Boy it feels good to say this: get out your brooms, because the Miami Marlins are going for a sweep!

The Fish are looking to take all three games in their series against the New York Mets, but stnading up to them is perhaps their greatest challenge yet. Yes, the Marlins are sending out Josh Johnson following an extremely strong start, but the Mets will counter with R.A. Dickey, and given his success this season and the team's struggles against knuckleballers, it may not be pretty.

You know what, it may not be pretty, you're right. But this afternoon's matchup will be this week's Double Ichthy Points game of the week!

Josh Johnson looked like he had his groove back in his last start against the Washington Nationals. He outdueled Gio Gonzalez and went 8 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and striking out nine without a walk. His performances as of late have been impressive, and that has to make the Marlins and their fan base a little more confident for the 2013 season.

But Johnson has no small challenge this afternoon in facing R.A. Dickey. The knuckleballer has been completely dominant this season, as his strikeout rate has ballooned in 2012. Dickey's knuckleball may be the scariest pitch to face in the majors right now, if only because it is the fastest knuckleball in the business and gets on hitters quickly. Marlins hitters have never handled the knuckleball well, so it remains to be seen if they can do it this afternoon.

Lineup

The Marlins have mentioned that their switch-hitters may actually consider batting from the right side against Dickey due to the nature of the knuckleball. Of course, only Reyes is a switch-hitter in the lineup, so we'll see what he does today.

Notes

- Remember the Double Ichthy Points rules:

1) All correct picks are worth double their usual points!

2) All incorrect non-attendance picks are worth -1 point. If there is no avaialble Hero of the Game, no one will be penalized.

3) If you make a light-enough pick that is still reasonable, I may consider it a 0-point pick for AAB, thus allowing you to "pseudo-pass" on making an AAB selection. But if you get that light pick wrong, it's -1 point. If it's too light (Marlins > 20 AB! Marlins >1 H!), your entire selection is invalid

Good luck to those making selections today!

- I will be here a little late or duck out temporarily during the game for lunch.

Bold Prediction: Mets def. Marlins 2-1