Fantasy Player's Edge

July 19, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

The Cardinals have been impressed with the progress
that Chris Carpenter has made in his rehab from elbow
problems. He'll make a start in the minors on Monday
and another the following Saturday and is tracking to
return to the bigs by the early part of August.

Aaron Harang still has discomfort in his strained forearm
and will not be activated on the 23rd when eligible. This
setback will delay Harang's rehab schedule although no
timetable has been set at this point.

Shaun Marcum will rejoin the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Pedro Martinez is tentatively scheduled to make his next
start on Tuesday vs. the Phillies.

Erik Bedard is still battling a sore shoulder and may not
return until August.

Roy Oswalt is still not ready and is likely to miss at least
one turn and perhaps a second.

J.J. Putz pitched 1.2 innings at Triple A Tacoma last night
and may return to the Mariners immediately.

Alphonso Soriano says that he will return to the Cubs on
Thursday.

Jose Guillen was a late scratch due to back spasms. He's
day to day.

Hank Blalock was activated and played 3B last night for
the Rangers. He went 0/2.

Bobby Crosby was activated yesterday and started going
1/4.

Justin Upton was placed on the DL with a strained oblique.

Victor Martinez has recovered sufficiently from surgery
on his right elbow to play catch and swing a bat lightly.
He's on track to return in about 3 weeks.

Todd Helton woke up sore from a workout on Thursday
and it's likely that he'll take his time returning to the
Rocs as opposed to earlier reports that he would return
next week.

Yunel Escobar is still being bothered by inflammation in
his rotator cuff. He's taken grounders but not BP and is
unlikely to play this weekend. Check the Braves box to
be certain of his status.

Travis Hafner's shoulder strength tested at about 65%
of normal. There's no timetable for his return.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

John Danks- has pitched extremely well this season and is at
home vs. the Royals. 0-0, 3.39/1.23 in 14 frames against K.C.

Cha Seung Baek- has no history vs. the Cards but has been a
pleasant surprise on the road this year for the Padres. 2-0,
3.86/1.07 with 17 k's in 28 frames away from Petco.

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

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

Casey Blake- strikes the Mother Lode vs. Silva. 15/42, 2 extras,
a jacaranda and 7 ribbies.

Casey Kotchman- hits the knuckler nicely. 4/11 with a homer vs.
Wakefield.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Ryan Theriot (start)- waves his magic "Wandy" when facing
Rodriguez. 5/10, 3 extras, a homer and a stolen base.

Kevin Millar (start)- has good AB's against Robertson. 7/21
with 2 extra base hits.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Ken Griffey (sit)- has no answer for Oliver Perez. 2/17 with
5 k's.

Nick Markakis (sit)- stifled by Nate Robertson. 1/11 with 3 k's.


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

Ricky Nolasco (stream)- L 7ip/4e/8w/5k

Kevin Slowey (stream)- DNP

Jim Edmonds (spot)- 1/3, solo homer

Jason Kubel (spot)- 2/4, 2 runs, 2 rbi

Matt Kemp (start)- 2/6, 2 runs, solo homer

Joe Crede (start)- 2/3, 2 rbi

Dan Uggla (sit)- 0/4

Alex Rios (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 16: Saturday


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

-------PE--10--1--3--0--.224/-1--4--16--4.15--1.44---4
-------OP---9--3--8--0--.333/-1--1--18--7.36--1.73---4

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina------------ ^I. Rodriguez
^Teixeira-------------^Cantu
^Roberts-------------^Polanco
^Braun---------------^Lowell
^Escobar-------------^Jeter
^Griffey------------- ^M. Ramirez
^C. Young------------^Burrell
^Kemp---------------^Ibanez
^Figgins------------- ^Millar
-----------------------G. Anderson
-----------------------Doumit
-----------------------Ortiz (DL)


------PE------//-----OP
9/36-9-1-3-0 //13/35-8-3-8-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang (DL)---------^Zambrano
Shields----------------J. Santana
Weaver--------------- R.Johnson
Cain-------------------Maine
Harden--------------- Lohse
^F. Cordero---------^F. Rodriguez
^Broxton----------- ^Jenks
^Fuentes----------- ^Sherrill
^Wood--------------- Pettitte
Putz- DL------------- Cueto
^Morrow
^Wellemeyer
^Olsen


-----PE--------//------OP
1W/3S, 16-4-19-12//0W/1S, 5.2-5-11-6 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE (11/49) - OP (17/51)
Weekly Totals- ERA (8/(17.1/9) - OP ERA (18/(22/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (25/17.1) - OP WHIP (38/22) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---4-----OP-----2

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

Daily Activity:

PE Harang(DL)/Broxton-Mon
PE Saito(drop)/Gerut-Wed
PE Gerut(drop)/J. Johnson-Thur
PE Hairston(drop)/Kepppinger-Thur
PE Johnson(drop)/Wellemeyer-Fri
PE Keppinger(drop)/Olsen-Fri
PE Olsen(drop)/Pelfrey-Sat.

Strategy: PE Keppinger was used for stream SP Scott Olsen,
who was in turn used this morning for Sunday streamer Mike
Pelfrey. Escobar is still out so Wellemeyer may be used for a
spot play SS on Sunday. Today's action will determine what
course of action PE should take. The preference would be to sit
Pelfrey which would be possible if PE can open a lead in W's and
K's. Escobar is not likely to return so PE will play one down on
offense today.

Game Keys: PE SP's Shields and Cain combined with 3 closers
for a W and 3 saves while allowing 4 runs on 19 whip in 16 frames
with 12 k's. OP Maine was lackluster in yielding 5 earned on 10
whip in 4.2 innings. OP did have a save from Sherrill. PE has leads
in Saves, ERA/WHIP and trails by 2 K's with W's tied at 1 apiece.
OP offense went 13/35 with 8 runs, 3 homers and 8 rbi to control
HR/RBI/BA. PE offense was subpar going 9/36 but scored 9 runs
to lead the category by 1. Neither team has recorded a steal. With
only 2 playing days remaining the score is deadlocked at 4-4.


Final Thoughts:

PE is in 1st place by 3 points over the 2nd place club and 7 ahead
of the 3rd place team heading into a shortened Week 16 showdown
with a pitching laden OP. PE has gone 26-11-3 over the 1st 4 weeks
of the 2nd half of the season while facing the other top 3 teams in
the league.

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 will
follow this team throughout the entire 2008 fantasy campaign.


All Done!

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