Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Florida: 1 Home vs. LAD; 3 Road at MIL; 3 Road at CHC.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 1 Road at FLO; 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Home vs. HOU.
St. Louis: 4 Road at PIT; 3 Road at WAS.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 4 Home vs. NYM; 3 Home vs. PHI.
Cleveland: 4 Road at TB; 3 Road at TOR.
New York Mets: 4 Road at ARI; 3 Road at SF.
New York Yankees: 4 Home vs. TOR; 3 Home vs. KC.
Pittsburgh: 4 Home vs. STL; 3 Home vs. CIN.
Tampa Bay: 4 Home vs. CLE; 3 Home vs. LAA.
Toronto: 4 Road at NYY; 3 Home vs. CLE.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Road at CHC; 3 Road at MIL.
Boston: 3 Road at KC; 3 Home vs. DET.
Oakland: 3 Road at DET; 3 Road at BAL.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. HOU; 3 Home vs. COL.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. LAA; 3 Home vs. OAK.
Los Angeles Angels: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Road at TB.
Minnesota: 3 Home vs. CHW; 3 Road at TEX.
Philadelphia: 3 Road at SF; 3 Road at ARI.
Seattle: 3 Road at TEX; 3 Home vs. CHW.
Texas: 3 Home vs. SEA: 3 Home vs. MIN.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Chicago Cubs: 3 Home vs. ATL; 3 Home vs. FLO.
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at MIN; 3 Road at SEA.
Houston: 3 Road at SD; 3 Road at LAD.
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. FLO; 3 Home vs. ATL.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. PHI; 3 Home vs. NYM.
Washington: 3 Home vs. CIN; 3 Home vs. STL.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cincinnati: 3 Road at WAS; 3 Road at PIT.
Colorado: 3 Road at LAD; 3 Road at SD.
Detroit: 3 Home vs. OAK; 3 Road at BOS.
Kansas City: 3 Home vs. BOS: 3 Road at NYY.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Tony Armas: Tue:CIN(L.Hudson); Sun:STL(J.Marquis)
Josh Beckett: Tue:@MIL(C.Capuano); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Chris Capuano: Tue:FLO(J.Beckett); Sun:ATL(T.Hudson)
Roger Clemens?: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LAD(J.Weaver)???
Zach Duke: Tue:STL(J.Marquis); Sun:CIN(L.Hudson)
Freddy Garcia: Tue:@MIN(J.Santana); Sun:@SEA(J.Moyer)
Dan Haren: Tue:@DET(N.Robertson); Sun:@BAL(E.DuBose)
Jon Lieber: Mon:@SF(N.Lowry); Sat:@ARI(B.Webb)?
Noah Lowry: Mon:PHI(J.Lieber); Sun:NYM(V.Zambrano)
Jason Marquis: Tue:@PIT(Z.Duke); Sun:@WAS(T.Armas)
Kevin Millwood: Mon:@TB(D.Waechter); Sat:@TOR(S.Downs)
Mark Mulder: Mon:@PIT(J.Fogg); Sat:@WAS(R.Drese)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@SD(W.Williams); Sat:@LAD(Ed.Jackson?)?
Vicente Padilla?: Tue:@SF(B.Tomko); Sun:@ARI(C.Vargas)???
Jake Peavy: Tue:HOU(R.Clemens); Sun:COL(Jam.Wright)
Johan Santana: Tue:CHW(F.Garcia); Sun:@TEX(C.Young)
Jarrod Washburn: Tue:@BAL(E.DuBose); Sun:@TB(M.Hendrickson)
Jeff Weaver: Tue:COL(Jam.Wright); Sun:HOU(R.Clemens?)
Brandon Webb: Mon:NYM(T.Glavine); Sat:PHI(J.Lieber?)
David Wells: Tue:@KC(Z.Greinke); Sun:DET(N.Robertson)
Jake Westbrook: Tue:@TB(M.Hendrickson); Sun:@TOR(J.Towers)
Woody Williams: Mon:HOU(R.Oswalt); Sat:COL(Jos.Acevedo?)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LAD(Ed.Jackson); Sat:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Chris Young: Tue:SEA(J.Moyer); Sun:MIN(J.Santana)
Carlos Zambrano: Mon:ATL(T.Hudson); Sun:FLO(J.Beckett)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Eric DuBose: Tue:LAA(J.Washburn); Sun:OAK(D.Haren)
Josh Fogg: Mon:STL(M.Mulder); Sat:CIN(E.Milton)
Tom Glavine: Mon:@ARI(B.Webb); Sat:@SF(J.Schmidt)
Zach Greinke: Tue:BOS(D.Wells); Sun:@NYY(A.Leiter)
Mark Hendrickson: Tue:CLE(J.Westbrook); Sun:LAA(J.Washburn)
Scott Downs: Mon:@NYY(Jar.Wright); Sat:CLE(K.Millwood)
Luke Hudson: Tue:@WAS(T.Armas); Sun:@PIT(Z.Duke)
Tim Hudson: Mon:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:@MIL(C.Capuano)
Al Leiter: Tue:TOR(J.Towers); Sun:KC(Z.Greinke)
Jamie Moyer: Tue:@TEX(C.Young); Sun:CHW(F.Garcia)
Nate Robertson: Tue:OAK(D.Haren); Sun:@BOS(D.Wells)
Josh Towers: Tue:@NYY(A.Leiter); Sun:CLE(J.Westbrook)
Claudio Vargas: Tue:NYM(V.Zambrano); Sun:PHI(V.Padilla?)
Doug Waechter: Mon:CLE(K.Millwood); Sat:LAA(P.Byrd)
Jamey Wright: Tue:@LAD(J.Weaver); Sun:@SD(J.Peavy)
Jaret Wright: Mon:TOR(S.Downs); Sat:KC(Run.Hernandez?)
Victor Zambrano: Tue:@ARI(C.Vargas); Sun:@SF(N.Lowry)

