Bolsinger is making his first MLB start. I never like those situations. So I am going with Dan Haren and the Dodgers, especially at home.
• The Rockies over the Phillies: Jordan Lyles is inducing twice as many ground balls as fly balls. That is perfect for Coors. Kyle Kendrick at Coors doesn't sound fun.
• The Giants over the Padres: Tim Hudson was built to pitch in San Diego's park. Eric Stults is a mystery.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Braves over the Mets: Ervin Santana has been very good. Bartolo Colon has not been very good and his back hurts. Not good for the Mets.

Yesterday: 6-9, Games of the Day: 7-8, Season: 141-105

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: April 13, 2014

Saturday was a much better day than the previous three! Ten out of fifteen correct is a much better showing. The Orioles - Blue Jays game could have gone either way. I did not expect the Astros to win. But pretty much everything else went according to plan.

Now comes Sunday, the best baseball day of the week with all the day games. The picks:

• The Reds over the Rays: This has been a low scoring series with great pitching. One team will bust out today and I think it will be the Reds. Cesar Ramos gets the start for the Rays and if he is good for five innings, it will be a surprise. Tony Cingrani, on the other hand, should have a good day.
• The Phillies over the Marlins: This might be a high scoring game. I don't have a whole lot of faith in either Henderson Alvarez or Kyle Kendrick, but give the nod to Kendrick at home.
• The Orioles over the Blue Jays: Ubaldo Jimenez gets his first win as an Oriole and Mark Buehrle yields enough runs for the Orioles to get the W.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Gio Gonzalez has added yet another plus pitch to his amazing arsenal and he has been nearly perfect so far this season. That should continue against the strikeout-prone Braves. Plus, Aaron Harang cannot stay as good as he's been.
• The White Sox over the Indians: Jose Quintana has been quite good for the White Sox. Corey Kluber is up and down so you never know what you will get. Going with the White Sox at home.
• The Royals over the Twins: Once again, Royals fans are getting restless. The team is much better than they have been playing. I think it is a manager problem, but that's just me. Anyway, I like Jason Vargas over Kevin Correia.
• The Brewers over the Pirates: I like Kyle Lohse at home. McCutchen is not 100% and Charlie Morton is fringy in my book.
• The Cardinals over the Cubs: Edwin Jackson is still Edwin Jackson. Michael Wacha is faring better than the Cardinals' other young starters so far. I like Wacha and the Cards at home.
• The Rangers over the Astros: Martin Perez is the Rangers' best pitcher right now after Darvish and should have a good day against the Astros. Brett Oberholtzer is pretty good though and could hold the scoring down.
• The Angels over the Mets: I like C.J. Wilson at home. And while Bartolo Colon is capable at any time of shutting a team down, a couple of fat fastballs will disappear in a hurry too.
• The Giants over the Rockies: Tyler Chatwood makes his first start of the season and that never fills me with confidence. On the other hand, Tim Hudson is off to a great start with the Giants.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: Whatever happened to Trevor Cahill? Didn't he used to be good at one time? He hasn't been good in a long time. Dan Haren is not the greatest comfort either.
• The Athletics over the Mariners: Interesting game here. Chris Young is like 6'10" tall and you would think that would be a nice downward plane to pitch. But he has had injury trouble forever. The Mariners scooped him in waivers, so let's see what they got. Scott Kazmir, meanwhile, continues to nicely rebuild his career.
• The Yankees over the Red Sox: This game could go either way. Both Felix Doubront an Ivan Nova are immensely talented pitchers who make you scratch your head at times. The Yankees are better equipped to handle left-handed pitchers this year.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Tigers over the Padres: If you had to pick Max Scherzer over Tyson Ross, you'd do it a hundred times out of a hundred, right? Yeah. I would...at least until Ross can discover some command.

