MLB Game Picks - Sunday: May 31, 2015

I hope this last day of May is better than the penultimate day. Because yesterday was awful. After five positive days in a row, I could hardly get anything correct on Saturday. Chi Chi? Who knew?  Well, I did know. He did walk five guys. It's just that the Red Sox are flatter than a pancake. Erasmo Ramirez pitching like Pedro Martinez? Seriously?

Let's finish May with a flourish shall we?

Sunday's picks:

• The Mets over the Marlins: Two former Yankee pitchers go at it today in Bartolo Colon and David Phelps. After Shane Greene got pummeled last night, picking any ex-Yankee seems to be unsavory. Colon at least has a chance to pitch very well. Phelps? Doubt it.
• The Nationals over the Reds: Hopefully, Bryce Harper's back will allow him to play after he was drilled by Cingrani (I still think it was on purpose). If he plays, the Nats have a much better lineup and now that Tanner Roarke can start again, he's a winner. Michael Lorenzen has pitched well for the Reds though.
• The Rockies over the Phillies: One of the few picks I got right yesterday, I'm going to stick with it. I still like Jordan Lyles despite his slow start this season. I like him better than Jerome Williams.
• The Orioles over the Rays: This is really a tough series to call. Both teams are having issues and both seem to be playing less than they're capable. For example, Chris Tillman has been solid for the last couple of years and looks awful this season. Will that turn around? Is Jake Odorizzi good or not? That answer changes from start to start.
• The Brewers over the Diamondbacks: Interesting. Tyler Wagner is making the jump from Double-A to make his MLB debut tonight for the Brewers. He has had a great minor league career and was great during the AFL. So he's an interesting pick tonight. Chase Anderson goes for the D-backs.
• The Astros over the White Sox: This one features two starting pitchers I have no confidence in at all with John Danks and Roberto Hernandez. The swing the Astros way is because they have a better chance to score more with their offense than the White Sox do with theirs.
• The Twins over the Blue Jays: I never thought I would be picking the Twins and the Astros this much this season. But look how they are playing! Ricky Nolasco has found new life somewhere after last year's fiasco. Drew Hutchison is inconsistent.
• The Cardinals over the Dodgers: This same pick blew up on me yesterday with Michael Wacha on the mound, no less. Carlos Martinez has the ability to shut down the Dodgers and I think the Cards score on Brett Anderson.
• The Royals over the Cubs: This is the same match up that got rained out yesterday. Yordano Ventura is my pick over Tsuyoshi Wada. I picked this differently yesterday, just so you know...
• The Rangers over the Red Sox: I'm not sure about picking Wandy Rodriguez against the Red Sox. But I also know that Joe Kelly has been awful and the Rangers' offense is rocking. The Red Sox do not hit lefties well and Rusney Castillo has yet to contribute anything.
• The Yankees over the Athletics: The Yankees finally won a road game yesterday. Imagine that! Adam Warren has been pitching well. Jesse Chavez has not been pitching well. The A's defense is brutal.
• The Indians over the Mariners: Danny Salazar has been terrific and other than Nelson Cruz, none of the other Mariners are hitting much. I like that combination. J.A. Happ goes for the Mariners.
• The Angels over the Tigers: I think David Price gets beat by a couple of homers today. That's just what my gut is telling me. But that assumes that Matt Shoemaker can hold down the Tigers.
• The Pirates over the Padres: Why is this a night game when it is not the ESPN Sunday night game? Isn't that weird? Either way, this pick depends on whether or not Odrisamer Despaigne's last two good starts were flukes or not. Jeff Locke goes for the Pirates.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Giants over the Braves: I got this one wrong yesterday too. The Giants finally lost a game!? I cannot pick against Madison Bumgarner. The only way he loses is if Julio Teheran comes out firing on all cylinders, which is certainly possible.

