MLB Game Picks - Sunday: May 10, 2015

Happy Mothers Day everyone.

I picked both ends of a double-header correctly and was 5-2 with the first seven picks. Then the toilet flushed. I went 1-7 the rest of the way for a really bad day and another Pick of the Day down the tube. I don't know if they will ever play in Denver again as the Rockies were postponed again.

Sunday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: It seems the only team Bud Norris pitches well against is the Yankees. It's just like Wei-Yin Chen, who turns into Kershaw against the Yankees. But I'm still picking the Yankees because of Michael Pineda.
• The Blue Jays over the Red Sox: I don't know what to make of Clay Buchholz other than how I can't watch him because of that greasy hair. It's disgusting. He has been such a bust so far this year. R.A. Dickey is hard to trust as well. But he has had only one bad start in his last six, so I'll go with the hot Jays over the cold Red Sox.
• The Indians over the Twins: It's hard to pick against the Twins right now. They are playing amazing. But the match-up of Danny Salazar vs. Trevor May seems too much on the Indians' side.  It's still tough picking against the Twins...
• The Rays over the Rangers: The Rays are another team playing pretty well. They are two games back of the Yankees. Jake Odorizzi should have a good day and Wandy Rodriguez will have trouble.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Like I said yesterday, Bryce Harper is out of his mind right now and the Nats are making their move. Jordan Zimmermann needs some run support and to have a good day, but that should happen against Alex Wood.
• The Mets over the Phillies: I really am rooting for Clay Billingsley. I am a sucker for comeback stories. But picking against Bartolo Colon has been unproductive lately for obvious reasons.
• The Pirates over the Cardinals: Jeff Locke has pitched pretty well against the Cards in his career. I am not overly confident that Tyler Lyons is an MLB pitcher and Matt Reynolds is a poor substitute for a highly missed Matt Carpenter.
• The Brewers over the Cubs: The Brewers are suddenly hitting. Or, the Cubs have stopped pitching. Whatever the combination, I have been slow on the uptake. I'll go with Matt Garza (heaven help me) over Kyle Hendricks.
• The Reds over the White Sox: Michael Lorenzen has looked pretty good for the Reds and I think Todd Frazier will have a big day against John Danks.
• The Marlins over the Giants: Mat Latos was better his last time out and might be figuring it out. His five walks bother me though when he beat the Nationals. Ryan Vogelsong is what he is and will probably keep the Giants in the game at least.
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: Maybe they will get the game in today. Who knows. If they do (and I think the East Coast games will be more of a weather problem today), then Clayton Kershaw still beats Jorge De La Rosa.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: Do you want to pick against Felix Hernandez at home? I don't.  Jesse Chavez goes for the A's.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Andrew Cashner is 0-3 in his recent starts against the Diamondbacks. However, today, the D-backs don't have a starting pitcher and from all accounts I've seen, are going with a bullpen day where the bullpen will pitch the entire game. That doesn't sound very appetizing.
• The Tigers over the Royals: Oy. This series has become as unpredictable as they come. Shane Greene had a great start to his season, but has had three bad starts in a row. Chris Young gives up nothing but fly balls but that is a good thing the way the Royals' outfielders can fly around. I have no idea...

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Angels over the Astros: This pick went bad yesterday. But I have to go with what looks right each day and try to forget about yesterday. Garrett Richards has looked strong and his knee is holding up thus far. I think he will be much better than Scott Feldman.

Yesterday: 6-9, May: 67-58, Season: 231-223, Picks of the Day: 18-16

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: April 7, 2015

Well...I'm not off to a great start this season. It seems like we must have broken a record for Opening Day shutouts. There were a bunch of them! Bartolo Colon and Kyle Kendrick made me eat my words. And I guess I deserved that comeuppance.

