Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Philadelphia: 1 Home vs. CIN; 3 Home vs. DET; 3 Home vs. KC.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 1 Road at CLE; 3 Road at LA; 3 Road at COL.
Chicago Cubs: 4 Road at HOU; 3 Home vs. OAK.
Cincinnati: 1 Road at PHI; 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Road at STL.
Houston: 4 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. ANA.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Cleveland: 1 Home vs. BAL; 3 Road at NYM; 3 Road at ATL.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. KC; 3 Home vs. CLE.
Colorado: 3 Home vs. BOS; 3 Home vs. BAL.
Minnesota: 3 Road at MON; 3 Road at MIL.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at ARI; 3 Road at LA.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Road at PIT; 3 Road at HOU.
Arizona: 3 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. TB.
Boston: 3 Road at COL; 3 Road at SF.
Florida: 3 Home vs. CHW; 3 Home vs. TEX.
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. SEA; 3 Home vs. MIN.
New York Mets: 3 Home vs. CLE; 3 Home vs. DET.
Oakland: 3 Road at STL; 3 Road at CHC.
Pittsburgh: 3 Home vs. ANA: 3 Home vs. SEA.
Seattle: 3 Road at MIL; 3 Road at PIT.
St. Louis: 3 Home vs. OAK; 3 Home vs. CIN. Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at FLO; 3 Road at MON.
Los Angeles: 3 Home vs. BAL; 3 Home vs. NYY.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. TB; 3 Home vs. TOR.
Toronto: 3 Road at SF: 3 Road at SD.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Detroit: 3 Road at PHI; 3 Road at NYM.
Kansas City: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at PHI.
Montreal: 3 Home vs. MIN; 3 Home vs. CHW.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. TOR: 3 Home vs. BOS.
Tampa Bay: 3 Road at SD; 3 Road at ARI.
Texas: 3 Road at CIN; 3 Road at FLO.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Jose Acevedo: Mon:@PHI(E.Milton); Sat:@STL(W.Williams)
Miguel Batista: Tue:@SF(J.Schmidt); Sun:@SD(B.Lawrence)
Jeremy Bonderman: Tue:@PHI(B.Powell); Sun@NYM(S.Trachsel)
A.J. Burnett: Tue:CHW(J.Garland); Sun:TEX(K.Rogers)
Roger Clemens: Mon:CHC(M.Prior); Sat:ANA(Ra.Ortiz?)
Jose Contreras: Tue:@ARI(B.Webb); Sun:@LA(J.Lima)
Jason Davis: Tue:@NYM(S.Trachsel); Sun:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz)
Zach Day: Tue:MIN(J.Santana); Sun:CHW(J.Garland)
Freddy Garcia: Tue:@MIL(V.Santos); Sun:@PIT(Ol.Perez)
Jon Garland: Tue:@FLO(A.Burnett); Sun@MON(Z.Day)
Mark Hendrickson: Tue:@SD(B.Lawrence); Sun:@ARI(B.Webb)
Brian Lawrence: Tue:TB(M.Hendrickson); Sun:TOR(M.Batista)
Jose Lima: Tue:BAL(D.Cabrera); Sun:NYY(J.Contreras)
Wade Miller: Tue:CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:ANA(J.Washburn)
Eric Milton: Mon:CIN(Jo.Acevedo); Sat:KC(Z.Greinke)
Matt Morris: Tue:OAK(B.Zito); Sun:CIN(J.Bong)
Russ Ortiz: Tue:KC(D.Reyes); Sun:CLE(Ja.Davis)
Oliver Perez: Tue:ANA(J.Washburn); Sun:SEA(Fr.Garcia)
Mark Prior: Mon:@HOU(R.Clemens); Sat:OAK(M.Mulder)
Dennys Reyes: Tue:@ATL(Ru.Ortiz); Sun:@PHI(B.Powell)
Kenny Rogers: Tue:@CIN(J.Bong); Sun:@FLO(A.Burnett)
Johan Santana: Tue:@MON(Z.Day); Sun:@MIL(V.Santos)
Victor Santos: Tue:SEA(J.Schmidt); Sun:MIN(J.Santana)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:TOR(M.Batista); Sun:BOS(B.Arroyo)
Steve Trachsel: Tue:CLE(Ja.Davis); Sun:DET(J.Bonderman)
Brandon Webb: Tue:NYY(J.Contreras); Sun:TB(M.Hendrickson)
Jake Westbrook: Mon:BAL(E.DuBose); Sat:@ATL(Tr.Smith)
Carlos Zambrano: Tue:@HOU(W.Miller); Sun:OAK(B.Zito)
Barry Zito: Tue:@STL(M.Morris); Sun:@CHC(C.Zambrano)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Bronson Arroyo: Tue:@COL(J.Kennedy); Sun:@SF(J.Schmidt)
Jung Bong: Tue:TEX(K.Rogers); Sun:@STL(M.Morris)
Daniel Cabrera: Tue:@LA(J.Lima); Sun:@COL(J.Kennedy)
Eric DuBose: Mon:@CLE(J.Westbrook); Sat:@COL(J.Fassero)
Joe Kennedy: Tue:BOS(B.Arroyo); Sun:BAL(D.Cabrera)
Brian Powell: Tue:DET(J.Bonderman); Sun:KC(D.Reyes)
Jarrod Washburn: Tue:@PIT(Ol.Perez); Sun:@HOU(W.Miller)

