MLB Game Picks - Thursday: April 10, 2014

Wednesday was a "kiss your sister" day as the picks went 8-8. Blech. There were quite a few dumb picks. I'll excuse them as Nyquil moments. Why not, because if I was in my right mind, I would not have made those. Yeah, okay, William. Whatever. 

 There are nine games on the schedule today and here are the picks:

• The Athletics over the Twins: Mike Pelfrey and Dan Straily have an equal chance of pitching decently. But the Twins' offense is just awful and that determines the pick in the A's favor.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: Gerrit Cole pitched really well in his first outing and the Cubs provide little obstacles offensively. I really like Travis Wood, but the poor guy pitches for the Cubs, so what are you going to do?
• The Nationals over the Marlins: What is up with Stephen Strasburg? He was my big guy on my first ever fantasy baseball experience, but he has done very little. Where is the dominating guy we once knew? Tom Koehler is pretty good too, but going with the Nationals at home.
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: One of my early obstacles thus far has been picking the Yankees every day and watching them lose. So I am going to stop that. Clay Buchholz over Michael Pineda.
• The Phillies over the Brewers: Whenever Cliff Lee is on the mound, you have to favor the Phillies. The Brewers are hitting pretty well though and Marco Estrada had a good first outing.
• The Blue Jays over the Astros: The Blue Jays have gotten fat on the Astros all week, so why should tonight be any different? R.A. Dickey goes against Dallas Keuchel.
• The Braves over the Mets: David Hale of the Braves has made three starts in his Major League career and has given up one run. Until that streak ends, it's hard to pick against him. Jenrry Mejia has a big arm for the Mets though.
• The Indians over the White Sox: I feel like the White Sox are better offensively and are more dynamic, but their pitching has gotten worse. Danny Salazar over John Danks, a guy I never count on to do well.
• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: Yeah, the Dbacks are starting to recover from their bumpy start. But Randall Delgado does not fill me with good feelings. Then again, neither does Ryan Vogelsong these days.

Yesterday: 8-8, Games of the Day: 4-4, Season: 77-54

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: September 26, 2013

The final full week of the regular season continues its successful ways here with a 10-5 night. Of the five incorrect picks, the Pirates and Reds losing were the most surprising. The Rockies were just a stupid pick. The Braves lost to the Brewers but they did defend the integrity of the game (oh brother). And finally, Cole Hamels couldn't get a win over the Marlins, which is sort of hysterical if you think about it. The poor blighter. What a season.

The Rockies did not win Todd Helton's last day at Coors Field, but that was really cool that he hit a homer. And it was really cool that Barry Zito got a win in his last game in San Francisco. Zito never did anything but handle himself with class in that situation. And big props to Max Scherzer. That is your Cy Young Award winner right there.

There are nine games on the schedule. Apparently, some teams needed the day off with only four days left on the schedule. Thursday's picks:

• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: The Padres really played well down the stretch and the Diamondbacks, not so much. Robbie Erlin has pitched well. Trevor Cahill has pitched better in the second half. I am going with Erlin.
• The Rays over the Yankees: The Yankees are deader than...well...dead. Ivan Nova gives them a chance. But the Rays are going to keep winning. I hate them. Alex Cobb gets another win in what has been a very good season for him. Mariano Rivera's last day in the Bronx. Sigh.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Say what you want about the Blue Jays season. But you cannot blame Mark Buehrle who has been just the kind of pitcher they hoped he would be. Miguel Gonzalez has not been there for the Orioles.
• The Mets over the Brewers: This pick is for Dillon Gee who has been really great for the Mets in the second half. The guy just knows how to pitch. Johnny Helwig, on the other hand, has a WHIP so far in his young career of 2.25. Ouch.
• The Braves over the Phillies: David Hale makes his second Major League start for the Braves. How did I miss his first one? Must have been in a blind spot. Anyway, his performance in that first start was so out of character with his minor league numbers (never struck out so many batters) that I had to blink a little bit. But he should still be better than Tyler Cloyd.
• The Rangers over the Angels: Matt Garza is the same as always. It's just a different team. He seems to have all this talent and at least a third of the time, just goes off the rails. He better be on tonight as the Rangers are still trying to hang on. Jerome Williams has been better of late. No love lost between these two teams.
• The Royals over the White Sox: The Royals are done as are the Yankees. But somehow, they looked better doing it. Jeremy Guthrie should beat Andre Rienzo, though the latter had a good game his last outing.
• The Giants over the Dodgers: This pick has a 50/50 feel to it. Tim Lincecum has to pitch well. There is a 50/50 there. Edinson Volquez has to be decent. The odds are less there. The Giants have to hit. The odds are less there. 50/50.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Indians over the Twins: You can talk about the Indians having a soft schedule down the stretch, but you still have to win all those games and the Indians have done that. Zach McAllister over Andrew Albers.

