MLB Game Picks - Thursday: June 12, 2014

Another losing night and this old game picker is mighty discouraged. I don't seem to know my pick-off from my windup these days. I believe my down hill slide is about as long as the Rays is. Wait, at least they finally scored some runs and won last night. So what does that mean? Will they start playing better now? There were some good pitchers that let me down: Matt Cain, Julio Teheran, Justin Verlander and Michael Wacha, to name a few. But Masahiro Tanaka never lets me down.

I know! Maybe I am like Cal Ripken, Jr. I have this streak going of never missing a game picked for over four years. Like Ripken's play suffered at the end of his long streak, maybe my picking is doing the same. The difference was that he was rich and could eventually retire. I'll keep schlubbing along because I can't help myself.

Thursday's picks:

• The Dodgers over the Reds: The first one starts with a very hard one. Zack Greinke hardly ever loses, but lost his last time out (at Coors though) and Alfredo Simon hardly ever loses either. The Dodgers don't seem to have any oomph. But if Greinke is Greinke, they should win anyway.
• The Phillies over the Padres: This one is difficult too, but for the opposite reason. Kyle Kendrick and Eric Stults are 3-13 between them with very high ERAs. I'll take the home team and Reid Brignac. Heh.
• The Braves over the Rockies: Yeah, this was wrong yesterday too. I don't know how well Ervin Santana will pitch at Coors. But it seems it should be better than whatever Jhoulys Chacin does.
• The Giants over the Nationals: Tim Hudson's season is flying under the radar, but it's really good. He's had an amazing career which is very similar to Roy Halladay's career except he has outlasted him. Saying all that, Blake Treinen has been pitching really well but cannot buy a win.
• The Pirates over the Cubs. I can see no reason why Edinson Volquez should beat Jeff Samardzija other than that the Cubs are the Cubs.
• The Orioles over the Blue Jays: Mark Buehrle has been so good, haven't you been waiting for the market correction to his norm? I keep doing so and he hasn't. But Baltimore is a tough park to keep it going. That said, Kevin Gausman has to pitch well and keep the recent Jays' offensive funk going.
• The Mets over the Brewers: Kyle Lohse has had a great season thus far but was bombed his last time out and is better at home. Jon Niese is tough at times and could shut the Brewers down.
• The Astros over the Diamondbacks: This pick goes against logic but since when has baseball been logical? Scott Feldman has been awful...just awful. So today he will be better. If he isn't, then this pick will look stupid in a hurry. Wade Miley goes for the Diamondbacks.
• The White Sox over the Tigers: Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. Woo boy, that will be fun. Sale has been sensational. Scherzer not as much lately. This all depends on which ace is on top of his game.
• The Yankees over the Mariners: Chase Whitley has been very good for the Yankees, but only at five innings an appearance. That means the bullpen has to be great. It can be. Roenis Elias beat the Yankees at the Bronx earlier in the season. Revenge time.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Red Sox over the Indians: Josh Tomlin (the way he has been pitching) and Jon Lester seem to have an equal chance to pitch well. The one thing that pushes me to the Red Sox is that the Indians have a team OPS of 110 points lower against left-handed pitching.

Yesterday: 7-8, June: 78-74, Games of the Day: 34-34, Season: 531-452

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: June 11, 2014

The good news is that the Game of the Day feature finally went over the .500 mark as Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals shut out the Rays (again). However, just about everything else was wrong in one of the worst final tallies in Game Picks history. It was brutal, awful, terrible, shocking. I am dumbfounded and a bit embarrassed to be honest. It was bad.

