Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Anaheim: 4 Home vs. CHW; 3 Home vs. DET.
Baltimore: 3 Road at TB; 4 Home vs. NYY.
Chicago Cubs: 4 Home vs. HOU; 3 Home vs. LA.
Cleveland: 4 Road at MIN; 3 Home vs. TB.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at KC: 4 Road at BAL.
St. Louis: 4 Road at PIT; 3 Road at PHI.
Texas: 4 Home vs. DET: 3 Home vs. CHW.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 4 Road at ANA; 3 Road at TEX.
Detroit: 4 Road at TEX; 3 Road at ANA.
Houston: 4 Road at CHC; 3 Road at CIN.
Minnesota: 4 Home vs. CLE: 3 Road at KC.
Oakland: 4 Home vs. BOS: 3 Home vs. TOR.
Pittsburgh: 4 Home vs. STL; 3 Home vs. MIL.
Seattle: 4 Home vs. TOR: 3 Home vs. BOS.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 4 Road at OAK: 3 Road at SEA.
Florida: 4 Home vs. LA; 3 Home vs. SD.
Los Angeles: 4 Road at FLO; 3 Road at CHC.
Toronto: 4 Road at SEA; 3 Road at OAK.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Montreal: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Home vs. SF.
New York Mets: 3 Home vs. SF: 3 Home vs. COL.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. BAL; 3 Road at CLE.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at ATL.
Cincinnati: 3 Home vs. ARI; 3 Home vs. HOU.
Kansas City: 3 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. MIN.
Philadelphia: 3 Home vs. MIL; 3 Home vs. STL.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. SD; 3 Home vs. ARI.
Colorado: 3 Road at MON; 3 Road at NYM.
San Francisco: 3 Road at NYM; 3 Road at MON.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Milwaukee: 3 Road at PHI; 3 Road at PIT.
San Diego: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at FLO.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Josh Beckett: Tue:LA(H.Nomo); Sun:SD(A.Eaton)
Joaquin Benoit: Tue:DET(J.Bonderman); Sun:CHW(D.Wright)
Bartolo Colon: Mon:@ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(J.Thomson)
Zach Day: Mon:COL(J.Jennings); Sat:SF(Du.Hermanson)
Adam Eaton: Tue:@ATL(G.Maddux); Sun:@FLO(J.Beckett)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(Fr.Garcia); Sun:@OAK(B.Zito)
Dan Haren: Mon:@PIT(K.Wells); Sat:@PHI(B.Myers)
Aaron Heilman: Tue:SF(); Sun:COL(J.Jennings)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BOS(P.Martinez); Sat:TOR(M.Hendrickson)
Jason Jennings: Mon:@MON(Z.Day); Sun:@NYM(A.Heilman)
Kyle Lohse: Mon:CLE(J.Westbrook); Sat:@KC(Run.Hernandez)
Rodrigo Lopez: Tue:@TB(Ro.Bell); Sun:NYY(M.Mussina)
Greg Maddux: Tue:SD(A.Eaton); Sun:ARI(C.Schilling)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(J.Pineiro)
Wade Miller: Mon:@CHC(K.Wood); Sat:@CIN(B.Claussen???)
Mike Mussina: Tue:@KC(Da.May); Sun:@BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Hideo Nomo: Tue:@FLO(J.Beckett); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Tomo Ohka: Tue:COL(C.Tsao); Sun:SF(S.Ponson)
Ramon Ortiz: Tue:CHW(D.Wright); Sun:DET(J.Bonderman)
Odalis Perez: Mon:@FLO(D.Willis); Sat:@CHC(K.Wood)
Joel Pineiro: Mon:TOR(M.Hendrickson); Sat:BOS(P.Martinez)
Sidney Ponson: Tue:@NYM(A.Heilman); Sun:@MON(T.Ohka)
Tim Redding: Tue:@CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:@CIN(Pa.Wilson)
Curt Schilling: Tue:@CIN(Pa.Wilson); Sun:@ATL(G.Maddux)
Billy Traber: Tue:@MIN(R.Reed); Sun:TB(J.Kennedy)
David Wells: Mon:@KC(Pa.Abbott); Sat:@BAL(P.Hentgen)
Kip Wells: Mon:STL(D.Haren); Sat:MIL(Lu.Martinez???)
Jake Westbrook: Mon:@MIN(K.Lohse); Sat:TB(Jor.Sosa)
Dontrelle Willis: Mon:LA(Od.Perez); Sat:SD(B.Lawrence)
Kerry Wood: Mon:HOU(Wa.Miller); Sat:LA(Od.Perez)
Carlos Zambrano: Tue:HOU(T.Redding); Sun:LA(H.Nomo)
Barry Zito: Tue:BOS(J.Beckett); Sun:TOR(R.Halladay)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Jeremy Bonderman: Tue:@TEX(J.Benoit); Sun:@ANA(Ra.Ortiz)
John Burkett: Tue:@OAK(B.Zito); Sun:@SEA(J.Pineiro)
Brandon Duckworth: Tue:MIL(W.Franklin); Sun:STL(B.Tomko)
Josh Fogg: Tue:STL(B.Tomko); Sun:MIL(W.Franklin)
Wayne Franklin: Tue:@PHI(B.Duckworth); Sun:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Freddy Garcia: Tue:TOR(R.Halladay); Sun:BOS(J.Burkett)
Mark Hendrickson: Mon:@SEA(J.Pineiro); Sat:@OAK(T.Hudson)
Pat Hentgen: Mon:@TB(J.Kennedy); Sat:NYY(D.Wells)
Joe Kennedy: Mon:BAL(P.Hentgen); Sun@CLE(B.Traber)
Wil Ledezma: Mon:@TEX(J.Thomson); Sat:@ANA(A.Sele)
Rick Reed: Tue:CLE(B.Traber); Sun:@KC(J.Lima)
Aaron Sele: Mon:CHW(B.Colon); Sat:DET(W.Ledezma)
John Thomson: Mon:DET(W.Ledezma); Sat:CHW(B.Colon)
Brett Tomko?: Tue:@PIT(J.Fogg); Sun:@PHI(B.Duckworth)?
Paul Wilson: Tue:ARI(C.Schilling); Sun:HOU(T.Redding)
Dan Wright: Tue:@ANA(Ra.Ortiz); Sun:@TEX(J.Benoit)

