Wednesday, the 29th

Good morning everyone, even you boys down in Venezuela. I have been thinking about writing an article on my opinion in the Pete Rose hall/no hall case. If time permits in the next day or two, I will post it here. Check it out if it gets done. Also, please be aware that I have to work late tonight and since the damn censors prevent me from changing my team at the office, my personal lineup will probably not be up until 10 pm eastern, if that is something you look forward to seeing.

YESTERDAY

Well, it did turn out to be a bit of a moving day, but not as much as I would have expected. With 4 of the top 5 staffs (Zone, Yanks, Atl, Col) all finishing with between 5 and 15 points, those of you who were in that group got saved somewhat. I was fortunate enough to have Wainwright and his solid 27 points, but due to relatively weak bats across the board, didn't make up too much ground. My bats combined for only 29, led by Braun, Kinsler, and Chipper and my total of 56 moved me back up to #31 overall and #3516 in the second half. It was only Saturday when I was at over 14,000 in rank, so a quick climb has kind of got me back in the mix and at least somewhat stabilized.

TODAY

It looks like Cain is the majority starter today as about 70% went with him, including myself. With good starters all over the place, I kind of expected a little more diversity. This is good with me, though, as being in the majority as much as possible generally pays off in the long run. Halladay has about 15% of the take and Johan came in third with around 8%. There will be movement today, but most of us will have to rely on our bats to see it. Here is my final again...

C: VMart (Mauer*)
1B: Howard*
2B: Utley*
3B: Peralta (ARam*)
SS: Rollins*
LF: Braun*
CF: Victorino*
RF: Werth*
DH: Kubel*
PS: Cain*
* denotes most popular pick of the day at said position

TOMORROW

Weather:
Rocks/Mets scattered t-storms
Royals/Orioles isolated t-storms
A's/Red Sox scattered t-storms
Mariners/Rangers thundershowers
Yanks/White Sox pm t-storms
Dodgers/Cards scattered t-storms

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Mets, Rocks, Red Sox, A's, Rangers, Mariners, White Sox, Phills

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Rocks vs. Niese (1-0 4.08 in 3 starts)
Brewers vs. Martin (0-1 7.50 in 2)

Possible Load-ups:
Red Sox vs. Gonzalez (2-2 7.75)
Brewers vs. Martin (0-1 7.52)

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Cust (1-11, HR)
Crosby (1-11)
Morgan (1-11)
D Lee (3-33, HR)
Helms (1-11, HR)
Ausmus (2-11)
Renteria (2-16)
Benji (1-15)
Winn (2-14)

Pitchers:
* Please be advised that, at this time, the White Sox have not announced a starter
Bergeson (6-5 3.56, 6-1 2.82 home, vs. KC)
Cueto (8-7 3.78, 103 7.61 July, vs. SD)
Lester (9-7 3.79, 146 K in 128 IP, 2-1 1.86 July, 0-1 9.00 vs. Oak)
Gallardo (9-7 3.09, 136 K in 128 IP, vs. Was)
Vazquez (8-7 2.98, 1.07 WHIP, 150 K in 133 IP, 3-0 2.73 July, 0-1 4.50 at Fla)

First:
AGonz (1-2 vs. good starter)
Konerko (11-30, HR vs. lefty)
Loney (2-6)

Second:
Castillo (2-5)
Hudson (6-17)
Utley (2-4 vs. lefty)

Third:
ARam (6-16, HR)

Short:
Cabrera (6-13 vs. good lefty)
Theriot (2-5)
Furcal (5-8)

Left:
Pods (3-4, HR vs. lefty)
Holliday (5-11)
Manny (5-12, 2HR)
Pierre (6-12)

Center:
Jones (2-5)
R Johnson (4-4, HR)
McLouth (1-2)

Right:
Cake (2-6, HR)
Bradley (6-16)
Fukudome (2-3)
Ichiro (2-4)
Dye (8-25 vs. lefty)
Ethier (2-5)

DH:
I got nothing here

Catcher:
Zaun (2-6, HR in day game)
Soto (1-1)
McCann (3-6, HR)
AJ (7-19 vs. lefty)
Martin (2-6)

FINAL LINEUP
will be posted by 11 pm eastern along with brief analysis

STAT CORNER

The Longest Current Hitting Streaks (and averages):

Reynolds - 12 games - .413 avg
Schumaker - 12 - .326
S Drew - 10 - .419
Counsell - 10 - .415
Callaspo - 10 - .366
Fukudome - 10 - .395
Aybar - 9 - .447
Ethier - 9 - .500
O Cabrera - 9 - .410
Hanley - 9 - .361

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 will.

FU HALL OF FAME

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