Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
New York Yankees: 1 Road at BAL; 3 Home vs. TB; 4 Home vs. BOS.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 1 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. PHI; 3 Home vs. FLO.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 1 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. BOS; 3 Road at DET.
Boston: 3 Road at BAL; 4 Road at NYY.
Chicago Cubs: 1 Road at ATL; 3 Home vs. LAD; 3 Home vs. CIN.
Los Angeles Angels: 3 Home vs. CHW; 4 Road at TEX.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. TOR; 4 Road at KC.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Minnesota: 3 Home vs. OAK; 4 Road at CLE.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Home vs. MIN.
St. Louis: 3 Home vs. HOU; 3 Home vs. SF.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Home vs. WAS; 3 Home vs. COL.
Cincinnati: 3 Home vs. SD; 3 Road at CHC.
Florida: 3 Home vs. NYM; 3 Road at ATL.
Houston: 3 Road at STL; 3 Home vs. PHI.
Kansas City: 2 Road at CLE; 4 Home vs. SEA.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 Road at CHC; 3 Home vs. SD.
New York Mets: 3 Road at FLO; 3 Road at PIT.
Philadelphia: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at HOU.
Pittsburgh: 3 Home vs. MIL; 3 Home vs. NYM.
San Diego: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at LAD.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Road at STL.
Tampa Bay: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Road at TOR.
Texas: 2 Road at DET; 4 Home vs. LAA.
Toronto: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Home vs. TB.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at LAA: 3 Road at OAK.
Oakland: 3 Road at MIN; 3 Home vs. CHW.
Washington: 3 Road at ARI; 3 Home vs. MIL.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at SF: 3 Road at ARI.
Milwaukee: 3 Road at PIT; 3 Road at WAS.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 5 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Detroit: 2 Home vs. TEX; 3 Home vs. BAL.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Joe Blanton: Mon:@MIN(C.Silva); Sun:CHW(J.Contreras)
Daniel Cabrera: Tue:BOS(K.Gabbard); Sun:@DET(K.Rogers)
Chris Carpenter: Mon:HOU(A.Pettitte); Sun:SF(Jo.Sanchez)
Jose Contreras: Mon:@LAA(J.Lackey); Sun:@OAK(J.Blanton)
Doug Davis: Mon:@PIT(Z.Duke); Sun:@WAS(B.Traber)
Zach Duke: Mon:MIL(D.Davis); Sun:NYM(J.Maine?)
Rich Hill: Mon:@ATL(J.Smoltz); Sat:CIN(S.Kim?)
Randy Johnson: Mon:@BAL(K.Benson); Sat:BOS(K.Jarvis?)
John Lackey: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras); Sat:@TEX(Ro.Tejeda)
Ted Lilly: Mon:@SEA(J.Woods); Sun:TB(T.Corcoran)
Derek Lowe: Tue:@CHC(S.Marshall); Sun:SD(Ch.Young)
Gil Meche: Tue:TOR(S.Marcum); Sun:@KC(Run.Hernandez)
Mike Mussina: Tue:TB(T.Corcoran); Sun:BOS(K.Gabbard)
Vicente Padilla: Tue:@DET(K.Rogers); Sun:LAA(Er.Santana)
Andy Pettitte: Mon:@STL(C.Carpenter); Sat:PHI(C.Hamels)
Kenny Rogers: Tue:TEX(V.Padilla); Sun:BAL(D.Cabrera)
Anibal Sanchez: Mon:NYM(D.Williams); Sun:@ATL(K.Davies)
Ervin Santana: Tue:CHW(M.Buehrle); Sun:@TEX(V.Padilla)
John Smoltz: Mon:CHC(R.Hill); Sat:FLO(D.Willis)
Randy Wolf: Tue:@ATL(K.Davies); Sun:@HOU(J.Hirsh?)
Chris Young: Tue:@CIN(E.Milton); Sun:@LAD(D.Lowe)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Denny Bautista: Tue:@SF(Jo.Sanchez); Sun:@ARI(C.Vargas)
Kris Benson: Mon:NYY(R.Johnson); Sat:@DET(J.Bonderman)
Tim Corcoran: Mon:@NYY(M.Mussina); Sun:@TOR(T.Lilly)
Kyle Davies: Tue:PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:FLO(An.Sanchez)
Kason Gabbard: Tue:@BAL(D.Cabrera); Sun:@NYY(M.Mussina)
Matt Guerrier: Tue:OAK(K.Saarloos); Sun:@CLE(C.Sabathia)
Runelvys Hernandez: Tue:@CLE(J.Sowers); Sun:SEA(G.Meche)
Sean Marshall: Tue:LAD(D.Lowe); Sun:CIN(E.Milton)
Eric Milton: Tue:SD(Ch.Young); Sun:@CHC(S.Marshall)
Jonathan Sanchez: Tue:COL(De.Bautista); Sun:@STL(C.Carpenter)
Carlos Silva: Mon:OAK(J.Blanton); Sat:@CLE(F.Carmona)
Billy Traber: Mon:@ARI(C.Vargas); Sun:MIL(D.Davis)
Claudio Vargas: Mon:WAS(B.Traber); Sun:COL(De.Bautista)
Jake Woods: Mon:TOR(T.Lilly); Sat:@KC(M.Redman)

