The Player's Edge welcomes your comments and will try
to answer questions in the context of the narrative.
Roster Shuffle:
Vernon Wells has a broken wrist and was placed on the DL.
Realistically this sounds like a couple of months of healing
and rehab. Wait for additional details but if it is a few month
thing then Vernon needs to be released. Moises Alou or
Michael Cuddyer should be grabbed out of free agency to
offset the loss of Wells.
Chone Figgins was DLed with a sore hamstring retroactive
to May 4th.
Eric Chavez's rehab is going according to plan and he should
join the A's when eligible on the 27th. If you're desperate for
3B or CI grab him now and stash him away.
Nomar Garciaparra has begun his rehab and could return on
the 16th. Same tune with Nomar, if you need a spot play at
1B, 3B or CI take him out of free agency today. He won't get
enough AB's to occupy a full time roster spot.
Ken Griffey returned to the Reds lineup and Baker did start
him vs. Santana in the afternoon makeup game. Junior went
2/5 with a couple of rbi. He started the nightcap as well going
2/4 giving him a 4/9 with 3 rbi on the day.
Brian Roberts left after a 1st inning rain delay with a bruised
foot and is listed as day to day. A bruised foot base stealer is
not ideal. He'll probably miss a game or 2 so you might consider
Freddy Sanchez as a spot play. Sanchez, a professional hitter,
is sitting at .254 so logic dictates that he's got a few hits coming.
Anyone see Rafael Furcal? His owners have to be frustrated
as Furcal indicated daily that he was going to return. Always
check lineups before activating an injured player....always!!
Mad Max Scherzer pitched very well again going 6 innings
with no runs, 6 whip and 6 k's for a no decision.
Dontrelle Willis has resumed pitching and will get a start on
Monday followed by another on Friday for Triple A Toledo.
That would put him on schedule to return to the Tigers
rotation on May 21st. By all means give him a start, two
or even 3 before you activate him. He's been shaky for a
couple of years.
Jason Isringhausen has come undone and wants a rest
from closing. LaRussa has appointed Ryan Franklin and
Russ Springer as possible successors. Tony's leaning
towards Franklin but PE sees Springer as the stronger
candidate due to Russ' better k/ratio. Issy looks like he
might be this year's recipient of the Brad Lidge award
for meltdowns.
Another "Lidge" candidate Eric Gagne came into a tie game
and promptly allowed 2 earned on 3 hits. Yost has to at least
be thinking about making a change to either Mota or Torres.
Chad Cordero is lifting weights to strengthen his shoulder and
may return in about a month. It bears watching as Cordero is
a free agent in many leagues.
Rafael Soriano is scheduled to throw a bullpen session sometime
this weekend. He received a clean bill of health after an MRI and
bone scan so let's see if he can actually throw a baseball without
elbow pain.
Jeremy Accardo was placed on the DL by the Blue Jays with a
strained right forearm. He should not be on anyone's roster.
A blind 78 year old man nicknamed "The Hammer" bowled a
perfect game yesterday. This is why Pete Weber will never be
cool.
Streamers: (tomorrow's probable starters available as free agents)
Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.
Barry Zito- this would be the absolute best opportunity for
his annual and only lights out start. Let's call it an $18 million
performance. 1-0, 1.29/.86 over 7 innings vs. the Astros.
Nelson Figueroa- another obscure starter actually looks
fantastic against the Nationals. 1-1, 2.76/1.10 with 17 k's
in 36 frames.
Spotties: (tomorrow's position players available as free agents)
Use these players to fill in for injured players and on off days.
Eric Hinske- takes 12 from column A and 2 from column B from
Wang's menu of offerings. 12/27, 2 homers with only 3 k's.
Milton Bradley- brazenly batters Bedard. 4/9 and a big fly.
Start/Sit: (today)
Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.
Johnny Damon (start)- sees Robertson and treats him just like
Bonderman. Hits ahoy matey. 8/22, 2 mults, 5 rbi and only 4 k's.
Ricky Weeks (start)- is just plain loopy when it comes to Braden.
6/15, 3 extras, a homer, 3 rbi and a steal.
Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.
Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.