But, I am getting back up on the horse and riding again. Actually, I've only been on a horse once in my life and I couldn't get it to go anywhere. But here are Wednesday's picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Twins: The Blue Jays have suddenly hit a hole in their march for the AL East and have lost several games in the last week.  Phil Hughes has pitched well for the Twins, but I see two Jays' homers in his future. Marcus Stroman has been very good.
• The Royals over the Indians: Yordano Ventura will never become Ace Ventura until he can string good appearances consistently instead of good, bad, good, bad. I think he'll be good tonight at home and be better than Trevor Bauer.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: I am upset that Manny Machado appealed his suspension. That doesn't show a whole lot of remorse there. But I like Wei-Yin Chen's chances better than Rubby De La Rosa to shut down the offense.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: It was nice that the Pirates finally brought up their great prospect and he helped. But unless they get better pitching, it won't matter. But I'm still going with Brandon Cumpton over Jason Hammel.
• The Phillies over the Padres: I got this one wrong yesterday. What didn't I get wrong yesterday? I am taking Cole Hamels over Tyson Ross. I'd vote for Tyson, but I'm chicken. Ha! Get it?
• The Dodgers over the Reds: The last time I picked against Hyun-jin Ryu, he made me look silly. The last time I did pick Johnny Cueto, he had a bad night. Both are capable of shutting the other team down. But which one will do so? This was a coin toss.
• The Mets over the Brewers: I just picked up Jacob deGrom on my fantasy team, so I am not being real objective in this pick. He's been pitching great with no run support. Wily Peralta has been uneven.
• The Cardinals over the Bay Rays: It is impossible for the Cardinals to keep pitching shutouts and for the Rays to keep getting shut out. But until either streak stops, I have to keep with the narrative. Michael Wacha over Erik Bedard.
• The Rangers over the Marlins: This was another pick that went south yesterday. But I can't pick against Yu Darvish making the Marlins look silly. Jacob Turner goes for the Fish.
• The Astros over the Diamondbacks: Dallas Keuchel is 7-3. Can you believe that? I can't. But that is the numbers in front of me. Meanwhile, Brandon McCarthy has given up a bunch of runs in his last three outings and is 1-8. What would you do?
• The Tigers over the White Sox: This is the same match-up that was supposed to happen yesterday but got rained out. Justin Verlander over John Danks.
• The Angels over the Athletics: This series has been fun and the Angels are making a statement. Now Jered Weaver has to avoid the long ball and do his thing to keep it going. Tommy Milone goes for the A's.
• The Yankees over the Mariners: Chris Young has been phenomenal at home. But Masahiro Tanaka has been phenomenal everywhere. The Yankees will need to score a few runs though.
• The Giants over the Nationals: The Nats got the best of the pitchers' duel yesterday and won, 2-1. Today could be a similar score as Tanner Roark and Matt Cain have looked good recently. I'm going with the home team.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Braves over the Rockies: This should be interesting. The Braves are not a patient team and are tenth in the NL in walks and face the MLB debut of Tyler Matzek, a former eleventh overall pick for the Rockies who has shown nothing but control problems in the minors. I'm going with Julio Teheran regardless.

Yesterday: 4-10 (ouch), June: 71-66, Games of the Day: 34-33, Season: 524-444

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: June 10, 2014

I knew the picks were in deep trouble last night when they started 1-6 and despite the late rally, they finished at 4-7. Lonnie Chisenhall had one heck of a night with three homers and nine RBIs (and 15 total bases!) which certainly blew apart that pick. I didn't expect the Rays to get blanked again! Something is totally weird going on down there and David Price can't buy a win. I guess Gavin Floyd had a good game. Stranger things have happened. It was just a night full of bad picks.

But...the Game of the Day was right and I have climbed back to .500 with that feature. Let's see if that nightmare is finally over.

Tuesday's picks:

