Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. STL; 4 Home vs. PIT.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. COL; 4 Home vs. PHI.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Road at LAD; 4 Home vs. NYM.
Kansas City: 4 Home vs. LAA; 3 Home vs. DET.
Los Angeles Angels: 4 Road at KC; 3 Home vs. CHW.
New York Mets: 3 Home vs. FLO; 4 Road at ARI.
Pittsburgh: 3 Home vs. CHC; 4 Road at MIL.
Texas: 1 Road at TOR; 3 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. TOR.
Toronto: 1 Home vs. TEX; 3 Road at CLE; 3 Road at TEX.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Philadelphia: 3 Road at ATL; 4 Road at SF.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. PHI; 3 Home vs. LAD.
Boston: 2 Home vs. OAK; 1 Home vs. SEA; 3 Road at MIN.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Road at PIT; 3 Home vs. WAS.
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. TOR; 3 Road at BAL.
Detroit: 3 Home vs. BAL; 3 Road at KC.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. WAS; 3 Road at FLO.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cincinnati: 3 Road at HOU; 3 Home vs. COL.
Houston: 3 Home vs. CIN; 3 Road at STL.
Minnesota: 3 Road at TB; 3 Home vs. BOS.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at TEX; 3 Home vs. SEA.
Seattle: 2 Home vs. CHW; 1 Road at BOS; 3 Road at NYY.
St. Louis: 3 Road at MIL; 3 Home vs. HOU.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. MIN; 3 Home vs. OAK.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Road at DET; 3 Home vs. CLE.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 Home vs. ARI; 3 Road at ATL.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at SF; 3 Road at CIN.
Florida: 3 Road at NYM; 3 Home vs. SD.
Washington: 3 Road at SD; 3 Road at CHC.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 5 games

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 2 Road at SEA; 3 Road at LAA.
Oakland: 2 Road at BOS; 3 Road at TB.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Bronson Arroyo: Tue:@HOU(M.Albers); Sun:COL(J.Fogg)
Jeremy Bonderman: Mon:BAL(D.Cabrera); Sun:@KC(Z.Greinke)
Joe Blanton: Tue:@BOS(C.Schilling); Sun:@TB(Ed.Jackson)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:@CLE(C.Sabathia); Sun:@TEX(K.Loe)
Daniel Cabrera: Mon:@DET(J.Bonderman); Sun:CLE(C.Sabathia)
Bartolo Colon: Tue:@KC(Z.Greinke); Sun:CHW(M.Buehrle)
Zach Duke: Mon:CHC(R.Hill); Sat:@MIL(J.Suppan)
Zach Greinke: Tue:LAA(B.Colon); Sun:DET(J.Bonderman)
Roy Halladay: Mon:TEX(V.Padilla); Sat:@TEX(V.Padilla)
Cole Hamels: Tue:@ATL(M.Redman); Sun:@SF(Ru.Ortiz) Livan Hernandez: Tue:@LAD(B.Penny); Sun:NYM(M.Pelfrey)
Orlando Hernandez: Mon:FLO(S.Olsen); Sat:@ARI(B.Webb)
Rich Hill: Mon:@PIT(Z.Duke); Sat:WAS(J.Patterson?)
Shawn Hill?: Tue:@SD(C.Young); Sun:@CHC(T.Lilly)???
Tim Hudson: Mon:PHI(J.Lieber); Sun:LAD(R.Wolf)
John Lackey: Mon:@KC(Od.Perez); Sat:CHW(J.Garland)
Ted Lilly: Tue:@PIT(T.Armas); Sun:WAS(S.Hill???)
Braden Looper: Tue:@MIL(B.Sheets); Sun:HOU(M.Albers)
Noah Lowry: Mon:@MIL(J.Suppan); Sat:PHI(J.Lieber)
Scott Olsen: Mon:@NYM(O.Hernandez); Sun:SD(J.Peavy)
John Patterson: Mon:@SD(J.Peavy); Sat:@CHC(R.Hill)
Jake Peavy: Mon:WAS(J.Patterson); Sun:@FLO(S.Olsen)
C.C. Sabathia: Tue:TOR(A.Burnett); Sun:@BAL(D.Cabrera)
Curt Schilling: Tue:OAK(J.Blanton); Sun:@MIN(S.Ponson)
Ben Sheets: Tue:STL(B.Looper); Sun:PIT(T.Armas)
Jeff Suppan: Mon:STL(K.Wells); Sat:PIT(Z.Duke)
Jarrod Washburn: Tue:CHW(J.Vazquez); Sun:@NYY(P.Hughes)
Brandon Webb: Mon:@LAD(R.Wolf); Sat:NYM(O.Hernandez)
Kip Wells: Mon:@MIL(J.Suppan); Sat:HOU(W.Williams)
Randy Wolf: Mon:ARI(B.Webb); Sun:@ATL(T.Hudson)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Matt Albers: Tue:CIN(B.Arroyo); Sun:@STL(B.Looper)
Tony Armas: Tue:CHC(T.Lilly); Sun:@MIL(B.Sheets)
Josh Fogg: Mon:@SF(N.Lowry); Sun:CIN(B.Arroyo)
Philip Hughes: Tue:@TEX(K.Loe); Sun:SEA(J.Washburn)
Edwin Jackson: Tue:MIN(S.Ponson); Sun:OAK(J.Blanton)
Jon Lieber: Mon:@ATL(T.Hudson); Sat:@SF(N.Lowry)
Kameron Loe: Tue:NYY(P.Hughes); Sun:TOR(A.Burnett)
Russ Ortiz?: Tue:COL(T.Buchholz); Sun:PHI(C.Hamels)?
Vicente Padilla: Mon:@TOR(R.Halladay); Sat:TOR(R.Halladay)
Mike Pelfrey: Tue:FLO(R.Nolasco); Sun:@ARI(L.Hernandez)
Odalis Perez: Mon:LAA(J.Lackey); Sat:DET(M.Maroth)
Sidney Ponson: Tue:@TB(Ed.Jackson); Sun:BOS(C.Schilling)

