Fantasy Player's Edge

May 1, 2008

The Player's Edge welcomes your comments and will try
to answer questions in the context of the narrative.


Roster Shuffle:

That was quick. Max Scherzer will make his first start
on Monday against the Phils. This D'Back rotation has
the makings of a show stopper if "Maximizes" is all
that.

The Big Unit got pelted by the Astros going 4 innings,
allowing 6 runs on 9 whip with only 2 k's. No need to
throw in the towel on his gangliness just yet. As long
as he's on the D'Back roster he should remain on yours.

John Smoltz mused that he'd consider a return to the
bullpen if it would help keep him healthy. Patient
Soriano owners didn't find Smoltz's comments very
amusing.

Tom Gorzelanny left after the 5th inning after his back
flared up on the mound. That's never a good thing.

The Chad Cordero chronicles have concluded with him
going on the DL purportedly for 4-6 weeks. Rauch may
keep the closer job all season.

Phil Hughes was disabled last night which clearly mirrors
his performances this year.

Angels phenom Nick Adenhart makes his MLB debut today
vs. the A's and should be watched closely.

J-Roll still feels a twinge in his ankle when he cuts and is
not a lock to be activated on Monday. Stay tuned.

Big Pronk Hafner was benched yesterday as he's in the
throes of a 7/51 funk which has him hitting .210. He
was pretty awful in 2007 and his owners have a real
quandry as he has no trade or lineup value currently.
Ride it out for now.

Carlos Quentin's been jammin' with 7 homers and 21/21
runs/rbi in 25 games. He's nice add if he's still available.

Paul Konerko's been jammin' as well except that it's his
hand. He sat out yesterday and the Pale Hose have the
day off so hopefully Paulie Cashews will be back on Friday.

The Mariners brought up top prospects Wladimir Balentien
and C Jeff Clement. Balentien has the RF job but it remains
to be seen what role Clement will play. If it's DH he has value
due to his C eligibility. Balentien smacked a 3 run homer and
Clement singled as a late inning substitute for the struggling
Johjima. Keep an eye on developments in Needle town.

A couple of days ago we noted that Micah Owings had a sore
ankle but as long as he could pinch hit it would be all good. So,
Micah pinch hits a 2 run homer yesterday to tie the game that
the D'Back's would ultimately win. Oh yeah, he'll take his turn
on Friday as well.



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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Mark Hendrickson- theology major has studied Padres behavior
extensively. 1-2, 1.83/.92 with 29 k's through 39 frames.

Carlos Villanueva- has a degree in Astrology and is excited to
find the moon in Minute Maid Park tomorrow. 1-1, 3.21/1.14
and 14k's in 15 innings.


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

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

Coco Crisp- snap, crackle and plenty of pop. Jackson has no
use for Rice Krispies or Coco Puffs for that matter. 5/16 with
a swipe and only 1 k.

Ben Broussard- gentle Ben caresses Blanton's curves. 4/11.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Raul Ibanez (start)- devout outdoorsman fancies Byrd hunting to
all other activities. 13/23, 4 extras, 2 jacks, 8 ribbies and only 1 k.

Johnny Damon (start)- lefty on lefty violence. 8/20 with 5 rbi.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Bill Hall (sit)- has the flu, a strained quad, a sore hamsting and
a migraine headache. Hopes Yost buys the story. 6/36 with
17 k's vs. Zambrano.

Kevin Youkilis (sit)- does a slow Burn at the mere sight of A.J.
1/10, 3 k's.


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

Jair Jurrjens (stream)-ND 7ip/1e/2w/3k

Nick Blackburn (stream)-W 7ip/3e/10w/4k

Jose Guillen (spot)- 0/4

Johnny Damon (spot)- 1/3, run

Hideki Matsui (start)- 1/4

Chad Billingsley (start)- W 7ip/1e/7w/8k

Andruw Jones (sit)-0/3, run

Bobby Crosby (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: Thursday


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

------PE---12--0-14--5--.321/-1--2-14-4.00-1.63---7
------OP--12--3--7--1--.286/--0--2--8-8.36-1.71---1

Offense: Lineups:

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

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

------PE------//-----OP
15/32-5-0-10-4 // 7/32-5-3-3-0 (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
^Betancourt----- Pettitte
^Saito------------Lohse
Fuentes---------^Rodriguez
^Wood-----------Jenks
R. Soriano ------^Sherrill
Harden (DL)

-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 16-6-23-6//0W/0S, 10-11-17-5 (daily tot: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(27/84) - OP (20/70)
Weekly Totals- ERA (12/(27/9) - OP ERA (13/(14/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (44/27) - OP WHIP (24/14) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE--5-----OP--5

Daily Activity:

PE Milledge(drop)/Kemp-Tues
PE Hughes(drop)/Damon-Wed
OP Pierre(drop)/Lowell(act-DL)-Wed
PE Acosta(drop)/R. Betancourt-Wed
PE Damon(drop)/Buchholz-Thur
PE Y. Betancourt(D)/Hendrickson-Thur


Strategy: The OP returned today dropping Pierre and activating
Mike Lowell and set a rotation for the week that has Zambrano,
Myers, Maine, Lohse and Santana active through Sunday. PE only
has Weaver, Shields and Cain scheduled the rest of the week. It's
going to be necessary to stream possibly from Friday through
Sunday as Wins and Strikeouts will favor the OP if nothing is done.
Damon and Betancourt will be used tomorrow for additional pitching.
A #4 priority waiver has been used for Scherzer who's eligible on
Friday. It's unlikely that he'll fall that far. Acosta was released for
R. Betancourt late last night on the basis that he pitched the
equivalent of 3 innings of wild relief and is off today while Betancourt
is active. Damon and Y. Betancourt were waived this morning for
Hendrickson and Buchholz to equalize the number of starts remaining
at 5 apiece. Hendrickson was then used as the Priority Waiver player
for Scherzer.


Game Keys: Shaun Hill was solid and Harang was pedestrian for PE
while Acosta lost a chance to pick up a win with a wild appearance
where he was credited with 2 earned on 7 whip over 2 innings while
taking the loss. R. Johnson and Pettitte were ineffective as well for
the OP. The offense came alive for PE, led by recent addition Matt
Kemp, going 15/32 with 10 rbi and 4 stolen bases. The OP could only
muster a 7/32 day but had 3 homers and tallied 5 runs. The match
stands at 7-1 for PE with Runs and Saves tied. The OP controls
Homers, 3-0 and has 9 active players on offense and Zambrano on
the bump today. PE features 6 active on offense with no starting
pitching. PE will have 3 closers available vs. 2 for OP.


^ -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!