• The Diamondbacks over the Astros: It is very difficult to pick against the Astros these days. That team is on fire and they are having fun. This pick was wrong yesterday, but I still hate picking Brad Peacock. I don't really like picking Bronson Arroyo at his home park either. Maybe I should just pick the Astros every day for the rest of the season.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: I was totally shocked by Bud Norris last night, but that guy's career has always baffled me. Chris Tillman has to be so fine to be good, but he has a better chance of that happening than for Brandon Workman to shut down the O's attack.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: I keep picking Francisco Liriano like it was 2013. But it is 2014 and he is 1-6. So I have been wrong a lot with him. But I am stubborn if nothing else. He has the ability to shut down the Cubs. He faces a tough competitor in Travis Wood though.
• The Padres over the Phillies: The Phillies are just a bad team. They keep sinking to lower depths and what can they do? A.J. Burnett was a mistake signing with occasional brilliance every fourth start or so. Today could be one of those days. Ian Kennedy goes for the Friars.
• The Blue Jays over the Twins: J.A. Happ and his mysterious +2 MPH fastball (where did that come from?) will shut down the lefty-struggling Twins. Kevin Correia is still in baseball and that's all I'll say there.
• The Dodgers over the Reds: The Dodgers decided to get well with Puig out and against the Reds? Seems so. Josh Beckett over Mike Leake.
• The Brewers over the Mets: The Mets are heading in the wrong direction after a promising start to the season. Daisuke Matsuzaka could give them a good outing. But I like Marco Estrada better.
• The Marlins over the Rangers: Tom Koehler has had three rough outings out of his last five starts. Colby Lewis has allowed ten earned runs in his last 10.2 innings pitched. Hmm..
• The Indians over the Royals: The Indians caught a bit of a bad break when the Royals got rained out yesterday because then they get Jason Vargas, who is pretty tough on them. But Corey Kluber has become an ace and I am riding him.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: John Danks has had three really good starts in a row. And Justin Verlander hasn't been the ace of old. Miguel Cabrera is hobbling a bit. But I'm still going Tigers.
• The Rockies over the Braves: Mike Minor has been only so-so and I don't like him at Coors. Juan Nicasio is the Rockies' best pitcher at home. I was wrong with this same pick yesterday.
• The Athletics over the Angels: There are certain pitchers who are just good at losing. Hector Santiago is one of those. He is 8-16 in his career. Drew Pomeranz, on the other hand, has been winning, something I wondered if ever would happen for him.
• The Mariners over the Yankees: So the Yankees got rained out yesterday, which means they could skip their weakest starter in Vidal Nuno and go with the scheduled Tanaka. But no, they pushed back Tanaka depriving us of a Tanaka - Hisashi Iwakuma match up that would have been fun to watch. Heck yeah, let's give Nuno all kinds of starts then.
• The Giants over the Nationals: This one could be decided by the bullpens because it wouldn't surprise me if Doug Fister and Madison Bumgarner both threw up eight zeroes apiece.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Cardinals over the Rays: This is a trap, right? There are no games today that look more like a sure thing than this one. Adam Wainwright is the ace. The Rays can't hit. Jake Odorizzi has done nothing. So why does this feel like a trap. It does. I can see it coming...

Yesterday: 4-7, June: 67-56, Games of the Day: 33-33, Season: 520-434

MLB Game Picks - Monday: June 9, 2014

It would have been an 11-4 day if the Tigers could close out a ninth inning. But once again, they couldn't. It wasn't Joe Nathan this time, but Joba Chamberlain. Gosh, New York Yankee fans knows how that feels. And so it was a 10-5 day. Nothing to sneeze at with even a Game of the Day correct pick to add to the party. If only the Tigers could finish a win.

As for the Manny Machado thing...what a pure punk move, eh? He should be suspended for a long time and get drug tests every day for three years. That was pathetic and bush and has no place in the game.  I believe those back swings against the catcher's head was intentional too. Gosh, that's so out of control, it is breathtaking.

Monday's picks:

• The Rays over the Mariners: The Rays finish up their series with Seattle today in the afternoon. They are now sixteen games under .500. Unbelievable. David Price should be better than Erasmo Ramirez, right? Right!?
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: What could the rest of the Orioles be thinking? Stick up for their guy? Be mad and all get out? I would think the latter. In either case, the Red Sox should score against Bud Norris and Jake Peavy take the win.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: Edwin Jackson is all over the place. How can you predict what he is going to do? You can't. I hate when he pitches. Because of that, I am going to go with Charlie Morton, which just goes to show you how messed up Jackson makes me.
• The Reds over the Dodgers: Tony Cingrani seemed to gather himself a bit in his last start. If so, his arm could shut down the Dodgers and be better than Dan Haren. This could go either way though, to be honest.
• The Rangers over the Indians: T.J. House is a lefty. The Rangers have killed lefties this season. T.J. House is inexperienced. I don't think he lasts long today. I'm a little concerned about the Rangers starting Nick Martinez though.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: Hector Noesi has been pitching well. I am still confounded by that. So I want to pick him here, especially since the Tigers can't close out wins. But I cannot do it. I cannot pull the trigger. I have to go with Rick Porcello.
• The Royals over the Yankees: Words cannot describe how depressed I am about the Yankees. They can't do anything right these days. They can't hit. They don't have enough starters. The defense leaks. I can't even watch anymore. Jason Vargas over Vidal Nuno.
• The Rockies over the Braves: I think the Rockies will score big off of Gavin Floyd. That said, how well with the Rockies' pitcher pitch? I have no idea because an unheralded rookie is making his MLB debut. His name is Christian Bergman and he is not a power arm, but he has excellent control. He has survived pitching at Colorado Springs and if he can pitch there, perhaps he can pitch at Coors.
• The Diamondbacks over the Astros: The Astros have been killing the ball. But they lose the DH, and perhaps they have an off day against Josh Collmenter. I don't think Jarred Cosart will pitch badly and will keep his team in the game.
• The Angels over the Athletics: Garrett Richards was shelled his last time facing the A's. But that seemed more flukish than anything and he was terrific in his next game. I like him over Jesse Chavez.
• The Nationals over the Giants: Stephen Strasburg has pitched very well at AT&T Park and his last couple of starts have been totally dominant. The Giants are very good, however, and Ryan Vogelsong has been pitching much better.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Blue Jays over the Twins: It is unfathomable that the Blue Jays got only seven hits and no runs against the Cardinals in the last two games of that series. But they are back to having a DH and back against familiar foes. R.A. Dickey should be okay and better than Ricky Nolasco.

