MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: May 19, 2015

I was supposed to get up early for an early meeting and somehow, I did not. So I have only a few minutes to list out my picks without comments. I apologize.

• Pirates over the Twins: Francisco Liriano vs. Ricky Nolasco
• Yankees over the Nationals: Nate Eovaldi vs. Gio Gonzalez
• Orioles over the Mariners: Miguel Gonzalez vs. Taijuan Walker
• Blue Jays over the Angels: Aaron Sanchez vs. Hector Santiago
• Marlins over the Diamondbacks: Tom Koehler vs. Jeremy Hellickson
• Cardinals over the Mets: Michael Wacha vs. Jon Niese
• Braves over the Rays: Mike Foltynewicz vs. Erasmo Ramirez
• Rangers over the Red Sox; Yovani Gallardo vs Wade Miley
• Reds over the Royals: Johnny Cueto vs. Yordano Ventura
• The White Sox over the Indians: Jose Quintana vs. Trevor Bauer
• Athletics over the Astros: Sonny Gray vs. Roberto Hernandez
• Phillies over the Rockies: Aaron Harang vs. Chad Bettis
• Padres over the Cubs: James Shields vs. Jason Hammel
• Dodgers over the Giants: Carlos Frias vs. Tim Hudson

And the Pick of the Day:

• Tigers over the Brewers: Anibal Sanchez vs. Jimmy Nelson

Yesterday: 4-3, May: 121-96, Season: 285-261, Picks of the Day: 23-18

MLB Game Picks - Monday: May 18, 2015

Sunday was a 9-6 day. The Pick of the Day (the Angels) was wrong. I just couldn't imagine Garrett Richards losing. But Mike Wright, making his MLB debut out-pitched him and threw up nothing but zeroes. Heck of a debut! I guess I'll need to take another look at A.J. Burnett as the old guy is making me look badly. I did pick Shelby Miller and I cannot believe he was one out away from a no-hitter and then threw that unfortunate first-pitch fastball. So close!

Monday's picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Angels: The Blue Jays as a team feasts on left-handed pitching and that is the arm C.J. Wilson throw from. Besides, Aaron Sanchez is starting to live up to the expectations he has for his career.
• The Brewers over the Tigers: I'm going to get stupid here and pick a lousy team to beat a great team. First, Mike Fiers is getting better. You could even say two of his last three starts have been brilliant. Secondly, Kyle Lobstein can be had and was not very good his last time out.
• The Diamondbacks over the Marlins: The Marlins will have a new manager. By the way, if you look at yesterday's post, I called that firing. I'm going with the Diamondbacks because I have picked against Rubby De La Rosa every game and he is 4-2 and has beaten two very good teams in his last two outings. Dan Haren goes for the Fish.
• The Indians over the White Sox: Wow! What a match-up! Corey Kluber verses Chris Sale! That will be fun to watch. Kluber looks like he found whatever he was missing in his last start against the Cardinals. He was amazing. Sale is one of the best in the AL too. Flip a coin!
• The Astros over the Athletics: For the Astros, the prospects just keep on coming. Tonight features the debut of 2012 first-round draft pick, Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers has a big arm and has baseball pedigree as his father was a pretty darned good pitcher in the 80s. The A's just keep losing and will start Drew Pomeranz, who knows all about being a stud prospect and the perils therein.
• The Rockies over the Phillies: I know. I keep picking against the Phillies. But I can't help it. Cole Hamels has struggled at Coors Field over the course of his career and Jordan Lyles seems to do okay there. That is the rational.

The Pick of the Day:

• The Mets over the Cardinals: The Cards had to travel after a late game and then have to face Matt Harvey? Good luck with that. John Lackey can be very good too. But I'm going with Harvey.

Yesterday: 9-6, May: 117-93, Season: 281-258, Picks of the Day: 22-18

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: April 16, 2015

Wednesday was another terrible day of Game Picking. This April is killing me. I'm ready to throw in the towel, to be honest. I know, at least, that it can't get much worse and can only get better from here. But, at this point, throwing a dart at a dartboard would be more effective than I have been to this point.

