Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Cleveland: 1 Home vs. DET: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Road at DET.
New York Yankees: 1 Road at BOS: 3 Road at CHW: 3 Home vs. BOS.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Boston: 1 Home vs. NYY; 3 Road at TOR; 3 Road at NYY.
Chicago Cubs: 1 Home vs. CIN; 3 Road at PIT: 3 Home vs. NYM.
Cincinnati: 1 Road at CHC: 3 Home vs. ATL; 3 Road at PIT.
Detroit: 1 Road at CLE: 3 Road at MIN: 3 Home vs. CLE.
Montreal: 4 Road at NYM; 3 Home vs. PHI.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
New York Mets: 4 Home vs. MON; 3 Road at CHC.
Oakland: 4 Road at SEA: 3 Home vs. ANA.
San Francisco: 4 Home vs. SD: 3 Road at LA.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
San Diego: 4 Road at SF; 3 Road at ARI.
Seattle: 4 Home vs. OAK; 3 Road at TEX.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. TB; 3 Home vs. TOR.
Chicago White Sox; 3 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. TB.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Road at MIL; 3 Home vs. SD.
Atlanta: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at FLO.
Colorado: 3 Home vs. LA; 3 Home vs. HOU.
Houston: 3 Home vs. STL; 3 Road at COL.
Los Angeles: 3 Road at COL; 3 Home vs. SF.
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. ARI; 3 Home vs. STL.
Philadelphia: 3 Home vs. FLO: 3 Road at MON.
Pittsburgh: 3 Home vs. CHC: 3 Home vs. CIN.
St. Louis: 3 Road at HOU; 3 Road at MIL.
Texas: 3 Road at ANA; 3 Home vs. SEA.
Toronto: 3 Home vs. BOS: 3 Road at BAL.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Road at OAK.
Florida: 3 Road at PHI; 3 Home vs. ATL.
Minnesota: 3 Home vs. DET; 3 Road at KC.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Kansas City: 3 Road at CLE; 3 Home vs. MIN.
Tampa Bay: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Road at CHW.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Jose Acevedo: Tue:@ATL(J.Thomson); Sun:@PIT(R.Vogelsong)
Jeremy Affeldt: Tue:@CLE(C.Durbin); Sun:MIN(C.Silva)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@BOS(B.Arroyo); Sat:BOS(B.Arroyo)
Mark Buehrle: Tue:NYY(A.Graman); Sun:TB(M.Hendrickson)
Matt Clement: Mon:CIN(J.Haynes); Sat:NYM(T.Yates)
Jeff D'Amico: Mon:DET(N.Robertson); Sat:@DET(N.Robertson)
Roy Halladay: Tue:BOS(P.Martinez); Sun:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Rich Harden: Tue:@SEA(R.Franklin); Sun:ANA(Ra.Ortiz)
Mark Hendrickson: Tue:@BAL(S.Ponson); Sun:@CHW(M.Buehrle)
Dustin Hermanson: Tue:SD(B.Lawrence); Sun:@LA(K.Ishii)
Brian Lawrence: Tue:@SF(D.Hermanson); Sun:@ARI(E.Dessens)
Al Leiter: Tue:MON(Z.Day); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@TOR(R.Halladay); Sun:@NYY(A.Graman)
Vicente Padilla: Tue:FLO(D.Willis); Sun:@MON(Z.Day)
Sidney Ponson: Tue:TB(M.Hendrickson); Sun:TOR(S.Ponson)
Mark Redman: Mon:@SEA(Fr.Garcia); Sat:ANA(K.Escobar)
Nate Robertson: Mon:@CLE(J.D'Amico); Sat:DET(J.D'Amico)
Ben Sheets: Tue:ARI(E.Dessens); Sun:STL(J.Suppan)
Carlos Silva: Tue:DET(Ja.Johnson); Sun:@KC(J.Affeldt)
John Thomson: Tue:@CIN(Jo.Acevedo); Sun:@FLO(D.Willis)
David Wells: Mon:@SF(Je.Williams); Sat:@ARI(S.Sparks)
Jerome Williams: Mon:SF(D.Wells); Sat:@LA(J.Lima)
Dontrelle Willis: Tue:@PHI(V.Padilla); Sun:ATL(J.Thomson)
Carlos Zambrano: Tue:@PIT(R.Vogelsong); Sun:NYM(A.Leiter)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Bronson Arroyo: Mon:NYY(K.Brown); Sat:@NYY(K.Brown)
Zach Day: Tue:@NYM(A.Leiter); Sun:PHI(V.Padilla)
Elmer Dessens: Tue:@MIL(B.Sheets); Sun:SD(B.Lawrence)
Chad Durbin: Tue:KC(J.Affeldt); Sun:@DET(Ja.Johnson)?
Ryan Franklin: Tue:OAK(R.Harden); Sun:@TEX(K.Rogers)
Freddy Garcia: Mon:OAK(M.Redman); Sat:@TEX(R.Drese)
Alex Graman: Tue:@CHW(M.Buehrle); Sun:BOS(P.Martinez)
Jimmy Haynes: Mon:@CHC(M.Clement); Sat:@PIT(Ol.Perez)
Kaz Ishii: Tue:@COL(J.Kennedy); Sun:SF(D.Hermanson)
Jason Johnson: Tue:@MIN(C.Silva); Sun:CLE(C.Durbin or J.Stanford?)
Joe Kennedy: Tue:LA(K.Ishii); Sun:HOU(W.Miller)
Wade Miller: Tue:STL(J.Suppan); Sun:@COL(J.Kennedy)
Tomo Ohka: Mon:@NYM(T.Yates); Sat:PHI(R.Wolf)
Ramon Ortiz: Tue:TEX(K.Rogers); Sun:@OAK(R.Harden)
Kenny Rogers: Tue:@ANA(Ra.Ortiz); Sun:SEA(R.Franklin)
Jeff Suppan: Tue:@HOU(W.Miller); Sun:@MIL(B.Sheets)
Ryan Vogelsong: Tue:CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:CIN(Jo.Acevedo)
Tyler Yates: Mon:MON(T.Ohka); Sat:@CHC(M.Clement)

