Fantasy Player's Edge

June 1, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

It's Sunday and the Mets will be going to church today,
Ryan Church that is, who's finally feeling well enough
from a concussion to return to full time action.

Big Papi sprained his wrist and had to leave last night's
game in the 9th inning after fouling off a pitch. Ortiz is
day to day but his status should be updated today.

Jorge Posada is on track to start for the Yankees on
Tuesday or Wednesday.

Conor Jackson is nursing a sore right quad and will be
out for several days. The results of an MRI have yet
to be published.

Ryan Zimmerman has missed 6 straight games with a
sore shoulder and is still being labeled day to day. The
Nationals slugger intimated that he might have to play
in pain throughout the year. You could use Chavez until
Zimmerman returns to the diamond.

Now you see him now you don't. Jack Wilson sat last
night with muscle tightness behind his left knee. He
recently returned from a season long stint on the DL.
Wilson is supposed to be back in the Pirates lineup
today.

Luis Castillo is headed to the DL with a hip flexor. The
position is thin but if he's been your starter grab DeRosa,
Wigginton or Sanchez to tide you over.

Add Ryan Spilborghs to the growing list of Rockies who
have been injured of late. He left yesterday's contest
with a bruised wrist. Colorado has been snake bit this
year with Tulowitzki, Holliday, Hawpe and Atkins all
missing time this season.

For what it's worth, Jason Werth expects to return
when eligible on June 8th. Shane Victorino has
played well so Werth's value will be limited.

Dontrelle Willis will start on Tuesday and be followed by
the talented youngster Armando Galarraga. Willis is
scheduled to throw about 4 innings and hopefully he
won't destroy Armando's chance for a W. Use Galarraga
as you normally would.

Shawn Estes fractured his thumb falling on the stairs
between the clubhouse and visiting dugout. That's
got be frustrating as he was pitching well for the
Padres who are without Peavy and Young. Rookie
Josh Banks picked up the slack by tossing a complete
game six hitter at the Giants.

Eric Gagne took a leave of absence to be with his wife
who's experiencing complications with the pregnancy
of the couple's 4th child. He's expected to be back on
rehab assignment in a few days and is eligible to be
activated on Thursday. Salomon Torres has pitched
effectively as the Brewers closer in Gagne's stead
leaving Yost a tough call when Eric returns to active
duty.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Aaron Laffey- has no history vs. Texas but loves to hit the road.
4-2, 3.92/1.28 with 24 k's in 44 innings on the road this year.

Jo Jo Reyes- is coming off the best start of his brief career against
the Brewers last week. Returns home to find the Marlins. 1-0, 1.80/
1.20 in 5 innings with 7 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.

Kevin Millar- his best days were as an 8 year old playing wiffle
ball on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Gets another chance
to revisit those fond memories today vs. Wakefield. 10/21,
6 extras, 3 blasts, 7 ribeyes with only 1 k.

Jack Wilson- back from the DL just in time to do Wain-wrong.
7/17 with a couple of rbi vs. Wainwright.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Troy Glaus (start)- hasn't seen him often but when he does
he hits him hard. 4/6 with an extra base hit and 3 rbi against
Snell.

Ken Griffey (start)- Junior is certainly senior to almost every
one playing at the moment but he still has a little game left.
Perhaps #600 comes today. 6/21 with a homer vs. Tim Hudson.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Dan Uggla (sit)- is having a marvelous season but it feels
like an extended slump when facing Moyer. 2/18 with 8 k's.

Torii Hunter (sit)- should simply mail it in today. 1/10 with
6 k's vs. A.J. Burnett.

