Fantasy Player's Edge

April 21, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

My Head to Head team struggled mightily last week
and I was thrilled to get away with 3 points. My
opponent hit .329 and carried a 3.64 era and 1.14
whip throughout the week. My team hit .256 and
if not for 6 rbi from Molina and Teixeira on Sunday
it would have been worse. I also took steals and k's.
The anomaly of the week was losing wins 2-1 with
my team having 15 starts!!!! That's simply bad luck
as by any metrics 3 wins should have been easily
realized. Yesterday I had Harang and streamed Byrd
and Kuroda. Harang was brilliant and Bryd allowed 1
run in 7 innings but both received no decisions. Even
Kuroda, who was decidedly mediocre could have earned
a W after yielding only 2 runs through 6 innings. We're
sitting 6th in a 12 team league. My Rotisserie team sits
5th at the moment with 75.5 points, 16.5 behind the leader.
I'm satisfied with the position of both of these squads as
my strategy early in the season is to focus on building a
championship roster while not falling too far behind. I will
update the performance of these teams every Monday.

Head to Head Roster: B. Molina, Teixeira, Roberts, Escobar,
Braun, Figgins, C.Young, Griffey, Milledge, Jacobs. Harang,
Shields, Cain, Liriano, S. Hill, Kuroda, Byrd, Saito, Corpas,
Acosta, Wood, R. Soriano (DL-active), Harden (DL). Jacobs
was added for Byrd today and has been dropped for
Betancourt, whose Indians return to action tomorrow. My
opponent only has 2 closers so I'd like to salt away this category
early and have the flexibility of streaming later in the week if
necessary. Going into the week my team will have 8 starts to
his 7 if we play status quo.

Rotisserie roster: Soto, Teixeira, Roberts, O. Cabrera,
Braun, Figgins, C.Young, Griffey, Dye, Milledge, Towles,
Harang, Shields, Cain, Burnett, Cueto, Rivera, Corpas,
Acosta, Ryan, Fuentes, R.Soriano (DL). Fuentes occupies
the flex spot and would be waived should a need arise.
This staff, principally, Shields, Cain and Burnett have
struggled but my sense is that the combined talent inherent
in these guys is considerable and they'll return to form
in the near term. Same-same for Braun and Teixeira. It' s
way to early to panic in Rotisserie. Incidentally, the similarities
of the rosters was a product of both teams being selected with
the 6th draft pick.

Some enchanted evening you may see Rich Harden. He's
still not throwing and now they are saying May at the
earliest.

MLB has formed a rock band, "The Strained Quads".
Charter member Chipper Jones was joined by newcomer
Alex Rodriguez. So far they're the only members. More on
the band's activities will be available today.

Finally, J-Roll was put on the DL. He's eligible to return
on Thursday but who knows for sure. Certainly not the
Phillies.

Moises Alou and Scott Rolen are nearing returns. Both
could be available by months end and could be acquired
to bolster your bench.

This is why you check lineups. Pronk Hafner was scheduled
to take the day off yesterday, instead he played. His
performance was inconsequential but you get the point.

Gary Sheffield is having his sore surgically repaired shoulder
looked at by a specialist. This can't be a good thing. Hold
him for now but keep an eye on the newswires.

Fukudome sat with a cyst in his eye. He had a sty and
it shouldn't be a big deal.

Curtis Granderson could return on Wednesday.

Wandy Rodriguez was placed on the DL. You may want
to take a flyer on Scott Olsen who's been terrific. His k's
are noticeably down but so is his whip. This suggests
that he might be maturing from a thrower to a pitcher.

Chad Cordero's velocity is improving. He still has a
way to go but he could be back in the mix soon. Rauch
is still your huckleberry for the moment.

Rafael Soriano will not be coming off the DL as was
expected on Tuesday. He's still complaining of elbow
soreness. This is not a good thing but hopefully you
handcuffed Acosta until this shakes out.

Dave Bush and Josh Fogg lost their starting gigs. Now
there's a real shocker!!!



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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Vincente Padilla- has been taming Tigers since he was a wee
lad in Bombay. A little known fact is that Vin is an Hispanic Hindu
from Dublin who's family settled in India. Certainly he plays cricket,
why do you ask? 3-0, 2.08/1/12 with 15 k's in 26 frames.

