Rotohelp.com

by Tim Polko

Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
New York Yankees: 1 Home vs. TOR; 3 Home vs. DET; 4 Home vs. TB.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Arizona: 4 Home vs. LA; 3 Home vs. COL.
Toronto: 1 Road at NYY; 3 Road at TB; 3 Home vs. BAL.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 4 Home vs. MIN; 3 Road at BOS.
Cincinnati: 4 Home vs. PIT; 3 Road at CHC.
Houston: 4 Road at MIL; 3 Home vs. STL.
Minnesota: 4 Road at CHW; 3 Road at CLE.
Oakland: 4 Home vs. ANA; 3 Road at TEX.
Pittsburgh: 4 Road at CIN; 3 Home vs. PHI.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Anaheim: 4 Road at OAK; 3 Road at SEA.
Atlanta: 4 Home vs. PHI; 3 Road at FLO.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Los Angeles: 4 Road at ARI; 3 Home vs. SD.
Milwaukee: 4 Home vs. HOU; 3 Road at SF.
Philadelphia: 4 Road at ATL; 3 Road at PIT.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. TOR; 4 Road at NYY.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Home vs. CHW.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Home vs. ANA.
San Francisco: 3 Road at SD; 3 Home vs. MIL.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. BOS; 3 Road at TOR.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Road at MON; 3 Home vs. CIN.
Cleveland: 3 Road at KC; 3 Home vs. MIN.
Montreal: 3 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. NYM.
New York Mets: 3 Home vs. FLO; 3 Road at MON.
St. Louis: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Road at HOU.
Texas: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Home vs. OAK.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Detroit: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Home vs. KC.
Florida: 3 Road at NYM; 3 Home vs. ATL.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. SF; 3 Road at LA.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at STL; 3 Road at ARI.
Kansas City: 3 Home vs. CLE; 3 Road at DET.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Miguel Batista: Mon:LA(K.Brown); Sat:COL(C.Tsao or D.Stark)
Josh Beckett: Mon:@NYM(S.Trachsel); Sun:ATL(S.Reynolds)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy)
Mark Buehrle: Tue:MIN(C.Pulido?); Sun:@BOS(J.Burkett)
Bartolo Colon: Mon:MIN(K.Lohse); Sat:@BOS(J.Suppan)
Jose Contreras: Tue:DET(N.Robertson); Sun:TB(D.Waechter)
Kelvim Escobar: Mon:@NYY(M.Mussina); Sat:BAL(P.Hentgen)
Ryan Franklin: Tue:TEX(T.Mounce); Sun:ANA(Ram.Ortiz or C.Bootcheck)
Wayne Franklin: Mon:HOU(R.Oswalt); Sun:@SF(K.Correia or D.Hermanson)
Tom Glavine?: Tue:FLO(C.Pavano); Sun:@MON(Z.Day)?
Jimmy Gobble: Tue:CLE(J.Davis); Sun:@DET(N.Robertson?)
Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis)
Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings)
Cory Lidle: Tue:@TB(D.Waechter); Sun:BAL(Rod.Lopez)
Kyle Lohse: Mon:@CHW(B.Colon); Sat:@CLE(J.Stanford)
Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano)
Russ Ortiz: Mon:PHI(K.Millwood); Sat:@FLO(D.Willis)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@MIL(W.Franklin); Sat:STL(M.Morris)
Tim Redding: Tue:@MIL(W.Obermueller); Sun:STL(D.Haren)
Shane Reynolds: Tue:PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:@FLO(J.Beckett)
Tony Mounce?: Tue:@SEA(R.Franklin); Sun:OAK(J.Halama or S.Sparks)?
Steve Trachsel: Mon:FLO(J.Beckett); Sat:@MON(C.Vargas or T.Tucker)
Randy Wolf: Tue:@ATL(S.Reynolds); Sat:@PIT(S.Torres)
Carlos Zambrano: Tue:@MON(Z.Day); Sun:CIN(J.Hall?)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
John Bale: Mon:PIT(J.Fogg); Sat:@CHC(K.Wood, Ju.Cruz, or S.Estes)
John Burkett: Mon:@BAL(Rod.Lopez); Sun:CHW(M.Buehrle)
Zach Day: Tue:CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:NYM(T.Glavine or S.Trachsel)
Josh Fogg: Mon:@CIN(J.Bale); Sat:PHI(K.Millwood)
Josh Hall?: Tue:PIT(S.Torres); Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)?
Dan Haren: Tue:COL(J.Jennings); Sun:@HOU(T.Redding)
Ben Howard: Tue:SF(K.Correia?); Sun:@LA(H.Nomo or Ed.Jackson)
Jason Jennings: Tue:@STL(D.Haren); Sun:@ARI(Ran.Johnson)
Rodrigo Lopez: Mon:BOS(J.Burkett); Sun:@TOR(C.Lidle)
Nate Robertston?: Tue:@NYY(J.Contreras); Sun:KC(J.Gobble)?
Aaron Sele: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(Fr.Garcia)
Salomon Torres: Tue:@CIN(J.Hall); Sun:PHI(R.Wolf)
Doug Waechter: Tue:TOR(C.Lidle); Sun:@NYY(J.Contreras)

