Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 4 Home vs. MIN; 4 Road at BOS.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 3 Home vs. ANA; 4 Home vs. BAL.
Minnesota: 4 Road at BAL; 3 Road at DET.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Kansas City: 3 Road at Chicago White Sox; 4 Road at Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. TOR; 4 Home vs. KC.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. SEA; 4 Home vs. ANA.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Road at BOS; 4 Road at CLE.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Home vs. MON; 3 Home vs. NYM.
Chicago White Sox: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Home vs. Oak.
Detroit: 3 Home vs. OAK; 3 Home vs. MIN.
New York Yankees: 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Home vs. SEA.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. CIN.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. PIT; 3 Home vs. PHI.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Road at MIL; 3 Road at STL.
Colorado: 3 Home vs. PHI; 3 Home vs. PIT.
Florida: 3 Road at STL; 3 Road at MIL.
Houston: 3 Home vs. NYM; 3 Home vs. MON.
Montreal: 3 Road at ARI; 3 Road at HOU.
New York Mets: 3 Road at HOU; 3 Road at ARI.
Philadelphia: 3 Road at COL; 3 Road at SF.
Pittsburgh: 3 Road at SF; 3 Road at COL.
St. Louis: 3 Home vs. FLO; 3 Home vs. ATL.
Texas: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Road at TOR.
Toronto: 3 Road at TB; 3 Home vs. TEX.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Chicago Cubs: 3 Road at SD; 3 Road at LA.
Cincinnati: 3 Road at LA; 3 Road at SD.
Los Angeles: 3 Home vs. CIN; 3 Home vs. CHC.
Oakland: 3 Road at DET; 3 Road at Chicago White Sox.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. ATL; 3 Home vs. FLO.
Seattle: 3 Road at CLE; 3 Road at NYY.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Kevin Brown: Tue:CIN(D.Graves); Sun:CHC(M.Prior)
Roger Clemens: Tue:TEX(C.Lewis); Sun:SEA(J.Moyer)
Nate Cornejo: Tue:OAK(R.Harden); Sun:MIN(K.Rogers)
Jon Garland: Mon:KC(Run.Hernandez); Sat:OAK(T.Lilly)
Danny Graves Tue:@LA(K.Brown); Sun:@SD(B.Lawrence)
Rich Harden: Tue:@DET(N.Cornejo); Sun:@CHW(E.Loaiza)
Randy Johnson: Tue:MON(C.Vargas); Sun:NYM(A.Leiter)
Matt Kinney: Tue:ATL(H.Ramirez); Sun:FLO(B.Penny)
Brian Lawrence: Tue:CHC(M.Prior); Sun:CIN(D.Graves)
Cory Lidle: Mon:@TB(V.Zambrano); Sun:TEX(C.Lewis)
Esteban Loaiza: Tue:KC(K.Snyder); Sun:OAK(R.Harden)
Jamie Moyer: Tue:@CLE(C.Sabathia); Sun:@NYY(R.Clemens)
Mark Prior: Tue:@SD(B.Lawrence); Sun:@LA(K.Brown)
Brad Radke: Mon:@BAL(D.Moss); Sat:@DET(M.Roney)
Kenny Rogers: Tue:@BAL(Jas.Johnson); Sun:@DET(N.Cornejo)
C.C. Sabathia: Tue:SEA(J.Moyer); Sun:ANA(J.Lackey)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:PIT(K.Wells); Sun:PHI(B.Myers)
Jeff Suppan: Tue:ANA(J.Lackey); Sun:@BAL(J.Johnson)
Woody Williams: Tue:FLO(B.Penny); Sun:ATL(H.Ramirez)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Shawn Chacon: Tue:PHI(B.Myers); Sun:PIT(K.Wells)
Runelvys Hernandez: Mon:@CHW(J.Garland); Sat:@TB(V.Zambrano)
Jason Johnson: Tue:MIN(K.Rogers); Sun:@BOS(J.Suppan)
John Lackey: Tue:@BOS(J.Suppan); Sun:@CLE(C.Sabathia)
Al Leiter: Tue:@HOU(R.Villone); Sun:@ARI(Ran.Johnson)
Colby Lewis: Tue:@NYY(R.Clemens); Sun:@TOR(C.Lidle)
Damian Moss: Mon:MIN(B.Radke); Sat:@BOS(T.Wakefield)
Brett Myers: Tue:@COL(S.Chacon); Sun:@SF(J.Schmidt)
Brad Penny: Tue:@STL(W.Williams); Sun:@MIL(M.Kinney)
Horacio Ramirez: Tue:@MIL(M.Kinney); Sun:@STL(W.Williams)
Kyle Snyder: Tue:@CHW(E.Loaiza); Sun:@TB(Jor.Sosa)
Jorge Sosa: Tue:TOR(M.Hendrickson); Sun:KC(K.Snyder)
Claudio Vargas: Tue:@ARI(Ran.Johnson); Sun:@HOU(R.Villone)
Ron Villone: Tue:NYM(A.Leiter); Sun:MON(C.Vargas)
Kip Wells: Tue:@SF(J.Schmidt); Sun:@COL(S.Chacon)
Victor Zambrano: Mon:TOR(C.Lidle); Sat:KC(Run.Hernandez)

