MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: April 23, 2014

Tuesday was an 8-7 day. Blah. And the Game of the Day was wrong again. That feature is stuck in mud this season. There were two extra-inning games that could have gone either way. Both went the wrong way. Jose Fernandez was not at home, but he might as well of been as he was nearly perfect against the Braves. Madison Bumgarner could not get any run support. And the Astros beat the Mariners again as Collin McHugh was unbelievable. It was a Laodicea night. Big congrats to Albert Pujols for hitting homers 499 and 500.

Here are Wednesday's picks:

• The Marlins over the Braves: I refuse to believe that Aaron Harang is real. I refuse to believe that Aaron Harang is real. I refuse...Oh well. I'm still going with Nathan Eovaldi.
• The Cubs over the Diamondbacks: What the heck, right? The Cubs have won both so far and the Dbacks look dead on arrival. I might as well go with Jeff Samardzija over Wade Miley.
• The Rockies over the Giants: I can tell that the Rockies are going to confuse me all season. If I pick Tyler Chatwood to do Tyler Chatwood things, he will pitch great. If I don't...he will probably lose. Matt Cain has not looked pretty thus far.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: I always pick Sonny Gray. Always. But he faces Martin Perez tonight and Perez has been outstanding. Egads! This one could go either way.
• The Mariners over the Astros: It makes perfect sense in baseball's nonsensical way that the Mariners would get their first win of the series with Chris Young on the mound. Jarred Cosart goes for the Astros.
• The Angels over the Nationals: It would make sense to pick Gio Gonzalez here except the Angels' best players bat right-handed. And Jered Weaver is capable of being as good as Gio.
• The Reds over the Pirates: The Alfredo Simon bubble has to burst here some time. That's what scares me here. And just when you count out Charlie Morton, watch him pitch well. Why did I start doing this five years ago?
• The Indians over the Royals: This pick all depends on how well Justin Masterson pitches. Jason Vargas will keep the Royals in the game. Ever since I wrote about Salvador Perez two weeks ago, he hasn't had a hit since.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Even if Chris Tillman is better than Dustin McGowan, the Orioles' bullpen is so bad that it won't matter. What a disaster for the O's.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: The Emoticon, Drew Smyly hasn't been great, but he should be tonight and Andre Rienzo is a fringe Major League pitcher. Miguel Cabrera is going to get hot now.
• The Bay Rays over the Twins: Jake Odorizzi should be fine in that horrible St. Pete dome. Mike Pelfrey, on the other hand will land in a pear tree.
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: Last night was too easy for the Yankees and makes me suspicious. John Lackey will have a good night and Michael Pineda will not. That's the call.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: I sure wish baseball-reference.com would figure out how it wants to spell Jon Niese's name. No matter how they spell it, Niese should lose tonight to Michael Wacha, wacha, wacha.
• The Brewers over the Padres: Tyson Ross has pitched two outstanding games in a row for the Padres. But I can't pick against Kyle Lohse at home.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Dodgers over the Phillies: Zack Greinke should be better than the first start of the year of Cole Hamels. It would be nice if Greinke could keep his pitch count down for a change so he can last longer than Hamels does.

Yesterday: 8-7, Games of the Day: 9-10, Season: 176-128

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: September 1, 2013

A week just ended and a month just ended and neither ended with a good day. The day was only a game under .500, but it was a frustrating day as all kinds of funky stuff happened. Well, that is only partially true. The rest of the reality is that I made some seriously stinky picks such as the Nationals and the Rockies. Both were smoked. The A's beat the Rays again which seriously surprised me. And it makes sense a little bit. The Rays' big pennant drive move was to acquire David DeJesus? D'oh!

How about Ivan Nova though? And Zack Wheeler? I should have stuck with Sonny Gray. And how bad is the Indians' bullpen? Six runs allowed in four innings against the Tigers without Miguel Cabrera!? Ugh.