Diamond Challenge

We plan to use another one or two of our remaining moves as soon as we see a logical opportunity, however we'll see what our cap looks like before deciding whether we should add anyone.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@ATL(H.Ramirez)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(J.Pineiro)
Curt Schilling: Tue:@CIN(Pa.Wilson); Sun:@ATL(G.Maddux)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BOS(P.Martinez); Sat:TOR(M.Hendrickson)
Matt Morris: Sun@PHI(B.Duckworth)???
Roy Oswalt: No start(DL)
Mike Mussina: Tue:@KC(Da.May); Sun:@BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:MIL(B.Sheets)
Kerry Wood: Mon:HOU(Wa.Miller); Sat:LA(Od.Perez)
Kevin Brown: Fri:@CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(Fr.Garcia); Sun:@OAK(B.Zito)
Jason Schmidt: Fri:@MON(L.Hernandez)
Mark Prior: Fri:LA(K.Brown).

We nearly never see a week with six solid doubles, and while the Brown/Prior start again intrigues us, we're not missing the chance to solidify our place in wins; Pedro, Schilling, Hudson, Mussina, Wood, and Halladay all are easy calls.

Our high-priced pitching necessitates some sacrifices on offense, so we'll bench Luis Castillo, Manny Ramirez, and Preston Wilson against unfavorable schedules. However we don't like Dave Roberts' schedule this week, so we're going to add Javy Lopez, hopefully giving us a power boost in addition to a third catcher, and he allows us to keep Aramis Ramirez, Roberts, and Kearns benched. We'll cut Oswalt since we don't expect him back this season and likely wouldn't deploy him given his high risk of injury even if he returned.

