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I think I finally understand what the Carpenters were singing about in that 1971 hit single, "Rainy Days and Mondays." I always got the part about Mondays getting me down, but now with this, a Saturday intensely threatened by brutal weather, I understand. Here we have a free Saturday -- you know, the day that's not an NFL game day -- and practically every baseball game is a candidate for a rainout. We're already down one: Cubs-Astros, a game with possible playoff implications, already postponed due to threats from Hurricane Ike. Thunderstorms will also terrorize practically every game north of the Mason/Dixon line and east of the Mississippi. I'll put the over/under for Saturday rainouts at 2 1/2, but I bet the heavier play will be the over, especially with 16 games on the schedule, thanks to two doubleheaders but minus Cubs-Astros.

The Blue Jays-Red Sox doubleheader does create one storyline in the return of Bartolo Colon, who had a 3.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and .243 batting average allowed in six regular-season starts during his recent rehabilitation stint for Triple-A Pawtucket. Also, Randy Johnson -- skipped his last time through by the Diamondbacks due to shoulder fatigue -- marks his return against the Reds.

Finally, Tim Lincecum, a sleeper candidate -- if you can call him that -- for the National League Cy Young award, continues his quest with a fantastic matchup at San Diego, in one of the few games actually safe from bad weather.

Time	Visitors		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP		Home		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP
12:35 p.m.		A.J. Burnett	R	17-10	4.31	1.36	@		Paul Byrd	R	11-11	4.39	1.27
1:05 p.m.		James Shields	R	12-8	3.64	1.16	@		Mike Mussina	R	17-8	3.48	1.23
1:05 p.m.		Zack Greinke	R	10-10	3.70	1.31	@		Fausto Carmona	R	8-6	4.88	1.60
3:55 p.m.		Kenny Rogers	L	9-13	5.49	1.62	@		Javier Vazquez	R	11-13	4.29	1.30
3:55 p.m.		Jo-Jo Reyes	L	3-10	5.26	1.60	@		Pedro Martinez	R	5-4	5.44	1.49
3:55 p.m.		Dave Bush	R	9-10	4.23	1.15	@		Joe Blanton	R	7-12	4.86	1.44
4:05 p.m.		Brandon McCarthy	R	1-1	4.22	1.31	@		Josh Outman	L	0-0	6.23	1.38
7:05 p.m.		Glen Perkins	L	12-4	4.11	1.44	@		Jeremy Guthrie	R	10-11	3.57	1.22
7:05 p.m.		Adam Wainwright	R	9-3	2.85	1.08	@		Jeff Karstens	R	2-5	4.46	1.26
7:05 p.m.		Jesse Litsch	R	11-8	3.70	1.25	@		Bartolo Colon	R	4-2	4.09	1.39
7:05 p.m.		Robinson Tejeda	R	1-2	4.19	1.09	@		Bryan Bullington	R	0-0	--	--
7:10 p.m.		Tim Redding	R	10-8	4.49	1.38	@		Josh Johnson	R	4-1	3.33	1.34
8:05 p.m.		Clayton Kershaw	L	3-5	4.60	1.56	@		Jorge De La Rosa	L	8-7	5.30	1.51
8:10 p.m.		Edinson Volquez	R	16-5	3.23	1.33	@		Randy Johnson	L	10-9	4.21	1.28
9:05 p.m.		Ryan Feierabend	L	1-2	5.53	1.63	@		Jon Garland	R	13-8	4.52	1.45
10:05 p.m.		Tim Lincecum	R	16-3	2.54	1.18	@		Chris Young	R	5-5	4.48	1.37

All times are ET.

Out
Ronnie Belliard, 1B/2B/3B, Nationals (wrist)
Mark Ellis, 2B, A's (shoulder)
Troy Glaus, 3B, Cardinals (shoulder)
Carlos Guillen, 1B/3B/SS, Tigers (back)
Gabe Kapler, OF, Brewers (shoulder)
Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox (knee)
Fred Lewis, OF, Giants (foot)
Kazuo Matsui, 2B, Astros (back)
Melvin Mora, 3B, Orioles (hamstring)
Brandon Phillips, 2B, Reds (finger)
Jack Wilson, SS, Pirates (finger)

Day-to-day
Rick Ankiel, OF, Cardinals (abdominal)
Erick Aybar, 2B/SS, Angels (hamstring)
Brandon Backe, SP, Astros (forearm)
Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners (thumb)
Milton Bradley, OF, Rangers (back)
Frank Catalanotto, 1B/OF, Rangers (groin)
Chris Dickerson, OF, Reds (ankle)
J.D. Drew, OF, Red Sox (back)
Jody Gerut, OF, Padres (finger)
Alex Gordon, 1B/3B, Royals (hip)
Jeremy Guthrie, SP, Orioles (flu, shoulder)
Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies (back)
Torii Hunter, OF, Angels (quadriceps)
Randy Johnson, SP, Diamondbacks (shoulder)
Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays (wrist)
Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals (thigh)
Troy Percival, RP, Rays (back)
Takashi Saito, RP, Dodgers (elbow)
Freddy Sanchez, 2B, Pirates (blurred vision)
George Sherrill, RP, Orioles (shoulder)
B.J. Upton, 2B/OF, Rays (quadriceps)
Ty Wigginton, 1B/2B/3B, Astros (groin)