Yesterday: 10-5, Games of the Day: 6-4, Season: 98-72

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: September 10, 2013

The first three completed games yesterday were correctly picked. But then only two more picks would be correct the rest of the evening. Der. The one that galls me the most was the Cubs win over the Reds. If you look at yesterday's picks, I even called it. I said those are the games you have to look out for because a team just finished a big series and will let down on the Cubs. And sure enough, they ran into a good pitcher in Travis Wood and lost. Why did I not pick it that way then!? Der.

Max Scherzer and Jered Weaver did not come through for me (or their teams). Once again, the Rangers could not win a game that was started by Yu Darvish. Give Gerrit Cole some of that credit, though. That was a terrific game. Tiajuan Walker and Jarred Cosart were great but then it became a bullpen game. The Astros initially blew it and the Mariners had a nice lead heading into the ninth and then Lord Danny Farquhar blew it. Der.

Tuesday's picks:

• The Indians over the Royals: The Indians' closer drives me crazy. Perhaps I should direct my emotions toward his dog though. I think Zach McAllister wins this game with the only exception to that thought if Jeremy Guthrie has a really good game. The Indians are simply better than the Royals.
• The Yankees over the Orioles: This pick depends on Ivan Nova to have a dominating performance. It does not seem that any Yankee starter can rise to such an occasion. The last time the Yankees saw Miguel Gonzalez, they roughed him up pretty good. Not very confident on this pick.
• The Phillies over the Padres: If you look at Tyler Cloyd's season, if he pitches against a middling team, he does well. Most of his bad outings have come against really good offenses. The Padres are not a good offense. However, Andrew Cashner is a talented pitcher that can blow this pick up.
• The Blue Jays over the Angels: Mark Buehrle has been really good for a month and a half now and seems to give the Blue Jays a solid effort in every start. Jerome Williams started the season great and then got hammered regularly. He has been pitching a bit better of late. I like the Blue Jays here at home.
• The Braves over the Marlins: Julio Teheran was skipped for a start and the question is whether all that rest will help or hurt him. If he is not sharp, Logan Morrison and Giancarlo Stanton will jump on him. We'll see. Tom Koehler goes for the Marlins.
• The Bay Rays over the Red Sox: The Rays are finally home after their long and disastrous trip out west. David Price will need to be really good for this pick to come true. For the Red Sox, Clay Buchholz returns. But what will they get from him?
• The Reds over the Cubs: Okay, the Reds had their one-game letdown. Now it is time for them to resume their chase for the NL Central. We all know this division is going down to the wire. Tony Cingrani has been like a good luck charm for me this season.
• The Nationals over the Mets: I hate to pick against Dillon Gee the way he is pitching. But the Nats have finally started to play a little good baseball and Jordan Zimmermann is a really good pitcher for them. The Nats should win either early (the first inning) or late.
• The Pirates over the Rangers: My gut feeling is that the Rangers will be this year's team to fade at the end. They did not address their offense and it is killing them. Francisco Liriano has only allowed one homer in his career (31+ innings) at the Rangers' home ball park and is 3-1 there. He should rebound from his last poor outing. My only reservation here is that Martin Perez always seems to win.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: Erik Johnson was only so-so against the Yankees in his debut. The Tigers will jump on him early. Rick Porcello has to be somewhat effective though, something he has not been for a month now.
• The Athletics over the Twins: I am expecting this game to be a mismatch. Jarrod Parker is starting to blossom a little and has people talking about him. Liam Hendriks will never get into those kinds of conversations.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: I am pretty confident on this one. Wily Peralta has not been good and the Cards' offense should roll. Shelby Miller needs to pitch well though to make this one an easy win.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: The Dodgers will win this game despite Edinson Volquez and not because of him. Trevor Cahill seems to be better than his disastrous first couple of months to the season. I thought Juan Uribe's career was dead. Just call him Lazarus.
• The Mariners over the Astros: I have no idea who will win this game. Joe Saunders is not my favorite to pick and neither is Jordan Lyles. Both teams are not very good at this point. Going with the home team again.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Giants over the Rockies: Jorge De La Rosa has sixteen wins. Has that been a quiet win total or what? It might be because his peripherals do not really match his win total. You would think he would be better on the road than at home at Coors. But it is just the opposite. He is 10-1 at home. His road ERA is almost four. Giants win behind Ryan Vogelsong at home.

