Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Seattle: 3 Home vs. TB; 5 Home vs. KC.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Kansas City: 3 Road at ANA; 5 Road at SEA.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 3 Road at TOR; 4 Home vs. DET.
Los Angeles: 4 Road at MON; 3 Road at NYM.
Oakland: 4 Home vs. BAL; 3 Home vs. TB.
San Diego: 4 Road at NYM; 3 Road at MON.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. TB; 4 Home vs. KC.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at DET; 4 Road at CLE.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Home vs. MIL; 4 Home vs. HOU.
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. NYY; 4 Home vs. CHW.
Detroit: 3 Home vs. CHW; 4 Road at BOS.
Houston; 3 Home vs. PHI; 4 Road at CHC.
Kansas City: 3 Road at ANA; 4 Road at SEA.
Minnesota: 4 Road at TEX; 3 Road at ANA.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at CLE; 4 Road at TOR.
Texas: 4 Home vs. MIN; 3 Home vs. BAL.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 4 Road at OAK; 3 Road at TEX.
Montreal: 4 Home vs. LA: 3 Home vs. SD.
New York Mets: 4 Home vs. SD; 3 Home vs. LA.
Toronto: 3 Home vs. BOS; 4 Home vs. NYY.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Home vs. MIN.
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Home vs. SF.
Florida: 3 Home vs. SF; 3 Home vs. COL.
St. Louis: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at PIT.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cincinnati: 3 Home vs. STL; 3 Home vs. ARI.
Milwaukee: 3 Road at CHC: 3 Road at PHI.
Philadelphia: 3 Road at HOU; 3 Home vs. MIL.
Pittsburgh: 3 Home vs. ARI; 3 Home vs. STL.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at FLO.
San Francisco: 3 Road at FLO; 3 Road at ATL.
Tampa Bay: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Road at OAK.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Road at PIT; 3 Road at CIN.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Kris Benson: Tue:SD(D.Wells); Sat:LA(K.Ishii?)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:SF(W.Franklin); Sun:COL(S.Estes)
Paul Byrd: Tue:COL(S.Estes); Sun:SF(W.Franklin?)
Chris Capuano: Tue:@CHC(M.Clement); Sun:PHI(C.Lidle)
Roger Clemens: Mon:PHI(C.Lidle); Sat:@CHW(C.Zambrano)
Matt Clement: Tue:MIL(C.Capuano); Sun:HOU(C.Hernandez)
Bartolo Colon: Mon:KC(D.May); Sun:MIN(C.Silva)
Jose Contreras: Mon:@DET(J.Bonderman); Fri:@CLE(C.Sabathia)?
Ryan Franklin: Tue:TB(Ro.Bell); Sun:KC(J.Serrano)
Jon Garland: Tue:@DET(N.Robertson): Sat:@CLE(Cl.Lee)?
Carlos Hernandez: Tue:PHI(B.Myers); Sun:@CHW(M.Clement)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BAL(Rod.Lopez); Sat:TB(D.Brazelton)
Kaz Ishii?: Tue:@MON(R.Biddle); Sun:@NYM(K.Benson)?
Bobby Madritsch: Mon:TB(S.Kazmir); Sat:KC(D.May)
Jason Marquis: Mon:@CIN(J.Hancock); Sun:@PIT(Ol.Perez)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@TOR(T.Lilly); Sat:DET(J.Bonderman)
Darrell May: Mon:@ANA(B.Colon); Sat:@SEA(B.Madritsch)
Mark Mulder: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TB(S.Kazmir?)
Mike Mussina: Mon:@CLE(Cl.Lee); Sun:@TOR(M.Batista)
Jake Peavy: Mon:@NYM(A.Heilman); Sat:@MON(S.Kim)
Oliver Perez: Tue:ARI(Ed.Gonzalez); Sun:STL(J.Marquis)
Odalis Perez; Mon:@MON(S.Kim); Sat:@NYM(A.Heilman?)
Sidney Ponson: Tue:@OAK(M.Mulder); Sun:@TEX(J.Benoit?)
Kenny Rogers: Mon:MIN(Joh.Santana); Sat:BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Johan Santana: Mon:@TEX(K.Rogers); Sat:@ANA(K.Escobar)
Ben Sheets: Mon:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sat:@PHI(R.Wolf)
Tim Wakefield: Tue:@TOR(M.Batista); Sun:DET(N.Robertson)
David Wells: Tue:@NYM(K.Benson); Sun:@MON(R.Biddle)
Carlos Zambrano: Mon:MIL(B.Sheets); Sat:HOU(R.Clemens)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Miguel Batista: Tue:BOS(T.Wakefield); Sun:NYY(M.Mussina)
Rocky Biddle: Tue:LA(K.Ishii); Sun:SD(D.Wells)
Jeremy Bonderman: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras); Sat:@BOS(Ped.Martinez)
Scott Elarton: Tue:NYY(J.Vazquez); Sun:CHW(M.Buehrle?)
Shawn Estes: Tue:@ATL(P.Byrd); Sun:@FLO(A.Burnett)
Casey Fossum: Mon:@PIT(J.Van Benschoten); Sun:@CIN(J.Hancock or P.Wilson)
Aaron Heilman?: Mon:SD(J.Peavy); Sat:LA(Od.Perez)?
Scott Kazmir?: Mon:@SEA(B.Madritsch); Sun:@OAK(M.Mulder)?
Sun-Woo Kim: Mon:LA(Od.Perez); Sat:SD(J.Peavy)
Cliff Lee: Mon:NYY(M.Mussina); Sat:CHW(J.Garland?)
Cory Lidle: Mon:@HOU(R.Clemens); Sun:MIL(C.Capuano)
Ted Lilly: Mon:BOS(Ped.Martinez); Sat:NYY(K.Brown)
Rodrigo Lopez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@TEX(K.Rogers)
Nate Robertson: Tue:CHW(J.Garland); Sun:@BOS(T.Wakefield)
Jimmy Serrano: Tue:@ANA(J.Lackey); Sun:@SEA(R.Franklin)
Carlos Silva: Tue:@TEX(J.Benoit?); Sun:@ANA(B.Colon)

