Fantasy Player's Edge

May 27, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Pedro Martinez will participate in a minor league game on
Wednesday and could be activated, if there are no issues,
in San Francisco for a Monday/Tuesday start next week.

John Smoltz's return to the closer role for the Braves has
been delayed due to the flu. He stayed in Atlanta and will
probably pitch an inning in the minors before coming on
board over the weekend. Rafael Soriano has once again
disappeared from the news but it would not be a surprise
if he was activated today.

Eric Gagne says that he will not need all 15 days to get
ready for his return to the Brewers. Someone advise
Eric that the DL is not an optional format.

Chad Cordero has been playing catch without pain. He'll
likely begin rehab in a couple of weeks and could return
to the Nationals by the end of June. Rauch has pitched
very well at the back of Washington's bullpen so there
would be no guarantee that Chad would reclaim the
closer role.

Aaron Harang went 4 scoreless frames of relief that
included 9 k's in the 18 inning marathon vs. the
Padres on Sunday. Arroyo will move up to take
Harang's normal turn on Wednesday with Aaron
returning as a starter on Thursday.

The Reds have called Jay Bruce up from Triple A
Louisville to play CF. Bruce is considered baseball's
top prospect. He's leading the International League
in hitting, batting .364 with 10 homers, 37 RBI
and eight stolen bases. His 67 hits are tops in the IL,
and he also ranks among the leaders in slugging
percentage (.630), runs (34), extra-base hits (24)
and RBI. If he's available take him immediately.
Patterson owners should release the veteran for
an everyday player.

Chone Figgins will be out for several more games as
the hamstring is still tender. It's a bit surprising that
he wasn't placed back on the disabled list so one might
conclude that he'll play on Friday vs. the Blue Jays
at home.

Chad Tracy saw his first game action this season at 1B
spelling Conor Jackson. Tracy is more likely to cut into
Reynolds PT than Jackson but you never know so keep
an eye on these developments if you own any of these
players. He went 1/4.

Ryan Church is still day to day with head trauma. He's
been pinch hitting daily but is still uncomfortable when
playing the field.

Jorge Posada looks as if he'll return next Tuesday, June
3rd after a 5 inning extended spring training game where
he caught, batted but did not throw to the bases. Expect
him to be used cautiously until they're certain that he can
handle the daily grind.

Garrett Atkins sat out again with a stiff neck as he tries
to avoid a stint on the DL.

Willy Taveras returned to the Rockies lineup last night.
If he can stay healthy he's a useful rotation guy when
steals and runs are needed. He had a run and steal last
night.

Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch with pain in his right
hand that affected his grip on the bat. He wasn't sure
what happened to cause the problem.

Gary Sheffield left the game with an oblique spasm.
This sounds like a day to day thing but bears watching
as Sheff has had several issues already during this
disappointing season.

There is some talk that Troy Tulowitzki may return in
about a month. At this stage that's purely speculation
and it's best to assume a mid-July return although it
would be a great boost to his loyal owners if he came
back early.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Matt Garza- the Rays are loaded with talented young guys
with Garza being a #3 behind Kazmir and Shields. He's
tough at home. 1-0, 1.42/.95 in 6 frames against Texas.

Shawn Estes- in come the lowly Nationals to Petco where
Estes carries a 3.00/1.18 in 39 innings. Specifically vs.
Washington he's 5-8, 3.19/1.45 over 99 innings, It's a
solid matchup for Shawn.


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

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

Craig Monroe- has the midas touch when facing Greinke. 7/18,
5 extras, 2 homers and 5 rbi.

Randy Winn- glad Doug Davis is healthy and pitching again
for all the wrong reasons. 11/24, 3 mults, 2 jacks and 4 rbi.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Torii Hunter (start)- wore out Bonderman during his Twins
days. 14/30, 6 extras, 6 rbi, 2 steals with only 3 k's.

Ken Griffey (start)- it's oldtimers day in start/sit land. He's
trying to crack 600 homers and Snell's serves are to Griff's
liking. 6/14 and a clout.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Adam Dunn (sit)- always has real problems with slick lefties.
2/20 with 7 k's against Snell.

Ricky Weeks (sit)- Hudson's movement gives him fits. 0/8
with 3 k's vs. the Braves ace.


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

Jason Bergmann (stream)- ND 5.2ip/0e/5w/8k

Bartolo Colon (stream)- W 7ip/1e/6w/4k

Coco Crisp (spot)- Washburn DNP

Scott Rolen (spot)- 1/4, run

Nick Swisher (start)- 1/5

Adrian Beltre (start)- 0/4

Travis Hafner (sit)- DNP

Michael Young (sit)- 1/4


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--3--0--4--0--.280/-0-1-10--0.00--0.90---5
-------OP--3--0--1--0--.370/-1-0--9--4.70--0.91---2

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina----------^Johjima
^Teixeira----------^Pujols
^Roberts----------^Uggla
^Braun------------^DeRosa
^Escobar----------^Guillen
^Griffey-----------^J. Upton
^C. Young---------^Dunn
^Kemp----------- ^Granderson
Figgins------------^K. Johnson
^Gomez------------Helton
--------------------Swisher
--------------------H. Matsui



------PE------//-----OP
7/25-3-0-4-0 //10/27-3-0-1-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang-----------^Hudson
Shields-----------^Jimenez
Weaver------------Moyer
Cain--------------^Snell
Harden------------Maddox
^F. Cordero------^Gregg
^Saito------------^Corpas
^Fuentes---------^Springer
^Wood-------------Peavy-DL
Lilly--------------- Accardo-(DL)
Martinez-DL
^Laffey


-----PE--------//------OP
0W/1S, 6.2-0-6-10//1W/0S, 7.2-4-7-9 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(7/25) - OP (10/27)
Weekly Totals- ERA (0/(6.2/9) - OP ERA (4/(7.2/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (6/6.2) - OP WHIP (7/7.2) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---8-----OP----8

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

Daily Activity:

PE Bergmann(drop)/Laffey-Mon
PE Laffey(drop)/Garza-Tues


Strategy: PE caught a bit of a strategy break with the news
that Pedro will not be activated this week. That'll free up a
flex spot for streams and spot plays as needed throughout the
week. It's been reported that Figgins will miss several more
games but will not be placed on the DL. An educated guess
has him returning on Friday at home vs. the Blue Jays. Laffey
was released for Garza on Wednesday giving each side 9 starts
for the week. OP has 3 SP's, a closer and 2 set up types active
today with PE having 1 SP and 4 closers on the bump. Both
teams should have a full compliment of offensive starters.


Game Keys: OP had 7 players on offense generate a 10/27 with
3 runs and 1 rbi. PE with only 6 going went 7/25, 3 runs and 4
rbi from Teixeira. Neither team could muster a homer or a steal.
The early pitching matchups were effectively a wash with PE
getting a save and OP a win. OP will get separation in K's today
with 3 SP's but PE will challenge in K's by Friday with 6 starts
compared to 1 for OP during that stretch. PE has a 5-2 advantage.


Final Thoughts:

PE is tied for 2nd place, 4.5 games out of 1st heading into week 9.
PE is 23-7 over last 3 weeks enabling the climb to the coveted 2nd
place position.

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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