Today's Fantasy Rx

Colorado: 7 games: 3 Road at Houston; 4 Home vs. Los Angeles.
Houston: 7 Home games: 3 vs. Colorado; 4 vs. St. Louis.

Philadelphia: 8 Home games: 1 vs. New York Mets; 4 vs. Florida; 3 vs. Pittsburgh.

New York Mets: 8 Road games: 1 at Philadelphia; 3 at Atlanta; 3 at Montreal.

7 Home games
Anaheim: 4 vs. Oakland; 3 vs. Texas.
Cincinnati: 3 vs. Pittsburgh; 4 vs. Chicago Cubs.
Cleveland: 3 vs. Toronto; 4 vs. Minnesota.
New York Yankees: 4 vs. Baltimre; 3 vs. Chicago White Sox.

7 games
Kansas City: 4 Home vs. Chicago White Sox; 3 Road at Detroit.
Montreal: 3 Road at Chicago Cubs; 4 Home vs. New York Mets.
San Diego: 3 Road at Arizona; 4 Home vs. San Francisco.
Tampa Bay: 4 Home vs. Boston; 3 Road at Toronto.
Texas: 4 Home vs. Seattle; 3 Road at Anaheim.

Boston: 4 Road at Tampa Bay; 3 Home vs. Baltimore.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Home vs. Montreal; 4 Road at Cincinnati.
Minnesota: 3 Home vs. Detroit; 4 Road at Cleveland.
Oakland: 4 Road at Anaheim; 3 Home vs. Seattle.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. Los Angeles; 4 Road at San Diego.

7 Road games
Baltimore: 4 at New York Yankees; 3 at Boston.
Chicago White Sox: 4 at Kansas City; 3 at New York Yankees.
Los Angeles: 3 at San Francisco; 4 at Colorado.
Seattle: 4 at Texas; 3 at Oakland.
St. Louis: 3 at Milwaukee; 4 at Houston.

Teams with six home games: Arizona.

All other teams play six games with at least three on the road.

Pitchers of interest with two starts(whom we'd start if we owned them):
Kevin Appier: Mon:OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:TEX(D.Reyes)
Ramon Ortiz: Tue:OAK(T.Lilly); Sun:TEX(K.Rogers)
Randy Johnson: Mon:SD(Tomko); Sat:MIL(Neugebauer)
Curt Schilling: Tue:SD(Peavy); Sun:MIL(Diggins)
Damian Moss: Tue:NYM(Astacio); Sun:@FLO(Ju.Tavarez)
Derek Lowe: Mon:@TB(Sturtze); Sat:BAL(Hentgen)
John Burkett: Tue:@TB(J.Kennedy); Sun:BAL(Ponson or Jas.Johnsn)
Matt Clement: Mon:MON(Armas); Sat:@CIN(Dempster)
Carlos Zambrano: Tue:MON(J.Vazquez); Sun:@CIN(D.Graves)
Wade Miller: Tue:COL(Neagle); Sun:STL(M.Morris)
Paul Byrd: Mon:CHW(D.Wright); Sat:@DET(Van Hekken)
Rick Reed: Mon:DET(Maroth); Sat:@CLE(Jar.Wright)
Kyle Lohse: Tue:DET(Loux); Sun:@CLE(Ric.Rodriguez)
Tony Armas: Mon:@CHC(Clement); Sat:NYM(Bacsik)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:NYM(Astacio)
Mike Bacsik: Mon:@PHI(H.Mercado); Sat:@MONO(Armas)
Pedro Astacio: Tue:@ATL(D.Moss); Sun:@MON(J.Vazquez)
Andy Pettitte: Tue:BAL(Ponson or Jas.Johnson); Sun:CHW(G.Glover)
Tim Hudson: Mon:@ANA(Appier); Sat:SEA(Moyer)
Randy Wolf(?): Tue:FLO(Ju.Tavarez or Wayne); Sun(?):PIT(Torres)
Salomon Torres: Mon:@CIN(Dempster); Sun:@PHI(Wolf or Padilla)
Brett Tomko: Mon:@ARI(Ran.Johnson); Sat:SF(L.Hernandez)
Jake Peavy: Tue:@ARI(Schilling); Sun:SF(Schmidt)
Jamie Moyer: Mon:@TEX(Myette); Sat:@OAK(T.Hudson)
Joel Pineiro: Tue:@TEX(K.Rogers); Sun:@OAK(T.Lilly)
Livan Hernandez: Mon:LA(O.Perez); Sat:@SD(Tomko)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:LA(Ashby); Sun:@SD(Peavy)
Woody Williams: Mon:@MIL(Diggins); Sat:@HOU(Munro)
Kenny Rogers: Tue:SEA(Pineiro); Sun:@ANA(Ra.Ortiz)

Only deploy in Fantasy Baseball and other leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Odalis Perez: Mon:@SF(L.Hernandez); Sat:@COL(Hampton)
Matt Morris: Tue:@MIL(W.Franklin); Sun:@HOU(W.Miller).