Diamond Challenge

A poor week of starting selections prompted us finally to add Jeremy Affeldt for Shawn Chacon. While that leaves us with only four moves until September expansion, we need the cap room and the extra saves.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Sat:@SF(N.Lowry?)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@COL(J.Jennings)
Randy Johnson: Fri:TB(R.Bell)
Mike Mussina: Sat:@LA(H.Nomo)???
Roy Halladay: Thu:@SF(D.Hermanson)
Tim Hudson: Thu:@STL(J.Suppan)
Javier Vazquez: Fri:@LA(J.Weaver)
Mark Mulder: Sat:@CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:CHC(G.Rusch)
Kerry Wood: No start(DL)
Kevin Brown: Sat:@LA(H.Nomo)???
Josh Beckett: Thu:@FLO(E.Loaiza)?
Jeremy Affeldt: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at PHI.

Along with Affeldt, Pedro, Randy, Halladay, and Oswalt look like good calls, and then Mulder seems a safer call than Vazquez due to the Yankees' uncertain rotation.

With Fullmer finally picking it up, we'll run him instead of Crawford, and then Roberts returns to the lineup for Cintron. Hudson, Crede, and the injured Beltran stay benched.

Shadow of the Umpire(14th lg; 130th div; 3364th overall)
Week 11: June 14-June 20

C	Javy Lopez		940
C	Jason Varitek		680
1B	Mark Teixeira		760
1B	Lyle Overbay		400
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Mark Loretta		820
3B	Mike Lowell		1230
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Brian Roberts		610
OF	Juan Pierre		1470 
OF	Vernon Wells		1150
OF	Scott Podsednik		980
OF	Melvin Mora		740
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Brad Fullmer		700
DH	Adam Dunn		690

SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Roy Halladay		1350 
SP	Mark Mulder		1200
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200 
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		650
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Matt Herges		670

Total Salary for Week 11: 	29580

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Sat:@SF(N.Lowry?)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@COL(J.Jennings)
Randy Johnson: Fri:TB(R.Bell)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@SF(D.Hermanson)
Javier Vazquez: Fri:@LA(J.Weaver)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:TOR(M.Batista); Sun:BOS(B.Arroyo)
Mark Mulder: Sat:@CHC(M.Prior)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:CHC(G.Rusch)
Roger Clemens: Mon:CHC(M.Prior); Sat:ANA(Ra.Ortiz?)
Brad Penny: Fri:TEX(R.Dickey)
Ben Sheets: Fri:MIN(B.Radke)
Jon Lieber: Thu:@ARI(S.Sparks)?
Jeremy Affeldt: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at PHI.

Schmidt, Clemens, and Affeldt are easy calls, and Randy also appears quite strong. While we debated between Pedro, Halladay, Penny, and Sheets, Pedro and Sheets seems slightly safer to us then the alternatives.

We're deploying the three members of our Colorado platoon, Castilla, Clayton, and Burnitz, while sitting Craig Wilson, Blalock, and Uribe. Carl Crawford stay seated since we need to leave Ortiz, Manny, and Mora active with Baltimore and Boston heading to Coors. Lastly, Toronto's six games in the pitchers' paradise of San Diego and San Francisco forces the otherwise red hot Vernon Wells to the bench.

Since these moves leave us slightly over the cap, we'll switch Halladay for Pedro since they face the same opponent and should post similar numbers.

Umpire: The Masquerade
(2nd lg; 38th div; 369th overall)
Week 11: June 14-June 20

C	Jason Varitek		680
C	Victor Martinez		450
1B	David Ortiz		800 
1B	Lyle Overbay		400
2B	Jeff Kent		1450
2B	Mark Loretta		820
3B	Scott Rolen		1460 
3B	Vinny Castilla		760
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Royce Clayton		610
OF	Manny Ramirez		1420 
OF	Lance Berkman		1390
OF	Melvin Mora		740
OF	Ken Griffey		700 
OF	Matt Lawton		720
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Bobby Abreu		1630 
DH	Jeromy Burnitz		810
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Roy Halladay		1350 
SP	Jason Schmidt		1240
SP	Roger Clemens		1130
SP	Ben Sheets		870
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		650
RP	Danny Graves		1070
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Joe Nathan		720

Total Salary for Week 11: 	27740

Internet Challenge

We're going to cut Chacon in the last league where we own him, again replacing him with Jeremy Affeldt.

