Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago Cubs: 3 Home vs. CIN; 4 Home vs. STL.
Colorado: 1 Home vs. FLO; 3 Home vs. PIT; 3 Home vs. WAS.
Detroit: 3 Road at TOR; 3 Road at KC.
Florida: 1 Road at COL; 3 Home vs. ARI; 3 Home vs. SF.
New York Yankees: 3 Home vs. CHW; 4 Home vs. TEX.
Texas: 3 Road at BOS; 4 Road at NYY.
Toronto: 4 Home vs. DET; 3 Road at BAL.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. SF; 3 Home vs. ARI.
Cleveland: 3 Road at KC; 3 Home vs. TB.
Houston: 3 Home vs. WAS; 3 Home vs. PIT.
Oakland: 3 Home vs. LAA; 3 Home vs. MIN.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. TB; 3 Home vs. TOR.
Boston: 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Home vs. CHW.
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Road at BOS.
Cincinnati: 3 Road at CHC; 3 Road at MIL.
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. STL; 3 Home vs. CIN.
Pittsburgh: 3 Road at COL; 3 Road at HOU.
Washington: 3 Road at HOU; 3 Road at COL.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Road at FLO; 3 Road at ATL.
Kansas City: 3 Home vs. CLE; 3 Home vs. DET.
Los Angeles Angels: 3 Road at OAK; 3 Road at SEA.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 Home vs. PHI; 3 Home vs. NYM.
Minnesota: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Road at OAK.
New York Mets: 3 Road at SD; 3 Road at LAD.
Philadelphia: 3 Road at LAD; 3 Road at SD.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. NYM; 3 Home vs. PHI.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. MIN; 3 Home vs. LAA.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
San Francisco: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at FLO.
Tampa Bay: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Road at CLE.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Josh Beckett: Mon:@COL(B.Kim); Sat:SF(B.Tomko?)
Erik Bedard: Tue:TB(S.Kazmir); Sun:TOR(R.Halladay?)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:ARI(J.Vazquez); Sun:SF(B.Hennessey)
Rich Harden: Tue:LAA(J.Lackey); Sun:MIN(C.Silva)
John Lackey: Tue:@OAK(R.Harden); Sun:@SEA(F.Hernandez?)
Cliff Lee: Tue:@KC(M.Wood); Sun:TB(S.Kazmir)
Mike Maroth: Mon:@TOR(D.Bush); Sat:@KC(Run.Hernandez?)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@SD(C.Park); Sun:@LAD(B.Penny)
Gil Meche: Mon:MIN(C.Silva); Sat:LAA(C.Bootcheck?)?
Wade Miller: Mon:TEX(Ric.Rodriguez); Sun:CHW(O.Hernandez)
Matt Morris: Mon:@MIL(V.Santos); Sat:@CHC(Jer.Williams)
Mike Mussina: Mon:CHW(O.Hernandez); Sat:TEX(Ric.Rodriguez)
Chan Ho Park: Tue:NYM(P.Martinez); Sun:PHI(R.Tejada)
Brad Penny: Tue:PHI(R.Tejada); Sun:NYM(P.Martinez)
Mark Prior: Tue:CIN(A.Harang); Sun:STL(J.Suppan)
Horacio Ramirez: Tue:SF(B.Hennessey); Sun:ARI(J.Vazquez)
Carlos Silva: Mon:@SEA(G.Meche); Sun:@OAK(R.Harden)
Jeff Suppan: Tue:@MIL(D.Davis); Sun:@CHC(M.Prior)
Robinson Tejada: Tue:@LAD(B.Penny); Sun:@SD(C.Park)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@FLO(A.Burnett); Sun:@ATL(Ho.Ramirez)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Jose Acevedo: Tue:PIT(D.Williams); Sun:WAS(J.Patterson)
Ezequiel Astacio: Tue:WAS(J.Patterson); Sun:PIT(D.Williams)
Joaquin Benoit: Tue:@BOS(M.Clement); Sun:@NYY(S.Chacon)
David Bush: Mon:DET(M.Maroth); Sat:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Shawn Chacon: Tue:CHW(J.Contreras); Sun:TEX(J.Benoit)
Brandon Claussen: Mon:@CHC(Jer.Williams); Sun:@MIL(V.Santos)
Sean Douglass: Tue:@TOR(D.McGowan); Sun:@KC(M.Wood)
Brad Hennessey: Tue:@ATL(Ho.Ramirez); Sun:@FLO(A.Burnett)
Orlando Hernandez: Mon:@NYY(M.Mussina); Sun:@BOS(W.Miller)
Scott Kazmir: Tue:@BAL(E.Bedard); Sun:@CLE(Cl.Lee)
Byung-Hyun Kim: Mon:FLO(J.Beckett); Sat:WAS(R.Drese?)
John Patterson: Tue:@HOU(E.Astacio); Sun:@COL(Jo.Acevedo)
Ricardo Rodriguez: Mon:@BOS(W.Miller); Sat:@NYY(M.Mussina)
Victor Santos: Mon:STL(M.Morris); Sun:CIN(B.Claussen)
David Williams: Tue:@COL(Jo.Acevedo); Sun:@HOU(E.Astacio)
Jerome Williams: Mon:CIN(B.Claussen); Sat:STL(M.Morris)
Mike Wood: Tue:CLE(Cl.Lee); Sun:DET(S.Douglass)