But onward we go. Tuesday's picks:

• The Marlins over the Braves: I have no real feel for this one. Mat Latos verses Alex Wood seems like a wash to me. I'll go with the Marlins as the home team. But I was wrong yesterday...
• The Orioles over the Bay Rays: The Rays and Yankees might be the two worst offensive teams in the AL East. Wei-Yin Chen has a proven track record and Nathan Karns is a bit of a package we are waiting to open to see what's inside.
• The Cardinals over the Cubs: The Cubbies looked pretty awful on Sunday night. Jake Arrieta gives them a fighting chance. But I don't think the Cubs will hit Lance Lynn. We've got ten more days of this, Cubs fans.
• The Brewers over the Rockies: This pick could not have been more wrong yesterday. Wow, what a slaughter. Matt Garza does not thrill me. But then again, neither does Jordan Lyles. The Brewers might be a bad team...
• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: I've never had a lot of confidence in Ryan Vogelsong. But there he is year after year with the Giants. My mouth still has a sour taste for Rubby De La Rosa after his season a year ago.
• The Athletics over the Rangers: Jesse "Chaka" Hahn was a good luck charm last year, so I have to go with him. Lucky charms aside, I'll take him any day over Colby Lewis.
• The Mariners over the Angels: The M's made a pretty good opening statement yesterday and James Paxton is another great arm. C.J. Wilson has caught a lot of grief this spring for a guy who has been successful in Los Angeles of Anaheim or something or other.

And the Pick of the Day

• The Dodgers over the Padres: Tyson Ross is good. Zack Greinke is better.

Yesterday: 7-7, Season: 8-7, Picks of the Day: 0-1

MLB Game Picks - Monday: June 23, 2014

Yesterday's picks broke through a little bit after a string of bad days. There were only five incorrect picks out of fifteen. One was Yu Darvish. Why doesn't he ever win when I pick him. The other incongruity was Masahiro Tanaka losing. It must have been a bad day for Japanese aces. I had picked the Cubs and Jason Hammel did have a good day. But the Cubs can't hit and lost. And then there is the Kansas City Royals who were swept by Seattle in their home ballpark. What the heck, man?

But it was a good day. I watched a little of the Yankees game, but it was so bad that it wasn't worth leaving the pool for long to watch. So I went by the pool. Gosh, can a team do any worse at leaving runners on base?

Monday's picks:

• The Orioles over the White Sox: I can see Chris Sale shutting down the Orioles. I can also see Wei-Yin Chen shutting down the White Sox. So then it becomes a bullpen battle and both teams are about the same there. But the Orioles' batters are better. So I am going with the home team.
• The Marlins over the Phillies: I have gone back and forth on this one. The Marlins should tee off on Roberto Hernandez, but I have my concerns about Nathan Eovaldi. I mean the guy is averaging 95.7 MPH on his fastball. How is he also averaging 8.7 hits allowed per nine? From what I can see, the guy needs to ditch his slider and stick with the curve.
• The Blue Jays over the Yankees: This one is colored by my total irritation with the team from the Bronx. But there is logic as well. Marcus Stroman is a good arm and the Yankees don't do well with big arms and Stroman will learn from his first start against them. Chase Whitley has been a wonderful surprise, but aren't you waiting for the other shoe to drop? I am and it may be today.
• The Reds over the Cubs: The Cubs hope that Jeff Samardzija starts pitching really well to up his value as much as possible. The trouble is that his team still can't hit and Alfredo Simon is the biggest surprise of the year.
• The Royals over the Dodgers: I have a feeling that all those ghosts of Kansas City will come down to haunt Zack Greinke today. Yeah, that was a lot of water over the bridge a long time ago, but still. Jeremy Guthrie's fastball has ticked up a couple of notches and he has been sitting at 93 his last couple of games. That makes a huge difference for him.
• The Brewers over the Nationals: The Nats might have a leddown after the Braves' series and Gio Gonzalez and his left arm won't affect the Brewers' lineup as much as others. Matt Garza is the key to the game and how he pitches will determine who wins.
• The Cardinals over the Rockies: Jhoulys Chacin is not having a good season. Lance Lynn could certainly have a lynning at Coors. But he is a better bet here than the other way around.
• The Mariners over the Red Sox: I pick Felix Hernandez and when I do, he never lives up to expectations...or his team takes him out too early and the bullpen goes all flooey on me. John Lackey is a worthy adversary though.
• The Giants over the Padres: This could be interesting. The Padres' pitcher has been a bit of a mystery. First of all, most of the sites say TBD or to be determined. Yahoo says it will be Odrisamer Despaigne, who may inherit the title as the hardest name in baseball to spell. He is a Cuban just signed this year. Expect a lot of strikeouts and walks. Matt Cain is the safer pick.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rays over the Pirates: The Rays are playing much better and it all starts with pitching. The team is getting better starting pitching and things flow well from there. Alex Cobb over Edinson Volquez.