Yesterday: 5-6

Week: 15-11

Month: 65-58

Season: 1207-953

Games of the Day: 90-66  +1

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: September 5, 2013

Wednesday was another good day that saw the Game of the Day pick go down in flames. Darn that Francisco Liriano for throwing a stinker. Yu Darvish did too. How could aces let me down so often this season? The Yankees got a scare late but Mariano Rivera came to the rescue and got the last four outs. The Red Sox pick was correct in about the biggest way possible. Twenty runs!? Man, Tigers, what was that?

My pick for the Royals was wrong as Ervin Santana was not good and Aaron made me eat Crow. I was wrong for picking the Angels as Jered Weaver gave up two homers to Wil Myers and Jeremy Hellickson threw his usual five innings of crap that somehow worked before the bullpen took over. And my pick for the Blue Jays took ten innings to go wrong.

But it was a decent day. And now on to Thursday:

• The Royals over the Mariners: Jeremy Guthrie and Joe Saunders are two pitchers that can be very good or very bad. So this game will depend on which is which. The pick is for the Royals at home.
• The Yankees over the Red Sox: Two very hot pitchers collide in this one. Ivan Nova just won the Pitcher of the Month for his August. And of course, Jake Peavy was an excellent pickup for the Red Sox. I am going with the Yankees at home with a Red Sox team that swung their bats very often yesterday.
• The Orioles over the White Sox: The White Sox just allowed the Yankees to keep themselves in the race, so turnabout is fair play as the Orioles are next. Miguel Gonzalez should be slightly better than Jose Quintna in this one. What is the over/under on the White Sox making two errors?
• The Reds over the Cardinals: This series seems like it has gone on forever. Maybe because they placed sixteen innings yesterday. Lance Lynn has had at least one inning with a crooked number in just about every start in his last ten. I cannot trust him. Tony Cingrani is a lefty and the Cardinals have trouble with those. The only caveat here is that Cingrani was hurt in his last start and has not pitched for two weeks.
• The Bay Rays over the Angels:  David Price came off the DL on fire but has cooled off lately. This pick assumes he will be fine against the Angels and that the Rays will be able to hit Jerome Williams enough to win the game.
• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: How about the Panda hitting three homers in San Diego no less? Unbelievable, eh? I do not think he will do that again, but I still think the Giants will win if Ryan Vogelsong has a decent outing. Trevor Cahill does not strike much fear in me.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Athletics over the Astros: Okay, I am back on the Sonny Gray train. He sucked me back in with his last start. Besides, I would never pick Brad Peacock to beat the A's anyway.

Yesterday: 10-5

Week: 30-30

Month: 30-30

Season: 1172-925

Games of the Day: 88-63  -2

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: August 10, 2013

Yesterday was a wild day. Fernando Rodney, Jim Johnson and Mariano Rivera all blew saves in spectacular ways. But only two of those hurt the final result. I got most of the earlier games correct and hardly any of the late games correct. So the day ended with a 9-7 result. Hardly what I am looking for.

