Fantasy Player's Edge

July 20, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Brett Myers is likely to be recalled by the Phillies for a
Wednesday start against the Mets.

Jason Schmidt had a rehab start canceled due to a sore
shoulder. The extent of the problem is not known.

There is a bit of speculation that the D-Backs will recall
Mad Max Scherzer if Micah Owings continues to struggle.

Clayton Kershaw may be returning as well to take Chan
Ho Park's spot in the Dodgers rotation.

Pedro Martinez is likely to skip the entire Phillies series
as he deals with a groin strain.

Roy Oswalt went on the DL with a sore hip. He's eligible
to return on the 28th.

Rafael Soriano will be activated by the Braves tomorrow.
Gonzalez has been good but it's logical that Cox will go
with a lefty/righty matchup option in the 9th inning.

Kerry Wood is still being bothered by a blister on his
middle finger and now may be placed on the DL until
it's completely healed.

J.J. Putz should be activated today by the Mariners.

Troy Tulowitzki and Ryan Zimmerman will be activated
on Monday and Tuesday respectively.

Yunel Escobar's sore shoulder is not responding and he's
likely to be placed on the DL. He'll be eligible to return
on Friday.

Johnny Damon took BP before yesterday's game and may
be activated without the benefit of a rehab assignment.

Gary Matthews Jr. had an MRI on his sore knee. He has a
slight tear but will opt to try to strengthen the area rather
than have surgery or a stint on the DL. There's no word on
when he will return to the Angels lineup.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Chris Volstad- promising young Marlins hurler has no history
against the Braves. 2-0, .84/.94 in 11 innings this season.

Luke Hochevar- has a favorable opponent coming into Kauffman
where he does his best work. 1-0, .96/.96 with 8 k's in 9 innings
vs. the Tigers and 4-2, 3.48/1.34 in 44 frames at home this year.

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

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

Luis Rivas- hit Runelvys last week in Pittsburgh and will hit him
again this week in Houston. 8/16, 3 extras, a jack and 2 rbi.

Nomar Garciaparra- is ecstatic to see Kip Wells back on the hill.
4/11, 2 mults, a homer with a couple of rbi.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Torii Hunter (start)- unbaffled by a major league wiffle ball.
13/34, 2 homers, 7 rbi and 4 steals against Wakefield.

Jason Giambi (start)- double Duch(scherer). 5/7, 5 extras,
3 blasts and 5 rbi.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Paul Konerko (sit)- has trouble with Bannister. 2/14, 5 k's.

Manny Ramirez (sit)- controversial slugger strikes out often
against Garland. 1/9 with 5 k's.


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

Scott Olsen (stream)- W 5ip/3e/10w/0k

Gavin Floyd (stream)- L 6ip/1e/7w/6k

Marlon Byrd (spot)- 1/2, run

Jason Werth (spot)- 1/3

Ryan Theriot (start)- 3/4

Kevin Millar (start)- 3/6, run, rbi

Ken Griffey (sit)- 1/5, rbi

Nick Markakis (sit)- 2/4, 2 runs


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


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

Week 16: Sunday


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

-------PE--13--1--5--1--.265/-3--4--18--4.85--1.45---4
-------OP--20--6-15--1--.389/-2--2--19--6.75--1.75---5

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
11/34-3-0-2-1 //18/39-11-3-7-1 (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
^Baek
^Pelfrey


-----PE--------//------OP
2W/0S, 12.1-8-18-2//0W/1S, 2-0-4-1 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE (22/83) - OP (35/90)
Weekly Totals- ERA (16/(29.2/9) - OP ERA (18/(24/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (43/29.2) - OP WHIP (42/24) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---2-----OP-----1

^ -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.
PE Wellemeyer(drop)/Baek-Sat
PE Baek(drop)/Garciaparra-Sun
PE Pelfrey(drop)/Volstad-Sun

Strategy: PE Weaver had today's start moved back until next
week leaving streamer Pelfrey as the lone SP active. PE has 4
closers with Wood out. OP has Pettitte and 3 closers taking a
turn. PE had to waive SP Wellemeyer for SP Cha Seung Baek
to try to eke out the point in K's. Escobar is headed to the DL
leaving PE shorthanded again on offense. PE streams Pelfrey/
Baek have been dropped for SS Garciaparra and SP Volstad for
play on Monday in Week 17.

Week 17 OP may afford PE a bit of a breather. OP features Mets
David Wright and Beltran along with Ordonez, Bay, Pena, Kent
and Glaus. Although OP has a team that is dangerous if they all
get hot together, it lacks consistent power, speed, run scorers
and has BA killers Varitek and Pena. OP pitching has studs Ben
Sheets and Josh Beckett along with Buehrle, Oliver Perez, Chan
Ho Park and Brandon Lyon as the only pure closer. OP only has
6 starts on the roster with 7 potential hitters active on Monday.

Game Keys: PE SP's streamers Wellemeyer/Olsen provided a
cushion by registering 2 W's but allowed 8 runs on 18 whip with
only 2 k's over 11.1 innings. PE closers came up empty while OP
recorded 1 save to put the point in play. PE continues to lead in
ERA/WHIP but still trails by 1 in K's. On offense OP has locked
up every category with the exception of SB. PE heads into the
finale trailing 5-4 and is at risk in W/ERA/WHIP while trying
to gain an advantage in K and SB.


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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