Fantasy Player's Edge

June 6, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Jimmy Rollins was asked to leave yesterday's game vs. the
Reds in the 4th inning for not hustling. The Phillies spark
plug failed to run out a misplayed pop up and was pulled
from the game.

Travis Hafner could begin baseball activities this weekend.
He's been working on strengthening the shoulder muscles
hoping to regain his stroke. He's eligible to be activated on
Monday June 9th which seems unlikely at this time.

Vernon Wells will return mid to late next week from his
broken wrist. The rampant speculation is that this type
of injury will inhibit his power. The Edge speculates that
even a power-poor Wells is a better alternative than most
#3 OF's that populate the typical fantasy roster.

Matt Kemp has been suspended for 4 games for his part in
an altercation with Yorvit Torrealba, who was suspended
for 3. Both players have appealed.

Manny Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury had to leave the game
last night with non-brawl related issues. Jacoby sprained a
wrist on a diving catch while Manny tweaked a hamstring.
There is no update presently on the extent of either injury.

Matt Holliday's rehab start was pushed back one day due
to wet field conditions. He's been rescheduled to play from
Friday through Sunday returning to the Rockies on Monday.

Troy Tulowitzki may begin a rehab assignment as early as
next week and could be back well before the All Star break
which is when he was expected to return.

Brad Hawpe is eligible to return on Friday but it's unclear
whether he'll be activated at that time.

Ken Griffey finally returned to the Reds lineup yesterday.
Junior went 1/4 with 2 "almost" homers.

Takashi Saito, B.J. Ryan and Ryan Franklin blew saves
yesterday. Only Franklin would be in jeopardy of losing
his job with Isringhausen lurking in the shadows and
Chris Perez waiting in the wings.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Shaun Hill- has been pitching with forearm discomfort all
season. The normally reliable righthander has been overly
inconsistent this season, especially on the road. Hill returns
home to face the Giants for the 1st time in his career. 3/5,
3.42/1.21 over 92 innings lifetime at home including 0-0,
2.25/1.00 in 20 frames this season.

Dave Bush- about a week ago he corrected a mechanical flaw
which increased his velocity. His last start was his best of the
season. 1-0, 0.00/.83 in 6 innings vs. Rockies at Mile High city.
He's a better pitcher on the road.


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

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

Jose Lopez- has a propensity to stay on top of a knuckleball.
4/10, 4 extras, a jack and a couple of rbi vs. Wakefield.

Craig Monroe- a heat seeking missile targeting Buehrle's stuff.
14/36, 4 mults, 2 blasts, 3 ribeyes and a stolen base.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Ian Snell (start)- the Pirates ace has been unusable virtually all
season. He has a favorable opponent in Arizona coming for a
visit. 2-0, 2.55/1.42 with 25 k's in 25 frames. The only caveat
is he's facing Brandon Webb so he has no room for error.

Willy Taveras (start)- one of the few guys who has Ben Sheets
number. At the moment it's .500. 7/14 with 4 steals.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only.

Jason Bay (sit)- should continue sitting on the dock, wasting time.
0/12 with 5 k's against Webb.

Carlos Delgado (sit)- is very much afraid of the big bad Wolf.
3/23 with 10 k's vs. Randy.

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

Josh Banks (stream)- ND 6ip/1e/5w/3k

Brandon Backe (stream)- L 6ip/4e/11w/2k

Joey Gathright (spot)- 1/4, run, 2 steals

Aaron Hill (spot)- DNP-injured

Orlando Cabrera (start)- 2/4, 2 runs

Juan Pierre (start)- 0/4

Alex Rodriguez (sit)- 1/3, run, 2 rbi

Adam Dunn (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: Friday


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

-------PE--23--5--19--5--.302/-4-4-50--4.98--1.41---5
-------OP--20--5--20--5--.227/-2-0-26--4.78--1.27---3

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina----------^McCann
^Teixeira----------^D. Lee
^Roberts---------- ^Phillips
^Braun------------^A. Rodriguez
^Escobar----------^Young
^Griffey-----------^Ichiro
^C. Young---------^Abreu
^Kemp----------- ^Ankiel
^Gomez---------- ^Thome
Figgins (DL)------- Gordon
------------------ -J. Guillen
--------------------Lugo
--------------------Sheffield (DL)



------PE------//-----OP
9/32-5-1-2-2 //9/32-6-3-9-1 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang------------- Wainwright
Shields--------------Lowe
Weaver-------------Meche
Cain---------------- McGowan
Harden-------------Guthrie
^F. Cordero-------^Street
^Saito-------------^Marmol
^Fuentes----------^S. Shields
^Wood------------- G. Smith
Martinez
^Bergmann
^Wolf



-----PE--------//------OP
0W/1S, 9-6-12-9//0W/0S, 11.2-9-20-11 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(39/129) - OP (30/132)
Weekly Totals- ERA (40/(72.1/9) - OP ERA (20/(37.2/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (102/72.1) - OP WHIP (48/37.2) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---7-----OP----4

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

Daily Activity:

PE Laffey(drop)/Slowey-Mon
PE Reyes(drop)/Floyd-Mon
PE Slowey(drop)/Danks-Tues
PE Floyd(drop)/Parra-Tues
PE Danks(drop)/Banks-Wed
PE Parra(drop)/Gathright-Wed
PE Banks(drop)/Bergmann-Thur
PE Gathright(drop)/Wolf-Thur
PE Bergmann(drop)/Bush-Fri
PE Wolf(drop)/Hill-Fri


Strategy: Jason Bergmann and Randy Wolf were released
to make room for Dave Bush and Shaun Hill. Matt Kemp
was suspended for 4 games for fighting. He appealed and
most likely will play throughout the weekend. Griffey finally
returned to the PE offense. Strategy will be static until OP's
4 SP's complete their outings on Saturday.


Game Keys: Both teams had 2 starters yesterday with OP
sending Meche/McGowan vs. Shields/Banks for PE. Neither
team could secure a victory with PE getting another save
from Wood. PE has 2 SP'S today and 4 closers vs. 1 closer
and Marmol with Scot Shields probably unavailable tonight
for the Angels/OP due to a sore oblique. ERA/WHIP points
are still in play. The Gathright spot play produced 2 steals
which enabled PE to tie the point. OP blasted 3 homers and
had 9 rbi which resulted in OP taking the lead in RBI and
tying HR's. The OP offense is like a freight train gaining a
head of stream. PE offense is going to have to perform at
a high level or risk losing every point. Heading into the turn
PE clings to a 5-3 lead.


Final Thoughts:

Even with an 8-2 victory in week 9 PE fell to 3rd place 4
games out of 1st and 1.5 out of second place heading into
week 10. PE is 31-9 over last 4 weeks.

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!