Kyle Lohse- has always been at a Lohse to explain why he finds
the Brewers raptuous and desirable. It borders on compulsion
but he's inexplicably drawn to high ground at the mere sight of
the Keggers. 1-0, 2.13/.79 over his last two starts against this crew.

Jesse Litsch- basks in the adoring glow from the Rays of Florida's sun.
Oh, they play in a dome, no worries, he'll hit the tanning beds.
1-1, 2.04/1.30 over 18 innings with 10 k's. This guy pitches better
on the road.


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

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

Jason Werth- like's Francis enough to ask him out every visit.
Francis always declines as he rather not get "outs" with him.
3/10, 3 doubles/ 2 rbi

Casey Blake- dreams of Gil in Meche. Casey's always been an
odd one. 9/21, a jack and 8 ribbies.

Craig Monroe- awash with giddiness at the coming of his
bulkiness. He reveres Blanton's girth admiring his ample
curves. 7/11, with an extra base knock and 3 rbi.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Micah Owings (start)- Giants do not belong in the desert,
they're too big to curl up under the one tree that is always
at the oasis. C'mon you've seen enough of those old movies.
2-1, 3.79/1.00 over 19 innings in this rematch with Correia
at home.

Josh Willingham (start)- does Matt Morris ever get anyone
out? He has to have pictures of Russell. 6/10, 3 extras, a
homer and 4 rbi.

Ken Griffey (start)- this dude has saved every Penny
that he's earned over the years. 10/27, 6 extras, 3 blasts
and 5 rbi.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Adam Dunn (sit)- unlike Junior he absolutely refuses to
count his Penny's. He's strikingly out of the sorts.
2/22, with 13 k's.

Jose Reyes (sit)- why does Jose whisper, hi papi, every
time he sees the big Zambrano. 2/13 with 0 steals

Khalil Greene(sit)- with apologies to the Twinman and
Clemson shortstops worldwide Greene sees red at the
site of Lee Harvey and his grassy knoll in Houston.
Dallas does not have a monopoly on grassy knolls!!!
2/13, 3 k's vs Oswalt.

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

Paul Byrd(stream)- ND but was outstanding. 7 ip, 1e/6w.

Zach Duke (stream)- L, dreadful. 4 ip, 5e/10w, 0 k's.

Adam Eaton (stream)-ND. average outing. 5 ip, 4e/7w, 4 k's.

Scott Hatteberg (spot)-0/0, pinch hit/BB.

Cristian Guzman (spot)- DNP

Rich Aurillia (spot)- 1/4

Casey Blake (spot)- 0/3

Ken Griffey (start)- 1/5, rbi.

Xavier Nady (start) - 1/5, run

Lastings Milledge (start)- 1/4

Bill Hall (start)- 0/4

David wright (sit)- 2/3, run, sb

Vernon Wells (sit)- 0/4

Ian Kinsler (sit)- 1/4, solo homerun


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:

Millions of people in thousands of leagues on virtually
every continent play fantasy baseball on a daily basis.
No player should take advise from any source without
taking stock of their league's settings and a good working
knowledge of the basics of the game. With that said we
all play to different degrees based on time and interest.
Some people are fanatical, others are very serious and still
others are simply playing for casual enjoyment. The Player's
Edge welcomes all skill levels and the information provided
is not meant to be absolute. Simply said, when reviewing
the sections on streaming, spot plays and start/sit use those
players if you have an express need. Be mindful of what specific
objective(s) that you're trying to achieve, make your decisions
and move on. It's a 26 week long rollercoaster ride so composure
and resiliency are the typical benchmarks of successful players.

To calculate era: total innings/9 = divisor, total earned runs/
by divisor = era. When using total innings use the fraction and
not the decimal to create the divisor. If your team has amassed
47.2 innings by Friday and allowed 9 runs the era would be
calculated as follows. 47.67/9 = 5.29667, 9/5.29667 = 1.70 era

Whip is calculated by adding the total hits and walks issued by
a pitcher or group of pitchers/total innings. Also use the fractional.
Ex: your team has pitched 34.1 innings so far this week and your
pitchers have allowed 46 combined runs and walks. Here's the
calculation 46/34.33 = 1.34 whip.

Batting average is total hits/total official atbats.

All Done!