Yesterday: 5-9, May: 203-181, Season: 369-346, Picks of the Day: 29-24

MLB Game Picks - Monday: April 27, 2015

Confound it all! It took me two weeks to dig out of my early month hole and I finally did it and now I'm slipping right back down that slope! The extra-inning game thing is starting to really make me see red. I am now 0-8 in the last eight games that have gone into extra frames. How is that right? The Royals have gone flat. I'm a mess.

Monday's picks:

• The Indians over the Royals: Is Corey Kluber going to get going? This pick is based on what kind of pitcher he is supposed to be. Jason Vargas has always been solid no matter where he has pitched.
• The Orioles over the White Sox: Which pitcher will be worse, Hector Noesi or Ubaldo Jimenez? Good question. The Orioles will hit at least two homers.
• The Yankees over the Bay Rays: I don't think Adam Warren will last much longer in the rotation. We'll see. The Yankees have been on a roll. The Rays keep hanging around though and Nathan Karns is getting better.
• The Brewers over the Reds: I smell blood. Can the Brewers win two games in a row! Wouldn't that be something? I like Jimmy Nelson and am going with him today over Jason Marquis.
• The Marlins over the Mets: The Fish had a great weekend and can continue to do some damage in the NL East here. Giancarlo Stanton has been raking and I like Jarred Cosart's fire. Dillon Gee hasn't inspired much.
• The Nationals over the Braves: So...is there a manager crisis in Washington? What the heck is going on with this club? Doug Fister should elevate the team out of the mire today and Eric Stultz goes for the Braves.
• The Cubs over the Pirates: I keep picking against the Cubs like they are still...the Cubs. But they are not those Cubs. Jason Hammel goes against Vance Worley and I think the Cubbies will score five runs or more.
• The Rangers over the Mariners: Until Taijuan Walker gets better, I cannot count on him. I'll go with Yovani Gallardo instead. I'm not feeling real strong about the pick though.
• The Tigers over the Twins: David Price will bounce back from his start against the Yankees and Tommy Milone should not stop the Tigers attack.
• The Cardinals over the Phillies: Yes, the Adam Wainwright injury is a  blow to the Cardinals, but they will be okay. John Lackey has been pitching well and Cole Hamels has not. I don't think he's very inspired at the moment.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: The Rockies will keep the rotation intact after yesterday's postponement and Tyler Matzek will go today. Chase Anderson goes for the D-Backs. This is a 50/50 pick.
• The Astros over the Padres: I have to stick with a very hot Collin McHugh even if he is going up against James Shields. The Astros will miss the DH though. Two pitchers were hurt batting this week. Can we make the DH universal please?
• The Giants over the Dodgers: The Giants always seem to win these head to head battles between these two teams. Tim Lincecum has been pretty good. Brett Anderson is iffy for me in the Dodgers' rotation which took another hit when Brandon McCarthy left his last outing.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Red Sox over the Blue Jays: Watching the Red Sox without David Ortiz was kind of nice yesterday. But it was just one day. Aaron Sanchez has not pitched well and if that happens today with the Red Sox, he'll get pounded. The Jays aren't the same without Jose Bautista and it has showed. Joe Kelly goes for the Red Sox.

Yesterday: 5-10, Season: 136-143, Picks of the Day: 11-10

Yankees' starting pitching depth

I bounced off of a Jeff Sullivan post over at Fangraphs.com to write about the surprisingly good starting pitching depth the Yankees had last year from swing starters. If one or two of those swing men are needed for the rotation full time, that depth is diminished greatly. See the post at It's About the Money.

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: August 21, 2013

Ah, baseball. Anything can happen. How can some picks be so good like Kyle Lohse beating the Cardinals and Lance Lynn giving up a big inning in the fourth or fifth inning (I called it perfectly), or Patrick Corbin beating the mighty Reds and yet turn into such a bad night of picking? That's baseball. A nice commenter yesterday gave a long dissertation on why the Phillies would win yesterday. But on any given game, that does not work. I picked the Rockies and was correct. Every game on every night is a crap shoot.

