Done Moving Boxes Around

Whew! It's been quite a few days for your old pal Danno. My father arrived in town on business on Wednesday afternoon, and my plan was to meet him for dinner a couple times before he had to head back to California. Well, after dropping him off at his hotel and having a quick workout, I got a call from my apartment manager telling me the keys to my new place were ready, and asking when I was planning on vacating my current home.

I told the man I had movers coming on Monday (which would be today) to toss my stuff in a truck and get it from one locale to the other, and the confused look I got was worth a million bucks. Peter (the landlord) told me I should definitely take a peek at my lease...it ended on Friday at noon! I had 2 boxes packed (my movies), and both my stuff and my girlfriend's items completely unpacked. I guess I should consider myself lucky that my dad happened to be in town, as I could at least use an extra set of hands packing boxes, though he's a bit out of shape and didn't do much lifting. Then, of course, it began to pour. Anyone who watched the Tigers games on Thursday and Friday could see how the rain was coming down -- just picture a weak little man of 5'8" trying to lug 2 people's personal belongings and furniture up 3 flights of stairs. Needless to say, by the time the weekend rolled around I felt like death and barely made it through the days.

But now I'm back! Internet is rocking and rolling in my new place, along with my first Comcast HD cable box. I can't imagine a better way to take in sports than in crystal clear high def. I can only imagine my ability to handicap will crystallize as well!

NL
Adam Rosales - In the Minors, Rosales went 5-for-8 against Pirates call-up Daniel McCutchen. Yes, the Pirates are starting two players named McCutchen.
Kelly Johnson & Garrett Anderson - Johnson is a nice 4-for-10 off Marlins starter Josh Johnson, while Anderson is just 2-for-3, but he homered for 2 of the Braves 3 runs off Josh earlier this year.
The Marlins Position Players - Kenshin Kawakami has been shellacked twice by the Fish this year; he's 0-2 with an ERA of 8.44 over 10.2 innings. Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross have all homered off Kawakami.
Brandon Phillips - This is for game 2 of the doubleheader, where Phillips is batting .355 career off Paul Maholm in 31 AB with 3 homers and 7 RBI.
Lance Berkman, Geoff Blum & Kaz Matsui - Berkman has but 5 AB against Rich Harden, but he's got a homer and 2 RBI to show for himself; Blum is 4-for-12 with a homer, and Matsui 4-for-10.
Derrek Lee, Milton Bradley & Geovany Soto - A .340 average off Roy Oswalt is impressive, but 3 homers and 9 RBI is even better, and that's Derrek Lee; Bradley (if he plays, what a joke) is 3-for-8 off Oswalt, and Soto 4-for-12.
Henry Blanco and Kevin Kouzmanoff - Blanco is a simple 4-for-11, not bad, while Kouz is a more impressive 5-for-15 with 2 homers and 5 RBI off Livan Hernandez.
The Dodgers, Top to Bottom - Excluding Orlando Hudson's 0-for-7 off Doug Davis, things look pretty ugly for the D'backs lefty: alpahbetically, Ausmus (.393 in 28 AB), Blake (3-for-7), Andre Ethier (.389, HR, 3RBI), Furcal (.346 in 26 AB), Kemp (9-for-20, 3RBI), Loney (.385, 3RBI), Loretta (.417, 5 RBI), Martin (just .263, he barely qualifies for this list), Pierre (.346, 4RBI), ManRam (9-for-15, HR, 4RBI).

AL
Jason Bartlett & Willy Aybar - The Rays as a team have not fared well against Jarrod Washburn, but Bartlett is 5-for-11 and Aybar a perfect 3-for-3, so there is the potential for a few baserunners.
Placido Polanco & Miguel Cabrera - The Tigers have 2 guys that have done some damage against James Shields, but much like their competitors, the rest of the lineup can't be counted on; Polanco is 5-for-11 off Shields with a homer and Cabrera is 4-for-10 with a longball, as well.
Melky Cabrera & Nick Swisher - Amazingly, these are the two Yankees with the best numbers against Jeremy Guthrie, with Melky hitting .421 over 19 AB with a homer and 3 RBI, while Swisher, who has been very good on the road, is batting .429 with a dinger and 4 driven in.
Adam Jones, Nick Markakis & Melvin Mora - Jones is 5-for-12 off Pettitte, Markakis 9-for-27 with 2 homers and Mora is 8-for-20 with a longball and 5 RBI.
A.J. Pierzynski, Jim Thome & Alexei Ramirez - Pierzynski, master of the absurd bleached hair, is batting .429 off Nick Blackburn over the years, Jim Thome is 7-for-21 with 2 homers, and Ramirez is a respectable 6-for-13.
Denard Span & Carlos Gomez - Span is the more impressive of the two, posting a career 6-for-14 off the solid arm of Gavin Floyd. Gomez is 6-for-18, still good, but no power numbers for either of these guys.
Joe Saunders - Saunders has absolutely dominated the Mariners this season, despite not having his best stuff and battling injuries at times. This time around, he claims to be healthy, and is coming off a nice start against Detroit, a team that had historically beat him up pretty good. So far this year, Saunders is 2-0 against Seattle, with an ERA of 0.64 and an opposing BA of .152.

Sure Thing Thursday?

Last night I had to head out to dinner with the pops, so I missed a good deal of the baseball action. Looks like the longshot on Pirates didn't pan out, though they pushed the Phils to extras before Ryan Howard unloaded on some poor, unsuspecting sap. The Cards and Giants both picked up 1-run victories. The Giants were nearly the first 2-unit play, but with the majority of the forum on them, I didn't want to push my luck. Let's see what we can churn out on this Thursday:

NL
Jorge Cantu, Hanley Ramirez, Jeremy Hermida - Tim Redding may be turning and watching a few fly today, as Cantu is a career .389 batter in 18 AB with a homer and 8 RBI, Ramirez is 8-for-16 with 3 homers and 7 RBI, and Hermida is a terrifying 10-for-17 with a homer and 9 RBI.
Casey McGehee - McGehee has seen Justin Lehr 16 times in the Minors, and has collected 6 hits off him.
Lance Berkman - Berkman boasts 6 homers off ace Chris Carpenter in his most recent 30 AB.
Albert Pujols, Skip Schumaker, Julio Lugo and Matt Holliday - Somehow Brian Moehler has really held the Cards down, and the numbers don't add up - Pujols is 6-for-13 off Moehler (0-for-4 this year), Schumaker is 5-for-13, Lugo is 6-for-17, and Holliday is 4-for-9, but they have just 1 home run between them.
James Loney, Matt Kemp and Casey Blake - A few Dodgers have solid numbers against De La Rosa, with Loney heading the pack. Casey Blake is batting .300 with 2 homers in 20 AB, Kemp is a solid 6-for-13 with a homer, but the slick-fielding first baseman Loney is 7-for-11 with a homer and 7 RBI.
J.A. Happ - Already posting a 7-inning, 1-run performance against the Pirates should be nice evidence that Happ will pitch well against them again, especially considering the Bucs hit just .174 off him as a team.

AL
A.J. Burnett - Coming off an awful outing, Burnett should be prime to bounce back against a Rangers club he's already knocked off twice. Both of Burnett's wins over Texas have come by 6 runs or more.
Josh Hamilton - Hamilton is 4-for-9 in his career off Burnett, but just 0-for-3 this year, so...
Kevin Youkilis - Just 3-for-7 off John Danks, but I wanted to highlight Danks' 0-3 lifetime mark against the Sox with an ERA over 6.
Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan, and then some... - The two Mariners with the most success against Kyle Davis are Gutierrez (6-for-13, 3 RBI) and Branyan (3-for-7, 4 RBI), but a handful of others (Hannahan, Johjima, Johnson, Langerhans, Ichiro and Saunders) have good numbers in too few at-bats to make a real judgment call.
Ervin Santana - There's no better time for Santana to regain his form than tonight against the A's, a team he has dominated to a ridiculous degree. In 15 career starts against Oakland, Santana has pitched 100 innings, allowing just 68 hits with an ERA of 1.35. He defeated them once already this season.

The Brewers, Drunk or Unmotivated?

Yesterday is gone, it's just remember when. Those were the lyrics to the song my first grade class had to sing when we took the step up to second. Don't ask me why I remember that - just a weird song to get a bunch of 6-year olds to croon. In any case, yesterday did not go according to plan, at all. The Yankees stormed out to a 4-0 lead, then Joba in all his 2-pitch, no-control glory gave up 7 runs and once again left Yankees backers/fans with a sour taste in their mouth and the strange desire to see Sergio Mitre take his spot in the rotation...or at least Phil Hughes.

I suppose I should be thankful I didn't make any plays yesterday of the 2-unit variety. We've gone 2 days and still haven't found a matchup worthy of the double bonus. Perhaps tonight will be the night.

