MLB Game Picks - Monday: June 15, 2015

We are not going to talk about yesterday. We are going to pretend that it never happened and move on. If you ask me, I will deny all association with it.

Moving forward, Monday's picks:

• The White Sox over the Pirates: The Pirates have been hot, but have only faced nine lefty starters all season. They have handled them well, but Carlos Rodon is a different animal altogether. Francisco Liriano has been good of late.
• The Tigers over the Reds: Neither this year's Anibal Sanchez or Jon Moscot excite me very much, but the Tigers are home and all things considered equal, should win.
• The Braves over the Red Sox: The Red Sox just got drubbed over the weekend. It was a bloodbath. I'm surprised the manager is still there. How can you pick them to win these days? Rick Porcello hasn't been pitching well. Williams Perez seems to bend but not break too much.
• The Yankees over the Marlins: The Yankees lose the DH so Alex Rodriguez sits. But Masahiro Tanaka should overcome that deficiency. Tom Koehler is a decent pitcher though.
• The Mets over the Blue Jays: The Jays lose one of their big bats and again, the law of averages is weighting heavy here with this win streak. Noah Syndergaard has been disappointing. Mark Buehrle is Mark Buehrle. Take the good and the bad.
• The Nationals over the Rays: I am going with this pick thinking Bryce Harper can at least DH today. Someone needs to tell the Rays they aren't this good. And Erasmo Ramirez has been the shock of the century thus far. Gio Gonzalez better have a good day or this pick is going down too.
• The Cubs over the Indians: I love the Cubs this year. I love what they are doing with their youth. I sure wish the Yankees would do that. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta has been great of late. Trevor Bauer is having a pretty good season for the Indians.
• The Rangers over the Dodgers: The Dodgers know Yovani Gallardo but he has a chance to be good today. Carlos Frias hasn't run into an offense like the Rangers yet this year so it will be a test.
• The Astros over the Rockies: Any time Dallas Keuchel is on the mound, I like the Astros' chances. Chad Bettis has has some spectacular games himself this season. If he is on, this becomes a bullpen game.
• The Royals over the Brewers: This is two road interleague series in a row for the Royals, which seems unfair. They need their DH. Even so, they did not fare well in St. Louis, so they might take it out on the Brewers. Kyle Lohse will be intent on not letting that happen. Edinson Volquez goes for the Royals.
• The Cardinals over the Twins: John Lackey is so hard to figure sometimes. I think tonight will be one of his good games. The Twins will go with Trevor May, who has been up and down. No DH for the Twins.
• The Angels over the Diamondbacks: Whenever I bash mouth Jered Weaver, he proves to me he can still win games with his swill. The Angels need to hit for this pick to work and Robbie Ray will try to keep that from happening.
• The Padres over the Athletics: Jessie Hahn goes for the A's who lose the DH. Tyson Ross is usually good at home.
• The Mariners over the Giants: Taijuan Walker has had three good starts in a row, so perhaps he is settling down to be the pitcher we expected him to be. Tim Hudson goes for the Giants and pitches these days on knowledge more than stuff.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Orioles over the Phillies: The Phillies get an extra hitter in the lineup. Is that a good thing? Wei-Yin Chen versus Aaron Harang. The hot Oriole offense should stay hot here.

Yesterday: 5-9, June: 97-91, Season: 475-444, Picks of the Day: 36-32

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: June 10, 2015

I got smoked by the results yesterday. Wow. For every correct pick I had, there were two incorrect picks. Yeah, that's bad. Congrats to young Mr. Jungmann winning his first MLB start and appearance. But I did not expect you to win. Congrats Chris Heston on your no-hitter, but I picked against you. Congrats Eduardo Gonzalez on another great start. But your team couldn't score. It was a good day for rookies (if you don't count Noah Syndergaard) and a bad day for me.

