Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Home vs. DET; 4 Home vs. TB.
Boston: 4 Road at CLE; 3 Home vs. KC.
Chicago Cubs: 1 Road at STL; 3 Home vs. ARI; 3 Home vs. COL.
St. Louis: 1 Home vs. CHC; 3 Road at PHI; 3 Road at MON.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cincinnati: 1 Road at HOU; 3 Home vs. MIL; 3 Home vs. SF.
Houston: 1 Home vs. CIN; 3 Home vs. PIT; 3 Road at ATL.
Tampa Bay: 3 Road at TEX; 4 Road at ANA.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cleveland: 4 Home vs. BOS; 3 Road at BAL.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. CHW; 3 Home vs. CLE.
Milwaukee: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at NYM.
Texas: 3 Home vs. TB; 3 Home vs. DET.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Road at TOR.
Detroit: 3 Road at ANA; 3 Road at TEX.
Kansas City: 3 Road at TOR; 3 Road at BOS.
Montreal: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Home vs. STL.
Philadelphia: 3 Home vs. STL; 3 Road at ARI.
Pittsburgh: 3 Road at HOU; 3 Home vs. LA.
San Francisco: 3 Road at NYM; 3 Road at CIN.
Toronto: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Home vs. CHW.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Road at CHC; 3 Home vs. PHI.
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. SD; 3 Home vs. HOU.
Florida: 3 Home vs. LA; 3 Home vs. SD.
Los Angeles: 3 Road at FLO; 3 Road at PIT.
Minnesota: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Road at OAK.
New York Mets: 3 Home vs. SF; 3 Home vs. MIL.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at OAK; 3 Road at SEA.
Oakland: 3 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. MIN.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. MIN; 3 Home vs. NYY.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at MON; 3 Road at CHC.
San Diego: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at FLO.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Kurt Ainsworth: Mon:CHW(S.Schoeneweis); Sat:CLE(J.Westbrook?)
Josh Beckett: Tue:LA(Od.Perez); Sun:SD(A.Eaton)
Bartolo Colon: Mon:DET(M.Maroth); Sat:TB(P.Abbott)
Jose Contreras: Tue:@OAK(M.Mulder); Sun:@SEA(J.Moyer)
Eric DuBose: Tue:CHW(E.Loaiza); Sun:CLE(J.Davis?)
Adam Eaton: Tue:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sun:@FLO(J.Beckett)
Esteban Loaiza: Tue:@BAL(E.DuBose); Sun:@TOR(),br> Kyle Lohse: Tue:@SEA(J.Moyer); Sun:@OAK(M.Mulder)
Derek Lowe: Tue:@CLE(J.Davis?); Sun:KC(D.May?)
Greg Maddux: Mon:@STL(J.Marquis); Sat:COL(J.Jennings)
Sergio Mitre: Tue:ARI(S.Sparks); Sun:COL(J.Kennedy)
Jamie Moyer: Tue:MIN(K.Lohse); Sun:NYY(J.Contreras)
Mark Mulder: Tue:NYY(J.Contreras); Sun:MIN(K.Lohse)
Brett Myers: Tue:STL(C.Carpenter); Sun:@ARI(S.Sparks)
Russ Ortiz: Tue:SD(A.Eaton); Sun:HOU(A.Pettitte)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:CIN(P.Wilson); Sat:@ATL(H.Ramirez)
Odalis Perez: Tue:@FLO(J.Beckett); Sun:@PIT(J.Fogg)
Andy Pettitte: Tue:PIT(J.Fogg); Sun:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz)
Curt Schilling: Mon:@CLE(J.Westbrook); Sat:KC(J.Gobble)
Scott Schoeneweis: Mon:@BAL(K.Ainsworth); Sat:@TOR()
Steve Trachsel: Tue:SF(B.Tomko); Sun:MIL(V.Santos?)
Jarrod Washburn: Tue:DET(N.Robertson); Sun:TB(V.Zambrano)
Jake Wesbtrook: Mon:BOS(C.Schilling); Sat?:@BAL(K.Ainsworth)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Paul Abbott: Mon:@TEX(K.Rogers); Sat:@ANA(B.Colon)
Chris Carpenter: Tue:@PHI(B.Myers); Sun:@MON(C.Vargas)
Jason Davis???: Tue:BOS(D.Lowe)?; Sun:@BAL(E.DuBose)?
Josh Fogg: Tue:@HOU(A.Pettitte); Sun:LA(Od.Perez)
Jimmy Gobble: Mon:@TOR(J.Miller); Sat:@BOS(C.Schilling)
Jimmy Haynes: Tue:MIL(V.Santos); Sun:SF(B.Tomko)
Jason Jennings: Tue:@MON(C.Vargas); Sat:@CHC(G.Maddux)
Joe Kennedy: Wed:@MON(Z.Day); Sun:@CHC(S.Mitre)
Mike Maroth: Mon:@ANA(B.Colon); Sun:@TEX(C.Park)
Jason Marquis: Mon:CHC(G.Maddux); Sat:@MON(S.Kim)
Darrell May?: Tue:@TOR(P.Hentgen)?; Sun:@BOS(D.Lowe)?
Chan Ho Park: Tue:TB(V.Zambrano); Sun:DET(M.Maroth)
Kenny Rogers: Mon:TB(P.Abbott); Sat:DET(N.Cornejo)
Victor Santos?: Tue:@CIN(J.Haynes); Sun:@NYM(S.Trachsel)?
Steve Sparks: Tue:@CHC(S.Mitre); Sun:PHI(B.Myers)
Brett Tomko: Tue:@NYM(S.Trachsel); Sun:@CIN(J.Haynes)
Claudio Vargas: Tue:COL(J.Jennings); Sun:STL(C.Carpenter)
Paul Wilson: Mon:@HOU(R.Oswalt); Sat:SF(N.Lowry?)
Victor Zambrano: Tue:@TEX(C.Park); Sun:@ANA(J.Washburn)