NL
Adam Laroche - Adam TheRock is a perfect 5-for-5 off Padres starter Tim Stauffer.
NOT Cole Hamels - Hamels gave up 3 homers the last time he faced the Pirates, and now has the 5th highest ERA of any regular starter in the NL.
Fernando Tatis - Tatis is a very respectable 5-for-9 off Josh Johnson. The rest of the healthy Mets, however, not so much.
Baker, Cantu, Coghlan, Helms, Ross & Uggla - All of these Marlins have career averages over .300 off Mike Pelfrey, who has been pitching well of late, but generally struggles on the road.
Joey Votto - For some reason, I always want to type the name "Votta", and I can't figure out why. Seriously, it's not a "Joey's a girl" joke, I just can't make my fingers go back to the letter "O" for the end of his name. In any case, he's 5-for-15 off Braden Looper with 2 of the dingding variety.
Mike Cameron, Ryan Braun & Prince Fielder - Three Brewers with very strong numbers against lowly Kip Wells. It's nice that all three are power guys, too. Cameron is 6-for-11, Braun is 4-for-6, the Prince is 5-for-12. The three have combined for 3 homers and 9 RBI.
Rich Harden - If it weren't for Nyjer Morgan, I might predict a no-no in this one. Harden is rolling, and the Nats are a team he already held scoreless for 6 innings (Washington hit just .143 against him as a team).
Carlos Lee - El Caballo's triumphant return to the Roundup comes on a night he'll face Joel Pineiro, against whom Lee is 9-for-18 with 2 homers and 6 RBI.
Mark DeRosa - He hasn't done much since his move to the NL, but his 11-for-23 recent mark against Roy Oswalt may be cause for optimism.
Juan Pierre - He probably won't start, though with the career numbers of Ethier and Kemp against Josh Fogg (.143 and .167, respectively) it might not be a bad idea. Pierre is batting .458 off Fogg in 24 AB.
Renteria, Sandoval, Molina, Lewis - Doug Davis may want to find shelter in San Francisco; Renteria is 4-for-7 against him this year and 8-for-16 overall, with 2 homers. Sandoval, if he's healthy, is 5-for-14 off Davis, Molina is 4-for-10 this year with 2 homers, and 11-for-28 since 2004, and Fred Lewis is 4-for-9, if Bruce Bochy would ever consider playing him.

AL
The Tigers - Yikes, where to begin. How about alphabetically: Cabrera, 3-for-8, 2 RBI; Everett, 3-for-7, 2 RBI; Granderson, 4-for-13, HR, RBI; Guillen, 4-for-9, 2 RBI; Huff, 8-for-18; Ordonez, 7-for-19, HR, 5 RBI; Thames, 4-for-12, 2 HR, 4 RBI.
Chone Figgins and Gary Matthews - Figgins is 7-for-13 off Edwin Jackson, that's nearing the realm of "ownage". Matthews is 6-for-10 off Jackson, also has 5 RBI.
Marlon Byrd - Byrd is 5-for-10 career off Andy Pettitte with a homer and 2 RBI. He's 0-for-3 this year, so he's due.
Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui & Mark Teixeira - After a disheartening loss last night, the Yanks may come out mad in this one. Jeter is a perfect 4-for-4 off Derek Holland this year, while Matsui and Tex are each 2-for-4 with 3 combined homers and 6 RBI.
Aaron Hill & Vernon Wells - Hill is a solid 10-for-30 off Scott Kazmir with a homer and 5 RBI, while Wells is 12-for-33 with 3 homers and 4 RBI over the last 5 years.
Dustin Pedroia - Pedroia is 6-for-15 off Gavin Floyd.
Jason Kubel - Only 7 career AB against Jeremy Guthrie, but he's posted 4 hits, including a homer and 3 RBI.

Rocky Mountain High

I could go right back to yesterday's blog entry and write a page and a half about Johan Santana hitting the DL with bone spurs in his pitching elbow, and while that entry may come soon, it's not for today.

Today, I wanted to go straight to last night's 14-inning stomach-turner between the Rockies and Giants, and see what we can take away from the game.

To see the whole article, Click Here!!

The NL West Tightens

Highway robbery!! Shenanigans! Surely, there's something I can yell that will rescue last night's SF Giants pick. Up 4-1 in the 14th inning, they found a way to blow it, sinking our +154 underdog. When all is said and done, we still went 2-1, but yesterday sure felt like a sweep in the making. Just need to pick up the shards that remain, and get moving on today's full card!

As noted yesterday, the Roundup will now be picking multiple-unit plays, since it seems folks have the growing desire to follow these picks and the Roundup's money management. Yesterday, all 3 games were 1-unit selections, but when we find a 2-unit bookbeater, we'll toss it out there. I don't know if I've posted the season record on here in weeks, maybe months, but a roughly break even first half combined with the second half Fantasy Roundup stands, altogether, at 122-103-3 (~14 units) with one unit on every play to this point. Not amazing, but it's a winning season so far, and with a few weeks left and regular season NFL and college action on the horizon, this is a big couple weeks to solidify the baseball winnings.

NL
Joe Blanton - Somehow, big Joe just keeps rolling right along, picking up another win in his last start. Against the Pirates this year, Blanton gave up a solo homer to Garrett Jones over 7.1 strong innings, holding Pirates to a team average of just .148.
Sean West - He's been awful lately, but gave up just 1 run in 7 innings in a start against the Mets earlier this season.
Craig Counsell - Maybe others don't get the same pleasure I do when putting a new name on the Roundup, but welcome to the party, Craig Counsell, who has a .423 average against Bronson Arroyo over the last 5 years.
Felipe Lopez - A new-ish Brewer is 10-for-25 off Arroyo with a homer in the past.
Nyjer Morgan - The little speedster is 6-for-15 off Carlos Zambrano.
Josh Willingham - Teams are starting to pitch him hard inside which has put Willingham in a bit of a funk, but he's 5-for-10 off Zambrano, so maybe this will wake him up.
Hunter Pence - Batting .391 in 23 AB against Wainwright, but just 1 RBI coming on a solo shot.
Miguel Tejada - He's been slumping, but is 5-for-15 off Wainwright, and if the 'Stros have any shot tonight, they need Miggy to get a hit or two.
Matt Holliday - A monster pick-up for the Cards in their battles with Wandy Rodriguez, Holliday has homered off Wandy twice in 13 AB, and is 5-for-13 against him overall.
Khalil Greene - A respectable 4-for-11 off Wandy.
James Loney - Somehow, Loney has almost double the AB against Hammel of anyone else on the Dodgers, and he's 4-for-11 with a homer and 2 RBI.
Ryan Spilborghs - Last night's hero (and my new nemesis), Spilborghs is 4-for-8 off Kershaw with 2 homers and 5 RBI. The real scary part for Kershaw is that he's walked 13 Rox in just over 15 innings.
Stephen Drew - The younger of the Drewche brothers is 4-for-12 off Matt Cain with 2 homers. Who knows, 1 run might be the game tonight.
Fred Lewis - It's high time this kid got into the lineup, especially given his 8-for-16 mark against Danny Haren.
Edgar Renteria - 4-for-10 off Haren, though it's difficult to see the Giants bouncing back from yesterday's loss to Colorado all that quickly...

AL
The Old Yankees - There are 7 Yankees position players (most of whom are regulars) with at least 9 career AB against Kevin Millwood and averages against Millwood over .300. Beware the bombers.
Brett Cecil - After facing the Red Sox, who crush Cecil, he gets to face the Rays this time out, a team he has fully neutralized this year. Carl Crawford's solo homer is the only run Cecil has given up to Tampa over nearly 8 innings of outstanding work.
Asdrubal Cabrera - The Greinke-stopper (taking a page out of Ruben Patterson's book), Cabrera is batting over .500 against the Royals' ace.
Shin-Soo Choo - This kid is pretty good, and he's back on the Roundup due to his 6-for-16 mark off Greinke.
Juan Rivera - Among a sea of Angels with big numbers off Jarrod Washburn, Rivera is 4-for-5 this year with 2 homers, and 9-for-25 over the past 5 years.
Vlad Guerrero - Sir SwingsAlot is hitting .414 off Washburn over the last 5 seasons with 3 homers, 9 RBI in 29 AB.
Kurt Suzuki - 7-for-13 lifetime off Ryan Rowland-Smith, most likely incorporating some Minor League faceoffs.

The Amazins, Finding a Way To Lose Since...

VIEW THE FULL ARTICLE HERE!

Angelic Expectations

What's happenin' party people?? Sounds like a lot of folks had a wet fart of a Sunday...glad I missed it. Maybe this weekend job isn't as awful as I thought. In any case, I have full confidence that everyone who lost yesterday will bounce back today with proper research and effort. And, if you don't feel like looking up every outstanding player matchup, you can find 'em here in the Roundup!

