Sunday, the 28th

Good morning, everyone. We all make mistakes in this game, be it a stupid pitching choice, passing on Pujols, braving bad weather, what have you. If the game was too easy it wouldn't be any fun. Just be sure, though, to always double check your team. Make sure to save your lineup. Failure to do so can cost you dearly, as I found out last night.

YESTERDAY

Well, I can't say it was a good day. My massive brain fart left me with the Texas staff which only gave me 1 point while Felix and the Yanks cashed in big time. To make matters worse, the bats were no good either. Braun was my leader with five and I ended up with a grand total of 18, dropping me to 12th overall, barely ahead of a pack that goes all the way down to 22nd. Ouch.

TODAY

It appears that the vast majority (over 70%) also went with Greinke today. As the last day of interleague finally arrives, I need a big one and he may be the man to give it to me. I hope you picked your bats well, as they will decide your fate today. There were some invredible BVSP numbers for the bats. We'll see how many of them actually pan out. Here's the lineup again...

C: Posada
1B: Tex
2B: Hill
3B: ARoid
SS: Hanley
LF: Braun
CF: Sizemore
RF: Rios
DH: Blalock
PS: Greinke

TOMORROW

Weather:
White Sox/Indians 50%
Nats/Marlins 60%
I see nothing to be concerned about at this time.

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Rockies

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Red Sox vs. Berken (1-4 6.32 in 6 starts)
Marlins vs. Stammen (1-3 5.49 in 7 starts)
Rangers vs. O'Sullivan (1-0 3.00 in 2 starts)

Bats to avoid:
Napoli (3-18 vs. starter)
Hunter 3-16, HR)
Aybar (2-12)
Greene (1-10)
Hairston (1-13)
Kouzmanoff (1-10)
Mora (3-17)
Scott (0-8)
Konerko (2-13)
Soto (3-15)
Kapler (2-16)
Zobrist (1-8)
Dunn (2-12, HR)

Pitchers:
Lester (6-6 4.68, 106 K in 92 IP, 3-3 5.26 on road, 2-1 2.33 in June, at Bal)
Floyd (5-5 4.45, 2-0 1.56 in June, 1 R or less in last 4 starts, at Cle)
Nieve (3-0 1.31 in 20.2 IP, at Mil)
Duke (8-5 3.09, Low K's, 6-2 2.64 at home, 3-1 3.82 in June, vs. CHC)
Halladay (10-1 2.53, 6-1 3.00 at home, 2-0 2.14 in June, 1.04 WHIP, vs.Tam)
Blackburn (6-3 3.11, Low K's, 1-1 2.25 in June, at KC)
Lince (7-2 2.57, 124 K in 105 IP, 1.14 WHIP, 4-1 2.57 on road, 3-1 1.82 in June, at StL)
Porcello (8-4 3.55, 5-2 3.02 on road, 2-1 3.67 in June, 6 IP orless in 8 oflast 10 starts, at Oak)
Oz (3-4 4.30, 2-2 3.71 in June, at SD)
Jiminez (6-7 3.83, 2-5 3.86 on road, 3-1 2.95 inJune, at LaD)
Wolf (3-3 3.64, 0-1 4.17 at home, 0-2 5.74 in June, vs. Col)
I like Halladay and Lince in this one. Halladay is coming off the Dl, but the groin injury should not have him on a pitch count. They both face good bats. I believe I will go with Lince, as the Cards only have one bat that scares me while the Rays have a handful.

First:
Huff (8-22, HR vs. good lefty)
Youk (n/a vs. rook)
Prince (1-4)
Morales (5-16, HR)
Morneau (n/a)
Pujols (2-5 vs. good starter)
Miggy (2-3 vs. lefty)
Gonzalez (6-13, 2HR)
Miggy has no run production vs. lefties and I can't go with Pujols against my starter. I wabt Youk, but he has had a tough June. Let's go, Gonzo!