Yesterday: 10-5, June: 164-141, Games of the Day: 41-38, Season: 617-522

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: June 18, 2014

Tuesday was a good day in my game picking world. With only four incorrect picks, a lot of the bad taste of the previous few days disappeared. Never satisfied, I was confounded a bit by the four incorrect picks. I mean, come on, Yu Darvish. Maybe you should go to a baseball shrink when it comes to pitching to the A's. Against everyone else, he is Godzilla. Against the A's, he is a gecko. What the hecko?

The Phillies beat the Braves again and that does two things. First, it points out the inherent problems the Braves have on offense. But secondly, each win delays the Phillies from doing what they need to do to rebuild and start over.

Here are Wednesday's picks:

• The Braves over the Phillies: I am nothing if not stubborn. So I'll try this again. This is the first of eight glorious day games today and features kind of a crappy pitching match-up of Roberto Hernandez against Aaron Harang. I guess I'm going Harang.
• The Marlins over the Cubs: Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta hasn't given up a run in his last two outings. So why am I picking Miami? I think Nathan Eovaldi matches him and then the Marlins win late against the bullpen.
• The Royals over the Tigers: Okay, I am hopping on the Royals' bandwagon (watch them lose now). Jeremy Guthrie is not great, but he has held his own over the years against the Tigers and I'm not big on The Emoticon, Drew Smyly, as a starting pitcher.
• The Orioles over the Rays: Kevin Gausman has made a strong statement in his last two starts and perhaps his "I've arrived" moment has come. Alex Cobb was much better his last time out, but his mates aren't scoring.
• The Red Sox over the Twins: The Red Sox barely beat Phil Hughes yesterday who threw a complete game in his 2-1 loss. Kyle Gibson has been the Twins' second best pitcher and has had some really good games. But John Lackey has been outstanding.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: Lance Lynn is getting tougher and tougher and hasn't had a lynning in quite a while. Bartolo Colon is game and will face a team that loves hitting fastballs.
• The White Sox over the Giants: I just wrote about Tim Hudson last week and about how the guy just wins and wins, year after year. But Chris Sale is a different beast and should shut the Giants down.
• The Athletics over the Rangers: The Rangers will never catch the A's. It's just not going to ever happen. The A's are in their heads I think. Sonny Gray was not good against the Yankees, but he will beat the A's. Nick Tepesch can be good at times.
• The Reds over the Pirates: Can you realistically pick against Alfredo Simon at this point? The guy has been amazing. Put him up against Edinson Volquez and that seems like a sure thing.
• The Nationals over the Astros: I normally don't like picking a guy coming off the disabled list like Gio Gonzalez. But I just don't trust Scott Feldman against the Nationals' offense. So that's the pick.
• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: Mark Buehrle is tough to pick against with the year he is putting together. But there is too much body of work to think that he will be that good all season. Chase Whitley just seems to throw quality innings day after day. I'm not sure how he does it exactly.
• The Angels over the Indians: Justin Masterson is so inconsistent. He's either brilliant or he's terrible. I can't stand picking games he pitches. But he is facing a team that has all its weapons now and is coming on strong. And C.J. Wilson is better than people think.
• The Brewers over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs are so stupid. I mean, come on. Pound your chests and tell the world about how macho you are and how you are the baseball police. But it would fly better if the team was any good. Matt Garza over Wade Miley (who I thought was pitching yesterday).
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: Clayton Kershaw at home? Yeah, I'll take some of that. Colorado away from Coors? No, I won't take some of that. Jorge De La Rosa isn't bad, but he's no Kershaw.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Mariners over the Padres: Felix Hernandez goes to another big ballpark to pitch. That's killer for him and for the Padres. Andrew Cashner has a big arm, but has not shown any consistency to this point.

