Friday, May 9, 2008

Fantasy Player's Edge

May 9, 2008

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


Roster Shuffle:

The Yankees are being ultra cautious with Alex Rodriguez.
He'll take another MRI prior to his rehab assignment and
the earliest fantasy's numero uno will return is the 15th.

J-Roll, a Roster Shuffle regular, could/might/may/possibly
return on Friday or Saturday or Sunday. Yes, you read
it here first, second or third.

Chone Figgins return might be delayed as he's yet to test
the hammy. He is expected to rejoin the Halo's in Tampa
but is unlikely to play in this series.

LaRussa's going to give Pujols a day off over the weekend.
Albert was off yesterday? He needs more? Keep an eye on
the Cards box this weekend for Pujols' status.

Travis Hafner's rode the pine yet again to give him a
"mental rest". If this works someone please send Manuel
the manual on how to rest a slumping star.

V-Mart was on the shelf for the 2nd time in 3 days with a
stiff neck. This is not a good thing. Grab a C as insurance
for AB's over the weekend. Try Napoli, Towles or Inge.

Brandon Inge was behind the plate again for the Tigers and is
eligible at C in many leagues. He's an interesting add and should
be considered if you're weak at catcher.

Conor Jackson's sitting after a crazy collision with Victorino
who was trying to beat out a passed ball strikeout. He's day
to day.

Jeff Keppinger owners continue to rejoice as Alex Gonzalez
is nowhere near returning to the Reds.

Omar Vizquel should return to the Giants this weekend and may
find his way on to a few fantasy rosters at a thin position.

Carlos Quentin was moved into the 2 hole behind Alexei Ramirez
in the ChiSox order. Generally disappointing Nick Swisher was
dropped to 6th.

Michael Young and Mike Jacobs both plan to play tonight. Don't
assume anything check the box scores before activating either
player.

Straight from the "Yeah Right" file the Indians report that Joe
Borowski had a good bullpen session. They claim that the sore
triceps resulted in a loss of velocity which caused Joe to blow a
couple of saves earlier in the season. Really, then he must have
had a really sore triceps last year as he regularly blew up with a
5.07 era/1.43 whip while recording 45 saves during 2007. The
guy is truly enigmatic. It looks as if Betancourt owners will get
one more week of saves as JoeBo is tracking for a return during
the week of the 19th.

With an act befitting his entire career, Richie Sexson charge the
mound after being brushed back, swung and missed (actually
he threw his helmet and missed- but you get the idea).



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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Tim Redding- would crawl to the stadium to keep a date with the
boys from south Florida. 4-1, 2.68/1.27 with 26 k's in 37 frames.

Greg Smith- beat these guys in Oakland last week while fanning
10. Until they figure him out he's a play. 0-0, 1.50/.83.


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

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

Frank Thomas- the "Big Hurt" puts the lumber to Millwood's
behind. 12/20, 4 extras, 2 blasts, 6 rbi with 2 k's.

Chris Duncan- shows up at the park 3 Sheets to the wind after
enjoying a few Brewski's. 7/12, 3 mults and a pair of jacks vs.
Ben.


Start/Sit
: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Jason Giambi (start)- Tropicana keeps right on dealing against
the Gambler. 10/25, 5 extras, 4 homers, 9 rbi and only 2 k's.

Todd Helton (start)- has to be the only hitter in baseball who
rushes into the batter's box against Jake the Great. 13/41,
9 mults, 3 jacks and 4 rbi vs. Peavy.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Travis Hafner (sit)- you and Wedge need to keep Pronk on
the bench versus Halladay. 2/12, 4 k's.

Ryan Zimmerman (sit)- has no answer for Tricky Ricky.
2/11 with 4 k's against Nolasco.


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

Daniel Cabrera (stream)- W 9ip/1e/4w/7k

Paul Maholm (stream)- ND, 6ip/4e/8w/4k

Scott Podsednik (spot)- 0/5

Michael Cuddyer (spot)-1/3, 2 steals

Jason Giambi (start)- 1/3, homer, 2 rbi

Johnny Peralta (start)- 0/4

Alex Rios (sit)- 1/6

Grady Sizemore (sit)- 1/4


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

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

Week 5: Friday


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


-------PE--14--3-13--5--.286/-0-5-34--6.75-1.70---7
-------OP--14--3-12--0--.188/-1-1-19--7.04-1.74---1

Offense: Lineups:

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

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

------PE------//-----OP
5/26-4-1-3-2 //8/29-5-2-6-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

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

-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 12.1-10-20-10//1W/0S, 7-1-6-8 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(32/112) - OP (19/101)
Weekly Totals- ERA (30/(40/9) - OP ERA (18/(23/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (68/40) - OP WHIP (40/23) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---4-----OP----5
Daily Activity:

PE Smith(drop)/DeJesus-Sun
PE DeJesus(drop)/Lewis-Mon
PE Lewis(drop)/Cuddyer-Tues
PE Betancourt(drop)/Verlander-Wed

Strategy: Figgins return may be delayed as he's yet to test
the hamstring. PE will use Cuddyer on Friday/Saturday and
evaluate strategy based on Figgins status and PE's position
in the game on Saturday evening. OP has a rotation of Glavine,
Sheets, Bonderman and Miller Friday/Saturday with Batista
on Sunday. PE counters with Shields and Lilly today with Hill
and Harden available, if needed, on Sunday. A clear pitching
strategy will be revealed by 9pm EST Saturday night as OP's
starters will have completed their outings.

Game Keys: Cain was cruising into the 7th with a 4-2 lead
vs. the Pirates and left after retiring only one hitter trailing
5-4. Beckett and Verlander hooked up with Beckett easily
outdueling Verlander. Beckett earned the win with a stat
line of 7ip/1e/6w/8k while Verlander wallowed once again,
allowing 5 earned on 10 whip over 6 frames. OP tied Runs
and Homers yesterday and trails by a single RBI on offense.
OP claimed the lead in Wins with Beckett's victory and trails
ERA and WHIP by the slightest of margins. As has been the
case virtually every week PE holds a large but extremely
insecure advantage, 7-1, heading into this week's final 3
days of play.


^ -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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