Saturday's picks:

• The Tigers over the Yankees: This pick is an indictment of Phil Hughes. Hughes proved that Yankee Stadium is not his only problem when he ralphed in his last start in San Diego, one of the best pitcher's parks around. The Tigers should hit at least three homers and Anibal Sanchez just has to limit the Yankees to three runs or so.
• The Blue Jays over the Athletics: Mark Buehrle has been pitching awfully well in the last month and seems like a more likely pick than Sonny Gray making his first Major League start. It's not that Gray does not look ready for the big time. He had very good numbers in Triple-A and that was in the heavy hitting PCL.
• The Orioles over the Giants: I think the Orioles' offense will hit Chad Gaudin hard and if that happens, Wei-Yin Chen only has to be decent for the Orioles to win.
• The White Sox over the Twins: Andre Rienzo makes his first big league start for the White Sox, who seem to be going with the young (hey, it can't get worse). And though I have my reservations about his control and his command, there is no doubt he has a big arm. But more than anything, I don't want to pick Mike Pelfrey.
• The Dodgers over the Rays: The Rays back end of the bullpen really stunk yesterday after David Price gave up just one unearned run. And today, Roberto Hernandez goes for the Rays and he is their weakest starter. The Dodgers, meanwhile, go with Zack Greinke. That seems to be a huge advantage to me.
• The Angels over the Indians: Not only are the Indians going in the wrong direction, but so is Ubaldo Jimenez. The Angels will jump on him early and C.J. Wilson will hold on for dear life for the win. My only fear in this one is the Angels' bullpen.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: No, I probably should not pick against Cliff Lee. But it is not like he is unstoppable. He is merely very good most of the time. Taylor Jordan also pitches better so far at home than on the road, so I am giving him the W.
• The Red Sox over the Royals: The Royals are on fire and have taken the first two games against the Red Sox, which is impressive. I just do not like the match-up of Jeremy Guthrie against the Red Sox. Felix Doubront should get the win and he has been pitching well.
• The Braves over the Marlins: The Braves should have little trouble with Nathan Eovaldi. Heck, they have had little trouble with anybody lately. And Alex Wood has pitched two good games in a row and his numbers are impressive with more than nine strikeouts per nine and a 2.1 ground ball to fly ball rate.
• The Reds over the Padres: Tyson Ross has had three good starts in a row for the Padres. But let's see how he does in a small ballpark in Cincinnati. I would much rather pick Tony Cingrani here.
• The Rangers over the Astros: It is hard for a lefty to pitch at Minute Maid with that short left field dimension. But Derek Holland should be fine and the Rangers should tee off on Brad Peacock who has never made a good impression in the big leagues.
• The Cardinals over the Cubs: Well, this pick did not work out yesterday, but it is the right pick to make. Michael Wacha comes back from the minors to pitch and he has wicked stuff. Carlos Villanueva has not had many things go right this season.
• The Diamondbacks over the Mets: The Mets just are not the same without David Wright. You do not lose a player like than and survive, especially when he is your only superstar. Zack Wheeler has great stuff, but little command. Brandon McCarthy is my big concern with this pick.
• The Rockies over the Pirates: A.J. Burnett lives and dies by his curveball. And curves tend to flatten out at Coors Field. The Rockies will hit him and then get a good start from Juan Nicasio for the win in this one.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Mariners over the Brewers: Hisashi Iwakuma is a near lock at home going against a team without Braun and Weeks. The Brewers go with Tom Gorzelanny, who could have a decent game, but not as good as Iwakuma's.

Yesterday: 9-7

Week: 43-34

Month: 72-46

Season: 975-759

Games of the Day: 75-50   +1

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: August 3, 2013

Walk-off hits and homers, a young kid striking out fourteen batters, a tumbling catch into the seats and big hits by soon to be suspended players all went in favor of the picks and were only marred by the conspicuous failure of two former lefty aces. Only four picks went south out of fifteen. August has started just fine here at the FanDome. Chris Davis hit his 40th homer too, which is very cool. Still, one has to wonder if CC Sabathia and Jon Lester are done as elite pitchers. It sure appears to be so.

