The Player's Edge welcomes your comments and will try
to answer questions in the context of the narrative.
Roster Shuffle:
Josh Hamilton left during the 5th inning last night
with what's being described as "general soreness".
This sounds like a day to day thing but he'll probably
sit tomorrow as a precaution.
Rafael Furcal's lower back issues have responded
well to a cortisone shot and he could be activated
on Wednesday. With the Dodgers off on Thursday
logic dictates that Furcal will more likely be back
at SS on Friday.
Jose Guillen's performance has gone up as his weight
has come down. He's gone from about 235 to 210 and
is raking at a 16/30 clip over his last 8 games with 7
extra base hits, a home run and 9 rbi. He would be a
useful fill in for Holliday if he's out for a few games.
Chone Figgins ran the bases at a good pace but did not
go all out. He's unlikely to return on Tuesday when he's
eligible. If his recovery goes much past that he'll probably
be asked to rehab a game or 2 in Triple A before being
activated.
Carlos Gomez sat out with a sore wrist after slamming
into the wall in centerfield making a game ending catch
for the Twins on Friday night. He's day to day.
Howie Kendrick is still in limbo. He was scheduled to run
and do some agility work on Friday but was unable to do
so. It's wait and see with "China".
Hank Blalock adamantly denies that he had any type of
setback with the hamstring. He's hoping to begin rehab
on Monday and could return in time for next weekend's
slate of games.
Mike Jacobs returned to the Marlins lineup with a bang
yesterday going 2/4 with a homer and 3 rbi. Obviously,
he's good to go.
Dmitri Young returned to active duty with the Nationals
on Friday night going 1/4. He has limited value unless
you're desperate for 1B/CI help or are playing in an NL
only format.
Roy Oswalt left in the 7th with a sore groin. The rumor
has is that he's been pitching with this problem for awhile.
He was totally ineffective allowing 6 runs, 12 whip with only
1 k over 6 innings. Further details should be available today.
Brad Penny has been scratched from his start today vs.
the Angels with arm stiffness. The extent of the problem
has not been disclosed. Derek Lowe will fill in on 3 days
rest.
Shawn Hill had a cortisone shot and fluid removed from
his right elbow. He might avoid the DL but his start on
Wednesday will either be skipped or pushed out a day
or so.
Rich Hill left a rehab start with a stiff back. This latest
setback will invariably delay any return to the Cubs
rotation in the near term.
Pedro Martinez will throw about 70 pitches in a simulated
game on Monday in Florida. If he passes that test he could
begin a series of rehab starts beginning next Saturday.
Hideki Okajima has been shutdown due to a sore wrist. The
table setter extraordinare should be back in a few days.
Streamers: (tomorrow's probable starters available as free agents)
Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.
Tim Redding- has been a pleasant surprise all season and sees
another opponent that suits him just fine. 3-2, 2.68/1.10 with
32 k's in 44 innings vs. the Phillies.
Jon Lester- is rounding into form and invites a friendly foe into
his lair at Fenway. 1-1, 2.77/1.08 with 9 k's over 13 frames vs.
the Royals.
Spotties: (tomorrow's position players available as free agents)
Use these players to fill in for injured players and on off days.
Jim Edmonds- newest Cub finds a familiar face looking down at
him from the mound at Wrigley Field. Hopefully Jim still has a
little somethin'-somethin' left for Brian Moehler. 11/32, 9 mults,
5 blasts and 10 ribbies.
Austin Kearns- intends to kick Myers while he's down. 7/18,
2 extras with 4 rbi vs. the Philly bad boy.
Start/Sit: (today)
Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.
Adrian Beltre (start)- hey yo Adrian you did it!!!!!! 10/30,
4 mults, 3 big flys and 14 knockout rbi vs. Apollo Creed Estes.
Jason Bay (start)- he's coming around and is a must start daily.
If for whatever reason he's still on your bench you need to get
him in your lineup, pronto. 14/37, 9 extras, 4 jacks and 9 rbi
vs. Jason Marquis. (yes, this is the exact same comment from
Bay's matchup with Zambano yesterday)
Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.
Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.
Adam Dunn (sit)- is staggered by Lee. 1/11 with 5 k's.
Nick Swisher (sit)- can't seem to raise any Cain at all.
1/11 and 6 k's.
