Friday,the 12th

Good morning, everyone. You know, we are a funny bunch of people and baseball continues to prove it. We all, regardless of rank, think we have this game figured out day after day. Yet, on a daily basis, we are humbled as our pitchers continue to crash. 86% of The Usual Suspects and 82% of the Leaderboard picked up 8 points or less from their staffs yesterday and it seems that on a daily basis we are bitching and moaning about how the top staff always fails. So what do we really know? Not a damn thing. Why? Because the only sure thing in this game is that, as sure as Kerry Wood is a piece of shit, we will convince ourselves once again that we have chosen the right staff, only to see it blow up in our faces again while Livan F'ing Hernandez pitches a 2 hit shutout against the Yanks tonoight. Don't get me wrong though. We will spend endless amounts of time blowing off our wives, kids, and jobs doing quality research, using solid statistical information and watching the wind pattern in Kansas City before we make our choice, only to be proven wrong again. Yeah, we think we know........and will continue to do so. I love this game!

YESTERDAY

Hitters were 1-39 on the season against with runners in scoring position against Rafael Soriano until yesterday. This is another example proving that what I said in the opener is correct. Yes, I had Vazquez and yes, I had a pretty good day even though Soriano screwed me. 24 pitching points on a day like yesterday is a blessing. But of course the game won't let usenjoy that too often, will it? My lame ass bats only gave me 21. In the end, my 45 total points was good enough to bump me up to #27 overall, giving me a 25 point LB cushion. I have been on a roll lately, so take what I say below with a grain of salt. It's only a matter of time until I implode.

TODAY

Have I mentioned that I really hate interleague play? It appears that the pitching is split pretty much 50-50 between Lincecum and Halliday and I hope you all saw that Maine is not going today after being bumped for Livan. I Feel pretty good about my bats for once and don't think weather will be an issue. Here's the final.....

C: Posada
1B: Tex
2B: Hill
3B: ARoid
SS: Zobrist
LF: Ibanez
CF: McLouth
RF: Vlad the Impaler (hope he has something left)
DH: Scott
PS: Lince

TOMORROW

Weather:
Twins/Cubs 60%

Teams facing lefty starters:
Blue Jays, White Sox, Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Tigers, Rangers, Rockies, Mariners, Padres, Giants, A's

Teams facing rookie starters:
Cubs vs. Swarzak (1-2 5.43 in 4 starts)
Blue Jays vs. West (1-1 2.22 in 4 starts)
Cardinals vs. Huff (1-2 8.71 in 5 starts)
Rays vs. Stammen (0-1 6.45 in 4 starts)
Red Sox vs. Bastardo (2-0 2.45 in 2 starts)

Pitchers:
Harden (4-2 4.74, will be on a pitch count of 85 or 5 innings)
Duke (6-3 3.07, hammered in last start, 4-2 2.66 at home)
Wolf (3-2 3.62, smoked in 3 of last 4, at Texas)
Bedard (5-2 2.47, 65 K in 65 IP, 2 R or less in last 6, 3-0 2.72 on road, at Coors)
Marquis (8-4 3.98, Low K's, at Coors)
Peavy (6-6 3.97, 92 k'S IN 81 IP, so-so in 2 of last 3, .179 BAA vs. Angels)
Saunders (6-4 3.94, beat up in 4 of last 5)
Outman (4-1 3.17, 49 K in 59 IP, 2-0 3.55 in June)
RJ (5-5 5.14, 61 K in 63 IP, Dare we give the old man a shot?)
This is murderous. I really like Bedard, but not so much at Coors. RJ would be flat out crazy. This leaves Duke, Peavy, Outman, and Saunders. Damn......I'm going to regret it, but let it be Outman in a pitchers park vs. a team that doesn't hit many long balls. Screw that - change of heart - RJ at home. I really want to take Jake and the majority will. However, Oakland hits .206 vs. lefties and I don't like them with a DH, much less without one. It's a major risk and probably a dumb one, but what the hell.

First:
Prince (vs. crap)
Pujols (vs. rook lefty)
Tex (7-15, HR)
Howard (vs. Dice)
Youk (vs. rook lefty)
Miggy (5-9)
I think I'll stay with Tex, but any of these could go deep twice.

Second:
Uggla (1-1)
Utley (vs. Dice)
Phillips
Chase is on fire and Dice sucks. Easy math, here.

Third:
Wright (8-18, 2HR)
Longoria (vs. rook)
Beltre (4-12, HR)
Another easy one here.

Short:
Jeter (3-5, HR)
Zobrist (vs. rook)
Tejada (10-23, 2HR)
Renteria (2-2)
I want Tejada but he has cooled off a little. Zobrist continues to hit day after day.

Left:
Braun
Bay (vs. rook lefty)
Braun continues to heat up and Contreras is coming off a good start - no way he does it twice.

Center:
Cameron (1-2)
Beltran (14-40, HR)
I don't think much of it, but Beltranis the best option for this crap position today.

Right:
Ethier (hot, vs. texas)
There are many decent options here, but I have to take Ethier.

DH:
Hafner (1-1, HR)
Matsui (3-4, but possible DNP)
Jr. (6-15, but possible DNP)
I will go outside of my usual comfort zone here and give Colby Rasmus a chance. He has been hitting well and I can't bring myself to dip into the old man club for any of the sensible picks.

Catcher:
Posada (2-3, 2HR)
Laird (2-3)
I'll stay with a hot Posada.

FINAL LINEUP

C: Posada
1B: Tex
2B: Utley
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Braun
CF: Beltran
RF: Ethier
DH: Rasmus
PS: (gulp) The Big Unit

STAT CORNER

In 5 starts this year, the Yankees biggest Wang is 0-4 with a 21.60 ERA. This is the worst ERA after 5 starts in the history of baseball.

Which teams have the most quality starts this year? It may surprise you:

Cubs 35
Rockies 35
Braves 34
DBacks 33
Blye Jays 33

DISCLAIMER

My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend, make a suggestion, and.....

FU Kerry Wood!