Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Florida: 3 Home vs. CIN; 4 Road at NYM.
Toronto: 3 Road at SEA; 4 Road at OAK.
Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Pittsburgh: 4 Home vs. STL; 3 Road at CHC.
Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games
Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 1 Home vs. BAL; 3 Road at ANA; 3 Road at KC.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Home vs. HOU; 3 Home vs. PIT.
Los Angeles: 3 Home vs. MIL; 3 Road at ARI.
Montreal: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at CIN.
Oakland: 3 Home vs. CHW; 3 Home vs. TOR.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Home vs. MIL.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. TOR; 3 Home vs. CHW.
Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Anaheim: 2 Home vs. BOS; 4 Home vs. CLE.
Cleveland: 2 Home vs. TEX; 4 Road at ANA.
Colorado: 3 Road at SD; 3 Road at SF.
Houston: 3 Road at CHC; 3 Road at STL.
New York Yankees: 3 Home vs. BAL; 3 Home vs. TEX.
Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Cincinnati: 3 Road at FLO; 3 Home vs. MON.
Milwaukee: 3 Road at LA: 3 Road at SD.
Schedule recommendations for teams with 5 games
Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 2 Road at OAK; 3 Road at SEA.
Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Texas: 2 Road at CLE; 3 Road at NYY.
Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Bartolo Colon: Tue:BOS(B.Arroyo); Sun:CLE(C.Sabathia)
Matt Ginter: Mon:@PHI(B.Myers); Sat:FLO(T.Phelps)
Seth Greisinger: Mon:TB(R.Bell); Sat:DET(G.Knotts)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(G.Meche); Sun:@OAK(M.Redman)
Livan Hernandez: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@CIN(Pa.Wilson?)
Esteban Loaiza: Tue:@OAK(M.Redman); Sun:@SEA(J.Moyer)
Derek Lowe: Mon:BAL(Ro.Lopez); Sun:@KC(C.George)
Greg Maddux: Mon:HOU(R.Oswalt); Sun:PIT(R.Vogelsong)
Jason Marquis: Mon:@PIT(K.Benson); Sat:HOU(T.Redding)
Darrell May: Mon:@DET(G.Knotts); Sat:BOS(C.Schilling)
Kevin Millwood: Tue:NYM(A.Leiter); Sun:@ATL(Jar.Wright)
Mike Mussina: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TEX(K.Rogers)
Brett Myers: Mon:NYM(M.Ginter); Sat:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz)
Russ Ortiz: Mon:MON(L.Hernandez); Sat:PHI(B.Myers)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@CHC(G.Maddux); Sun:@STL(J.Suppan)
Brad Penny: Tue:CIN(A.Harang); Sun:@NYM(A.Leiter)
Odalis Perez: Mon:MIL(M.Wise); Sun:@ARI(S.Sparks)
Tommy Phelps: Mon:CIN(T.Van Poppel); Sat:@NYM(M.Ginter)
Mark Redman: Tue:CHW(E.Loaiza); Sun:TOR(Ju.Dominguez)
Nate Robertson: Tue:KC(C.George); Sun:@MIN(C.Silva)
C.C. Sabathia: Tue:TEX(R.Drese); Sun:@ANA(B.Colon)
Ben Sheets: Tue:@LA(J.Weaver); Sun:@SD(J.Germano?)
Carlos Silva: Tue:TB(P.Abbott); Sun:DET(N.Robertson)
Jeff Suppan: Tue:@PIT(R.Vogelsong); Sun:HOU(R.Oswalt)
Todd Van Poppel: Mon:@FLO(T.Phelps); Sun:MON(T.Armas)
Jaret Wright: Tue:MON(T.Armas); Sun:PHI(K.Millwood)
Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Paul Abbott: Tue:@MIN(C.Silva); Sun:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Tony Armas: Tue:@ATL(Jar.Wright); Sun:@CIN(T.Van Poppel)
Rob Bell: Mon:@MIN(S.Greisinger); Sat:@BAL(Ro.Lopez)
Kris Benson: Mon:STL(J.Marquis); Sat:@CHC(C.Zambrano?)
Aaron Cook: Tue:@SD(J.Germano); Sun:SF(D.Hermanson)
Casey Daigle: Mon:SF(K.Rueter); Sat:LA(K.Ishii?)