It was a strange day. And I cannot believe August is over. Where did the summer go? Well, September is still summer for a lot of you. But up here in northern Maine, it is a pretty month but also a month when autumn begins. Sigh.

Sunday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: The Orioles saved Wei-Yin Chen for the Yankees. That was a little unwise as the Yankees now have right-handed bats like Jeter, Soriano, A-Rod, Reynolds and...yeah, okay...Wells. Andy Pettitte just has to keep the Orioles under four runs.
• The Royals over the Blue Jays: The Blue Jays winning streak ends at two games. But at least they had one. James Shields puts an end to that and J.A. Happ gets beat up a little bit.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Yes, I know Danny Salazar has a real arm. And I also know that Justin Verlander is not the same pitcher this season as he has been. But the Indians have been schmucked by the Tigers all season. Why should today be different.
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: What do you know, Lance Lynn gave up a big inning. Such a surprise. But that is what I get for picking the Cards. And I am picking them again. What is wrong with me? But there is some logic involved. Kris Johnson is a journeyman pitcher for a reason. Yeah, he is a wily lefty. But wily is all he has. Joe Kelly, on the other hand, has a power arm that can shut out the Pirates.
• The Brewers over the Angels: I like Kyle Lohse at home better than I like C.J. Wilson on the road. As strange as it seems, at this point, the Brewers have a better lineup than the Angels.
• The Mariners over the Astros: I kept trying to justify picking the Astros. At the end of the day, the Mariners are on a roll and Hisashi Iwakuma is too inviting to pick against. I like Brett Oberholtzer, but I have to be realistic here.
• The Phillies over the Cubs: I can't believe that Cliff Lee did not win again. Most predictors are predicting the Cubs to win this game. I guess they all feel that Jake Arrieta will pitch well. I have seen too many of his games go awry to believe that. Kyle Kendrick at least is predictable.
• The Rangers over the Twins: The Rangers cannot shake the A's and have to keep winning. The Twins should provide little resistance. Joe Mauer is out with a concussion and Justin Morneau was just traded away. What is left? Travis Blackley should win and Kevin Correia is not someone to realy on.
• The A's over the Rays: The Rays are starting Jamey Wright!? Are you kidding me? They have nobody better in the minors than him? I cannot believe that. They are fighting for the playoffs and Jamey Wright!? I am dumbfounded. A.J. Griffin goes for the A's and he is good at home.
• The Rockies over the Reds: I do not like the thought of Mike Leake at Coors Field. But then again, I feel that way about every visiting pitcher there and am wrong at least half the time. Tyler Chatwood has won his last two home starts and handled the Reds pretty well back in June. His last start against the Braves was a short one though.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: I do not think that the Dodgers and Zack Greinke are going to lose to Tyson Ross and the Padres. That is all.
• The Diamondbacks over the Giants: I have to admit that Yusmeiro Petit is pitching pretty darned well. But Patrick Corbin is a cut above talent-wise. I do not see the Giants hitting Corbin even though Corbin has not been the lock he was earlier in the season. The only thing bad about this pick is that if the starters equal themselves out, the D-backs' bullpen sucks.
• The Braves over the Marlins: Yeah, this one should be a no-brain pick. Young Alex Wood has been great. The Braves are rolling and Nathan Eovaldi and the Marlins should provide little resistance.
• The Mets over the Nationals: The Nats just seem to be rolled over and dead. Yes, Ross Ohlendorf has miraculously won all his starts. But the Mets have Jonathon Niese pitching really well and should be the better team today.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Red Sox over the White Sox: The Red Sox just keep building their division lead. This is their year. And there is no way that Felix Doubront is going to lose today. Andre Rienzo is pretty good, but the Red Sox will be patient and eventually do him in.