Diamond Challenge

With Preston Wilson and Carl Everett both out indefinitely and Scott Podsednik and Richard Hidalgo both looking very strong, we're going to make the same two moves here we enacted in IC on Friday. Since Teixeira could return relatively soon, we're not cutting him at this point, particularly since we like Fullmer and Phelps a lot.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@TOR(R.Halladay); Sun:@NYY(A.Graman)
Curt Schilling: Thu:@TOR(M.Batista)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@MIL(M.Kinney)
Mike Mussina: Thu:@CHW(S.Schoeneweis)
Roy Halladay: Tue:BOS(P.Martinez); Sun:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Tim Hudson: Wed:@SEA(G.Meche)
Javier Vazquez: Wed:@CHW(J.Garland)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:STL(J.Marquis)
Kerry Wood: Thu:@PIT(K.Wells)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@BOS(B.Arroyo); Sat:BOS(B.Arroyo)
Josh Beckett: Fri:ATL(Ru.Ortiz)
Jose Contreras: Fri:BOS(D.Lowe)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Home vs. LA: 3 Home vs. HOU.

Pedro, Halladay, and Brown are obvious picks, and Oswalt and Beckett are relatively strong home starts. Unfortunately, Contreras is struggling and Chacon is too risky this week, so we'll run Schilling since he's performing better than anyone else here.

Teixeira heads to the bench with the slumping ARod, Crede, and Wells, and then since we like Ichiro a little more than Pierre right now, Pierre will stay seated since Ichiro also plays an extra game this week.

Shadow of the Umpire(22nd lg; 215th div; 5466th overall)
Week 3: April 19-April 25

C	Javy Lopez		940
C	Jason Varitek		680
1B	Brad Fullmer		700
1B	Josh Phelps		580
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Marcus Giles		990
3B	Eric Hinske		990
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Rafael Furcal		1150
SS	Alex Cintron		4500
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1560
OF	Carl Crawford		1040
OF	Scott Podsednik		980
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690
DH	Richard Hidalgo	970
DH	Miguel Cabrera		570

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800
SP	Curt Schilling		1610 
SP	Roy Halladay		1350
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200
SP	Kevin Brown		1180
SP	Josh Beckett		990
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	David Riske		820
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Matt Herges		670

Total Salary for Week 3: 	29840

Internet Challenge

Losing Teixeira is tough here, but we're comfortable running Fullmer and Phelps, so we're hoping Tex returns from his oblique soon. Burning a fifth move this early just seems unnecessary when we don't need a replacement right now.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@TOR(R.Halladay)
Curt Schilling: Thu:@TOR(M.Batista)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@MIL(M.Kinney)
Mike Mussina: Thu:@CHW(S.Schoeneweis)
Roy Halladay: Tue:BOS(P.Martinez)
Tim Hudson: Wed:@SEA(G.Meche)
Javier Vazquez: Wed:@CHW(J.Garland)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:STL(J.Marquis)
Kerry Wood: Thu:@PIT(K.Wells)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@BOS(B.Arroyo)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Home vs. LA.

