vs. 
MARLINS PIRATES
Al Leiter (2-5, 6.91) Mark Redman (3-4, 3.15)
Afternoon baseball in Pittsburgh today. It's almost idyllic enough to make you forget that there's no holiday baseball in the Big Apple (or is idyllic not something that comes in degrees?).
For ichtyhomancy, I'm taking Delgado. The man seems to be locked in.
I'll also make an above and beyond pick today: Leiter will announce, either after today's game, or by Wednesday at the latest, that he needs to take some time off because of some inflammation/tendonitis. I don't think he's hurt, but this would be a case of him taking one for the team. Some time away from Al could allow the Marlins to see what other options they have in a starter and it could also allow Al to work through whatever's ailing him (hopefully it's not just old age) without costing the team ballgames.
That said, I'm hoping Al turns it around today. By the way, my inspiration for this comes from an on field presentation that Al did on Friday night with some Broward County students who are enrolled in a "Do the Right Thing" program. I trust that Al will lead by example and take his batting practice routine elsewhere for the time being, assuming he doesn't get it worked out today.
For attendance, I'll take 19,473. My fish is confused, with this being Pittsburgh and all.
Other Picks:
Double B - Cabrera
Wiggins - Lowell
Craig - Delgado and 31,153
Fishfan24 - Niner (or Delgado, pending the lineup) and 22,089
Make your picks and discuss...
EDIT: Now that I've ripped Leiter for weeks and weeks, I'll say something nice about him (if only to give myself hope for the day). Here are his home and road splits (ERA, BAA, and OPS allowed): Home: 10.44, .364, 1.018 Road: 2.00, .138, .464 Somehow that difference had eluded me prior to this morning (when I heard it on WQAM). I still didn't believe it though, so I had to look it up. It's true.
Leiter's road numbers are not only all-star worthy, they'd garner Cy Young attention if he could maintain them over the full season.
For today, I'll overlook that it should be easier for Leiter to put up those road numbers at home in JRS; I'll just hope that his road success continues today and that he gets some run support.