Fantasy Player's Edge

April 19, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

This is the stage of the weekly matchups where the
great players get separation from the good players.
There are subtleties that when recognized can lead
to the earning or the preservation of a hard earned
point. If you're tracking batting average, era and
whip an unorthodox strategy such as playing only
your contact hitters or benching your starting pitching
even though it's Jake Peavy could give you the best
chance to take the point. Attention to detail and the
nuances of your opponent will dictate strategy during
crunch time if you're tuned in.

Ryan Braun accepted a base on balls yesterday.

Ben Sheets could not answer the bell for the 6th
inning vs. the Reds last night. He complained of
tightness in his right triceps. Sheets owners had
to anticipate gentle Ben breaking down early on.
Harden owners feel your pain.

Stubborn Manny Parra loyalists are vindicated
as he's certain to stay in the rotation if/when
Sheets hits the DL.

Is there any reason that Jeremy Accardo is still
on your roster?

Glavine is headed to the DL with Chuck James
being recalled to take his place. James occasionally
is a decent streaming candidate. We'll let you know.

J-Roll had an MRI but the Phils maintain that the
results support the treatment that has been prescribed.
No real word on his availability.

Michael Young returned to action last night, he's good to go.
Same-same for Carlos Beltran.

Hank Blalock was reported headed to the DL. He instead
called the psychic hotline and learned it was all in his head.
He played and homered last night.

Guerrero returned last night from a one day hiatus as
the DH.

Carlos Pena sat out last nights game as advertised
but could return today.

All kinds of activity in "Baker'sfield". Norris Hopper
started for the 2nd consecutive game for Corey
Patterson but Patterson pinch hit for Hopper
late in the game. Joey Votto is now the starter at
1st base but Hatteberg got a couple of atbats when
Votto was part of a pitcher/hitter lineup switch in
the 6th. Stay tuned for all new episodes of "Baker'sfield"

Need a steal or two tomorrow try Giants OF Fred Lewis.

Speaking of steals Jerry Owens was activated from the DL
but will stay in Triple A for now.

Rookie backstop J.R. Towles has returned.

Drop Hopkins and add Calzaghe.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Paul Byrd- flies solo to Minneapolis on the wings of Zeus.
The streaming gods are smiling. 10-3, 3.64/1.21. Simply
divine (unless you need k's. Only 45 over 109 innings).

Zach Duke- the Cubs know how to treat royalty. The Duke
is 4-2 with 2.01/1.24 lifetime vs. the spearmints.

Adam Eaton- it's not a misprint or a cruel what has Adam
eaten (mostly crap) joke. 5-0, 2.90/1.11 against the crew from
the Apple.

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

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

Scott Hatteberg- finally a Bush that he finds irresistible.
No groupie jokes please, Mrs Hatteberg reads this thread.
8/20, 4 extras, 1 jack and 4 rbi. (make sure he's in the lineup)

Cristian Guzman- truly wishes that Olsen had a twin.
4/7 with a homer. J-Roll is sitting again on Saturday.

Rich Aurillia- here we go Loop(er) de Loop. Here we go
Loop de Lie.........on a Saturday night. 7/16 with 1 k.

Casey Blake- "the outlook wasn't brilliant for the
Indians nine that day", until Scott Baker took the hill.
7/16. Yes, I used the same quote yesterday, so what!!!


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Ken Griffey (start)- he'll tell his grandchildren about this guy
as soon as he gets home from the game. Crushes Suppan.
14/34, 7 extras, 5 jacarandas, 12 ribeyes and a pair of steals.

Carlos Delgado(start)- shows his elders no respect whatsoever.
Moyer will tell his grandchildren to avoid this guy as soon as he
gets home from the game. 30/68, 15 extras, 8 blasts and 17 ribbies.

Jason Bay (start)- has begun adoption proceedings for Marquis'
entire extended family. 13/34, 9 extras, 4 cranks and 9 rbi.

Pat Burrell (start)- twists and shouts whenever Oliver is in
the house. 6/19, 5 multiples, 4 big flys and 7 rbi.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Chone Figgins (sit)- gets all steamed up in the shower just
thinking about Washburn. 1/19 with 6k's and 0 stolen bases.

Dan Uggla (sit)- pushes the rock up this Hill but never gets
near the top. 1/11 with 2 k's.

Tom Gorzelanny (sit)- frequently clawed during Wrigley visits.
2-2, 4.50/1.47 with 24 k's over 30 innings. Yes, I used the same
analogy yesterday. So what!!

Ryan Howard (sit)- but only if you have a Griffey, Delgado, Bay
or Burrell on your bench. 1/13 with 7 k's vs. Oliver Perez.


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:

Study the free agent market in your league regularly and
game plan accordingly to assure that those coveted players
end up on your roster rather than on an opponent's team.
It's not uncommon to have to select free agents well before
you intend to use them on the active roster. An example of
this type of free agent would be John Lackey who returns in
a few weeks. If he's out there this would be the time to make
the move. In a couple of months it will be Chris Carpenter.

In Head to Head leagues you must track weekly totals in
batting average, era and whip. All too frequently these
categories are extremely close on Sunday's and in many
cases you'll need to adjust your strategy to safeguard a
point. That may include but not be limited to benching
your entire pitching staff because you control wins, saves
and k's but are only marginally ahead on era and/or whip.
To calculate era: total innings/9 = divisor, total earned runs/
by divisor = era.

All Done!

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