Diamond Challenge

Replacing David Riske is the top priority here, so we'll hold off at least for another week any moves to improve our offense such as adding Hee Choi. While Armando Benitez and Braden Looper tempted us, and we nearly opted for Trevor Hoffman, Octavio Dotel seems like the logical choice, especially since we expect him to improve over the next few months and he lets us keep pace with the 75% of our competitors that already own him.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@CLE(C.Sabathia?)
Curt Schilling: Mon:@CLE(J.Westbrook); Sat:KC(J.Gobble)
Randy Johnson: Fri:PHI(V.Padilla)
Mike Mussina: Sat:@SEA(G.Meche)
Roy Halladay: Wed:KC(Br.Anderson) or Fri:CHW(J.Garland)
Tim Hudson: Sat:MIN(S.Greisinger)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:@OAK(M.Redman)
Mark Mulder: Tue:NYY(J.Contreras); Sun:MIN(K.Lohse)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:CIN(P.Wilson); Sat:@ATL(H.Ramirez)
Kerry Wood: Wed:ARI(C.Daigle)
Kevin Brown: Wed:@OAK(B.Zito)
Josh Beckett: Tue:LA(Od.Perez); Sun:SD(A.Eaton)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Road at MON; 3 Road at CHC.

Schilling, Mulder, Oswalt, and Beckett doubles, along with a road trip for Chacon, only leaves us one real choice. While Randy, Hudson, and Vazquez all look decent, Wood's pitching quite well and is a good play at his price.

Furcal's injury lets us play ARod easily, Teixeira' impressive return lets us sit Fullmer, and then Crede looks like a much better play than Wilkerson right now. Ichiro and Vernon Wells remain benched.

Shadow of the Umpire(18th lg; 171st div; 4481st overall)
Week 5: May 3-May 9

C	Javy Lopez		940
C	Jason Varitek		680
1B	Mark Teixeira		760
1B	Josh Phelps		580
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Marcus Giles		990
3B	Eric Hinske		990
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Alex Cintron		450
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760
OF	Juan Pierre		1470
OF	Carl Crawford		1040
OF	Scott Podsednik		980
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570
DH	Richard Hidalgo	970
DH	Joe Crede		600 

SP	Curt Schilling		1610 
SP	Mark Mulder		1200
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200
SP	Kerry Wood		1190
SP	Josh Beckett		990
SP	Shawn Chacon		630
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Matt Herges		670

Total Salary for Week 5: 	29700

Internet Challenge

We also needed to replace Riske here, and Dotel again seemed like a logical choice.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@CLE(C.Sabathia?)
Curt Schilling: Mon:@CLE(J.Westbrook)
Roy Halladay: Wed:KC(Br.Anderson) or Fri:CHW(J.Garland)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:@OAK(M.Redman)
Roy Oswalt: Mon:CIN(P.Wilson)
Kerry Wood: Wed:ARI(C.Daigle)
Kevin Brown: Wed:@OAK(B.Zito)
Josh Beckett: Tue:LA(Od.Perez)
Jose Contreras: Tue:@OAK(M.Mulder)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Road at MON.

