Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Florida: 4 Home vs. PHI; 3 Home vs. MON.
Milwaukee: 4 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. PIT.
Montreal: 4 Home vs. NYM; 3 Road at FLO.
Oakland: 3 Home vs. SEA; 4 Road at TEX.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Home vs. TEX; 4 Home vs. SEA.
Arizona: 4 Road at HOU; 3 Road at COL.
Atlanta: 4 Road at PIT; 3 Home vs. NYM.
Chicago Cubs: 4 Road at MIL; 3 Home vs. PHI.
Colorado: 4 Home vs. LA; 3 Home vs. ARI.
Houston: 4 Home vs. ARI; 3 Road at CIN.
Los Angeles: 4 Road at COL; 3 Road at SD.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at TOR; 4 Home vs. BAL.
Texas: 3 Road at ANA; 4 Home vs. OAK.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 3 Home vs. MIN; 4 Road at DET.
Philadelphia: 4 Road at FLO; 3 Road at CHC.
Pittsburgh: 4 Home vs. ATL; 3 Road at MIL.
San Diego: 4 Home vs. SF; 3 Home vs. LA.
San Francisco: 4 Road at SD; 3 Home vs. STL.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. BOS; 4 Road at NYY.
Detroit: 3 Road at CLE; 4 Home vs. CHW.
New York Mets: 4 Road at MON; 3 Road at ATL.
Seattle: 3 Road at OAK; 4 Road at ANA.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Road at MIN.
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. DET: 3 Road at KC.
St. Louis: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at SF.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Home vs. TOR.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cincinnati: 3 Home vs. STL; 3 Home vs. HOU.
Minnesota: 3 Road at CHW; 3 Home vs. BOS.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Erik Bedard: Mon:BOS(P.Martinez); Sat:@NYY(Ja.Vazquez)
Kris Benson?: Mon:ATL(Jar.Wright); Sat:@MIL(V.Santos)???
Dewon Brazelton: Tue:KC(D.May); Sun:TOR(T.Lilly)
Mark Buehrle: Mon:MIN(B.Radke); Sat:@DET(M.Maroth)
A.J. Burnett: Mon:PHI(K.Millwood); Sat:MON(J.Patterson)
Paul Byrd: Tue:@PIT(K.Wells); Sun:NYM(T.Glavine)
Matt Clement: Mon:@MIL(V.Santos); Sat:PHI(K.Millwood)
Bartolo Colon: Tue:TEX(N.Regilio); Sun:SEA(R.Franklin)
Zach Day: Tue:NYM(T.Glavine); Sun:@FLO(C.Pavano)
Ryan Drese: Mon:@ANA(K.Escobar); Sat:OAK(B.Zito)
Kelvim Escobar: Mon:TEX(R.Drese); Sat:SEA(T.Blackley)
Freddy Garcia: Tue:MIN(Jo.Santana); Sun:@DET(G.Knotts)
Tom Glavine: Tue:@MON(Z.Day); Sun:@ATL(P.Byrd)
