Friday, the 31st

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the last day of July. As we all know, Papi got hosed yesterday after suggesting in the spring that anyone who tested positive should get suspended for a year. Well David, I have to be honest with you, if you were'nt the only dependable option at the DH position in our little ESPN fantasy game, I would agree. Seriously, what scares me is what I heard on the radio while driving to work today. Word has it that among the 104 on "the list", there are 20 home run champs (no surprise), 5 ROY winners (again, no biggie), and 8 Cy Young winners (that one surprises me). Baseball, you really have f'd it up bigtime. If Pujols ever goes down, all integrity the sport claims it has will be lost forever.

YESTERDAY

There were some brave souls out there who did risk it all on the Rocks staff last night. Guess what? I commend your effort. Looking back, it did not pay off very well, but I think it was a reasonable move when you look at the teams overall. Good try guys, you should not regret it. Mor me, however, the Mets staff put up a strong 42 and my 59 bat points, led by McCann and Papi (non-DH'ers) gave me a total of 101, bumping me into the top 30 overall and all the way to #1665 in the second half. That's a 13,000 spot improvement since Saturday for those of you keeping score. If you are frustrated, don't give up. It can happen.

TODAY

When I cashed in last night, there was still no solid confirmation that Lee was going for the Phills today, so I missed that boat. From the Suspect Summary, it looks like Lee takers barely edged out those of us with Harden for the most popular pick. Jackson got a little play as well, but nothing too significant. My guess is that one of these three will blow up tonight and I just hope it's not Rich. My final again...

C: Mauer*
1B: Pujols*
2B: Zo (Utley*)
3B: Chip*
SS: Rollins*
LF: Bay*
CF: BJ*
RF: Ichiro*
DH: Thames (Ortiz*)
PS: Harden (Lee*)

TOMORROW

Weather:
'Stros/Cards pm t-storms
Yanks/Chisox pm t-storms
Mariners/Rangers scattered t-storms

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Braves, Yanks, Rays, Tigers, Twins, DBacks, Cards, A's

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Bosox vs. Hernandez (3-2 3.20 in 7 starts)
Natz vs. Vazquez (1-5 6.21 in 6)
Angels vs. Swarzak (3-3 3.74 in 8)

Possible Load-ups:
Rays vs. Chen (0-5 6.39)
Rocks vs. Bailey (2-2 6.87, .632 BAA)

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Ausmus (4-23)
Loretta (4-22)
Pierre (3-19)
AJ (1-14)
Zaun (2-15)
Paulino (1-19)
Pujols (3-23)
Ryan (2-12)
C Lee (4-27, HR)
Kinsler (6-33, HR)
Hamilton (2-18)
Salty (2-11)
Benji (2-15)
Rollins (1-11)
Utley (2-11, HR)

Pitchers:
*Please be advised that at this time the Brewers starter has not been announced*
Wolf (5-5 3.43, 1.15 WHIP, 4-3 2.91 road, 2-2 2.84 July, at Atl)
Burnett (10-4 3.53, 4-0 2.43 July, at CWS)
Sherzer (6-6 3.61, 111 K in 107 IP, 2-3 2.70 road, at NYM)
Beckett (12-4 3.44, 1.15 WHIP, 127 K in 136 IP, 5-4 4.34 road, 1-0 5.54 at Bal)
Z (7-4 3.36, 3-1 2.63 July, 1-0 3.60 at Fla)
Wandy (10-6 2.65, 124 K in 132 IP, 4-0 0.75 July, 1-1 2.77 at StL)
Carp (9-3 2.19, 0.96 WHIP, 5-1 1.76 home, 4-0 1.75 July, 0-0 2.25 vs. Hou)
Felix (11-4 2.79, 1.15 WHIP, 139 K in 145 IP, 7-1 1.91 road, 1-1 3.00 at Tex)
Hunter (3-1 2.00, 3-1 2.40 home, 3-0 1.11 July, 0-0 0.00 vs. Sea)
Lince )11-3 2.30, 1.05 WHIP, 183 K in 148 IP, 6-1 2.13 home, 3-1 2.08 July, vs. Phi)
Typically, Lince would be the obvious pick, but against Philly, I'm not so sure. Wandy owns Pujols. Carp owns Carlos Lee and Berkman is out. Either of them are solid as well. Since nweather could be an issue in St. Louis (I suggest you check it late tonight), I am going to stay with my boy Lincy. At least I will go down with the best if I go down at all.

