Monday, May 5, 2008

Fantasy Player's Edge

May 5, 2008

The Player's Edge welcomes your comments and will try
to answer questions in the context of the narrative.


Roster Shuffle:

The "Kershaw Decree" states that young Clayton shall not
pitch more than 25 innings in a month. Torre traversed
Sinai, doused the burning bush and returned to Los Angeles
with a yellow writing tablet that was etched with the decree.

Max Scherzer pitches tonight and not to be outdone by a
Manager in his division Bob Melvin has decreed that Mad
Max may only get a handful of starts before heading back
to the minors to limit his innings. The Edge has learned
that minor innings do not count as much as major league
innings. We're not kidding, it's also a decree!!!!

John Lackey had another rehabber on Sunday and will
likely toe it up once more down under which would have
him pitching to pro's on or about May 14th.

The BoSox ruined Scott Kazmir's opening day. The dominant
lefty got dinged for 3 earned on 9 whip over 4 innings. He'll
be better next start.

Dontrelle Willis tweaked a knee fielding in a rehab start in
Toledo on Friday setting him back a bit. Please don't tell
me you care.

Big Papi was grounded with that sore knee. The Red Sox
play tonight in Detroit so we'll have to wait until gametime
to know the extent that the knee will keep him out.

Yunel Escobar owners became ill when learning their stud
was going to miss another start due to a cold. Get the boy
some Nyquil and wheel him out there.

Speedster and pleasantly surprising solid batsman Carlos
Gomez returned to Twins leadoff spot. No Bourn paint on
this quickster.

Speaking of speed, Figgins owners may have caught a break
as Chone's feeling a bit better and says the hammy's not
pulled just strained. He'll be evaluated again today.

Mike Cameron, fresh off of his 25 game suspension, is making
up for lost time. He swatted 2 homers yesterday giving him 3
since his return.

Aramis Ramirez sat out his 2nd game in a row last night with a
swollen wrist. The Cubbies took a late flight out of St. Louis to
Cincinnati. He should be back any day but it makes sense to
be certain he's playing for the Cubs before he plays for you.
Check the box score at about 6:30 EST.



Streamers: (tomorrow's probable starters available as free agents)

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Justin Duchsherer- Mom's reveals that Jussy's favorite snack is 9
dark chocolate cookies with a creme filling and glass of milk. Duch
always dunks his Orioles. 1-0, 2.87/.96 over 16 innings.

Jeff Suppan- he's headin' right for Islamorada for a bit of deep sea
bill fishing. The Brew Crew refers to him lovingly as the Hemmingway
of the staff. 4-3, 3.50/1.27 in 69 frames with 37 k's vs. the Fish.


Spotties: (tomorrow's position players available as free agents)

Use these players to fill in for injured players and on off days.

Richie Sexson- actually paid Tom Hicks to bring this guy back. Big
Sexy will be wearing spurs for this one. 12/25 with 7 extras, 4 jacks
12 ribbies and only 3 k's vs the portly Ponson.

Julio Lugo- only hopes that Nate doesn't get lost on his way to the
stadium. What's up with those glasses in Robertson's file photo.
5/11, a homer and 3 swipes against the Tigers southpaw.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Gary Sheffield (start)- shoulders the load consistently vs. Dice-K.
Get him off your bench for this one. 6/10, 3 mults with 0 k's.

Jeff Kent (start)- Clark's kid corrals the villainous Oliver the Met
before he can shutdown Los Angeles. 8/23, homer and 4 rbi.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.


Nick Swisher (sit)- gives real meaning to the phrase swing
and a miss. Yes we'll call that a Swisher. 1/10 with 7 k's
vs. McGowan.

Kevin Youkilis (sit)- Guiness has called, it's official, Kev's
4 day stint on the sit list in 5 days is now a world record.
0/12 with 5 k's against Bonderman.