After watching the forum's reaction to different cappers, I think it may be time for me (and the Roundup) to begin RANKING plays. I do generally have a top play every evening, but I thought playing everything at 1-unit would allow folks to get a better feel of how my picks generally perform. Whether or not I was right, it seems like folks want to see some variety, so, time to upgrade my gray matter.

NL
Cliff Lee - This one's a no-brainer. If he can shut down the first third of the National League, he can shut down the half-baked Mets lineup.
Freddy Lewis and Juan Uribe - Lewis is 5-for-12 in his career off Jason Marquis, while Uribe is 4-for-10 with a homer.
Barry Zito - Zito held the Rockies scoreless for 7 innings earlier this year, and they hit just .091 against him as a team. Yes, I realize it was in spacious AT&T Park, but Zito, even last year, has pitched well against the Rox. In 2008, he went 1-0 at Coors, allowing just 2 runs over 8 innings.

AL
Carl Crawford - Crawford is the Rays one chance to get to Doc Halladay, batting .381 against him over 60+ AB with a couple homers and 8 driven in since 2004.
The top of the O's lineup - Brian Roberts is 4-for-11 in his career off Scott Baker, Adam Jones is 2-for-5, and Nick Markakis is 3-for-9 with a homer with 2 RBI.
Shin-Soo Choo and Jhonny Peralta - Choo, in limited action, is 6-for-14 off Gil Meche, and Peralta in significantly more action, is 15-for-40 with 2 homers and 5 RBI.
David DeJesus - DoubleD is 4-for-11 off Jeremy Sowers, who has pitched much better late in the season.
Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen - There is some significant ownage of Angels' starter Jered Weaver among these 4 Tigers: Granderson is 6-for-12 with FOUR homers, Ordonez is 5-for-8, Polanco is 5-for-11 with a dinger, and Guillen is a robust 7-for-11.
Bobby Abreu, Kendry Morales, and Vlad the Impaler - Abreu, off Verlander, is 4-for-10 with a homer, Morales is just 2-for-6, but drove in 5 runs against Verlander in LA earlier this year, and Vladdy is 6-for-13.

Walk Philly and Carry a Big Stick

Well, it took 3 days of treading water before we finally broke through yesterday with a few winners! It was a full card, with the afternoon Cincinnati dog paying, then St. Louis, Atlanta and Boston all bringing home the bacon in the evening. The Angels were a loser for us (as well as half the pros in the forum), and a half-unit gamble on Washington didn't pay off, but a 4-2 day, +2.35 is nothing to scoff at. That brings us back to roughly 15 units profit since the All Star break (and +14 on the season, since we were down a unit in the first half), and hopefully today will be another fat, fat winner.

NL
Delwyn Young - Young is a stout 6-for-8 career off Micah Owings with a homer and 3 driven in; Owings makes his return from the DL tonight, which usually means a lack of sharpness.
The Phillies - True, Mike Pelfrey is 2-0 against the Phillies, but both of his victories came by mid-May, and the Mets scored 7 runs in both wins. The Phils are batting .292 as a team off Pelfrey, and have come 1-2 hits away from putting up big-time numbers against him. Greg Dobbs (6-for-11, HR, 3RBI), Pedro Feliz (3-for-9, RBI), Ben Francisco (1-for-3), Ryan Howard (6-for-17, HR, 2RBI), Raul Ibanez (3-for-9, 3RBI), Jayson Werth (5-for-14) and Chase Utley (5-for-18, 3HR, 7RBI) have all done some damage against the righty.
Ross Gload - The Marlins Mr. Gload is a career 10-for-25 off Atlanta starter Javier Vazquez with 4 RBI.
Ryan Church, Brian McCann and Martin Prado - The Braves have done some significant damage to Anibal Sanchez, who is making his return from the DL -- Church is a blistering 8-for-16 with a homer and 4 driven in, Prado 5-for-10 with a pair of RBI, and McCann is 4-for-11, including a longball and 3 RBI.
Stephen Drew - Drew is 7-for-17 against Roy Oswalt, but his teammates are about as worthwhile as old socks.
More Giants Than You Might Think - Aaron Cook held the Giants to 2 runs over 7 innings earlier this year, but he did so by escaping jams constantly. The Giants, as a team, hit .321 against him this year, and lifetime, Travis Ishikawa (4-for-5, 3RBI), Bengie Molina (.313, 3RBI), Edgar Renteria (4-for-10, RBI), Aaron Rowand (6-for-16, 3RBI), Freddy Sanchez (3-for-7), Pablo Sandoval (2-for-5), Eugenio Velez (2-for-6), and Nate Schierholtz (2-for-2) have all posted success against him, and playing at Coors should lead to a few more runs.
Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins, Ryan Spilborghs and Chris Iannetta - Tulo has bashed Jonathan Sanchez to the tune of .417 with a homer and 5 RBI, Atkins is batting .368 with 8 driven in, Spilborghs is 5-for-15, and Iannetta is batting .308 with a homer and 3 RBI, as well.
Adrian Gonzalez - A nice, solid 7-for-17 off Kyle Lohse, including a homer lifetime.
Geovany Soto - 4-for-11 lifetime off Randy Wolf, and though Wolf has a poor career record against the Cubbies, the current crop hasn't done a great deal against him.
Matt Kemp - Kemp must have faced Wells a few times in the Minors, he's 6-for-12 off him in his career with 2 RBI.

AL
Reddish Sox - Oh, hey, did we mention it's Yankees-RedSox weekend time again? Jason Bay (12-for-27, HR, 3RBI), J.D. Drew (12-for-32, 3HR, 4RBI), Jacoby Ellsbury (5-for-12, 4RBI), Kevin Youkilis (9-for-25, HR, 3RBI), David Ortiz and Mike Lowell (each 8-for-24), have all put some sweet numbers up against Andy Pettitte in their careers, and with both teams playing well right now, this should be a heck of a series.
Willy Aybar - Aybar is 4-for-12 off Dustin Nippert, and in Nippert's only career start against the Rangers, he gave up 7 runs in 4 innings.
David DeJesus and Miguel Olivo - Believe it or not, this game looks like a mismatch in KC's favor, with DeJesus a career 6-for-12 off Nick Blackburn, and Olivo 6-for-11 with 2 homers and 4 RBI.
Jermaine Dye - 4-for-11, 1 HR and 2 RBI off Jeremy Guthrie, who has actually pitched "okay" against the White Sox this year, but Gavin Floyd is a tall order.
The Tigers - Detroit hit .389 against Gio Gonzalez earlier this year in Detroit, including a Ryan Raburn 2-for-2 and a Polanco home run.

Just Play It Straight

Yesterday tried my patience, perhaps the most all season long. It wasn't that it was the worst day all year (2-3 is not good, but palatable), it's that 4 of our 5 teams actually WON their games! The Twins scored 4 times in the 6th inning, 1 inning AFTER our first-5 wager expired. If that wasn't enough to have me yanking out every remaining hair in my head, the Rockies blew their Run Line victory by allowing a seemingly inconsequential solo home run in the 9th inning. So, a 4-unit swing took place, and there's no one to blame but me. I spent a restless night beating myself up for not just taking the Money Line on Colorado, and not playing Minnesota for the full 9 innings.

But, focusing more on the positives, I continued to pick the right TEAM, and if I didn't get fancy with it, we'd have gone 4-1. The Fantasy Roundup is still up approximately 13 units overall, as always, playing 1 unit on every game.

NL
Eugenio Velez - Velez is 4-for-9 off Aaron Harang, though the Giants got worked over by Harang a couple weeks ago.
Ryan Howard - Howard has homered twice in only 6 AB against Doug Davis, still.......
Doug Davis - Comfortably with the D'backs for the remainder of the season, Davis turns his attention to the scary Phils, against whom he has had some success...some of the Phils regulars' numbers: Pedro Feliz (3-for-25), Jimmy Rollins (3-for-19), Chase Utley (2-for-11), Shane Victorino (1-for-8).
Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham - These two gNats are a combined 3-for-7 off Jason Hammel with 2 homers and 4 RBI.
Matt Diaz - "Ownage Alert" Diaz is a beastly 11-for-20 off ace Johan Santana with a homer and 3 RBI.
Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar and Martin Prado - Diaz got his own place on the list because of the ownage alert, but these three Braves have done a respectable job off Johan as well, with Johnson going 7-for-18, Escobar 5-for-15 and Prado 3-for-10.
Hanley Ramirez, Ronny Paulino and Cody Ross - The Marlins haven't seen much of Wandy Rodriguez, but Hanley is 4-for-8, Paulino is 5-for-8 with a homer and 4 RBI, and Ross is 3-for-5.
David Eckstein - The Eckz Factor is 6-for-15 off Joel Pineiro, though, expressing personal opinion, this guy has outlived his usefulness in the MLB.
Aaron Miles - The little goateed Cubbie is a career 6-for-15 off Jeff Weaver, another Dodgers spot-starter.