Yesterday: 7-8

Last Week: 52-42

Last month: 239-182

Season: 1142-895

Games of the Day: 86-61  +1

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: July 21, 2013

Saturday started out a lot like Friday where every correct pick was balanced by an incorrect one. The Yankees winning was a surprise as were the Padres and the Mets. After after ten games were completed, the record stood at 5-5. But every pick for the rest of the day was correct and an extra innings game even went my way. Picking the White Sox over the Braves was probably the best pick of the day. I was proud of that one.

Talk about a weird game. How weird was it that the Mariners scored four runs while only tallying one hit in the game? Erik Bedard got the loss and never gave up a hit in six and a third innings. Two of the Mariners' four runs were scored in the sixth inning on a walk, a walk, a passed ball, a sacrifice fly and a passed ball. Bizarre.

On to Sunday we go. Some high powered pitching match-ups are on tap and it should be a great day of day baseball. The picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Rays: The Blue Jays salvage one game of the series as R.A. Dickey has a good day and Chris Archer leaks enough runs for his team to lose.
• The Mets over the Phillies: I have not yet gotten a game of this series correct. So this is one of those opposite picks. I think Cliff Lee holds back the Mets and is slightly better than the super-powered Matt Harvey. But I am picking the opposite to occur.
• The Pirates over the Reds: The Pirates salvage one game of this series after two straight tough losses. Jeff Locke always seems to pitch well and despite his great stuff and his two no-hitters, Homer Bailey is still just 5-8.
• The Nationals over the Dodgers: The Nats have already lost games in this series started by Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. And both pitched well too. Today, the Nats face Clayton Kershaw, only the best pitcher in the National League. But...and this is a big but...Jordan Zimmermann is my secret weapon.
• The Braves over the White Sox: The Braves might be one of the most excuse me first place teams of all time. But there they are, still ahead by half a dozen games. Incredible. Mike Minor is a case in point. Nine wins and he seems very beatable at times. Jose Quintana, though, is never a guy I pick and rightly so.
• The Indians over the Twins: Yeah, this is the way I picked it on Friday and Saturday and both were wrong. But I still like Justin Masterson and I still don't like to pick Kevin Correia who seems to pitch every day. But then again, all those Twins' pitchers look alike.
• The Royals over the Tigers: Okay, I give up trying to figure out the Tigers. They are the most frustrating team there is. The Royals are right behind them. This pick is based solely on thinking James Shields has a better chance of being good than Doug Fister does.
• The Marlins over the Brewers: I am getting all jiggy with this pick. Henderson Alvarez is going to pitch a good game. The Marlins will score their first runs this series and Wily Peralta, along with Pena, keeps the Wily name proud.
• The Mariners over the Astros: Every time Felix Hernandez looks ordinary, I think his arm is going to fall off. And then he pitches great. Today will be one of those days. Jordan Lyles will give up more than one hit today.
• The Cardinals over the Padres: The Cards are starting to do it to me again. Two losses to the Padres? Come on boys. Cut that out. But the big horse, Adam Wainwright, is on the mound today and that should be a win against Eric Stults.
• The Athletics over the Angels: You win, Bartolo Colon. I capitulate. Of your twelve wins, I probably picked against you nine times. I am tired of beating my head against the wall. I do not know how you do it. But carry on. Jerome Williams has not looked good in his last three starts.
• The Rockies over the Cubs: I have no idea, really, who is going to win this game. Edwin Jackson is sort of on a good streak. But he is at Coors. Tyler Chatwood has not convinced me yet. So I have no idea. I am going with the home team.
• The Orioles over the Rangers: The Rangers do not seem like a good team to me. They are short in the rotation and in the lineup. The Orioles do not seem to be short on anything. Chris Tillman over Martin Perez.
• The Yankees over the Red Sox: The Yankees play better when I predict them to lose. So this might be dumb. And CC Sabathia never pitches well at Fenway. So why am I picking him then? Because I think the Yankees will score on Ryan Dempster.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: It is just another season in the NL West as the Giants look like crap for most of the season, then hang around as the rest of the division rots and is suddenly in first place on the last day of the season. Madison Bumgarner over Randall Delgado.