Diamond Challenge

With two moves remaining, Dave Roberts' hitless week convinced us to find a new outfielder. Carl Crawford has double-digit steals against New York, Boston, and Toronto, and all he faces are those three teams down the stretch. We're cutting Ichiro since he continues to slump and isn't going to make our lineup ahead of Roberts in any week.

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson)
Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez)
Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis)
Matt Morris: Sat:@HOU(R.Oswalt)
Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano)
Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Kerry Wood: Sat:CIN(J.Bale) or Fri:CIN(S.Etherton)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez)
Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton)
Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka)

Although we no longer own Oswalt here, we see no need to add him as he's definitely a risk in his first week back from injury. Fortunately we own doubles from Randy, Hudson, Mussina, Millwood, and Brown, and while Prior or Wood could be good, Halladay is the safest play of our remaining starters; his superior cap number also is much more useful to us than the upside of running Pedro in Baltimore. MacDougal remains benched as the other relievers look much stronger.

Hall, Durazo, and Preston Wilson all are easy decisions to sit, and while we like Furcal, Berkman, and Manny, our other choices give us more immediate upside given the need to run Randy here. Lastly, we'll deploy Crawford for Roberts, and while that move gives us the cap room to run Berkman or Manny, we'll keep Soriano active as he should play eight games this week.

Interview with the Umpire(3rd lg; 33rd div; 627th overall),
Shadow of the Umpire(5th lg; 38th div; 626th overall), &
Dance of the Umpires(7th lg; 24th div; 651st overall)
Week 24: September 8-September 14

C	Ivan Rodriguez		1070 
C	Javy Lopez		750 
1B	Frank Thomas		920
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1460
2B	Marcus Giles		400
3B	Aramis Ramirez		820
3B	Hank Blalock		500
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1330 
OF	Vlad Guerrero		2010
OF	Albert Pujols		1750 
OF	Carl Everett		850
OF	Vernon Wells		750
OF	Hideki Matsui		750 
OF	Carl Crawford		420
DH	Luis Castillo		1210
DH	Aaron Boone		1010

SP	Randy Johnson		2010 
SP	Tim Hudson		1340
SP	Mike Mussina		1210 
SP	Kevin Millwood		1010 
SP	Kevin Brown		990 
SP	Roy Halladay		890
RP	Eric Gagne		1430 
RP	Joe Borowski		750 
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 24: 	29690

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

While we still have one player purchase remaining, we're burning our last free agent move on Esteban Loaiza now. We're cutting Mark Mulder as he's less likely to return this year than Mike Lowell, although we also suspect we'll cut Lowell next week to gain on offensive down the stretch.

As we own the same starters here as in DC, we again will run Randy, Hudson, Mussina, Millwood, Brown, and Halladay. Pedro, Schilling, Schmidt, and Loaiza all look decent, but our other choices give us more upside and less overall downside. Biddle also sits as he remains a poor play in Puerto Rico.