AL
Ichiro Suzuki - A reasonable 6-for-18 off Washburn, very much near his career numbers against, well, everyone.
Jhonny Peralta - Peralta is batting .391 lifetime off John Lackey in 23 AB, and has driven in 4.
Shin-Soo Choo - The same Cleveland names keep popping up, as Choo is 4-for-9 off Lackey with a pair of "ribbies".
John Lackey - Need to counterbalance the Peralta/Choo notes with one on Lackey - Travis Hafner is 2-for-20 against him, Sizemore 3-for-18, Asdrubal Cabrera 1-for-11, and the trio Jamey Carroll, Chris Gimenez and Luis Valbuena are a combined 0-for-9.
The Angels - As a team, they are batting .360 against Justin Masterson this year, led by Jeff Mathis's 3-for-4 this season.
Rod Barajas and Marco Scutaro - Barajas is 3-for-8 off Lester with 4 RBI, so he's been batting with men on base, while Scutaro, having a career year, is 4-for-10 off Lester this year, and batting .316 against him overall.
The Boston Red Sox - Let's see, a .500 batting average as a team against Brett Cecil, scoring 8 runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings against him.
Nick Markakis - Batting a shade over .300 off James Shields in 40 career AB, though Shields shut the Orioles down earlier this year with 7 scoreless frames.

Delicious Cliff Bar

Well, yesterday was about as harrowing a journey through a 2-2 night that I can remember. Tampa went up 5-2, then blew the lead to spoil the Run Line. The Giants fell behind by 4 runs, came back to tie it, then in extras scored 3 times to cash the Run Line. Kansas City fell behind Chicago 4-1, cut it to 4-3, and in the 5th (the last inning of our wager), scored twice to take a 5-4 lead. In the bottom half, the White Sox put runners on the corners with nobody out, and had a player thrown out at home trying to tag up. Finally, Texas jumped out to an early 5-run lead, then watched as Minny outscored them 9-1 the rest of the way. Sheesh!

For today, there are 2 afternoon games, so if we're making a play on those, we'll try to get it posted soon. Otherwise, everything will go normally. Some feedback, please: did folks like how I grouped the best player-matchups by team yesterday, or did that just make things more confusing? Oh, and I'm just going to continue to make all this introductory text a link to the Pregame.com thread, for my own benefit, of course.

NL
Cliff Lee - Everything this guy touches turns to gold, lately, so it's tough to see him giving up more than a run or two to the Dbacks, who struggle mightily on the road.
Dan Haren - Haren held the Phils to a team BA of .190 earlier this year, but got burned by a Shane Victorino home run. If he keeps home runs solo, this game looks like a 2-2 tie heading into extras.
Nyjer Morgan - Morgan is a very reasonable 4-for-11 off Jason Marquis, but his teammates have done ZIP!
Jason Marquis - It looks like the Jewish pitcher with the French name is getting back into form, throwing 7 outstanding innings against the Pirates his last time out. Against the Nats, Marquis is 1-0 this year, going 8 shutout frames. A real key is that Adam Dunn is batting .179 against him in 28 AB.
Yovani Gallardo - Gallardo has held the Buckos to a team BAA of .164 this year, giving up just 3 runs in 15 innings, while compiling a 1-0 record.
Ryan Braun - Braun is 4-for-5 off Maholm this season, to raise his lifetime numbers to .368 in 19AB with a homer and 7 driven in.
Mike Cameron - Cameron is an even more impressive .423 hitter off Maholm with 3 homers and 9 RBI.
Jair Jurrjens - A fine start against the Phils went to waste because of a lack of run support, but more importantly, his poor efforts against the Dodgers are now behind him. Jurrjens faces a Mets team that is batting just .196 against him, and now they don't even have David Wright.
Kinda, sorta, San Fran - There are a handful of Giants that have had MILD success of Arroyo, but none that has just pasted him...the closest we got is Freddy Lewis, who is 4-for-11.
Adrian Gonzalez - Only 5 AB career against Rich Harden, but he's 4-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBI.
Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday - The Cards centerpieces are a combined 8-for-16 off Kershaw, but have just 1 RBI between them.
Rafael Furcal and Russ Martin - The Dodgers hit Wainwright relatively well, in general, but as is the case every time they're in St. Louis, they can't get anybody home. Furcal is 2-for-4 off Wainwright this year, and 7-for-13 overall, while Martin is 2-for-3 against him this season, and a blistering 7-for-11 lifetime.

AL
Scott Podsednik - Podsednik is a remarkable 16-for-30 in his career against Zack Greinke, including 7-for-10 this year.
A.J. Pierzynski - It's really a wonder that Greinke has an ERA of 1.61 against the Sox, since Pierzynski also hits him hard. A.J. is 6-for-11 off him this year, and is a .432 batter lifetime in 37 AB.
Jermaine Dye - How about one more White Sox position player, Jermaine is hitting .390 off Greinke in 41 trips, including 3 homers.
Robb Quinlan - He probably won't get in the starting lineup, but in the event he does, Quinlan is 6-for-12 off Jeremy Sowers.
Jhonny Peralta - J-honny is batting a cool .357 off Jered Weaver, with a homer and 4 RBI.
Grady Sizemore - He didn't face Weaver earlier this year (though Weaver still gave up 4 runs in 5 innings), but Sizemore is batting over .300 against him with a pair of homers.
Shin-Soo Choo - .357 average in 17 AB against Weaver, but no power numbers.
Franklin Gutierrez, Ichiro, and Jose Lopez - I lumped these three Mariners together because of the similarity of their numbers off Verlander. Gutierrez is 6-for-20, Lopez is 8-for-25, and Ichiro is 9-for-26.
Placido Polanco - Somehow, he's faced Ian Snell 10 times, and has collected hits in 5 of those trips.
J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis - Both hitting in the low/mid 300's off Roy Halladay, but that's about it for Boston.
Nick Markakis - Not only is this guy just locked in right now, he's 4-for-9 off Jeff Niemann.
The Twinkies - Really, if I were going to pick a game for the Twins to steal in Texas, it would have been today's, not yesterday, but so it goes. Offensively, Orlando Cabrera (.366 in 41AB), Michael Cuddyer (8-for-18, HR, 3RBI), Brendan Harris (4-for-8), Jason Kubel (4-for-10), Joe Mauer (.360 in 20AB), Justin Morneau (6-for-16, 3HR, 10RBI), Nick Punto (.412 in 17AB), and Delmon Young (3-for-6) have all crushed Kevin Millwood, who, in 10 starts against the Twins in his career, is 0-7.
Melky Cabrera - The Yankees have defeated young Brett Anderson twice already this year, thanks in part to Melky's 4-for-5 numbers in those games, which includes a homer.

Run (Line) for the Border

Well, it wasn't a clobbering, but a 3-2 night with a net gain of 80 cents is alright by me. A couple of foolish gambits on totals ruined what was otherwise a pretty solid card, despite forgetting to post Braves in time. Heck, if we did 3-2 every day for the entire baseball season, we'd be up almost 130 units, so there's some fancy math for you. In any case, the Fantasy Roundup continues to plod along, up roughly 13 units on the season, and up roughly 14 since the All Star break, so the profits are coming here in the second half. It should be a goal to win a little bit every week, so off we go on another raucous Tuesday. I'm going to try something slightly different today. Normally, players are listed by team, but not necessarily grouped. Let's try a little grouping today!

NL
Washington - Adam Dunn - In Dunn's brief experience against Ubaldo Jimenez, he has picked up 3 hits in 7 AB...strangely, no power numbers there.
Atlanta - Chipper Jones, Omar Infante, Yunel Escobar, Garrett Anderson - Some solid numbers from the Braves against Oliver Perez, though Perez has done a good job of limiting damage (against everyone, not just Atlanta). Chipper is hitting .393 in 28 AB with a homer and 3 RBI, Infante is 4-for-11, Escobar is 5-for-10 with a homer and a couple driven in, and Anderson is a scary 3-for-6 with 2 homers and 3 RBI.
NY Mets - Gary Sheffield and Jeremy Reed - The Shef is 6-for-13 off Derek Lowe with a homer and 7 RBI...ducks were on the pond, as the say. Reed is a quiet 4-for-10.
San Francisco - Eugenio Velez - The only Giant with more than a couple AB off Homer Bailey, Velez is 4-for-10 against him at a few different levels of baseball.
Houston - Hunter Pence and Lance Berkman - Pence has absolutely killed Ricky Nolasco, this year included, as he's 3-for-7 lifetime with all 3 hits leaving the yard. Berkman is 4-for-8 for a slightly better average, and he, too, has a homer to his credit. The two have combined to drive in 9 runs against Ricky as well.
St. Louis - Khalil Greene - Pretty impressive 7-for-12 off Chad Billingsley, though not sure he'll be playing.