I have a golf tournament today, and I am pumped because I am really playing well these past couple of weeks. But as such, I better get right to Saturday's picks:

• The Mets over the Royals: To make such a pick knowing that David Wright will be out for a long time is problematic. But the Mets have a bunch of punch and Judy hitters which could give Bruce Chen problems. Jeremy Hefner has to pitch better than he has the last three weeks though.
• The Braves over the Phillies: John Lannon threw a good game his last time out. But he is John Lannon after all. Brandon Beachy's first outing back from TJ surgery did not go well. He will have to be a lot better today.
• The Dodgers over the Cubs: The Cubs continue to lose and that lineup is a lot weaker without Alfonso Soriano. Jeff Samardzija is having a good season, but he gets no help. The scary part is wondering when this really good bubble that Chris Capuano is in will burst.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: I got this wrong yesterday and went with the A's. But since Nelson Cruz got to play for the weekend, the Rangers should get the benefit. Matt Garza has been great since joining them and Jarrod Parker is the A's weakest starter.
• The Pirates over the Rockies: I got this one wrong yesterday too. The Pirates have now lost two in a row! Oh no! Nah. Francisco Liriano has been lights out and though Jorge De La Rosa has had a fine season, the pick is the Pirates.
• The Orioles over the Mariners: I am not overly excited about the Orioles picking up Scott Feldman. I felt they could have done better. But Feldman can be okay if he gets his ground balls. Erasmo Ramirez has won his last two starts, but does not go deeper than six innings and that bullpen is a mess.
• The Diamondbacks over the Red Sox: Jake Peavy will make his first start for the Red Sox and I predict that it will not go well. Meanwhile, Patrick Corbin pitches beautifully every time out, even in his losses. And I like power lefties against Boston.
• The Indians over the Marlins: Jacob Turner is a pretty good pitcher, but he is no Fernandez. Zach McAllister will need to pitch a good game and should be aided by the big ballpark in Miami. I am picking way too many visiting teams to win. This is scary.
• The Twins over the Astros: Like I said in his last start (which did not go well), I like Kyle Gibson as a pitcher. He has a little more zip than most of his Minnesota cohorts. Erik Bedard will not get much help and probably will not pitch well.
• The Bay Rays over the Giants: David Price is a seriously good option at home. I do not think he has walked a batter since he came back from the DL. Tim Lincecum should benefit from a bigger park down in St. Pete, but will not be able to match Price.
• The Reds over the Cardinals: The Reds got walloped yesterday by these same Cardinals. But I like their chances better today at home with Tony Cingrani on the mound. Besides, I have no faith in Jake Westbrook.
• The Nationals over the Brewers: I had written off Dan Haren for the season and then he goes and pitches a gem his last time out. So now I am confused. Donovan Hand has been decent for the Brewers since joining the rotation. But he does not strike anyone out.
• The Yankees over the Padres: I really like the way Ivan Nova has been throwing lately and he should be aided by Petco Park. Then again, Tyson Ross is the kind of pitcher that gives the Yankees trouble. This could be a nail-biter.
• The Angels over the Blue Jays: Esmil Rogers has been a batting practice pitcher lately so I do not like his chances against the Angels. That is especially the case since Jered Weaver is pitching for the Angels.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Tigers over the White Sox: I don't think this will only take two hours and seven minutes like Doug Fister took yesterday. But Max Scherzer should get a fairly easy win and give Brian Kenny more time to talk about how stupid the win statistic is. John Danks goes for the White Sox.

Yesterday: 11-4

Week: 50-32

Month: 18-8

Season: 921-716

Games of the Day: 71-47    +2

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: July 28, 2013

Yesterday was a really bad day for batters in Major League Baseball. There were six shutouts in total. According to @dianagram, that was just off the single day record of eight recorded on June 4, 1972. Four of those shutouts yesterday were of the 1-0 variety. And that, according to the same wonderful source, ties a record that has only occurred two other times (9/18/1915 and 9/2/2002). On the latter date of those two, there were five shutouts total. So as you can see, it was a really bad day for batters.

And it was not just a bad day for batters either. It was also a bad day for game pickers. Let's just say the week ended with a resounding thud. We can call it a market correction. We can call it whatever we want. But one thing you could not call it was pretty. At least one of the very small selections of correct picks was the Game of the Day.