Hitters: The Red Sox will be throwing both Paul Byrd and Bartolo Colon at the Blue Jays on Saturday, and those are two hittable enough pitchers to warrant using your more reliable Toronto options. That's a group that includes Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay, who is 12-for-30 with three home runs in nine games in September. … As a team, the Yankees are lifetime .319 hitters with a .975 OPS against the Rays' James Shields. Their top individual options: Robinson Cano, a .500 hitter (9-for-18) with a home run against the right-hander, and Hideki Matsui, a .538 hitter (7-for-13) with three homers against Shields. … Dioner Navarro is one of the few Rays with an impressive history against the Yankees' Mike Mussina, batting 6-for-12 with two doubles in his career against the right-hander. … Shin-Soo Choo is batting .394 (34-for-99) with five home runs, 19 RBIs and a 1.191 OPS in his past 28 games -- and keep in mind, he'll be facing two right-handed starters for the Royals, one of them likely spot starter Robinson Tejeda. … For the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera, Placido Polanco and Edgar Renteria have dominated the White Sox's Javier Vazquez throughout their careers -- perhaps thanks to familiarity from all those years coincidentally following each other from league to league. Cabrera is a lifetime .450 hitter (9-for-20) with three home runs against Vazquez; Polanco is a .352 hitter (19-for-54) with four doubles and a homer; and Renteria is a .444 hitter (12-for-27) with two doubles and a triple against the right-hander. … The Phillies match up nicely against strike-throwing Dave Bush in a home game; they combine to bat .322 with a 1.031 OPS in their careers against the right-hander. Pat Burrell has an especially strong track record, batting .400 (4-for-10) with three homers against Bush. … Andre Ethier is batting .394 (41-for-104) with nine home runs, 23 RBIs and a 1.270 OPS in his past 25 games. He's also a respectable .283 BA/.747 OPS hitter against left-handers for his career, and has started each of the Dodgers' past six games against a southpaw. For that reason, he's well worth keeping in there against lefty Jorge De La Rosa at Coors. … Adrian Beltre needs surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, but apparently intends to play through it. So long as he doesn't shut things down, he remains a must-start, especially accounting for his .480 batting average, five home runs, 11 RBIs and 1.381 OPS in his past 12 games. … Adrian Gonzalez is 3-for-20 (.150 BA) with eight strikeouts and no extra-base hits in his career against the Giants' Tim Lincecum. He's also a .242 hitter with a .756 OPS in his home games, so I won't call you crazy if you sit him out for this one.

Pitchers: The Blue Jays will bring back both A.J. Burnett and Jesse Litsch on three days' rest for Saturday's doubleheader. Burnett is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in three career starts on three days' rest, and 2-0 with a 0.54 ERA and 0.72 WHIP in two career starts at Fenway Park, so he's the one who is a-OK to use. Litsch, however, isn't recommended. … James Shields didn't feel the need to get an extra day's rest leading into his Saturday start, but he got it nonetheless. He's 0-3 with an 8.85 ERA and 1.92 WHIP in four career starts at Yankee Stadium, so be cautious with your expectations from him. … Mike Mussina has historically owned the Rays, and that's not reserved only to seasons past. He's a perfect 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in three starts against them this year, and he's motivated, knowing his chances at his first-ever 20-win campaign are slowly slipping away. … Zack Greinke tossed a quality-start effort at the Indians in their meeting Sunday, striking out eight batters in six innings, and in his past eight starts he has a 2.74 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 53 K's in 49 1/3 frames. He's the best fantasy choice of the scheduled starters in that doubleheader. … Though Javier Vazquez seems to have improved of late, with a 2.66 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in his past six starts, he has little experience working on three days' rest and allowed two home runs in each of his past two appearances against the Tigers, looking only so-so both times. He wasn't on short rest either of those times, and his 1-3 record, 5.33 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in four starts against the Tigers this season does not bode well for his chances here. … Jeremy Guthrie had some real problems in his past two starts before reporting shoulder issues and then coming down with the flu. In fact, if he's a late scratch for this game, I wouldn't be at all surprised. … With Jim Johnson on the disabled list, the fresh-off-the-DL George Sherrill presumably reclaims his old closer's role. If you're desperate for saves, get him in your lineup, but understand that since Sherrill's last appearance on Aug. 15, the Orioles have not generated a single ninth-inning save chance. Saves are no guarantee on this team. … Now a shell of what was once an underrated offense, the Pirates have managed a .254 batting average and .700 OPS as a team since the All-Star break, stacking the deck considerably in Adam Wainwright's favor. He has a 3-0 record, 1.78 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in four starts since returning from the DL, so ride the hot streak. … Takashi Saito is expected to be activated Saturday after tossing a successful 26-pitch simulated game Wednesday. It's unclear whether he'll reclaim his closer's role from Jonathan Broxton, who has three saves in three chances, seven shutout innings, 12 strikeouts and a .087 batting average allowed in his past seven appearances. Bank on Saito being worked back into the mix slowly. … Edinson Volquez generally pitches better on the road -- he's 8-3 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 15 games (14 starts) away from Great American Ball Park this year -- than at home, so consider using him in Arizona against a struggling Diamondbacks team. … As a team, the Padres have batted .197 with a .507 OPS and only three extra-base hits, all doubles, in 127 career at-bats against the Giants' Tim Lincecum. Need any more stats to back him up as a fabulous start? How about his 0.68 ERA and 20 K's in 13 1/3 innings in his two starts at Petco Park this season? I expect huge things from him.

