The Player's Edge welcomes your comments and will try
to answer questions in the context of the narrative.
Roster Shuffle:
John Smoltz is feeling better and should be back closing for
the Bravo's by the last week of May. Rafael Soriano owners
may want to hang on until Smoltz has a couple outings to see
if he's going to hold up. Realistically Soriano, if he ever returns,
is probably worthless.
John Lackey had his final rehab last night and should be on the
hill for the Angels vs. the White Sox in Anaheim on the 14th.
Justin Verlander believes his problems are mechanical. Jim
Leyland says Justin just needs to revert back to 2007, rear back,
trust his stuff and challenge hitters. His owners could care less,
they just want the big righthander to get it fixed...........now!!!!!
Yovani Gallardo will have surgery next week to repair a torn
ACL. All owners save keeper leagues should drop Yovani.
Pedro Martinez through 60 pitches yesterday and felt good.
There's still no official timetable for his return. The Edge
guesses on or about Memorial Day.
Welcome back Jimmy Rollins from the weirdest stint on the
DL in the history of fantasy baseball. J-Roll-ed with a 3/5,
3 rbi and a 2 run jack in his triumphant return.
Alex Rodriguez took batting practice, hit several homeruns,
without any issues. He'll take another MRI on Monday, rehab
Tuesday/Wednesday and has a shot to return over the next
weekend.
Jorge Posada also took BP and will begin light throwing early
next week. He could be ready to return by mid-June.
Chone Figgins may end up on the DL after all. He was not able
to run at full speed in a workout yesterday. At the minimum
he's out for the weekend.
Rafael Furcal missed a 3rd consecutive game, this one after an
off day, with back problems. PE will reiterate that these issues
caused Furcal to miss the final 12 games of the 2007 campaign.
Chris Young has been moved down to the 3rd hole in the D'Back's
lineup. It may cost his owners some steals but the rbi upside is
considerable. Justin Upton batted cleanup Thursday with Conor
Jackson hitting 4th yesterday. Melvin is trying to get him more
fastballs in an effort to reduce his k's. He's hit homeruns in each
of the 2 games that he's batted 3rd.
Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez returned to their accustomed
DH and C roles in the Indians lineup.
Michael Young also returned last night.
Erick Aybar got plunked on the wrist by a James Shields fastball
and had to leave the game. If you're using Aybar, plan for him to
miss a few days so it might be wise to grab Yuniesky Betancourt
of the fossilized remains of Omar Vizquel.
Troy Glaus and Vernon Wells left their respective games last
night. Glaus has a sore triceps after getting plunked by a pitch
while Wells injured his wrist making a diving catch. Expect both
to miss the rest of the weekend so adjust accordingly. If you have
a flex play you might want to grab Sweeney or Freel for a few
AB's tomorrow.
Ken Griffey owners got lucky as he was scratched late with an
illness in a matchup vs. the Mets that was ultimately rained out.
These clubs will play 2 today and it's doubtful that Baker will use
Griffey in the opener vs. Santana even if he feels strong enough
to play. This might be a good day to sit Griffey if he's a starter on
your squad.
Brandon Phillips is still bothered with a sore calf, the result of a
foul ball. There's no word on his availability today so check the
Reds/Mets box around noon EST.
Leyland gave the slumping Curtis Granderson the night off. He
should be back leading off tomorrow but I-Rod manned the 1 hole
last night and went 3/4 with 2 runs and 2 rbi........so who knows.
From the "will work for beer" department the Blue Jays acquired
Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench. These players will be bronzed
and mounted at opposite ends of the bench as a reminder to the
rest of the Blue Jays of what becomes of lifetime .240 hitters who
can't catch.
Streamers: (tomorrow's probable starters available as free agents)
Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.
Shawn Hill- has a degree in taxidermy and of all of his trophies
the most prized are the Florida Marlins that grace his home
stadium. 2-1, 3.24/1.17 with 31 k's over 33 frames. Hill's a
better a pitcher at home.
Jeff Suppan- another devoted homeboy welcomes one of his
favorite patsies to Miller Park. 5-2, 3.32/1.24 over 62 innings
vs. the Cardinals.
Spotties: (tomorrow's position players available as free agents)
Use these players to fill in for injured players and on off days.
Mike Sweeney- takes his lucky leprechaun with him on this visit
to Texas. Ponson has no such charm to stifle Iron Mike. 17/36,
6 extras, 4 jacks, 8 rbi and a stolen base for good measure.
Ryan Freel- twists and shouts when Oliver toes the rubber. Motor
boy is 9/26 with 4 steals versus Perez.
Start/Sit: (today)
Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.
Johnny Damon (start)- has formed an amazing Bond with the
man they call Jeremy. 15/35, 9 extras, 2 jacks and 6 rbi with
only 3 k's vs Bonderman.