Hall, Helton, Durazo, Lowell, and Preston Wilson all sit in our easiest bench decisions of the week.

Umpire The Masquerade(7th lg; 38th div; 372nd overall)
Week 24: September 8-September 14

C	Mike Lieberthal		650 
C	Javy Lopez		750
1B	Carlos Deglado		1420
1B	Aubrey Huff		610
2B	Bret Boone		1360
2B	Marcus Giles		400 
3B	Aramis Ramirez		820
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	Carl Crawford		420
DH	Alfonso Soriano		1460
DH	Orlando Cabrera		1030  
 
SP	Randy Johnson		2010
SP	Tim Hudson		1340
SP	Mike Mussina		1210 
SP	Kevin Millwood		1010
SP	Kevin Brown		990 
SP	Roy Halladay		890 
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Joe Borowski		750 
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 24: 	27740

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson)
Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:@MIL(W.Franklin)
Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar)
Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez)
Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton)
Mark Prior: Thu:@MON(T.Ohka)?
Esteban Loaiza: Thu:MIN(B.Radke)

No starts: Morris, Wood, and Ainsworth.

Schilling, Mussina, and Loaiza are logical calls with each team at home, and then Brown and Halladay give us the best combination of pitching upside and cap room for the offense. Pedro's single looks as strong as Randy's, so we will take Pedro to give us more salary space for offense.

Sitting Hall, Helton, and Preston Wilson is an easy decision. We'll deploy Castillo over Soriano since we need steals and Castillo should run against Piazza, and then we reluctantly need to bench Manny as his three games in Baltimore don't look as strong as the schedules of Nomar, Berkman, Pujols, or Vlad.

The Umpire Hunter(9th lg; 177th overall)
Week 24a: September 8-September 11

C	Jorge Posada		1120
C	Javier Lopez		750
1B	Erubiel Durazo		520
1B	Aubrey Huff		610 
2B	Luis Castillo		1210
2B	Marcus Giles		400
3B	Aramis Ramirez		820
3B	Hank Blalock		500
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	1330
OF	Vlad Guerrero		2010
OF	Albert Pujols		1750 
OF	Lance Berkman		1640
OF	Hideki Matsui		750
OF	Carl Everett		850
OF	Vernon Wells		750
DH	Orlando Cabrera		1030 
DH	Aaron Boone		1010
 
SP	Pedro Martinez		1700 
SP	Curt Schilling		1610 
SP	Mike Mussina		1210 
SP	Kevin Brown		990
SP	Roy Halladay		890 
SP	Esteban Loaiza		680
RP	Eric Gagne		1430
RP	Joe Borowski		750 
RP	Tim Worrell		740
RP	Matt Mantei		700

Total Salary for Week 24a: 	29760

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

SP(6)
Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings)
Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez)
Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson)
Kerry Wood: Sat:CIN(J.Bale) or Fri:CIN(S.Etherton)
Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Wade Miller: Fri:STL(Wo.Williams)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez)
Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy)
Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka)
Rich Harden: Thu:ANA(S.Shields)

Randy, Mussina, Millwood, and Brown double, and Halladay obviously looks good. As we expect to have a little cap room, we'll take Pedro in a close call over Wood.

We'll sit Hall, Helton, Hudson, Ellis, Hinske, and Juan Gonzalez as we like our current lineup over most of these guys, largely due to poor schedules. The only changes are Teixeira for Helton with Colorado spending the week on the road, and then Larry Walker for Preston Wilson due to Wilson's back problems.