The batters and this picker can only hope that today is better. Sunday's picks:

• The Bay Rays over the Yankees: The Yankees are a bad team. There. I said it. Can anyone dispute it? Nevermind the won/loss record. They cannot hit. They have little zip behind them. They simply are not very good. Today, Derek Jeter returns. Will it make a difference? Will it last?  It does not matter. They will probably get shut out by Matt Moore. It will not matter what Phil Hughes does.
• The Indians over the Rangers: The Rangers are only slightly better than the Yankees right now. They cannot hit either. I do not care what anyone says, the A's are not that great a team. Yet, they will win this division uncontested. Alexi Ogando loses to Ubaldo Jimenez.
• The Astros over the Blue Jays: This game is horrible to pick. The Blue Jays are another dysfunctional group. The Astros are the worst team in baseball. But Jarred Cosart is pitching well. Todd Redmond is not. I hate this pick and this match-up.
• The Tigers over the Phillies: Will the results of this series finally prove to the Phillies' GM that his team has no chance for the post season? Maybe. It should. It is kind of sad that the Phillies and the Yankees hit the wall in the same season. Rick Porcello over Jonathan Pettibone.
• The Marlins over the Pirates: Young guns on parade here as Jose Fernandez takes on Gerrit Cole. Both are going to be stars in this league for a long time. One thing I have learned this season is that Fernandez does not lose in Miami.
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: Jon Lester should be better than Jason Hammel right? Right? Oy.
• The Mets over the Nationals: Taylor Jordan has not pitched badly. He has only walked four batters. And yet, he is 0-3. I would pick him to get his first MLB victory today except that he is facing Carlos Torres. Torres has been lights out for the Mets since joining the rotation. Do you know that the Mets have a better record than the Giants?
• The Royals over the White Sox: Good golly, am I really picking Bruce Chen to win a start? This day has another disaster written all over it. But I cannot get myself to pick Hector Santiago and the White Sox. I just can't. When will pitchers smarten up and stop walking Adam Dunn? I just don't get why they do.
• The Athletics over the Angels: The bulk of Jarrod Parker's wins have come at home. He is at home. So that seems reason enough for this pick. The second reason is that Albert Pujols is now gone from the middle of the Angels' lineup and while he was not the same, he was at least a presence. The third reason is that Tommy Hanson has to be really fine to win.
• The Giants over the Cubs: Here I go continuing to blythely pick the Giants to win when they lose just about every day. And, I am picking Tim Lincecum to win. Egads, man! Have you no head? And Travis Wood is a good pitcher for the Cubs. I am still picking the Giants to win.
• The Reds over the Dodgers: This has been a fun series. These two teams might face each other again in the post season. They will be closely matched. I am picking the Reds today because I think Tony Cingrani will beat Chris Capuano. But this is far from a guaranteed pick.
• The Rockies over the Brewers: Donovan Hand is another guy who has not pitched badly and has nothing to show for it. But I do not see him succeeding today at Coors and Jhoulys Chacin should get the win.
• The Twins over the Mariners: I sort of like this Kyle Gibson kid. I think he has a good chance of winning today. On the other hand, I do not think much of Erasmo Ramirez despite him getting his first win during his last outing. His team is not always going to score so many runs for him.
• The Cardinals over the Braves: Either the Braves have pitched really well this series or the Cardinals' lineup has hit a wall of sorts. But the Cards can break away with a series split with a win today. I like Shelby Miller over Kris Medlen.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Diamondbacks over the Padres: No matter what else goes wrong for the Diamondbacks, every fifth day is Patrick Corbin Day. And that is a very good thing. Their batters need to be patient against Tyson Ross though because Ross will walk people.

Yesterday: 4-11  Ugh

Last week: 69-49

Month: 197-135

Season: 874-671

Games of the Day: 68-44