Diamond Challenge

While we nearly added Juan Pierre or Jermaine Dye, we are surprisingly confident on our current players for the upcoming week despite losing Hafner for the season. We plan to spend at least one of our two remaining moves to reinforce our offense next week.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:@CLE(P.Byrd)
Roy Oswalt: Wed:@STL(J.Marquis)
Pedro Martinez: Fri:@PIT(P.Mahom)???
Chris Carpenter: Mon:HOU(A.Pettitte); Sun:SF(Jo.Sanchez)
Randy Johnson: Mon:@BAL(K.Benson); Sat:BOS(K.Jarvis?)
Jake Peavy: Wed:@CIN(K.Lohse)
Roy Halladay: Sat:TB(J.Howell)???
Curt Schilling: Thu:@BAL(A.Loewen)???
Brandon Webb: Fri:COL(J.Fogg)
Felix Hernandez: No start.
John Lackey: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras); Sat:@TEX(Ro.Tejeda)
Dan Haren: Wed:@MIN(F.Liriano)
Francisco Liriano: Wed:OAK(D.Haren)
Seth McClung: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Road at TB.

Santana, Webb, and McClung will accompany our three doubles. Street and Papelbon stay benched.

Offensively, Thome and Swisher replace Hafner and Hawpe while Willingham and Encarnacion stay seated.

Rotohelp.com(3rd lg; 40th div; 752nd overall)
Week 24: September 11-September 17

 
C	Victor Martinez		1020
C	Joe Mauer		770 
1B	Albert Pujols		2060
1B	Ryan Howard		880
2B	Chase Utley		1190
2B	Howie Kendrick		750
3B	David Wright		1210 
3B	Garrett Atkins		610 
SS	Felipe Lopez		1070
SS	Jose Reyes		1030 
OF	Jason Bay		1380 
OF	Chone Figgins		1350
OF	Grady Sizemore		1070
OF	Matt Holliday		1040 
OF	Nick Swisher		620
OF	Nick Markakis		400
DH	Mark Teixeira		1470 
DH	Jim Thome		1070 

SP	Johan Santana		1960
SP	Chris Carpenter		1550 
SP	Randy Johnson		1360 
SP	Brandon Webb		1030
SP	John Lackey		940
SP	Seth McClung		420
RP	Bobby Jenks		1150 
RP	J.J. Putz		890 
RP	Chris Ray		820 
RP	Takashi Saito		750

Total Salary for Week 24: 	29860

Diamond Challenge - 2nd Season

Losing Hafner and Teahen here really hurts, but we will add Grady Sizemore for Teahen and go cheap on pitching.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:@CLE(P.Byrd)
Pedro Martinez: Fri:@PIT(P.Mahom)???
John Smoltz: Mon:CHC(R.Hill); Sat:FLO(D.Willis)
Roy Halladay: Sat:TB(J.Howell)???
Curt Schilling: Thu:@BAL(A.Loewen)???
Brandon Webb: Fri:COL(J.Fogg)
C.C. Sabathia: Sun:MIN(M.Guerrier)
Mike Mussina: Tue:TB(T.Corcoran); Sun:BOS(K.Gabbard)
John Lackey: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras); Sat:@TEX(Ro.Tejeda)
Chris Capuano: Tue:@PIT(S.Chacon)
Dan Haren: Wed:@MIN(F.Liriano)
Brad Penny: Wed:@CHC(An.Guzman)
Tom Glavine: Wed:@FLO(S.Olsen)
Francisco Liriano: Wed:OAK(D.Haren)

Santana is the one easy choice to join our doubles, we need Penny for cap reasons, and then due to the Indians' rotation shenanigans, Webb edges Sabathia for the last slot.