The Umpire Chronicles(6th lg; 330th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(4th lg; 691st overall)
Week 24: September 8-September 14

C	Javy Lopez		1480
C	Jason Varitek		1400 
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	Larry Walker		2500
OF	Vernon Wells		1780
OF	Hideki Matsui		1500
DH	Josh Phelps		1480
DH	Mark Teixeira		1000

SP	Randy Johnson		4000 
SP	Mike Mussina		2920
SP	Pedro Martinez		2900 
SP	Kevin Millwood		2400 
SP	Roy Halladay		2010
SP	Kevin Brown		1910
RP	Eric Gagne		2560
RP	Keith Foulke		2330
RP	Tim Worrell		1370
RP	Matt Mantei		1200

Total Salary for Week 24: 	59890

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

While we spent a while debating on who to add here, we settled on Jose Contreras since he faces weaker opposition than Randy and saves us a 2500 cap hit. We'll dump Wade Miller, who doesn't look like a logical play prior to the last week of the season.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez)
Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano)
Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson)
Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis)
Roger Clemens: Thu:DET(N.Cornejo)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez)
Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy)
Esteban Loaiza: Thu:MIN(B.Radke)
Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka)
Jose Contreras: Tue:DET(N.Robertson); Sun:TB(D.Waechter)

Mussina, Hudson, Brown, and Contreras all are easy choices here, while Clemens and Halladay both should win their starts.

Varitek, Durazo, Bret Boone, and Furcal all look like questionable plays at best, and obviously we need to sit Lowell, Bradley, and both Rockies outfielders with Colorado on the road.

Umpire in Brooklyn(5th lg; 110th overall)
Week 24: September 8-September 14

C	Javier Lopez		1480 
C	Mike Lieberthal		1350 
1B	Carlos Delgado		2850
1B	Frank Thomas		2030
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	Manny Ramirez		2690
OF	Gary Sheffield		2600 
OF	Vernon Wells		1780
OF	Hideki Matsui		1500 
DH	Aubrey Huff		1420
DH	Morgan Ensberg		1000   

SP	Mike Mussina		2920
SP	Tim Hudson		2830 
SP	Roger Clemens		2720 
SP	Roy Halladay		2010 
SP	Kevin Brown		1910
SP	Jose Contreras		1500
RP	Eric Gagne		2560
RP	Keith Foulke		2330
RP	Tim Worrell		1370
RP	Matt Mantei		1200

Total Salary for Week 24: 	54750

Today's Fantasy Rx: If you still have an unspent free agent move like we do, the best two choices are Esteban Loaiza this week and Brandon Webb next week. If you needs wins and can afford the risk of qualitative damage, take Loaiza now. Over the rest of the year, he faces Minnesota this week, and then likely goes into Minnesota next week before doubling the last week of the year at home against New York and then on the road against Kansas City. Alternately, Chicago could move him ahead of Garland in the rotation next week, letting him face Minnesota this week, a double in Minnesota and at home against Kansas City next week, and then a start in Kansas City to finish the season. We believe the Sox will win most of those games, but his recent QA performance is erratic, and he's likely tiring.

Conversely, Brandon Webb faces LA at home this week before likely doubling next week in LA and Milwaukee; he then should finish the season at home against St. Louis. However, Arizona could choose to bump Schilling up one day next week, which would give Webb a start in LA next week before a double in Colorado and at home against St. Louis the last week.

The downside of the potential Colorado start outweighs Loaiza's recent inconsistency for us, and as Loaiza's team gives him much better run support and he costs less cap room, he's our pick for our last free agent pick-up.

Lastly, if you either need steals or cap room, we strongly recommend purchasing Carl Crawford. He should continue racking stolen bases over the last three weeks of the season and remains one of the most cost-effective plays in the game.

Click here to read the previous article.

Please e-mail your comments to tim@rotohelp.com.