Studs and Duds: ( a recap of yesterday's picks and pans)

Greg Smith (stream)- ND 6ip/1e/5w/10k

Jason Marquis (stream)- L 5.1ip/5e/12w/4k

Aaron Laffey (stream)- L 7ip/0e/6w/5k (previous day)

Luis Gonzalez (spot)- 2/3, run

Brad Hawpe (start)- 1/4, run

Jeff Kent (start)- DNP (inexplicably)

Ryan Garko (start)- 2/3 (Meche)

Justin Morneau (sit)- 1/4, rbi

Russell Martin (sit)- 0/4


How To: ( this section is devoted to the fundamentals of daily play)

Head To Head: Player's Edge(PE) vs. Opposition(OP):

Week 5: Monday


Weekly Tot: R-H-RB-SB -BA/ W-SV-K ER-WH -SCORE


------PE---27--2-30-11--.275/-4--3-49-4.67-1.46---6
------OP--29--4--21--1--.305/-1--5-36-5.21-1.55---4

Offense: Lineups:

-----PE-----/----- OP

B.Molina----------^Varitek
Teixeira----------- Pena
^Roberts---------^Kent
Braun------------^Wright
Escobar---------- ^Furcal
^Griffey--------- ^Ordonez
^C. Young---------Bay
^Kemp---------- ^Beltran
Figgins------------Giambi
^DeJesus---------Weeks
-------------------Kapler
-------------------Aurillia

------PE------//-----OP
3/27-0-0-0-0 //12/34-5-0-4-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

-----PE----/------OP

Harang------------Sheets
Shields------------Miller
Weaver-----------Beckett
Cain-------------^Bonderman
S.Hill--------------Glavine
Betancourt--------Batista
^Saito-------------Buehrle
^Fuentes--------^Putz
^Wood---------- ^Lyon
Buchholz---------
Lilly
Harden (DL)

-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 6.1-2-6-11//0W/1S, 7-1-11-8 (daily tot: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(57/207) - OP (61/200)
Weekly Totals- ERA (36/(69.1/9) - OP ERA (28/(48.1/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (101/69.1) - OP WHIP (75/48.1) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE--0-----OP--0

Daily Activity:

PE Smith(drop)/DeJesus-Sun
PE DeJesus(drop)/Lewis-Mon


Strategy: Week 6 begins with the OP starting 6 on offense, 2
closers and Bonderman. PE counters with 5 active hitters and
3 closers. PE's rotation features Harang and Hill tomorrow.
The addition of Fred Lewis this morning was to compensate
for the loss of Figgins. Any advance strategy will be contingent
on the performance of tomorrow's SP's. Verlander was dropped
by an impatient owner. PE will use its #3 priority waiver on
Wednesday when he's eligible.


Game Keys: The OP's offense was simply devastating and coupled
with Yunel Escobar's surprise scratch spelled real trouble for PE.
OP went 12/34 with 5 runs while PE staggered in at 3/27 with 0
runs/rbi. BA and Runs crossed over to the OP as PE simply could
not keep pace with a lineup missing 3 starters in Figgins, Escobar
and Molina. PE pitching proved to be the difference with Greg
Smith getting the better of Santana. Smith went 6 innings allowing
1 earned, 5 whip and struck out 10. Johan line was 6ip/1e/10w/8k.
The final score thanks to effective streaming was PE, 6-4.
Considering Sunday's offensive crash and burn along with the
catastrophic starts from Hughes and Shields, PE's 6 point week was
well earned. Streamed pitchers, Buchholz, Hendrickson, Lilly and
Smith provided the margins in Wins, K's, ERA and WHIP.

^ -designates an active player on today's roster.


Final Thoughts:

PE is in 5th place, 8.5 games out of 1st and 2 games behind the 2nd
place team heading into week 6.

The Player's Edge participates in many leagues but elected to
follow a team in a Public League to better approximate what might
be faced by a wide majority of players that use the Edge daily. This
team plays in a standard 5x5 scoring format and drafted 7th of 12
teams in a 21 round on-line live event in late March. We'll follow this
team throughout the entire 2008 fantasy campaign.


All Done!

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