Cinco de Mayo Holiday: No Pick Today

It's the fifth of May, which was never a big holiday when I was growing up.  I don't think I ever thought twice about it until I was of drinking age and had seen it advertised as a celebration at the pubs.  I became a boxing fan in those years and the holiday was always known for a good weekend of boxing matches featuring the best Mexican fighters.  

But the holiday has nothing to do with my taking the day off from the picks.  I got delayed by a hankering case of indecision, and missed my window to make a pick this afternoon.  

This morning, at first glance, I thought the Dodgers were the pick. They have won seven of eight heading into Miami and are averaging 7.2 runs per game over their last ten.  Rookie Ben Casparius has pitched well for LA this season, posting a 2.91 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP over 21.2 innings.  But I am having a difficult time betting against Sandy Alcantara and it's not because he has posted good numbers in his return from Tommy John surgery, he hasn't.  In fact, I should be betting on the Dodgers tonight with how poorly Alcantara has pitched.  I have been running my mouth on the message boards over at MLB Trade Rumors about how I believe that Alcantara will regain his form despite his slow start.  It's my take on Alcantara's resurgence that has made it difficult to bet against him.  I find that when I contradict my own sentiments, it often proves to be a losing proposition. 

I also looked at the Cardinals.  Carmen Mlodzinski starts for the Pirates. His numbers are some of the worst in MLB amongst pitchers with three or more starts on the season.  Miles Mikolas is coming off his best start for the Cardinals who have a sneaky good offense, fourth in MLB in team batting average, sixth in team on base percentage.  The Pirates, meanwhile, have struggled to score, averaging just 2.4 runs per game over their last ten.  The Cardinals are at home, the Pirates traveled, but the Cardinals played a double header yesterday against the Mets.  It has me laying off the pick.  

I got tired, it got late, and instead of pressing and putting in a pick that I'm not completely happy with, I decided to take a pass today and am looking ahead to the board for tomorrow. 

Hopefully, I can put something together prior to post.  




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