The Player's Edge welcomes your comments and will try
to answer questions in the context of the narrative.
Roster Shuffle:
Mark Teixeira did not return to the Braves lineup last
night as he continues to deal with back problems. He's
expected to return today but check the starting lineup
this evening before you activate big Tex.
Jeff Keppinger suffered a right knee fracture from a foul
ball in the 2nd inning. He'll take an MRI tomorrow and
will certainly hit the DL. This sounds like a few months
of healing at the minimum.
Eric Byrnes has been taking treatments 6 hours before
games for his ailing hamstring. He's getting closer to 100%
which could not happen soon enough for owners who were
expecting 35-40 steals on the season when they selected
him during the early rounds of drafts.
Howie "China" Kendrick's 71st MRI on his left hamstring
revealed no new damage whatsoever to which Howie
proclaimed "I have a strain". Duh!!! He's still 7-10 days
from returning to the active roster and 8-11 days from
re-returning to the DL. He also being treated for an MRI
fetish.
Josh Willingham is eligible but will not be activated from
the DL. He took BP yesterday and if all went well he can
rehab later this week with a possible return over the
weekend. It's best, however, to assume that he'll be
back sometime next week.
Jacoby Ellsbury sat again as it was revealed that he's
dealing with a bruised left knee.
Milton Bradley will ride the pine for a few days with a
sore right shoulder. He's often a solid spot play when
he's healthy.
Hank Blalock looks like he'll return to the Rangers lineup
on Friday. He may be a better option than you're currently
using for A-Rod so grab him on Thursday if it's certain that
he's going to be activated.
Apparently, Andruw Jones is now the Dodgers 4th OFer.
There's no plausible reason to own a 400 pound part time
centerfielder.
Chris Young returned to the leadoff slot and Orlando Hudson
was back in the lineup for the D'Back's last night. Melvin's
experiment with Young was short lived as the gifted OF'er
struck out just as often batting third. Young adjusted well
going 3/5 with 3 runs and 0 k's.
J.D Drew left last night with a left wrist injury.
John Lackey makes his season debut tonight vs the ChiSox.
Rafael Soriano threw all his pitches in a bullpen session and
miraculously proclaimed that he was painfree. He should
return to the Braves just in time to be Smoltz's caddie.
Eric Gagne returned to closer's role after a 2 game hiatus
to earn a save. He did allow 2 baserunners before shutting
the door on the Dodgers. The Brewers 9th inning drama is
by no means resolved. If you grabbed Mota/Torres wait for
another Gagne appearance or 2 before waiving either.
"Every Day" Eddie Guardado vultured a save last night
from a resting C.J. Wilson. Wilson has been inconsistent
of late so this scenario bears watching.
Charlie Manuel is a master of ballplayer psychology. He
waxed philosophically that Ryan Howard, he of the .181
batting average and 56 k's in 144 AB's, was just going
through what all ballplayers go through. After pondering
the incredible wisdom of Charlie's musings the big fella
went 2/4 with a big rbi. Of course Howard did add 2 more
strikeouts to his record setting pace.
Interleague play begins next Friday. Plan for it as DH's
like Thome, Thomas, Sheffield and Hafner could miss
some or all of the weekend's action.
Streamers: (tomorrow's probable starters available as free agents)
Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.
Joel Pineiro- trains his cannon on the harbor as he waits for the
Pirates to sail within range. 3-0, 1.74/.97 with 11 k's over 21
innings.
Aaron Laffey- the A's find nothing to Laffey about when facing
this guy. 1-2, 1.83/.86 over 20 frames with Aaron performing
better on his home turf.
Spotties: (tomorrow's position players available as free agents)
Use these players to fill in for injured players and on off days.
Brian Giles- Punch and Judy Giles emulates Babe Ruth when
Dempster take this hill. 13/32, 6 extras, 2 jacks and 10 rbi.
Mark Teahen- yet another ballplayer who's formed a Bond
with derMan. 9/24, 6 mults, 3 clouts, 6 rbi and a steal.
Start/Sit: (today)
Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.
Brad Hawpe (start)- one of the very few who's excited to face
Webb. 14/42, 7 extras, 4 big flys and 12 rbi vs. the D'Back's
answer to Cy Young.
Hideki Matsui (start)- Tampa is raising its protective Shields
as Godzilla approaches the stadium. It seems to be a futile
gesture. 6/10, 4 mults, 3 blasts and 5 rbi.
Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.
Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.
Kelly Johnson (sit)- fears that Myers will give him a beating
on the sidewalk outside of the stadium and it shows. 0/12
with 6 k's.
