Thursday, the 6th

Good morning, everyone. I just have to say that I, for one, would have loved to see Prince get into the Dodgers lockerroom and start throwing haymakers. Not that I have anything against the Dodgers, it just would have made for great video, almost as fun as watching Jason Kendall try to stop him. Let's move on.

YESTERDAY

I am a firm believer that every now and then we all need a good kick in the ass. Well I got mine last night. Sure, I had the right pitcher in Hanson (26 well earned points), and the day starter out well. Unfortunately, with help from Papi sitting out and Manny afraid to get plunked, my originally good looking lineup combined for a lousy 7 fucking points! To put it in perspective, my entire team got out scored by some clown named Whiteside of the Giants. Now I've been on a good roll lately, so I guess I had it coming to me but damn! Seriously, that sucked. Anyway, my 33 total points knocked me down to #28 overall and #1192 in the half.

TODAY

Lee and Sherzer carry practically all of the PS picks, with Lee winning the battle about 70% to 30%. Either one is a good pick, but I went with Sherzer who came through pretty well for me last week. With alot of day games this afternoon, we should all be able to avoid the responsibility of our jobs with just cause. Good luck and may your bats get you more than 7. Here's my final again, along with the top picks...

C: Napoli (Mauer*)
1B: Morneau*
2B: Utley*
3B: Reynolds*
SS: Hanley *
LF: Rivera (Dunn*)
CF: Grady (Granderson*)
RF: Upton*
DH: Kubel*
PS: Sherzer (Lee*)

TOMORROW

Weather:
Twins/Tigers pm showers
Indians/Chisox few showers

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Cards, Orioles, Chisox, Indians, Rangers, Padres

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Tigers vs. Swarzak (3-4 4.25 in 9 starts)
Brewers vs. Norris (1-0 0.90 in 1)

Possible Load-Ups:
Blue Jays vs. Berken (1-9 6.93

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Tex (2-13 vs. starter)
Baldelli (2-13)
Ludwick (2-14)
Yadi (2-12)
Ryan (2-11)
Victorino (3-19)
Bonaficio (2-11)
As Cabrera (0-12)
Helton (3-19)
Hawpe (1-11)
Figgins (4-21)
Abreu (2-11)
Salty (1-11)
Blalock (1-10)
BJ (1-16)

Pitchers:
Beckett (13-4 3.27, 1.15 WHIP, 132 K in 143 IP, 2-1 2.86 post break, 2-0 5.82 at NYY)
Burnett (10-5 3.89, 2-1 4.38 post break, 0-1 12.91 vs. Bos)
Carp (10-3 2.10, 0.95 WHIP, 4-2 2.47 road, 3-0 1.13 post break, 1-0 0.00 at Pit)
Buehrle (11-5 3.79, 1.15 WHIP, 2-2 4.33 post break, 1-1 4.50 vs. Cle)
Z (7-4 3.35, 2-0 2.49 post break, at Col)
Felix (12-4 2.78, 141 K in 152 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 4-3 4.01 home, 1-0 0.00 vs. Tam)
Jurrjens (9-8 2.85, 4-3 2.86 road, 2-1 2.55 post break, 0-1 7.20 at LAD)
Bills (11-6 3.82, 140 K in 143 IP< 7-4 4.07 home, 2-2 6.87 post break, 1-0 0.00 vs. Atl)
Lince (12-3 2.18, 1.05 WHIP, 191 K in 156 IP, 7-1 1.92 home, 2-1 1.55 post break, vs. Cin)
Quality starters are everywhere tomorrow. Lincy gives up about three runs in practically every third start, and he is due for it tomorrow. However, the number of K's he racks up and knowing that the Reds are prone to strikeouts anyway is why I will reluctantly take him over Carp. Carp and Felix both should do well and would be my next choices.

First:
Morneau (5-17, HR)
Pujols (10-19, HR vs. lefty)
Howard (4-16, 3HR)
N Johnson (5-10)
Lee (1-3 vs. good starter)
There is absolutely no way I would pass on Pujols tomorrow, with numbers like these against Maholm.

Second:
Cano (13-38, 2HR vs. good starter)
Utley (7-20, HR)
Utley has the better matchup here (over Cano), but Robbie's numbers are hard to pass on. Nonetheless, I will. I will notbe taking Chase, though. It will be Aaron Hill for me. Berken is having a really tough time and even though Hill is 0-6 against him, I will override the stats and take the Jays 2nd baseman.

Third:
Crede (1-3, HR)
Beckham (2-4 vs. lefty)
ARam (3-5, HR vs. good starter)
Young (8-23)
Wright (6-8, 2HR)
I would take Wright with the good numbers, but I prefer not to take bats in San Diego. Instead, I will roll with ARam at Coors. I like his chances there.

Short:
Jeter (14-44, HR vs. good starter)
Scutaro (2-6)
Hanley (2-4)
Tejada (3-7, HR)
Here I will stay with Hanley. Rollins is an interesting option as well, but Hanley treated me well today and hopefully will tomorrow as well.

Left:
Bay (6-18, HR vs. good starter)
Ibanez (2-3)
Lee (4-13, HR)
Pods (4-13 vs. lefty)
I understand that Bay went down with an injury of some sort, so I will stay away from him, just in case. I think I will go with Carlos Lee here. It's been a while and tomorrow looks like a good time to go back to him.

Center:
Span (3-10)
Melky (12-35 vs. good starter)
Ad Jones (1-3 vs. lefty)
Kemp (2-3, HR vs. good starter)
There is nothing here I really feel good about, so I will take the opportunity to go cheap. I really feel like the Jays should tear berken a new one, so I will pick up Vernon Wells, even though he is only 1-6 against the starter.

Right:
Cuddyer (3-10)
Drew (6-20 vs. good starter)
Rios (2-2)
Cake (1-3 vs. lefty)
Choo (3-6, HR vs. good lefty)
Ethier (3-5 vs. good starter)
Willingham (1-3)
I am going to get Willingham again. He has continued to hit well since the break and nothing else really stands out. I like Rios somewhat, but his power lacks a little.

DH:
Lind (2-5)
Scott (2-3 vs. lefty)
Thome (6-13, 3HR vs. lefty)
Thome. Even against the lefty, I will not pass on numbers that impressive.

Catcher:
Mauer (5-14, HR)
Posada (9-28 vs. good starter)
Suzuki (5-12)
Napoli (7-12)
Martin (4-9, HR vs. good starter)
I have to go with Mauer here as well. He is the best option as well as affordable in this case.

FINAL LINEUP

C: Mauer
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: ARam
SS: Hanley
LF: Lee
CF: Wells
RF: Willingham
DH: Thome
PS: Lince

STAT CORNER

The Longest Current Hitting Streaks:
O Cabrera - 15 games
M Young - 12
Abreu - 11
Ellis - 10
Powell - 9
Markakis - 8

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)