Yesterday: 10-5

Week: 10-5

Month: 137-91

Season: 814-627

Games of the Day: 64-41

MLB Game Picks - Monday: July 8, 2013

Sunday was a very good day and the mediocre days of May and June are starting to become a distant memory. I feel like I have my picking mojo back. Out of fifteen games, only three went the wrong way. The Cubs beat the Pirates to ruin A.J. Burnett's return. And of course, that was an extra-inning game. Those are death to me. The Indians beat the Tigers as Doug Fister had nothing. And Joe Saunders had one of those games where everyone hit the ball but right at somebody. The Reds' loss a loss for the Game of the Day pick, which had been on a nice run for the last couple of weeks. But all in all, it was a very good day of picking.

There are thirteen games on the Monday schedule, which is a lot for this day of the week. Here are the picks:

• The Tigers over the Indians: Max Scherzer's winning streak has reached critical mass. Every time picking him now is bucking the odds because every pitcher loses once in a while, even the best. But perhaps it will not be today. Scott Kazmir pitches for the Indians, which gives them a chance.
• The Yankees over the Royals: Yesterday's loss was a kick in the gut, but you cannot blame it all on Mariano Rivera as the Yankees have to score more than one run. They should today against Jeremy Guthrie. The key is whether Phil Hughes can continue to pitch well like his last two outings. Tough call there.
• The Pirates over the Athletics: The starting pitchers, Bartolo Colon and Jeff Locke are a combined 19-4. Wow! If both have a good game, then it goes to the bullpen and both teams are okay there. But if one of these starters were to have a bad day, it would seem better odds for Colon to do so.
• The Orioles over the Rangers: I like the Orioles here because they are at home and should be boosted a bit by their win yesterday. Scott Feldman faces his old team and should do well. The left-handed tosses of Derek Holland should be covered by the Orioles right-handed bats.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: John Lannon was pretty good for the Phillies his last time and he faces his old team. And Dan Haren goes for the Nats and that is a scary proposition. I think this is a high scoring game and the Nats have more horses.
• The Twins over the Bay Rays: This is a bit of an upset pick. But more than that, it is a disbelief pick that the Rays keep sending Roberto Hernandez out there every five days. Sam Deduno has a better chance of pitching well.
• The Cubs over the White Sox: I am going to go ahead and assume that Matt Garza will still be with the Cubs and will still pitch this game. If so, the Cubs win. If not, then this pick is moot. Either way, Hector Santiago pitching for a bad, bad team is not a picnic.
• The Brewers over the Reds: Another upset pick only because I have seen too often over the years where a no-hit pitcher comes back and is pretty awful in his next outing. Plus, Kyle Lohse at home is not as easy a task for the Reds as you might think.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs at home are pretty tough and Randall Delgado pitched well his last time out. But the Dodgers are rolling and Zack Greinke should pitch his usual great six innings or so.
• The Rockies over the Padres: The Rockies have lost seven of their last ten and three in a row. But they are playing the Padres who have lost nine of their last ten. One of these teams has to win! Tyler Chatwood should succeed away from Coors and it big Petco. Edinson Volquez is not as bad as last year.
• The Mariners over the Red Sox: This is a really tough call. Felix Hernandez, as I have proven over and over, is not a guaranteed win. He never has been. But he gives the Mariners a fighting chance to win. He is at home. The Red Sox were shut out yesterday. This could be his time. Jon Lester is a tough opponent. 
• The Mets over the Giants: Tim Lincecum at home is not as frightening as when he is away. But his starts are still full of concern. He might be outshone by Matt Harvey though as the Mets' big right-hander should come back off one of his worst outings of the year last time out.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Braves over the Marlins: The Marlins are playing well and Mike Minor has not been as dominant lately. I still think the Braves win and score against Kevin Slowey (slower, slowest).