Diamond Challenge

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:TEX(J.Wasdin)
Johan Santana: Fri:@OAK(D.Haren)
Jason Schmidt: Thu:@ATL(T.Hudson)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@SD(C.Park); Sun:@LAD(B.Penny)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:PIT(Z.Duke)
Roger Clemens: Sat:PIT(K.Wells?)
Mark Mulder: Wed:@MIL(B.Sheets?)
Jake Peavy: Fri:PHI(J.Lieber)
Dontrelle Willis: Fri:SF(N.Lowry)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:ARI(J.Vazquez); Sun:SF(B.Hennessey)
Josh Beckett: Mon:@COL(B.Kim); Sat:SF(B.Tomko?)
Miguel Batista: 4 Home vs. DET; 3 Road at BAL.

Pressing on offense results in a cap maximization rotation of Pedro, Peavy, Willis, Burnett, Beckett, and Batista.

An outstanding schedule for Tampa pushes Crawford into the lineup, along with Buck, Glaus, and Iguchi, while Mauer, Mora, Mench, and Utley join Morneau on the bench.

Rotohelp.com(6th lg; 59th div; 1421st overall)
Week 19: August 8-August 14

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	John Buck		390 
1B	Derrek Lee		1440
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310 
2B	Brian Roberts		960
2B	Marcus Giles		950 
3B	Troy Glaus		830
3B	David Wright		800
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850 
OF	Carl Crawford		1560
OF	Jim Edmonds		1250
OF	Adam Dunn		1110
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1090 
OF	Jason Lane		400 
UT	Albert Pujols		1930
UT	Tadahito Iguchi		750 
 
SP	Pedro Martinez		1450 
SP	Jake Peavy		1030 
SP	Dontrelle Willis	870 
SP	A.J. Burnett		830 
SP	Josh Beckett		820 
SP	Miguel Batista		840
RP	Brad Lidge		1280
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250
RP	B.J. Ryan		950 

Total Salary for Week 19: 	29980

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

Burning our last free agent move on Harden this week looks like a better bet than waiting for a later date.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:TEX(J.Wasdin)
Johan Santana: Fri:@OAK(D.Haren)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@SD(C.Park); Sun:@LAD(B.Penny)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:PIT(Z.Duke)
Roger Clemens: Sat:PIT(K.Wells?)
Jake Peavy: Fri:PHI(J.Lieber)
Chris Carpenter: Fri:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Rich Harden: Tue:LAA(J.Lackey); Sun:MIN(C.Silva)
Dontrelle Willis: Fri:SF(N.Lowry)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:ARI(J.Vazquez); Sun:SF(B.Hennessey)
Josh Beckett: Mon:@COL(B.Kim); Sat:SF(B.Tomko?)
Brett Myers: Wed:@LAD(D.Lowe)
Ryan Dempster: 3 Home vs. CIN; 4 Home vs. STL.

Adding Harden while cutting Counsell gives us a ton of flexibility with our pitching staff while maintaining five more moves to improve our offense. Harden joins Pedro, Peavy, Burnett, Beckett, and Myers while Hermanson and Ryan replace Cordero and KRod in the bullpen.

All the pitching moves allow us to deploy ARod and Atkins for Morneau and Utley.

Rotohelp.com(6th lg; 35th div; 234th overall)
Week 19: August 8-August 14

 
C	Jorge Posada		930
C	Joe Mauer		440
1B	Derrek Lee		1440 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310
2B	Brian Roberts		960 
2B	Tadahito Iguchi		750
3B	David Wright		800
3B	Morgan Ensberg		690
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850
OF	Bobby Abreu		1860 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110
OF	Scott Podsednik		1090 
OF	Pat Burrell		870
OF	Kevin Mench		580 
OF	Brady Clark		540 
UT	Alex Rodriguez	1880 
UT	Garrett Atkins		400

SP	Pedro Martinez		1450 
SP	Jake Peavy		1030
SP	Rich Harden		900 
SP	A.J. Burnett		830
SP	Josh Beckett		820 
SP	Brett Myers		630
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	B.J. Ryan		950
RP	Dustin Hermanson	920
RP	Huston Street		750

Total Salary for Week 19: 	27850

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:TEX(J.Wasdin)
Johan Santana: No start.
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@SD(C.Park)
Roy Oswalt: No start.)
Roger Clemens: No start.)
Ben Sheets: Wed:STL(M.Mulder)
Mark Mulder: Wed:@MIL(B.Sheets?)
Jake Peavy: No start.)
Dontrelle Willis: No start.)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:ARI(J.Vazquez)
Josh Beckett: Mon:@COL(B.Kim)
Miguel Batista: 4 Home vs. DET.

Taking the risk of Beckett makes sense for now as we don't want to run Mulder against Sheets.

Deploying Crawford, Holliday, Atkins, and Buck for Mora, Utley, Mench, and Mauer improves our match-ups while Iguchi and Hafner stay benched.

