Wednesday, the 12th

Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had the chance to see the "fight" in the Tigers/Sox game last night. If so, you saw Rick Porcello plunk Kevin Youkilis which was immediately followed by the charge to the mound. Youk decided to throw his helmet at the pitcher, which did nothing at all, and then, instead of knocking his lights out, tries to go low and wrap him up. Porcello, the youngster that he is, manages to actually toss the much bigger Youk to the ground like a rag doll, pretty much landing on top of him. Seconds later, Porcello emerges unscathed from the pile. What the Hell was that all about. Be a man, Youk, and throw a damn punch for Pete's sake. Note to all: If you really want to look like a puss, start and finish a fight without even throwing a punch. What a joke. It reminded me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JrN3EgJVXg
At least the one-legged chest bump would have been remotely entertaining!

YESTERDAY

What do Hanson, Wolf, Happ, Harden, and Sherzer have in common? They all put up between 25 and 33 fantasy points last night. Who could have predicted that? I'm not surprised so much that it happened, but from all 5 of them? Needless to say, pitching was pretty much a wash. On top of the 27 Wolf gave me, my bats accounted for a relatively weak 26, led by Hanley (8), Pujols (7), and Granderson (7). The rest of them were turds. My total of 53 left me pretty much steady at #27 overall and #846 in the half.

TODAY

As expected, Lincy is once again the top pitcher taken at 50%, followed by Carp at 35%. The head-to-head numbers said that Carp would be the man, but the overall dominance by Lince won out in the end. I suspect that they will put up similar numbers, unless you believe in the theory that owning a team three times in a row is pretty much impossible (Carp has dominated the Reds both times thus far). The bats, however, are pretty spread out. There are not too many overwhelmingly dominant choices it seems. Here is my final again, along with the top picks...

C: McCann (Mauer*)
1B: Pujols*
2B: Zo (Utley*)
3B: Longoria (Reynolds*)
SS: Rollins (Hanley*)
LF: Braun (Holliday*)
CF: Hamilton*
RF: Luddy*
DH: Thome*
PS: Lince*

TOMORROW

Weather:
Tigers/Bosox scattered t-storms
'Stros/Marlins scattered t-storms

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Rangers, Padres, Cubs, Rocks, Marlins, 'Stros, Mariners

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Brewers vs. Carillo (MLB Debut)

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Crede (3-18 vs. starter)
B Harris (2-13)
Span (2-13)
D Young (2-23)
Olivo (1-10, HR)
Hawpe (1-12)
Spilborghs (2-11)
Ad LaRoche (2-13)
Wilson (2-15)
Beltre (0-10)

Pitchers:
Verlander (12-6 3.45, 1.19 WHIP, 186 K in 159 IP, 5-5 4.68 road, 0-1 6.43 August, .350 BAA at Bos)
Lee (9-9 2.95, 1-0 1.29 August, 0-0 3.85 at CHC)
Marquis (12-8 3.65, 5-4 4.12 home, 0-1 5.54 August, 1-0 3.12 vs. Pitt)
CC (12-7 3.76, 1.17 WHIP, 0-1 9.53 at Sea)
OK, first of all, I can't even consider Verlander with the success the Sox have had against him. Marquis is just not a guy I would feel comfortable with either. This leaves me with CC and Lee. Two things sway me here. One is that CC always seems undependable to me, proven by the results I have seen when I take him. The other is that ARam is unlikely to play vs. Lee. Take a bat away from the Cubs and they just don't have that many left. It's Lee for me (as long as Kerry MF'n Wood is no where near Chicago tomorrow).

First:
Morneau (10-33, 2HR)
Butler (4-9)
Youk (4-10, 2HR vs. good starter) *Youk began his 5 game suspension tonight!*
AGonz (1-3 vs. lefty)
Lee (2-3, HR vs. good lefty)
Votto (2-4, HR)
Votto is cold and Gonzo hits under.200 vs. lefties. Since the Morneau numbers vs. Meche are not overwhelming, I think I will chance Prince vs. the Padres rookie.

Second:
Callaspo (5-8, HR)
Polanco (3-3)
Utley (4-6)
Barmes (6-11, HR vs. lefty)
Phillips (3-5)
It's been a while since I had Brandon Phillips. I have feasted off of him for years and expect good numbers from him again here at home.

Third:
Peralta (3-6, HR)
Young (2-3, HR)
Lowell (3-7 vs. good starter)
Atkins (7-14 vs. lefty)
Zimm (3-9)
There are a few seemingly safe picks here including Zimmerman, Young, and ARod. Due to ARod's lack of dependability and the way the Nats have been hitting, I will be taking Zimm. I also like him playing in the 'Natti.

Short:
As Cabrera (3-4)
O Cabrera (10-28, HR)
Rollins (9-30)
Tulo (5-8, HR vs. lefty)
Hanley (2-6 vs. lefty)
For starters, Hanley only has one homer vs. lefties this season, so he's out. Between Rollins and Tulo, I like Tulo's matchup better, but barely. This is the toughest call of the night.

Left:
Blalock (1-2)
DeJesus (4-12)
The only ones I like here are Dunn and Braun. I'm going with Dunn in his old park, especially against Arroyo, who has the tendencies to serve up a few. The Big Donkey is 0-2 against Bronson lifetime.

Center:
Sizemore (2-5, HR)
Fowler (2-5 vs. lefty)
McClutcheon (2-5 vs. good starter)
Morgan (2-4)
Guttierez (3-3, HR vs. good lefty)
It looks as if I am going to be stuck with either Granderson or Sizemore again. But fudge that! Just to avoid being let down by the one I take while watching the other go off, I am going to go with Cameron vs. the Pads' rookie. I'm practically done with the other two.

Right:
Cuddyer (7-13, HR)
Guillen (5-10, HR)
Mags (2-3)
Stairs (4-7, 3HR)
Werth (2-4)
Ichiro (17-41, 3HR vs. good lefty)
Willingham (2-3)
Stuck between Willingham and Cuddyer, the tie breaker is batting average. Will's is much better and he is also better onthe road than at home. Holy shit! I have three Nats tomorrow. This can't be good.

DH:
Ortiz (3-7, HR vs. good starter)
Venable (1-3 vs. lefty)
Turd city tomorrow. I have to go with Will Venable. Hell, I've been wanting to take him anyway and this is the best chance I have had.

Catcher:
Shop (3-8)
Mauer (5-17, HR)
Ianetta (3-6, HR vs. lefty)
Doumit (5-17, HR vs. good starter)
Johjima (5-8 vs. good lefty)
Easy pick. Mauer.

FINAL LINEUP

C: Mauer
1B: Prince
2B: Phillips
3B: Zimmerman
SS: Tulo
LF: Dunn
CF: Cameron
RF: Willingham
DH: Venable
PS: Lee

The Top Post All-Star Break Batting Averages:
Holliday .443
C Gonzalez .435
E Velez .397
Morgan .394
Reynolds .383
Coghlan .380
Guzman .373
Kendrick .373
Zimmerman .371
O Cabrera .369

Home Run Leaders Since the All-Star Break:
Reynolds 12
Morales 10
Zimm 10
DeRosa 8
Young 8
Teix 8
8 with 7

RBI Leaders Since the All-Star Break:
Holliday 27
Morales 26
Kemp 25
Tulo 24
Zimm 24
Dunn 22
Peralta 22
5 with 21

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)