Orlando Hernandez: Tue:@TOR(T.Lilly); Sun:BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Cliff Lee: Mon:DET(M.Maroth); Sun:@KC(D.May)
Ted Lilly: Tue:NYY(O.Hernandez); Sun:@TB(D.Brazelton)
Rodrigo Lopez: Tue:BOS(T.Wakefield); Sun:@NYY(O.Hernandez)
Greg Maddux: Tue:@MIL(B.Sheets); Sun:PHI(R.Wolf)
Mike Maroth: Mon:@CLE(Cl.Lee); Sat:CHW(M.Buehrle)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@BAL(E.Bedard); Sun:@MIN(Jo.Santana)
Darrell May: Tue:@TB(D.Brazelton); Sun:CLE(Cl.Lee)
Kevin Millwood: Mon:@FLO(A.Burnett); Sat:@CHC(M.Clement)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez); Sun:@CIN(Pa.Wilson)
John Patterson: Mon:NYM(S.Erickson); Sat:@FLO(A.Burnett)
Carl Pavano: Tue:PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:MON(Z.Day)
Jake Peavy: Mon:SF(K.Rueter); Sat:LA(K.Ishii) Andy Pettitte: Mon:ARI(B.Webb); Sat:@CIN(B.Claussen)
Brad Radke: Mon:@CHW(M.Buehrle); Sat:BOS(D.Lowe)
Johan Santana: Tue:@CHW(Fr.Garcia); Sun:BOS(Ped.Martinez)
Victor Santos: Mon:CHC(M.Clement); Sat:PIT(K.Benson?)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:@SD(D.Wells); Sun:STL(W.Williams)
Ben Sheets: Tue:CHC(G.Maddux); Sun:PIT(K.Wells)
Javier Vazquez: Mon:@TOR(S.Douglass); Sat:BAL(E.Bedard)
David Wells: Tue:SF(J.Schmidt); Sun:LA(Od.Perez)
Kip Wells: Tue:ATL(P.Byrd); Sun:@MIL(B.Sheets)
Woody Williams: Mon:@CIN(Pa.Wilson); Sun:@SF(J.Schmidt)
Paul Wilson: Mon:STL(Wo.Williams); Sun:HOU(R.Oswalt)
Randy Wolf: Tue:@FLO(C.Pavano); Sun:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Jaret Wright: Mon:@PIT(K.Benson); Sat:NYM(S.Erickson)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Travis Blackley: Mon:@OAK(B.Zito); Sat:ANA(K.Escobar)
Aaron Cook: Tue:LA(Od.Perez); Sun:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez)
Scott Erickson: Mon:@MON(J.Patterson); Sat:@ATL(Jar.Wright)
Shawn Estes: Mon:LA(K.Ishii); Sat:ARI(B.Webb)
Ryan Franklin: Tue:@OAK(M.Redman); Sun:@ANA(B.Colon)
Edgar Gonzalez: Tue:@HOU(R.Oswalt); Sun:@COL(A.Cook)
Kazuhisa Ishii: Mon:@COL(S.Estes); Sat:@SD(J.Peavy)
Gary Knotts: Tue:@CLE(C.Sabathia); Sun:CHW(Fr.Garcia)
Odalis Perez: Tue:@COL(A.Cook); Sun:@SD(D.Wells)
Mark Redman: Tue:SEA(R.Franklin); Sun:@TEX(N.Regilio?)
Kirk Rueter: Mon:@SD(J.Peavy); Sat:STL(M.Morris)
Brandon Webb: Mon:@HOU(A.Pettitte); Sat:@COL(S.Estes)
Barry Zito: Mon:SEA(T.Blackley); Sat:@TEX(R.Drese)