Wednesday picks:

• The Reds over the Phillies: I have no idea about this one. Jon Moscot starts for the Reds and I know very little about him. I know Jerome Williams of the Phillies and he throws an occasional good game. But Joey Votto is on fire, so I'll go with the Reds.
• The Blue Jays over the Marlins: This is another one to throw up my hands and go, "I don't know!" Scott Copeland is an overachiever for the Blue Jays as a high round draft pick who worked quickly through the Blue Jays' system. He doesn't strike people out. The Marlins start Tom Koehler, but their team is in such disarray (besides Giancarlo Stanton) that I can't trust them. Eight in a row for the Blue Jays?
• The Yankees over the Nationals: Speaking of eight in a row, that is what the Yankees are shooting for tonight. Nathan Eovaldi will either give them a good outing or get blown up by homers. There is no in between. Get the bullpen ready. Gio Gonzalez can be had right now.
• The Rockies over the Cardinals: Ugh! Another tough pick. Chad Bettis has been spectacular as has Carlos Martinez. Which one cracks tonight? The Cards have some injuries right now.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: The Red Sox are doing slightly better against lefties lately, but are still poor overall. That's why I give the edge to Wei-Yin Chen over Rick Porcello. The Orioles are hitting again.
• The Cubs over the Tigers: Shane Greene is still in the Tigers' rotation after pitching terribly since the first month of the season. Not good. Meanwhile, Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta can be very tough.
• The Rays over the Angels: You have to tip your cap to the pitching coach of the Rays. He stayed put while everyone left and look what he has done for Erasmo Ramirez. It's quite remarkable, really. Jered Weaver remains my least favorite player in baseball. What a jerk on the field he is.
• The Braves over the Padres: Tyson Ross is a very talented pitcher whose control has been his worst enemy this season. If he puts it together, this pick is toast. If not, and if Williams Perez keeps being decent, the Braves should win.
• The Mets over the Giants: The young phenom, Matt Harvey, faces the borderline Hall of Fame pitcher, Tim Hudson. Interesting match-up. I have to go with Harvey.
• The Mariners over the Indians: Trevor Bauer pitched great for the Indians last time they faced the Mariners last week. But he lost. Will that change tonight? It all depends on Taijuan Walker, a kid everyone has been waiting for to put it together. If he does, look out.
• The Astros over the White Sox: Carlos Correa has been fantastic thus far. And Vincent Velasquez is making his MLB debut after blowing people away in the minors since he was drafted in 2010. I like his chances tonight against the White Sox and Jose Quintana.
• The Royals over the Twins: The Royals are just the better team here. That said, whenever I pick against Kyle Gibson, I look stupid. And picking Edinson Volquez still makes me queasy.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: The Rangers have been really surprising to me. That being the case, I'm picking them here behind Yovani Gallardo against the A's and Jesse Hahn.
• The Diamondbacks over the Dodgers: Jeremy Hellickson has been on a nice roll and Brett Anderson has not been. So that's the pick.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Pirates over the Brewers: This pick was wrong yesterday and I hate picking Charlie Morton. But he is another pitcher I don't believe in that makes me look foolish all the time. He is 3-0 after all. Kyle Lohse goes for the Brewers.

Yesterday: 5-10 (ouch), June: 61-59, Season: 439-412, Picks of the Day: 34-29 (-2)

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: April 15, 2015

I am back in the negative numbers again after two decent days. I should know better than to pick Stephen Strasburg. That never works out of me. And doggone if the Yankees can't hit a middling arm like Miguel Gonzalez. How about Shane Greene!

Wednesday's picks look like this:

• The Indians over the White Sox: Indians' players are dropping like flies, but I still like Trevor Bauer over John Danks.
• The Marlins over the Braves: The Braves have played above water in the early going. I don't think it will last. On top of that, I have little faith in Eric Stultz. Then again, I have no idea what Dan Haren is going to do.
• The Red Sox over the Nationals: I have no idea anymore with these two teams. Are the Red Sox this good? I thought the Nationals were supposed to be good? Wade Miley gets the not over Gio Gonzalez.
• The Rangers over the Angels: Anthony Ranaudo has taken over Derek Holland's spot for now and he has a chance to succeed. Hector Santiago doesn't thrill me very much. This could be a high scoring game.
• The Pirates over the Tigers: Francisco Liriano has to be on to beat the Tigers. That is a 50/50 proposition. The Tigers lose the DH in Pittsburgh and have Alfredo Simon on the mound. That combination makes me lean to the Pirates.
• The Yankees over the Orioles: Bud Norris isn't the craftsman that some of the other Orioles pitchers are. That means he won't take advantage of bad swings by Yankee pull hitters as often as his compadres. A lot depends on the evolution of Nate Eovaldi.
• The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: The battle of the Ays continues and I will take Mark Buehrle over Erasmo Ramirez any day.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Travis Wood's velocity is in the Jered Weaver range and he doesn't strike anyone out. That's tough in today's market. Jason Marquis just rolls along singing his song year by year.
• The Royals over the Twins: I think most of us highly over-anticipated a better Twins club this season. As to this point, they look awful. The Royals are rolling, but that law of averages thing is staring me in the face. Edinson Volquez versus Kyle Gibson.
• The Athletics over the Astros: Drew Pomeranz and Collin McHugh both pitched really well their first times out. With the pitching seeming to cancel each other out, I have to go with the better team, and that is the A's.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: My friend, Bob, still things I jinx the Cardinals when I pick them. I don't know how to react. I can't just pick them to lose every day, especially when I think they can win. And I still think they should have kept Allen Craig over Matt  Adams, but that's just me. Lance Lynn over Wily Peralta.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: This is an emotional pick so you are all warned. I just want Brandon Morrow to pitch well after several hurt seasons. Chase Anderson threw well his first time out.
• The Mariners over the Dodgers: Brett Anderson did well in his first start. But will that last? Will he stay healthy? The track record says no. Taijuan Walker was pounded his last time out. That isn't him though.
• The Giants over the Rockies: Tim Lincecum had a successful first start, but that was against the Padres, a team he seems to own. The Rockies are another story. That said, I'm still not all in on Tyler Matzek.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Mets over the Phillies: Jerome Williams makes about three good starts a season. The trick is to pick when they will be. Jon Niese will make it a moot point either way as the Phillies aren't hitting much anyway.

