Today's Fantasy Rx

Note: Unlike most Sundays, we're posting this early in the afternoon since we don't expect to return fromhe Futures' Game before the CDM deadline. We'll likely be stuck in traffic coming back from Wisconsin at the deadline, so we'll be unable to update this later in the day. Please refer to Rotoworld, ESPN, and Yahoo! Baseball for news updates, injury news, and especially rotation changes for later in the week.

With Internet Challenge not due until tomorrow morning, we'll update our roster for that contest after we return home.

The shortened week obviously means that no pitcher will start twice, so we're not detailing any starters other than those we own on each team since even those are subject to change based on who pitches in the All-Star game, potential trades, injury developments, and managers' whims.

We're also not adding any players this week, since while we'd like to address one or two developing situations on our rosters, we want to see teams shake out after the break, specifically with regards to any potential trades that would affect current closers.

Finally, CDM Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball entries are due Wednesday night. If you're going to run any teams, we suggest you register them today and then input your lineup on Wednesday. We'll run one team and of course include our roster at the end of this column each Sunday, as well as discussing our initial team in this Wednesday's article.
Colorado: 4 Road games at San Francisco.
Houston: 4 Home games vs. Cincinnati.

Detroit: 5 Home games vs. Chicago White Sox.

Chicago White Sox: 5 Road games at Detroit.

All other teams play four games except Chicago Cubs(3 Home vs. Florida), Florida(3 Road at Chicago Cubs), San Diego(3 Home vs. St. Louis), and St. Louis(3 Road at San Diego).

Diamond Challenge

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:@LA(Nomo)
Pedro Martinez: Sun:@TOR(?)
Curt Schilling: Fri:@LA(O.Perez)
Mike Mussina: Fri/Sat/Sun:@CLE(?)
Roger Clemens: Fri/Sat/Sun:@CLE(?)
Matt Morris: Fri:@SD(Lawrence)
Tim Hudson: Fri:@BAL(Ja.Johnson)
Javier Vazquez: Th/Sat/Sun:ATL(?)
Barry Zito: Sat:@BAL(Driskill)
Kerry Wood: Fri:FLO(?)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:CIN(Dessens)
Eric Gagne: 4 Home games vs. Arizona.
Brian Lawrence: Fri:STL(Morris)

Hudson, Zito, Oswalt, and Gagne look like definite starts, and since we'd like to run as much offense as possible with Colorado on the road, we'll take the generally higher-percentage home starts of Vazquez and Kerry.

Benching the four Rockies and the injured Drew leaves us 120 over the cap, so we'll deploy Pierre for his four games(and our developing speed need), reserving Klesko and his three home games.

Shadow of the Umpire(1st lg; 1st div; 1st(tie) overall; 173rd(tie) field)
& Interview with the Umpire(1st lg; 1st div; 1st(tie) overall; 173rd(tie) field)
Week 15: July 8-July 14

C 	Jorge Posada		990
C	A.J. Pierzynski		460
1B	Jason Giambi		1640
1B	Ryan Klesko		1300
2B	Luis Castillo		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		900
3B	Eric Chavez		1070
3B	Shea Hillenbrand	450
SS	Alex Rodriguez		1880
SS	Jimmy Rollins		940
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1330
OF	Lance Berkman		1320
OF	Juan Pierre		1180
OF	Adam Dunn		710
OF	Daryle Ward		620
OF	Jeremy Giambi		500
DH	Paul Konerko		1220
DH	Juan Uribe		500

SP	Tim Hudson		1170
SP	Javier Vazquez		1100
SP	Barry Zito		1080
SP	Kerry Wood		1050
SP	Roy Oswalt		830
SP	Eric Gagne		500
RP	Jason Isringhausen	1290
RP	Byung-Hyun Kim		1200
RP	Mike Williams		900
RP	Eddie Guardado		900

Internet Challenge

Only pitchers scheduled for Thursday starts will pitch this period, so we'll run as many as possible, filling out our staff with our cheapest remaining starters if necessary.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:@LA(Nomo)
Javier Vazquez: Th/Sat/Sun:ATL(?)
Roy Oswalt: Th:CIN(Dessens)
Eric Gagne: 4 Home games vs. Arizona.

