Fantasy Player's Edge

May 23, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Rafael Furcal could be activated today as he has disdained
a rehab assignment. He feels that he's ready to rejoin the
Dodgers now.

Okay, how about a little teaser? Howie Kendrick is said to
be close to returning. He'll be evaluated today and could
see action with the Angels soon. No kidding, "China" is
almost back!!!

Ryan Church claims that he did not have a concussion and
could have played on Wednesday. Randolph wants to be
cautious with Church but his return is imminent.

Yunel Escobar, the other half of the Church collision, was
held out again. He's expected to return today.

Chone Figgins sat one day after being activated with
"whole" leg soreness. If he's active tonight then this
was simply a precaution. Otherwise, he could still be
having hamstring issues.

Victor Martinez left after the 4th inning with a left index
finger injury. More news regarding V-Mart should be
available today. It's safe to say that he'll be sitting this
evening. Adjust accordingly, if possible.

Eric Byrnes is still troubled by hamstring issues. Kookie
probably needs a stint on the DL to get right but there's
been no talk of shutting him down at the moment.

Jayson Werth looks like he'll miss some time with a strained
oblique. This would have to be considered good news for
Victorino owners.

Moises Alou had an MRI on his "cramp" and was placed
on the DL once again, this time, with a strained calf.

Andruw Jones says he's feeling better. He ran and fielded
his position yesterday. If the swelling persists he'll get
surgery on his knee, if not, he'll return to the Dodgers
muddling their outfield rotation once again.

Pirates SS Jack Wilson should be back by Tuesday
providing a bit of spot play flexibility to a position
that's paper thin.

Ty Wigginton returned to party going 3/4. If you've
got him you can use him.

There is speculation that uber prospect Clayton
Kershaw will be called up for either a Saturday or
Tuesday start with the Dodgers. He pitched a one
inning start last night fueling the guessing game.

Doug Davis returned to the D'Back's yesterday after
a successful recovery from thyroid cancer. Brandon
Medders was designated for assignment which implies
that Max Scherzer will work out of the bullpen for now.

Chris Young was placed on the DL after suffering a
fractured nose from a Pujols line drive. With Peavy
already on the DL the Padres are going to have to
trust some young arms, like Germano and Ledezma
and a trio of older ones, Maddox, Wolf and Estes, to
keep them in the race.

Chris Carpenter threw 48 pitches in a bullpen session on
Wednesday and is scheduled to participate in a simulated
game on Monday in Florida. He's making progress and
the last ETA for the former Cards ace was on or around
the All Star break.

There is a bit of concern that Felix Hernandez may be
skipped on Saturday due to tightness in his calf. The
King thinks that he'll be able to go while pitching coach
Mel Stottlemyre wasn't as sure. Stay tuned.

Chien Ming Wang had his started moved from Saturday
to Sunday. Make sure that you do the same.

Shawn Hill is still plagued with forearm pain and a series
of tests have been unable to isolate the cause. He may be
headed for exploratory surgery in an effort to define the
problem. If you own him wait for additional details before
deciding if a roster shuffle will be necessary.

Joe Borowski returns as the Indians closer today.

Even though C.J. Wilson had a perfect 9th for a save
yesterday there is still talk that he's on a game by
game basis to keep the job. Everyday Eddie Guardado
is waiting in the wings.

John Smoltz threw for the 3rd consecutive day while
experimenting with a different arm slot to reduce the
stress on his shoulder. He threw off the mound at
Turner Field prior to batting practice. His teammates
say he was "filthy". Cox has said he expects him to
return in about 10 days.

Rafael Soriano will have his 2nd rehab start today for
Double A Mississippi and if all goes well he could be
back with the Braves by Sunday.

Eric Gagne has "officially" been sidelined indefinitely
with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Yost
is leaning towards Torres as his primary closer but
Mota will be in the mix especially if Torres can't
shoulder the load.

Jason Isringhausen will throw off a mound today to test
his recovery from a lacerated and infected finger. The
Cards GM Mozeliak says it's part of a six week rehab
schedule while LaRussa says Issy could return in 2
weeks. Who knows how to interpret this news except
that Jason still has to prove that he can handle the
pressure of closing again.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Justin Duchscherer- has never started versus Boston but his
relief appearances against the Sox have been very impressive.
1-0, 2.66/.84 with 23 k's in 20 innings.