Yesterday: 6-7, Season: 55-63, Picks of the Day: 3-6.

MLB Game Picks - Friday: April 10, 2015

I am off to such a brutally bad start. Man, I couldn't pick Al Capone out of a lineup of women at this point. At least I did finally get a Pick of the Day correctly. But other than that, I was terrible.  Again.

At least everyone is playing new teams today. Perhaps that will help. I need to believe in something! Heh. Without further ago...

...here are today's picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Mark Buehrle usually starts out his season pretty well and should be sage enough to keep the ball away from the O's offense. I do have the feeling that the Jays' offense will nail Bud Norris. The Jays are looking mighty impressive.
• The Rangers over the Astros: These two teams will be battling each other all season for the bottom spot in the AL West. That's the way I see it anyway. I like Derek Holland's chances here if he is healthy. Collin McHugh is pretty good himself, however.
• The Rockies over the Cubs: The Rockies are looking good thus far and it is nice to see their stars healthy. The Cubs' offense might get a boost being in Denver. Tyler Matzek goes for the Rockies and Travis Wood goes for the Cubs.
• The Indians over the Tigers: We'll see how it goes, but the Alfredo Simon signing by the Tigers seemed misguided. However, Zach McAllister will have to have a good game against the Tigers' offense. Alex Avila and Jose Iglesias have both started off really well.
• The Twins over the White Sox: I believe Tommy Milone was a very good pickup by the Twins. But the Twins need some answers on offense. I am a bit stunned that Hector Noesi made the opening rotation for the White Sox.
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: Wade Miley is going to be a good starter for the Red Sox. Nate Eovaldi will be good for the Yankees too, but the Red Sox offense is too much better than the Yankees' right now and this will be their first game with the DH.
• The Reds over the Cardinals: The Reds are off to a great start and their offense looks healthy and happy. Jason Marquis just goes on forever. John Lackey will get beat and will look all surly about it.  Heh.
• The Marlins over the Bay Rays: One of these teams has to get off of the deck this weekend in the battle for Florida. I think it will be the Marlins. Dan Haren goes for the Fish and Steve Geltz, who has a big arm and very little experience, goes for the Rays.
• The Mets over the Braves: Jon Niese has always been better than most people think. If he is healthy, he is fine. Eric Stultz had a bad year last year and has to be very fine to win with his stuff. Both lineups are hampered a bit by lefties, but the combo of David Wright and Michael Cuddyer will shine.
• The Brewers over the Pirates: I am very anxious about the Brewers' offense at this point. But I really like Mike Fiers a lot more than I like Jeff Locke.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: It is a battle of Andersons today as Brett Anderson gets his first start for the Dodgers and faces Chase Anderson of the Diamondbacks. I like Chase better than Brett, but am double-reversing myself on this pick.
• The Angels over the Royals: This is a really tough one. Hector Santiago is a fly ball guy to the extreme (o.44 last year!). Jason Vargas has to be well-located to do well. I like the Angels at home and the Royals will lose a game at some point this season.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: This is a really good match-up pitting Drew Pomeranz against Taijuan Walker. The A's have really straightened out Pomeranz after years of frustration and Walker has been lights out. It could go either way. I like where the M's bullpen is right now compared to the A's.
• The Padres over the Giants: I am really rooting for Brandon Morrow because I am a sucker for comeback stories. Tim Lincecum is a mystery. The Giants haven't looked as dead as people where predicting. The Padres haven't looked as offensive-minded as advertised. Interesting game.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Nationals over the Phillies. The Phillies are a bad team and facing a lefty is their worst case scenario. Gio Gonzalez had sort of an off year last year and I'm expecting him to bounce back. Jerome Williams usually has about three good starts a year.