AL
Detroit - Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco - Miggy is 4-for-8 in his career off King Felix, Granderson has an equally impressive .409 average in 22 AB (with a homer), and Polanco is a reasonable 6-for-15.
The Boston Red Sox - In limited action, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are all batting over .300 off Ricky Romero
Some of the Blue Jays - Aaron Hill is batting .333 off Beckett in 24 AB, Vernon Wells is batting .321 with 5 homers in 28 AB off Beckett, Lyle Overbay is also batting .333 but in 27 AB, Marco Scutaro is 3-for-7, Adam Lind is 3-for-5 (HR), and John McDonald is 2-for-4.
Baltimore - Nolan Reimold - Reimold has only faced Price 4 times, but he's homered in 2 of 'em.
Tampa Bay - David Price - Price is pitching at home, nothing more need be said.
Minnesota Twins - In rather limited at-bats, Joe Crede (3-for-7), Michael Cuddyer (3-for-8, 2 HR), Carlos Gomez (1-for-2), Brendan Harris (3-for-6), Joe Mauer (3-for-8), Justin Morneau (3-for-9), Nick Punto (1-for-3).
The Texas Rangers - Pavano faced the Rangers in his first start of the year, and gave up 9 runs in an inning. Ugly.
The Royals not named Yuny Betancourt - David DeJesus is batting .393 off Freddy Garcia, Alex Gordon, Miguel Olivo and Willie Bloomquist each .333, Mike Jacobs is 2-for-2, Mark Teahen is batting .318, and John Buck, the weak link, is batting only .294.
Chicago White Sox - Alex Rios - The new acquisition gets a chance to prove himself against Gil Meche, a guy he's tattooed at a .618 clip.
Oakland - Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis - Crosby is batting .308 off Sabathia in 26 AB, including a homer, while Ellis is at .316 with a homer and 5 RBI in 19 AB.

Whoops, Here's Yesterday's

Once again, I couldn't be more pleased that I didn't cap yesterday, as a fair number of games were decided late, and it could have been a killer. Missing Saturday was troublesome, given that just about every pick that the Roundup missed on Friday came back to win the following day. We've also been put to task this week helping the Roundup's good buddy Dfresh collect 10 units over the next few days, so the pressure's on!!

NL
Four Little Tomahawks - That phrase would have worked better if 4 players from Cleveland were getting listed. As it is, they're Braves. Garrett Anderson is 3-for-5 off Max Scherzer with a homer and 3 RBI, Chipper Jones is 4-for-6 with another HR and 4 RBI, Yunel Escobar is 4-for-9, and Kelly Johnson is 3-for-7.
Rusty Ryal - Only 2 Dbacks have ever seen Tommy Hanson, but Ryal whacked him around 4 of 7 times in the Minors.
Hernan Iribarren - I don't know who the hell this guy is, but he faced Kevin Hart quite a bit in the Minors, and is batting .579 in 19 AB. The Brewers would be wise to give him a starting nod.
Giants not named Randy Winn - List format: Freddy Lewis (4-for-9, HR, RBI), Bengie Molina (8-for-24, 3HR, 5RBI), Edgar Renteria (5-for-11), Aaron Rowand (7-for-15, HR, RBI), Pablo Sandoval (4-for-11, HR, 3RBI), Nate Schierholtz (3-for-7), Eugenio Velez (2-for-4).
Jeff Baker - He's been on fire anyway, so a career 4-for-7 off Kevin Correia with a dinger won't hurt the cause.
Chris Carpenter - The Dodgers are worthless against the Cards, and Carpenter (despite allowing a fair share of baserunners) shut down LA once this year already.

AL
Some enchanted Orioles - Ervin Santana is starting to round into form, but he's had issues with the Orioles healthy or not - Aubrey Huff is batting .412 in 17 AB against him, with a homer, Nick Markakis is 7-for-21 with 2 long ones, Melvin Mora is 6-for-18 (1 HR), Brian Roberts is 9-for-24 (2HR), and Ty Wigginton is 4-for-9 (1 HR).
David Murphy - A cool .500 average off Francisco Liriano, but he's just about it in terms of Texas success against him.
Mark Teahen - There is definitely some prior experience in this Sox/Royals matchup, and Teahen is batting .440 in 50 AB off Mark Buerhle.
Willie Bloomquist - .478 average in 23 AB is pretty solid, but pales in comparison to his teammate Teahen.
A.J. Pierzynski - Bannister has struggled in his last 2 outings, and Pierzynski has a career average against him over .400, which bodes well for the big, bleached blonde catcher...which, by the way, looks absurd
Alexei Ramirez - Also batting over .400 off Bannister, he and Pierzynski both have a home run off Kansas City's starter, as well.
Carlos Quentin - His absence for most of the year was a big hit to absorb, as Quentin, in only 5 AB against Bannister, has homered twice and driven in 4.

This Writeup Took a While

Another winning day yesterday, as we made a few gutsy afternoon calls, and went 2-1 for a profit of 1.45 units (thank you Kansas City for barely hanging on). For the week, we're at 7-4, and up almost 4 units with 1-unit on every play. The Padres game should have been a half-unit flier, but I messed that up, so we gave up a half unit there. Still, the fantasy roundup continues to surge since the All Star break. But enough about the Roundup, let's talk about some games. We have a Cubs afternoon tilt, then a normal evening schedule, so off we go! And yes, this entire paragraph is a link to the Pregame.com easy-to-comment thread!

NL
Andy Laroche - Little Laroche has some experience against Randy Wells from their time in the Minors; he's 4-for-8 with a homer.
The Red Hot Marlins - The Marlins have 10 hits or more in just about every game this month, and tonight face Jason Hammel, who got lit up by them earlier this year...John Baker homered off Hammel in 2 at-bats, Jorge Cantu is 2-for-4 lifetime with a pair of RBI, and Hanley Ramirez went 3-for-3 in their face-to-face with a home run as well.
Gary Sheffield - Easily the player in this SF/NY matchup with the most history, Sheffield is batting .400 off Barry Zito in 15 AB, including 1 longball and 2 RBI
Joey Votto - Votto has a surprising 9 AB in his career against Garrett Mock, and has collected 4 hits, including one that left the ballpark.
Ronnie Belliard - RonBelly is hitting .421 off Aaron Harang over 19 previous matchups.
Jair Jurrjens - One more reason the Braves love this guy; he dominates the Phillies. Shane Victorino has the most success of any Phils regular, and he's hitting .267 off Jurrjens in 15 AB with no homers and no RBI.
Brian McCann - OWNAGE ALERT - McCann is 5-for-9 off Joe Blanton this year with 2 homers and 5 driven in. He was 1/1 off Blanton before this year for a cool .600 average, overall.
Yunel Escobar - A solid 4-for-8 in his career off Blanton (with a homer)
Wandy Rodriguez - He's not quite as overwhelming on the road as at home, but he's already 2-0 this year against the Brewers with an ERA of 0.64 in those starts, and has held the Milwaukee lineup to a .208 average.
Andre Ethier - Haren-killer of the top tier and walk-off meister, Ethier is 9-for-20 in his career off Haren with 2 homers and 5 RBI.
Manny Ramirez - How about 10-for-20...sorry Ethier, Manny's got 1 hit on ya...
Casey Blake - Despite an 0-for-5 mark against Haren this year, Blake is batting .345 against him from their time in the AL over 29 AB.

AL
Jered Weaver - Again, another pitcher not quite as good on the road, but Weaver has gotten back into his early-season groove, and today faces an Orioles team that he has neutralized in 3 previous starts, posting an ERA of 1.71. Weaver has done a very good job against Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis.
Melvin Mora - The only Oriole with mild success against Weaver, Mora is 4-for-9.
Gerald Laird - Laird is 6-for-14 career off Zack Greinke.
Placido Polanco - Polanco is batting .371 in 35 AB off Greinke...it's just too bad the rest of the team, besides Laird, can't do squat.
David DeJesus - In 23 AB against Washburn, DeJesus is batting .391.
Willie Bloomquist - 4-for-11 off Washburn, so decent numbers there.
Aaron Hill - Sometimes the Roundup likes a little perspective...against a very, very good pitcher in James Shields, Hill is 6-for-19, which ain't all that great, but certainly isn't bad.
Carl Crawford - In 59 whopping AB, Crawford has given Doc Halladay a hard time, batting .339 with 2 homers with 8 RBI.
Kevin Millar - I simply had to put him in here. Millar is hitting Shields at a +300 average in 33 AB, but is 0-for-3 this year, with markedly declining skills.
Jason Bartlett - The only other Ray hitting over .300 lifetime off Halladay, but no real power or RBI numbers to speak of.
Michael Young - The ONLY, I mean only Ranger with any worthwhile numbers against Jon Lester, Young is batting .500 in his career at 7-for-14.
The Red Sox - It's a wonder how Millwood shut down the Sox twice already this year; peep these numbers - Jason Bay (.308), J.D. Drew (.429, HR, 5RBI), Casey Kotchman (.333, 3HR, 7RBI), Mike Lowell (.333, HR, 4RBI), Victor Martinez (.429), Papi (.360, 3HR, 10RBI), Jason Varitek (.450).
Travis Hafner - Batting .458 in 24 AB against Scott Baker with 4 homers -- bombs away!
Grady Sizemore - Interestingly, zero RBI and zero HR against Baker despite an average of .353 against him in 34 AB.
Bobby Crosby - 4-for-12 off Jose Contreras with a homer; there isn't a great deal of experience on either side in this game.
Josh Wilson - Figured I could wedge a few lesser known Mariners in here, Josh is 4-for-8 off Pettitte lifetime.
Franklin Gutierrez - 2-for-2 this year and 4-for-10 overall off Pettitte.
Ken Griffey Jr. - I'm not sure these numbers are relevant anymore, but Griffey is batting .310 over nearly 30 AB off Pettitte with a pair of homers.

