Fantasy Player's Edge

June 24, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Gary Sheffield could be activated today by the Tigers.
It's not likely that he'll be the Sheff of old but if he's in
free agency he might be worth a flyer.

Nomar Garciaparra is resuming baseball activities today,
5 days earlier than what was recommended. He's eligible
to be activated tomorrow but he still has a way to go
before he returns to the Dodgers at SS.

Expect Ryan Church to return to the Mets, perhaps at
DH, for the Subway Series with the Yankees beginning
on Friday.

Chipper Jones will probably also return over the weekend
as a DH against the Blue Jays in Toronto. The quad is still
giving him problems.

Xavier Nady remains out with a bruised shoulder. There is
no timetable for his return.

Milton Bradley has been unable to go for the Rangers. The
Phillies visit Arlington on Friday and it's likely that Milton
will return as a DH during this series.

Kevin Youkilis was hit under the eye by a thrown ball in
between innings. He left the game for treatment and
should return to the Red Sox lineup today.

Chris Carpenter has been transferred to the 60 day DL.
He's not likely to return until September if at all this
season.

J.J. Putz is not expected to return until the All Star break
leaving Brandon Morrow with the Mariners closing gig.
Morrow, ironically, has been unable go due to back spasms
although he's expected to be available tonight.

Felix Hernandez sprained his left ankle covering home
but an x-ray was negative and King Felix is not expected
to miss a turn.

Shaun Marcum's MRI revealed only strained ligaments in
his elbow. Dr. James Andrews advised that he can resume
a throwing program as soon as Saturday.

Eric Bedard will skip his next start but is likely to avoid a
stint on the DL while his back spasms subside.

Interleague play continues next week. Plan for it as DH's
for Baltimore, Seattle, Texas, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, the
Yankees, the Angels and the White Sox could miss some
or all of the early week action. Thome, Damon, Matsui
and Giambi owners and spot players Floyd, Vidro, Huff
and Matthews could be adversely impacted.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Greg Smith- has never faced the Phillies but has done
his best work at home. 2-2, 2.84/1.21 with 27 k's in 38
frames this season at the McAfee Coliseum.

Tim Wakefield- the free swinging D-Backs are made to
order for the knuckleballer. 3-2, 3.89/1.30 in 39 innings
vs. Arizona.


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

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

David Eckstein- had tremendous success against Harang
when Eck was the Cards SS. 13/32 with 3 extras.

Brandon Inge- has hit Lohse hard in the past. 9/27 with
2 jacks.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Eric Chavez (start)- impressive stat line vs. lefty Moyer.
21/65, 9 mults, 6 blasts and 16 ribbies.

Ryan Ludwick (start)- Rogers deals to no avail. 5/9, 3
extras and a homer vs. the Gambler.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Jermaine Dye (sit)- has been red hot but likely to get
doused today. 4/21 with 4 k's vs. Lowe.

Pat Burrell (sit)- maybe he just had a bad day last time
vs. Blanton but it is what it is. 0/4 with 3k's.


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

JoJo Reyes (stream)- L 2.1ip/4e/8w/1k

Jeff Francis (stream)- L 4.1ip/7e/10w/3k

Sean Casey (spot)- DNP-suspension

Dmitri Young (spot)- 0/3

Raul Ibanez (start)- 0/4

Kelly Johnson (start)- 2/4, run

Prince Fielder (sit)- 0/4

Kevin Youkilis (sit)- 0/1- injured


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


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

Week 13: Tuesday


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

-------PE--1--0--2-2--.316/-0-0-3--14.54--2.31---6
-------OP--0--0--2-0--.182/-0-0-0--0.00--0.00---0

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina------------^Olivo
^Teixeira------------- Loney
^Roberts------------ ^Utley
^Braun--------------^Youkilis
^Escobar------------^Renteria
^Griffey-------------^Hamilton
^C. Young-----------^Ellsbury
^Kemp--------------^Victorino
^Figgins-------------^J.D. Drew
--------------------- ^Crede
----------------------Ludwick
----------------------Hafner (DL)


------PE------//-----OP
6/19-1-0-2-2 //2/11-0-0-2-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang--------------Webb
Shields--------------Hamels
Weaver-------------Lincecum
Cain----------------Oswalt
Harden-------------Myers
^F. Cordero-------^Rivera
^Saito-------------^Ryan
^Fuentes--------- ^Gonzalez
^Wood--------------Liriano
Martinez------------R. Hill
^Morrow
^Masterson


-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 4.1-7-10-3//0W/0S, 0-0-0-0 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(6/19) - OP (2/11)
Weekly Totals- ERA (7/(4.1/9) - OP ERA (0/(0/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (10/4.1) - OP WHIP (0/0) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---7-----OP----5

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

Daily Activity:

PE Francis(drop)/Masterson-Mon

Strategy: PE has 2 SP's and 5 closers going tomorrow
so there is no roster availability for a stream. It's likely
that PE will use the roster flex slot (Masterson) to spot
play on offense for Thursday. OP will have 7 hitters to
PE's 4 on that day. Clearly, PE must take W's, K's, Saves
to have a chance for a solid week against the 1st place
team. OP has no SP's until tomorrow when Roy Oswalt
toes the rubber but has 3 closers active. PE uses stream
Masterson in search of a W and 5 closers if Morrow can
go. Escobar returned last night so both clubs will have
full dance cards on offense. Strategy is fluid so tonight's
action will shed additional light on what needs to be done
to compete this week.


Game Keys: Jeff Francis has all but put ERA and WHIP
out of reach with his 7 earned, 10 whip, 4.1 inning outing
last night against the Royals. This OP's SP's are likely to
be low ERA/WHIP. Obviously it's early in the week but
this performance is going to be difficult to overcome. PE
had 2 steals yesterday and needs to continue this trend
as OP Ellsbury and Victorino are bound to swipe several
bases this week. The contest, for all intent, begins tonight
on offense. PE has one SP and 5 potential closers to OP's
3 closers.


Final Thoughts:

PE remains in 3rd place 3.5 points out of 1st and .5 out of
2nd place heading into a Week 13 fracas with the 1st place
team.

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!

Site Updated by 10:00 EST Daily.