A.J. Burnett (sit)- always gets a rude reception at the Jake.
1-3, 8.46/2.10 vs. the Tribe.
Derek Lee/Aramis Ramirez (sit)- a rare double sit as both of
these guys are awful vs the Big Unit. Lee is 4/22 with 13 k's
while Ramirez has been fanned 12 times while going 3/17.
Studs and Duds: (a recap of yesterday's picks and pans)
Greg Smith (stream)- pitched Fri
Tim Redding (stream)- pitched Fri
Frank Thomas (spot)- 1/4, 2 rbi
Chris Duncan (spot)- 1/2, homer, 2 rbi.
Jermaine Dye (start)- 0/4, run
Johnny Damon (start)- 1/5
Carlos Beltran (sit)- 1/3 (vs. Arroyo)
Nick Swisher (sit)- 2/5, rbi
How To: (this section is devoted to the fundamentals of daily play)
Head To Head: Player's Edge(PE) vs. Opposition(OP):
Week 5: Sunday
Weekly Tot: R-H-RB-SB -BA/ W-SV-K ER-WH -SCORE
-------PE--21--5-20--6--.273/-2-7-54--4.97-1.29---6
-------OP--22--5-26--1--.248/-2-1-38--5.14-1.49---2
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
12/38-4-1-5-0 //13/32-7-11-1-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)
Pitching: Rotation-Closers
-----PE----/------OP
Harang-----------Sheets
Shields-----------Miller
Weaver---------- Beckett
Cain--------------Bonderman
^S.Hill------------Glavine
^F. Cordero-----^Batista
^Saito------------Buehrle
^Fuentes------- ^Putz
^Wood----------^Lyon
Buchholz---------
Lilly
^Harden
-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 0-0-0-0//1W/0S, 18-8-23-16 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)
Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(50/183) - OP (39/157)
Weekly Totals- ERA (32/(58/9) - OP ERA (28/(49/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (75/58) - OP WHIP (73/49) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---2-----OP----1
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
PE Figgins(DL)/Harden(activated)-Sun
Strategy: OP tied up Wins last night. With Figgins going
on the DL he opened a spot for Harden. Shawn Hill will
get a start at 1:35 EST and his performance will dictate
whether Harden is used at 3:05 EST vs. the Rangers.
OP starter Batista, normally unreliable, matches up very
well with the White Sox going 3-1, 3.06/1.06 career vs.
the Pale Hose. PE has to play the point for this reason.
PE will use all 4 closers as another source of a possible W.
PE is risking the point in ERA to gain the point in Wins.
Week 7 OP features an offense led by V-Mart, Miguel
Cabrera, Crawford, Atkins, Tejada, Rios and Pence. The
excellent balance of speed (Crawford, Rios, Pence) and
power (Martinez, Cabrera, Atkins, Tejada) is formidable
and presents difficulties for PE especially without Figgins.
OP SP's are solid with aces Wang, Burnett, Penny, Vasquez
and Lackey joining Mussina and Garland. Gagne is the OP's
only closer. The OP currently has 10 starts on the roster
this week compared to 12 for PE. OP has a potential 8 starters
on offense with 6 active for PE on Monday, if Roberts returns
from his foot injury. This OP matches up very well with PE
in every category except for saves.
Game Keys: PE knew it was coming so it's no surprise to
see Beltran and Wright come alive against the mediocre
Matt Belisle. They combined to go 4/6 with 4 runs and
6 rbi in the 1st game of a day/night doubleheader to help
OP take control of those categories. OP's offense went
13/32 with 11 rbi. The count is 6-2 PE with Wins and
Homers tied. The loss of Brian Roberts to a foot injury
further hampers PE in Runs where OP leads by 1. BA
is actually a bit worrisome as OP's lineup has turned on.
PE controls Steals, WHIP, K, Saves with BA safe if PE
betters a substandard day on offense (8/32). OP would
have to nearly duplicate yesterday's offensive outburst at
14/36 to overcome the deficit should PE's offense come in
light. It is a distinct possibility which is why it's worrisome.
OP has RBI in hand. Runs, Homers, Wins and ERA are in
play.
^ -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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