Daniel Cabrera (sit)- why in the world would he even show up
for this one? 1-9, 7.84/2.07 over 49 innings vs. the BoSox.
Studs and Duds: (a recap of yesterday's picks and pans)
Kyle Kendrick (stream)- W 6ip/3e/10w/2k
Kyle Lohse (stream)- ND 7ip/4e/6w/4k
Eric Hinske (spot)- 1/3, rbi (Wang pitched Tuesday)
Ronnie Belliard (spot)- 0/1 pinch hit
Mike Cameron (spot)- 2/4, run, rbi
Ken Griffey (start)-DNP
Conor Jackson (start)- 2/4, rbi
Ryan Zimmerman (sit)- 1/4, homer, 2 rbi.
Magglio Ordonez (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: Wednesday
Weekly Tot: R-H-RB-SB -BA/ W-SV-K ER-WH -SCORE
-------PE--13--2--7--0--.358/-3-2-23--4.15--1.38---8
-------OP---5--1--3--0--.295/-0-0-18--3.65--1.42---1
Offense: Lineups:
-----PE-----/----- OP
^B.Molina-------- ^Martinez
^Teixeira---------^Atkins
^Roberts---------^Pedroia
^Braun-----------^Cabrera
^Escobar--------- ^Tejada
^Griffey---------- ^Crawford
^C. Young--------- ^Rios
^Kemp------------ ^Pence
Figgins-------------^Sexson
^Cuddyer--------- Wells-DL
------------------- Willingham-DL
------PE------//-----OP
12/29-7-0-3-0 //10/29-4-1-1-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)
Pitching: Rotation-Closers
-----PE----/------OP
Harang------------Vasquez
^Shields-----------Wang
Weaver------------Burnett
Cain---------------Penny
S.Hill--------------Garland
^F. Cordero------^Bell
^Saito------------^Gagne
^Fuentes---------^Mussina
^Wood-----------^Lackey-DL
^Wellemeyer------Borowski-DL
^Lilly--------------Schmidt(DL)
Harden
-----PE--------//------OP
2W/1S, 22-5-25-14//0W/1S, 15-6-23-10 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)
Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(19/53) - OP (18/61)
Weekly Totals- ERA (16/(34.2/9) - OP ERA (10/(24.2/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (48/34.2) - OP WHIP (35/24.2) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---9-----OP----7
^ -designates an active player on today's roster.
Daily Activity:
PE Buchholz(drop)/Kendrick- Mon
PE Kendrick(drop)/Wellemeyer-Tues
PE Wellemeyer(drop)/Pineiro-Wed
Strategy: Teixeira and Griffey were benched last night.
Tex has back problems while Griffey was rested. The
loss of Teixeira for any period of time will put pressure
on the PE offense to outperform while being shorthanded
and may mitigate the streaming strategy as the week
wears on. The best outcome would be either a quick
return for Tex or several wins early so the streaming
play can be used on an offensive player. Teixeira is
expected back tonight so Wellemeyer was used to grab
Pineiro who has a favorable start tomorrow at home vs.
the Pirates. OP has Lackey, who makes his debut tonight,
on the roster but currently inactive. OP has not made any
moves so far this week and it's likely that this team is not
being actively managed this week. This type of thing
happens in public leagues, however, every other league
manager will draw this team so it's essential to score high
versus this type of OP. PE sends 3 to the bump today,
Shields, Lilly and Wellemeyer vs a possible 2 for OP,
Mussina/Lackey. Shields is a risky start as he has a poor
track record vs. the Yankees. He was brilliant at home last
week throwing a complete game, 1 whip shutout so he gets
the benefit of the doubt at home tonight where he's a better
pitcher. PE would sit Shields in a Rotisserie format where
quality innings are a premium.
Game Keys: The streaming strategy resulted in a win from
Kyle Kendrick although he was hardly dominant allowing 3e
and 10w over 6 innings. Weaver and Cain pitched well in the
late games with Weaver throwing 7 shutout frames with only
3 whip in a hard luck no decision while Cain registered a win
with 8 gritty innings vs. the Astros. OP had a hard luck start
from Wang as well while Penny was erratic through 6 ip.
Neither OP SP earned a win. Each team had a save. On offense
both squads hit well with PE led by Young's 3/5, 3 runs went
12/29 while OP had an Atkins homer as part of a 10/29. PE
currently holds an 8-1 advantage although every category is
still very much in play.
Final Thoughts:
PE is in 3rd place, 7 games out of 1st and 1.5 games behind the
2nd place team heading into week 7.
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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