Monday, July 28, 2014

MLB Game Picks - Monday: July 28, 2014

Ten plus hours of driving and an eleven hour day on Sunday and we have our puppy, "Jeter." He is cuter than a button but boy, do we have our work cut out for us. He is only two months old and needs constant supervision. Wow, at my age, I don't know if I am up to this! But I have to be as he is ours now.
While I was busy all day, the picks were busy as well. They started the day at 2-5 after the Yankees, Rays and White Sox lost. But they came roaring back and went 7-1 the rest of the day. I need to watch the puppy, so I better get to the picks:
  • The Braves over the Padres: Ah, if only you could pick games completely with your heart and not your head. Jason Lane's story is so compelling, that if it had a Hollywood ending, he would win this game just because that is what we would all want. Instead, the Braves will spoil the party and Ervin Santana will win instead.
  • The Reds over the DiamondbacksChase Anderson hasn't won a game in a while. So he might be due. Homer Bailey seems like he should never lose and yet he does. I guess I'll go with Bailey even if I do not have a lot of confidence in the pick.
  • The Rays over the Brewers: If Kyle Lohse was pitching at home, I would pick that way. But instead, he is in St. Pete pitching in that horrible dome. I have paid dearly for picking against Jake Odorizzi his last five starts. It is time to acknowledge that he has been schooling me.
  • The Phillies over the MetsA.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon might be the two most difficult pitchers to pick in baseball. Both have games at times where they remind you of past glory and thrilling highs. And then they crash and burn in the worst way. So how do you ever know when which will be which? And when they face each other, what do you do? Both were great their last outings. I'm going to go with Burnett because Ryan Howard is mad.
  • The Red Sox over the Blue JaysR.A. Dickey will probably have a couple of his pitches end up in the Green Monster seats. So the game, then, hinges on which Clay Buchholz shows up. The one that did last time shouldn't have bothered. The good one should show up at home.
  • The Nationals over the Marlins: I cannot remember the last time Nathan Eovaldi won a ballgame. I had to look it up to go way back until the June 23. That was his only win in his last ten starts. Needless to say, I am picking Jordan Zimmermann to win tonight, or at least the Nationals anyway.
  • The Cubs over the RockiesYohan Flande and Tsuyoshi Wada have pitched a combined 29 innings in the Major Leagues. What in the world do you do with that? Perhaps look at other things like the Rockies not hitting well away from Coors and the Cubs not hitting pretty well anywhere. I'm still stuck. Wada at least had years pitching in Japan. I'll go with that.
  • The Rangers over the YankeesYu Darvish has had some of his most dominating games against the Yankees. And he is pitching at home. I don't think David Phelps can keep up with him...not in Texas.
  • The Athletics over the Astros: The Astros got swept over the weekend by the Marlins. They have really fallen on hard times. Brett Oberholtzer is not going to turn it around against the A's. My only concern in this one is Jesse Chavez.
And the Game of the Day:
  • The Giants over the PiratesMadison Bumgarner is great and has already won twelve games. When he doesn't pitch great, that's a surprise. But it does happen occasionally. Vance Worley has won three of his four decisions for the Pirates. But I think he will be dwarfed by Bumgarner here.
Last two days: 17-13, July: 186-144, Games of the Day: 61-48 (2-0), Season: 869-719

1 comment:

Pendo said...

Wm.T. goes 2-0 on his Game Of The Day

Wm. T. indeed discerned those games as the most lopsided affairs. Good work!

But with gambling money involved, what's nice is that one of, if not the best Righty in the NL, Wainwright, against a divisional rival in last place, the sCrubs
and...

one of, if not the best Lefty in the AL, Sale, against a divisional rival in last place, the Twinkies

had results that,
Lo and Behold:
these heavy favorited arms' teams did win as expected.