Feelin' Regal

Yesterday had all the makings of a crazy day, and wisely, we avoided all the fracas of the evening, took a nice home dog winner on Angels (+113), and called it a winning Wednesday! It's been a bit of an up-and-down week so far, with a perfect 3-0 Monday, a 1-3 Tuesday, and now a 1-0 Wednesday, but as you can see, 5-3 is a winning tally. With most games being dogs, we're up about 2 and a half units (1 unit on every bet) and hopefully today's short card will move us up another few.

Normally on days with afternoon games, we'd break them down chronologically, but there are so few contests, I think we can just jam 'em all in together at this early hour of the morning! Feel free to leave comments in the section below, or for an easier go of it, check out PREGAME.COM.

NL
Chase Utley - There isn't a great deal of experience between these two pitchers and the opposing hitters, but Utley, at 4-for-6, is at an infant stage of "ownage" on Ryan Dempster. He should be able to follow that up with a few more hits today.
Ronny Cedeno - I'm stretching a little with so few games. Cedeno is 4-for-8 off Jason Marquis, who has been struggling with a finger blister over his last few starts.
Garrett Atkins - We'll see if Atkins gets a look in an afternoon game against Paul Maholm, against whom Atkins is batting .500 in 14 AB.
Clint Barmes - Barmes has clubbed Maholm to the tune of 6-for-11 (.545), including a home run.
Troy Tulowitzki - He's 5-for-8 off Maholm; again, not a ton of experience, but beastly numbers in those few at bats.
The Marlins - It's not that the Marlins have incredible numbers against Mike Hampton, but news coming down that Hampton is pitching with a torn meniscus in his right knee should be enough to slow down the already-mediocre lefty just a bit more.
Joey Votta - Votta is just 3-for-7 off Balester, but one of those shots left the yard, and after a prolonged slump, it looks like Votto might be starting to turn things around.

AL
Esteban German - Again, we'll have to check lineups, since German may not play, but damned if he SHOULD - German is 8-for-9 lifetime off Jeremy Sowers.
Alberto Callaspo - Callaspo, suddenly becoming a viable player, is 5-for-8 off Carl Pavano, with a homer and 4 RBI
Billy Butler - This is the one KC player that isn't a surprise on the Roundup, as Butler has gone 4-for-9 off Pavano, and just like Callaspo, all of those at-bats have come this year.
Michael Cuddyer - The resurface of the word "ownage" occurs here, with Cuddyer 7-for-13 off Gil Meche, including 3-for-4 this year with a home run.
Placido Polanco - Still trying to squeeze some info out of guys that have barely faced each other, Polanco is a perfect 3-for-3 off Clay Buchholz
The Red Sox - This is a sneaky play, with J.D. Drew (2-for-6), Jacoby Ellsbury (1-for-3), Casey Kotchman (3-for-6, HR), Mike Lowell (3-for-7), Big Papi (3-for-7, HR), Jason Varitek (1-for-2, 2 RBI), Victor Martinez (.282, 4 HR) all have decent numbers against Verlander. Youkilis's suspension could be big, as he was 4-for-10 with 2 homers off Verlander, but will not be playing.
Ichiro Suzuki - Great career numbers against Sabathia, hitting .429 with 3 homers in just under 30 AB
Kenji Johjima - 5-for-8 off C.C., but remember, folks, this is August-style Sabathia, when all his career numbers go out the window, and C.C. just dominates.

Dodgers Looking for Brooms

Well, a few games went down the toilet after I went to bed last night, and we gave back 2 units, but like folks always say, it's about the long term, and we're still up roughly 16 units since the All Star break on all 1-unit bets, so that ain't half bad. I don't know that I've actually ever posted the full-season record, but after last night's trio of losers, we stand at 104-85-3 (documented on an external blog), with a net gain of 14.93 units, all of which has come in the second half of the season.

Today, we have a few afternoon games, so let's get crackin' on those first! As always, the link to PREGAME.COM...

NL
Luis Castillo - .438 average off Jon Garland, including a 2-for-4 performance 2 weeks ago.
Jeff Francoeur - Franks is 5-for-8 off Dbacks starter Jon Garland, with a 2-run homer to his credit.
Gary Sheffield - Shef is 6-for-16 (.375) off of Garland, though he posted an 0-for-2 night in his matchup with Garland at CitiField.
Orlando Hudson - The O-dog has surprisingly solid numbers off Lincecum: he is 7-for-15 with 3 RBI.
Juan Pierre - This would be a fine afternoon for Torre to give Matt Kemp a game off; while Kemp is 0-for-7 off Lincecum, Pierre is 5-for-11, and deserves some playing time in this tough matchup.
Randy Winn - The Dodgers are giving Jeff Weaver a spot start, and Winn has to be "gwinning" from ear to ear - he's batting .417 off Weaver with 2 homers.
Freddy Sanchez - The new Giant is 6-for-14 off Weaver.
Christian Guzman - The Guz is hitting .421 off Derek Lowe in 19 AB.
Nyjer Morgan - 5-for-9 is nothing to scoff at.
Miguel Tejada - Decent career numbers against Ricky Nolasco, going 4-for-9 prior to this season.
Kevin Correia - I realize he gave up a few runs over 6+ innings in his last start against the Brewers, but he held the team to an .095 batting average, so it bodes well going forward.
Andy Laroche - Always nice to see a new name pop up in the Roundup. The younger Laroche is batting .400 against Jimenez in his 15 AB against him.

AL
Oakland - Orioles' starter Jason Berken has an ERA against Oakland of over 23 runs. Oh dear.
Nelson Cruz - He's been batting injury, but supposing he does get healthy quick, Cruz is hitting .364 off Carmona with 2 homers.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia - 4-for-9 off Carmona, but take it with a grain of salt, Carmona's been much better since his return from the Minors.
Miguel Olivo - Back-to-back appearances for Olivo! He's 4-for-10 off Liriano with a homer and 2 RBI.
Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Punto, Span and Casilla - All 6 of these guys have career averages against Bannister over .300, yet Bannister deserves credit for limiting damage. Morneau has 2 homers and Cuddyer 1, so the big blow hasn't really come for Minny, despite putting plenty of runners on base against the Royals starter.
Jim Thome - Thome missed the White Sox last game against King Felix, but not tonight. Thome has 3 homers in 8 AB off Hernandez, is batting .625 against him overall, and has driven in 6.
Mark Kotsay - An average over .400 against Hernandez is quite alright in 14 AB.
Franklin Gutierrez - Franklin is 7-for-15 off Mark Buehrle, with a pair of homers and 8 driven in.
Ichiro Suzuki - He hasn't been destroying lately, but maybe tonight, as he's batting .523 in 22 AB off Buerhle; that is ownage.
Mike Sweeney - Sweeney is batting .400 in 35 AB off Buerhle, with 3 homers and 8 RBI.

Turning to Religion (The Padres?)

Yesterday we smashed open the sportsbook's piggy bank and posted a clean sweep (3-0), with 2 dogs for a profit of 3.66 units...remembering, of course, that the Roundup plays 1 unit on every bet. For the first half of yesterday, we appeared to be the only thread recommending a play on Seattle. Well, it paid off in spades (and nuggets)! It's going to be awfully tough to follow up that performance, but we'll do our best. What follows, as always, are some key notes on favorable player-matchups occurring in tonight's games, and of course, PLEASE check out the Pregame thread - the more the merrier over there!

