Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
St. Louis: 1 Road at ATL; 3 Home vs. CIN; 4 Home vs. PIT.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Pittsburgh: 1 Home vs. COL; 3 Road at ARI; 4 Road at STL.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Los Angeles: 3 Home vs. FLO; 4 Home vs. ATL.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Montreal: 4 Road at SF; 3 Road at COL.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Road at SD; 4 Road at LA.
San Francisco: 4 Home vs. MON; 3 Home vs. NYM.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Detroit: 3 Road at CHW; 3 Home vs. SEA.
Kansas City: 3 Home vs. SEA; 3 Home vs. TEX.
Oakland: 3 Road at BAL; 3 Road at TB.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Anaheim: 3 Road at TB; 3 Road at NYY.
Arizona: 3 Home vs. PIT; 3 Home vs. CIN.
Boston: 3 Home vs. TOR; 3 Road at CHW.
Chicago White Sox: 3 Home vs. DET; 3 Home vs. BOS.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Road at MIL; 3 Road at HOU.
Cleveland: 3 Road at TEX; 3 Road at MIN.
Colorado: 3 Home vs. NYM; 3 Home vs. MON.
Houston: 3 Road at PHI; 3 Home vs. CHC.
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. CHC; 3 Home vs. PHI.
Minnesota: 3 Home vs. NYY; 3 Home vs. CLE.
New York Mets: 3 Road at COL; 3 Road at SF.
New York Yankees: 3 Road at MIN; 3 Home vs. ANA.
Philadelphia: 3 Home vs. HOU; 3 Road at MIL.
Toronto: 3 Road at BOS; 3 Road at BAL.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Florida: 3 Road at LA; 3 Road at SD.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. ATL; 3 Home vs. FLO.
Seattle: 3 Road at KC; 3 Road at DET.
Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Home vs. OAK; 3 Home vs. TOR.
Cincinnati: 3 Road at STL; 3 Road at ARI.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. ANA; 3 Home vs. OAK.
Texas: 3 Home vs. CLE; 3 Road at KC.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Wilson Alvarez: Tue:FLO(A.Burnett); Sun:ATL(Jar.Wright)
Kelvim Escobar: Tue:@TB(D.Brazelton); Sun:@NYY(K.Brown)
Freddy Garcia: Tue:DET(M.Maroth); Sun:BOS(D.Lowe)
Mike Hampton: Mon:@SD(S.Hitchcock); Sat:@LA(J.Weaver)
Sterling Hitchcock: Mon:ATL(M.Hampton); Sun:FLO(C.Pavano)
Cliff Lee: Tue:@TEX(S.Erickson); Sun:@MIN(B.Radke)
Derek Lowe: Mon:TOR(J.Miller); Sun:@CHW(Fr.Garcia)
Bobby Madritsch: Tue:@KC(D.May); Sun:@DET(M.Maroth)
Mike Maroth: Tue:@CHW(Fr.Garcia); Sun:SEA(B.Madritsch)
Darrell May: Tue:SEA(B.Madritsch); Sun:TEX(S.Erickson)
Matt Morris: Tue:CIN(B.Claussen); Sun:PIT(R.Vogelsong)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:@PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)
Carl Pavano: Mon:@LA(J.Weaver): Sun:@SD(S.Hitchcock)
Brad Radke: Tue:NYY(J.Vazquez); Sun:CLE(Cl.Lee)
Mark Redman: Mon:@BAL(E.Bedard); Sun:TB(D.Brazelton)
Kirk Rueter: Mon:MON(J.Patterson); Sat:NYM(T.Glavine)?
C.C. Sabathia: Mon:@TEX(M.Callaway); Sat:@MIN(T.Mulholland)
Victor Santos: Tue:CHC(C.Zambrano); Sun:PHI(R.Wolf)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:MON(S-W.Kim); Sun:NYM(V.Zambrano)?
Jeff Suppan: Mon:CIN(A.Harang); Sat:PIT(S.Burnett)
Jeff Weaver: Mon:FLO(C.Pavano); Sat:ATL(M.Hampton)
Brandon Webb: Mon:PIT(S.Burnett); Sat:CIN(A.Harang?)
Randy Wolf: Tue:HOU(R.Oswalt); Sun:@MIL(V.Santos)
Jaret Wright: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LA(W.Alvarez)
Carlos Zambrano: Tue:@MIL(V.Santos); Sun:@HOU(R.Oswalt)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Erik Bedard: Mon:OAK(M.Redman); Sun:TOR(J.Miller)
Dewon Brazelton: Tue:ANA(K.Escobar); Sun:OAK(M.Redman)
Sean Burnett: Mon:@ARI(B.Webb); Sat:@STL(J.Suppan)
Mickey Callaway: Mon:CLE(C.Sabathia); Sat:@KC(Z.Greinke)
Scott Erickson: Tue:CLE(Cl.Lee); Sun:@KC(D.May)
Aaron Harang: Mon:@STL(J.Suppan); Sat:@ARI(B.Webb)?
Jason Jennings: Tue:NYM(V.Zambrano); Sun:MON(J.Patterson)
Justin Miller: Mon:@BOS(D.Lowe); Sun:@BAL(E.Bedard)
John Patterson: Mon:SF(K.Rueter); Sun:@COL(J.Jennings)
Ryan Vogelsong: Tue:@ARI(L.Cormier); Sun:@STL(M.Morris)
Victor Zambrano: Tue:@COL(J.Jennings); Sun:@SF(J.Schmidt?)