Diamond Challenge

With plenty of moves left and an awful roster, we're adding Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay, and Todd Jones while cutting Brandon Lyon, John Buck, and Justin Morneau. Peralta almost certainly will join our squad for roster expansion while Huston Street, Chris Carpenter, and Rich Harden appear on our short list for a second move despite our lack of a backup catcher.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Fri:KC(M.Wood)
Johan Santana: Tue:CHW(F.Garcia); Sun:@TEX(C.Young)
Jason Schmidt: Sat:NYM(T.Glavine)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@ARI(J.Vazquez)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@SD(W.Williams); Sat:@LAD(Ed.Jackson?)?
Roger Clemens?: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LAD(J.Weaver)???
Mark Mulder: Mon:@PIT(J.Fogg); Sat:@WAS(R.Drese)
Jake Peavy: Tue:HOU(R.Clemens); Sun:COL(Jam.Wright)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LAD(Ed.Jackson); Sat:@CHC(G.Maddux)
A.J. Burnett: Wed:@MIL(T.Ohka)
Josh Beckett: Tue:@MIL(C.Capuano); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Miguel Batista: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Home vs. CLE.

With Clemens' double uncertain and the guarantee of him facing Peavy on a single, he stays on the bench as we run Santana, Oswalt, Mulder, Peavy, Willis, and Beckett. Jones flips for KRod.

Manny and Bay enter the lineup as Utley and Crawford join Podsednik, Iguchi, and Mora on the bench.

Rotohelp.com(10th lg; 69th div; 1771st overall)
Week 21: August 22-August 28

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	Joe Mauer		440
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	Jim Edmonds		1250
OF	Adam Dunn		1110
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110 
OF	Jason Bay		820
OF	Kevin Mench		580
OF	Jason Lane		400 
UT	Albert Pujols		1930
UT	Manny Ramirez		1530
 
SP	Johan Santana		1710
SP	Roy Oswalt		1320 
SP	Mark Mulder		1060
SP	Jake Peavy		1030 
SP	Dontrelle Willis	870 
SP	Josh Beckett		820
RP	Brad Lidge		1280
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	B.J. Ryan		950 
RP	Todd Jones		510

Total Salary for Week 21: 	29790

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

A need for superior offense and a lack of cap space lead us to add Jhonny Peralta and Jason Bay, cutting Podsednik and Randy. We expect to add an outfielder next week and then save our last move for an emergency.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Fri:KC(M.Wood)
Johan Santana: Tue:CHW(F.Garcia); Sun:@TEX(C.Young)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@ARI(J.Vazquez)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@SD(W.Williams); Sat:@LAD(Ed.Jackson?)?
Roger Clemens?: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LAD(J.Weaver)???
Jake Peavy: Tue:HOU(R.Clemens); Sun:COL(Jam.Wright)
Chris Carpenter: Wed:@PIT(K.Wells)
Rich Harden: Thu:@DET(M.Maroth)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LAD(Ed.Jackson); Sat:@CHC(G.Maddux)
A.J. Burnett: Wed:@MIL(T.Ohka)
Josh Beckett: Tue:@MIL(C.Capuano); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Brett Myers: Fri:@ARI(B.Halsey)
Ryan Dempster: 3 Home vs. ATL; 3 Home vs. FLO.