NL
Matt Diaz - Diaz is 6-for-13 off John Lannan, but zero power numbers to speak of.
Ryan Church - The Braves "outfielder-swap" might come in handy tonight, as Church is 4-for-11 lifetime off Lannan with 2 homers and 5 driven in.
Kelly Johnson - Another Brave position player with an average against Lannan in the dangerous zone, Johnson is 6-for-15 (.400) with a homer and 3 RBI.
Nate McLouth - Finally, we end the list of Braves who have hit Lannan hard. McLouth is 4-for-9 overall, and 2-for-5 this year.
Hanley Ramirez - Big time numbers against Roy Oswalt, a .421 average in 19 AB with 2 homers.
Jeremy Hermida - Another Marlin who has hit Oswalt hard, Hermida is 5-for-12 with a pair of longballs.
Rich Harden - There are very few teams Harden has dominated more than the Phils, going 2-0 against them in his career with an ERA under 1. Of Phillies regulars, only Jimmy Rollins has a batting average over .222 against Harden.
Adrian Gonzalez - 6-for-15 with 2 homers career against Braden Looper, and he went 0-for-3 against him in San Diego, so Gonzo's hungry.
Paul Janish - Janish has faced Mitchell Boggs (most likely in the Minors), and is 5-for-8 against him with a dinger.
The Rox - The Rockies put up 6 runs in 5 innings off Ohlendorf earlier this season, hitting him at a .429 clip as a team. Brad Hawpe went 3-for-3 in that game with a homer and 3 RBI
Edgar Renteria - Renteria is batting .412 off Randy Wolf in 17 career AB with 2 RBI.

AL
Adam Lind - Lind is 4-for-8 off Joba Chamberlain, though Joba seems to be a man possessed since the All Star break.
Miguel Olivo - Yes, Royals are allowed on here, too. Olivo is 5-for-10 off Nick Blackburn with not 1, but 2 homers.
David DeJesus - Another Royal, figured I'd make a habit of it today, he's 5-for-11 off Blackburn.
Jason Kubel - One of the Twins scary lefties, Kubel is 5-for-11 off Kyle Davies, with 3 driven in.
Carl Crawford - .381 BAA Ervin Santana in 21 AB.
B.J. Upton - If Upton ever hopes to move back up in the batting order, he'll have to get things straightened out right now. Fortunately, he's 7-for-15 career off Ervin Santana.
Jose Lopez - A solid 6-for-10 lifetime off John Danks, another White Sox pitcher that has been shellacked by the Mariners.

Here Come the M's

No Roundups over the weekend, and after one of the most sensational runs that I've ever experienced, Friday put a little bit of a damper on things. A few tough losses meant the weekend off wouldn't be such a bad thing as a nice recovery time, and we were all able to enjoy some heated battles between the Yanks and the Sox. I'm sure everyone know how those turned out. Today, a short card, but no afternoon games, so we can, at the very least, take our time, watch the line movement, and make sure we get some supremely succulent top plays, based on matchups, momentum, and value...

NL
Laynce Nix - A fresh name for the roundup, Nix is 4-for-11 off Kyle Lohse with a homer and 2 batted in.
Colby Rasmus & Skip Schumaker - Just in case one (or both) aren't in the starting lineup, it's worth noting both are 4-for-10 off Reds starter Johnny Cueto.
Doug Davis - Davis is rounding back into early-season form, and after holding the Mets to a team BA of .190 in his last start against them, he gets the Mets in Arizona. Jeff Francoeur and David Wright are a combined 5-for-29 off Davis.
Orlando Hudson - The O-dawg is batting .368 off Jonathan Sanchez, so we'll see if Torre rearranges his order.
Matt Kemp - Kemp is hitting .385 off Sanchez with a pair of "ribbies".
Russ Martin - Martin's power numbers are still nowhere to be found, but his average is coming up, and he's already 4-for-9 off Sanchez in his career.

AL
The A's - Jeremy Guthrie couldn't possibly pitch much worse than he did the last time he faced the A's, when they hit him to the tune of a .778 average over just 2/3 of an inning.
Miguel Cabrera - This kid is damn good. To make matters better (or worse?), he's 4-for-11 off Brad Penny with 3 homers and 7 RBI.
J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Casey Kotchman, David Ortiz - All four are batting over .400 off Edwin Jackson with 10 or more AB with a homer and 15 RBI between the group. Jackson has never beaten the Red Sox.
Jose Lopez - Lopez is 5-for-11 off Gavin Floyd, who has a career ERA against the Mariners over 7.
Ichiro Suzuki - He has the exact same numbers off Floyd as Lopez.

Say No To Armando

Yesterday was a fat no-play, despite some strong leans. Something just never felt right about yesterday's card, so we dodged it altogether. Hopefully, those who normally check out my picks, moseyed on over to Goodfella's or Spartan's top plays. In any case, Friday's a bunch of evening games, so we'll take our time and get all the facts posted, then make some picks soon enough!

NL
Christian Guzman - Guzman is 6-for-12 lifetime off Jon Garland with a pair of RBI, and now Washington suddenly looks competent!
Albert Pujols - Yes, I realize putting Albert on here is redundant, but he's 10-for-19 against Maholm in his career, with a homer
Nick Johnson - Perhaps the acquisition of Nick Johnson will turn the Marlins fortune in this series with Philly, as he's 5-for-10 against Joe Blanton, who shut down Florida for 7 innings earlier this year.
Chase Utley - Utley is batting .350 (7-of-20) with a homer against Ricky Nolasco.
Miguel Tejada - Just 7 AB against Carlos Villanueva, but he has 3 hits, including a dinger.
Aramis Ramirez - Hopefully the Cubs won't look baked in this one, as Aramis is 3-for-5 off Jimenez with a home run.
David Wright - A blistering .750 average against Kevin Correia, with 2 home runs in just 8 AB.
Adam Laroche - Billingsley retired him twice in Atlanta, but previous to that, Laroche had been 2-for-4 with both hits leaving the yard.
Russ Martin - Russ is batting .444 off Jurrjens; it doesn't seem like a fluke the Dodgers spanked him in Hotlanta.
Dodgers Starting 8 - Besides Rafael Furcal. Might not be a bad game to give Furcal or Casey Blake a rest, as they're combiend 0-for-12 off Jurrjens, but the others are doing just fine. Ethier (3-for-5), Hudson (2-for-6, homer), Kemp (2-for-6, homer), Loney (3-for-9), Manny (1-for-3), and Russ Martin, above, have hit Jurrjens well.
Tim Lincecum - Willy Taveras is the only Reds regular to have even seen Lincecum more than a couple times; advantage, Giants.

AL
Offense in the Bronx - On both sides of the ball. Despite historically succeeding against the Sox, Burnett has been terrible this year, going 0-1 with a 12.91 ERA against Boston, and most of the Sox regulars hit around .275 against him. On the other side, Beckett is 2-0 against the Yanks this year, but with an ERA of almost 6. Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, A-Rod and Nick Swisher all bat over .290 against Beckett.
Denard Span - Batting .357 in 14 AB against Galarraga.
Joe Mauer - Same average, same number of AB as Span, but Mauer's got a homer to his credit.
The Jays - It's not every day you get to face a guy named Berken in your home building after performing poorly against him twice at his house.
Kurt Suzuki - 5-for-12 off Brian Bannister.
Adam Kennedy - Kennedy went 2-for-2 off Bannister earlier this year to raise his career numbers to 4-for-8 against him.
Jim Thome - Sowers may want to alert the bomb squad, as Thome is 6-for-13 off him, with half of those hits leaving the yard.
Scott Podsednik - 5-for-14 off Sowers. It'll be interesting to see how the new Sowers pitches against a team that has beat him 4 times this year, already.
Jhonny Peralta - 15-for-50 equates to a .300 average against Buehrle, with 2 homers.
Michael Young - Batting .348 against Joe Saunders, a guy the Rangers have clubbed all over hell and back.
Mike Napoli - Batting .500 in 14 AB against Feldman.
Hurlers in Seattle - Felix Hernandez blanked the Rays over 7 innings earlier this year, and Niemann held the Mariners to a team .167 BA earlier this season. This could very well be a 2-1 victory for somebody. Jose Lopez is the only player with an RBI on either team against the opposing starter.

As always, here's a LINK to Pregame, the land where I try to look smart...

Don't Play Hunches

Coming off a 2-1 day, where we, at the very least, got back on the positive side of even. Still, I can't help but kick myself for throwing Angels onto yesterday's card without GOOD DATA supporting the decision. It was a hunch, and hunches will lead to 50% success at best in the long term. So, instead of a 2-0 day, up 2.02 units, we ended up just .64 units. Like I said, still a winner, and the 2-0 mark on the plays with Fantasy Roundup support should be enough to get the confident juices flowing once again. It's Wednesday, which means we'll break down the 3 afternoon contests now, make any potential plays on them just afterwards, break down the evening games an hour later, and evening plays come in the afternoon.