Yesterday: 10-5

Week: 36-22

Month: 201-150

Season: 1343-1045

Games of the Day: 102-70

MLB Game Picks - Friday: September 13, 2013

Why yes, it is Friday the 13th. That means the picks will have good luck today, right? The 12th was not too bad. Seven out of eleven was not as blah or bad as the previous days. I did not expect the Yankees to win a game that Phil Hughes started. The beleaguered pitcher was yanked after pitching just 50 pitches (and he pitched well). David Robertson tried to give the game back and was so bad that when the Yankees went ahead in the ninth to win the game, the win was given to Mariano Rivera instead of Robertson. Weird.

I did not expect the Cardinals to lose to the Brewers either. But then again, it should not be surprising because Tyler Thornburg is impressive as he starts his big league career. The Cardinals and Pirates are now tied atop the NL Central with 16 games to go.

The other two games that I blew were the Braves game that they won behind Freddy Garcia. That was a surprise. And I did not expect the Rays to win against Boston.

We are back to a full schedule of games today. There is a lot of rain on the East Coast, so we'll see how that goes. The Friday picks:

• The Indians over the White Sox: They are playing this game in the afternoon, which is kind of weird. But the Indians should win it fairly easily. Hector Santiago is Mr. No-decision and the bullpen will lose it. Danny Salazar should have no problems. The White Sox made three more errors yesterday. Amazing.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: Charlie Morton was bombed in his last outing, but he should rebound to beat the Cubs. The Cubs start Jake Arrieta, who just cannot seem to put it together in the big leagues.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: The only big question here is whether the Nats will score some runs to support Stephen Strasburg. You know the pitcher will pitch well. Kyle Kendrick will try to keep the game tight.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: The Orioles are really tumbling and it will not help to put Jason Hammel out there on the mound. Todd Redmond has won both of his last starts. He has not been going deep into games, but the bullpen has held them. That will have to happen again today.
• The Tigers over the Royals: The Tigers have not been faring well and Justin Verlander is no longer a lock to win. But I do not like Bruce Chen on the road and thus give the not to Verlander and the Tigers at home.
• The Mets over the Marlins: Brad Hand has lost nine of his ten big league decisions. He has pitched five scoreless innings in relief so far this season. But that is a far cry from a start. Jonathon Niese has had a good second half and I like him in this one.
• The Yankees over the Red Sox: This is the Yankees' best chance to win a game in this series at Fenway. They always seem to get to John Lackey after a while and Hiroki Kuroda and his split-fingered pitches can keep the Red Sox at bay. The Yankees' bullpen is not doing well, so if it's close late, this pick can blow up.
• The Braves over the Padres: The Braves are giving David Hale, a 2009 third round draft pick out of Princeton, his Major League debut. I am not impressed with his minor league numbers. But my theory here is that the game will be high scoring as the Braves get to Ian Kennedy and the bullpen wins it late.
• The Athletics over the Rangers: How upsetting for Rangers' fans to see how futile they have been lately. Dan Straily has not been lights out against the Rangers (or anyone else), but he does keep the A's in the game most of the time and actually pitches better in Arlington than at the Coliseum. Derek Holland has not shown me much.
• The Angels over the Astros: Remember earlier in the season when the Astros were beating the Angels often? The Angels are better now. Not much, but better. One reason is that Jason Vargas has been pitching well. Dallas Keuchel just sort of exists for me.
• The Reds over the Brewers: The Reds are still hoping for a shot at the division and they are still within hailing distance. Mat Latos has had a great year. Kyle Lohse is the only wildcard to this pick. He can pitch well in Milwaukee.
• The Cardinals over the Mariners: The Cards might have a tough time with Hisashi Iwakuma. They do not hit lefties well and this is a good one. But Adam Wainwright is on the mound and the Mariners have little on offense. The Cards win late.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: Tyler Chatwood has had a good season and did not show any ill effects from his hand injury suffered against the Reds the last time he pitched. But I like the D-backs here at home and for Brandon McCarthy to build on his last good start.
• The Dodgers over the Giants: This is a good one. Clayton Kershaw at home against Madison Bumgarner. That is a lot of pitching talent all at the same time. This game could go either way.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rays over the Twins: This is the Rays' chance to undo a lot of their past damage the last couple of weeks. They should beat the Twins just about every time. Chris Archer should get the win and Kevin Correia should not provide much of an obstacle.

Yesterday: 7-4

Week: 37-30

Month: 87-77

Season: 1229-972

Games of the Day: 92-67