Interview with the Umpire(3rd lg; 31st div; 651st overall),
Shadow of the Umpire(5th lg; 37th div; 652nd overall), &
Dance of the Umpires(4th lg; 26th div; 684th overall)
Week 20: August 11-August 17

C	Ivan Rodriguez		1070
C	Toby Hall		460
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
1B	Erubiel Durazo		520
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1460
2B	Marcus Giles		400
3B	Aaron Boone		1010
3B	Hank Blalock		500
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1330
OF	Vlad Guerrero		2010
OF	Lance Berkman		1640
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1480
OF	Carl Everett		850
OF	Vernon Wells		750
OF	Hideki Matsui		750
DH	Frank Thomas		920
DH	Javy Lopez		750

SP	Pedro Martinez		1700
SP	Curt Schilling		1610
SP	Tim Hudson		1340
SP	Mike Mussina		1210
SP	Kerry Wood		990
SP	Roy Halladay		890
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Mike MacDougal		750
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 20: 	29880

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

With a free agent pick-up and four purchases remaining here, we have no problem adding someone if our cap demands.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@ATL(H.Ramirez)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(J.Pineiro)
Curt Schilling: Tue:@CIN(Pa.Wilson); Sun:@ATL(G.Maddux)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BOS(P.Martinez); Sat:TOR(M.Hendrickson)
Matt Morris: Sun@PHI(B.Duckworth)???
Roy Oswalt: No start(DL)
Mike Mussina: Tue:@KC(Da.May); Sun:@BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Mark Mulder: Wed:BOS(D.Lowe)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:MIL(B.Sheets)
Kerry Wood: Mon:HOU(Wa.Miller); Sat:LA(Od.Perez)
Kevin Brown: Fri:@CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(Fr.Garcia); Sun:@OAK(B.Zito)
Jason Schmidt: Fri:@MON(L.Hernandez)
Mark Prior: Fri:LA(K.Brown).

Pedro, Schilling, Hudson, Mussina, Wood, and Halladay all work as well here as in DC.

Leaving Gagne deployed means we need to find cap room somewhere, so we'll bench both Carlos Delgado and Preston Wilson due to their unenviable schedules and recent slumps. Dave Roberts goes back to our outfield and Helton, Aramis Ramirez, and Kearns stay benched, however we still need to find a bat under 1130 to add at DH. Cutting Oswalt gives us a decent roster spot, and while we like a few of the cheaper outfielders and third basemen, Javy Lopez at 750 gives us a productive bat and an extra catcher.

Umpire The Masquerade(3rd lg; 22nd div; 194th overall)
Week 20: August 11-August 17

C	Mike Lieberthal		650
C	Toby Hall		460
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
1B	Erubiel Durazo		520
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	Juan Pierre		1080
OF	Vernon Wells		750
OF	Hideki Matsui		750
OF	Dave Roberts		620
OF	Milton Bradley		430
DH	Orlando Cabrera		1030
DH	Javy Lopez		750

SP	Pedro Martinez		1700
SP	Curt Schilling		1610
SP	Tim Hudson		1340
SP	Mike Mussina		1210
SP	Kerry Wood		990
SP	Roy Halladay		890
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Joe Borowski		750
RP	Rocky Biddle		750
RP	Tim Worrell		740

Total Salary for Week 20: 	27620

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson)
Curt Schilling: Tue:@CIN(Pa.Wilson)
Mike Mussina: Tue:@KC(Da.May)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:MIL(B.Sheets)
Kerry Wood: Mon:HOU(Wa.Miller)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(Fr.Garcia)

No starts: Randy, Morris, Oswalt, Brown, Schmidt, Prior, Loaiza, and Ainsworth.

We don't want to risk a Schilling disaster in Cincinnati, so we're going to sit him, leave Ainsworth active, deploy the other five starters, and then we can keep all our top hitters active aside from Helton, who plays three in Montreal. Marcus Giles, Aramis Ramirez, and Kearns also will sit.

The Umpire Hunter(11th lg; 257th overall)
Week 20a: August 11-August 14

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	Lance Berkman		1640
DH	Orlando Cabrera		1030

SP	Pedro Martinez		1700
SP	Mike Mussina		1210
SP	Kevin Millwood		1010
SP	Kerry Wood		990
SP	Roy Halladay		890
SP	Kurt Ainsworth		430
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Mike MacDougal		750
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 20a: 	29940

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

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Fri:@ATL(H.Ramirez)
Curt Schilling: Tue:@CIN(Pa.Wilson); Sun:@ATL(G.Maddux)
Mike Mussina: Tue:@KC(Da.May); Sun:@BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(J.Pineiro)
Kerry Wood: Mon:HOU(Wa.Miller); Sat:LA(Od.Perez)
Kevin Millwood: Wed:MIL(B.Sheets)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(Fr.Garcia); Sun:@OAK(B.Zito)
Jason Schmidt: Fri:@MON(L.Hernandez)
Kevin Brown: Fri:@CHC(M.Prior)
Mark Prior: Fri:LA(K.Brown).