Definitely not starting: Morris, Wood, and Lawrence.
Likely not starting: Pedro, Schilling, Mussina, Clemens, Zito

RP(4)
Jason Isringhausen: None.
Byung-Hyun Kim: 1 Road games at Los Angeles.
Mike Williams: 1 Road game at Milwaukee.
Eddie Guardado: 1 Home game vs. Texas.
Jorge Julio: 1 Home game vs. Oakland.

Unless we run out of cap or roster space, our Cubs(Sosa and Wood), Padres(Klesko and Lawrence), and our Cardinals(Drew, Morris, and Izzy) will sit since these teams won't play in this period.

With Durazo also on the DL and unavailable, we only have one remaining bench spot on offense, so we need to deploy three Rockies on the road while benching the mildly injured Helton.

We'll obviously start Randy, Oswalt, and Gagne, and we'll also run Vazquez since he might start. With our offense set, we have just enough room to fit our two cheapest remaining pitchers, Wood and Lawrence. Although they won't pitch, they allow us to use everyone we want on offense. We considered Mussina but don't believe a single potential road start is worth losing a day of offense.

Unfortunately all these moves leave us short a 1B, so we're stuck with either Vlad and the useless Klesko or Helton and 30 bucks of cap space to cut. Since we can't find any cap space to cut without employing both a useless player and missing out on a day of Vlad at home, we're going to deploy the former combo and hope the Expos solve the Braves' pitching.

The Umpire Hunter(1st lg; 11th overall)
Week 15a: July 8 - July 11

C 	Jorge Posada		990
C	A.J. Pierzynski		460
1B	Jason Giambi		1640
1B	Ryan Klesko		1300
2B	Luis Castillo		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		900
3B	Eric Chavez		1070
3B	Shea Hillenbrand	450
SS	Alex Rodriguez		1880
SS	Jimmy Rollins		940
OF	Barry Bonds		1830
OF	Lance Berkman		1320
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1330
OF	Juan Pierre		1180
OF	Adam Dunn		710
OF	Daryle Ward		620
DH	Vlad Guerrero		1880
DH	Juan Uribe		500

SP	Randy Johnson		1990
SP	Javier Vazquez		1100
SP	Kerry Wood		1050
SP	Roy Oswalt		830
SP	Eric Gagne		500
SP	Brian Lawrence		480
RP	Byung-Hyun Kim		1200
RP	Mike Williams		900
RP	Eddie Guardado		900
RP	Jorge Julio		750

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:@LA(Nomo)
Pedro Martinez: Sun:@TOR(?)
Curt Schilling: Fri:@LA(O.Perez)
Mike Mussina: Fri/Sat/Sun:@CLE(?)
Roger Clemens: Fri/Sat/Sun:@CLE(?)
Matt Morris: Fri:@SD(Lawrence)
Freddy Garcia: Sun:@TB(W.Alvarez)
Javier Vazquez: Th/Sat/Sun:ATL(?)
Barry Zito: Sat:@BAL(Driskill)
Kerry Wood: Fri:FLO(?)
Derek Lowe: Fri:@TOR(?)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:CIN(Dessens)
Eric Gagne: 4 Home games vs. Arizona.
Roy Halladay: Th:BOS(Burkett)

We again have a bunch of nicely cheap starts here with Halladay, Gagne, and Oswalt looking good at home while Garcia and Zito face two of the worst offenses in the majors. We'll decide our last pitcher after setting our offense.

Helton, Walker, and Pierre will sit, and Drew will join them on the bench until we see he's healthy.

Our remaining position players give us just enough room to run Schilling, who remains perhaps the best choice in the game for K/ERA/WHIP help, and a possible win even against Odalis.

