Vandenwhat?

Boom went the dynamite! The Roundup produced another solid card yesterday, taking the afternoon pick when the Royals emerged victorious, 9-2, then doubling up on profits with the evening Phillies RL play, as Lidge somehow held on to a 4-2 win. We've been on a nice little roll the last week or so -- posting winning days last Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and yesterday, and pushing on Tuesday for a record 8-2-1. Congrats to anyone that tailed! Hopefully, we can keep the good vibes flowin'!

NL
Be Careful of Rick Vandenhurk - He missed his last start with back stiffness, generally a very bad sign for a starting pitcher; expect Vandy to get lit up early before his back loosens, or just avoid altogether, like me.
Josh Willingham, Elijah Dukes - The Nationals are going to be happy to be anywhere besides Philadelphia, and these two have solid numbers off Mike Pelfrey: Willingham is 3-for-4 off him this year, and 6-for-14 overall with 2 homers and 6 RBI. Dukes, in limited action, is 4-for-6 with a homer and 3 RBI.
Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino - Tim Hudson has looked good in his return from surgery, but here faces a test, as Howard is batting over .320 against him with 3 homers, Ibanez is 7-for-15 since 2004, and Victorino is 8-for-25 with 2 homers.
Bud Norris - Norris allowed 2 runs in 6 innings earlier this year against the Brewers, with both coming on a Jason Kendall home run - what are the odds of that happening again?
Ted Lilly - There are a handful of playoff teams that could use Ted Lilly and his dynamic numbers against the Cardinals, who are batting just .160 against him, and if not for a Colby Rasmus 2-run homer, his 2.40 ERA against St. Louis could be reduced to 1.20.
Mark Reynolds - Reynolds is 4-for-8 lifetime off Jason Marquis with a homer with 3 RBI
Edgar Renteria - Renteria went 0-for-3 against Padilla a week ago, but the aging shortstop is 5-for-10 against him since 2004.
Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez, Russ Martin - Jonathan Sanchez has had all kinds of issues with the Dodgers, and some of that can be attributed to Kemp's 6-for-17, some to Manny's 4-for-8 with a homer, and a chunk to Martin's 6-for-13 with a dinger; some can also be attributed to his wildness, but hey...

AL
The Boston Red Sox - Home or road, Jeremy Guthrie is not going to slow these guys down; alphabetically, Jason Bay (5-for-10, 2 HR), J.D. Drew (6-for-18, HR), Jacoby Ellsbury (9-for-24, HR), David Ortiz (7-for-21, 2 HR), Dustin Pedroia (12-for-37), then even some of the younger guys are batting near .300, as well.
Brian Roberts, Ty Wigginton - Roberts is 6-for-14 career off Clay Buccholz, and Wigginton is 2-for-4 with a homer this year against the surging youngster.
Adam Lind - Prior to this season, Lind wasn't a force against James Shields, but he seems to have figured him out, going 5-for-14 this year with 2 homers.
Carl Crawford - Scott Richmond is slumping, and you'd figure that Crawford's 4-for-7 against him might just get better.
Scott Kazmir - Kazmir has been lights out against Texas in his career, and some of that might be the result of Blalock being 1-for-11, Kinsler is 2-for-19, Cruz is 1-for-7, Pudge is 2-for-16, so on and so on.
Jason Kubel - Kubel is a perfect 5-for-5 off Rick Porcello, but the rest of this game screams "swing-and-a-miss"
Willie Bloomquist, Mark Teahen, Mitch Maier - Bloomquist has hit Mark Buerhle hard, to the tune of .462 in 26 AB; Teahen is batting .453 in over 50 AB since 2004, and Maier, the young gun, is 6-for-13 off Buerhle.
Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira - One might be surprised how many Yankees have hit King Felix hard in the past, with Cano 4-for-9 with a homer, Damon 5-for-9, also with a homer, Jeter 4-for-11 and Tex 11-for-33 with 3 homers.
Adrian Beltre - Burnett hasn't faced the Mariners since 2007, but he's 5-for-14 with a home run off A.J. Burnett.