Yesterday: 11-4, June: 128-106, Games of the Day: 38-36, Season: 581-487

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: May 27, 2014

I had a wonderful weekend with my wife and enjoyed myself. While I was doing so, the game picks were withering on the vine (cliche alert). Yesterday was awful. Jeff Samardzija won a game. The Red Sox won a game. The Yankees beat the Cardinals. None of which I picked to happen. The latter was the game of the day, which is back to two games under .500. And that is just a little of what went wrong. Multiply those things by five and you have my day. Awful. But at least I had a wonderful weekend.

A lot of people still come to read these daily picks. At this point, it must be out of morbid curiosity. Well, here comes some more. Tuesday's picks:

• The Phillies over the Rockies: One of the few things I was correct about yesterday was the no-hitter waking the Phillies up. They totaled the Rockies yesterday and will beat them again today behind Cole Hamels. Jorge De La Rosa will be on the short end.
• The Nationals over the Marlins: Blake Treinen has had one good start and one bad start for the Nats. He should get his first win today. Henderson Alvarez is much better at home and a big risk to pick away from Miami. Giancarlo Stanton is the bomb though.
• The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: It's hard to pick against Mark Buehrle this year. After all, the guy is 8-1. I keep waiting for him to regress and that worries me. Alex Cobb picked up where he left off in his first start off the DL.
• The Red Sox over the Braves: The Red Sox are officially over the hump now with their win yesterday. Now that dark cloud is gone, Jon Lester can come in and shut down the Braves and the Red Sox can tee off on Aaron Harang.
• The Mets over the Pirates: The Pirates need to get Edinson Volquez out of their rotation. He is just not good enough to justify going back to that well over and over. Jon Niese, on the other hand, is a very solid starter.
• The Brewers over the Orioles: The Orioles surprised me by winning yesterday and they did not have Chris Davis in the lineup (paternity leave). I don't often pick Matt Garza but I am going to here over Wei-Yin Chen.
• The White Sox over the Indians: It's hard to believe that the White Sox are closer to the top of the division than the Indians. The Indians have to count as a major disappointment thus far. Chris Sale over Justin Masterson.
• The Astros over the Royals: The Royals have me all kerfuffled. I simply cannot figure them out. I do know that George Springer is the real deal and is crunching. Jeremy Guthrie should look good to Mr. Springer. Collin McHugh goes for the Astros.
• The Cardinals over the Yankees: I won't pick this as my game of the day, but I still think that Lance Lynn is going to be better than David Phelps. The Yankees only hope is if the Cardinals' pitcher has a lynning.
• The Diamondbacks over the Padres: If the Diamondbacks can drub Tyson Ross, they can do the same to Eric Stults. And Wade Miley is another guy I keep picking against like he was still bad like last year. He's not. Since I wrote about Seth Smith the other day, he's gone 2-16 with no walks.
• The Athletics over the Tigers: Will Max Scherzer turn this Tigers' staff around, or will he continue the rotation woes with another bad start? Will it matter either way if Sonny Gray does his thing?
• The Angels over the Mariners: Jered Weaver has been on a roll. But the Mariners beat the Angels yesterday. So I don't know. Roenis Elias goes for the M's and he has been pretty good.
• The Dodgers over the Reds: The Dodgers' rotation is on some kind of ride right now. Zack Greinke could join the party. Alfredo Simon has been solid all year for the Reds though.
• The Giants over the Cubs: This seems like a no-brainer with Tim Hudson facing Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta. But nothing about baseball is that simple.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rangers over the Twins: Phil Hughes has been a pleasant surprise for the Twins and is having a very good season. But he is no Yu Darvish. I think the Rangers will win by a couple here.

