No Rainouts Here

I'm sitting in scenic Ann Arbor, Michigan, and after the freezing winter and some rainstorms that stretched over multiple days, we've been blessed with a fantastic 70-degree sun-fest.  Somehow, the entire eastern seaboard, which I'm really not that far from (roughly 500 miles) is positively drenched.  If you're one of the fans of the Daily Wager Zone, you're fully aware that our top two bets of the day were soaked -- I should also point out for those who are just joining, the picks will always be ranked in order of confidence.  Unfortunately, the even odds on some run-scoring in Tampa went down the drain when the Red Sox sent 7 men to the plate in the 1st and scored 1, then Tampa sent 6 men up and scored just 1 as well.  After all that, we still got close, but because of the rain, today is marked as a loser by 3 in the afternoon.

In news unrelated to my emaciated wallet, Justin Verlander has decided he's tired of pitching without his Lithium.  There are very few starters in the league that can throw 97 for 7 innings.  For the first 4 weeks of the season, there were NO starters who could throw 97 and go more than 3 innings without a psychological meltdown.  Now there's one.  Verlander bent the Indians over his knee today, and he is more than a safe play going forward.  You may even want to consider trying to sell high on him while he's on his current roll.

I think I'm still in that early-season state of mind, sort of like a new relationship.  I find it incredibly simple to ignore all the things about baseball that drive me nuts (with the exception of that imbecile Chip Caray), and some of the quirks still seem cute.  At some point, my anger will boil over and you'll be flooded with a 4-page diatribe about everything from the inconsistency of the Dodgers young starters to the way 2 or 3 pitchers in this league think their breaking balls are creating so much torque that they have to whip around and face centerfield after delivering the pitch.  As a precursor to that rank, how long do you think it will be before such a pitcher is blasted right between the cheeks by a comebacker?

JUSTIN UPTON - Homered again.  Just sayin'.

JOSE GUILLEN - Here he comes.  He really should be on someone's team.  Check your outfielders and Utility player, and if one of them is underperforming, bench them and rotate Guillen in there while he's on one of his hot streaks.  I'm probably going to do it in my league, unless someone already did.

BARRY ZITO - It almost makes me sick to say it, but Zito might not be the worst pitcher in the Majors.  Playing in the NL West, he'll be facing mostly pathetic lineups (with the exception of the Dodgers), and Zito even pitched well against LA the last time out.  He is currently 7 innings deep in a shutout of Colorado, 2 starts after shutting out San Diego.  Let's wait and see how he fares when he faces a team outside the malodorous West, then make a call at that point.