Saturday, May 14, 2011

Game Picks - Saturday: May 14, 2011

There's no place like home. It's nice to be back and writing in the FanDome after Blogger's lost day yesterday. Thanks again to a good friend like C70 At The Bat for hosting this feature yesterday. Their graciousness kept the streak intact as not a day has been missed since 2009 (the last time Blogger blew up). It's a shame that the pick for the Cardinals didn't go as expected. A blown save cost the Cards the game. But overall, it wasn't a bad day of picking. So far this season, anything over .500 has been a good day. If only Joba had thrown Youkilis the slider he was all set up for instead of that high fastball. If only the Yankees could try to hit the ball to the opposite field. If only the Fan had picked the Brewers or the Mets. 9-6 on the day isn't bad though. And it's good to be home.

Speaking of home, many of the Fan's writing buddies are urging that this site be moved to Word Press instead of using Blogger. We'll see. It's hard to beat Blogger for ease of use and for the backing of Google as Blogger's search engine.

So how does Saturday look?

  • The Marlins over the Nationals: Somehow, the return of Logan Morrison escaped this writer's attention. But there he was last night and he hit a homer. His return just adds to that line up. Anibal Sanchez versus Livan Hernandez.
  • The Indians over the Mariners: How can you pick against the Indians at home? What a story this is turning out to be! Erik Bedard has his worst start of the year against the Indians but has pitched fairly well his last three times out. Alex White is a wild card for the Indians, but again, how can you pick against them?
  • The Braves over the Phillies: Joe Blanton's elbow is a problem. Jair Jurrjens has been very good. The Braves should win this one.
  • The Rockies over the Padres: Aaron Harang relies on movement. Colorado is where such pitchers go to die. Jhoulys Chacin with the win.
  • The White Sox over the Athletics: The White Sox match up well in this series and Gavin Floyd (if his foot is healthy enough) should neutralize the A's bats enough to give Tyson Ross the hard luck loss.
  • The Mets over the Astros: R. A. Dickey hasn't been great, but David Wright is starting to hit and the Astros can't hit much at all. J. A. Happ goes for the Astros. Happ has one win in his last seven starts.
  • The Rangers over the Angels: Dan Haren is really good. But the Rangers already beat Jared Weaver. Derek Holland must hold the Angels to four runs or less to let the Rangers' bats win the game.
  • The Bay Rays over the Orioles: Brad Bergesen hasn't been good so far this year and he didn't pitch well against the Bay Rays in his last start against them. This Fan is still concerned about Wade Davis and his velocity, but he's pitching well at home.
  • The Tigers over the Royals: Can Brad Penny continue to pitch well? Who knows. If he does, the Tigers win. If he doesn't, well, we'll see what the Tigers can do against Jeff Francis, who hasn't won a game yet.
  • The Brewers over the Pirates: A suspect pitching match up of Chris Narveson versus Jeff Karstens seems to cancel each other out. When the pitchers are evenly matched, always go with the better offense.
  • The Cardinals over the Reds: Kyle McClellan is 5-0, but his K/BB ratio is a little bit of a concern. Johnny Cueto was really good his last time out, but let's see how he rebounds in his next start. 
  • The Blue Jays over the Twins: It's difficult adjusting to the Twins as the new Royals of the Central division. Jose Bautista is still mashing and that should be enough over Nick Blackburn. Jo-Jo Reyes hasn't won a game this season. Perhaps this will be the one.
  • The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: Josh Collmenter has been a great story, but this is his first start in the big leagues against the Dodgers who are home. Clay Billingsley gets the win.
  • The Yankees over the Red Sox: C. C. Sabathia hasn't had a dominant start yet this season. He needs one to win this game at home. Josh Beckett blew the Yankees out of the water his last time out. The Yankees will be looking for revenge.

And the Game of the Day!

  • The Giants over the Cubs: Ryan Vogelsong has been singing a fine tune for the Giants. Meanwhile, Doug Davis is making his first start since last year. Not good.

Yesterday: 9-6
Week: 39-35
Month: 88-82
Season: 300-266
Games of the Day: 22-22  (back to .500 finally)

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