Fantasy Player's Edge

July 13, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

David Ortiz will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday
at Triple A Pawtucket. Papi says he'll need about 8-10
games to get his timing down which should have him
returning to the BoSox lineup July 25th vs. the Yankees
at Fenway Park.

Hanley Ramirez came out of the game last night after
feeling discomfort in his shoulder while throwing out a
runner at 1B. He intends to play today but it's likely
that the Marlins will play it safe with the franchise.
Check the Marlins box at about 3pm EST to be sure.

Rick Ankiel fell awkwardly in the batter's box and had
to leave the game with a left ankle injury. The details
on the severity of the injury should be available today.

A.J. Pierzynski was hit by a pitch in the lower left leg
and removed from the contest.

Ryan Zimmerman will rehab all next week finishing at
Triple A Columbus from Thursday through Sunday. He
will then be activated if there are no setbacks along the
way.

Victor Martinez will play catch next week. He's expected
back sometime in early to mid August.

Julio Lugo was placed on the DL and will miss 4-6 weeks
with a severe quad tear.

Edgar Renteria will sit out until after the break with a
strained hamstring.

Yunel Escobar will have an MRI on his sore shoulder on
Monday.

Randy Winn sat out yesterday with a bruised knee caused
by a foul ball. He could return today but check the Giants
box before deciding whether to start him. Notably, he has
a terrible match up against Dempster.

Francisco Liriano is 7-0 in his last 8 starts at Triple A with
a current streak of 21.1 scoreless innings. His fastball is now
hitting 95 mph. He deserves to be recalled and is certainly
a better option than Livan Hernandez. The Edge expects
him back in the bigs by August 1st if not sooner.

Brett Myers pitched his 3rd game with Double A Reading.
He's expected to make one more start in the minors on
Thursday and then could return to the Phillies rotation
on Tuesday July 22nd.

Shaun Marcum, recovering from an elbow strain, began
throwing from a mound earlier this week. He should be
ready to return shortly after the break.

Brad Penny will begin a throwing program but will be very
cautious in his rehab. No timetable has been set for Penny
to return to the Dodgers rotation.

Pedro Martinez left after the 4th inning with tightness in
his shoulder. The extent of the problem is not yet known.

Bobby Jenks had a successful bullpen session and is ready
to resume his closing duties with the ChiSox immediately
after the All Star break.

Kerry Wood has a blister on his right index finger and will
be shutdown until after the break.

Takashi Saito experienced a deep tightness in his elbow and
will have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

Brian Fuentes is being pursued by several clubs including
the Yankees and Rays. Fuentes value, if traded, will most
certainly take a hit unless he lands with a team needing a
primary closer. Taylor Buchholz or Manny Corpas would
be the likely candidates to assume the Rockies closer gig.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

- All Star Break -

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

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

- All Star Break -


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

J.D. Drew (start)- the sight of Daniel Cabrera should have him
scurrying back to the Red Sox lineup. 4/10 with a jack.

Mark Ellis (start)- one of the few that has Joe Saunders number.
6/17, 2 blasts, 7 rbi and a steal.


Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Randy Winn (sit)- flails against Dempster. 2/19 with 5 k's.

Dan Uggla (sit)- he should definitely rest that sore ankle
today. 1/11 with 4 k's against Billingsley.


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

Hiroki Kuroda (stream)- ND 6.2ip/3e/8w/5k

Scott Baker (stream)- W 7ip/4e/6w/4k

Mark Kotsay (spot)- 0/4

Kevin Millar (spot)- 1/3

Nick Swisher (start)- 1/4 (vs. Millwood)

Randy Winn (start)- 0/1 pinch hit

Marcus Thames (start)- 0/4

Pat Burrell (sit)- 0/4

Jason Bay (sit)- 2/5, 2 homers, 5 rbi

Jermaine Dye (sit)- 2/5, run (vs. Millwood)


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


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

Week 15: Sunday


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

-------PE--26--6--29--6--.205/-1--6--64--3.81--1.45---6
-------OP--22--7--19--3--.237/-1--6--42--4.62--1.59---2

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina------------^Martin
^Teixeira------------^A. Gonzalez
^Roberts------------^Kendrick
^Braun--------------^A. Ramirez
Escobar-------------^Rollins
^Griffey-------------^Dye
^C. Young-----------^Bruce
^Kemp--------------^Votto
Figgins--------------^Longoria
^S. Drew--------------Lopez
---------------------- Barmes
---------------------- Soriano (DL)


------PE------//-----OP
10/33-8-1-4-0 //6/35-3-0-3-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang--------------^Dempster
Shields--------------^Kazmir
Weaver-------------- Lester
Cain------------------Floyd
Harden--------------Galarraga
^F. Cordero--------^Nathan
^Saito--------------^Wagner
^Fuentes-----------^Franklin
Wood--------------^T. Buchholz
Martinez-------------Percival - DL
^Morrow
^Howry



-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 10.2-2-14-16//0W/2S, 2.2-2-4-5 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE(38/185) - OP (45/190)
Weekly Totals- ERA (23/(54.1/9) - OP ERA (20/(39/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (79/54.1) - OP WHIP (62/39) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---0-----OP-----2

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

Daily Activity:

PE Hairston(drop)/Buchholz-Thur
PE Buchholz(drop)/S. Drew-Fri
PE Martinez(drop)/Howry-Sat
PE Drew(drop)/Hairston-Sun
PE Howry(drop)/Putz-Sun

Strategy: PE SP Martinez was swapped for Cubs RP Howry.
Howry will be the Cubs de facto closer with Woods out with a
blister and Marmol being unavailable today due to a 36 pitch
blow up in the 9th inning yesterday. PE has elected to forego
W's and play for Saves with both categories tied. Additionally,
PE spot play Stephen Drew was used for multi-position eligible
Jerry Hairston in the event that Escobar is placed on the DL
with a cranky shoulder. Spot closer Howry was dropped this
morning as well for J.J. Putz who's currently on the DL but is
tracking to return after the break. PE Saito may have a to go
on the DL with a serious elbow injury. PE's roster is in major
flux with Escobar, Harang and Saito all facing a stint on the DL.

Week 16 has only 4 play dates, due to the All Star break, so
there's no real margin for error or adjustment. Week 16 OP
has a formidable staff that features Johan Santana, Carlos
Zambrano, Randy Johnson plus Maine, Lohse, Pettitte and
Cueto. That gives OP 7 starts on the roster with several
high K, low ERA/WHIP hurlers. OP bullpen is anchored by
the best in the game Francisco Rodriguez with Bobby Jenks
and George Sherrill. OP pitching is more than competitive
and will present a strategy challenge for the short week. OP
offense has Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter, Mike Lowell, Burrell
and Ibanez. OP lacks top of the order types, base stealers and
consistent power other than Manny and Burrell.

Game Keys: PE SP's Harden/Martinez were effective but very
unlucky as they combined for 9.1 shutout innings but 0 W's. The
Cubs bullpen blew a 7-0 lead for Harden and Martinez had to
leave with shoulder tightness after 4 while leading 1-0. OP had
2 saves to tie the point as PE Morrow blew his 2nd consecutive
save. OP is in the driver's seat for pitching points with Kazmir/
Dempster on the hill and 3 closers vs. 4 potential closers for PE.
PE regained the lead in Runs by 4 and is within 1 in HR. Heading
into the finale PE leads 6-2 but OP has a clear shot at W's, Saves,
ERA/WHIP and Runs.


Final Thoughts:

PE is in 1st place by .5 point over the 2nd place club and 4.5
ahead of the 3rd place team heading into a Week 15 meeting
with the 4th 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.