Rotohelp.com(5th lg; 136th overall)
Week 19a: August 8-August 11

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	John Buck		390  
1B	Albert Pujols		1930 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310
2B	Brian Roberts		960
2B	Marcus Giles		950 
3B	Troy Glaus		830
3B	Garrett Atkins		400
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850 
OF	Carl Crawford		1560
OF	Jim Edmonds		1250
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110
OF	Adam Dunn		1110 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1090 
OF	Jeremy Reed		400 
UT	Justin Morneau		680 
UT	Matt Holliday		630

SP	Randy Johnson		1980 
SP	Pedro Martinez		1450
SP	Ben Sheets		1200 
SP	A.J. Burnett		830 
SP	Josh Beckett		820
SP	Miguel Batista		840  
RP	Brad Lidge		1280
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250
RP	B.J. Ryan		950 

Total Salary for Week 19a: 	29980

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

Adding Harden for Schmidt here replaces perhaps our most inefficient player with a likely stud for the rest of the season.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Thu:TEX(J.Wasdin)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@SD(C.Park); Sun:@LAD(B.Penny)
Johan Santana: Fri:@OAK(D.Haren)
Roger Clemens: Sat:PIT(K.Wells?)
Ben Sheets: Wed:STL(M.Mulder)
Dontrelle Willis: Fri:SF(N.Lowry)
Jake Peavy: Fri:PHI(J.Lieber)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:ARI(J.Vazquez); Sun:SF(B.Hennessey)
Rich Harden: Tue:LAA(J.Lackey); Sun:MIN(C.Silva)
Josh Beckett: Mon:@COL(B.Kim); Sat:SF(B.Tomko?)

Rotohelp.com(9th lg; 780th overall)
& Rotohelp.com(11th lg; 1974th overall)
Week 19: August 8-August 14

 
C	Victor Martinez		1800
C	Joe Mauer		1140 
1B	Albert Pujols		3700 
1B	Todd Helton		3460
2B	Marcus Giles		1850
2B	Brian Roberts		1770 
3B	Hank Blalock		2240
3B	Morgan Ensberg		1530 
SS	Rafael Furcal		2430
SS	Khalil Greene		1410 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		2420 
OF	Carl Crawford		2120 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1990
OF	Jason Bay		1680 
OF	Matt Holliday		1470
OF	Jason Lane		1000 
UT	Eric Chavez		2740 
UT	Troy Glaus		2460

SP	Pedro Martinez		3140
SP	Dontrelle Willis	2170 
SP	Jake Peavy		2090
SP	A.J. Burnett		1900
SP	Rich Harden		1820
SP	Josh Beckett		1730
RP	Brad Lidge		2510
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	2360
RP	Trevor Hoffman		2350
RP	B.J. Ryan		2060

Total Salary for Week 19: 	59340

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

A strong Harden double results in his addition here while we reluctantly cut the slumping and hurting Randy to make room.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@SD(C.Park); Sun:@LAD(B.Penny)
Johan Santana: Fri:@OAK(D.Haren)
Roger Clemens: Sat:PIT(K.Wells?)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:PIT(Z.Duke)
Matt Clement: Tue:TEX(J.Benoit)
Dontrelle Willis: Fri:SF(N.Lowry)
Jake Peavy: Fri:PHI(J.Lieber)
Chris Carpenter: Fri:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Rich Harden: Tue:LAA(J.Lackey); Sun:MIN(C.Silva)
Dan Haren: Fri:MIN(J.Santana)

Deploying Pedro, Clement, Willis, Peavy, Harden, and Haren leaves plenty of room for offense.

We see no need to activate Molina, Hafner, Crosby, Griffey, or the injured Hawpe, but subbing Giles, Atkins, and Podsednik for Utley, Blalock, and Lane allows us to get under the cap.

Rotohelp.com(3rd lg; 449th overall)
Week 19: August 8-August 14

C	Joe Mauer		1140
C	Gregg Zaun		1090
1B	Derrek Lee		3010 
1B	Mark Teixeira		2820
2B	Marcus Giles		1850
2B	Brian Roberts		1770 
3B	Morgan Ensberg		1530 
3B	Garrett Atkins		1000
SS	Jose Reyes		1590
SS	Jhonny Peralta		1050
OF	Hideki Matsui		2820 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		2420
OF	Carl Crawford		2120 
OF	Scott Podsednik		1990
OF	Jason Bay		1680 
OF	Grady Sizemore		1000
UT	David Ortiz		2890 
UT	Carlos Lee		2770

SP	Pedro Martinez		3140 
SP	Matt Clement		2610
SP	Dontrelle Willis		2170
SP	Jake Peavy		2090
SP	Rich Harden		1820
SP	Dan Haren		1070
RP	Francisco Rodriguez		2360
RP	Dustin Hermanson		2130
RP	Chad Cordero		2000
RP	Huston Street		1000

Total Salary for Week 19: 	54930

Today's Fantasy Rx: Feel free to begin taking more risks with your lineup, especially if you need to make up significant ground on your league's leaders.