And because I forced everyone to visit my Pregame.com Thread yesterday, today's Roundup will appear here in its entirety. You can, of course, click the link roughly 18 words back to help build the Pregame.com following (and make me look cooooool!).

NL
David Wright - Wright is batting .412 off Kyle Lohse in 17 career appearances against him, with a homer. Brian Schneider, Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield have all homered off Lohse, as well, though their career averages are significantly lower.
Angel Berroa - There's no telling if he'll play, but amazingly, Berroa is batting over .400 off Lohse in 27 AB.
Freddy Sanchez - The newest Giant has clobbered Brian Moehler to the tune of .579 in 19 AB, including 4-for-6 this year.
Randy Winn - Winn is 9-for-16 off Moehler, another batter hitting over .500 in a decent sample size
A few other Giants - In much more limited action, Travis Ishikawa (.333), Bengie Molina (.300), Edgar Renteria (.333), Aaron Rowand (.333, homer), Eugenio Velez (.667) have also done a number on Moehler, who has a career ERA of 8.88 against San Francisco.
Doug Davis - Davis appears to have turned around his struggles with back-to-back good starts, one of which was against these very Pirates. Davis shut them out for 6 innings, and the D'backs are suddenly winning games, even ones he starts. The D'backs have shut out the Pirates in 3 straight games, so it's pretty clear they've got a good scouting report.
Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino - We lumped these guys together because neither has faced De La Rosa more than 7 times, but between the two of them, they're a combined 6-for-13 with a homer and a couple RBI.
Jorge Cantu and John Baker - These two are 4-for-9 combined off John Lannan with 2 homers and 5 RBI.
Rich Harden - Another pitcher who seems to have sorted out some struggles, Harden is going against a team he has dominated, already 2-0 against Cincy, and they were playing better when he faced them before. Coming off a career high-tying 11 strikeout game, Harden looks to give the Cubbies a series sweep.
Micah Hoffpauir - Not sure if he'll get in the lineup, but Hoffpauir faced opposing starter Justin Lehr in the Minors, and is 3-for-8 against him with 2 homers.

AL
Nick Markakis - Coming off an upset last night, the O's have to face one of the toughest pitchers in the League, Edwin Jackson. Markakis is 5-for-9 in his career against Edwin, but is the only O's regular with any success at all against him.
Curtis Granderson - Assuming he's ready to go, Curtis is batting .385 off Guthrie with 2 homers.
Magglio Ordonez - This would be a nice boost for the Tigers, if Magglio can do anything productive. He's a career 4-for-7 off Guthrie.
The Twins Big Two - Joe Mauer is 4-for-7 off Aaron Laffey with a homer and 2 RBI, and Justin Morneau is 5-for-11 with 3 RBI
Orlando Cabrera - Newly acquired Twins shortstop is 3-for-7 off Laffey, though the Indians starter has shut down the rest of the Twinkies lineup.
Jhonny Peralta - Among the 2nd-half RBI leaders, Peralta has a homer and a +.300 BAA Francisco Liriano.
Carl Crawford - Crawford is 6-for-8 off Brad Penny; can the rest of the Rays get him home? The rest of the team's numbers are middle-of-the-road, though Jason Bartlett, the new leadoff man, is 4-for-6 off Penny.
Franklin Gutierrez - Welcome back. Gutierrez is 5-for-11 off re-call-up Kyle Davis, with 3 driven in
Juan Rivera - Rivera struggled last night in the Angels first loss in 6 games, but he's 4-for-10 lifetime off Gavin Floyd, with a homer
Chone Figgins - A solid 3-for-7, with a home run, as well
Bobby Abreu - Another pitcher Abreu has picked on in the past, he's 4-for-11 off Floyd. No homers, but he's driven in 4 runs
Some Athletics with no Power - The bane of Tim "The Toolman" Taylor's existence, Adam Kennedy, Ryan Sweeney and Kurt Suzuki are a combined 14-for-26 against Vicente Padilla, but have no homers and only 1 RBI between them. The A's did beat Vicente earlier this year, however.

C.J. Wilson, Streak Snapper

C.J. Wilson is dead to me. That Texas dog was in the BANK, and in came 3 frickin' runs. Normally, I wouldn't go this ballistic about a 1-2 day, but it was the first sub-500 day since the All Star break, snapping a streak of winners and break-evens that has stretched almost 3 weeks. Now the question is, how does the bounce-back day go?

IN A REALLY LOW MOVE, I'M FORCING YOU TO VISIT PREGAME (or my ads?) TO SEE THE FANTASY ROUNDUP TODAY!

Will Cincy Ever Win Again, Part Two

Taking the weekend off proved to be a huge lucky twist of fate. Saturday was a completely backwards adventure, and not capping/playing probably saved a few units on the Fantasy Roundup. On that note, we're coming off a 4-1 Friday, a 13-4 week (4-0 Sat, 1-1-1 Tues, 3-2 Wed, 1-0 Thurs, 4-1 Fri), and a 28-13-1 post-All Star Break record, so things are going well. Hopefully, we can get right back into the swing of things after a couple days off and pick up where we left off.

NL
Nyjer Morgan - Morgan was 6-for-14 off Charlie Morton in the Minors, so he won't be surprised by the righty's incredible movement.
Andrew McCutchen - Another face-off in the Minors, McCutchen was 3-for-10 off Garrett Mock in seasons past with a home run.
Aramis Ramirez - Supposedly returning to the starting lineup tonight, Ramirez is batting .326 in 46 AB against Aaron Harang with 4 homers
Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot - The Cubs middle infielders are hitting .333 (5-for-15, 1 homer), and .303 (10-for-33), respectively, against Harang, who lost to the Cubs just over a week ago.
Kosuke Fukudome - In limited action, Fukudome is batting .385 off Harang -- also of note, Derrek Lee has 5 home runs in his career against Harang, though his BAA is in the mid-200's.
Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw has been darn near unhittable over the last 2 months. His ERA at home is under 2, he already held Milwaukee to a run over 6 innings earlier this season, and he's 5-0 in his last 9 starts with an earned run average of 0.79.

AL
David DeJesus - 5-for-15 off Scott Kazmir, in a strange matchup that makes Zack Greinke an underdog. Man, the Royals are just terrible.
Justin Verlander - An ERA of 1.15 at home, my heavens.
Hank Blalock - 4-for-4 against Brett Anderson so far this season, with a home run.
Michael Young - Almost as impressive as his teammate, Young is 4-for-5 off Anderson, who has given up 7 earned runs in 9 innings against Texas so far this season.
Jack Cust - Cust is a solid 7-for-14 career off Dustin Nippert. Almost as astounding as his average is the mere fact that Cust has seen Nippert 14 times. Hah!

Will Cincy Ever Win Again?

Taking the weekend off proved to be a huge lucky twist of fate. Saturday was a completely backwards adventure, and not capping/playing probably saved a few units on the Fantasy Roundup. On that note, we're coming off a 4-1 Friday, a 13-4 week (4-0 Sat, 1-1-1 Tues, 3-2 Wed, 1-0 Thurs, 4-1 Fri), and a 28-13-1 post-All Star Break record, so things are going well. Hopefully, we can get right back into the swing of things after a couple days off and pick up where we left off.

NL
Nyjer Morgan - Morgan was 6-for-14 off Charlie Morton in the Minors, so he won't be surprised by the righty's incredible movement.
Andrew McCutchen - Another face-off in the Minors, McCutchen was 3-for-10 off Garrett Mock in seasons past with a home run.
Aramis Ramirez - Supposedly returning to the starting lineup tonight, Ramirez is batting .326 in 46 AB against Aaron Harang with 4 homers
Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot - The Cubs middle infielders are hitting .333 (5-for-15, 1 homer), and .303 (10-for-33), respectively, against Harang, who lost to the Cubs just over a week ago.
Kosuke Fukudome - In limited action, Fukudome is batting .385 off Harang -- also of note, Derrek Lee has 5 home runs in his career against Harang, though his BAA is in the mid-200's.
Clayton Kershaw - Kershaw has been darn near unhittable over the last 2 months. His ERA at home is under 2, he already held Milwaukee to a run over 6 innings earlier this season, and he's 5-0 in his last 9 starts with an earned run average of 0.79.

AL
David DeJesus - 5-for-15 off Scott Kazmir, in a strange matchup that makes Zack Greinke an underdog. Man, the Royals are just terrible.
Justin Verlander - An ERA of 1.15 at home, my heavens.
Hank Blalock - 4-for-4 against Brett Anderson so far this season, with a home run.
Michael Young - Almost as impressive as his teammate, Young is 4-for-5 off Anderson, who has given up 7 earned runs in 9 innings against Texas so far this season.
Jack Cust - Cust is a solid 7-for-14 career off Dustin Nippert. Almost as astounding as his average is the mere fact that Cust has seen Nippert 14 times. Hah!

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