Sunday, the 16th

Good morning, everyone. I am sorry for the overall weakness of my DH post, added late last night. I hope you all at least caught word that there was a DH today and made the most of it. It will be interesting for sure, as the pitchers leave alot to be desired. I also hear that there were site issues at ESPN, preventing somelate lineups from being made. If you were one of the left out, sorry pal, tough break.

YESTERDAY

Well, Johan surely left many of us a little disappointed, putting up a very unimpressive 11. Fortunately though, Cainonly had 18 of his own, so it wasn't a total wash. For my bats, Mauer (8), Hill (7), and Lingoria (7) led the pack as the lineup combined for a decent 35. My total of 46 for the night moved mu up to #28 overall and #684 in the half (a 7 spot climb). I'll take any improvement, though, on a day where my pitcher only gives me 11.

TODAY

The daily summary has not been posted as of yet, so I am not sure whothe top picks are. My guess is that there will be a pretty decent split between Harden, the Rocks, and the Marlins. What I have was pretty much put together in mere minutes, with no serious thought put into it. It could be a very wough day. Here's my final again and, if I have the time, I will post the top picks when they arrive...

C: Mauer*
1B: Johnson (Helton*)
2B: Uggla*
3B: Bonaficio (Stewart*)
SS: Hanley*
LF: Coghlan*
CF: Ross*
RF: Hawpe*
DH: Smith*
PS: Fins*

The Marlins were barely the top pick, followed by the Rocks and Harden. It's goona be fun.....

TOMORROW

Weather:
Royals/Chisox scattered t-storms

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Rangers, Royals, Padres,

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Mets vs. Martinez (2-1 6.00 in 2 starts)

Possible Load-ups:
Orioles vs. Santana (5-6 6.38, .336 BAA)
Chisox vs. Bannister (7-9 4.26, .293 BAA)
Yanks vs. Mazzaro (4-8 5.54, .400 BAA)
Cards vs. Haeger (1-2 6.35 career, 1st start this season)

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Konerko (4-22 vs. starter)
DeJesus (10-63, HR)
J Buck (6-45, 2HR)
Ellis (3-16)
Cust (1-10, HR)
Eckstein (5-39)
Ausmus (6-40)

Pitchers:
Sherzer (7-6 3.94, 128 K in 123 IP, 1-0 6.19 August, 1-1 7.45 at Atl)
Hanson (7-2 3.05, 2-0 2.13 August, vs. Zona)
Hernandez (4-4 3.81, 1-2 5.79 August, 1-0 4.05 vs. LAA)
Hunter (5-2 2.26, 1.13 WHIP, 2-1 2.75 August, vs. Min)
Buehrle (11-6 3.70, 1.16 WHIP, 0-2 5.40 August, 1-0 2.61 vs. KC)
Burnett (10-5 3.71, 6-4 4.09 road, 0-1 4.91 August, at Oak)
Lilly (9-7 3.59, 1.15 WHIP, 3-6 5.40 road, 0-1 15.75 post break, 1-1 5.68 at SD)
Carp (12-3 2.27, 0.98 WHIP, 5-2 2.69 road, 3-0 2.63 August, 1-0 1.29 .205 BAA at LAD)
I like Hanson at home, as well as Carp vs. LA. In this one, I am going to go with Hanson. The DBacks ate dropping in Atlanta for a makeup game, then heading right out of town agter the game. The Braves will be waiting for them and I kind of suspect that the DBacks will not be too jacked up to play this one.

First:
Huff (7-17, HR)
Morales (1-2, HR vs. rook)
Teahen (22-50, HR vs. good lefty)
Tex (2-3, HR)
Lee (3-7)
I think I will stay with Pujols here against the Dodgers rook (technically). I like Morales and Tex as well, but rarely pass on Fat Al vs. an inexperienced pitcher.

Second:
K Johnson (3-7 vs. good starter)
Roberts (9-24, 2HR)
Brian Roberts looks like just about the only viable option here. He is also facing a washed up starter.

Third:
Chipper (4-6, HR vs. good starter)
Wiggy (4-9, HR)
Sandoval (4-11, HR)
I'm not taking Chipper, so ARod will have to do. He should have some success against Mazzaro.

Short:
Escobar (4-9 vs. good starter)
Renteria (13-36)
Alexei (5-12, HR)
Theriot (3-6)
Ig Escobar was hitting better, he would be my pick. But since he is not, Jeter is my pick, even though he usually disappoints when I take him.

Left:
G Anderson (3-5, HR vs. good starter)
G Jones (2-2, HR)
D Murphy (2-2 vs. lefty)
Quentin (3-5, 2HR)
Damon (2-3)
None of these work for me either, so I will go with a hot hitting Braun. Holliday is a decent option as well.

Center:
Rowand (7-15, HR)
Byrd (2-3 vs. lefty)
This group flat out sucks. Rowand is cold as ice, Hamilton sees a lefty, and nothing at all looks good. I'll take Cameron, mainly because he is cheap. I also considered Adam Jones.

Right:
Cake (7-21, 2HR)
Bloomquist (12-25 vs. good lefty)
I think, based on the numbers, that I have to go with Markakis here. Again, the matchups really stink today.

DH:
Scott (3-10)
Thome (8-24, 3HR)
Thome has to be the pick.

Catcher:
Benji (8-27, 3HR)
AJ (9-22, HR)
Posada (2-3)
Soto (2-5)
I think I will give Benji a chance here. Posada looks good, as does AJ, but I want at least one bat against Livan.

FINAL LINEUP

C: Benji
1B: Pujols
2B: Roberts
3B: ARod
SS: Jeter
LF: Braun
CF: Cameron
RF: Cake
DH: Thome
PS: Hanson

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, -14, -11, -7, -6)
Nick MF'n Blackburn (record holder at -43)
Jake MF'n Peavy (2 time offender at -8 and -2)
Houston MF'n Astros Staff(-4)
Los Angeles MF'n Dodgers Staff (-11)
Zach MF'n Greinke (-4)