Fantasy Player's Edge

July 29, 2008


Roster Shuffle:

Francisco Liriano had an average performance by his
most recent standards going 6 innings and allowing 4
runs. He did, however, have 9 k's vs. one walk. He's
likely to be recalled by the Twins this week.

Tom Glavine will throw a simulated game tomorrow
and could return to the Braves rotation by the middle
of August. With a rested arm and body he could be
useful for the stretch run and playoffs.

Tim Hudson was placed on the DL and is out for the
season with severe ligament damage in his right elbow.

Anibel Sanchez will be activated and face the Rockies
on Thursday.

Brad Penny will have 2 rehab starts which should put
him back in the Dodgers rotation around August 9th.

John Maine left last night's game in the 5th inning with
tightness in his throwing shoulder.

Kerry Wood will not be activated today as he struggles
to return from a blister on the middle finger of his right
hand.

Jason Isringhausen has been awarded the Cardinals
closing job by default as Ryan Franklin was awful in
the role.

As expected Chipper Jones went on the DL with a
strained hamstring.

Michael Young fractured a finger sliding back into a
base and preliminarily they are estimating that he
will miss about a week of action.

Jorge Posada will have season ending surgery on his
right shoulder.

Rick Ankiel missed his 2nd consecutive game with an
abdominal strain.

Nomar Garciaparra will be shutdown for a few days due
to a sprained MCL.

Hideki Matsui is hitting off of a tee and could return to
the bigs in a couple of weeks.

Hank Blalock sat out with an upset stomach.

Jerry Hairston Jr. is progressing well in his recovery
from a strained hamstring and may return to the Reds
by the weekend.

Andy LaRoche went on the DL with back spasms.


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

Use these players to gain advantage in wins and strikeouts.

Josh Johnson- has 2 starts under his belt in his return from
Tommy John surgery and has a favorable opponent paying
a visit to Dolphins Stadium. 2-0, 0.00/.88 with 16 k's in 17
frames against the Mets.

Sean Gallagher- has no history but is a good bet to have 7+
k's against the free swinging Rangers. 1-0, 2.19/1.54 with
12 k's in 12 innings at McAfee Coliseum.

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

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

Geoff Jenkins- above .500 vs. Redding. 11/19 with 6 extras
and a jack.

Dave Roberts- drives Billingsley batty. 9/15 with 2 steals.


Start/Sit: (today)

Guide to using bench players when matchups are favorable.

Ryan Zimmerman (start)- clobbers Myers. 10/24 with 6 extras
and 12 rbi.

Hank Blalock (start)- pounds Silva. 8/21 with 4 extras.

Guide to sit starters when matchups are unfavorable.

Normally sit these players in Roto formats only

Chris Young (sit)- has no answer for Chris Young. 0/12
with 6 k's against the Padres big righthander.

Ian Kinsler (sit)-surprisingly struggles against Silva. 2/18
with 4 k's


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

Hiroki Kuroda (stream)- L 3.2ip/7e/9w/2k

Paul Byrd (stream)- W 7.2ip/0e/7w/4k

Willy Taveras (spot)- 2/4, run, rbi, stolen base

Craig Monroe (spot)- 0/3

Nick Markakis (start)- 1/4

Conor Jackson (start)- 1/5, rbi

Jason Bay (sit)- 0/4, run, stolen base

Carlos Pena (sit)- 0/4, 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: Tuesday

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

-------PE--9--2--5--1--.361/-0--1--10--6.92--1.31---7
-------OP--1--0--1--0--.167/-1--0--15--3.86--1.57---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
13/36-9-2-5-1 //5/30-1-0-1-0 (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
^Davis


-----PE--------//------OP
0W/1S, 13-10-17-10//1W/0S, 14-6-22-15 (W/S,IP,ER,WH,K)

Weekly Totals- Batting Avg. PE (13/36) - OP (5/30)
Weekly Totals- ERA (10/(13/9) - OP ERA (6/(14/9) -(er/(ip/9)
Weekly Totals- Whip (17/13) - OP WHIP (22/14) - (w+h/ip)
Weekly Starts(est/week to date) PE---6-----OP-----3

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

Daily Activity:

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

Strategy: PE stream Davis was used for SP Josh Johnson for
a start on Wednesday. PE sends Cain/Davis and the closers
against Gagne/Bell for OP today. PE will continue streaming
looking to secure the W/K points. PE Morrow/Putz situation
is still unresolved as Morrow had the save last night with J.J.
available. PE Wood will remain on the DL as he struggles with
a blister which actually helps PE. Wood's activation, in theory,
should be at Morrow's expense so perhaps that situation will
be clarified before Wood is ready to close again for the Cubs.

Game Keys: The pitching on both sides was a mixed bag with
OP gaining a W and PE picking up a save. PE stream Kuroda
was awful allowing 7 earned on 9 whip in 3.2 innings but was
partially offset by Shields and 2 closers going 9.1 frames with
3 earned on 8 whip. OP had Mussina allow 6 earned on 9 whip
in 5 innings but controls ERA because Burnett and 2 relievers
had a combined 9 shutout innings with 14 whip. PE, however,
leads in WHIP. PE offense was stout going 13/36 with 9 runs,
2 homers, 5 rbi and a stolen base to take an early lead in all 5
offensive categories.


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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