Diamond Challenge

We're going to continue waiting to use our last buy, although picking up Derek Lowe looks very tempting.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Mon:SD(Tomko); Sat:MIL(Neugebauer)
Pedro Martinez: Wed(?):@TB(P.Wilson)
Curt Schilling: Tue:SD(Peavy); Sun:MIL(Diggins)
Mike Mussina: Fri:CHW(Biddle)
Matt Morris: Tue:@MIL(W.Franklin); Sun:@HOU(W.Miller)
Tim Hudson: Mon:@ANA(Appier); Sat:SEA(Moyer)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:NYM(Astacio)
Barry Zito: Fri:SEA(I.Valdes)
Kerry Wood: Fri:@CIN(Haynes)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:STL(Jam.Wright or Simontacchi)
Eric Gagne: 7 games: 3 at San Francisco; 4 at Colorado.
Roy Halladay: Wed:@CLE(Burba)
Brian Lawrence: Fri:SF(Ru.Ortiz)

Randy, Schilling, Hudson, and Vazquez should be solid, and deploying Wood and Oswalt should leave us room at least for a respectable offense.

We'll keep Stewart active for cap reasons and since we don't trust Izzy given both his injury troubles and the Cardinals' schedule. Helton and Ichiro sit due to their slumps, Drew and Jeremy Giambi sit due to injury and playing time questions, and then Sosa stays benched since we like Vlad's upside better right now. Finally we need to deploy Juan Uribe for Klesko as Klesko faces a tough week of pitching even though he's red hot.

Shadow of the Umpire(3rd lg; 5th div; 70th(tie) overall; 246th(tie) field)
& Interview with the Umpire(2nd lg; 5th div; 70th(tie) overall; 246th(tie) field)
Week 24: September 9-September 15

C 	Jorge Posada		990
C	A.J. Pierzynski		460
1B	Jason Giambi		1640
1B	Paul Konerko		1220
2B	Luis Castillo		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		900
3B	Eric Chavez		1070
3B	Aaron Boone		750
SS	Alex Rodriguez		1880
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1120
OF	Vlad Guerrero		1880
OF	Larry Walker		1530
OF	Lance Berkman		1320
OF	Juan Pierre		1180
OF	Adam Dunn		710
OF	Daryle Ward		620
DH	Juan Uribe		500
DH	Shea Hillenbrand		450

SP	Randy Johnson		1990
SP	Curt Schilling		1540
SP	Tim Hudson		1170
SP	Javier Vazquez		1100
SP	Kerry Wood		1050
SP	Roy Oswalt		830
RP	Mike Williams		900
RP	Eddie Guardado		900
RP	Jorge Julio		750
RP	Scott Stewart		490

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

We're going to continue waiting to use our last buy.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Mon:SD(Tomko); Sat:MIL(Neugebauer)
Pedro Martinez: Wed(?):@TB(P.Wilson)
Curt Schilling: Tue:SD(Peavy); Sun:MIL(Diggins)
Mike Mussina: Fri:CHW(Biddle)
Roger Clemens: Sat:CHW(D.Wright)
Matt Morris: Tue:@MIL(W.Franklin); Sun:@HOU(W.Miller)
Freddy Garcia: Wed:@TEX(C.Lewis)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:NYM(Astacio)
Barry Zito: Fri:SEA(I.Valdes)
Kerry Wood: Fri:@CIN(Haynes)
Derek Lowe: Mon:@TB(Sturtze); Sat:BAL(Hentgen)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:STL(Jam.Wright or Simontacchi)
Eric Gagne: 7 games: 3 at San Francisco; 4 at Colorado.
Roy Halladay: Wed:@CLE(Burba)

With one move left and a continually falling spot in the standings, we're tempted to cut this team loose. However we only need a little luck to jump a few spots in the league, and with only three weeks left, we're going to keep making transactions.

Randy, Schilling, Vazquez, and Lowe are logical although we're not willing to chance Morris. Gagne also seems risky in Colorado, so we'll round out our pitching with Wood and Oswalt. We're interested in running Mussina or Clemens, but we won't sit a decent double from Vazquez.

Helton, Sosa, Larry Walker, and Ichiro all sit to help accommodate the top starters, and then we're stuck deploying Michael Barrett at DH for J.D. Drew to slide under the cap by 200.