Diamond Challenge

With Rhodes out and Herges reeling, we're adding Nathan, cutting Rhodes, and benching Herges.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@BAL(E.Bedard); Sun:@MIN(Jo.Santana)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@BAL(D.Borkowski)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@COL(J.Jennings)
Mike Mussina: No start(DL)
Roy Halladay: No start(DL)
Tim Hudson: No start(DL).
Javier Vazquez: Mon:@TOR(S.Douglass); Sat:BAL(E.Bedard)
Mark Mulder: Wed:SEA(J.Moyer)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez); Sun:@CIN(Pa.Wilson)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@MIL(C.Capuano)
Kevin Brown: Thu:BAL(S.Ponson)???
Josh Beckett: Fri:MON(L.Hernandez)
Jeremy Affeldt: DL.

Pedro, Vazquez, and Oswalt are the obvious picks, and then Schilling, Mulder, and Wood are the picks since we don't want to add a starter this week.

Lowell, Crawford, and Mora all should be in our lineup, so Wells, Podsednik, and Hudson join Fullmer on our bench.

Shadow of the Umpire(14th lg; 149th div; 3743rd overall)
Week 17: July 26-August 1

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	Hank Blalock		850 
3B	Joe Crede		600
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Brian Roberts		610 
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760 
OF	Carl Crawford		1040 
OF	Melvin Mora		740
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690 
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570
DH	Mike Lowell		1230
DH	Alex Cintron		450 

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Curt Schilling		1610  
SP	Javier Vazquez		1280
SP	Mark Mulder		1200 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200 
SP	Kerry Wood		1190
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250 
RP	Danny Graves		1070 
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 17: 	29980

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

We're using our last free agent move on the doubling Johan Santana, who replaces the injured Roy Halladay. Herges' struggles also mean we're going to pick up Lidge here.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@BAL(E.Bedard); Sun:@MIN(Jo.Santana)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@BAL(D.Borkowski)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@COL(J.Jennings)
Javier Vazquez: Mon:@TOR(S.Douglass); Sat:BAL(E.Bedard)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:@SD(D.Wells); Sun:STL(W.Williams)
Mark Mulder: Wed:SEA(J.Moyer)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez); Sun:@CIN(Pa.Wilson)
Roger Clemens: Wed:ARI(R.Clemens)
Johan Santana: Tue:@CHW(Fr.Garcia); Sun:BOS(Ped.Martinez)
Brad Penny: Wed:PHI(B.Myers)
Ben Sheets: Tue:CHC(G.Maddux); Sun:PIT(K.Wells)
Jon Lieber: Wed:@TOR(M.Batista)

Taking all six doubles is not a tough decision for us.

The need to run Rolen, Berkman, Mora, and the improving Craig Wilson leaves us with a bench of Jerry Hairston, Blalock, Uribe, Manny, Vernon Wells, and the injured Lawton.

Umpire: The Masquerade
(7th lg; 99th div; 766th overall)
Week 17: July 26-August 1

C	Jason Varitek		680
C	Victor Martinez		450
1B	David Ortiz		800 
1B	Lyle Overbay		400
2B	Jeff Kent		1450 
2B	Mark Loretta		820
3B	Scott Rolen		1460 
3B	Vinny Castilla		760
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Royce Clayton		610
OF	Bobby Abreu		1630 
OF	Lance Berkman		1390
OF	Carl Crawford		1040 
OF	Jeromy Burnitz		810 
OF	Melvin Mora		740
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Craig Wilson		620
DH	Travis Hafner		500

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Javier Vazquez		1280 
SP	Jason Schmidt		1240 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200 
SP	Johan Santana		1000
SP	Ben Sheets		870
RP	Danny Graves		1070
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Brad Lidge		830
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 17: 	27690

Internet Challenge

While we probably should have changed months ago, today we'll add Joe Nathan so we can bench Herges, but we'll keep the Giant on our roster as injury insurance since we instead should drop Halladay.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@BAL(E.Bedard)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@BAL(D.Borkowski)
Javier Vazquez: Mon:@TOR(S.Douglass)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:@SD(D.Wells)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@MIL(C.Capuano)
Kevin Brown: Thu:BAL(S.Ponson)???

No starts: Randy, Mussina, T.Hudson, Beckett, and Affeldt.

With six healthy starters, we don't need to risk running Brown.

Benching Pierre, Vernon Wells, and Piazza isn't difficult, but we need to sit either Blalock or Kaz Matsui to accommodate our pitching. Given their respective schedules and current performances, Fullmer will replace Blalock, who joins Orlando Hudson at the end of our bench.

The Umpire Hunter(20th lg; 575th overall)
Week 17a: July 26-July 29

C	Jason Varitek		680 
C	Victor Martinez		450
1B	Lyle Overbay		400
1B	Mark Teixeira		760
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Mark Loretta		820 
3B	Scott Rolen		1460 
3B	Joe Crede		600
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Kazuo Matsui		750
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760 
OF	Carl Crawford		1040 
OF	Scott Podsednik		980 
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Brad Fullmer		700
DH	Alex Cintron		450 

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800
SP	Curt Schilling		1610 
SP	Javier Vazquez		1280 
SP	Jason Schmidt		1240  
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200 
SP	Kerry Wood		1190
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 17a: 	29860

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

Flipping Lidge for Herges here should fix our biggest concern.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@BAL(D.Borkowski)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@COL(J.Jennings)
Javier Vazquez: Mon:@TOR(S.Douglass); Sat:BAL(E.Bedard)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@BAL(E.Bedard); Sun:@MIN(Jo.Santana)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@MIL(C.Capuano)
Tim Hudson: No start(DL).
Roy Halladay: No start(DL)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:@SD(D.Wells); Sun:STL(W.Williams)
Josh Beckett: Fri:MON(L.Hernandez)
Kevin Brown: Thu:BAL(S.Ponson)???