Yesterday: 12-3

Week: 12-3

Month: 62-35

Season: 739-581

Games of the Day: 58-38

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: June 27, 2013

The good times of Tuesday night did not carry over into Wednesday and the picks went back into the funk they have been in for quite some time. It is depressing. Lance Lynn had one bad inning and gave up four runs. The Cardinals, who are averaging 4.97 runs per game could not overcome that? Nope, not even against Houston and the Game of the Day went down in flames again. There were two extra inning games. Of course both of them turned out with the incorrect team winning. Extra inning games are death around here. I will take the blame for stupid picks like the Yankees and the Marlins. But everything else? Nah.

There are only nine games on the schedule tonight after only four being played on Monday. The slackers. Heh. Here are Thursday's picks:

• The Tigers over the Angels: I want to pick Jered Weaver here. But Doug Fister can match him. The Tigers are due for a win and they are at home. The bullpens will be involved but I do not know which way it will go.
• The Cubs over the Brewers: Matt Garza has been great his last two outings, but they were against weak hitting teams. Before that, against good hitting teams, he got roughed up. Which category do the Brewers fall under? Depends on the night. The clincher for this pick is that Wily Peralta has not pitched well at all lately.
• The Nationals over the Diamondbacks: This is the best match-up of the month it seems. Stephen Strasburg against Patrick Corbin. Wow! This game should really be fun to watch. I pick it this way because Corbin is due for a loss and the Nats win if it becomes a bullpen game.
• The Rockies over the Mets: Jeremy Hefner has been better lately. But he is pitching at Coors Field. That is not a good thing. Tyler Chatwood is 4-1 as improbable as that sounds. The pick is to the hometown Rockies.
• The Indians over the Orioles: Johnson blew another save yesterday. Gosh, that has to hurt the Orioles. I have had great success over the past month picking Corey Kluber, so I am going to stick with him. Miguel Gonzalez makes that choice a little easier.
• The Red Sox over the Blue Jays: I love Chien-Ming Wang. I always have. And seeing him pitch so well has been gratifying. But the non-rose-colored glasses view is that he depends on BABIP as he does not strike batters out. That means that a good team like the Red Sox can get some runs. The rest depends on how good Jon Lester is.
• The Royals over the Twins: This pick depends on the faith I have--which is getting smaller--in Jeremy Guthrie. Samuel Deduno is sort of hit or miss and hard to gauge. I like the Royals' chances in this one.
• The Dodgers over the Phillies: If Zack Greinke pitches a good game, the Dodgers win. It is that simple. Except it is not because sometimes Greinke burns out of pitch count by the fifth or sixth inning. Jonathan Pettibone can keep the Phillies in the game to win it late. This pick does not feel good either way.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rangers over the Yankees: We know what to expect with Phil Hughes at Yankee Stadium. We just do. There will be homers. There will be fans booing. Derek Holland is a lefty. The Yankees do not do well against lefties. This seems like a lock. Which is my least favorite picking sentence.

Yesterday: 7-8

Week: 27-22

Month: 182-171

Season: 647-520

Games of the Day: 48-37

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: June 15, 2013

My horrible week of picking continues with another terrible night. When I went to bed, the Rockies were leading the Phillies, 7-2, as Kyle Kendrick got bombed as predicted. What I did not see coming was the Phillies scoring six runs in the last four innings to win the game despite the fact that their pitching staff did not record a strikeout until Jonathan Papelbon recorded one in the ninth.

The day started off well. The Orioles beat the Red Sox, the Indians beat the Nats and the Pirates beat the Dodgers all as predicted and I was 3-0. But then the Cardinals lost, the Rays lost (the Game of the Day), and the Mets lost and the slide had started. Only three more picks were correct the rest of the evening.

