Today is one of the saddest days of the entire year. There are only two days all year in which not a single game is played in one of the four major professional sports leagues (baseball, football, basketball and hockey - not sure how much longer hockey will be included in this company). Those would be the day before and the day after the MLB All-Star game. So while today is sad, we at least have the home run derby to make some dough on. Wednesday is really, really sad, as there is not a thing at all to do except think about the return of baseball on Thursday.

The Locks did an admirable job of rebounding from the absurdly dismal performance that was put forth on Saturday. We're still in a bit of shock over the 3-8 drubbing we put together. However, we only decreased the BAT by $50 on that day. Fortunately for us, we got $24 of that back yesterday. We went 9-6 and even hit a few long shot payouts (notably Florida to cover 1.5 runs and the Dodgers on the road). All told, we remain in positive BAT territory heading into the MLB's season intermission. We've ended the first half of the season with a +$32 BAT. In an effort to pad that number a bit more heading into the second half, we're going to recommend some action on tonight's Home Run Derby in St. Louis. For full coverage of the Derby at Busch Stadium, click here.

The lineup and odds for the derby are as follows:

Fat Albert (hometown favorite): +200
Ryan Howard: +250
Adrian Gonzalez +500
Joe Mauer +750
Prince Fielder +350
Nelson Cruz +800
Brandon Inge +1,000
Carlos Pena +650

Aside from Inge, we have a pretty stacked field this year. And I wouldn't even completely dismiss Brandon here. Stranger things have happened. We have a total of 5 lefties and 3 righties this year, but based on Busch Stadiums nearly identical dimensions to both fields, there shouldn't be an advantage from one side or the other.

Also important to note is that the rules do not specify that each league needs a representative in the finals. It is an open contest so any two man combination of these eight participants can to the finals. For my readers' pleasure, I am going to offer my prediction for which two make the finals and who wins, along with a look at a potential dark horse for those of you who want to back one of the longer shots.

DARK HORSE - In terms of pure power and the ability to launch picturesque moonshots, there might not be a better candidate than Nelson Cruz. This guys can absolutely crush the ball, as he has consistently during the first half of the season. The knock on Cruz has been that you can easily fool him with ML-level pitching and that he only hits mistakes for homers. I'm not saying I completely agree with that but if it is true, there is no better place to see mistake pitch after mistake pitch than in a home run hitting contest. If Cruz can settle into a rhythm with his pitcher throwing the ball where he wants it, this guy can put up big numbers tonight. However, this is his first exposure to something of the prestige of the All-Star game and you just never know how someone will handle all the flash bulbs. I'm guessing that he is unfazed by the big stage and puts himself in the position to make some noise in this contest. At +800, he certainly is not a bad guy to take a shot on.

RUNNER-UP - There is no bigger fan of Fat Albert out there than me and there won't be a person affiliated with MLB or at Busch Stadium tonight that doesn't want to see him win this thing. Combine that with his status as Vegas favorite (+200) and I think this is a case of the Fairy Tale just not materializing. Don't get me wrong, I think Pujols puts on a show in the early rounds of the derby. He's gonna hit some bombs and everyone will go nuts. I just think that once he gets to the Final, he's gonna have burned through much of his adrenalin and struggle a bit to finish strong. This wouldn't be the first time he made a Home Run Derby final without winning. I certainly won't be disappointed to see him win, I'm just not counting on it happening.

WINNER - Ever since I passed on this guy for my 2009 season home run pool, I've been tossing and turning at night. He deserves so much more praise and attention than he gets. There are very few swings as pretty and fundamentally sound as his. If he played in a different home stadium, he might make a run at 60 HRs. I just have a feeling about him tonight. I think this will be America's long overdue introduction to his sick ability to absolutely destroy baseballs. And from a value standpoint, you can't beat getting 5-1 odds on the guy you like the most. So put $10 on this guy to pay you $50. That will certainly help the BAT.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Home Run Derby Champion - Adrian Gonzalez.