Diamond Challenge

We're using our last move here to purchase Brad Lidge, deploying him for the injured Graves, and releasing Herges.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@TOR(T.Lilly); Sat:DET(J.Bonderman)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@TOR(J.Towers)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Mike Mussina: Mon:@CLE(Cl.Lee); Sun:@TOR(M.Batista)
Roy Halladay: No start(DL)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BAL(Rod.Lopez); Sat:TB(D.Brazelton)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CLE(S.Elarton)
Mark Mulder: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TB(S.Kazmir?)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:@CHC(K.Wood)
Kerry Wood: Fri:CHC(R.Oswalt)
Kevin Brown: Sat:@TOR(T.Lilly)
Josh Beckett: Thu:SF(B.Tomko)
Jeremy Affeldt: 8 Games: 3 Road at ANA; 5 Road at SEA.

Taking the four doubles and Randy isn't a difficult decision. Taking Affeldt will complete our team as none of the other starts particularly intrigue us.

Lowell and Crawford rejoin the lineup, displacing Burnitz and Wilkerson. Podsednik and Cintron remain benched.

We expect to add a catcher and first baseman next week in roster expansion.

Shadow of the Umpire(14th lg; 124th div; 3180th overall)
Week 21: August 23-August 29

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	Vernon Wells		1150 
OF	Carl Crawford		1040
OF	Melvin Mora		740 
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Mike Lowell		1230
DH	Orlando Hudson		550

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Mike Mussina		1380
SP	Tim Hudson		1320
SP	Mark Mulder		1200 
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		650
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Brad Lidge		830
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 21: 	29920

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

While we want to add Tim Hudson for his double, Hairston's injury forces us to go down to two remaining moves with no back-up at catcher or second base; we'll add Orlando Hudson to give us cap help and a BA boost. We expect to add a catcher next week and then hold the last move as long as possible.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@TOR(T.Lilly); Sat:DET(J.Bonderman)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@TOR(J.Towers)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CLE(S.Elarton)
Jason Schmidt: Sat:@ATL(Jar.Wright)
Mark Mulder: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TB(S.Kazmir?)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:@CHC(K.Wood)
Roger Clemens: Mon:PHI(C.Lidle); Sat:@CHW(C.Zambrano)
Johan Santana: Mon:@TEX(K.Rogers); Sat:@ANA(K.Escobar)
Brad Penny: No start(DL)
Ben Sheets: Mon:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sat:@PHI(R.Wolf)
Jon Lieber: Thu:@TOR(D.Bush)

Randy will accompany our five doubles this week.

Blalock, Uribe, and Vernon Wells remain our bench while Hafner and Burnitz take a seat to accommodate Berkman, Manny, and Miguel Cabrera.

Umpire: The Masquerade(4th lg; 50th div; 381st overall)
Week 21: August 23-August 29

C	Jason Varitek		680
C	Victor Martinez		450
1B	David Ortiz		800 
1B	Lyle Overbay		400 
2B	Mark Loretta		820 
2B	Orlando Hudson		550
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	Melvin Mora		740 
OF	Matt Lawton		720 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Manny Ramirez		1420
DH	Craig Wilson		620

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Mark Mulder		1200 
SP	Roger Clemens		1130
SP	Johan Santana		1000 
SP	Ben Sheets		870
RP	Jason Isringhausen	1290
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Brad Lidge		830
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 21	28000

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@TOR(T.Lilly)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@TOR(J.Towers)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Mike Mussina: Mon:@CLE(Cl.Lee)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CLE(S.Elarton)
Josh Beckett: Thu:SF(B.Tomko)
Jeremy Affeldt: 4 Games: 3 Road at ANA; 1 Road at SEA.

No starts: Schmidt, Oswalt, Wood, K.Brown.

