Fantasy Player's Edge

July 22, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Billy Wagner will have his shoulder examined today
and an MRI might be required. He experienced a
bit of shoulder tightness during his save on Sunday.

Kerry Wood avoided going on the DL as he waits for
a blister to heal completely. He may throw tomorrow.
Carlos Marmol will close for the Cubs in his absence.

Matt Capps began soft tossing and had no issues. No
timetable has been set for throwing from a mound.

J.J. Putz will likely pitch set up for an outing or 2 to
assure the Mariners that he has command of all of
his pitches.

Rafael Soriano was activated by the Braves and will
certainly be in the mix for saves with Mike Gonzalez.

Clayton Kershaw will start tonight for the Dodgers
against the Rockies.

Fausto Carmona is expected to return to the Indians
rotation this weekend.

Chris Young had a 2nd rehab start pitching 5 innings
allowing 2 runs on 4 whip with 3 k's. He's scheduled
for at least one more outing in the minors before the
Padres will decide whether he's ready to rejoin the
team.

Chris Carpenter was unhappy with his command in
his last rehab start. He'll have another chance this
Friday at Triple A Memphis to sharpen his delivery.

Jeff Francis will have a rehab start today followed
by another on Saturday. He could rejoin the Rockies
rotation on Thursday the 31st.

Pedro Martinez has been long tossing and may throw
from a mound today or tomorrow. He has a chance of
making a start this weekend vs. the Cards.

764. That's the number of innings used that would
keep you on track to deploy maximum innings (1250)
over the course of the season in Rotisserie. A number
significantly above or below should be a call to action.

In an unexpected development Yunel Escobar was
cleared to play yesterday but was not in the starting
lineup. He's going to start today. Check the Braves
box prior to game time to make certain that he's
active.

Jerry Hairston Jr's strained hamstring is improving
and he expects to return next week.

Jorge Posada was placed on the DL with recurring
shoulder problems.

The ongoing saga "The Johnny Damon Chronicles"
had our hero returning to the Yankees as the DH
yesterday. He went 1/4.

Hideki Matsui has opted against having surgery on
his knee but no timetable has been set for his return
to active duty.

Troy Tulowitzki returned to the Rockies in style going
5/5 with a run and rbi.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Kevin Correia- has pitched a little better at home and faces a
manageable opponent. 1-1, 2.55/.96 in 18 innings vs. the Nats.

Doug Davis- always a risky stream but has a great track record
against the Cubs. 7-5, 3.39/1.22 with 86 k's in 85 frames.

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

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

Kevin Kouzmanoff- almost perfect vs. Arroyo. 5/6 with 2 extras.

Nomar Garciaparra- in a rush to face Rusch. 6/12 with only 1 k.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Troy Glaus (start)- crushes Suppan. 12/36, 3 blasts and 6 rbi.

Garret Anderson (start)- 2nd day in a row on the "start" list.
6/11 with a homer vs. Matt Ginter.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Adam Dunn (sit)- has trouble with Peavy. 3/18 with 7 k's

Cristian Guzman (sit)-having a career year but has had
problems with Zito in the past. 3/23 with 7 k's.


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

Chris Volstad (stream)- L 6ip/3e/9w/3k

Luke Hochevar (stream)- L 5ip/7e/9w/5k

Luis Rivas (spot)- DNP

Nomar Garciaparra (spot)- DNP

Delmon Young (start)-0/2, run

Garret Anderson (start)- 1/4

Aramis Ramirez (sit)-0/4

Torii Hunter (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 17: Tuesday

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

-------PE--4--1--4--0--.258/-0--0--14--4.61--1.24---3
-------OP--5--2--8--0--.550/-0--0--0--0.00--0.00---4

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina-------------^Varitek
^Teixeira-------------^Pena
^Roberts-------------^Kent
^Braun---------------^Wright
^Escobar-------------^Guzman
^Griffey--------------^Beltran
^C. Young------------^Bay
^Kemp---------------^Ordonez
^Figgins------------- ^Glaus
Garciaparra----------- Jacobs



------PE------//-----OP
8/31-4-1-4-0 //11/20-5-2-8-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang-DL-----------^Buehrle
Shields---------------- Beckett
^Weaver-------------- Sheets
Cain-------------------O. Perez
Harden----------------A. Miller- DL
^F. Cordero----------^Lyon
^Broxton------------ ^Park
^Fuentes
Wood
^Putz
^Morrow
Volstad



-----PE--------//------OP
0W/0S, 13.2-7-17-14//0W/0S, 0-0-0-0 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE (8/31) - OP (11/20)
Weekly Totals- ERA (7/(13.2/9) - OP ERA (0/(0/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (17/13.2) - OP WHIP (0/0) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---5-----OP-----5

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

Daily Activity:

PE Baek(drop)/Garciaparra-Sun
PE Pelfrey(drop)/Volstad-Sun
PE Volstad(drop)/Correia-Tue


Strategy: PE SS Yunel Escobar was cleared to play last night
but inexplicably was not in the starting lineup. Unfortunately
SS spot play Garciaparra was also on the bench last night. OP
picked up an additional start with Buehrle's start being moved
up to today giving him an added start on Sunday. PE countered
with dropping Volstad for SP Kevin Correia looking for a W. PE
should control Saves and K's but has to take W's to have a shot
at a successful week. If Escobar does play the Garciaparra spot
will become a flex play that may be used for Chris Carpenter.
Carpenter would be swapped for Harang on the DL anticipating
Harang's return to the Reds rotation next week. Carpenter may
be quite useful for the stretch run and the playoffs. The Morrow
/Putz situation is still muddled.

Game Keys: PE SP Harden and stream Volstad combined for
13 innings allowing 7 runs on 17 whip with 13 k's but could not
register a W. PE Cordero blew up again in a save chance lasting
only .2 innings while yielding 3 earned on 5 whip. In what has
been a recurring theme OP offense was outstanding going 11/20
with 5 runs, 2 homers and 8 rbi. PE was no match with a typical
performance that included 4 runs, a jack and 4 rbi on a pedestrian
8/31. Both teams have one SP and a full compliment on offense
playing today.


Final Thoughts:

PE increased the 1st place lead to 5.5 points over the 2nd place
club and 8 ahead of the 3rd place team after a shortened Week
16 took it's toll on all the top teams.

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!

Site Updated by 10:00 EST Daily.