Thome and Sizemore replace Hafner and Teahen while Ramon Hernandez, Patterson, Rios, Podsednik, and Papelbon remain reserved.

Rotohelp.com(4th lg; 25th div; 155th overall)
Week 24: September 11-September 17

C	Joe Mauer		770 
C	Brian McCann		460 
1B	Jim Thome		1070
1B	Ryan Howard		880 
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1830
2B	Chase Utley		1190
3B	David Wright		1210 
3B	Garrett Atkins		610 
SS	Jose Reyes		1030 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		400
OF	Jason Bay		1380 
OF	Matt Holliday		1040 
OF	Jermaine Dye		840 
OF	Austin Kearns		700
OF	Nick Swisher		620
OF	Brad Hawpe		440 
DH	Albert Pujols		2060 
DH	Grady Sizemore		1070

SP	Johan Santana		1960 
SP	John Smoltz		1240 
SP	Brandon Webb		1030 
SP	Mike Mussina		940
SP	John Lackey		940 
SP	Brad Penny		820 
RP	Bobby Jenks		1150
RP	Chris Ray		820 
RP	Takashi Saito		750
RP	Akinori Otsuka		690

Total Salary for Week 24: 	27940

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Johan Santana: No start.
Roy Oswalt: Wed:@STL(J.Marquis)
Pedro Martinez: No start.
Chris Carpenter: Mon:HOU(A.Pettitte)
Randy Johnson: Mon:@BAL(K.Benson)
Jake Peavy: Wed:@CIN(K.Lohse)
Roy Halladay: No start.
Curt Schilling: Thu:@BAL(A.Loewen)???
Felix Hernandez: No start.
John Lackey: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras)
Dan Haren: Wed:@MIN(F.Liriano)
Francisco Liriano: Wed:OAK(D.Haren)
Seth McClung: 3 Road at NYY.

McClung remains deployed given our need for saves, which is why Street also replaces Dempster with the Cubs facing Saito and the Dodgers. Oswalt, Carpenter, Randy, and Lackey seem safe, and then with Peavy in Cincy and Liriano likely on a low pitch count, Haren grabs our last spot.

With only one move remaining here, Tex simply flips for Hafner as Kendrick, Encarnacion, Patterson, and Tracy all still belong on our bench right now.

Rotohelp.com(7th lg; 143rd overall)
Week 24a: September 11-September 14

 
C	Victor Martinez		1020
C	Josh Willingham		340 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1470
1B	Ryan Howard		880
2B	Chase Utley		1190
2B	Ian Kinsler		400
3B	David Wright		1210
3B	Garrett Atkins		610 
SS	Felipe Lopez		1070
SS	Jose Reyes		1030
OF	Bobby Abreu		1790 
OF	Jason Bay		1380 
OF	Chone Figgins		1350
OF	Matt Holliday		1040 
OF	Jermaine Dye		840 
OF	Nick Swisher		620
DH	Albert Pujols		2060 
DH	Joe Mauer		770

SP	Roy Oswalt		1830
SP	Chris Carpenter		1550
SP	Randy Johnson		1360 
SP	John Lackey		940
SP	Dan Haren		860
SP	Seth McClung		430 
RP	Huston Street		1300
RP	J.J. Putz		890 
RP	Chris Ray		820
RP	Takashi Saito		750

Total Salary for Week 24a:	29790

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

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:@CLE(P.Byrd)
Roy Oswalt: Wed:@STL(J.Marquis)
Chris Carpenter: Mon:HOU(A.Pettitte); Sun:SF(Jo.Sanchez)
Randy Johnson: Mon:@BAL(K.Benson); Sat:BOS(K.Jarvis?)
Carlos Zambrano: Thu:LAD(H.Kuo)???
John Lackey: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras); Sat:@TEX(Ro.Tejeda)
Andy Pettitte: Mon:@STL(C.Carpenter); Sat:PHI(C.Hamels)
Mike Mussina: Tue:TB(T.Corcoran); Sun:BOS(K.Gabbard)
Roy Halladay: Sat:TB(J.Howell)???
Brad Penny: Wed:@CHC(An.Guzman)
Dan Haren: Wed:@MIN(F.Liriano)

Santana joins the five doubles to give us our best week of starts in ages. Street also flips for Jenkins since we have cap room, Oakland faces Chicago, and Jenks appears due to a hip problem.

Offensively, we simply lack cap room for Tex, so Mauer subs for Hafner. Our other six reserves, Ellis, Encarnacion, Barmes, Sullivan, Gomes, and Hermida, hopefully can remain reserved for the rest of the year.