Yesterday: 10-5, June: 60-49, Games of the Day: 32-33, Season: 516-427

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: June 8, 2014

Yesterday was disappointing. The picks were 6-2 at one point and things were looking pretty good. Chris Sale was coming up as was Sonny Gray. Those are usually two locks. But Mike Trout took care of Sale and Gray was not on at all and I went 1-6 the rest of the way. Ouch.  And worse yet, the Game of the Day, after climbing back from the depths with four straight, went wrong with an extra inning loss. In fact, there were three extra inning games and they all settled out against the picks.

Sunday's picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Cardinals: Even in his better days, Jaime Garcia wasn't very good on the road and his being a lefty doesn't hurt the Blue Jays with their power right-handed bats. Drew Hutchison has to throw well though or this pick will again be wrong.
• The Reds over the Phillies: The Phillies game yesterday was typical for them this season. Rollins hit a homer, Howard had a good game at the plate, and they still lost. Homer Bailey drives me crazy, but he is the pick over David Buchanan.
• The Pirates over the Brewers: Jeff Locke had a pretty good season a year ago. So I was somewhat confused over why he was languishing in the minors all season. He hasn't done that well there this season, but I'm thinking he steps it up back in the Majors. Yovani Gallardo hasn't looked good his last two starts.
• The Athletics over the Orioles: This pick was wrong yesterday, but I just don't trust Ubaldo Jimenez. I do trust Scott Kazmir though.
• The Mariners over the Rays: This game feels like a setup. I thought sure that Cobb would be good yesterday, but he was terrible. I think Chris Archer will be good today, but he faces Felix Hernandez. The Rays have been so bad, but I bet they beat King Felix just to mess around with my head.
• The Astros over the Twins: Samuel Deduno hasn't been as bad a starter the last five outings as I thought he was. But I have kind of a man-crush on Collin McHugh and George Springer. Deduno has only given up two homers in 55+ innings, which is pretty impressive.
• The Yankees over the Royals: Yeah, James Shields is pitching for the Royals and he is supposedly their ace and everything. But the Yankees have always dealt pretty well with him. Hiroki Kuroda likes pitching during the day and always does better when the sun is shining.
• The Marlins over the Cubs: It's just too hard to pick against Henderson Alvarez right now. He is really pitching well. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta can have a good day, but the odds are more against it.
• The Rangers over the Indians: I can tell my confidence is not strong. I never know what Justin Masterson is going to show up and every time I pick against Joe Saunders (which is always the right call), he makes me look stupid.
• The Angels over the White Sox: C.J. Wilson is really overlooked for how solid a starter he has been. I think he gets discounted because he always faltered in the post season. he should flourish at home and Jose Quintana will yield a few runs.
• The Giants over the Mets: I'd like to think that Zack Wheeler made a positive step in his last start. That would be good for him because of his talent. But the Giants always win these days and it won't matter that Tim Lincecum is starting. He'll get by.
• The Diamondbacks over the Braves: Chase Anderson has been a good luck talisman for the Diamondbacks thus far. And when was the last time that Aaron Harang won a ballgame? April?
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball and he has struck out nine batters in four of his last five starts. But I am awfully worried about him pitching at Coors. Jorge De La Rosa can be pretty good too.
• The Tigers over the Red Sox: John Lackey has pitched really well his last three games. But the Tigers have gotten well this weekend at the expense of the Red Sox whose woes continue. Besides, Anibal Sanchez is a pretty good pitcher himself.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Nationals over the Padres: Jordan Zimmermann has come on really strong lately and Eric Stults is not having a good season. I miss Bryce Harper.

Yesterday: 7-8, June: 50-44, Games of the Day: 31-33, Season: 506-421