Diamond Challenge

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Sat:BOS(Ju.Tavarez)
Roy Oswalt: Wed:CIN(K.Lohse)
John Smoltz: Fri:LAD(B.Tomko)
Ben Sheets: Tue:STL(B.Looper); Sun:PIT(T.Armas)
Jake Peavy: Mon:WAS(J.Patterson); Sun:@FLO(S.Olsen)
Roy Halladay: Mon:TEX(V.Padilla); Sat:@TEX(V.Padilla)
Brandon Webb: Mon:@LAD(R.Wolf); Sat:NYM(O.Hernandez)
Josh Beckett: Wed:OAK(C.Gaudin)
Jon Papelbon: 2 Home vs. OAK; 1 Home vs. SEA; 3 Road at MIN.
Rich Harden: No start(DL)
Chris Young: Tue:WAS(S.Hill?)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:@CLE(C.Sabathia); Sun:@TEX(K.Loe)
Felix Hernandez: Fri:(C.Wang)

With five doubles, we see no reason not to keep Papelbon deployed as we'd rather push saves at this point than bother with any of our other five solid starts here.

Offensively, Bard subs for Iannetta, Hafner for Howard, and Holliday for Drew despite Colorado's road trip. Kendrick remains benched, as does Atkins, who just doesn't fit in this lineup. We leave 690 in cap space on the table, but we don't see any position players demanding a pick-up right now.

Rotohelp.com(12th lg; 153th div; 2558th overall)
Week 5: April 30-May 6

C	Brian McCann		880 
C	Josh Bard		300 
1B	Travis Hafner		1380
1B	Frank Thomas		890
2B	Ian Kinsler		630
2B	Kelly Johnson		400
3B	David Wright		1550 
3B	Mark Teahen		750
SS	Jose Reyes		1610 
SS	Bill Hall		900 
OF	Matt Holliday		1410
OF	Manny Ramirez		1390
OF	Willy Taveras		860
OF	Rocco Baldelli		750
OF	Delmon Young		750 
OF	Shane Victorino		560
DH	Albert Pujols		2050 
DH	Hanley Ramirez		1100

SP	Ben Sheets		1220
SP	Jake Peavy		1180
SP	Roy Halladay		1140 
SP	Brandon Webb		1130 
SP	A.J. Burnett		880 
SP	Jon Papelbon		900
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260
RP	Takashi Saito		1200
RP	Ryan Dempster		1130
RP	Joe Borowski		1110

Total Salary for Week 5: 	29310

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Johan Santana: No start.
Roy Oswalt: Wed:CIN(K.Lohse)
Ben Sheets: Tue:STL(B.Looper)
Jake Peavy: Mon:WAS(J.Patterson)
Roy Halladay: Mon:TEX(V.Padilla)
Brandon Webb: Mon:@LAD(R.Wolf)
Josh Beckett: Wed:OAK(C.Gaudin)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Thu:SEA(Ho.Ramirez)
Jon Papelbon: 2 Home vs. OAK; 1 Home vs. SEA.
Rich Harden: No start(DL)
Felix Hernandez: No starts
Matt Cain: Thu:PHI(A.Eaton)

With seven starts we like, we see no reason to run Papelbon for three at home. The injury questions surrounding Sheets similarly let us bench him in favor of Oswalt, Peavy, Halladay, Beckett, Dice-K, and Cain.