Adam Eaton: Mon:COL(J.Jennings); Sat:MIL(C.Capuano)
Chris George: Tue:@DET(N.Robertson); Sun:BOS(D.Lowe)
Pat Hentgen: Tue:@SEA(J.Moyer); Sat:@OAK(T.Hudson)
Dustin Hermanson: Tue:@ARI(S.Sparks); Sun:@COL(A.Cook)
Jason Jennings: Mon:@SD(A.Eaton); Sat:SF(K.Rueter)
Gary Knotts: Mon:KC(D.May); Sat:@MIN(S.Greisinger)
Al Leiter: Tue:@PHI(K.Millwood); Sun:FLO(B.Penny)
Rodrigo Lopez: Mon:@BOS(D.Lowe); Sat:TB(R.Bell)
Jamie Moyer: Mon:TOR(P.Hentgen); Sun:CHW(E.Loaiza)
Kirk Rueter: Mon:@ARI(C.Daigle); Sat:@COL(J.Jennings)
Steve Sparks: Tue:SF(D.Hermanson); Sun:LA(Od.Perez)
Ryan Vogelsong: Tue:STL(J.Suppan); Sun:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Diamond Challenge
With Giles and Hudson both on the DL, the only decent replacement looks like Mark Loretta, who we'll add while dropping Richard Hidalgo, who hasn't contributed anything in weeks.
Free agents Johnny Estrada, David Ortiz, Jon Lieber and Jose Mesa all tempted us, but we aren't prepared to spend another move right now.
SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@ANA(J.Washburn)
Curt Schilling: Sat:@KC(D.May)
Randy Johnson: Wed:SF(B.Tomko)
Mike Mussina: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TEX(K.Rogers)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(G.Meche); Sun:@OAK(M.Redman)
Tim Hudson: Sat:TOR(P.Hentgen)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:BAL(D.Cabrera)
Mark Mulder: Wed:CHW(M.Buehrle)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@CHC(G.Maddux); Sun:@STL(J.Suppan)
Kerry Wood: No start(DL)
Kevin Brown: Fri:TEX(R.Dickey)
Josh Beckett: No start(DL)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Road at SD; 3 Home vs. SF.
In addition to the three doubles, Randy and Vazquez are easy calls. With both Brown and Chacon looking risky, we'll complete our rotation with Tim Hudson.
Loretta replaces the injured Orlando Hudson, and then to squeeze under the cap, we'll deploy Pierre and Crede for Beltran and Dunn. Fullmer and Brian Roberts remain benched.
Shadow of the Umpire(14th lg; 143rd div; 3796th overall)
Week 9: May 31-June 6
C Javy Lopez 940
C Jason Varitek 680
1B Mark Teixeira 760
1B Lyle Overbay 400
2B Alfonso Soriano 1930
2B Mark Loretta 820
3B Mike Lowell 1230
3B Hank Blalock 850
SS Alex Rodriguez 2010
SS Alex Cintron 450
OF Juan Pierre 1470
OF Vernon Wells 1150
OF Scott Podsednik 980
OF Melvin Mora 740
OF Brad Wilkerson 690
OF Miguel Cabrera 570
DH Carl Crawford 1040
DH Joe Crede 600
SP Randy Johnson 1550
SP Mike Mussina 1380
SP Roy Halladay 1350
SP Tim Hudson 1320
SP Javier Vazquez 1280
SP Roy Oswalt 1200
RP Eric Gagne 1890
RP Octavio Dotel 1250
RP Arthur Rhodes 800
RP Matt Herges 670
Total Salary for Week 9: 30000
Diamond Challenge 2nd Season
Our two major changes here involve going back to old strategies. We'll employ a Colorado platoon featuring Vinny Castilla, Royce Clayton, and Jeromy Burnitz, and thanks to Affeldt, we're opting for the best relatively inexpensive closers rather than Gagne, Smoltz, or Foulke.
Catchers: Several players appeal to us here, led by Mike Piazza, Javy Lopez, Jason Varitek, Charles Johnson, Victor Martinez, and Johnny Estrada. However, we don't like Johnson's BA, Estrada contributes little save BA, and neither Piazza nor Lopez are fantastic values. Varitek and Martinez both appear healthy and nestled in nice lineup slots, making them our best bets at catcher.
