Fantasy Player's Edge

April 28, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Big news from the city of brotherly love is that J-Roll is
showing his owners some love by taking batting and fielding
practice. He could be good to go by May 5th when he's
eligible to come off the DL.

Chipper was feeling anything but as Jones missed he second
straight game with back spasms.

Looks like Jorgy is finally headed for the disabled list. Posada
was a late scratch due to a season long nagging shoulder problem.

Same-same for Hank Blalock who's missed consecutive games
with a sore hamstring.

Grady Sizemore's 382 game streak came to an end yesterday
with a bum ankle. Keep an eye on this as player's take these
kind of streaks to heart and the ankle might be a little worse
than we're being told.

Moises Alou may have a fractured ankle delaying his return to
the bigs for an unspecified length of time.

Justin Upton sat with a tight hamstring.

Yunel Escobar may return on Tuesday as reports now have him
with a bruised index finger rather than a shattered fingernail.

Scott Kazmir has his final rehab start today and barring a setback
will make his 2008 debut on Saturday.

John Smoltz complained of shoulder pain when he left his start
against the Mets after 4 innings. This has DL written all over it.

Dice-K had his start moved back until Wednesday as he tries to
fend off the flu bug.

Rafael Soriano claims he'll be ready to start closing again for the
Braves by Tuesday. He hasn't thrown a baseball to a live hitter yet
so this would have to be considered overly optimistic.

Micah Owings is gimping around on a sore ankle and may be
skipped. As long as he's available to pinch hit all will be fine.

Kevin Correia was added to the DL with a back injury today.

In a devastating move for fantasy owners worldwide Matt Morris
was waived by the Pirates ending a virtually unlimited number of
spectacular spot plays on offense every time Morris took the hill.
Let's all hope that someone gives him a gig soon.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Phil Hughes- had a quality inning+ of work prior to a long rain delay
in his last start. Has limited exposure to the potent Tigers attack.
0-1, 7.50/.83 with 6 k's over 6 innings. (note the whip)

Greg Smith- has not faced the Angels in his brief career but has been
extremely effective to date. 2-0, 2.88/1.16 with 16 k's in 25 innings
this season.


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

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

Casey Blake- has prospected his fair share of Silva over the years.
15/39, a tater, 7 ribeyes with only 3 whiffs.

Ray Durham- he's smellin' what's Aaron's Cookin' and lickin' his chops.
10/29, 4 extras, a jack, 5 rbi with 1 k.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Bobby Crosby (start)- proudly displays his Garland all season long.
8/18, 5 multiples, a homer and 7 rbi.

Orlando Cabrera (start)- it's Cabrera's ahoy in this matchup of
namesakes. Daniel's been kind to the little O. 7/15, 2 steals.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Adam Dunn (sit)- frequently smells his wood burning after facing
this hot Toddy. 1/8, 5k's but the hit was a jack against Wellemeyer.

Grady Sizemore (sit)- has been a perennial deer in a headlight when
confronting the Moose. 2/15 with 6 k's.


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

John Lannan (stream)- W 7ip/0e/8w/3k

Jesse Litsch (stream)- W 7ip/1e/5w/4k

So Taguchi (spot)- 0/4

Jerry Hairston Jr. (spot)- 1/4, run

Juan Pierre (start)- pinch hit 0/2

Conor Jackson (start)-0/4

C.C Sabathia (sit)- L 8ip/1e/5w/8k

Kevin Youkilis (sit)- 0/3


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

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

Week 5: Monday


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

------PE---27--6-27--3--.279/-3--3-44-3.35-1.31---4
------OP--28--6-31--2--.291/-0--4-36-3.93-1.25---5

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina-------- I. Rodriguez
Teixeira----------Ortiz
^Roberts---------Polanco
Braun------------ Hall
Betancourt------^Jeter
^Griffey----------Burrell
^C. Young--------M. Ramirez
Milledge----------Pierre
^Figgins----------Ibanez
Escobar---------^Keppinger
-----------------^G. Anderson
-------------------Lowell- DL

------PE------//-----OP
6/24-3-2-3-1 // 3/27-3-1-1-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang---------^J. Santana
Shields-----------Zambrano
Weaver----------Myers
^Cain------------Maine
S.Hill------------R. Johnson
Hughes----------Pettitte
Saito-------------Lohse
^Fuentes------^Rodriguez
Wood----------^Jenks
Acosta---------^Sherrill
R. Soriano-DL
Harden (DL)

-----PE--------//------OP
1W/0S, 11-0-5-7//0W/1S, 3-1-5-3 (daily tot: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(61/215) - OP (58/199)
Weekly Totals- ERA (19/(51/9) - OP ERA (21/(48/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (67/51) - OP WHIP (60/48) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE--0-----OP--0

Daily Activity:


Strategy: the biggest question for the opening day matchup of
week 5 is will the OP activate Santana who's pitching today. The
preference would be for PE to play this OP full strength. Regardless,
PE must manage as if this OP was all in due to the fact that every
other owner will face this squad so scoring well is mandatory. PE has
Cain and 5 active offensive players on Monday.

Game Keys: The PE behind James Shields complete game shutout of
the Red Sox was able to capture the point in ERA. Homeruns from
unlikely sources Roberts and spot play Betancourt offset a blast by
Longoria to half this point. The tied categories Steals and Saves
were split with the OP taking saves. The final count had PE down
5-4-1. in week 4. The Liriano blow up proved quite costly but this
OP played very well without Rollins and Soriano and deserved the
victory.

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


Final Thoughts:

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.

PE is in 4th place, 6.5 games out of 1st and 3 games behind the
3rd place team heading into week 5.



All Done!