Yesterday's picks broke through a little bit after a string of bad days. There were only five incorrect picks out of fifteen. One was Yu Darvish. Why doesn't he ever win when I pick him. The other incongruity was Masahiro Tanaka losing. It must have been a bad day for Japanese aces. I had picked the Cubs and Jason Hammel did have a good day. But the Cubs can't hit and lost. And then there is the Kansas City Royals who were swept by Seattle in their home ballpark. What the heck, man?
But it was a good day. I watched a little of the Yankees game, but it was so bad that it wasn't worth leaving the pool for long to watch. So I went by the pool. Gosh, can a team do any worse at leaving runners on base?
Monday's picks:
- The Orioles over the White Sox: I can see Chris Sale shutting down the Orioles. I can also see Wei-Yin Chen shutting down the White Sox. So then it becomes a bullpen battle and both teams are about the same there. But the Orioles' batters are better. So I am going with the home team.
- The Marlins over the Phillies: I have gone back and forth on this one. The Marlins should tee off on Roberto Hernandez, but I have my concerns about Nathan Eovaldi. I mean the guy is averaging 95.7 MPH on his fastball. How is he also averaging 8.7 hits allowed per nine? From what I can see, the guy needs to ditch his slider and stick with the curve.
- The Blue Jays over the Yankees: This one is colored by my total irritation with the team from the Bronx. But there is logic as well. Marcus Stroman is a good arm and the Yankees don't do well with big arms and Stroman will learn from his first start against them. Chase Whitley has been a wonderful surprise, but aren't you waiting for the other shoe to drop? I am and it may be today.
- The Reds over the Cubs: The Cubs hope that Jeff Samardzija starts pitching really well to up his value as much as possible. The trouble is that his team still can't hit and Alfredo Simon is the biggest surprise of the year.
- The Royals over the Dodgers: I have a feeling that all those ghosts of Kansas City will come down to haunt Zack Greinke today. Yeah, that was a lot of water over the bridge a long time ago, but still. Jeremy Guthrie's fastball has ticked up a couple of notches and he has been sitting at 93 his last couple of games. That makes a huge difference for him.
- The Brewers over the Nationals: The Nats might have a leddown after the Braves' series and Gio Gonzalez and his left arm won't affect the Brewers' lineup as much as others. Matt Garza is the key to the game and how he pitches will determine who wins.
- The Cardinals over the Rockies: Jhoulys Chacin is not having a good season. Lance Lynn could certainly have a lynning at Coors. But he is a better bet here than the other way around.
- The Mariners over the Red Sox: I pick Felix Hernandez and when I do, he never lives up to expectations...or his team takes him out too early and the bullpen goes all flooey on me. John Lackey is a worthy adversary though.
- The Giants over the Padres: This could be interesting. The Padres' pitcher has been a bit of a mystery. First of all, most of the sites say TBD or to be determined. Yahoo says it will be Odrisamer Despaigne, who may inherit the title as the hardest name in baseball to spell. He is a Cuban just signed this year. Expect a lot of strikeouts and walks. Matt Cain is the safer pick.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Rays over the Pirates: The Rays are playing much better and it all starts with pitching. The team is getting better starting pitching and things flow well from there. Alex Cobb over Edinson Volquez.
Yesterday: 10-5, June: 164-141, Games of the Day: 41-38, Season: 617-522
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