First:
Konerko (3-9, 2HR vs. good starter)
Pena (1-3, HR vs. lefty)
Miggy (5-8, HR vs. lefty)
Votto (2-5 vs. good starter)
Lee (1-1)
I'm going to take Miggy over Sowers in this one. Originally Sowers was scheduled to go today, and I passed on it. The fact that I have a second chance on it, I see as a sign. Kind of like Johan earlier this week.

Second:
Hudson (11-34)
Cano (2-2, HR vs. good lefty)
Roberts (10-33, HR vs. good starter)
Polanco (4-11 vs. lefty)
Cano is swinging a hot bat right now. Zo is tempting vs. Chen, but I think Robbie will come through.

Third:
Chip (15-44, 3HR vs. good lefty)
Inge (2-3 vs. lefty)
Atkins (2-3)
Cantu (3-7, HR vs. good starter)
Young (17-48, HR vs. good starter)
I don't take Chipper vs. lefties and none of the others sound really favorable to me. I will go with Longoria. It's been a while, but against Chen? Sure.

Short:
Furcal (5-11, HR)
Tulo (3-3)
Theriot (1-1, HR)
Tulo. Quick and easy vs. a poor pitcher.

Left:
Diaz (5-8 vs. good lefty)
Obviously, I will not be taking Diaz. Dunn and Fonzie look good, though. When Soriano gets hot, he usually gets real hot. Let's hope he does it this time as well.

Center:
Ellsbuty (2-3 vs. rook)
Sizemore (1-3)
Granderson (4-11, HR vs. lefty)
Wells (1-3)
Again, this does nothing for me. Did you know that Nyjer Morgan is 18 for his last 33? You do now.

Right:
Cake (9-30, HR vs. good starter)
Hawpe (2-3)
Ichiro (2-3 vs. good rookie)
Rios (1-3)
Hawpe is struggling a little, but vs. Homer in Cincy, I can risk it without fear.

DH:
Scott (7-13, 2HR vs. good starter)
Thames (3-9, HR vs. lefty)
Lind: (1-2)
I have to go with Thames. No real reason, just feel. Did the same thing for today and the pitchers were swapped. Can't change now.

Catcher:
McCann (4-5, HR vs. good lefty)
Posada (3-4, HR vs. good lefty)
Laird (1-2 vs. lefty)
Torrealba (3-3)
Pudge (10-28 vs. good starter)
Let's ignore the numbers and go back to Napoli. He has paidoff for me almost every time and my confidence in him is huge right now.

FINAL LINEUP

C: Napoli
1B: Miggy
2B: Cano
3B: Longoria
SS: Tulo
LF: Fonz
CF: Morgan
RF: Hawpe
DH: Thames
PS: Lincy

STAT CORNER

July Leaders:

Batting Average:
Aybar .439
Morgan .404
Castillo .384
Victorino .381
M Young .376
O Cabrera .373
Abreu .368
Jeter .364
Escobar .356
Gutierrez .356

Home Runs:
G Jones 10
D Lee 9
An Jones 8
Konerko 7
Morneau 7
Reynolds 7
ARod 7
Tulo 7
Willingham 7

RBI:
Ludwick 28
D Lee 27
Abreu 24
Sandoval 23
Willingham 23
Ortiz 22
Zimm 22
McCann 21

ERA:
Kershaw 0.71
Wandy 0.75
Cain 0.94
Hunter 1.11
Wainwright 1.17
Blanton 1.21
Pineiro 1.22
Washburn 1.44
Carp 1.75
Johan 1.82

Strikeouts/9:
Lince 13.24
Greinke 10.97
Gallardo 10.85
Nolasco 10.80
Sanchez 10.41
Verlander 10.29

DISCLAIMER

My picks are exactly that, my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, you are welcome to do so at your own risk. Thanks as always for reading, please come again, and pass the word if you don't mind.

FU HALL OF FAME
Kerry Wood (Founder, -14, -11, -7, -6)
Nick Blackburn (record holder at -43)
Jake Peavy (2 time offender at -8 and -2)
Houston Astros Staff(-4)
Los Angeles Dodgers Staff (-11)
Zach Greinke (-4)