In an attempt to improve our offense, we're also adding Scott Rolen and dropping Eric Hinske, who finally started producing but isn't a better bet than Crede considering their respective salaries.

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@COL(J.Jennings)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@SF(D.Hermanson)
Tim Hudson: Thu:@STL(J.Suppan)
Roy Oswalt: Thu:CHC(G.Rusch)
Josh Beckett: Thu:@FLO(E.Loaiza)?
Jeremy Affeldt: 3 Road at ATL.

No starts: P.Martinez, R.Johnson, Mussina, J.Vazquez, K.Wood, K.Brown.

We're not running Schilling in Coors, especially considering his injury, so we'll deploy Brown with the other four since he's our cheapest benched starter.

Victor Martinez and Carlos Beltran join Joe Crede, Alex Cintron, and Carl Crawford on the bench as Fulmer and Rolen enter our lineup.

The Umpire Hunter(14th lg; 473rd overall)
Week 11a: June 14-June 17

C	Mike Piazza		990
C	Jason Varitek		680
1B	Lyle Overbay		400
1B	Mark Teixeira		760
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
3B	Scott Rolen		1460 
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Kazuo Matsui		750 
OF	Ichiro Suzuki		1560
OF	Vernon Wells		1150 
OF	Scott Podsednik		980
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690 
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Juan Pierre		1470
DH	Brad Fullmer		700

SP	Roy Halladay		1350
SP	Tim Hudson		1320 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200 
SP	Kevin Brown		1180
SP	Josh Beckett		990
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		650
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Arthur Rhodes		800
RP	Matt Herges		670

Total Salary for Week 11a: 	29760

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

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Wed:@COL(J.Jennings)
Randy Johnson: Fri:TB(R.Bell)
Javier Vazquez: Fri:@LA(J.Weaver)
Pedro Martinez: Sat:@SF(N.Lowry?)
Kerry Wood: No start(DL)
Tim Hudson: Thu:@STL(J.Suppan)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@SF(D.Hermanson)
Josh Beckett: Thu:@FLO(E.Loaiza)?
Kevin Brown: Thu:@ARI(S.Sparks)???
Jeremy Affeldt: 3 Road at ATL; 3 Road at PHI.

Randy, Pedro, Hudson, Halladay, and Affeldt look like our best choices with Schilling in Colorado, Wood hurting, and Brown possibly missing the week. While Vazquez might be better than Beckett, we'll take the latter since we need the cap room on offense.

Brian Schneider, Marcus Giles, Orlando Hudson, and Austin Kearns stay benched. With Colorado home, Helton enters the lineup for the injured Beltran, Tony Batista and Orlando Cabrera replace the slumping Mike Lowell and Alex Cintron, and then we have enough cap room to run Pujols over the slumping Hideki Matsui.

The Umpire Chronicles(14th lg; 1432nd overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(16th lg; 2895th overall)
Week 11: June 14-June 20

 
C	Matt LeCroy		1100 
C	Johnny Estrada		1000 
1B	Mark Teixeira		1550
1B	Lyle Overbay		1000
2B	Alfonso Soriano		3060 
2B	Mark Loretta		1650 
3B	Hank Blalock		2020 
3B	Tony Batista		1640
SS	Orlando Cabrera		2460
SS	Brian Roberts		1260 
OF	Albert Pujols		3350
OF	Manny Ramirez		2960 
OF	Vernon Wells		2260 
OF	Adam Dunn		1950 
OF	Brad Wilkerson		1870 
OF	Miguel Cabrera		1600 
DH	Todd Helton		3450
DH	Derrek Lee		2690 

SP	Randy Johnson		2900
SP	Pedro Martinez		2890 
SP	Tim Hudson		2840 
SP	Roy Halladay		2800 
SP	Josh Beckett		2000
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		1520
RP	Armando Benitez		2490
RP	Octavio Dotel		2400
RP	Matt Herges		1610
RP	Arthur Rhodes		1580

Total Salary for Week 11: 	59900

Today's Fantasy Rx: Since this week looks incredibly good for most hitters other than the Blue Jays, exercise extreme caution when deploying normally safe middle relievers. We expect to see many hitters enjoying very productive weeks, and the soft underbelly of teams' bullpens will absorb most of that damage.