For example, I picked the A's. I was all excited about Sonny Gray pitching and he did indeed pitch brilliantly and left with a 4-2 lead. But then Sean Doolittle did little to help the cause and coughed up the game. The Red Sox were picked and Jake Peavy was terrific. But then, manager, John Farrell, fell into the National League trap of doing a double-switch in the sixth inning with Peavy only at 89 pitches and the bullpen coughed up the game. Heck, even Phil Hughes pitched well at a Yankee Stadium game. Anything can happen.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Braves over the Mets: I mulled this one around quite a bit. One of four afternoon starts today, Jonathon Niese has pitched well since coming off the DL. But Alex Wood has pitched really well for the Braves too. My sort of rule has always been that if the pitchers cancel each other out, take the better team.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: The Cardinals really need wins. As such, it is hard to figure why they continue to start Jake Westbrook. Perhaps they feel they have no other options. The Brewers start Tom Gorzelanny, who really is not more reliable than Westbrook. High scoring game?
• The Athletics over the Mariners: Another really tough pick. A.J. Griffin is a better pick at home and that is where he is. But Hisashi Iwakuma is back on his stingy ways. The A's win this late.
• The Red Sox over the Giants: Felix Doubront had a rough outing against the Yankees, but you kind of saw that coming. But overall, Doubront has pitched well. The trouble with this pick is that Barry Zito gets the start for the Giants and you never know what to expect.
• The Pirates over the Padres: I picked Ian Kennedy to pitch well in his new and big ballpark his last time out and he did not. I am kind of gun shy now. Gerrit Cole has held his own and his good stuff should hold the Padres at bay and allow the Pirates to win.
• The Indians over the Angels: Again, a Trout-less Angels are wingless Angels. And Justin Masterson should have no trouble with them. Jerome Williams could have a good game to match him. But that is a pretty good stretch to think so. Wow. I am picking way too many visiting teams. I hate that.
• The Phillies over the Rockies: I do not really think the Phillies are a lock here or that they even might win. They are just spinning helplessly and Charlie Manuel was not the problem. But I need a home team to win and Cliff Lee gives them a chance. Juan Nicasio goes for the Rockies.
• The Orioles over the Rays: Again, I am not sure this is the correct pick. I have been wrong in this series every day. But I feel stronger in this one. Wei-Yin Chen can hold down the Rays. And Chris Davis and company could do damage to Jeremy Hellickson. Wieters is hot too.
• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: There is no way the Yankees should win this game. They are starting Adam Warren. The Blue Jays are starting R.A. Dickey. But the Yankees are so hot and the Blue Jays so bad and the pick cannot be anything else. Besides, Jose Bautista went on the DL.
• The Tigers over the Twins: The Tigers lost to Pelfrey? Oh well. Anibal Sanchez is definitely not Porcello and Kevin Correia is still Kevin Correia.
• The Reds over the Diamondbacks: This has been a good series. But the D-backs come up on the short end. As much as I root for Brandon McCarthy, I cannot pick him until he pitches well consistently. Mike Leake is a much better pick.
• The Dodgers over the Marlins: Zack Greinke has been pitching so well that I would be a fool to pick against him. Plus, he can hit. Yasiel Puig came out of Purgatory last night to hit a big homer. The only wild card in this game is if Nathan Eovaldi will be more "up" for this game against his old team and if there really is such an effect.
• The Cubs over the Nationals: Jake Arrieta was terrific his last time out. He has always had that kind of talent. But Ross Ohlendorf always seems to come out of the woodwork and win. Will he today? That would not be good for the pick.
• The Royals over the White Sox: Andre Rienzo was really good in his last start. And the White Sox have been winning more of late. But the Royals are at home. Their fans have been good as always and Jeremy Guthrie can have really good games.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rangers over the Astros: Derek Holland should not lose to Erik Bedard. That is all.

Yesterday: 7-9

Week: 22-21

Month: 158-115

Season: 1061-828

Games of the Day: 80-56   -1