Vazquez, Pedro, and Schmidt are easy calls, and we like Schilling and Wood. Despite the trade talk, we're going to run Randy given the limited downside of a Coors start in points' leagues.

Schneider flips for Estrada, Lowell for Blalock, and then to fit Helton, we'll sit Soriano and Manny, also deploying Wilkerson. Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera, Vernon Wells, and Austin Kearns stay benched.

The Umpire Chronicles(13th lg; 1512th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(19th lg; 3093rd overall)
Week 17: July 26-August 1

 
C	Matt LeCroy		1100 
C	Brian Schneider		1100 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1550
1B	Lyle Overbay		1000 
2B	Marcus Giles		1740
2B	Mark Loretta		1650 
3B	Mike Lowell		2380 
3B	Tony Batista		1640
SS	Brian Roberts		1260 
SS	Alex Cintron		1100 
OF	Albert Pujols		3350
OF	Carlos Beltran		3060 
OF	Adam Dunn		1950 
OF	Brad Wilkerson		1870
OF	Hideki Matsui		1800
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1600 
DH	Todd Helton		3450
DH	Derrek Lee		2690 

SP	Curt Schilling		3090
SP	Randy Johnson		2900 
SP	Javier Vazquez		2890
SP	Pedro Martinez		2890 
SP	Kerry Wood		2880 
SP	Jason Schmidt		2780 
RP	Armando Benitez		2490
RP	Octavio Dotel		2400 
RP	Brad Lidge		1730
RP	Joe Nathan		1420

Total Salary for Week 17: 	59760

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@BAL(D.Borkowski)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@COL(J.Jennings)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:@SD(D.Wells); Sun:STL(W.Williams)
Roger Clemens: Wed:ARI(R.Clemens)
Mark Mulder: Wed:SEA(J.Moyer)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez); Sun:@CIN(Pa.Wilson)
Matt Clement: Mon:@MIL(V.Santos); Sat:PHI(K.Millwood)
Ben Sheets: Tue:CHC(G.Maddux); Sun:PIT(K.Wells)
Johan Santana: Tue:@CHW(Fr.Garcia); Sun:BOS(Ped.Martinez)
Carl Pavano: Tue:PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:MON(Z.Day)

Owning six doubles here pleases us greatly, leaving us with only tough decisions on offense.

Colorado's homestand forces CJ into the lineup for Estrada. All 4 first baseman stay active while Beltre replace Blalock, and then Kaz Matsui and Mike Young stay seated. Running our cheaper pitchers creates room for Bonds, Abreu, Manny, and Burnitz, and then Jose Guillen and Drew seem slightly stronger than Miguel Cabrera.

Umpire in Brooklyn(3rd lg; 255th overall)
Week 17: July 26-August 1

 
C	Charles Johnson		1480
C	Victor Martinez		1120
1B	David Ortiz		1980
1B	Mark Teixeira		1550
2B	Marcus Giles		1740
2B	Mark Loretta		1650
3B	Adrian Beltre		2090
3B	Vinny Castilla		1610
SS	Carlos Guillen		1640
SS	Royce Clayton		1360
OF	Barry Bonds		3520
OF	Bobby Abreu		3120 
OF	Manny Ramirez		2960
OF	Jeromy Burnitz		2100
OF	J.D. Drew		1690 
OF	Jose Guillen		1620 
DH	Travis Hafner		1140
DH	Lyle Overbay		1000

SP	Jason Schmidt		2780 
SP	Roy Oswalt		2560
SP	Matt Clement		2460
SP	Ben Sheets		2300 
SP	Johan Santana		2170
SP	Carl Pavano		1620
RP	Armando Benitez		2490
RP	Francisco Cordero	2080
RP	Brad Lidge		1730
RP	Joe Nathan		1420

Total Salary for Week 17: 	54980

Today's Fantasy Rx: Plan to use any remaining free agent moves no later than next weekend. Both Santana and Sheets double this week, and then Teixeira and Lidge should merit serious consideration everywhere next week.