Deploying our six doubles maximizes our shot at wins and strikeouts here.

Peralta and Bay replace Tejada and Brady Clark as Molins subs for Atkins while Iguchi and Morneau stay benched.

Rotohelp.com(4th lg; 60th div; 367th overall)
Week 21: August 22-August 28

 
C	Jorge Posada		930
C	Joe Mauer		440
1B	Derrek Lee		1440 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310
2B	Brian Roberts		960 
2B	Chase Utley		480
3B	David Wright		800
3B	Morgan Ensberg		690
SS	Miguel Tejada		1800 
SS	Jose Reyes		850
OF	Bobby Abreu		1860 
OF	Adam Dunn		1110
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1110 
OF	Pat Burrell		870
OF	Kevin Mench		580 
OF	Brady Clark		540 
UT	Alex Rodriguez		1880 
UT	Garrett Atkins		400
 
SP	Chris Carpenter		930 
SP	Rich Harden		900
SP	Dontrelle Willis	870 
SP	A.J. Burnett		830
SP	Josh Beckett		820 
SP	Brett Myers		630
RP	Trevor Hoffman		1270 
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	1250
RP	Chad Cordero		1000
RP	Huston Street		750

Total Salary for Week 21: 	27300

Internet Challenge

Adding Jason Bay here for John Buck looks like our best move while Todd Jones and an Oakland starter, likely Dan Haren, seem cued for roster expansion on Friday.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: No start.
Johan Santana: Tue:CHW(F.Garcia)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@ARI(J.Vazquez)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@SD(W.Williams)
Roger Clemens: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy)
Ben Sheets: No start.
Jake Peavy: Tue:HOU(R.Clemens)
Chris Carpenter: Wed:@PIT(K.Wells)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LAD(Ed.Jackson)
A.J. Burnett: Wed:@MIL(T.Ohka)
Josh Beckett: Tue:@MIL(C.Capuano)
Miguel Batista: 3 Road at NYY.

A continued need for saves pushes Batista into the lineup next to Oswalt, Peavy, Willis, Burnett, and Beckett.

Roberts, Bay, and Mench replace Giles, Atkins, and Holliday, who join Morneau, Iguchi, and Podsednik on our bench.

Rotohelp.com(7th lg; 255th overall)
Week 21a: August 22-August 25

 
C	Victor Martinez		860 
C	Joe Mauer		440
1B	Albert Pujols		1930 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1310 
2B	Brian Roberts		960
2B	Chase Utley		480 
3B	Melvin Mora		1270
3B	Troy Glaus		830
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	Jason Bay		820
UT	Travis Hafner		810  
UT	Kevin Mench		580

SP	Roy Oswalt		1320
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 21a: 	29960

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

Oswalt replaces the underachieving Randy in our first move. Then our atrocious offense requires multiple moves as Jhonny Peralta, David Ortiz, and Vlad all join while Khalil Green, Podsednik, and Drew depart. Our roster expansion moves should be Chris Carpenter and Huston Street, which will leave us two remaining moves if we need help at catcher or shortstop. While we considered adding Grady Sizemore, Jeremy Reed's recent improvement and a strong schedule this week allowed us to refrain from a fifth move at this time.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@ARI(J.Vazquez)
Johan Santana: Tue:CHW(F.Garcia); Sun:@TEX(C.Young)
Roger Clemens?: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LAD(J.Weaver)???
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@SD(W.Williams); Sat:@LAD(Ed.Jackson?)?
Ben Sheets: Fri:@MIL(Ho.Ramirez)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LAD(Ed.Jackson); Sat:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Jake Peavy: Tue:HOU(R.Clemens); Sun:COL(Jam.Wright)
A.J. Burnett: Wed:@MIL(T.Ohka)
Rich Harden: Thu:@DET(M.Maroth)
Josh Beckett: Tue:@MIL(C.Capuano); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)

Our six probable doubles give us our best pitching week in ages.

