Monday, the 27th

Good morning, everyone. It sure feels a little better now as I kind of feel like I am catching my stride again. We're only two weeks into the second half and it already feels like it's been going on forever. I was a little long winded yesterday, so let's get straight to it.

YESTERDAY

I put up over 70 points for the second day in a row as the risk of taking Sherzer paid off well. He put up 36 to lead the popular staffs of Harden (30) and Lee (20). My bats also came through pretty well considering that Ham and Manny laid out yesterday. RyHO (11), Hanley (7), and Kinsler (6) led the pack to 36 more and my total of 72 kicked me up to #31 overall and #6280 in the half. Now I have to just keep chipping away, one day at a time.

TODAY

It will be fairly hard to make a strong move today as everybody and their mother has Lincy tonight. The bats will dictate most of the movement in this one. That said, if you are ranked in the mid - thousands like I am, there are surely many who do not have him, so a decent bump can be made. If you are at or near the top, don't sweat today, as not much will happen for you either way. Here is my final again...

C: Napoli (Mauer *)
1B: Morneau (Pujols *)
2B: Utley *
3B: Reynolds *
SS: Rollins *
LF: Dunn (Ibanez *)
CF: Victorino *
RF: Upton *
DH: Kubel *
PS: Lincy *
* denotes most picked player

TOMORROW

Weather:
Tigers/Rangers scattered t-storms
'Stros/Cubs scattered t-storms
Braves/Marlins thunderstorms
Dodgers/Cards pm thunderstorms

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Rays, Yanks, Rangers, Twins, DBacks, Angels, Mariners, Jays, Pirates

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Red Sox vs. Mazzaro (2-7 4.75 in 10 starts)
Rangers vs. French (1-1 2.22 in 4)
Mariners vs. Rzepczynski (1-2 2.82 in 4)

Possible Load-ups:
Brewers vs. Balester (0-1 6.00 in 1 start this season)

Bats You May Want To Avoid:
Pena (4-25, 2HR vs. starter)
Damon (6-33)
Jeter (4-31, HR)
Swisher (4-24, HR)
Matsui (4-23. HR)
ARod (2-21)
Cano (3-20)
AGon (2-19)
Schneider (1-20)
Blanco (1-14)
Cantu (2-11)
Church (2-12, HR)
Miles (3-17)
Fukudome (1-12)
Mauer (5-27, HR)
Dye (3-20, HR)
Feliz (3-23)
Wells (5-26)

Pitchers:
Bannister (6-7 3.76, 2-4 4.37 road, at Bal)
CC (10-6 3.67, 1.16 WHIP, 3-2 4.05 July, 0-0 4.50 vs. Tam)
Marquis (12-6 3.49, Low K's, 2-1 1.64 July, at NYM)
Jurrjens (9-7 2.67, 4-3 2.85 road, 41 1.93 July, 1-0 2.57 at Fla)
Oz (6-4 3.66, 1.17 WHIP, 2-0 2.40 July, 0-1 4.15 at ChC)
Buehrle (11-3 3.28, 1.10 WHIP, 4-2 4.53 road, 2-1 5.40 at Min)
Bills (10-5 3.72, 126 K in 133 IP, 1-1 6.97 July, at StL)
Wainwright (11-6 2.96, 130 K in 143 IP, 3-5 2.37 home, 3-1 1.412 July, vs. LAD)
Haren (10-5 2.14, 0.84 WHIP, 141 K in 143 IP, 5-4 2.07 home, 3-0 1.93 July, vs. Phi)
Weaver (10-3 3.57, 1.18 WHIP, 7-1 2.51 home, 2-0 6.83 July, vs. Cle)
Washburn (8-6 2.71, 1.06 WHIP, 5-2 2.42 home, 4-1 1.47 July, vs. Tor)
This one is a really tough call. Marquis is good, but his K's are extremely low. I have never had much luck with Oz. Bills hurt me last time and the Cards with a revamped Holliday are scary. Wainwright is a good call. I don't trust Weaver right now and Toronto's bats are too good for me to take Washburn. I am down to Wainwright and Jurrjens. I think I will go with Wainwright at home. The weather chance in Florida is only 40%, but that, and the fact that the Casrds are at home, are the tie-breakers for me.

