Fantasy Player's Edge

April 15, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Go to bed. I understand the pursuit of excellence
(that translates to getting the edge on the other
guy) is often nocturnal but 4am now that's truly
above and beyond.

Keppinger owners can rejoice as Alex Gonzalez
is 2 to 4 weeks from being cleared to "run".

Say it ain't so Joe. Borowski's lack of velocity
has the Tribe concerned. Hey, he's been blowing
up for 2 full years and now you're concerned?
If he's shelved they could committee with
Betancourt, Perez, and the "hot dog" himself
Kobayashi. Koby will be a popular waiver add
today. If you need saves he's worth a gamble.

If you only have an hour a day to play this game
here's a bit of advise. Try to log on 1 hour before
the bulk of the games begin. This will be essential
for Reyes owners today. His less than inspiring
"we'll see" mandates you check Randolph's card
about 6:30 this evening.

Granderson's season long suffering owner's will get
a feel for his progress as he takes BP today.

Rookie backstop J.R. Towles will more than likely
sit a few days until his hand heals. Hang on to the
kid unless they opt to disable him.

Howie Kendrick will more than likely miss the Texas
series. Adjust accordingly.

Ian Kennedy was pulled in the 7th inning after being
hit on the hip by a line drive. Impatient owners are
dropping him and to a lesser degree Phil Hughes based
on a couple of early season starts. That's shortsighted
especially with Hughes

Pedro Martinez return has been pushed back possibly
until June. Give up the ghost on this legend as it's
time to move on.

Speaking of oldies but goodies both Michael Cuddyer
and Scott Rolen have appeared on the Fantasy horizon.
Cuddy's due back in a week and Scott by months end.

Numerous fantasy guru's have predicted the demise of
Takashi Saito for 2 years. Mr. Saito got blown up last
night allowing 3 earned and 4 whip. The Broxton bally
hoo is about to begin, place it on ignore.

Adrian Beltre returned last night. So what!

The once highly touted Zach Greinke continues
to standout throwing a 1 earned, 5 whip complete
game at the Mariners. He's 3-0 with .75/.92 and
could still be available. Have a look see.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts:

Carlos Villanuevo- trying to win the rotation sweepstakes
that will be created by Gallardo's return. Either he or
Parra will relegated to long relief or Triple A. Gifted
bird watcher glad to see the Cardinals. 2-1 2.70/1.20
with 16 k's in 30 innings.

Jesse Litsch- went down to Arlington last week and
corraled these very same Rangers. 1-0 3.18/1.41.
The 1.41 whip is a bit of a concern.

Clay Buchholz- matches up with Wang again this
time in the Bronx. Knows his way around the hood.
1-0, 1.50/1.17


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

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

Kevin Millar- just the sight of Contreras has his heart all
a flutter. 8/18, 4 extra base hits including 2 blasts and 5
ribbies.

Randy Winn- treats Webb with the utmost disrespect.
12/28, 3 extras and 4 rbi.

Ronnie Belliard- sail, sail, sailing over the bounding
Maine.(sung in your head please). 7/10 with a jack
and no k's. He sees him perfectly.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Jeff Kent (start)- what's with this guy he's in the column
everyday. 19/64 with 5 long balls and 14 rbi vs. Morris.

Corey Paterson (start)- throws Dempster in the dumpster.
5/14 with a pair extra base knocks.

Andre Ethier(start)- death by a thousand cuts for Matt Morris.
6/14, all singles.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Chone Figgins(sit)- Choney is a phoney when facing Millwood.
0/21 with 6 k's against the Rangers pinada.

Manny Ramirez (sit) - frequently flashed the Byrd by the
Tribe's very average hurler. 2/14 with 1 homerun.

Bobby Abreu (sit)- assumes the fetal position when confonted
by Edwin Jackson. 0/11. Ditto Damon, 0/9.


Game Keys: (daily strategy tips)

Streaming, or dropping and adding starting pitchers
is a strategy used primarily in Head to Head competition.
It's used to gain an advantage over your opponent in wins
and strikeouts. Be prepared to experience pain when employing
a streaming strategy. Normally streamed pitchers are back of
the rotation types so do your homework to minimize the
negative impact this strategy can have on era/whip. Read
the Player's Edge daily.

Start/Sit is crucial to the success of your team. Every player
has matchups that are either overwhelmingly favorable or
unfavorable. Even superstars have tough opponents. The
advantage of playing start/sit is as follows. Player A is a
stud batting .330 on 198 hits over 600 official atbats. If
you can isolate his unfavorable matchups and sit him for
60 atbats where he hits .200 (12 hits) then Player A's
average for your fantasy team becomes .344 (186/540).
The converse is true for bench players. If you can maximize
their best swings during the season you will greatly enhance
the overall performance of your team. Read Player's Edge
daily.


Final Thoughts:

Here's a pet peave and I see this all too frequently. Why do
owners set lineups only for a particular day. As an example
a fair number of top players were off yesterday and were
rightly benched to make room for spot plays. However,
these owners rarely reactivate these players in advance
of their starts the next day. There is no need to assume
this kind of risk. Always set your rosters, including pitchers,
days in advance. Do this as insurance should you be
unable to log on for any reason on any given day. Pitching
rotations are announced 3 days in advance so there is
no reason for a star hurler or stud batter to be inactive
when they're in fact playing. On more occasions then I can
remember I have faced owners who have had there best
players inactive because they did not set their rosters in
advance.

Also, don't second guess yourself when taking a calculated
risk using a streamed pitcher or spot starter for a stud.
There are no guaranteed outcomes in this game. Accept
the outcome good or bad and move on. You're not a genius
if it worked or an idiot if it didn't. Just assess the potential
risk/reward and make your decisions.


All Done!

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