No starts: R.Johnson, Mussina, and Hudson.

Home starts for Oswalt, Wood, and Beckett look good, and the Schilling and Vazquez road games similarly impress us. With Chacon in Montreal and pitching well, he looks like a good choice to complete the staff.

As Fullmer, Matsui, Wells, and Wilkerson continue slumping, and we don't quite have cap room for Ichiro, we're leaving our lineup intact.

The Umpire Hunter(14th lg; 381st overall)
Week 5a: May 3-May 6

C	Mike Piazza		990
C	Jason Varitek		680
1B	Mark Teixeira		760
1B	Josh Phelps		580
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Marcus Giles		990
3B	Eric Hinske		990
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010
SS	Alex Cintron		450
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760
OF	Juan Pierre		1470
OF	Carl Crawford		1040
OF	Scott Podsednik		980
OF	Richard Hidalgo	970
OF	Adam Dunn		690
DH	Joe Crede		600
DH	Miguel Cabrera		570

SP	Curt Schilling		1610
SP	Javier Vazquez		1280 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200
SP	Kerry Wood		1190 
SP	Josh Beckett		990
SP	Shawn Chacon		630
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Matt Herges		670

Total Salary for Week 5a: 	29830

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

Since we already own Dotel here, we're going to front-run by taking Armando Benitez, who ranks as the top FB RP thus far this year. We like his schedule, particularly in June, and aside from frequent save opportunities, he offers the best combination of strikeouts and innings.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Mon:@CLE(J.Westbrook); Sat:KC(J.Gobble)
Randy Johnson: Fri:PHI(V.Padilla)
Javier Vazquez: Thu:@OAK(M.Redman)
Pedro Martinez: Thu:@CLE(C.Sabathia?)
Kerry Wood: Wed:ARI(C.Daigle)
Tim Hudson: Sat:MIN(S.Greisinger)
Roy Halladay: Wed:KC(Br.Anderson) or Fri:CHW(J.Garland)
Kevin Brown: Wed:@OAK(B.Zito)
Josh Beckett: Tue:LA(Od.Perez); Sun:SD(A.Eaton)
Shawn Chacon: 3 Road at MON; 3 Road at CHC.

Aside from the Schilling and Beckett doubles, we like the home starts for Randy, Wood, and Hudson. Halladay's uncertain start date make Vazquez a slightly better play.

Helton's road trip means he takes a seat in favor of Pujols. Kearns' injury also creates room for Teixeira in our lineup. While we'd like to deploy Tony Batista, we don't have the cap room right now, so he joins LeCroy, Jeter, Wells, Wilkerson, and Everett on the end of our bench.

The Umpire Chronicles(15th lg; 1402nd overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(17th lg; 2789th overall)
Week 5: May 3-May 9

C	Brian Schneider		1100
C	Jason Phillips		1070
1B	Derrek Lee		2690
1B	Josh Phelps		1260
2B	Alfonso Soriano		3060
2B	Marcus Giles		1740
3B	Hank Blalock		2020
3B	Eric Munson		1090
SS	Orlando Cabrera		2460 
SS	Alex Cintron		1100
OF	Albert Pujols		3350
OF	Carlos Beltran		3060 
OF	Manny Ramirez		2960
OF	Adam Dunn		1950
OF	Hideki Matsui		1800
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1600
DH	Mark Teixeira		1550
DH	Orlando Hudson		1420

SP	Curt Schilling		3090 
SP	Randy Johnson		2900 
SP	Javier Vazquez		2890
SP	Kerry Wood		2880
SP	Tim Hudson		2840 
SP	Josh Beckett		2000
RP	Armando Benitez	2490
RP	Octavio Dotel		2400
RP	Matt Herges		1610
RP	Arthur Rhodes		1580

Total Salary for Week 5: 	59960

Today's Fantasy Rx: Selecting either Carlos Zambrano or Matt Morris as a DC free agent isn't a terrible idea, though after their respective outstanding performances this afternoon, both look somewhat overrated. With a couple weeks of intriguing free agents approaching, including Dave Roberts next week and Scott Rolen in mid-May, holding off on moves unless you're desperate for a reasonably inexpensive starter like Zambrano should be a good move.

For anyone looking to replace Riske, Rhodes and Herges remain the best plays due to their low salaries, and then Dotel, Hoffman, Looper, and Benitez. Of course, if you somehow own significant extra cap room on a regularly basis, consider investing in Wagner, Smoltz, Gagne, or Rivera.