Diamond Challenge

With five player purchases left in addition to our two roster expansions, we can spend nearly a move a week through the end of the season. Our pitching is relatively excellent, and while we're struggling in saves, we can't gain more than a couple points even with great luck, so we'll focus on improving our offense.

While we intended to add a few guys today, recent hot streaks from ARod and Luis Castillo compel us to leave them active. Instead our only move will be to add Marcus Giles, giving us a very inexpensive back-up second baseman. We'll release Scott Williamson, as we own four relatively solid closers, all of whom are much better values than any middle reliever.

The other move we seriously considered was to add Milton Bradley for Kearns or Roberts. We would then deploy him for Durazo, however Bradley isn't running, and the BA boost likely isn't worth the possible decrease in power potential.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Tue:MON(C.Vargas); Sun:NYM(A.Leiter)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:ANA(A.Sele)
Curt Schilling: Wed:MON(Z.Day)
Tim Hudson: Wed:@DET(W.Ledezma)
Matt Morris: No start(DL)
Roy Oswalt: No start(DL)
Mike Mussina: Thu:TEX(J.Benoit)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:@COL(D.Stark)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Brown: Tue:CIN(D.Graves); Sun:CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Halladay: Wed:@TB(J.Kennedy)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:PIT(K.Wells); Sun:PHI(B.Myers)
Mark Prior: Tue:@SD(B.Lawrence); Sun:@LA(K.Brown).

Randy, Hudson, Brown, Halladay, Schmidt, and Prior are all easy calls as none of the other starts stand out as particularly strong.

Giles goes into our lineup for Aramis Ramirez with the Cubs in Los Angeles and San Diego, Berkman, Kearns, and Roberts stay benched due to various injuries, and then Carl Everett, despite a great game a couple days ago, sits to make room for Vlad.

Interview with the Umpire(4th lg; 31st div; 618th overall),
Shadow of the Umpire(5th lg; 38th div; 617th overall), &
Dance of the Umpires(3rd lg; 25th div; 665th overall)
Week 19: August 4-August 10

C	Ivan Rodriguez		1070
C	Toby Hall		460
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
1B	Erubiel Durazo		520
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1460
2B	Luis Castillo		1210
3B	Aaron Boone		1010
3B	Hank Blalock		500
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1330
OF	Vlad Guerrero		2010
OF	Manny Ramirez		1610
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1480
OF	Preston Wilson		1220
OF	Vernon Wells		750
OF	Hideki Matsui		750
DH	Frank Thomas		920
DH	Marcus Giles		400

SP	Randy Johnson		2010
SP	Tim Hudson		1340
SP	Kevin Brown		990
SP	Roy Halladay		890
SP	Jason Schmidt		790
SP	Mark Prior		750
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Mike MacDougal		750
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 19: 	29710

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

Here we have five player purchases remaining, one free agent pick-up, and two roster expansions. Our primary need is saves, followed by BA, SB, and Runs. At least both our power and starting pitching look decent. Unfortunately we don't see an easy way to improve in saves - our chosen closers just haven't gotten many save opportunities since the game started, although we continue to like all of them. Not owning Smoltz here hurts, however we're not willing to spend that much on a closer right now.

While we should wait a week to nab Randy as a free agent, we refuse to miss his double, so we'll purchase him and release Corey Patterson. We also just don't see anyone that would provide a dramatic boost to our steals right now without limiting us elsewhere, so we'll leave the rest of our team alone for another week.