Studs and Duds: (a recap of yesterday's picks and pans)
Barry Zito (stream)- L 5ip/2e/14w/4k
Andy Pettitte (stream)- L 6ip/3e/9w/7k
Gabe Kapler (spot)- 1/5, 2 runs (vs. Wakefield)
Mike Sweeney (spot)- DNP
Todd Helton (start)- 1/4
Jason Bay (start)- 0/4
Mike Lowell (sit)- DNP (vs. Suppan)
Richie Sexson (sit)- 1/4
Orlando Cabrera (sit)- 1/3, run, rbi
How To: (this section is devoted to the fundamentals of daily play)
Head To Head: Player's Edge(PE) vs. Opposition(OP):
Week 5: Sunday
Weekly Tot: R-H-RB-SB -BA/ W-SV-K ER-WH -SCORE
-------PE--32--5-14--1--.254/-5-7-72--4.05--1.34---6
-------OP--16--2-18--2--.265/-1-1-33--3.25--1.35---4
Offense: Lineups:
-----PE-----/----- OP
^B.Molina-------- ^Martinez
^Teixeira---------^Atkins
^Roberts---------^Pedroia
^Braun-----------^Cabrera
^Escobar--------- ^Tejada
^Griffey---------- ^Crawford
^C. Young--------- ^Rios
^Kemp------------ ^Pence
Figgins-------------^Sexson
^Gomez-------------Wells-DL
Glaus----------------Willingham-DL
------PE------//-----OP
10/32-3-1-2-1 //11/39-4-0-4-1 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)
Pitching: Rotation-Closers
-----PE----/------OP
Harang-----------Vasquez
Shields----------^Wang
^Weaver----------Burnett
^Cain-------------Penny
S.Hill--------------Garland
^F. Cordero------^Bell
^Saito------------^Gagne
^Fuentes--------- Mussina
^Wood------------Lackey-DL
Kuroda----------- Borowski-DL
Lilly-------------- Schmidt(DL)
Harden
-----PE--------//------OP
0W/1S, 9-2-13-6//1W/0S, 6.1-2-7-8 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)
Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(44/173) - OP (49/185)
Weekly Totals- ERA (39/(86.2/9) - OP ERA (16/(44.1/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (116/86.2) - OP WHIP (60/44.1) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---2-----OP----2
^ -designates an active player on today's roster.
Daily Activity:
PE Buchholz(drop)/Kendrick- Mon
PE Kendrick(drop)/Wellemeyer-Tues
PE Wellemeyer(drop)/Pineiro-Wed
PE Pineiro(drop)/Kuroda-Thur
PE Cuddyer(drop)/Gomez-Thur
PE Kuroda(drop)/Glaus-Sat
Strategy: The die has been cast for the finale of Week 7.
PE strategy has simply not panned out. Harden, who was
benched, had a terrific start vs Atlanta and mid-week pick
up Carlos Gomez sat yesterday after crashing into the wall
the night before to save a game for the Twins. PE closers
pitched 2 shutout innings but managed to allow 4 whip.
Glaus was added for Kuroda in the event that Gomez sits
again on Sunday. Cain and Weaver will start for PE. Penny
has been scratched from his start leaving OP with Wang
in the late game this evening.
Week 8 OP is eclectic with no SS and 5 OF's on his
current offensive roster and 9 SP's with no closers. OP's
offense is led by Holliday, Sizemore, Morneau and Soto.
OP's rotation features King Felix Hernandez, Carmona,
the overachieving Aaron Cook and 6 talented young
arms led by Edinson Volquez and Joe Saunders. The
PE gameplan is to spot start Glaus on offense Monday
and drop Troy for a streamer on Tuesday. If Figgins is
activated on Tuesday he'll return at the expense of
Tuesday's streamer. At the minimum that will give PE
10 starts for the week vs. an equal number for OP. OP
has power (Holliday, Morneau, Quentin, Zimmerman,
Soto) and speed (Sizemore, Kaz Matsui, McLouth, Hunter)
presenting a challenge in every offensive category. Each
squad will have 5 active hitters for Monday. This OP is
hyperactive so PE anticipates a busy week on the strategy
front.
Game Keys: The week 7 finale has 6 categories in play, Homers,
RBI, Steals, BA, ERA and WHIP. PE controls the remaining 4
points. Roberts had PE's first steal for the week but was offset
by a swipe from OP Pedroia. Braun homered to extend the
lead in that category to 3 for PE. Carl Crawford went 3/5 with
2 rbi helping OP to open a 4 RBI advantage. WHIP is virtually
even as Burnett was solid in earning a win for OP while Harang
was gritty but not outstanding. PE holds a tenuous 6-4 lead as
the squads square off today with equal opportunities to capture
points.
Final Thoughts:
PE is in 3rd place, 7 games out of 1st and 1.5 games behind the
2nd place team heading into week 7.
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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