Jason Marquis- seems to pitch better on the other team's turf.
7-5, 3.98/1.28 over 106 frames vs. the Pirates.


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

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

Ty Wigginton- wears out Myers. 8/20, 5 extras, a blast with
1 k.

Adam Kennedy- 2 days in a row as a spottie. 11/25, 3 extras
with 6 steals vs. Derek Lowe. If you need bases this guy could
get you a couple tomorrow.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Xavier Nady (start)- the X-man uses his special powers
vs. Zambrano to batter the Big Z into submission. 8/22,
7 rbi with a lone k.

Aaron Rowand (start)- remembers Scott Olsen real well
from his days in Philly. 4/10, 3 rbi and a swipe.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Torii Hunter (sit)-this time the Hunter gets captured by
the game. 0/11 with 2 k's against Danks.

Johnny Damon (sit)- Bedard gives him fits. 3/20.


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

Tom Gorzelanny (stream)- W 5ip/2e/12w/2k

Andrew Miller (stream)- W 7ip/0e/6w/9k

Ryan Garko (spot)- 0/2

Moises Alou (spot)- DNP-injured

Adrain Beltre (start)- 0/3

Placido Polanco (start)- 0/4

Bill Hall (sit)- 3/5, run, stolen base

Torii Hunter (sit)-0/3, run



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-17--2--19--1--.409/-3-3-30--4.73--1.45---7
-------OP-13--2--14--4--.284/-1-0--9--5.30--1.29---2

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina---------^Soto
^Teixeira---------^Morneau
^Roberts----------^Matsui
^Braun------------^Zimmerman
^Escobar----------- empty
^Griffey-----------^Holliday
^C. Young-------- ^McLouth
^Kemp------------^Quentin
Figgins------------^Sizemore
^Gomez------------C. Jackson
---------------------Hunter
---------------------Bruce
---------------------Tulowitzki (DL)


------PE------//-----OP
8/22-4-2-6-1 //8/23-4-0-5-1 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang----------F. Hernandez
Shields---------^Carmona
Weaver----------Cook
Cain------------- Scherzer
S.Hill-------------Contreras
^F. Cordero------Eveland
^Saito----------^Volquez
^Fuentes--------G. Olson
^Wood---------^Saunders
Lilly-------------Smoltz-DL
^Harden


-----PE--------//------OP
1W/0S, 10.1-7-24-9//0W/0S, 0-0-0-0 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(47/115) - OP (29/102)
Weekly Totals- ERA (21/(40/9) - OP ERA (11/(18.2/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (58/40) - OP WHIP (24/18.2) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---5-----OP----5

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

Daily Activity:

PE Glaus(drop)/Bergmann-Mon
OP Rasner(drop)/Jackson-Tues
PE Bergmann(drop)/Byrd-Tues
OP Jackson(drop)/Contreras-Tues
PE Byrd(drop)/Gorzelanny-Wed
PE Gorzelanny(drop)/Figgins-Thurs


Strategy: Even though PE pitching was dreadful last night
there's no reason, yet, to change strategy. Both teams have
5 SP's in play for the remainder of the week with OP showing
3 this evening and PE having 1. If Escobar returns PE will have
a 1 hitter advantage Friday through Sunday as OP is SS empty.
Figgins is still not right and will sit tonight for certain. PE will
evaluate further strategy for pitching and on offense after this
evening's results are tallied.


Game Keys: PE thought it couldn't get worse after Gorzelanny's
dreadful 5 inning, 12 whip outing. But it did, as Harang came
apart in the 5th inning and ultimately allowed 5 earned on 12
whip over 5.1 frames vs. the juggernaut known as the Padres.
Amazingly, Gorzelanny was credited with a win. The 24 whip
in 10.1 innings moved the category to OP. PE offense continues
to one up OP but has not put a single offense category out of
reach. PE did hit 2 homers yesterday to tie the point. Heading
into the turn PE leads 7-2.



Final Thoughts:

PE is in 3rd place, 5 games out of 1st and 1 game behind the
2nd place team heading into week 8.

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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