Fantasy Player's Edge

July 12, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Roy Oswalt lasted only 1 inning as he aggravated his sore
hip. He'll be evaluated today but an extended stint on the
DL seems likely for the Houston ace.

Fausto Carmona threw 50 pitches in a simulated game on
Thursday. It's possible that he could have a rehab start
next week in Triple A setting up a return to the Tribe
rotation by the end of the month.

Chris Young threw 50 pitches during a simulated game and
will have his 1st rehab assignment at Single A Lake Elsinore
on Wednesday. He will have 1 to 3 more starts before being
called up which makes July 26th the earliest he could return
to the Padres rotation.

Dustin McGowan will avoid surgery to repair a torn rotator
cuff but it's still unclear if he can return this season.

Jeff Francis is scheduled to return on July 30th from shoulder
inflammation.

Josh Johnson had a successful return to the Marlins rotation
from Tommy John surgery going 5 innings allowing 3 earned
runs on 6 whip with 6 k's and 0 bases on balls.

J.J. Putz will pitch Sunday and Tuesday in Arizona and then
head to Triple A Tacoma for another outing on Friday. If all
goes according to plan he'd be available a week from tomorrow
for the Mariners.

Chone Figgins will miss the remainder of the weekend's games
to be with his ailing father who suffered a stroke.

Yunel Escobar was a late scratch with a strained left shoulder.
He will sit out until after the All Star break.

Coco Crisp and J.D. Drew were out again last night nursing
nagging injuries. They're both day to day.

Edgar Renteria sat as well with a sore hamstring. He's due to
return today.

Milton Bradley missed another game with a sore knee. He's
considered day to day.

Jose Guillen was a late scratch with stiffness in his neck.

Alex Rios is in Puerto Rico awaiting the birth of his child.
He will miss all of the weekend's action. Adjust accordingly.

Randy Winn was forced to leave yesterday's game with the
Cubs after fouling a pitch off of his knee. He's currently listed
as day to day.

Hideki Matsui is scheduled to take BP today. If all goes well
he may begin a running program next week. No timetable
has been set for his return from the knee injury.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Joel Pineiro- has pitched well against the Pirates and at PNC
Park. 3-0, 2.81/1.05 in 26 innings vs. Pittsburgh and 2-0, 1.20
/.67 in 15 frames in Piratesland.

Jose Campillo- has pitched 2 uneventful innings vs. the Padres
and has been very effective away from Turner Field. 1-2, 1.59/
.82 with 28 k's in 34 frames on the road this season.

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

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

Mark Kotsay- 2nd day running as a "spottie" as he huffs, puffs
and blows Randy Wolf down. 7/16, 2 extras, a jack and 3 rbi.

Rich Aurilia- hits Dempster very well. 8/22 with 3 rbi.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Marcus Thames (start)- pounds Scott Baker. 5/12 with 3 blasts.

Randy Winn (start)- 2nd day as a "start". Will welcome Rich
Harden to the National League. 5/14 with an extra base hit.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Pat Burrell (sit)- essentially closes his eyes and swings when
facing the Big Unit. 4/22 with 14 k's vs. Johnson.

Jason Bay (sit)- has no answer for Wellemeyer. 2/13 with 5 k's.


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

Clay Buchholz (stream)- L 5ip/4e/10w/6k

Glen Perkins (stream)- W 6.2ip/2e/8w/2k

Rich Aurilia (spot)- 0/4

Aaron Miles (spot)- DNP

Nick Swisher (start)- Millwood-today

Randy Winn (start)- 0/0- left game w/injury

Grady Sizemore (sit)- 1/4, run

Jermaine Dye (sit)- Millwood-today


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


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

Week 15: Saturday


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

-------PE--18--5--25--6--.184/-1--6--48--4.33--1.49---6
-------OP--19--7--16--3--.252/-1--4--37--4.46--1.60---3

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina------------^Martin
^Teixeira------------^A. Gonzalez
^Roberts------------^Kendrick
^Braun--------------^A. Ramirez
Escobar-------------^Rollins
^Griffey-------------^Dye
^C. Young-----------^Bruce
^Kemp--------------^Votto
^Figgins-------------^Longoria
^S. Drew--------------Lopez
---------------------- Barmes
---------------------- Soriano (DL)


------PE------//-----OP
8/32-4-1-5-2 //9/34-6-1-5-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang---------------Dempster
Shields---------------Kazmir
Weaver-------------- Lester
Cain------------------Floyd
^Harden-------------Galarraga
^F. Cordero--------^Nathan
^Saito--------------^Wagner
^Fuentes-----------^Franklin
^Wood-------------^T. Buchholz
^Martinez------------Percival - DL
^Morrow



-----PE--------//------OP
0W/2S, 20-10-31-21//0W/2S, 11.1-9-23-12 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(28/152) - OP (39/155)
Weekly Totals- ERA (21/(43.2/9) - OP ERA (18/(36.1/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (65/43.2) - OP WHIP (58/36.1) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---2-----OP-----2

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

Daily Activity:

PE Hairston(drop)/Buchholz-Thur
PE Buchholz(drop)/S. Drew-Fri

Strategy: PE stream Buchholz was used for SS Stephen Drew
for a spot play on Saturday. PE limps into the weekend's action
on offense as Escobar and Figgins will not play due to an injury
and family matters respectively. PE SP Harang has not been
formally placed on the DL which has hindered roster flexibility.
PE does not yet have visibility to Sunday's strategy but will have
more clarity after SP's Harden and Martinez pitch this afternoon.
OP has 2 starts left on the roster as well with Kazmir/Dempster
on the bump for Sunday. Stay tuned.


Game Keys: PE SP's Shields/Cain/Buchholz combined with
2 relievers for 20 innings allowing 10 earned on 31 whip with
21 k's recording 2 saves but 0 W's. PE's mediocre outcome was
good enough to narrowly wrest ERA/WHIP from OP which
endured a blow up by Gavin Floyd to allow 9 earned on 23 whip
in 11.1 frames. OP also had 2 saves. PE offense continues to be
mired below .200 and yielded the RUNS category to OP by 1.
PE heads down the river with 2 "runs" guys on the shelf and
will need a little help from the power guys Braun and Teixeira
to compete for that point. PE OF Chris Young is hitting .063
for the week with 0 runs and it would not be a shocker if
Melvin sits him today or tomorrow. PE leads by a 6-3 count
with all 10 categories in play.


Final Thoughts:

PE is in 1st place by .5 point over the 2nd place club and 4.5
ahead of the 3rd place team heading into a Week 15 meeting
with the 4th place team.

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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