No starts: Beckett, Contreras.

We'll go with the higher-percentage home starts of Halladay and Oswalt, and then Schilling, Randy, and Brown all look strong. Of the remaining starts, Hudson looks like the best bet given Vazquez's problems on Friday and Kerry's meltdown yesterday.

Teixeira obviously stays benched, and we're not ready to deploy Crede. Unfortunately, with our three cheapest pitchers on the bench, we need to cut salary somewhere. Subbing Cintron for ARod and then Ichiro for Vernon Wells removes two very cold players from our lineup with the respectable Cintron. Ichiro's our play over Pierre since Ichiro has an extra game

The Umpire Hunter(19th lg; 564th overall)
Week 3a: April 19-April 22

C	Mike Piazza		990
C	Jason Varitek		680
1B	Brad Fullmer		700
1B	Josh Phelps		580
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Marcus Giles		990
3B	Eric Hinske		990
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Kazuo Matsui		750
SS	Alex Cintron		450
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1560
OF	Carl Crawford		1040
OF	Scott Podsednik		980
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690 
DH	Richard Hidalgo	970
DH	Miguel Cabrera		570

SP	Curt Schilling		1610
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Roy Halladay		1350 
SP	Tim Hudson		1320
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200
SP	Kevin Brown		1180
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	David Riske		820
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Matt Herges		670

Total Salary for Week 3a: 	29570

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

While LeCroy, Teixeira, and Everett all our out, we're not going to burn a move here until we a see a specific area that needs addressing or we need to compensate for a cap problem some week.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Thu:@TOR(M.Batista)
Randy Johnson: Wed:@MIL(M.Kinney)
Javier Vazquez: Wed:@CHW(J.Garland)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:@TOR(R.Halladay); Sun:@NYY(A.Graman)
Kerry Wood: Thu:@PIT(K.Wells)
Roy Halladay: Tue:BOS(P.Martinez); Sun:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Kevin Brown: Mon:@BOS(B.Arroyo); Sat:BOS(B.Arroyo)
Josh Beckett: Fri:ATL(Ru.Ortiz)
Jose Contreras: Fri:BOS(D.Lowe)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Home vs. LA: 3 Home vs. HOU.

Pedro, Halladay, Brown, and Chacon all look good here, and Schilling continues to excel. Randy's tempting, but Beckett is at home, offers as much upside, and costs a lot less.

LeCroy, Teixeira, and Everett obviously begin our bench, and we see no reason to deploy Orlando Hudson, Derek Jeter, or Hideki Matsui. Eric Munson will sub for Tony Batista since neither player is performing great and we need the cap room, and then Vernon Wells will sit for a week so we can run Helton, Derrek Lee, Manny, and Pujols.

The Umpire Chronicles(15th lg; 1487th overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(18th lg; 2809th overall)
Week 3: April 19-April 25

C	Brian Schneider		1100
C	Jason Phillips		1070
1B	Derrek Lee		2690
1B	Josh Phelps		1260
2B	Alfonso Soriano		3060
3B	Hank Blalock		2020
3B	Eric Munson		1090
SS	Orlando Cabrera		2460 
SS	Alex Cintron		1100
OF	Carlos Beltran		3060 
OF	Manny Pujols		2960
OF	Adam Dunn		1950
OF	Brad Wilkerson		1870 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1600
OF	Austin Kearns		1630
DH	Todd Helton		3450
DH	Albert Pujols		3350

SP	Curt Schilling		3090 
SP	Pedro Martinez		2890
SP	Roy Halladay		2800
SP	Kevin Brown		2470
SP	Josh Beckett		2000
SP	Shawn Chacon		1600
RP	Octavio Dotel		2400
RP	David Riske		1870
RP	Matt Herges		1610
RP	Arthur Rhodes		1580

Total Salary for Week 3: 	59770

Today's Fantasy Rx: As in Internet Challenge, the three highest-percentage plays in DC are Hank Blalock, Marcus Giles, and Vernon Wells. Kerry Wood, Octavio Dotel, and Albert Pujols also each are owned by over 60% of teams.

In Fantasy Baseball, Marcus Giles, Albert Pujols, Hank Blalock, Vernon Wells, Octavio Dotel, Kerry Wood, and Josh Beckett each are owned by over 60% of all teams. We own all seven and recommend you attempt to add as much of this group as possible in the near future if you don't already own them all. Only Dotel is even a mildly questionable pickup, though he looks like a great value for his FB price.