As neither Schilling nor Mussina look overly impressive right now, we'll run the other six.

With Piazza, Fullmer, and Kaz Matsui disabled and Podsednik unimpressive, we'll deploy Crede for Blalock to squeeze under the cap.

The Umpire Hunter(17th lg; 445th overall)
Week 21a: August 23-August 26

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	Alex Cintron		450 
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760
OF	Vernon Wells		1150
OF	Carl Crawford		1040 
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Juan Pierre		1470
DH	Orlando Hudson		550

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Tim Hudson		1320
SP	Javier Vazquez		1280
SP	Josh Beckett		990
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		650
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 21a: 	29870

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

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@TOR(J.Towers)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@CLE(S.Elarton)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@TOR(T.Lilly); Sat:DET(J.Bonderman)
Kerry Wood: Fri:CHC(R.Oswalt)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BAL(Rod.Lopez); Sat:TB(D.Brazelton)
Jason Schmidt: Sat:@ATL(Jar.Wright)
Mark Mulder: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TB(S.Kazmir?)
Josh Beckett: Thu:SF(B.Tomko)
Kevin Brown: Sat:@TOR(T.Lilly)

As Schilling, Vazquez, Wood, and Schmidt all appear questionable, the other six starters will comprise our staff. While we expect to add two more starting pitchers next week, we're holding back our last move in case we need a new reliever at any point.

LeCroy, Marcus Giles, Lowell, and Kearns remain glued to our bench. Teixeira, Beltran, and Orlando Cabrera then replace Helton, Vernon Wells, and Cintron. Miguel Cabrera belongs in our lineup, but he isn't obviously superior to our current starters, so he also stays benched.

The Umpire Chronicles(11th lg; 1084th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(15th lg; 2383rd overall)
Week 21: August 23-August 29

 
C	Brian Schneider		1100 
C	Johnny Estrada		1000 
1B	Derrek Lee		2690 
1B	Lyle Overbay		1000
2B	Mark Loretta		1650 
2B	Orlando Hudson		1420
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	Adam Dunn		1950 
OF	Brad Wilkerson		1870
OF	Hideki Matsui		1800 
DH	Alfonso Soriano		3060
DH	Mark Teixeira		1550

SP	Randy Johnson		2900 
SP	Pedro Martinez		2890 
SP	Tim Hudson		2840 
SP	Mark Mulder		2610 
SP	Kevin Brown		2470
SP	Josh Beckett		2000 
RP	John Smoltz		2800
RP	Octavio Dotel		2400 
RP	Brad Lidge		1730
RP	Joe Nathan		1420

Total Salary for Week 21: 	59900

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

While we certainly might add him again in a couple weeks, Jason Schmidt's injury troubles lead us to cut him as we add Tim Hudson for his Tampa/Baltimore double.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@TOR(J.Towers)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BAL(Rod.Lopez); Sat:TB(D.Brazelton)
Roger Clemens: Mon:PHI(C.Lidle); Sat:@CHW(C.Zambrano)
Mark Mulder: Tue:BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:TB(S.Kazmir?)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:@CHC(K.Wood)
Matt Clement: Tue:MIL(C.Capuano); Sun:HOU(C.Hernandez)
Ben Sheets: Mon:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sat:@PHI(R.Wolf)
Johan Santana: Mon:@TEX(K.Rogers); Sat:@ANA(K.Escobar)
Carl Pavano: Fri:COL(J.Kennedy)

CJ, Blalock, and Kaz Matsui stay benched while Teixeira, Abreu, Drew, and Miguel Cabrera replace Hafner, Bonds, Jose Guillen, and Burnitz. While we like Mike Young more than Marcus Giles, we need to deploy the latter to slide under the cap.

Umpire in Brooklyn(1st lg; 26th overall)
Week 21: August 23-August 29

 
C	Victor Martinez		1120 
C	Johnny Estrada		1000
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	Nomar Garciaparra	2340
SS	Carlos Guillen		1640 
OF	Manny Ramirez		2960 
OF	Adam Dunn		1950 
OF	Hideki Matsui		1800 
OF	J.D. Drew		1690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1600
OF	Jason Bay		1050 
DH	Bobby Abreu		3120
DH	Lyle Overbay		1000

SP	Tim Hudson		2840 
SP	Roger Clemens		2670
SP	Mark Mulder		2610
SP	Matt Clement		2460
SP	Ben Sheets		2300
SP	Johan Santana		2170
RP	John Smoltz		2800
RP	Francisco Cordero	2080
RP	Brad Lidge		1730
RP	Joe Nathan		1420

Total Salary for Week 21: 	54970

Today's Fantasy Rx: Given the several solid doubles this week and the approaching roster expansion next weekend, now looks like a great time to spend a move or two if you need to improve your starting pitching. Adding studs like Santana, Pedro, Hudson, and Mulder could help you significantly in four categories or boost your standing considerably in points leagues. If you have to short a position to make room for a starter, you can add a replacement next Sunday to insure you maintain decent depth through the end of the season.