I do not know what I am going to do if this does not turn around soon. Saturday's picks:

• The Cubs over the Mets: And of course, the day starts out with a puzzler. Jonathon Niese is supposed to be a pretty good pitcher. But he has games where he gets bombed, including his last one. Scott Feldman has had a good year for the Cubs, but again, his last start was not so good. Ugh.
• The Dodgers over the Pirates: MLB.com has the Pirates' pitcher as TBO. That is not good. Yahoo lists Brandon Cumpton as making his Major League debut. So we will go with that. Cumpton's numbers in the minors are ordinary and he does not make any prospect list. So maybe Clayton Kershaw can actually get a win to go with his 1.88 ERA. Just maybe.
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: The Orioles have the Red Sox' number. It has not been pretty. But John Lackey seems like a better pick than Freddy Garcia. Then again, I have picked against Garcia twice in a row and he has won. So there you go.
• The Braves over the Giants: Okay, I get that I should have picked Bumgarner last night. But both starters had been hot and it was a flip of the coin of which would have a good day. I flipped poorly. But in this one? Come on, Mike Minor has to be better than Chad Gaudin. He just has to be. If he is not, then I give up.
• The Blue Jays over the Rangers: Let's face it, R.A. Dickey has not been good. But at least he is capable of a good game if his knuckler works. But Josh Lindblom? He is not exactly Lindblooming in his early time with the Rangers. This could be a wild one.
• The Bay Rays over the Royals: Yeah, this pick did not work out yesterday or the day before. But I am stubborn that way. For one, I like Alex Cobb...a lot. For another, the Royals are hot, but the Rays are not this bad. Lastly, I do not know what the heck I am doing anymore. Jeremy Guthrie goes for the Royals.
• The Reds over the Brewers: Homer Bailey has a horrible lifetime record against the Brewers but beat them his last time out quite impressively. Ryan Braun's status remains day to day. Yovani Gallardo is certainly capable of a shut down day if he is on. Never an easy pick these days.
• The Rockies over the Phillies: I have no idea which team is going to win this game. I will be honest. Jonathan Pettibone and Tyler Chatwood both pitching at Coors Field sounds like a nightmare. This could be like a 13-12 score. Or one of the pitchers can be unexpectedly sharp today. Either way, I have no idea.
• The White Sox over the Astros: The Astros won yesterday. The Astros have been a thorn in my side because they are bad enough to lose every game, but will win at least fifty games this year because that is how it works. You never know when a win will happen. The White Sox are terrible. They are probably one of the worst constructed teams in baseball. But I like John Danks over Lucas Harrell.
• The Cardinals over the Marlins: I had a dream that Tom Koehler won his first game ever the other night. Seriously, I dreamed that. But since these picks have been my nightmare, I have to pick the Cardinals behind Lance Lynn. The Marlins are a different team with Giancarlo Stanton in there. But still.
• The Tigers over the Twins: Anibal Sanchez does this every year. He shows brilliance. But then he gets nagging injuries and misses a start or two and is mediocre in between. But then he shows brilliance again. One never knows. And of course, that Tigers' bullpen. Ouch. The Twins are starting Samuel Deduno, which rhymes with I dunno.
• The Angels over the Yankees: Let's be real here. Whenever I pick the Yankees, it is an emotional pick. For years, the emotions matched the team's skill level. This year, they do not. Tommy Hanson over David Phelps.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: As good as Felix Hernandez is, we have all seen how his start does not guarantee a win. But you still have to respect that he gives his team a chance to win. A.J. Griffin is hot and cold. But the Mariners' offense is stinky. Gosh, this is hard.
• The Diamondbacks over the Padres: How silly is it that Jason Marquis is 8-2? I know because I have picked against him all year and he has made me look stupid...which at this point, after this week, I can do pretty much well by myself. But I am going with Wade Miley and thinking Goldschmidt does something good.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Nationals over the Indians: My champion, Jordan Zimmermann, goes tonight. He is my man and I have been going with him for three years. If I was playing Strat-O-Matic baseball, I would pitch him every night. Scott Kazmir pitches for the Indians.

Yesterday: 6-9

Week: 31-48  Worst. Week. Ever.

Month: 89-98

Season: 552-448

Games of the Day: 43-30