Yesterday: 5-10, May: 187-170, Games of the Day: 25-27, Season: 420-342

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: March 17, 2014

I laughed out loud this morning when I looked at yesterday's results. I have been stuck on the 8-7 mark for full schedule days for a week now and after tallying up yesterday, I finished at 8-6. The only reason I did not finish 8-7 was because of a rain out in New York. The same thing happened on Wednesday when I finished 8-5 because of two rained out games. Call this the Groundhog Day of picking.

Drew Hutchison really has thrown me for a loop this season. When he is good, he is good enough to beat Yu Darvish. When he is not, he is out of the game by the fifth inning. How do you predict which will happen when? And the other close loss was Max Scherzer out-dueling Jon Lester. A match-up of aces that could have gone either way. And it should have been a draw if Will Middlebrooks hadn't been Will Middlebrooks in the first inning in the field.

Saturday's picks:

• The Cardinals over the Braves: Shelby Miller believes he knows what his problem has been in his mechanics this season. I believe him and he will have a good day. Aaron Harang is starting to meet himself at his statistical mean.
• The Brewers over the Cubs: To be honest, I have no clue in this one. I suspect that the Cubs will be gunning for Matt Garza for what he said to Samardzija. I also suspect that Edwin Jackson will get all of Samardzija's run support. But I still think the Brewers win. I know. Weird.
• The Nationals over the Mets: The Mets have lost three in a row and Bartolo Colon has been hit hard of late. I like Gio Gonzalez in this one.
• The Yankees over the Pirates: This is the same pitching line that was supposed to happen yesterday. That said, I am surprised the Yankees did not skip David Phelps here. But I still think the Yankees will hit a few of Edinson Volquez's offerenings over the wall.
• The White Sox over the Astros: I have been surprised at how the White Sox have turned around Hector Noesi. They have a really good pitching coach there. I don't think Noesi will ever be great, but he will win today over Jarred Cosart.
• The Reds over the Phillies: That whooshing sound you are hearing is that Phillies sinking to the depths of the NL East. Cole Hamels can't get a break to save himself and Homer Bailey is starting to own his stuff.
• The Athletics over the Indians: Scott Kazmir is a secret elder of a gentle race and is 5-1. I like his chances over Josh Tomlin today. Tomlin has been very good too though. The A's are amazing.
• The Royals over the Orioles: Danny Duffy has walked too many batters in his two starts, but has otherwise been tough to hit. I like him today against the Orioles since he is left-handed. I've never been a big Bud Norris fan, though the pitcher did have a good outing last time out.
• The Red Sox over the Tigers: My instinct was telling me that the Tigers would hit John Lackey. But Lackey likes pitching in Boston and as well as Rick Porcello has been pitching, the Red Sox should find him a treat after Scherzer yesterday.
• The Mariners over the Twins: How could the M's go get Robinson Cano and then stop there? The man needs help. I do like the way Roenis Elias pitches though and I think he will be better than Sam Deduno.
• The Blue Jays over the Rangers: It is hard to argue with the roll Mark Buehrle has been on. Buehrle has always been more steady than great. So what is different this year? I don't know, but I'm sticking with him until he goes back to his old self. Robbie Ross goes for the Rangers.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: Clayton Kershaw has a 3.00 ERA at Chase Field with 10.6 strikeouts per nine. But he is 3-5 there in eight decisions. I think he still wins today over young Chase Anderson.
• The Giants over the Marlins: I do think that Tim Lincecum will give up a bomb to Giancarlo Stanton. But I still think he wins a low scoring game against Tom Koehler and the Marlins.
• The Angels over the Bay Rays: I was wrong with this pick yesterday as Chris Archer had a really good day. But Cesar Ramos is not Chris Archer and C.J. Wilson should be good at home.

And the Game of the Day

• The Rockies over the Padres: Yeah, Jordan Lyle's 5-0 record is hard to fathom and reality doesn't seem to fit here. But I do think the Rockies will out hit the Padres who start Robbie Erlin. Robbie Days aren't the same without Robbie Ray.

Yesterday: 8-6, May: 111-94, Games of the Day: 20-22, Season: 352-272