Back to Business on 9/21

Last week was a DOMINANT one in baseball, as our newfound selectivity has paid off in spades. We took it to the books Monday through Friday, winning 4/5 days and pushing on the other.

Over the weekend, we had a run-of-the-mill 1-1 NFL Sunday after a watch-and-enjoy College Saturday. A Monday Night Football play is coming later this afternoon in the NFL thread, but here, we must continue to dominate the ol' throw and catch!

NL
Wade Leblanc - Leblanc is a "hot" pitcher right now, allowing just 3 runs in his last 19 innings over 3 starts, and with his newfound aggressiveness, faces a team that has never seen his changeup.
Adam Laroche - Laroche is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career against Pat Misch, with a homer and 2 RBI.
Luis Castillo, Gary Sheffield, David Wright - Castillo is 5-for-9 off Derek Lowe this season, and 6-for-13 overall; Sheffield is 7-for-15 with a homer and 9 RBI, and Wright is 6-for-13 with 3 RBI.
Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy - Braun has absolutely killed Tom Gorzelanny, going 8-for-17 with 3 homers and 9 RBI, while Hardy, if he gets a look, which he won't, would bring to the table an 8-for-21 history against Gorzelanny.
Khalil Greene - You know you're in for a long night when your lone representative on the Roundup is Khalil Greene (4-for-11 off Wandy Rodriguez); Lohse would have made it to the list (1.69 ERA in 16 IP against the Astros this year), but his struggles with injury make him a question mark.
Hunter Pence, Wandy Rodriguez - Pence is the only Astro that has consistently delivered strong performances against Kyle Lohse, going 9-for-23 in the past; Wandy, just 1-2 against the Cardinals this year, has been a tough luck pitcher in this season series, posting a 2.25 ERA with a .174 BAA, and 19 strikeouts in 24 innings.
Bengie Molina, Edgar Renteria, Freddy Sanchez - Doug Davis will be facing the Giants, and may have to do his customary tight-rope act, with Molina batting .393 against him with 2 homers and 8 RBI in 28 AB, Renteria 8-for-18 with 2 homers, and Sanchez batting .459 in almost 40 faceoffs.
Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds - Drew, going lefty v. lefty with Barry Zito, is batting .391 in his career against Barry with 8 driven in; Reynolds is 6-for-14 with a homer.

AL
Chris Tillman - Tillman seems like a solid young pitcher, and today he'll try to show his first effort against the Jays wasn't a fluke - I don't think it was, as he held them to a .174 team average in a no-decision.
Yuniesky Betancourt - This pathetic excuse for a shortstop is somehow 4-for-10 off Wakefield in his career with a homer.
A.J. Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez - Nick Blackburn has had great success against the White Sox, but needs to work around these 2 bats, as Pierzynski is 10-for-23 against him, and Ramirez is 7-for-16.
Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez - Not three names you want to see in a row, especially if you're Joe Saunders, who has been whacked around to a 4-for-10 tune by Damon, a 5-for-11 tune by Jeter, and a 5-for-10 tune by A-Rod - Saunders has a career ERA of 8 against the Yanks.
Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli - Aybar is 6-for-13 off Andy Pettitte, and Napoli is 5-for-9, but perhaps more than the two Angels, Pettitte has an ERA of almost 10 against LA in 2 starts this year.
David Murphy - Murphy has limited exposure to Edgar Gonzalez, but he's 4-for-5 with a homer, which bodes quite well for tonight.
Mark Ellis, Ryan Sweeney - Millwood has been just terrible in the 2nd half of the season, and Mark Ellis and Ryan Sweeney should be able to capitalize; Ellis is 11-for-26 off Millwood, and Sweeney is 4-for-9 with a homer.