Fantasy Player's Edge

May 20, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

A-Rod is due to return today.

Chone Figgins is expected to be activated sometime this
week. The ambiguity of this move makes it difficult to
plan his activation so stay tuned. He's eligible to come
off the DL today.

Carlos Gomez pinch ran in last night's Twins game and
stayed in to play CF going 1/2. He's expected back full
time today.

Hank Blalock's rehab is progressing nicely and he's due
back as a 1B later this week.

Andruw Jones had an MRI which revealed a torn cartilage
in his right knee. The Dodgers will wait a few days before
deciding on a course of action. A trip to the DL would create
stability for Kemp, Pierre and Ethier owners.

Jorge Posada is tracking for an early June return to the
Yankees lineup. The shoulder that put him on the DL may
require surgery after the season so it's likely that Posada
will play in discomfort all season. It's hard to recommend
using him until he proves out.

Jake Peavy is headed for the DL. Adjust your rotation to
reflect the 3-4 starts that will be missed.

John Smoltz is still experiencing shoulder discomfort when
he throws. It now appears that a late May return is too
ambitious. Depending on the severity of this setback he
might be delayed for several weeks. Soriano owners, who
have been holding on, are smiling just a little. Oh, has
anyone seen Rafael Soriano? He's scheduled to throw
today.

Joe Borowski is one and done. He'll throw an inning on
Wednesday and if all goes well will rejoin the Indians on
Thursday. He should be available to blow his first save
over the weekend.

C.J. Wilson gave up another save last night and now has
allowed 7 earned in his last 4.2 innings pitched. Everyday
Eddie Guardado is waiting in the wings.

King Felix Hernandez experienced calf tightness during
his start on Sunday. It's not believed to be serious but
it is worth keeping an eye on in the event that he's
skipped a start.

Rich Hill was placed on a 7 day minor league DL with
back spasms. He may not make it back to the Cubs
rotation for an extended period of time, if at all.

Pedro Martinez threw 77 pitches in a 4 inning
simulated game. He'll pitch a bullpen session on
Wednesday or Thursday. He's tracking to return
to the Mets by mid-June.

351. That's the number of innings used that would
keep you on track to deploy maximum innings (1250)
over the course of the season in Rotisserie. A number
significantly above or below should be a call to action.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Paul Byrd- flips off the ChiSox after every putout. 8-2, 4.22
/1.18 over 90 innings. The Tribe hurler fares better on the
road so it's all good.

Sidney Ponson- it's the annual oldies but goodies day in old
Streamerville. 9-2, 2.56/1.15 in 91 frames against the
Twinkies.


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

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

Marco Scutaro- the 21st century Scooter, acts a little bit like the
original. Beep-beep. 10/16 with 14 singles and 1 k vs. Garland.

Joey Cora- beats Brett like a tom-tom. 11/32 with a pair of
extras and 2 rbi vs. Tomko.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Bill Hall (start)- considers a trip to Pittsburgh incomplete
without a meet and greet with Maholm. 8/14, 4 extras,
2 jacks, 7 ribbies and 0 k's vs. Pitt's Paulie.

Justin Verlander (start)- needs a visit from the Mariners
to get his season back on track. Here they come. 4-0,
2.63/1.17 in 27 frames. Jussy gets a favorable opponent
at home where he's more effective. This is nirvana for
the legion of Verlanderites of Fantasyland.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Ryan Church (sit)- has been a tough out all year. He's a
bit overmatched in this one vs. Father Time Glavine.
1/12 with 6 k's.

Adrian Beltre (sit)- is among the legion of Verlanderites
of Fantasyland. 2/12 with 4 k's vs. Jussy.


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

Tim Redding (stream)- W 6.1ip/0e/9w/2k

John Lester (stream)- W 9ip/0e/2w/9k (no hitter)

Jim Edmonds (spot)- 1/5

Austin Kearns (spot)- DNP-injured

Juan Pierre (start)- 2/4, run, stolen base

Ryan Zimmerman (start)- 2/3

Miguel Tejada (sit)- 1/4, run, stolen base

Ryan Howard (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: Tuesday


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

-------PE--1--0-1--0--.556/-2-1-12--4.20--1.07---6
-------OP--2--1-3--1--.333/-0-0-0--0.00--0.00---4

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina-------- ^Soto
^Teixeira---------^Morneau
^Roberts----------^Matsui
^Braun------------^Zimmerman
^Escobar----------- empty
^Griffey-----------^Holliday
^C. Young---------^McLouth
^Kemp------------^Quentin
Figgins------------ ^Sizemore
^Gomez-------------C. Jackson
---------------------Hunter
---------------------Bruce
---------------------Tulowitzki (DL)


------PE------//-----OP
10/18-1-0-1-0 //6/18-2-1-3-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang-----------F. Hernandez
Shields-----------Carmona
Weaver---------^Cook
Cain--------------Scherzer
S.Hill-------------Rasner
^F. Cordero------Eveland
^Saito------------Volquez
^Fuentes---------G. Olson
^Wood----------- Saunders
Lilly--------------Smoltz-DL
Harden
^Bergmann

-----PE--------//------OP
2W/1S, 15-7-16-12//0W/0S, 0-0-0-0 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(10/18) - OP (6/18)
Weekly Totals- ERA (7/(15/9) - OP ERA (0/(0/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (16/15) - OP WHIP (0/0) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---8-----OP----10

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

Daily Activity:

PE Glaus(drop)/Bergmann-Mon
OP Rasner(drop)/Jackson-Tues
PE Bergmann(drop)/Byrd-Tues


Strategy: PE stream Bergmann will oppose OP Cook
today. OP replaced Rasner with Edwin Jackson but
OP starts hold at 10 as Jackson's starts later in the
week and Rasner was scheduled for tomorrow.
Bergmann was used to grab Byrd which gives PE 10
starts this week as well. Gomez returned as a
replacement in last night's game and appears to be
ready to return to the Twins lineup. Figgins is eligible
to be activated today and if he is, PE will use the Byrd
slot tomorrow to get him in the lineup. His AB's today
would be left on the bench. Shawn Hill was scratched
from his start today and his roster slot, reluctantly,
could be used for additional streams if necessary. PE
likes Hill but would gamble that he could be reacquired
off waivers when eligible. An owner has dropped Travis
Hafner and PE has tentatively used Griffey with the
12th waiver priority to bid for Pronk. PE is not sold on
this move and may delete the waiver by day's end.

Game Keys: Week 8 opens with PE leading 6-4 primarily
on the strength of pitching. PE had 2 starts and 2 closers
see action in the game last night while OP had no pitching
active. The closers registered a win and a save effectively
locking up saves for PE unless OP alters the starters only
strategy. PE also had a win from Ted Lilly. PE went 10/18
on offense with minimal category production while OP had
a 3 run inside the park homer by Soto as the centerpiece of
a solid 6/18 day. OP is still empty at SS while PE sends all
9 on offense including Escobar and Teixeira playing in a
twin bill.


Final Thoughts:

PE is in 3rd place, 5 games out of 1st and 1 game behind the
2nd place team heading into week 8.

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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