Rotohelp		Sunday Challenge Conversation, '03 Wk. 24 by Tim Polko Today's Fantasy Rx Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games Good for hitters / Good for pitchers New York Yankees: 1 Home vs. TOR; 3 Home vs. DET; 4 Home vs. TB. Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games Good for hitters / Good for pitchers Arizona: 4 Home vs. LA; 3 Home vs. COL. Toronto: 1 Road at NYY; 3 Road at TB; 3 Home vs. BAL. Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers Chicago White Sox: 4 Home vs. MIN; 3 Road at BOS. Cincinnati: 4 Home vs. PIT; 3 Road at CHC. Houston: 4 Road at MIL; 3 Home vs. STL. Minnesota: 4 Road at CHW; 3 Road at CLE. Oakland: 4 Home vs. ANA; 3 Road at TEX. Pittsburgh: 4 Road at CIN; 3 Home vs. PHI. Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers Anaheim: 4 Road at OAK; 3 Road at SEA. Atlanta: 4 Home vs. PHI; 3 Road at FLO. Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers Los Angeles: 4 Road at ARI; 3 Home vs. SD. Milwaukee: 4 Home vs. HOU; 3 Road at SF. Philadelphia: 4 Road at ATL; 3 Road at PIT. Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. TOR; 4 Road at NYY. Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games Good for hitters / Good for pitchers Boston: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Home vs. CHW. Seattle: 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Home vs. ANA. San Francisco: 3 Road at SD; 3 Home vs. MIL. Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers Baltimore: 3 Home vs. BOS; 3 Road at TOR. Chicago Cubs: 3 Road at MON; 3 Home vs. CIN. Cleveland: 3 Road at KC; 3 Home vs. MIN. Montreal: 3 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. NYM. New York Mets: 3 Home vs. FLO; 3 Road at MON. St. Louis: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Road at HOU. Texas: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Home vs. OAK. Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers Detroit: 3 Road at NYY; 3 Home vs. KC. Florida: 3 Road at NYM; 3 Home vs. ATL. San Diego: 3 Home vs. SF; 3 Road at LA. Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers Colorado: 3 Road at STL; 3 Road at ARI. Kansas City: 3 Home vs. CLE; 3 Road at DET. Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them): Miguel Batista: Mon:LA(K.Brown); Sat:COL(C.Tsao or D.Stark) Josh Beckett: Mon:@NYM(S.Trachsel); Sun:ATL(S.Reynolds) Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy) Mark Buehrle: Tue:MIN(C.Pulido?); Sun:@BOS(J.Burkett) Bartolo Colon: Mon:MIN(K.Lohse); Sat:@BOS(J.Suppan) Jose Contreras: Tue:DET(N.Robertson); Sun:TB(D.Waechter) Kelvim Escobar: Mon:@NYY(M.Mussina); Sat:BAL(P.Hentgen) Ryan Franklin: Tue:TEX(T.Mounce); Sun:ANA(Ram.Ortiz or C.Bootcheck) Wayne Franklin: Mon:HOU(R.Oswalt); Sun:@SF(K.Correia or D.Hermanson) Tom Glavine?: Tue:FLO(C.Pavano); Sun:@MON(Z.Day)? Jimmy Gobble: Tue:CLE(J.Davis); Sun:@DET(N.Robertson?) Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis) Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings) Cory Lidle: Tue:@TB(D.Waechter); Sun:BAL(Rod.Lopez) Kyle Lohse: Mon:@CHW(B.Colon); Sat:@CLE(J.Stanford) Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg) Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano) Russ Ortiz: Mon:PHI(K.Millwood); Sat:@FLO(D.Willis) Roy Oswalt: Mon:@MIL(W.Franklin); Sat:STL(M.Morris) Tim Redding: Tue:@MIL(W.Obermueller); Sun:STL(D.Haren) Shane Reynolds: Tue:PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:@FLO(J.Beckett) Tony Mounce?: Tue:@SEA(R.Franklin); Sun:OAK(J.Halama or S.Sparks)? Steve Trachsel: Mon:FLO(J.Beckett); Sat:@MON(C.Vargas or T.Tucker) Randy Wolf: Tue:@ATL(S.Reynolds); Sat:@PIT(S.Torres) Carlos Zambrano: Tue:@MON(Z.Day); Sun:CIN(J.Hall?) Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats: John Bale: Mon:PIT(J.Fogg); Sat:@CHC(K.Wood, Ju.Cruz, or S.Estes) John Burkett: Mon:@BAL(Rod.Lopez); Sun:CHW(M.Buehrle) Zach Day: Tue:CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:NYM(T.Glavine or S.Trachsel) Josh Fogg: Mon:@CIN(J.Bale); Sat:PHI(K.Millwood) Josh Hall?: Tue:PIT(S.Torres); Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)? Dan Haren: Tue:COL(J.Jennings); Sun:@HOU(T.Redding) Ben Howard: Tue:SF(K.Correia?); Sun:@LA(H.Nomo or Ed.Jackson) Jason Jennings: Tue:@STL(D.Haren); Sun:@ARI(Ran.Johnson) Rodrigo Lopez: Mon:BOS(J.Burkett); Sun:@TOR(C.Lidle) Nate Robertston?: Tue:@NYY(J.Contreras); Sun:KC(J.Gobble)? Aaron Sele: Mon:@OAK(T.Hudson); Sat:@SEA(Fr.Garcia) Salomon Torres: Tue:@CIN(J.Hall); Sun:PHI(R.Wolf) Doug Waechter: Tue:TOR(C.Lidle); Sun:@NYY(J.Contreras) Diamond Challenge With two moves remaining, Dave Roberts' hitless week convinced us to find a new outfielder. Carl Crawford has double-digit steals against New York, Boston, and Toronto, and all he faces are those three teams down the stretch. We're cutting Ichiro since he continues to slump and isn't going to make our lineup ahead of Roberts in any week. SP(6) Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings) Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson) Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez) Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis) Matt Morris: Sat:@HOU(R.Oswalt) Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano) Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg) Kerry Wood: Sat:CIN(J.Bale) or Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy) Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez) Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton) Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka) Although we no longer own Oswalt here, we see no need to add him as he's definitely a risk in his first week back from injury. Fortunately we own doubles from Randy, Hudson, Mussina, Millwood, and Brown, and while Prior or Wood could be good, Halladay is the safest play of our remaining starters; his superior cap number also is much more useful to us than the upside of running Pedro in Baltimore. MacDougal remains benched as the other relievers look much stronger. Hall, Durazo, and Preston Wilson all are easy decisions to sit, and while we like Furcal, Berkman, and Manny, our other choices give us more immediate upside given the need to run Randy here. Lastly, we'll deploy Crawford for Roberts, and while that move gives us the cap room to run Berkman or Manny, we'll keep Soriano active as he should play eight games this week. Interview with the Umpire(3rd lg; 33rd div; 627th overall), Shadow of the Umpire(5th lg; 38th div; 626th overall), & Dance of the Umpires(7th lg; 24th div; 651st overall) Week 24: September 8-September 14 C Ivan Rodriguez 1070 C Javy Lopez 750 1B Frank Thomas 920 1B Aubrey Huff 610 2B Alfonso Soriano 1460 2B Marcus Giles 400 3B Aramis Ramirez 820 3B Hank Blalock 500 SS Alex Rodriguez 2010 SS Nomar Garciaparra 1330 OF Vlad Guerrero 2010 OF Albert Pujols 1750 OF Carl Everett 850 OF Vernon Wells 750 OF Hideki Matsui 750 OF Carl Crawford 420 DH Luis Castillo 1210 DH Aaron Boone 1010 SP Randy Johnson 2010 SP Tim Hudson 1340 SP Mike Mussina 1210 SP Kevin Millwood 1010 SP Kevin Brown 990 SP Roy Halladay 890 RP Eric Gagne 1430 RP Joe Borowski 750 RP Tim Worrell 740 RP Matt Mantei 700 Total Salary for Week 24: 29690 Diamond Challenge 2nd Season While we still have one player purchase remaining, we're burning our last free agent move on Esteban Loaiza now. We're cutting Mark Mulder as he's less likely to return this year than Mike Lowell, although we also suspect we'll cut Lowell next week to gain on offensive down the stretch. SP(6) Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings) Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson) Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez) Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis) Matt Morris: Sat:@HOU(R.Oswalt) Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano) Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg) Kerry Wood: Sat:CIN(J.Bale) or Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy) Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez) Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton) Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka) Esteban Loaiza: Thu:MIN(B.Radke) As