Randy Johnson: Tue:MON(C.Vargas); Sun:NYM(A.Leiter)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:ANA(A.Sele)
Curt Schilling: Wed:MON(Z.Day)
Tim Hudson: Wed:@DET(W.Ledezma)
Matt Morris: No start(DL)
Roy Oswalt: No start(DL)
Mike Mussina: Thu:TEX(J.Benoit)
Mark Mulder: Fri:@CHW(M.Buehrle)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:@COL(D.Stark)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Brown: Tue:CIN(D.Graves); Sun:CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Halladay: Wed:@TB(J.Kennedy)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:PIT(K.Wells); Sun:PHI(B.Myers)
Mark Prior: Tue:@SD(B.Lawrence); Sun:@LA(K.Brown).

As we now own almost the same starters here as in DC, we can deploy Randy, Hudson, Brown, Halladay, Schmidt, and Prior. Offensively, deploying Lowell for Ramirez is our only obvious move as we lack the cap space for Helton and don't want to activate Roberts against LaRue and Damian Miller as the former owns one of the best arms in the league.

Umpire The Masquerade(3rd lg; 19th div; 185th overall)
Week 19: August 4-August 10

C	Mike Lieberthal		650
C	Toby Hall		460
1B	Carlos Deglado		1420
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1460
2B	Bret Boone		1360
3B	Mike Lowell		1190
3B	Hank Blalock		500
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1330
SS	Rafael Furcal		970
OF	Albert Pujols		1750
OF	Preston Wilson		1220
OF	Juan Pierre		1080
OF	Vernon Wells		750
OF	Hideki Matsui		750
OF	Milton Bradley		430
DH	Orlando Cabrera		1030
DH	Erubiel Durazo		520

SP	Randy Johnson		2010
SP	Tim Hudson		1340
SP	Kevin Brown		990 
SP	Roy Halladay		890
SP	Jason Schmidt		790
SP	Mark Prior		750
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Joe Borowski		750
RP	Rocky Biddle		750
RP	Tim Worrell		740

Total Salary for Week 19: 	27920

Internet Challenge

We're making steady progress here, however as we're down to only two moves other than roster expansion, we're not eager to burn one until we see an obvious upgrade. Yet we need back-ups at 2B and C, and we can release Williamson, so we're going to add Marcus Giles here, too.

Randy Johnson: Tue:MON(C.Vargas)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:ANA(A.Sele)
Curt Schilling: Wed:MON(Z.Day)
Mike Mussina: Thu:TEX(J.Benoit)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:@COL(D.Stark)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Brown: Tue:CIN(D.Graves)
Roy Halladay: Wed:@TB(J.Kennedy)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:PIT(K.Wells)
Mark Prior: Tue:@SD(B.Lawrence).
Esteban Loaiza: Tue:KC(K.Snyder)

No starts: Morris, Oswalt, and Ainsworth.

Pedro, Schilling, Brown, Halladay, Schmidt, and Loaiza all look quite strong, so we'll hold off on the very expensive Randy as well as the Cubs.

Giles allows us to bench Aramis Ramirez, and we can squeeze Helton and Everett into the lineup by benching Berkman and Orlando Cabrera.

The Umpire Hunter(10th lg; 279th overall)
Week 19a: August 4-August 7

C	Jorge Posada		1120
C	Toby Hall		460
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
1B	Erubiel Durazo		520
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1460
2B	Luis Castillo		1210 
3B	Aaron Boone		1010
3B	Hank Blalock		500
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1330
OF	Vlad Guerrero		2010
OF	Manny Ramirez		1610
OF	Preston Wilson		1220 
OF	Carl Everett		850
OF	Vernon Wells		750
OF	Hideki Matsui		750
DH	Todd Helton		1850
DH	Marcus Giles		400

SP	Curt Schilling		1610
SP	Pedro Martinez		1700
SP	Kevin Brown		990
SP	Roy Halladay		890
SP	Jason Schmidt		790
SP	Esteban Loaiza		680
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Mike MacDougal		750
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 19a: 	29950

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

While we suffered through a bad week here thanks to Oswalt's injury, we're still in range of money spots in both leagues. Adding Randy and dropping Oswalt is an obvious choice here as we have five moves remaining.

Offensively, we desperately need a couple of cheap players, including a second baseman considering the poor play of Ellis and Hudson. We'll add Marcus Giles and Mark Teixeira while releasing Eli Marrero and Pat Burrell.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Tue:MON(C.Vargas); Sun:NYM(A.Leiter)
Curt Schilling: Wed:MON(Z.Day)
Mike Mussina: Thu:TEX(J.Benoit)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:ANA(A.Sele)
Kerry Wood: Wed:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:@COL(D.Stark)
Kevin Brown: Tue:CIN(D.Graves); Sun:CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Halladay: Wed:@TB(J.Kennedy)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:PIT(K.Wells); Sun:PHI(B.Myers)
Mark Prior: Tue:@SD(B.Lawrence); Sun:@LA(K.Brown).