Umpire: The Masquerade(8th lg; 19th div; 399th overall; 64th field)
Week 24: September 9-September 15

C 	Jorge Posada		990
C	Toby Hall		320
1B	Jason Giambi		1640
1B	Paul Konerko		1220
2B	Luis Castillo		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		900
3B	Aaron Boone		750
3B	Shea Hillenbrand	450
SS	Alex Rodriguez		1880
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1120
OF	Lance Berkman		1320
OF	Juan Pierre		1180
OF	Pat Burrell		920
OF	Torii Hunter		830
OF	Adam Dunn		710
OF	Daryle Ward		620
DH	Jimmy Rollins		940
DH	Michael Barrett		590

SP	Randy Johnson		1990
SP	Curt Schilling		1540
SP	Javier Vazquez		1100
SP	Kerry Wood		1050
SP	Derek Lowe		870
SP	Roy Oswalt		830
RP	Mike Williams		900
RP	Eddie Guardado		900
RP	Jorge Julio		750
RP	Scott Stewart		490

Internet Challenge

We're going to continue waiting to use our last buy.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Mon:SD(Tomko)
Pedro Martinez: Wed(?):@TB(P.Wilson)
Curt Schilling: Tue:SD(Peavy)
Matt Morris: Tue:@MIL(W.Franklin)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Eric Gagne: 4 games: 3 at San Francisco; 1 at Colorado.
Roy Halladay: Wed:@CLE(Burba)

No starts: Mussina, Clemens, Zito, Wood, and Oswalt.

Byung-Hyun Kim: 3 Home games vs. San Diego.
Mike Williams: 3 Road games at Cincinnati.
Eddie Guardado: 4 games: 3 Home vs. Detroit; 1 Road at Cleveland.
Jorge Julio: 4 Road games at New York Yankees.
Scott Stewart: 4 games: 3 Road at Chicago Cubs; 1 Home vs. New York Mets.

Our needs remain power and pitching, and with Pedro not necessarily starting before Friday, we'll sit him for cap room. We'll also sit Stewart since we like Kim's schedule.

Ichiro's terrible slump keeps him on our bench, and he's joined by Drew, Sosa, and Klesko, who faces Randy and Schilling, as well as the Rockies. We're stuck running Uribe for cap reasons, but we'll take the chance he'll provide a little power rather than sacrifice elsewhere to run someone like Pierre, whose speed we really don't need.

The Umpire Hunter(2nd lg; 21st overall)
Week 24a: September 9-September 12

C 	Jorge Posada		990
C	A.J. Pierzynski		460
1B	Jason Giambi		1640
1B	Paul Konerko		1220
2B	Luis Castillo		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		900
3B	Eric Chavez		1070
3B	Shea Hillenbrand	450
SS	Alex Rodriguez		1880
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1120
OF	Vlad Guerrero		1880
OF	Barry Bonds		1830
OF	Lance Berkman		1320
OF	Torii Hunter		830
OF	Adam Dunn		710
OF	Daryle Ward		620
DH	Jimmy Rollins		940
DH	Juan Uribe		500

SP	Randy Johnson		1990
SP	Curt Schilling		1540
SP	Matt Morris		1190
SP	Javier Vazquez		1100
SP	Roy Halladay		490
SP	Eric Gagne		500
RP	Byung-Hyun Kim		1200
RP	Mike Williams		900
RP	Eddie Guardado		900
RP	Jorge Julio		750

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

We're desperate to make a move here as we need to close a 90 point gap to win 1st place in our Fantasy Baseball league. Our Zito gamble didn't work well thus far although we're comfortable with him on the roster. Due to several very good teams in Budget Baseball, we're 90 points back of 5th in that league, so if we see a quality double start, we'll consider using our last buy. Our only positions without a backup are catcher and RP, and we're comfortable with our six current starters.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Mon:SD(Tomko); Sat:MIL(Neugebauer)
Curt Schilling: Tue:SD(Peavy); Sun:MIL(Diggins)
Pedro Martinez: Wed(?):@TB(P.Wilson)
Mike Mussina: Fri:CHW(Biddle)
Roger Clemens: Sat:CHW(D.Wright)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:NYM(Astacio)
Barry Zito: Fri:SEA(I.Valdes)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:NYM(A.Leiter)
Kerry Wood: Fri:@CIN(Haynes)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:STL(Jam.Wright or Simontacchi)
Eric Gagne: 7 games: 3 at San Francisco; 4 at Colorado.

Randy, Schilling, and Vazquez are necessary, and Millwood also look quite strong. We're also confident in Oswalt and Gagne, however deploying a solid double instead of Oswalt could help us gain close to 30 points, so we're going to buy Jason Schmidt with our last move. As Roger Clemens is our only pitcher seemingly guaranteed not to double again this year, he's our logical guy to cut.

Nick Johnson, Jeremy Giambi, J.D. Drew, and Cliff Floyd sit for health reasons, Uribe and Pierre offer little help, we lack cap room for Sosa or Helton, and Spivey's slumped for the past few weeks.