Rotohelp.com(FB: 8th lg; 375th overall)
& Rotohelp.com(BB: 7th lg; 771st overall)
Week 24: September 11-September 17

 
C	Victor Martinez		1940
C	Josh Willingham		1000
1B	Lance Berkman		2860 
1B	Ryan Howard		1950
2B	Chase Utley		2270
2B	Ian Kinsler		1000
3B	David Wright		2480 
3B	Garrett Atkins		1330 
SS	Jose Reyes		2100 
SS	Felipe Lopez		1800 
OF	Jason Bay		2550
OF	Grady Sizemore		2200 
OF	Matt Holliday		2140
OF	Chad Tracy		2100 
OF	Nick Swisher		1550 
OF	Curtis Granderson	1000
DH	Albert Pujols		3870 
DH	Joe Mauer		1710

SP	Johan Santana		3310 
SP	Chris Carpenter		3140
SP	Randy Johnson		2910 
SP	John Lackey		2760
SP	Andy Pettitte		2550
SP	Mike Mussina		2480 
RP	Huston Street		2320
RP	J.J. Putz		1600
RP	Chris Ray		1580
RP	Takashi Saito		1500

Total Salary for Week 24:	60000

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

While we will need most of our remaining moves to add double starts next week, Randy joins our team this week as the injured Zambrano departs.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:@CLE(P.Byrd)
Roy Oswalt: Wed:@STL(J.Marquis)
Chris Carpenter: Mon:HOU(A.Pettitte); Sun:SF(Jo.Sanchez)
Randy Johnson: Mon:@BAL(K.Benson); Sat:BOS(K.Jarvis?)
John Lackey: Mon:CHW(J.Contreras); Sat:@TEX(Ro.Tejeda)
Andy Pettitte: Mon:@STL(C.Carpenter); Sat:PHI(C.Hamels)
Jeremy Bonderman: Sat:BAL(K.Benson)
Jose Contreras: Mon:@LAA(J.Lackey); Sun:@OAK(J.Blanton)
Brad Penny: Wed:@CHC(An.Guzman)
Jered Weaver: Fri:@TEX(A.Eaton)

Santana joins the five doubles here. Papelbon obvious remains benched.

On offense, with so much of our cap space devoted to pitching, we only have room to deploy Mauer, Swisher, and Granderson for Hafner, Kearns, and Zimmerman. Thome, Weeks, ARod, Guillen, and Baldelli stay benched. While we nearly deployed ARod for his eight-game week, his recent illness, coupled with our lack of interest in flipping Weaver for Santana, led us to keep him out of our lineup.

Rotohelp.com(3rd lg; 63rd overall)
Week 24: September 11-September 17

 
C	Brian McCann		1000 
C	Josh Willingham		1000 
DH	Lance Berkman		2860
1B	Ryan Howard		1950
2B	Chase Utley		2270
3B	David Wright		2480 
3B	Garrett Atkins		1330 
SS	Jose Reyes		2100 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		1000 
OF	Jason Bay		2550 
OF	Grady Sizemore		2200
OF	Matt Holliday		2140 
OF	Jermaine Dye		2070 
OF	Nick Swisher		1550
OF	Brad Hawpe		1260 
DH	Joe Mauer		1710 
DH	Curtis Granderson	1000

SP	Johan Santana		3310 
SP	Chris Carpenter		3140 
SP	Randy Johnson		2910 
SP	John Lackey		2760 
SP	Andy Pettitte		2550 
SP	Jose Contreras		2070
RP	Bobby Jenks		2240
RP	J.J. Putz		1600
RP	Takashi Saito		1500
RP	Joe Borowski		1450

Total Salary for Week 24: 	60000

Today's Fantasy Rx: With three weeks remaining, the fantasy season for competitive teams boils down to taking advantage of any opportunity for gains an individual categories rather than looking to overall value. If you cannot improve in wins, only focus on safe ERA/WHIP pitchers, ignoring their likelihood of victory. Teams hurting in steals can bench their speedsters for any extra power. Making similar lineup moves maximizes your chances to finish high in the first division.

Rebuilding squads need to dump any outstanding expiring contracts, as well as most overpriced players you know you'll release, especially for anyone injured and therefore not available for anyone else to claim. Recent AL call-ups that warrant a minimal ante include Shawn Riggans, Sean Henn, Francisco Cruceta, and Josh Fields. NL options include Eric Stults, Jeff Salazar, Jeff Baker, and also consider grabbing Chris Spurling. He possesses the right profile to emerge as the Brewers' closer sometime next season.