Fantasy Player's Edge

May 29, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Carlos Guillen has hemorrhoids and will probably sit or
stand for a couple of games. He sat last night.

Howie Kendrick actually played in a game on Tuesday
at Triple A Salt Lake. If the strain of playing the game
was not too debilitating he may decide to play another.
China could return over the weekend if he holds up.

Matt Holliday has already circled June 10th on the
calendar for his return to the Rockies and more
importantly to his fantasy owners.

Rafael Furcal is "officially" out for the weekend games
in New York. The Dodgers return home on Monday
to face the Rockies and perhaps Furcal will rejoin the
team during that homestand.

Travis Hafner says that he will return to the Indians
lineup on Friday dispelling the theory that his sore
shoulder is the reason that he's slumped during the
past 2 seasons. His fall from grace has been precipitous.

Corey Patterson has been optioned to Triple A Louisville
in deference to the arrival of Jay Bruce and his .200 BA.

Pedro Martinez had a successful final rehab start at Class
A St. Lucie. Pete buzzed through 6 innings throwing 82
pitches while allowing 2 earned on 4 whip with 6 k's. The
Mets have him penciled in for a Tuesday night start in San
Francisco. He was one upped by the Rays top of the draft
selection David Price who was overpowering going 6 innings
yielding only 2 hits with 9 k's while opposing Martinez.

Troy Percival slipped on the mound after throwing a pitch
for a 3rd strike in the 9th inning of the Rays win over the
Rangers. He limped off and Dan Wheeler came on to pick
up the final out and the save. He was scheduled for an
MRI. Wheeler or Al Reyes would close if Percy has to
be disabled.

Rafael Soriano was finally activated by the Braves. It
remains to be seen what role he will have in their
bullpen. He did not pitch last night.

John Smoltz will pitch an inning at Single A Rome
tonight and most likely will rejoin the Braves on
Saturday.

Jake Peavy is rarin' to go. He's eligible to be activated
on Friday and would like to pitch this weekend. This
seems unlikely considering that he just began soft
tossing on Tuesday. All things considered he should
return next week.

Ian Kennedy joins his stablemate Philip Hughes on the
DL with a pulled lat muscle. The inability of these 2
young arms to pitch effectively this season is the main
reason the Yankees are adding Chamberlain to the
rotation. Do you see how one owner's dark cloud is
another's silver lining. What a profound game we play!!


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Todd Wellemeyer- sees the Pirates as his ticket to ride.
2-1, 3.41/1.23 with 32 k's in 32 innings.

Kevin Millwood- returns from the DL to face Oakland at home
where he pitches a little bit better. 3-3, 4.29/1.43 with 45 k's
in 56 innings against the A's. This guy is not an ideal stream
candidate but could be used for a "lucky" win and 4-6 k's.


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

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

Jim Edmonds- may have a few good AB's left until he sails
off into the sunset. 7/13, 3 extras, 2 homers, 6 rbi with just
1 k vs. Aaron Cook.

Casey Blake- Meche has real issues with Casey at the Bat.
11/25, 2 extras, 12 rbi and only 2 k's.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Aaron Rowand (start)- one of the few hitters who welcomes
facing the Big Unit. 6/16, 3 extras, a homer and 3 rbi.

Juan Pierre (start)- clubs Claudio Vargas like a power hitter.
9/17 with 5 extra base hits and naturally, 2 swipes.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Brad Penny (sit)- seems to always blow up against the Mets
and struggles away from Dodgers Stadium. Obviously this
start at Shea is the perfect storm for Penny. 5-12, 6.21/1.54
over 116 innings.

Brandon Phillips (sit)- treats Zach Duke like royalty. 0/9.


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

Matt Garza (stream)- W 8ip/2e/6w/10k

Shawn Estes (stream)- L 5ip/4e/6w/3k

Craig Monroe (spot)- 1/1, homer, 3 rbi (pinch hit)

Randy Winn (spot)- 0/4, 2 runs

Todd Helton (start)- 1/3, rbi

Jim Thome (start)- 0/3

Mike Jacobs (sit)- 0/1 (pinch hit)

Nick Swisher (sit)- DNP


How To: (this section is devoted to the fundamentals of daily play)


Head To Head: Player's Edge(PE) vs. Opposition(OP):

Week 5: Thursday


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

-------PE--10--1--14--0--.312/-2-3-27--1.50--1.00---7
-------OP--10--2---9--1--.271/-1-0-26--6.91--1.79---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
12/32-4-0-5-0 //5/24-5-0-2-0 (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
^Lannan


-----PE--------//------OP
1W/0S, 16-4-14-15//0W/0S, 1-1-3-0 (day: W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(29/93) - OP (23/85)
Weekly Totals- ERA (5/(30/9) - OP ERA (21/(27.1/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (30/30) - OP WHIP (49/27.1) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---7-----OP----5

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

Daily Activity:

PE Bergmann(drop)/Laffey-Mon
PE Laffey(drop)/Garza-Tues
PE Garza(drop)/Lannan-Wed
PE Lannan(drop)/Millwood-Thur


Strategy: PE dropped Lannan for Millwood looking for K's
primarily and hopefully a "lucky" W. Millwood has never
been a trustworthy fantasy option and is coming off the DL.
PE would have 5 SP's on Friday due to Cain being moved up
a day although he will pitch on normal rest. That means that
2 closers will have to sit if Millwood is used. PE wanted to
stream a Rangers starter but it was Feldman, who was
bumped a day to make room for Millwood. With streams on
Saturday and Sunday PE will have 9 starts remaining to OP's
5 which include very good matchups for Hudson and Moyer
on Sunday. OP will send a possible 7 on offense today vs. a
potential 8 for PE.


Game Keys: PE pitching is in the spotlight through Friday with
7 starts to OP's 1. PE stream Matt Garza was brilliant going 8
innings allowing 2 earned, 6 whip with 10 k's while earning the
victory. Richie Harden was also terrific in a no decision. Saito
blew a save against the Cubs. PE's combined 15 k's were just
enough to seize the category by 1. PE offense went 12/32 to
surge ahead in BA capitalizing on a poor 5/24 for OP but PE
continued a 2 week pattern of power and speed shortages.
OP controls HR and Steals by 1 in each with Runs being tied.
PE leads 7-2 with all categories still in play including ERA and
WHIP.


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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