Hey there guys,
Well I apologize for not being able to post my picks yesterday but I had to work until early afternoon and had an early lab so I just didn't have time to go through all the games and so on and so forth. I am also not going to be posting picks for basketball for the last two days because I have found it rather hard to see how hard a team is going to play once they've wrapped up a playoff spot/been eliminated/so on and so forth. I will pick back up with series predictions for playoff games. As I will for NHL tomorrow with my Round 1 previews and predictions. Anyway guys hope you enjoy.
*for Games only; Games in COLOR are recommended games to watch; my pick are in CAPS and Bold
MLB
4/12 Recap and 4/13 Preview and Picks
Yesterday was a great day for baseball, with 3 games going extra innings, some impressive upsets and some teams just continuing to prove that they are worth talking about as as the Royals took out the Tigers 10-5; the Padres blasted the (my) Braves 17-2, and a large part of that was due to 6'6 285lb LF Kyle Blanks (3/6 1hr 5rbi); the Rangers move to 4-3 on the season after taking out the Indians 4-2 in the 10th; the Cubs put up 5 runs in the 3rd and held on from there as they defeated the Brewers 9-5; the Twins opened up new Target Field the right way as they beat the Red Sox 5-2; the Phillies, once down 4-0 would use a 5 run 5th to take the lead, and eventually beat the Nationals 7-4 to improve their record to 6-1 on the season; Justin Duchscherer went 7 1/3 innings of 2 hit shutout baseball as the A's took out the Mariners 4-0 in Seattle; speaking of solid pitching Adam Wainright went 8 innings, gave up 0 runs and struck out 7, as the Cardinals took out the struggling Astro's 5-0; and speaking of struggling the Orioles are now 1-6 after a 5-1 loss to the Rays; in a game that was back and forth the entire way the Reds eventually came out on top in the 10th with a 6-5 win over the Marlins; I have to think that maybe the Blue Jays are the real deal, and they lost last night, 8-7 in the 11th to the White Sox, mainly because a player on the other team had an outstanding day at the plate, Andruw Jones (3/4 2hr 4rbi) and they battled and yet the game still had to go to extra innings. I'm not saying they are going to topple the Rays, Red Sox, or Yankees but this is the kind of improvement you want to see out of a team in a "rebuilding" year; Bengie Molina went 4/4 and the Giants improved to 6-1 with a 9-3 win over the Pirates.
Today there are some good games as Miguel Cabrera looks to stay hot and Dontrelle Willis continues his comeback as he takes the mound for the Tigers against the Royals, the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw takes the mound against the Diamondbacks and their starter Ian Kennedy in a game that I think should be a great one, I am also interested to see if the D-Backs' Chris Young (11rbi) and Kelly Johnson (3hr) can keep up their success at the plate, against a very good pitcher in Kershaw, maybe coming down to the 8th, 9th inning before we get a winner, the Blue Jays look to continue their success as they host the White Sox, and Bronson Arroyo looks to continue his hot start as he takes the mound against the Marlins.
*Game(s) of the Day*
DIAMONDBACKS @ dodgers <----- UPSET
I. Kennedy vs. C. Kershaw
Preview: When looking at the basic statistics for this game one would immediately think the Dodgers should take this one. But I just don't get that feeling. There is something about this LA slow start that bothers me. Not to mention the fact that the Dodgers have one of the worst bullpens in the MLB with an ERA of 5.68 and Arizona has some of the league's hottest hitters in Chris Young (.292 3hr 11rbi) and Kelly Johnson (.365 3hr 4rbi). I think that this game could come down to the very end and that is where I lose all faith in the Dodgers who are 0-3 in 1 run games and 0-1 in xtra innings. I feel like the D-Backs are just too hot right now to lose this one.
The Rest
royals @ TIGERS
B. Bannister vs. D. Willis
angels @ YANKEES
E. Santana vs. A. Pettite
RAYS @ orioles
J. Niemann vs. B. Matusz
White Sox vs. BLUE JAYS
G. Floyd vs. R. Romero
reds @ MARLINS
B. Arroyo vs. N. Robertson
mets @ ROCKIES
J. Maine vs. G. Smith
ATHLETICS @ mariners
B. Anderson vs. D. Fisher
pirates @ GIANTS
P. Maholm vs. M. Cain
NBA
4/12 Recap
Well yesterday was a day of Basketball with very little surprises as the Magic took out the Pacers to take a 1 1/2 game lead over the Lakers for the #2 spot in the league (meaning if the Magic and the Lakers faced off in a Finals rematch the Magic would get home court advantage); the Heat struggled, especially on defense, for most of the game but would win the game in dramatic fashion over the 76ers 107-105; Andrea Bargnani went ballistic (33 points), in a much needed way, to get a much needed win for the Raptors 111-97 over the Pistons, to pull within a half game back of the Chicago Bulls for that 8th spot in the East; Joe Johnson knocked down 33 points as the Hawks grab the #3 spot in the East with a 104-96 win over the Bucks; the Spurs clinched their 11th straight 50 win season with a 133-111 win over the Timberwolves; the Nuggets look like the Denver Nuggets we all know with a 123-101 win over the Grizzlies; the Trail Blazers didn't need Brandon Roy last night against the Thunder as Marcus Camby (30pts 13reb) picked up the slack as Portland won 103-95; Kevin Martin dropped 39 points on the Kings in his return to Sacramento as the Rockets won 117-107; and Dallas destroyed the Clippers 117-94 behind Dirk Nowitzki's 25 points. Dallas has now clinched the #2 seed as they are a full game up on the Nuggets and have won the season battle with Denver 2-1.
Well today I am going to be working on my Power Rankings and NHL Playoff Previews and Predictions but if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas just leave a comment below, text me at (256) 653-2393 or email us at wherethelandsharksare@gmail.com
Thank you for Reading
Batteman
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