Deploying Randy, Brown, Halladay, Schmidt, and Prior all are easy calls, and then Pedro has the most upside for the least salary of the remaining five.

Offensively, Giles enters the lineup at 2B, Berkman heads to the OF, and Teixeira and Helton move to DH. Phelps, Ellis, Hudson, Hinske, J.Hernandez, L.Walker, J.Gonzalez, and A.Kearns will ride our bench.

The Umpire Chronicles(6th lg; 377th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(7th lg; 858th overall)
Week 19: August 4-August 10

C	Jason Varitek		1400
C	Toby Hall		1070
1B	Carlos Delgado		2850
1B	Frank Thomas		2030
2B	Alfonso Soriano		2570
2B	Marcus Giles		1080
3B	Scott Rolen		2660
3B	Joe Crede		1150	
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	2300 
SS	Orlando Cabrera		1820
OF	Albert Pujols		3150
OF	Manny Ramirez		2690
OF	Lance Berkman		2850
OF	Preston Wilson		2410
OF	Vernon Wells		1780
OF	Hideki Matsui		1500
DH	Todd Helton		3320
DH	Mark Teixeira		1000

SP	Randy Johnson		4000

SP	Pedro Martinez		2900
SP	Roy Halladay		2010
SP	Jason Schmidt		1990
SP	Kevin Brown		1910
SP	Mark Prior		1800
RP	Eric Gagne		2560
RP	Keith Foulke		2330
RP	Mike MacDougal		1500
RP	Tim Worrell		1370

Total Salary for Week 19: 	60000

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

Brown looks like a better choice than Randy or Prior, so we'll add him and drop Oswalt.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:MON(Z.Day)
Mike Mussina: Thu:TEX(J.Benoit)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:ANA(A.Sele)
Tim Hudson: Wed:@DET(W.Ledezma)
Roger Clemens: Tue:TEX(C.Lewis); Sun:SEA(J.Moyer)
Roy Halladay: Wed:@TB(J.Kennedy)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:PIT(K.Wells); Sun:PHI(B.Myers)
Kevin Brown: Tue:CIN(D.Graves); Sun:CHC(M.Prior)
Esteban Loaiza: Tue:KC(K.Snyder); Sun:OAK(R.Harden)
Brandon Webb: Fri:NYM(J.Seo)

Hudson, Clemens, Halladay, Schmidt, Brown, and Loaiza all are easy calls.

We'll deploy Tex for the slumping Ensberg, and then with Lieberthal in Colorado, we'll activate him to DH, move Delgado to 1B, and sit the slumping Thomas, while activating Boone to 2B for D'Angelo Jimenez. Durazo, Lowell, Furcal, L.Walker, and Griffey remain benched.

Umpire in Brooklyn(6th lg; 365th overall)
Week 19: August 4-August 10

C	Javier Lopez		1480
C	Jason Varitek		1400
1B	Carlos Delgado		2850
1B	Aubrey Huff		1420
2B	Bret Boone		2640
2B	Marcus	 Giles		1080
3B	Hank Blalock		1100
3B	Mark Teixeira		1000
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	2300 
SS	Orlando Cabrera		1820
OF	Manny Ramirez		2690
OF	Gary Sheffield		2600
OF	Preston Wilson		2410
OF	Vernon Wells		1780
OF	Hideki Matsui		1500
OF	Milton Bradley		1170
DH	Albert Pujols		3150
DH	Mike Lieberthal		1350

SP	Tim Hudson		2830
SP	Roger Clemens		2720
SP	Roy Halladay		2010
SP	Jason Schmidt		1990 
SP	Kevin Brown		1910
SP	Esteban Loaiza		1900
RP	Eric Gagne		2560
RP	Keith Foulke		2330
RP	Mike MacDougal		1500
RP	Tim Worrell		1370

Total Salary for Week 19: 	54860

Today's Fantasy Rx: If you need a boost in starting pitching, particularly wins and strikeouts, I can't think of a better shot in the arm than finding a way to deploy Randy, Clemens, Schmidt, Brown, Prior, and Loaiza this week. Schmidt and Brown look especially strong, so if you have moves left, add them anywhere you don't own them.