Jermaine Dye (start)- Washburn will be "Sleepless" in Seattle
with Dye in town. 20/47, 7 mults, 3 blasts and 9 rbi.
Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.
Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.
Nick Swisher (sit)- it's getting to the point where Nick the
Swish needs to sit against everyone. 2/19 vs. Washburn.
Carlos Beltran (sit)- he can hardly believe it himself. Claims
he distracted by Bronson's coiffure. 1/11 with 4 k's.
Studs and Duds: (a recap of yesterday's picks and pans)
Ted Lilly (stream)- W 7ip/1e/5w/10k
Ricky Nolasco (stream)- W 6ip/1e/6w/6k
Adam LaRoche (spot)- 0/3, run
Jim Edmonds (spot)- cut by Padres
Jason Giambi (start)- 2/4, homer, rbi.
Todd Helton (start)- 1/3, run
Travis Hafner (sit)- 2/3, run
Ryan Zimmerman (sit)- 0/4
How To: (this section is devoted to the fundamentals of daily play)
Head To Head: Player's Edge(PE) vs. Opposition(OP):
Week 5: Saturday
Weekly Tot: R-H-RB-SB -BA/ W-SV-K ER-WH -SCORE
-------PE--17--4-15--6--.262/-2-7-54--4.97-1.29---8
-------OP--15--4-15--0--.208/-1-1-22--5.81-1.61---0
Offense: Lineups:
-----PE-----/----- OP
^B.Molina---------^Varitek
^Teixeira---------^Pena
^Roberts----------^Kent
^Braun------------^Wright
^Escobar----------^Furcal
^Griffey---------- ^Ordonez
^C. Young---------^Bay
^Kemp------------^Beltran
Figgins------------^Giambi
^Cuddyer----------Weeks
--------------------Kapler
--------------------Aurillia
------PE------//-----OP
6/33-3-1-2-1 //7/24-1-1-3-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)
Pitching: Rotation-Closers
-----PE----/------OP
Harang----------^Sheets
Shields----------^Miller
Weaver---------- Beckett
Cain------------ ^Bonderman
S.Hill-------------Glavine
Verlander--------Batista
Saito-------------Buehrle
Fuentes-------- ^Putz
Wood---------- ^Lyon
Buchholz---------
Lilly
Harden (DL)
-----PE--------//------OP
2W/2S, 18-2-7-20//0W/0S, 8-2-10-3 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)
Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(38/145) - OP (26/125)
Weekly Totals- ERA (32/(58/9) - OP ERA (20/(31/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (75/58) - OP WHIP (50/31) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---2-----OP----4
Daily Activity:
PE Smith(drop)/DeJesus-Sun
PE DeJesus(drop)/Lewis-Mon
PE Lewis(drop)/Cuddyer-Tues
PE Betancourt(drop)/Verlander-Wed
PE Verlander(trade)/Cordero-Sat
Strategy: OP starts Sheets, Bonderman and Miller today
which will define PE's pitching strategy for Sunday. PE has
Shawn Hill and Harden available. Additionally PE will
welcome Francisco Cordero to the roster on Sunday as the
Verlander trade has been consummated. PE received some
bad news as it looks like Figgins will go on the DL. There are
a couple of possible implications associated with the Figgins
scenario. OP could pitch very well today requiring Harden to
be activated by PE from the DL. With the close point races
in HR, Runs and RBI, Cuddyer will probably be needed on
Sunday leaving Buchholz to be dropped to activate Harden.
PE would prefer not to activate Harden until his next start on
Friday which would allow for a full compliment of starters on
offense (including Cuddyer) and a Buchholz start next week
before a decision has to be made on Harden. That would allow
for a Figgins return the following week with a minimum of
roster disruption. OP's pitching performance today holds
the key to PE strategy for the next 9 days.
Game Keys: Ted Lilly was masterful yesterday shutting
down Arizona. He went 7 innings allowing 1 earned on 5
whip while fanning 10 to pick up the W. James Shields
was even better throwing a one WHIP, complete game
shutout against the Angels. PE's composite pitching line
was an incredible 18ip/2e/7w/20k while picking up 2
wins and 2 saves. The saves closed out the category as
PE has an insurmountable 7-1 advantage. PE also has
significant leads in Steals and K's and comfortable margins
in ERA, WHIP and BA. Going into Saturday, Runs, Homers,
RBI and Wins are very much in play with BA, ERA and
WHIP in reach if OP comes up big with the 3 starters and
on offense. PE will bench all pitching on Saturday as a
precaution. PE leads 8-0 week to date.
^ -designates an active player on today's roster.
Final Thoughts:
PE is in 5th place, 8.5 games out of 1st and 2 games behind the
2nd place team heading into week 6.
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.
All Done!
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