Gosh, I'm doing terrible lately. The extra inning games are killing me to the tune of 1-5 over the last two days. The Angels blew a lead (but I'm happy about that one). The Brewers blew a lead. The Cardinals could not beat Gavin Floyd for crying out loud. Hector Noesi pitched well. What the heck is going on here!? Hector Noesi!?
The longer I do this (six years now?) the harder it seems to get. But the show must go on with Wednesday's picks:
- The Pirates over the Giants: We start out with a tough one. How good will Tim Lincecum be? Will Gerrit Cole get back on track? Can the Pirates ever score more than a run or two in a game? The game is played very early, so we will find out soon enough.
- The Marlins over the Mets: There comes that crucial point where a winning streak or a losing streak has to end. The Braves ended theirs yesterday and I wasn't on top of it. The Marlins are due to lose some time. But they are playing so well that it is hard to know how long to hold on to them. Tom Koehler over Zack Wheeler.
- The Nationals over the Dodgers: Another really tough call. Stephen Strasburg has not been a lock. Dan Haren is 4-0 and is pitching great. Which way to go? I'm going with Strasburg at home.
- The Brewers over the Diamondbacks: The Brewers' bullpen is starting to crack a bit after being nearly perfect for so long. But Wily Peralta has been very good and I just can't pick Bronson Arroy0 at this point.
- The Mariners over the Athletics: I think the M's and A's will split their double-header today. But picking which one is which is the key. I think Felix Hernandez will win the first game if he is on over Dan Straily.
- The Athletics over the Mariners: I don't like either pitcher in this one. Erasmo Ramirez is just so-so and Drew Pomeranz seemed to find a bullpen and not in the rotation. His control is too spotty for a long stint. Hmm...The M's might take both of these games...
- The Royals over the Padres: James Shields got rocked by the Tigers his last time out. But the Padres are not the Tigers. Yet, Andrew Cashner is the Padres' best pitcher. Man. Who knows.
- The Indians over the Tigers: Take Joe Mauer out of the Twins' lineup and poof, they have lost two straight. Danny Salazar is taking baby steps on getting his act together. Ricky Nolasco has his moments.
- The Blue Jays over the Phillies: It's the battle of the "crafty" lefties. I think the Phillies will have more problems off of Mark Buehrle than the Blue Jays will off of Cliff Lee.
- The Tigers over the Astros: I predicted before the season that Rick Porcello would have a much better year with better defense behind him and so far, so good. He is four and one. Make that five and one after tonight. Brad Peacock goes for the Astros.
- The Rays over the Orioles: Blech. I hate this pick. Bud Norris? Uh... Cesar Ramos? Uh... No Matt Wieters? The Rays are at home.
- The Red Sox over the Reds: The Red Sox are starting to show flashes. The Reds really need to get Chapman back in that bullpen. Jake Peavy at home over Mike Leake. I think this will be a runaway win for the Red Sox.
- The Braves over the Cardinals: Sooner or later, the Cardinals are going to hit. But when will it start? Mike Minor is back and this is his second start. Should I pick him over Adam Wainwright? Probably not. But that's what it feels like it should be. Somebody once commented that I should look at the odds given by the odds makers when doing this post. Then the daily feature would be totally different. I don't do odds. I do what I feel based on match-ups and how teams are doing.
- The Rockies over the Rangers: The Rangers are playing about as bad as the Rockies are playing well. So that makes for a dangerous mixture for the Rockies. And even though they are away from Coors (finally) and have noted big splits at home and on the road, Texas is a good hitting environment. Jorge De La Rosa over Colby Lewis.
- The Cubs over the White Sox: I haven't gotten one of these games right, so why should I start now? I like Travis Wood much better than I like John Danks.
And the Game of the Day
- The Yankees over the Angels: I might as well pick this game even though I am as unsure of this one as I am about any of the others. Vidal Nuno is not a comforting thought. But Alfredo Aceves can bail him out early if trouble develops. Hector Santiago has been awful. That being said, the Yankees will either make him look like Kershaw, or jump on him. I am betting on the latter.
Yesterday: 6-9 (sigh), May: 43-41, Games of the Day: 15-18, Season: 276-215
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