Hafner, Hudson, and Lane sub for Helton, Giles, and Crawford while the three new additions replace Greene, Holliday, and Eric Chavez. Buck and Kearns stay on the end of our bench since we're not convinced that Kearns' weekend means he'll continue producing decent numbers.

Rotohelp.com(9th lg; 770th overall)
& Rotohelp.com(11th lg; 1954th overall)
Week 21: August 22-August 28

 
C	Victor Martinez		1800
C	Joe Mauer		1140 
1B	Albert Pujols		3700 
1B	Travis Hafner		1870
2B	Brian Roberts		1770 
2B	Orlando Hudson		1540
3B	Hank Blalock		2240
3B	Morgan Ensberg		1530 
SS	Rafael Furcal		2430
SS	Jhonny Peralta		1050 
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	3230
OF	Miguel Cabrera		2420 
OF	Jason Bay		1680 
OF	Kevin Mench		1660 
OF	Jason Lane		1000 
OF	Jeremy Reed		1000
UT	David Ortiz		2890
UT	Troy Glaus		2460

SP	Johan Santana		3090 
SP	Roger Clemens		3030
SP	Roy Oswakt		2970 
SP	Dontrelle Willis	2170
SP	Jake Peavy		2090 
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 21: 	59770

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

With our outfield looking like the biggest issue, Vlad and Geoff Jenkins will join the squad as Podsednik and Carlos Lee depart. Our roster expansion next week should be a starting pitcher, most likely A.J. Burnett. SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@ARI(J.Vazquez)
Johan Santana: Tue:CHW(F.Garcia); Sun:@TEX(C.Young)
Roger Clemens?: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LAD(J.Weaver)???
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@SD(W.Williams); Sat:@LAD(Ed.Jackson?)?
Matt Clement: Wed:@KC(D.Carrasco)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LAD(Ed.Jackson); Sat:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Jake Peavy: Tue:HOU(R.Clemens); Sun:COL(Jam.Wright)
Chris Carpenter: Wed:@PIT(K.Wells)
Rich Harden: Thu:@DET(M.Maroth)
Dan Haren: Tue:@DET(N.Robertson); Sun:@BAL(E.DuBose)

Another six doubles here nicely position us for a strong week from our pitching staff.

Almost our entire bench also changes as Ben Molina, Hafner, Roberts, Blalock, Jason Lane, and our two new outfielders replace Zaun, D.Lee, M.Giles, Atkins, Hideki Matsui, Carl Crawford, and Miguel Cabrera. Bobby Crosby can't quite crack our lineup over Peralta and Reyes.

Rotohelp.com(4th lg; 535th overall)
Week 21: August 22-August 28

 
C	Ben Molina		1200
C	Joe Mauer		1140 
1B	Mark Teixeira		2820
1B	Travis Hafner		1870
2B	Brian Roberts		1770
2B	Chase Utley		1050
3B	Hank Blalock		2240
3B	Morgan Ensberg		1530 
SS	Jose Reyes		1590
SS	Jhonny Peralta		1050
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	3230
OF	Geoff Jenkins		2170
OF	Jason Bay		1680 
OF	Ken Griffey, Jr.	1530 
OF	Jason Lane		1000
OF	Grady Sizemore		1000
UT	Albert Pujols		3700
UT	David Ortiz		2890 

SP	Johan Santana		3090
SP	Roger Clemens		3030
SP	Roy Oswalt		2970 
SP	Dontrelle Willis	2170 
SP	Jake Peavy		2090
SP	Dan Haren		1070
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	2360
RP	Chad Cordero		2000
RP	Todd Jones		1550
RP	Huston Street		1000

Total Salary for Week 21: 	54790

Today's Fantasy Rx: I see almost no excuse not to run a full slate of doubles in almost every national contest. Beckett, Clemens, Freddy Garcia, Haren, Millwood, Mulder, Oswalt, Peavy, Santana, Willis, and Carlos Zambrano all enjoy nice schedules, so if you possess remaining moves and need pitching help, feel free to target these guys, beginning with Oswalt and Willis.