we own the same starters here as in DC, we again will run Randy, Hudson, Mussina, Millwood, Brown, and Halladay. Pedro, Schilling, Schmidt, and Loaiza all look decent, but our other choices give us more upside and less overall downside. Biddle also sits as he remains a poor play in Puerto Rico. Hall, Helton, Durazo, Lowell, and Preston Wilson all sit in our easiest bench decisions of the week. Umpire The Masquerade(7th lg; 38th div; 372nd overall) Week 24: September 8-September 14 C Mike Lieberthal 650 C Javy Lopez 750 1B Carlos Deglado 1420 1B Aubrey Huff 610 2B Bret Boone 1360 2B Marcus Giles 400 3B Aramis Ramirez 820 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 Carl Crawford 420 DH Alfonso Soriano 1460 DH Orlando Cabrera 1030 SP Randy Johnson 2010 SP Tim Hudson 1340 SP Mike Mussina 1210 SP Kevin Millwood 1010 SP Kevin Brown 990 SP Roy Halladay 890 RP Eric Gagne 1430 RP Joe Borowski 750 RP Tim Worrell 740 RP Matt Mantei 700 Total Salary for Week 24: 27740 Internet Challenge SP(6) Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson) Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson) Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez) Roy Oswalt: Mon:@MIL(W.Franklin) Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar) Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz) Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista) Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez) Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton) Mark Prior: Thu:@MON(T.Ohka)? Esteban Loaiza: Thu:MIN(B.Radke) No starts: Morris, Wood, and Ainsworth. Schilling, Mussina, and Loaiza are logical calls with each team at home, and then Brown and Halladay give us the best combination of pitching upside and cap room for the offense. Pedro's single looks as strong as Randy's, so we will take Pedro to give us more salary space for offense. Sitting Hall, Helton, and Preston Wilson is an easy decision. We'll deploy Castillo over Soriano since we need steals and Castillo should run against Piazza, and then we reluctantly need to bench Manny as his three games in Baltimore don't look as strong as the schedules of Nomar, Berkman, Pujols, or Vlad. The Umpire Hunter(9th lg; 177th overall) Week 24a: September 8-September 11 C Jorge Posada 1120 C Javier Lopez 750 1B Erubiel Durazo 520 1B Aubrey Huff 610 2B Luis Castillo 1210 2B Marcus Giles 400 3B Aramis Ramirez 820 3B Hank Blalock 500 SS Alex Rodriguez 2010 SS Nomar Garciaparra 1330 OF Vlad Guerrero 2010 OF Albert Pujols 1750 OF Lance Berkman 1640 OF Hideki Matsui 750 OF Carl Everett 850 OF Vernon Wells 750 DH Orlando Cabrera 1030 DH Aaron Boone 1010 SP Pedro Martinez 1700 SP Curt Schilling 1610 SP Mike Mussina 1210 SP Kevin Brown 990 SP Roy Halladay 890 SP Esteban Loaiza 680 RP Eric Gagne 1430 RP Joe Borowski 750 RP Tim Worrell 740 RP Matt Mantei 700 Total Salary for Week 24a: 29760 Fantasy Baseball & Budget Baseball (Same rules = same rosters and moves for both teams) SP(6) Randy Johnson: Tue:LA(Ed.Jackson); Sun:COL(J.Jennings) Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez) Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano) Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson) Kerry Wood: Sat:CIN(J.Bale) or Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) Kevin Millwood: Mon:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sat:@PIT(J.Fogg) Wade Miller: Fri:STL(Wo.Williams) Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez) Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton) Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy) Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka) Rich Harden: Thu:ANA(S.Shields) Randy, Mussina, Millwood, and Brown double, and Halladay obviously looks good. As we expect to have a little cap room, we'll take Pedro in a close call over Wood. We'll sit Hall, Helton, Hudson, Ellis, Hinske, and Juan Gonzalez as we like our current lineup over most of these guys, largely due to poor schedules. The only changes are Teixeira for Helton with Colorado spending the week on the road, and then Larry