A new section has been added to the Player's Edge.
It's called "How To" and tracks the daily activities of
a team managed by the Edge in a Head to Head league
against a weekly opponent. The rewards of successful
tactics will be revealed along with the consequences of
those moves that go awry.
Years ago when trying to learn the fundamentals of
playing this game I had searched for information,
unsuccessfully, that would provide insights on
"how to" play the game through real time daily
activity rather than "ex-post facto, I know
more than you do" commentary.
Please let us know if the new section is helpful as
the entire mission of the staff at the Edge is to be
entertaining and more importantly informative. If
you become a better player as a result of this site
then our mission will be accomplished. Most of all,
have fun, after all it's only a game albeit, a great one!!!!
Roster Shuffle:
The Ryan Braun bashing is starting to heat up. The
"I told you so's" are reminding players that they were
advised that Braun was a risky 1st round selection.
With the season 23 games old the experts have invoked
the dreaded "Sophomore Jinx". Braun came up in May
last season let's cut him a little slack until Memorial Day.
Yunel Escobar shattered the fingernail on right index
finger sacrificing in the 1st inning last night. He's not
due back until Tuesday which seems overly optimistic.
Consider Yuniesky Betancourt for a spot play.
Andruw Jones left after a few innings with a leg contusion.
Owners are rejoicing as the decision to sit him becomes an
easy one. Leave him there or cut him.
Sheffield and A-Rod returned last night. Sheffield is not long
for this season, have a back-up plan ready to go.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been recalled. He's C/1B eligible
which is a huge plus. The question is, will he hit consistently?
Speaking of hitting consistently, speed merchant Michael Bourn
could return as early as today.
Mike Lowell's rehab is going well so you can expect his return any
day as he is eligible to be activated.
Howie Kendrick and the long lost Mike Cameron are due back on
Tuesday. Shane Victorino has a shot at returning early next week
as well.
Francisco Liriano has been optioned to Triple A in Rochester. Let's
hope one of the games most exciting young arms can find his mojo.
Another exciting young arm Jonathan Sanchez outdueled Lemon
Harang last night going 8 with 1 earned, 5 whip and 10 k's to earn
the win. The Giants rotation of Cain, Lincecum, Sanchez and Correia
has the potential to be the best rotation(sans Zito) in MLB over
the next few years. They'll have to be with the Giants anemic
offense.
This Scott Olsen is intriguing as he's become Tom Glavine
overnight. Scotty twirled 7.1 innings with 0 earned, 0 k's.
The real Glavine is good to go for a start Tuesday night.
Chad Cordero has been cleared to return but as a set-up man
for a few appearances. If he's okay he'll resume closing.
From the "no he didn't files" Charlie Manuel gave Ryan Howard
a much needed day off to clear his head as the big fella has been
slumping. Sound familiar? See an except from yesterday's Roster
Shuffle below. So Charlie pinch hits him late, Howard strikes out
and drags himself back to the bench to reflect once again on his
troubles. Bravo, Chuckster!!!!!
Charlie Manuel gave Ryan Howard a much needed day off to
clear his head as the big fella has been slumping. Bravo, Chuckster.
So what did Charlie do you ask? He pinch hits him and leaves
him in the game to go 0/2 with 2 k's. Yup, that should clear his
head.
Streamers: (tomorrow's probable starters available as free agents)
Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.
John Lannan- former Beatles stunt double faces the Cubs for the
first time. Yes that was him on the "Abbey Road" album cover.
He's been solid over 24 innings with a 3.42 era and 21 k's. He's
a bit of a whip risk due to walks carrying a 1.44 ratio at the
present time. He had an 11 k game a couple of weeks ago.
Jesse Litsch- has faced the Royals only once and that was
last season. He's been a better pitcher on the road during his
brief career, so "Kansas City, Kansas City here he comes".
0-1, 2.70/1.20 over 7 innings against the Royals.
Spotties: (tomorrow's position players available as free agents)
Use these players to fill in for injured players and on off days.
So Taguchi- makes himself right Maholm when he gets to
Pittsburgh. 7/12, 3 extras with only 2 k's.
Jerry Hairston Jr.- enjoys an a Giant portion of baked Zito
every visit to the city by the bay. 7/19, 3 multiples, a jack,
and a swipe.
Start/Sit: (today)
Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.
Orlando Cabrera (start)- Trachsel confuses this guy for Miggy.
It's understandable as the resemblance is striking. 15/37, 3 multiples,
5 rbi and 4 swipes.
Tony Graffanino (start)- in the battle of extremely long names
against Hendrickson, Tony is on the Mark. 9/21, 3 extras, a jack,
3 rbi with only 1 k.
Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.
Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.
Troy Tulowitzki (sit)- detests Penny's and does not take them
readily. 1/12, 2 k's against Bad Brad.
Adrian Gonzalez(sit)- prefers any other surface to forMicah.
1/8, 2 k's versus Owings.
Studs and Duds: ( a recap of yesterday's picks and pans)
Braden Looper (stream)- ND 7ip/0e/3w/2k
Hiroki Kuroda (stream)- ND 6ip/5e/11w/2k
Akinori Iwamura (spot)- 2/5, run, stolen base
Nick Punto (spot)- 0/4
A.J. Burnett (start)- L 7.1ip/3e/11w/6k
Ryan Dempster (start)- ND 7ip/2e/7w/5k
Ervin Santana (sit)- W 6.1ip/3e/8w/4k
Carlos Pena (sit)- 1/1 pinchhit
How To: ( this section is devoted to the fundamentals of daily play)
Head To Head: Player's Edge(PE) vs. Opposition(OP):
Week 4: Saturday
Weekly Tot: R-H-RB-SB -BA/ W-SV-K ER-WH -SCORE
------PE---21--3-17--2--.288/-2--3-37-4.28-1.55---4
------OP--22--5-25--2--.324/-0--1-28-4.62-1.35---5
Offense: Lineups:
-----PE-----/----- OP
^B.Molina------^Martin
^Teixeira------^A. Gonzalez
^Roberts-------^J. Lopez
^Braun---------^A. Ramirez
Escobar--------^Crosby
^Griffey-------^Butler
^C. Young-----^Hermida
^Milledge------^Dye
^Figgins-------^Longoria
Jacobs----------Rollins- DL
^Betancourt----A. Soriano -DL
----------------H. Kendrick- DL
------PE------//-----OP
9/25-2-0-5-0 // 15/32-4-0-5-1 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)
Pitching: Rotation-Closers
-----PE----/------OP
Harang---------Haren
Shields---------Greinke
Weaver-------^Galarraga
Cain------------Dempster
S.Hill-----------Cueto
Hughes-------^Percival
^Saito--------^Nathan
^Fuentes-----^Wagner
^Wood--------^Broxton
^Acosta-------- Kazmir (DL)
R. Soriano-DL
Harden (DL)
-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 10-2-12-9//0W/0S, 15-3-13-10 (daily tot: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)
Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(45/156) - OP (46/142)
Weekly Totals- ERA (19/(40/9) - OP ERA (19/(37/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (62/40) - OP WHIP (50/37) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE--1-----OP--1
Daily Activity:
PE-Byrd(drop)/Jacobs-Sun
OP Wakefield(drop)/Galarraga-Mon
PE-Jacobs(drop)/Betancourt-Mon
OP-Damon(drop)/Crosby-Mon
PE-Betancourt(d)/Fuentes-Thurs
PE-Liriano(d)/Weaver-Thurs
PE-Corpas(d)/Looper-Thurs
PE-Looper(d)/Y. Betancourt-Fri
OP-L.Hernandez(d)/Percival-Fri
PE-Kuroda(d)/Hughes-Sat
Strategy: Interestingly the OP dropped Hernandez in favor
of closer Percival giving up his starts advantage. This worked
for PE as Escobar left in the 1st inning of last night's Braves
game with a bruised right index finger. Yuniesky Betancourt
was added for Looper to spot start for Escobar if need be.
Hughes was added for Kuroda to augment next week's rotation.
Game Keys: The Edge played "Survivor" last night as
the OP was incredible on both sides of the equation. His
offense was a staggering 15/32 and his staff combined
for 15ip/3e/13w/10k. PE could not keep pace on offense
even though they were a solid 9/25. Good fortune did smile
on PE as neither Dempster or Greinke earned a win which
allowed PE to bench Kuroda at 10:15, 25 minutes before
his start. The logic was OP has only 1 start and PE had a
2-0 lead in wins with Harang pitching against the Giants.
The OP had virtually secured whip so the play was purely
era. The move paid off as Kuroda pitched poorly and Harang
took the L but only allowed 2e over 7.1ip with 8k's. The OP
leads 5-4 with steals tied. OP has the other offensive categories
and WHIP while PE has WINS and K's while clinging to SAVES
and ERA. Realistically, RUNS, HOMERS, STEALS, SAVES and
ERA are still in play. OP has rookie hurler Galarraga on the bump
today. PE has Shields waiting in the wings on Sunday which sets
up to give PE the last move in the pitching categories.
^ -designates an active player on today's roster.
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 a specific need. Be mindful of what specific
objective that you're trying to achieve, make your decisions
and move on. It's a 26 week long roller coaster 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.
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