Second:
Pedroia (n/a vs. rook)
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Kinsler (n/a vs. rook)
Schumaker (5-8 vs. good starter)
Hudson (4-12)
Kinsler at home is the only one I really consedered here.

Third:
Figgins (9-24)
Crede (2-2, HR)
Blake (2-5)
Atkins (4-9, HR vs. lefty)
The only one of these I care for is Chone, buthe has no power. I will jump out and go with Sandoval, his high average, and decent power.

Short:
Peralta (6-14, 2HR)
Hardy (1-3)
Theriot (11-28 vs. good lefty)
Hanley (n/a vs. rook)
Izturis (7-22)
Tejada (2-2, HR)
Furcal (3-8)
Tulowitzki (2-6, HR vs. good lefty)
I have to stay with Hanley again, although Tulo and Tejada look like safe picks as well.

Left:
Bay (n/a vs. rook)
Braun (n/a)
Soriano (15-29, 2HR vs. good lefty)
Lind (n/a)
Crawford (19-64, HR vs. good starter)
Lee (1-1)
Don't care much for this group either. I'm not falling for Fonzie again any time soon. The best bets are probably Braun and Lind. I think I'll keep Braun.

Center:
Jones (5-12 vs. good lefty)
Ellsbury (n/a vs. rook)
Cameron (1-1)
Wells (n/a)
Upton (7-23, HR vs. good starter)
Rowand (5-6, HR)
Kemp (8-16, HR)
I would take Wells if he hit more than .174 at home. In the battle of guys that don't excite me, I will choose Kemp ovr Rowand.

Right:
Choo (3-8)
Dye (1-3)
Bradley (3-7 vs good lefty)
Rios (n/a)
Cruz (n/a vs. rook)
Vlad (18-46, 3HR)
Cuddyer (1-3)
Mags (2-2 vs. lefty)
Hawpe (2-6, HR vs. goodlefty)
This group isnot as good as it looks, making it a tough call. Dye has 5 straight multi hit games. It's worth a shot.

DH:
Ortiz (n/a vs. rook)
Thome (7-23, HR)
Rivra (6-18)
Kubel (1-3)
I think Papi might be back.

Catcher:
VMart (5-12)
AJ (7-10)
Schneider (5-15)
Olivo (3-7, HR)
Mauer (2-3)
Pudge (1-1)
Martin (7-19)
Due to salary restrictions, I'll roll with AJ and the numbers.

LATE UPDATE: SANDOVAL LEFT TODAY'S GAME WITH SOME SORT OF STOMACH ILLNESS. JUST IN CASE HE DOESN'T PLAY TOMORROW, I HAVE DUMPED HIM IN EXCHANGE FOR CASEY BLAKE.

FINAL LINEUP

C: AJ
1B: Gonzalez
2B: Kinsler
3B: Blake
SS: Hanley
LF: Braun
CF: Kemp
RF: Dye
DH: Papi
PS: Linc

STAT CORNER

There will be better numbers tomorrow, I swear. Unfortunately, time is hard to come by on the weekends.

Who's Hot:
Last 7 days:
H. Ramirez, FLA9-for-22, 3 HR, 14 RBI
L. Berkman, HOU7-for-15, 2 HR, 6 RBI
J. Werth, PHI8-for-18, 3 HR, 5 RBI

Last 30 days:
H. Street, COL2 W, 10 SV, 12.2 IP, 4 ER
J. Nathan, MIN0 W, 10 SV, 11.1 IP, 0 ER
F. Hernandez, SEA3 W, 0 SV, 45.0 IP, 4 ER

Who's Not:
Last 7 days:
L. Valbuena, CLE1-for-18, 0 HR, 0 RBI
E. Bruntlett, PHI0-for-11, 0 HR, 1 RBI

Last 30 days:
M. Parra, MIL0 W, 0 SV, 11.1 IP, 21 ER
D. Willis, DET0 W, 0 SV, 11.0 IP, 14 ER

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!