Spot * On Picks | 6.23 (Tue) Case of the Mondays

I'll be honest. Today sucked. I spent seven straight hours grading standardized exams, and followed it up by playing the worst round of golf of my life. So my head's not exactly all there right now. It's a mixture of mush and anger all balled up into a pissed off sandwich that I'm ready to cram down someone's pie hole. Don't let it be you. You've been warned. What was I saying again? Oh yes, who do I like tomorrow? Well, to be honest, my favorite play of the day is Oakland RHP Vin Mazzaro; but since he's owned in 59% of Yahoo! Plus Leagues, I can't officially take him. If he's available to you, though, do yourself a favor. Now, as for those who qualify...

Russ Ortiz (R), HOU (4% Owned) vs Zack Greinke (R), KC
Okay, so as I said, my head's not all there right now, which explains bucking the trend of picking starters facing teams in the NL or AL West. Mazzaro would have made that happen, but since he couldn't, I had to go to the next best thing. The Royals don't exactly sport a terrifying offense, with the league's 23rd ranked OPS at .720, including, again, the 23rd ranked OPS at .715 vs RHP. Put the Royals on the Road and suddenly their team OPS drops all the way down to .662, good for 26th leaguewide. Russ Ortiz, on the other hand, has a career 3.21 ERA vs KC in 15.0 innings, and is coming off a confidence boosting Quality Start in Arlington a week ago, where he allowed the only 3 Runs for all of June, after being removed from bullpen duty. I think KC is a great matchup for him tomorrow to keep the ball rolling, even if he may struggle to earn the Win against early AL Cy Young favorite, Greinke. Despite all of that, he's just a +120 underdog, and there's -115 juice on Under 8.5 Total Runs, the most favorable under of the entire day outside of the Mazzaro matchup I mentioned in the opening. So, if you need help, Ortiz is your guy.

If anybody wants to help me with my golf swing, all advice is welcome after the stinker I just put up.

Until next round...