Thursday is a short schedule, so let's take a brief look:

• The Royals over the Twins: The Royals finally lost yesterday and I knew sooner or later it had to happen. But now that we have that out of the way, I can concentrate on the match-ups and what should happen. While Tommy Milone won his first outing and was one of the few early Twins bright spots, I still think the Royals will win even if Jason Vargas doesn't have a great day.
• The Brewers over the Cardinals: Mike Fiers was awful in his first start and that is hard to jive with what he did last year once he got in the rotation. This pick looks for him to bounce back against the Cardinals and for John Lackey to have a spitting bad day.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: Cole Hamels is still with the Phillies and as such, always has a chance to throw a gem. If Doug Fister is his usual self, he should limit any Phillies damage with a lot of ground balls and strikes.
• The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: The Rays have held their own this series and have a pretty good start to their season considering who they lost and what they have left. Chris Archer is certainly capable of pitching well. Aaron Sanchez got beat up badly in his first start. I'm banking on him settling down and pitching well today.
• The Marlins over the Mets: The Mets have started well and the Fish have been disappointing. The difference today for me is Jarred Cosart who really is a bulldog. Dillon Gee, on the other hand, has been lost for quite a while.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: Archie Bradley has already beaten Clayton Kershaw and today attempts to take down Madison Bumgarner. How about those two opponents in his first two starts! I still don't trust Bradley's command and the Giants should eek out a win.

Yesterday: 6-9, Season: 61-72, Picks of the Day: 3-7   Terrible...

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: April 11, 2015

Another day. Another unsuccessful day as the picks slipped below .500 again. What a terrible time I'm having here. I was 6-2 at one point yesterday and it all went downhill from there.  I am very happy for Brandon Morrow who pitched very well.  That was fun.

Since I am not having any fun, I'll get right to the picks for Saturday:

• The Red Sox over the Yankees: I don't believe in Adam Warren as a starter. I think the Red Sox will kill him and then who will be left to relieve? I'm not sure how ready Joe Kelly is either. But the Red Sox at least have an offense.
• The Reds over the Cardinals: Michael Wacha will probably pitch pretty well. But Johnny Cueto will pitch even better. Think how good Cueto must be to pitch as well as he does with half his games in that bandbox.
• The Twins over the White Sox: I really wonder about how well Jeff Samardzija is. I cannot remember the last time he pitched a good game. Mike Pelfrey is even riskier, but gee, the White Sox are digging a hole so far.
• The Athletics over the Mariners: I love me some Sonny Gray. He is my super good luck charm. J.A. Happ somehow keeps his career going, year after year.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Super great match-up between David Price and Corey Kluber. When both pitchers cancel each other out, go with the better team. The Tigers are the better team...again...so far...
• The Marlins over the Bay Rays: The battle for Florida continues and I have to go with the Marlins again. At home and with the better team, the only question is Jarred Cosart. Chris Archer seems to have lost a bit of his mojo.
• The Blue Jay over the Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez could get beat up pretty good in this one. The Blue Jays' offense is killer. A lot will depend on Aaron Sanchez, a big-time arm who is very young.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: The Nationals have had a lackluster start. Good old Doug Fister to the rescue. Cole Hamels was not good his first time out. But that should be an anomaly and not the norm.
• The Braves over the Mets: Here we were wondering how bad the Braves were going to be and they came out this season gangbusters. Julio Teheran is very good and Dillon Gee has been in and out of good health. The Braves roll.
• The Pirates over the Brewers: Will the Brewers win a game this season? I'm not so sure. They sure look awful. But the law of averages starts to weigh heavy and they have to win sooner or later. With Jimmy Nelson on the mound, it probably won't be today. Vance Worley goes for the Pirates.
• The Rangers over the Astros: Yovani Gallardo did not have a good start his first time out. But I still like him better than Roberto Hernandez. The Rangers are at home. Seriously, this game could go either way.
• The Rockies over the Cubs: The Rockies are on fire and the last time I picked against Kyle Kendrick, I paid for it. Jason Hammel is pretty reliable, but things aren't going well for the Cubs so far. Of course, everything could blow up in Coors.
• The Padres over the Giants: James Shields makes his second National League start and I think he will pitch well today against the Giants. Madison Bumgarner is a tough cookie though. I'm still going with the Padres.
• The Royals over the Angels: Jeremy Guthrie and Jered Weaver will have a slow ball contest. Can you say, "wily?"  The Royals are flying high, so that's the pick.

And the Pick of the Day

• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: Archie Bradley makes his MLB debut today for the D-Backs. He was a number one pick and was born in the 1990s. From what I see, he has command issues. Clayton Kershaw should bounce back nicely from his opening start and win this one.

Yesterday: 7-8, Season: 26-35, Picks of the Day: 1-4