First Basemen: Usually we see a lot of useful 1B, but only a couple of the cheaper players appear automatic right now. Discounting the injured Todd Helton and inconsistent Frank Thomas, David Ortiz, Craig Wilson, and Lyle Overbay give us a nice cadre of cheap offensive talent.
Second Basemen: The injuries to Marcus Giles and Orlando Hudson deprive us of the otherwise best options here. Mark Loretta surprisingly looks quite strong as evidenced by our decision to add him in every game this week to replace Hudson. While neither Alfonso Soriano not Jeff Kent particularly appeal to us, Kent looks like a better value right now.
Third Basemen: Scott Rolen and Vinny Castilla are the class of the position, and then we'll opt for Blalock over Lowell as Castilla's platoon partner.
Shortstops: In a surprisingly weak field, ARod is a necessity, and then Juan Uribe is a logical pick to platoon with Royce Clayton.
Outfielders: We need to spend money somewhere, so we'll roster Abreu, Manny, and Berkman. Excellent cheap options include Melvin Mora, Matt Lawton, Ken Griffey, and Miguel Cabrera, along with Jeremy Burnitz. We'll take Carl Crawford for speed, and then Vernon Wells for when we need a cheaper alternative to one of our three expensive outfielders.
Starting Pitchers: Jeremy Affeldt is a better option than Chacon, so we'll take him as our cheap closing SP.
The first batch of automatic picks includes Pedro, Schilling, Randy, Oswalt, and Beckett, however the latter pitcher's DL trip makes him a bad choice; we similarly won't take Kerry Wood right now. Along with our original four aces, Halladay, Vazquez, Penny, Sheets, and Lieber all warrant selections here.
To round out our staff, we'll take Schmidt, Mulder, and Clemens, who enjoy better upcoming schedules than Mark Prior or Tim Hudson.
Relief Pitchers: Danny Graves simply gets too many save opportunities to ignore. Danny Kolb is a rock solid despite limited strikeouts; his great ground-fly minimizes his downside. Joe Nathan is similarly a solid choice. While we strongly considered Armando Benitez and even Jose Mesa, we still expect Arthur Rhodes to post nice numbers over the balance of the season.
SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@ANA(J.Washburn)
Curt Schilling: Sat:@KC(D.May)
Randy Johnson: Wed:SF(B.Tomko)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(G.Meche); Sun:@OAK(M.Redman)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:BAL(D.Cabrera)
Jason Schmidt: Fri:@COL(J.Kennedy)
Mark Mulder: Wed:CHW(M.Buehrle)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@CHC(G.Maddux); Sun:@STL(J.Suppan)
Roger Clemens: Wed:@CHC(M.Clement)
Brad Penny: Tue:CIN(A.Harang); Sun:@NYM(A.Leiter)
Ben Sheets: Tue:@LA(J.Weaver); Sun:@SD(J.Germano?)
Jon Lieber: Sat:TEX(K.Rogers)
Jeremy Affeldt: 4 Road at DET; 3 Home vs. BOS.
Along with Affeldt, Halladay, Oswalt, Penny, and Sheets are automatics, and then Randy looks like a slightly better choice than Vazquez.
The three members of our Colorado platoon sit, and then due to poor upcoming schedules, Overbay and Wells belong on our bench.
Umpire: The Masquerade
Week 9: May 31-June 6
C Jason Varitek 680
C Victor Martinez 450
1B David Ortiz 800
1B Craig Wilson 620
2B Jeff Kent 1450
2B Mark Loretta 820
3B Scott Rolen 1460
3B Hank Blalock 850
SS Alex Rodriguez 2010
SS Juan Uribe 600
OF Manny Ramirez 1420
OF Lance Berkman 1390
OF Melvin Mora 740
OF Ken Griffey 700
OF Matt Lawton 720
OF Miguel Cabrera 570
DH Bobby Abreu 1630
DH Carl Crawford 1040
SP Randy Johnson 1550
SP Roy Halladay 1350
SP Roy Oswalt 1200
SP Brad Penny 880
SP Ben Sheets 870
SP Jeremy Affeldt 650
RP Danny Graves 1070
RP Danny Kolb 940
RP Arthur Rhodes 800
RP Joe Nathan 720
Total Salary for Week 9: 27980
Internet Challenge
As in DC, we'll add Loretta here, dropping Brad Fullmer, who simply can't hit anything right now.
SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@ANA(J.Washburn)
Randy Johnson: Wed:SF(B.Tomko)
Mike Mussina: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(G.Meche)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:BAL(D.Cabrera)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Jose Contreras: Wed:BAL(E.DuBose)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Road at SD.
No starts: Schilling, Hudson, Wood, Brown, Beckett.
We don't quite trust Contreras, and Pedro appears slightly riskier than the others, so we'll deploy Randy, Mussina, Halladay, Vazquez, Oswalt, and Chacon.
Loretta replaces Hudson, and then to maximize our Games Played without going over the cap, Hinske, Cintron, Beltran, and Wilkerson head to our active roster, forcing Crede, Pierre, Podsednik, and Dunn to the bench.
The Umpire Hunter(14th lg; 507th overall)
Week 9a: May 31-June 3
C Mike Piazza 990
C Jason Varitek 680
1B Lyle Overbay 400
1B Mark Teixeira 760
2B Alfonso Soriano 1930
3B Eric Hinske 990
3B Hank Blalock 850
SS Alex Rodriguez 2010
SS Kazuo Matsui 750
OF Carlos Beltran 1760
OF Ichiro Suzuki 1560
OF Vernon Wells 1150
OF Carl Crawford 1040
OF Brad Wilkerson 690
OF Miguel Cabrera 570
DH Victor Martinez 450
DH Alex Cintron 450
SP Randy Johnson 1550
SP Mike Mussina 1380
SP Roy Halladay 1350
SP Javier Vazquez 1280
SP Roy Oswalt 1200
SP Shawn Chacon 630
RP Eric Gagne 1890
RP Octavio Dotel 1250
RP Arthur Rhodes 800
RP Matt Herges 670
Total Salary for Week 9a: 29850
Fantasy Baseball & Budget Baseball
(Same game = same rosters and moves for both teams)
Once again, we'll add Loretta here, however since we expect both Hudson and Giles to contribute later this year, we're cutting Carl Everett, who appears likely to miss another couple weeks.
SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Sat:@KC(D.May)
Randy Johnson: Wed:SF(B.Tomko)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:BAL(D.Cabrera)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@ANA(J.Washburn)
Kerry Wood: No start(DL)
Tim Hudson: Sat:TOR(P.Hentgen)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(G.Meche); Sun:@OAK(M.Redman)
Kevin Brown: Fri:TEX(R.Dickey)
Josh Beckett: No start(DL)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Road at SD; 3 Home vs. SF.
Aside from Halladay, we like Randy, Vazquez, Hudson, and Chacon. Since Schilling offers the most upside, we'll take him to complete our staff. If Jeremy Affeldt continues producing solid numbers, we'll likely grab him next week.
While Lee, Giles, and Wilkerson stay benched, Estrada, Loretta, Orlando Cabrera, Miguel Cabrera, and Austin Kearns all join our active lineup, displacing Schneider, Helton, Hudson, Alex Cintron, and Adam Dunn.
The Umpire Chronicles(14th lg; 1527th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(19th lg; 3004th overall)
Week 9: May 31-June 6
C Matt LeCroy 1100
C Johnny Estrada 1000
1B Mark Teixeira 1550
1B Lyle Overbay 1000
2B Alfonso Soriano 3060
2B Mark Loretta 1650
3B Hank Blalock 2020
3B Tony Batista 1640
SS Orlando Cabrera 2460
SS Brian Roberts 1260
OF Albert Pujols 3350
OF Carlos Beltran 3060
OF Manny Ramirez 2960
OF Vernon Wells 2260
OF Hideki Matsui 1800
OF Miguel Cabrera 1600
DH Mike Lowell 2380
DH Austin Kearns 1630
SP Curt Schilling 3090
SP Randy Johnson 2900
SP Javier Vazquez 2890
SP Tim Hudson 2840
SP Roy Halladay 2800
SP Shawn Chacon 1600
RP Armando Benitez 2490
RP Octavio Dotel 2400
RP Matt Herges 1610
RP Arthur Rhodes 1580
Total Salary for Week 9: 59980
Today's Fantasy Rx: If you're interested in the CDM challenge games but aren't running a team this year, I recommend signing up for Diamond Challenge-2nd Season. The rules and salaries follow DC almost exactly, however 2nd Season costs less to field a competitive team since the game only runs the last two-thirds of the baseball season.
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