The Umpire Chronicles(2nd lg; 309th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(7th lg; 709th overall)
Week 24: September 9-September 15

C	Paul Lo Duca		1640
C	A.J. Pierzynski		1000
1B	Jason Giambi		3320
1B	Steve Cox		1160
2B	Jeff Kent		2740
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1800
3B	Eric Chavez		2270
3B	Aramis Ramirez		1590
SS	Alex Rodriguez		3430
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	2160
OF	Larry Walker		2790
OF	Lance Berkman		2540
OF	Torii Hunter		1710
OF	Adam Dunn		1610
OF	Daryle Ward		1590
OF	Corey Patterson		1370
DH	Bret Boone		2650
DH	Mike Lowell		1920

SP	Randy Johnson		3580
SP	Curt Schilling		3160
SP	Javier Vazquez		2600
SP	Kevin Millwood		2060
SP	Jason Schmidt		1850
SP	Eric Gagne		1230
RP	John Smoltz		2610
RP	Byung-Hyun Kim		2230
RP	Eddie Guardado		1690
RP	Jorge Julio		1500

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball
We've completely blown two double-start gambles in a row with Prior and Helling, but with three moves left, we're going to keep trying to move up in the standings.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Mon:SD(Tomko); Sat:MIL(Neugebauer)
Curt Schilling: Tue:SD(Peavy); Sun:MIL(Diggins)
Pedro Martinez: Wed(?):@TB(P.Wilson)
Freddy Garcia: Wed:@TEX(C.Lewis)
Rick Helling: Fri: MIL(Rusch)
Barry Zito: Fri:SEA(I.Valdes)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:NYM(A.Leiter)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:STL(Jam.Wright or Simontacchi)
Roy Halladay: Wed:@CLE(Burba)
Eric Gagne: 7 games: 3 at San Francisco; 4 at Colorado.
Odalis Perez: Mon:@SF(L.Hernandez); Sat:@COL(Hampton)

Randy, Schilling, Perez, and Gagne all seem solid here, and Millwood's as hot as any pitcher in baseball. We'll add a pitcher to replace our disastrous Helling gambit, and we'll pick from the eight or so intriguing doubles after setting our offense.

Bonds, Helton, and Ichiro will sit, along with A.J. Pierzynski, Luis Castillo, Eric Hinske, and Jeremy Giambi. Lastly, we'll bench Konerko for cap purposes, leaving us with room to take either of the following starters:

Wade Miller(2040): Tue:COL(Neagle); Sun:STL(M.Morris)
Jason Schmidt(1850): Tue:LA(Ashby); Sun:@SD(Peavy)

Over the past five starts, Miller's compiled 3 Wins, 38 K, and 35 IP for 103 points; Schmidt's posted 3 Wins, 40 K, and 33 IP for 103 points, leaving them matched fairly equally. PQS-wise, Miller's running a 45554 and facing a 31453 and 45352 coming off the DL. Schmidt holds a 45545 and opposes a 33202 and 40555.

San Francisco owns the second-best offense in the league, slightly ahead of St. Louis, Houston, and Colorado. Los Angeles and San Diego rank near the bottom of the league. As we're also likely to run Schmidt next week in Milwaukee, we'll add him to our roster, cutting Helling, who should make his last three starts against Milwaukee and Colorado.

Umpire in Brooklyn(5th lg; 238th overall)
Week 24: September 9-September 15

C	Paul Lo Duca		1640
C	Toby Hall		1000
1B	Derrek Lee		1830
1B	Steve Cox		1160
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1800
2B	Junior Spivey		1500
3B	Eric Chavez		2270
3B	Aaron Boone		1600
SS	Alex Rodriguez		3430
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	2160
OF	Larry Walker		2790
OF	Lance Berkman		2540
OF	Albert Pujols		2500
OF	Pat Burrell		2050
OF	Adam Dunn		1610
OF	Erubiel Durazo		1260
DH	Torii Hunter		1710
DH	David Eckstein		1380

SP	Randy Johnson		3580
SP	Curt Schilling		3160
SP	Kevin Millwood		2090
SP	Jason Schmidt		1850
SP	Odalis Perez		1070
SP	Eric Gagne		1230
RP	John Smoltz		2610
RP	Mike Williams		1790
RP	Eddie Guardado		1690
RP	Jorge Julio		1500

Today's Fantasy Rx: As top starters on playoff teams may skip their last starts as managers set their post-season rosters, no one doubling this week is likely to pitch twice again in either of the two remaining weeks. Only Mon-Sat starts for this week even have that chance in two weeks.

If you have available moves, you should probably take a chance on one of the many solid double starts available to purchase today, beginning with Randy and Schilling and continuing down through Andy Pettitte, Tim Hudson, Jason Schmidt, Wade Miller, Javier Vazquez, Matt Clement, and Rick Reed to Woody Williams and Derek Lowe.