The Rockies' road trip sends Iannetta and Taveras to join Matsui on the bench, though considering they face Lowry, Russ Ortiz, and Zito, Holliday and Atkins stay active. Howard and Drew also sit while we activate Bard, Hafner, Wright, and Baldelli.

Rotohelp.com(13th; 333th overall)
Week 5a: April 30-May 3

C	Brian McCann		880 
C	Josh Bard		300 
1B	Albert Pujols		2050 
1B	Travis Hafner		1380
2B	Ian Kinsler		630
2B	Kelly Johnson		400
3B	Garrett Atkins		1150 
3B	Mark Teahen		750
SS	Jose Reyes		1610
SS	Bill Hall		900 
OF	Matt Holliday		1410
OF	Manny Ramirez		1390
OF	Alex Rios		1000 
OF	Delmon Young		750 
OF	Rocco Baldelli		750
OF	Shane Victorino		560 
DH	David Wright		1550 
DH	Hanley Ramirez		1100 
 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1550 
SP	Jake Peavy		1180 
SP	Roy Halladay		1140 
SP	Josh Beckett		1000
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka		950 
SP	Matt Cain		840 
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260
RP	Takashi Saito		1200
RP	Ryan Dempster		1130
RP	Joe Borowski		1110

Total Week 5a Salary:		29920

Fantasy Baseball & Fanball.Com Cap Challenge (aka Budget Baseball)
(Same rules = same rosters and moves for both teams)

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Sat:BOS(Ju.Tavarez)
Roy Oswalt: Wed:CIN(K.Lohse)
Jake Peavy: Mon:WAS(J.Patterson); Sun:@FLO(S.Olsen)
Josh Beckett: Wed:OAK(C.Gaudin)
Ben Sheets: Tue:STL(B.Looper); Sun:PIT(T.Armas)
Felix Hernandez: Fri:(C.Wang)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:@CLE(C.Sabathia); Sun:@TEX(K.Loe)
Chris Young: Tue:WAS(S.Hill?)
Rich Harden: No start(DL)
Jon Papelbon: 2 Home vs. OAK; 1 Home vs. SEA; 3 Road at MIN.

While we seriously considered adding a double, neither Hamels nor Rich Hill particularly appeals to us. If Sabathia wasn't facing Burnett, we'd add him, but we'll stay put for now. Santana and Oswalt will join Papelbon and the three doubles.

Bard subs for the hurting McCann, Fielder replaces Howard, Hall's seven-game homestand pushes him into the lineup for Hanley, and then Sizemore and Holliday let us sit Swisher and Drew. Hanley, Cabrera and Atkins stay seated despite the former's success this year.

Rotohelp.com(FB: 11th lg; 971st overall)
& Rotohelp.com(FC: 15th lg; 1906th overall)
Week 5: April 30-May 6

 
C	Joe Mauer		1890 
C	Josh Bard		1010
1B	Prince Fielder		1850
1B	Adrian Gonzalez		1420 
2B	Chase Utley		2850
2B	Brandon Phillips	1160
3B	David Wright		2900  
3B	Mark Teahen		1980
SS	Jose Reyes		2460 
SS	Bill Hall		2410 
OF	Grady Sizemore		2760 
OF	Matt Holliday		2730
OF	Rocco Baldelli		1500
OF	Delmon Young		1500 
OF	Willy Taveras		1460
OF	Chris B. Young		1000
DH	Albert Pujols		3890
DH	Ian Kinsler		1270

SP	Johan Santana		3410 
SP	Roy Oswalt		3070
SP	Jake Peavy		2730 
SP	Ben Sheets		2030
SP	A.J. Burnett		1940 
SP	Jon Papelbon		1950
RP	Ryan Dempster		2240
RP	Takashi Saito		2200
RP	Joe Borowski		2100
RP	Jose Valverde		1880

Total Salary for Week 5:	59590

Today's Fantasy Rx: While we like the schedules of most teams' batters this week, we also see plenty of upside for the vast majority of pitchers with two starts. The players to bench right now look like your struggling position players, unskilled starts, and any relievers save closers and solid set-up men. We expect the back end of most rosters to take a real hit this week, so in leagues where you possess decent depth, rotate your players to deploy the safest lineups possible, focusing on capable veterans and those youngsters with solid stats to date in 2007.