MLB Game Picks - Thursday: June 18, 2015

Another 10-5 day with another Pick of the Day incorrect! Doggone it! Talk about going 29-15 the last three days and not being able to enjoy it! How could Clayton Kershaw lose on me! Oh well. Those are the breaks.

Friday's Picks:

• The Orioles over the Phillies: The Phillies have a chance in this one as Bud Norris has not been pitching well. But even if this is a high scoring game, I expect the Orioles to win it. Sean O'Sullivan goes for the Phils.
• The Cardinals over the Twins: The Twins finally won last night but have been in a tailspin. They face Jaime Garcia who has been pitching great. Mike Pelfrey will probably not fare well here.
• The Rockies over the Astros: The last few times I've picked Collin McHugh, he has let me down. I will probably turn him around by picking against him. Heh. David Hale goes for the Rockies.
• The Athletics over the Padres: Unless the A's blew their wad last night in scoring all those runs, they should win this one. Kendall Graveman has been pitching well and is opposed by Ian Kennedy.
• The Diamondbacks over the Angels: I had a feeling that Allen Webster would thrive outside of Boston. And I could be right. I am picking him tonight over C.J. Wilson.
• The Yankees over the Marlins: I am probably a fool for picking the Yanks in a game that CC Sabathia starts. But Dan Jennings did not inspire me with his managerial moves last night. How can you not pinch hit for that catcher last night!? Mat Latos goes for the Fish.
• The Rays over the Nationals: The Nats are one big confusing team to me this year. Doug Fister is back from the DL. But I don't trust that. Besides Chris Archer is going for the Rays and expecting them to lose is futile these days.
• The Braves over the Red Sox: So yeah, the Red Sox were supposed to be pretty good and the Braves were supposed to be really bad this year. How has that worked out so far? Shelby Miller over Clay Buchholz.
• The Indians over the Cubs: You know...I am really over the position player pitching thing. Teams have never carried more pitchers than they do these days. There should never be a reason to put position players on the mound. It's ridiculous. Anyway, Danny Salazar over Jason Hammel.
• The Tigers over the Reds: Justin Verlander looked good in his first start. He had is velocity back too. He should go deeper into this game making it easier for me to take him over Mike Leake.
• The Royals over the Brewers: The Royals are simply the better team here and that makes me pick them even though Jeremy Guthrie is pitching for them. Jimmy Nelson goes for the Brewers.
• The Pirates over the White Sox: The White Sox are losing regularly these days and Jeff Samardzija is not getting much help. He won't tonight either with Gerrit Cole going for the Pirates.
• The Mariners over the Giants: The Mariners aren't getting much for offense. But if they pitch, they have a chance. I like Mike Montgomery a lot. So he is the pick over Ryan Vogelsong.
• The Dodgers over the Rangers: I'm still smarting from last night with this pick. The only thing having me pick against the very hot Rangers is that they are starting Anthony Ranaudo. Zack Greinke goes for the Dodgers.

And the Pick of the Day (come on now!)

• The Blue Jays over the Mets: I have a sick feeling that the Blue Jays offense is going to whack Bartolo Colon into submission. R.A. Dickey is usually just fine at home in the dome.

Yesterday: 10-5, June: 126-110, Season: 504-459, Picks of the Day: 37-34

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: April 9, 2015

Man, I am terrible. My picking season is off to a brutal start. And all I can say is Aaron Freakin' Harang. Sheesh. The Pick of the Day, which tries to pick the most obvious pick to get right, is 0-3. Nice. Well...let's just say that I've started my season like the Chicago White Sox and let's see where it goes from here.

Thursday's picks:

• The Reds over the Pirates: I don't like the odds for either pitcher in this one. A.J. Burnett always seems to be a couple of pitches away from disaster. And Anthony DeSclafani is a fly ball pitcher in the smallest ballpark in the bigs. Hmm...  I like the place the Reds are in right now and the Pirates seem a bit flat. So that's the way I'm going.
• The Nationals over the Mets: What a big time and exciting match-up as Matt Harvey goes against Stephen Strasburg! That should be a lot of fun to watch. My thought is what happens with the bullpens after the studs are out of the game. Advantage: Nats.
• The White Sox over the Royals: My commenter from yesterday gave the tip that I should pick John Danks today as he always pitches well against the Royals. With the way my picking season has started, who am I to argue? Edinson Volquez is easy to pick against anyway.
• The Astros over the Indians: I have no idea how to pick this one. Asher Wojciechowski makes his MLB debut for the Astros. He's a former first round draft pick (Blue Jays) with a so-so MiLB record. Trevor Bauer is said to be throwing much better, but we'll see. Again, I have no idea. I do know that Wojciechowski just took over as the hardest name to spell in baseball. I wonder if he is related to Steve Wojciechowski?
• The Athletics over the Rangers: Kendall Graveman makes his first MLB start after the A's acquired him from the Blue Jays. That fact and Nick Martinez's overall non-excitement level make that match-up a wash. The A's are clearly the better team right now.
• The Padres over the Giants: Picking against the Giants never seems to be a good idea even if this is supposed to be a down season for them. Yesterday's victory is a case in point. Tim Hudson had the first losing season of his career last year and looked a bit toasted, especially near the end of the season. I'm going with Ian Kennedy.
• The Red Sox over the Phillies: It is hard to think about Justin Masterson pitching after hs season a year ago. And it seemed that all I heard during Spring Training is that he wasn't concerned about getting bombed in his spring outings. That all said, the Red Sox bats have been quiet and should win a high scoring game. David Buchanan pitches for the Phillies and will try to prove me wrong.
• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: CC Sabathia has to keep the ball in the park against the Blue Jays' big bats. And Daniel Norris had a very good spring. I'm going to go with the Yankees at home though and predict that Sabathia surprises people this season.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Tigers over the Twins: The Twins look awful. I thought they would look better. But not so far. I have a fanboy interest in Shane Greene doing well. I would probably pick him anyway over Kyle Gibson.

Yesterday: 7-8, Season: 16-21, Picks of the Day: 0-3