Hitters: Sean Casey is 13-for-23 in his career against the Blue Jays' A.J. Burnett, who is very likely to be going on three days' rest Saturday. That the Blue Jays are practically guaranteed to throw at least one right-hander in the doubleheader and stand a 50/50 chance of throwing two -- John Parrish is the only left-handed candidate -- makes Casey worth a one-day look. … Joe Inglett is 7-for-10 in his career against the Red Sox's Paul Byrd, and remember, his other opponent would be Bartolo Colon. Again, that's a useful one-day play. … If Alex Gordon really returns to the lineup this weekend as expected, he's an attractive choice for Saturday's doubleheader, just as most left-handed Royals will be. He's a lifetime .500 hitter (8-for-16) with two doubles and a triple against the Indians' Fausto Carmona. Note that the Indians' starter in the other end of the double-dip is Bryan Bullington, an unproven, hittable arm. … Greg Dobbs needs to find a way into Saturday's Phillies lineup, considering he's 5-for-10 with two home runs in his career against the Brewers' Dave Bush. Check the early lineup for his name, though. … Jason Kubel is 4-for-7 with three doubles and a home run in his career against the Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie, and he's a .366 hitter (15-for-31) with seven RBIs in his past 14 games. … In the midst of a terrible season, Jeremy Hermida at least is worth a look against the Nationals' Tim Redding. He's a lifetime 5-for-9 with three doubles against the right-hander.

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Pitchers: Paul Byrd, hittable as he might be, is nevertheless 4-1 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in five starts since his trade to the Red Sox, including two respectable enough outings against the Blue Jays. For his career, he's 5-4 with a 3.39 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in nine starts against Toronto. … In his Mets career against the Braves, Pedro Martinez is 6-3 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 10 starts, and he knows the significance of these games. The Mets need to load up on wins against these so-so teams, so expect him to provide you a fantasy-worthy outing, at least in deep-mixed and NL-only formats. … Brandon McCarthy is just about up to a full starter's workload now, after four starts for the Rangers. He's a risky play outside AL-only formats, but a game at Oakland suits him nicely in those. After all, the A's are batting an atrocious .226 with a .651 OPS since the All-Star break. … There's little historical data to go on, matchups-wise, but Josh Johnson is 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in his past seven starts, a span of time during which he had to be considered a starter at "full" stamina. Pitting him against the Nationals, one of the weaker offenses in baseball, must be regarded as a favorable matchup. … Jon Garland is 7-3 with a 3.35 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 14 career games (13 starts) against the Mariners. He also beat Seattle in their last matchup in Los Angeles, going seven innings of three-run, nine-hit, four-strikeout baseball.

Hurricane Ike has already forced the postponement of Saturday's Cubs-Astros game, but that's not all in terms of bad weather. There are only four truly "safe" games: Rangers-A's, Dodgers-Rockies, Reds-Diamondbacks (which is weatherproof) and Giants-Padres. The northeast will be dealing with thunderstorms all Saturday, and the further north you go, the higher the chance of postponement. That Blue Jays-Red Sox doubleheader, for instance, faces a 40 percent chance of rain all day, with winds up to 21 mph, and the Royals-Indians double-dip is even higher, as much as 70 percent but with less wind (up to 13 mph). If one game of each of those gets bumped back to Sunday, don't be shocked.

More games with a high probability of rain: Rays-Yankees, 40 percent; Tigers-White Sox, 70 percent and winds up to 20 mph; Braves-Mets, 40 percent; Brewers-Phillies, 40 percent; Twins-Orioles, 30 percent; Cardinals-Pirates, 60 percent; Nationals-Marlins, 20 percent, but winds up to 20 mph.

Tristan H. Cockcroft covers fantasy sports for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.