First:
Tex (5-6 vs. lefty)
Votto (3-9, HR)
Helton (2-3)
Prince (1-2)
Overbay (6-11, HR vs. good starter)
I think Prince will come out of his slump tomorrow. Votto would be my second pick.

Second:
Zobrist (2-6, HR vs. good lefty)
Castillo (9-24 vs. good starter)
Uggla (5-11 vs. good starter)
Harris (8-25, HR vs. good starter)
Since none of these match-ups are very promising, I will roll with Kinsler at home vs. the lefty. His batting splits say it is a good choice, as he hits over .300 vs. lefties and .288 at home.

Third:
Wright (8-24, 2HR vs. good starter)
Chipper (9-16, 3HR)
Inge (3-10)
Kouz (9-13, 2HR)
I rarely take Chipper and when I do, it rarely pays off for me. However, I can't pass on numbers like this when the Braves are hitting as well as they have been. Kouz should be a safe bet as well.

Short:
Hanley (4-12, 3HR vs. good starter)
Escobar (5-10, HR)
Theriot (4-12 vs. good starter)
Tejada (6-18)
I like both Escobar and Tejada here. In the end, Escobar is hotter at the moment.

Left:
Braun (1-3)
Lee (7-22, HR)
Lee's numbers are more meaningful, but I really like taking Brewers at home, especially vs. rookies.

Center:
Melky (6-15 vs. lefty)
Taveras (4-11)
Span (6-14, 2HR vs. good lefty)
Kemp (1-2 vs. good starter)
Sizemore (5-16, 2HR vs. good starter)
None of these really jump out at me, but I see Granderson in Texas vs. Padilla and the swine flu. He is 2-8 against him with 4 walks. That's good enough for me.

Right:
Mags (4-11, HR)
Pence (8-20, 2HR)
Cuddyer (24-76, 2HR vs. good lefty)
Ethier (3-9 vs. good starter)
Rios (3-9, HR vs. good starter)
Dumpster is just good enough to scare me off of Pence a little, but other than that, Cake and Abreu are the only ones I will even consider. Tough call. Since Abreu faces the worst pitcher of the three.....nah, give me Pence. I changed my mind.

DH:
Thames (3-9, HR)
Talk about slim pickins' here. Thome is 5-22 with 2 HR vs. Baker. Isn't he that way with just about everyone? Baker sucks and since Big Jim sat tonight, I like it.

Catcher:
Posada (10-22, HR vs. lefty)
McCann (7-19, 2HR)
Redmond (16-35 vs. good lefty)
Martin (5-8 vs. good starter)
VMart (3-7 vs. good starter)
McCann is an easy one for me. I hope like Hell the rain stays out of south Florida.

FINAL LINEUP

C: McCann
1B: Prince
2B: Kinsler
3B: Chip
SS: Escobar
LF: Braun
CF: Granderson
RF: Pence
DH: Thome
PS: Wainwright (and I better be, too)

STAT CORNER

The Best Team Batting Averages on the Road:
Angels .283
Jays .282
White Sox .281
Dodgers .279
Yankees .278

And The Worst:
DBacks .227
Reds .233
Royals .237
Rangers .237
cUBS .240

The Best Team Batting Averages At Home:
Orioles .294
Angels .289
Pirates .281
Twins .279
Rocks .277

And The Worst:
Padres .207
White Sox .241
Indians .247
Brewers .248
A's .251

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 don't be afraid to pass the word.

FU HALL OF FAME

Kerry MF'n Wood (Founder)
Nick MF'n Blackburn (Record Holder at -43)