Fantasy Player's Edge

July 28, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Adam Wainwright threw 55 pitches in a bullpen outing
on Saturday and is scheduled for another on Tuesday.
The Cards will evaluate him at that point and may send
him for a rehab assignment. The rhetoric suggests that
Wainwright may return as a closer.

Chris Carpenter had a good workout yesterday and will
make a start on Wednesday. His pitch count is likely to
be limited to about 70 so keep your expectations for
his return to greatness in check.

Aaron Harang has done some light throwing for a couple
of days and Baker says he's doing fine. He's scheduled to
throw from a mound today but no timetable has been set
for Harang to begin throwing in earnest.

Erik Bedard is still several days away from beginning a
throwing program. Speculation suggests that he may be
out until late August or early September.

Brad Penny is getting closer to returning. He threw a 50
pitch simulated game on Saturday and will throw a side
session either today or tomorrow. If there are no issues
he'll take a rehab assignment and should be available to
rejoin the Dodgers rotation 5 days later around August
4th.

Pedro Martinez is scheduled return to the Mets rotation
on Friday against the Astros.

Todd Jones has been replaced as the Tigers closer (finally)
by Fernando Rodney.

SP's Weaver, Matsuzaka, Maine, Cueto, Oswalt, Shields,
Burnett, Lilly, Sabathia, Buehrle, Lackey, Mussina, Cain,
Zambrano, Young, Sheets and Oliver Perez are the likely
candidates for 2 starts this week. (SP's normally start on
every 5th day so starters on Monday/Tuesday are likely
to pitch on Saturday/Sunday respectively.)

SP stream possibilities for 2 starts this week; Byrd, Greg
Smith, Kuroda, Perkins and Doug Davis. Candidates are
chosen based on having a favorable start on Monday or
Tuesday.

Brian McCann suffered a mild concussion after a collision
at home plate with Shane Victorino. It's unclear whether
McCann will need a stint on the DL to clear his head.

Chipper Jones is very likely to end up on the DL. Make
plans now for the inevitable.

Rick Ankiel sat out with an abdominal strain. The extent
of this injury is unknown at this time.

Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche left the Pirates game
yesterday with back spasms.

Nomar Garciaparra was removed in the 6th inning due
to a left knee irritation.

Cristian Guzman has a bruised right thumb and is day
to day. He's having a career season.

Eric Chavez has a shredded labrum and may be done at
3B at best or baseball at the worst.

Jose Guillen felt his groin "snap". That sounds worse than
a strain or a pull but we'll wait for the official word on his
status.

Speedsters Carlos Gomez and Michael Bourn are out today
and questionable for tomorrow. Check the respective box
scores before inserting either in your starting lineup.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Glen Perkins- has a couple of good starts against the ChiSox.
0-0, 3.75/1.17 with 9 k's in 12 innings.

Doug Davis- very nice track record vs. the Padres. 6-3, 3.36/
1.27 with 57 k's in 75 frames.

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

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

Cody Ross- has an affinity for Oliver's twist. 7/17, 4 extras,
3 bombs and 10 rbi vs. Perez.

Mark Loretta- better than .500 against Arroyo. 11/20 with
a couple of extra base knocks.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Nick Markakis (start)- near perfect against Rasner. 9/11 with
a jack.

Conor Jackson (start)- has really come into his own this season.
7/16, 5 extras, a clout and 5 rbi vs. "Father Time" Maddux.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Jason Bay (sit)- hitless against Glendon Rusch. 0/12 with 4 k's

Carlos Pena (sit)- struggles vs. A.J. Burnett. 2/16 with 8 k's.


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

Paul Maholm (stream)- ND 7ip/1e/7w/9k

Nick Blackburn (stream)- ND 7ip/1e/5w/3k

Jayson Werth (spot)- 1/2, 2 runs, homer, 2 rbi

Mark Loretta (spot)- DNP

Randy Winn (start)- 2/5, run

Carlos Delgado (start)- 1/4, rbi

Ryan Ludwick (sit)- 0/4

Kaz Matsui (sit)- 1/5, 2 rbi


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


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

Week 18: Monday

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

-------PE--31-12--35--4--.318/-3--4--68--2.75--1.06---7
-------OP--28--8--38--1--.311/-1--1--30--1.36--1.03---3

Offense: Lineups:

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

^B.Molina-------------V. Martinez - DL
^Teixeira-------------^Atkins
^Roberts-------------^Pedroia
^Braun---------------^M. Cabrera
^Escobar-------------^Tejada
^Griffey--------------^Crawford
^C. Young------------^Rios
^Kemp---------------^Pence
^Figgins------------- ^Sexson
-----------------------Wells - DL
-----------------------Willingham

------PE------//-----OP
12/30-3-1-2-1 //10/32-2-1-5-0 (daily totals: H/AB,R,HR,RBI)

Pitching: Rotation-Closers

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

Harang-DL------------^A.J. Burnett
^Shields----------------Garland
Weaver---------------^Mussina
Cain--------------------Penny- DL
Harden-----------------Wang- DL
^F. Cordero-----------^Gagne
^Broxton------------- ^Bell
^Fuentes---------------Borowski
Wood -(DL)------------Vazquez
^Putz------------------Lackey
^Morrow-------------- Schmidt -(DL)
Carpenter- DL
^Kuroda


-----PE--------//------OP
0W/1S, 10-1-6-6//0W/0S, 1-0-0-2 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE (67/211) - OP (64/206)
Weekly Totals- ERA (23/(75.1/9) - OP ERA (5/(33/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (80/75.1) - OP WHIP (34/33) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---0-----OP-----0

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

Daily Activity:

PE Blackburn(drop)/Kuroda-Sun
PE Kuroda(drop)/Davis-Mon

Strategy: PE stream Kuroda was used for Tuesday streamer
Doug Davis. PE SP James Shields will join Kuroda on the bump
today. PE has decided to sit SP Jered Weaver who will be facing
the Red Sox at Fenway Park. OP will counter with A.J. Burnett/
Mussina. PE will have 5 closers including Morrow/Putz going
against set up relievers Gagne/Bell for OP. PE has 8 starts on
the roster vs. 5 for OP. PE will have a full dance card on offense
vs. 8 for OP. This is an inactive opponent so PE has to dominate
or face losing ground to other clubs that will face this OP over
the next 4 weeks.

Game Keys: PE's offense was minus 2B Brian Roberts but still
managed to take the BA point on a 12/30 performance. OP was
able to capture RBI as an offset but the final verdict was 7-3 in
favor of PE.


Final Thoughts:

PE increased the 1st place lead to 9.5 points over the 2nd place
club and 11.5 ahead of the 3rd place team heading into Week 18.
There are only 50 points (5 weeks) left in the season so PE needs
to capitalize on this week's inactive opponent to further the effort
to secure a first round bye in the playoffs.

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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