Wednesday, the 26th

Good morning, everyone. Were you aware that the Rockies were 15 1/2 games behind the Dodgers at the first of June? Furthermore, did you know that they are only 2 games behand them as we speak? I love this time of season. I love teams that are excited about playing, fans that are excited about their teams, and watching the leaders panic as their leads slip away. And by the way, I took a glance at the Red Sox remaining schedule this morning. Their chances of being in the post season do not look too good. Just sayin'.

YESTERDAY

Wow! What a day for pitching. Wainwright (33) and Jurrjens (32) led the popular staff picks while Cain (14) and Haren (5) disappointed. I was fortunate enough to see Greinke strikeout 15 Indians and give me 35 of his own. With my bats, the O's would have been fine had they not left the bases loaded three damn times. Offensively, I put up a fairly weak 23, giving me a total of 58 for the day and pushing me up to #28 overall and #708 in the half.

TODAY

Josh Johnson vs. Rich Harden. Johnson gets 70% of the picks, while Harden is way behind with 17%. It could be a big day for Harden takers, including myself, possibly propelling us in either direction depending on how the day goes. It feels like a day where we (Harden takers) will either walk away feeling like kings for outsmarting the rest, or heels for being so stupid. Below are the top picks, followed by my load of the day...

Top Picks -
C: Mauer
1B: Tex/Prince
2B: Roberts
3B: ARod
SS: Jeter
LF: Braun
CF: Byrd
RF: Werth
DH: Matsui
PS: Johnson

My Load -
C: Mauer
1B: Morneau
2B: Hill
3B: ARod
SS: O Cabrera
LF: Young
CF: Span
RF: Cuddyer
DH: Kubel
PS: Harden

TOMORROW

Weather:
Mets/Marlins pm t-storms
'Stros/Cards isolated t-storms
Nats/Cubs showers
Padres/Braves scattered t-storms

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, Pirates, Red Sox

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Cubs vs. Martin (2-3 4.76 in 7 starts)
White Sox vs. Tazawa (2-2 3.57 in 3)
Royals vs. Fister (1-0 2.21 in 3)
DBacks vs. Martinez (3-1 5.73 in 4)

Possible Load-ups:
Marlins vs. Redding (1-4 6.10, .352 BAA)
Cards vs. Moehler (8-9 5.29)
Rocks vs. Padilla (8-6 4.92)
Angels vs. Cahill (6-12 4.86)

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Byrd (2-15)
Blalock (2-14)
Uggla (1-13)
Ross (2-11)
Schneider (2-17)
Taveras (3-18)
Ludwick (2-14)
Yadi (2-12)
C Lee (6-31, 2HR)
Erstad (3-20)
Martin (2-11)
Eck (1-17)
J Wilson (1-10)
Chavez (1-10)
Suzuki (1-20)
Cust (2-12)

Pitchers:
Carp (14-3 2.16, 0.96 WHIP, 7-1 1.74 home, 5-0 2.08 August, 1-0 1.59 vs. Hou)
Wells (9-6 2.84, 2-2 2.84 August, 1-0 7.20 vs. Was)
Vazquez (10-9 3.14, 1.07 WHIP, 186 K in 169 IP, 1-0 2.57 vs. SD)
Laffey (7-3 3.42, 3-3 4.97 road, 3-0 2.00 August, at Bal)
Happ (10-2 2.59, 1.17 WHIP, 6-1 1.72 road, 3-0 1.21 August, 1-0 1.29 at Pitt)
Danks (11-8 3.85, at Bos)
Haop, Vazquez and Carp will be battling this one out. Because of the quality of bats the 'Stros have, I would think that Vaz and Happ will be the top picks.

First:
Pujols (9-19, 3HR)
Berkman (9-30, 6HR vs. Carp)
Loney (7-11, HR vs. lefty)
Youk (3-7 vs. Danks)
Branyan (2-4)
Morales (3-3, HR)
Tex and Howard are worth a look as well.

Second:
F Lopez (2-2)
Phillips (9-29, HR)
Schumaker (5-13)
Hudson (3-7 vs. lefty)
Roberts, Utley and Cano are worth a look as well.

Third:
DeRosa (4-13, HR)
Blake (6-20, 2HR vs. lefty)
ARod and Peralta are also worth a look.

Short:
Hanley (8-16, 3HR)
Lugo (8-22)
Furcal (2-6 vs. lefty)
Rollins (2-2)
Renteria (2-4)
Jeter and Asdrubal are worth a look as well.

Left:
Murphy (4-12)
Holliday (4-9)
Manny (3-8 vs. lefty)
Headley (2-3 vs. Vazquez)
Braun, Dunn and DeJesus are worth a look as well.

Center:
Hamilton (4-9, HR)
Morgan (2-3 vs. Happ)
Kemp (6-13, HR vs. lefty)
Victorino (1-2, HR)
Guttierez (6-10)
R Sweeney (4-9)
Hunter, Fukudome and Cameron are worth a look as well.

Right:
Hermida (10-17, HR)
Ichiro (3-9)
Winn (2-5)
Werth, Swisher and Choo are also worth a look.

DH:
Ortiz (1-2, HR vs. Danks)
Matsui and Thome are also worth a look.

Catcher:
Mathis (2-4)
McCann and Posada wre also worth a look.

FINAL LINEUP (Journey Day 7)
I really hate to use the Braves bats right now, but the way I am playing, they are my only option at this point. Hey, at least I like the pick, as Vazques should be able to handle the Pads. It could be worse, and probably will as my options continue to dwindle. With the bats, I have to go with the Cards. I looked at a few options, but with Moehler pitching, I have to believe the Cards have the best chance to go off. They have no one listed at DH, so that is where I will use my out, with big Jim Thome up in Boston. Here's the load...

C: Yadi (s)
1B: Pujols (s)
2B: Schumaker (s)
3B: DeRosa (s)
SS: Ryan (s)
LF: Holliday (s)
CF: Rasmus (s)
RF: Luddy (s)
DH: Thome
PS: Vazquez

JOURNEY STATS

Beginning Rankings:
#29 overall and #596 in the half

Current Rankings:
#28 and #708

Change:
+1 and -112

Bats Used:
Mariners, Royals, White Sox, A's, Orioles, Twins, Cards

Staffs Used:
Tigers, Indians, Mariners, Brewers, Royals, Cubs, Braves

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)