Schilling, Mussina, Pedro, Wood, and Halladay all are easy calls, and Millwood against Milwaukee looks like the best remaining bet.

After burning a few moves last week, we're not eager to lose any more flexibility, so we're going to activate Phelps for Helton and otherwise leave our bench intact, sitting Hudson, Ellis, Hinske, J.Hernandez, L.Walker, J.Gonzalez, and A.Kearns.

The Umpire Chronicles(6th lg; 336th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(5th lg; 745th overall)
Week 20: August 11-August 17

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	Josh Phelps		1480
DH	Mark Teixeira		1000

SP	Pedro Martinez		2900
SP	Curt Schilling		3600
SP	Mike Mussina		2920
SP	Kerry Wood		2470
SP	Kevin Millwood		2400
SP	Roy Halladay		2010
RP	Eric Gagne		2560
RP	Keith Foulke		2330
RP	Mike MacDougal		1500
RP	Tim Worrell		1370

Total Salary for Week 20: 	59850

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

Neither Randy nor Prior looks necessary this week, so we'll stay with our current roster.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Tue:@CIN(Pa.Wilson); Sun:@ATL(G.Maddux)
Mike Mussina: Tue:@KC(Da.May); Sun:@BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Pedro Martinez: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(J.Pineiro)
Tim Hudson: Mon:BOS(P.Martinez); Sat:TOR(M.Hendrickson)
Roger Clemens: Fri:@BAL(Jas.Johnson)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@SEA(Fr.Garcia); Sun:@OAK(B.Zito)
Jason Schmidt: Fri:@MON(L.Hernandez)
Kevin Brown: Fri:@CHC(M.Prior)
Esteban Loaiza: Fri:@TEX(C.Lewis)
Brandon Webb: Wed:@CIN(A.Harang)

Schilling, Mussina, Pedro, Hudson, and Halladay are necessary calls, and Clemens has a much better chance to win than any of the cheaper pitchers.

We have to bench some of our better offensive players, including Delgado, Boone, and Preston Wilson in addition to Lieberthal, Lowell, Furcal, Griffey, and Larry Walker. However we want to sit Manny due to his recent struggles and poor schedule this week, so we're going to add Berkman, who owns a slightly superior schedule to Carlos Beltran, and drop Griffey.

Umpire in Brooklyn(6th lg; 254th overall)
Week 20: August 11-August 17

C	Javier Lopez		1480
C	Jason Varitek		1400
1B	Frank Thomas		2030
1B	Aubrey Huff		1420
2B	D'Angelo Jimenez	1400
2B	Marcus	 Giles		1080
3B	Hank Blalock		1100
3B	Mark Teixeira		1000
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	2300 
SS	Orlando Cabrera		1820
OF	Albert Pujols		3150
OF	Lance Berkman		2850
OF	Gary Sheffield		2600
OF	Vernon Wells		1780
OF	Hideki Matsui		1500
OF	Milton Bradley		1170
DH	Erubiel Durazo		1110
DH	Morgan Ensberg		1000

SP	Curt Schilling		3600
SP	Mike Mussina		2920
SP	Pedro Martinez		2900
SP	Tim Hudson		2830
SP	Roger Clemens		2720
SP	Roy Halladay		2010
RP	Eric Gagne		2560
RP	Keith Foulke		2330
RP	Mike MacDougal		1500
RP	Tim Worrell		1370

Total Salary for Week 20: 	54930

Today's Fantasy Rx: Despite the presence of a number of nice double starts on our teams and several decent ones we don't own, this doesn't look like a particularly strong week for wins as a lot of good pitchers like Pedro, Nomo, Wood, Willis, Zito, Beckett, Maddux, and Eaton all wind up facing strong opponents in both starts. While deploying as many of these pitchers as possible will help you in most leagues, avoiding position players on teams with rough offensive schedules, such as Boston and Toronto in Oakland and Seattle, as well as Colorado in Montreal, likely will provide a bigger boost if you own capable replacements.