Umpire: The Masquerade(13th lg; 30th div; 1067th overall)
Week 15: July 8-July 14

C 	Jorge Posada		990
C	Michael Barrett		590
1B	Jason Giambi		1640
1B	Paul Konerko		1220
2B	Luis Castillo		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		900
3B	Mike Lowell		870
3B	Shea Hillenbrand	450
SS	Alex Rodriguez		1880
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1120
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1330
OF	Lance Berkman		1320
OF	Pat Burrell		920
OF	Torii Hunter		830
OF	Adam Dunn		710
OF	Jeremy Giambi		500
DH	Sammy Sosa		1900
DH	Adam Piatt		410

SP	Curt Schilling		1540
SP	Freddy Garcia		1110
SP	Barry Zito		1080
SP	Roy Oswalt		830
SP	Eric Gagne		500
SP	Roy Halladay		490
RP	Jason Isringhausen	1290
RP	Mike Williams		900
RP	Eddie Guardado		900
RP	Vladimir Nunez		750

Fantasy Baseball & Budget Baseball
(Same game = same rosters and moves for both teams)

We have no relievers on the bench, so we'll stay with Smoltz, Isringhausen, Kim, and Guardado until further notice.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:@LA(Nomo)
Curt Schilling: Sat:@LA(O.Perez)
Pedro Martinez: Sun:@TOR(?)
Mike Mussina: Fri/Sat/Sun:@CLE(?)
Roger Clemens: Fri/Sat/Sun:@CLE(?)
Matt Morris: Fri:@SD(Lawrence)
Javier Vazquez: Th/Sat/Sun:ATL(?)
Kerry Wood: Fri:FLO(?)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:CIN(Dessens)
Eric Gagne: 4 Home games vs. Arizona.

With Vazquez, Wood, and Oswalt our only home starts, we're quite comfortable taking them and Gagne. We like Morris over San Diego, and then we'll take either Pedro or Mussina depending on available cap room.

We're leaving Drew benched due to his uncertain healthy and St. Louis only playing three games; we're also sitting Mike Lowell and Corey Patterson due to their reduced schedules. However we'll play Sosa and Floyd due to their generally higher upside. We don't particularly like Steve Cox at home against Seattle, so he'll join Rockies Helton, Jose Ortiz, and Pierre on reserve as we deploy Larry Walker as he's red hot and playing four games, and we also prefer Uribe for four games over D'Angelo Jimenez for three. Since we have a few extra bucks, we'll take the slightly more expensive Pedro instead of Mussina.

The Umpire Chronicles(1st lg; 113th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(5th lg; 292nd overall)
Week 15: July 8-July 14

C	Paul Lo Duca		1640
C	A.J. Pierzynski		1000
1B	Jason Giambi		3320
1B	Nick Johnson		1200
2B	Bret Boone		2650
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1800
3B	Eric Chavez		2270
3B	Aramis Ramirez		1590
SS	Alex Rodriguez		3430
SS	Juan Uribe		1300
OF	Lance Berkman		2540
OF	Cliff Floyd		2300
OF	Torii Hunter		1710
OF	Adam Dunn		1610
OF	Daryle Ward		1590
OF	Jeremy Giambi		1300
DH	Sammy Sosa		3480
DH	Larry Walker		2790

SP	Pedro Martinez		2950
SP	Matt Morris		2650
SP	Javier Vazquez		2600
SP	Kerry Wood		2300
SP	Roy Oswalt		1750
SP	Eric Gagne		1230
RP	John Smoltz		2610
RP	Jason Isringhausen	2370
RP	Byung-Hyun Kim		2230
RP	Eddie Guardado		1690

Today's Fantasy Rx: Watch the All-Star Futures' Game at 4:30 PM(CDT) on ESPN2.

If anybody's going and wants to meet your (hopefully) favorite columnists, walk down to the bottom of the aisle between sections 230 and 231, turn around to face up the stairs and shout "I love Rotohelp.com!". We'll be able to see and hear you, and we're always happy to meet anyone giving us free publicity that doesn't require embarrassing ourselves. Happy All-Star Break Eve.