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

Scott Feldman (stream)- (starts today)

Ty Wigginton (spot)- 2/3, run

Shannon Stewart (spot)- 0/4

Todd Helton (start)- 1/1, solo homer, 3 walks

Paul Konerko (start)- 0/3

Carlos Pena (sit)- 1/4

Javier Vasquez (sit)-L 7ip/2e/7w/10k


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--21--7--34--2--.282/-4-3-63--3.60--1.31---6
-------OP--24--7--25--4--.287/-1-0-31--6.32--1.62---3

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina--------- ^Johjima
^Teixeira----------^Pujols
^Roberts---------- ^Uggla
^Braun------------ ^DeRosa
^Escobar---------- ^Guillen
^Griffey---------- ^J. Upton
^C. Young-------- ^Dunn
^Kemp----------- ^Granderson
^Gomez---------- ^K. Johnson
Figgins (DL)------- Helton
--------------------Swisher
--------------------H. Matsui



------PE------//-----OP
9/37-5-4-10-1 //8/33-3-1-4-1 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang------------^Hudson
Shields------------^Jimenez
Weaver----------- ^Moyer
Cain-------------- ^Snell
Harden------------ Maddox
^F. Cordero-------^Gregg
^Saito-------------^Corpas
^Fuentes----------^Springer
^Wood------------- Peavy-DL
Martinez----------- Accardo-(DL)
^Bush
^Feldman


-----PE--------//------OP
1W/0S, 1-0-2-2//0W/0S, 2-0-1-0 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(57/202) - OP (51/178)
Weekly Totals- ERA (28/(70/9) - OP ERA (26/(37/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (92/70) - OP WHIP (60/37) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---2-----OP----4

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

Daily Activity:

PE Bergmann(drop)/Laffey-Mon
PE Laffey(drop)/Garza-Tues
PE Garza(drop)/Lannan-Wed
PE Lannan(drop)/Millwood-Thur
PE Millwood(drop)/Feldman-Fri
PE Lilly(drop)/Bush-Sat
PE Bush(drop)/Laffey-Sun
PE Feldman(drop)/Reyes-Sun


Strategy: PE will send Feldman and Bush against OP Hudson,
Moyer, Jimenez and Snell. Hudson and Moyer have favorable
opponents today. Feldman and Bush were released for Jo Jo
Reyes and Aaron Laffey as possible streamers for Monday.
Reyes and Laffey are lineup placeholders as PE has to decide
whether to stream or simply add the best 2 pitchers in free
agency giving PE 11 starts to OP's 9 for the week. Week 10
OP has the best offense in the league and PE must control
pitching. A loss of ERA or WHIP would have a devastating
effect on the outcome of next week's contest as PE does not
have an advantage, on paper, in any offensive category


Week 10 OP has an incredible offense featuring Alex Rodriguez,
Brian McCann, Derrek Lee, Brandon Phillips, Ichiro, Bobby
Abreu and Michael Young. PE offense has underperformed in
both power and speed the past 2 weeks and could very well
get embarrassed in this contest if that trend continues. OP
has 6 SP's led by Adam Wainwright and Dustin McGowan.
Huston Street is the only closer for OP with set up relievers
Marmol and Scot Shields rounding out the staff. Each club
has 9 starts on the roster for next week. PE will have all 9
offensive starters in action on Monday as does OP. This
week's game shapes up to be OP offense against PE pitching.
Whichever team can capture a category or categories in the
others strength will win the week.


Game Keys: PE holds a 6-3 lead heading into the stretch with
Runs, HR and BA available to either side and Wins and Steals
still in play. Stranger things have happened in fantasy baseball
but PE has firm control of RBI, Saves, K's, ERA and WHIP. An
unexpected W from Francisco Cordero helped PE open a 3 win
lead while 5 PE homers tied the category. Steals are 4-2 for OP.
BA is in OP's column, .287 vs. .282. OP has a healthy lead of 3 in
RUNS. Realistically, PE will be playing for OP points in today's
finale.

Final Thoughts:

PE is tied for 2nd place, 4.5 games out of 1st heading into week 9.
PE is 23-7 over last 3 weeks enabling the climb to the coveted 2nd
place position.

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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