Sunday, the 21st

Good morning, everyone. I hope you all are having a great Fathers Day today. Kick back, enjoy some golf, and make the best of your afternoon. There are three weeks left until the All Star Game and the end of the first half, so get your game faces on and prepare for a strong finish. This is where it counts.

YESTERDAY

I missed everything yesterday and didn't see the first score until about 1 a.m. due to a family outing. On top of that, I drank way, way too much to really comprehend anything at all. So I am pleasantly surprised to see this morning that Beckett pitched a shutout last night. 34 points from my pitcher along with 42 more from the bats led by Braun (12), Lee (9) and Mauer (8). Tejada was my only bust and the 76 points bumped me up to #11 overall. Damn good effort. My hangover says we need to move on.

TODAY

I have King Felix on the hill today as I imagine most will. Fortunately, interleague play is coming to an end soon and we can get back to normal baseball. Here's the final again...

C: Napoli
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Chipper
SS: Bartlett
LF: Lee
CF: Hunter
RF: Cruz
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix

TOMORROW (slow day)

Weather:
none

Teams Facing Lefties:
Oakland

Teams Facing Rookies:
none

Players to Avoid:
R. Johnson (3-19 vs. starter)
Bradley (3-18)
Crosby (0-7)

Pitchers:
Dempster (4-4 3.92, 2 R or less in 5 of last 7 starts, 0-1 1.89 in June, .200 BAA at Atl)
Vazquez (4-6 3.41, 112 K in 92 IP, 0-2 2.86 in June, 2 R or less in 6 of last 8, .283 BAA vs. CHC)
This is a tough call. Both pitchers are doing well, but both teams are starting to hit better. I can almost guarantee that Fonzie goes deep tomorrow as he always hits one in Atlanta, but Vazquez has the K's behind him and I think he is the safest pick.

First:
Lee (20-50, 3 HR vs. good starter)
Pujols (11-27, HR)
Since Lee is facing my starter, I will go with Fat Al.

Second:
Castillo (3-6)
Schumaker (1-3)
There is not much to choose from here, but Skip did me right the first time I took him, so he gets another shot.

Third:
Wright (7-10)
Since he's the only one with a hit vs. his opposing starter, I guess I'll take Wright. Chipper, Figgins, and Sandoval are options as well, but they aren't 7-10 vs. the starter either.

Short:
I have nothing here. Escobar, Theriot, OC, Renteria........blah. I think I'll go with Tulowitzki as he has been heating up a little.

Left:
Holliday (4-16 vs. lefty)
Fonzie (hits well in Atlanta)
I hope Soriano doesn't hit one because I am going Halliday.

Center:
Beltran (3-11)
Hunter (1-3)
McLouth
I'll stick with Torii. Cook can't strike anyone out so balls will be in play and that can't be a bad thing.

Right:
Hawpe (1-1)
Again, there are no good stats to go by here, so I will use my gut feeling and roll with the hottest bat - Hawpe.

DH:
Cust (1-4, HR vs. lefty)
Stewart
Rasmus
I'll take Cust, by default

Catcher:
Yadi (2-6)
Napoli (2-3)
Benji
Ianetta
I want to go with Napoli, but he seems to let me down too often. Let's give Ianetta a shot, just for kicks. Again, it is a piss poor day to pick a team and there are very few stats to go by. We'll wing it today and see what happens. Here's the final...

FINAL LINEUP

C: Ianetta
1B: Pujols
2B: Schumaker
3B: Wright
SS: Tulowitzki
LF: Holliday
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Cust
PS: Vazquez

STAT CORNER

In a battle of stats vs. Waffle House, the greasy spoon wins. My 5 year old is taking me there for Father's Day. Great for a hangover. If I come up with some stats as the day goes on, I will post them. Please accept my apologies if I don't get to it though. I promise - good stats tomorrow.

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 and....

FU for life, Kerry Wood