Walker for Preston Wilson due to Wilson's back problems. The Umpire Chronicles(6th lg; 330th overall) & Umpire with a Soul(4th lg; 691st overall) Week 24: September 8-September 14 C Javy Lopez 1480 C Jason Varitek 1400 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 Larry Walker 2500 OF Vernon Wells 1780 OF Hideki Matsui 1500 DH Josh Phelps 1480 DH Mark Teixeira 1000 SP Randy Johnson 4000 SP Mike Mussina 2920 SP Pedro Martinez 2900 SP Kevin Millwood 2400 SP Roy Halladay 2010 SP Kevin Brown 1910 RP Eric Gagne 2560 RP Keith Foulke 2330 RP Tim Worrell 1370 RP Matt Mantei 1200 Total Salary for Week 24: 59890 Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball While we spent a while debating on who to add here, we settled on Jose Contreras since he faces weaker opposition than Randy and saves us a 2500 cap hit. We'll dump Wade Miller, who doesn't look like a logical play prior to the last week of the season. SP(6) Curt Schilling: Thu:LA(Od.Perez) Mike Mussina: Mon:TOR(K.Escobar); Sat:TB(V.Zambrano) Pedro Martinez: Wed:@BAL(Jas.Johnson) Tim Hudson: Mon:ANA(A.Sele); Sat:@TEX(C.Lewis) Roger Clemens: Thu:DET(N.Cornejo) Roy Halladay: Thu:@TB(Jer.Gonzalez) Jason Schmidt: Thu:@SD(A.Eaton) Kevin Brown: Mon:@ARI(M.Batista); Sat:SD(J.Peavy) Esteban Loaiza: Thu:MIN(B.Radke) Mark Prior: Fri:CIN(S.Etherton) or Thu:@MON(T.Ohka) Jose Contreras: Tue:DET(N.Robertson); Sun:TB(D.Waechter) Mussina, Hudson, Brown, and Contreras all are easy choices here, while Clemens and Halladay both should win their starts. Varitek, Durazo, Bret Boone, and Furcal all look like questionable plays at best, and obviously we need to sit Lowell, Bradley, and both Rockies outfielders with Colorado on the road. Umpire in Brooklyn(5th lg; 110th overall) Week 24: September 8-September 14 C Javier Lopez 1480 C Mike Lieberthal 1350 1B Carlos Delgado 2850 1B Frank Thomas 2030 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 Manny Ramirez 2690 OF Gary Sheffield 2600 OF Vernon Wells 1780 OF Hideki Matsui 1500 DH Aubrey Huff 1420 DH Morgan Ensberg 1000 SP Mike Mussina 2920 SP Tim Hudson 2830 SP Roger Clemens 2720 SP Roy Halladay 2010 SP Kevin Brown 1910 SP Jose Contreras 1500 RP Eric Gagne 2560 RP Keith Foulke 2330 RP Tim Worrell 1370 RP Matt Mantei 1200 Total Salary for Week 24: 54750 Today's Fantasy Rx: If you still have an unspent free agent move like we do, the best two choices are Esteban Loaiza this week and Brandon Webb next week. If you needs wins and can afford the risk of qualitative damage, take Loaiza now. Over the rest of the year, he faces Minnesota this week, and then likely goes into Minnesota next week before doubling the last week of the year at home against New York and then on the road against Kansas City. Alternately, Chicago could move him ahead of Garland in the rotation next week, letting him face Minnesota this week, a double in Minnesota and at home against Kansas City next week, and then a start in Kansas City to finish the season. We believe the Sox will win most of those games, but his recent QA performance is erratic, and he's likely tiring. Conversely, Brandon Webb faces LA at home this week before likely doubling next week in LA and Milwaukee; he then should finish the season at home against St. Louis. However, Arizona could choose to bump Schilling up one day next week, which would give Webb a start in LA next week before a double in Colorado and at home against St. Louis the last week. The downside of the potential Colorado start outweighs Loaiza's recent inconsistency for us, and as Loaiza's team gives him much better run support and he costs less cap room, he's our pick for our last free agent pick-up. Lastly, if you either need steals or cap room, we strongly recommend purchasing Carl Crawford. He should continue racking stolen bases over the last three weeks of the season and remains one of the most cost-effective plays in the game. Click here to read the previous article. Please e-mail your comments to tim@rotohelp.com.
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	September 7^th 2003			Your Daily Fantasy Rx