Yesterday: 3-6, Season: 19-27, Picks of the Day: 1-3

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: September 24, 2014

Five picks from yesterday were incorrect. I had hoped the Yankees would run it and at least give themselves a chance. But their old RISP problem cropped up again and sank them and probably their season for good. The Mariners got pounded. I really thought Felix Hernandez would be better. He had nothing.

I had the Padres and the Rockies wrong. I had the Diamondbacks and the Twins wrong. Good old Kyle Gibson did me in again with his bamboozle balls. And finally, I thought the A's would beat the Angels with so much on the line and Sonny Gray on the mound. But Wade LeBlanc of all people shut them down which just goes to show how badly the A's are hitting.

So those were the bum picks. But speaking of Bums, I did get the Dodgers and Greinke over Bumgarner. I did get the Cubs over the Cards and those were two pretty good picks.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Orioles over the Yankees: The Orioles simply have too much offense for someone like Shane Greene. Buck Showalter shows no letup and is managing each game for the win (which he should). Bud Norris will benefit from the offensive support.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: Justin Verlander is finishing the season strong and he will have to here as the Tigers face Chris Sale. The Tigers are far from clinching the division and have to keep winning.
• The Twins of the Diamondbacks: The D-backs are fighting for the top draft pick, which is about the only positive thing you can say to their season. Vidal Nuno has not won a game for them yet. Phil Hughes should dominate.
• The Athletics over the Angels: This pick did not work out yesterday even though Pujols and Trout and combined oh-fers with five strikeouts between them. Jon Lester is the difference maker, however, and Hector Santiago will keep the Angels in the game.
• The Nationals over the Mets: Gio Gonzalez has won three of his last four starts and is the only reason I am picking the Nats. Gonzalez is going to want one more strong start to see if he can get himself in the playoff rotation. Dillon Gee won't make it easy for him.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: Taijuan Walker will try to do what Paxton and King Felix have not been able to do: Stop the Blue Jays' offense. Their own offense has a chance at least against Mark Buehrle.
• The Royals over the Indians: The Royals are playing well down the stretch. They have taken over the wild card lead and still want to run down the Tigers. Jason Vargas is not the guy I want on the mound, but I will pick him over Trevor Bauer.
• The Reds over the Brewers: The Brewers fall from grace is complete. They looked so good in the first half of the season and then pfffttt. I'm taking Danny Corcino over Kyle Lohse. That's how bad the season has ended.
• The Marlins over the Phillies: I have no idea which team will win this game. I don't think I have gotten a Kyle Kendrick game pick correct all season. Brad Hand is not a favored pick. Whatever...
• The Pirates over the Braves: The Pirates can rest easy except they would like to play the wild card game-off at home. Jeff Locke has been good down the stretch and Julio Teheran will hope his team scores something...anything.
• The Rays over the Red Sox: I hope the Red Sox keep playing Cecchini. He is my favorite prospect and I see another Wade Boggs in him. But that is the only reason to watch the Red Sox these days. Jake Odorizzi over Anthony Ranaudo.
• The Rangers over the Astros: The Rangers have totally blown their first round pick status with this hot streak. Lisalverto Bonilla hasn't exactly been gangbusters, but he keeps winning. Scott Feldman will pitch for the Astros. Meh.
• The Cubs over the Cardinals: The Cardinals seem determined to keep this interesting right up to the end. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta has looked terrific and John Lackey throws better tantrums than fastballs these days.
• The Padres over the Rockies: This pick did not work out yesterday and today's pitching line is messy. Joe Wieland is the definition of a 4-A pitcher (no offense) and Yohan Flande has not been impressive.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Dodgers over the Giants: What better way for the Dodgers to clinch the division over the rivals than for it to be Clayton Kershaw. Put a cap on your season, bud. Tim Hudson should probably retire.

Yesterday: 10-5, Sept.: 190-128, Games of the Day: 101-65 (+1), Season: 1320-1062