Diamond Challenge

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:TOR(T.Lilly)
Curt Schilling: Fri:@CHW(M.Buehrle)
Randy Johnson: Fri:CIN(Jo.Acevedo)
Mike Mussina: Wed:@MIN(Joh.Santana)
Roy Halladay: No start(DL)
Tim Hudson: Tue:@BAL(R.Lopez)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@MIN(B.Radke)
Mark Mulder: Wed:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:@PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)
Kerry Wood: Fri:@HOU(P.Munro)
Kevin Brown: Sun:ANA(K.Escobar)
Josh Beckett: Sat:@SD(A.Eaton)
Jeremy Affeldt: DL.

Few starters here save Pedro, Randy, and Oswalt appear particularly good, although Hudson, Mulder, and Beckett at least own decent upside.

Lowell and Podsednik are easy choices to sit, and then taking Orlando Hudson over Cintron and Vernon Wells over Carl Crawford will complete our team.

Shadow of the Umpire(15th lg; 122nd div; 3283rd overall)
Week 20: August 16-August 22

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	Hank Blalock		850 
3B	Joe Crede		600
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Brian Roberts		610 
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760 
OF	Jeromy Burnitz		810 
OF	Melvin Mora		740
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690 
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Vernon Wells		1150 
DH	Orlando Hudson		550

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Tim Hudson		1320
SP	Mark Mulder		1200 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200
SP	Josh Beckett		990
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250 
RP	Danny Graves		1070 
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 20: 	29550

Diamond Challenge 2nd Season

We need to improve our saves, so we're adding Jason Isringhausen as a solid low-percentage play, benching Graves as a backup, and then dumping Jeff Kent, who isn't worth his salary at all, especially since we're pleased with Mark Loretta and Jerry Hairston.

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:TOR(T.Lilly)
Curt Schilling: Fri:@CHW(M.Buehrle)
Randy Johnson: Fri:CIN(Jo.Acevedo)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@MIN(B.Radke)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:MON(S-W.Kim); Sun:NYM(V.Zambrano)?
Mark Mulder: Wed:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:@PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)
Roger Clemens: Wed:@PHI(C.Lidle)
Johan Santana: Wed:NYY(M.Mussina)
Brad Penny: No start(DL).
Ben Sheets: Wed:CHC(M.Clement)
Jon Lieber: Fri:ANA(Ra.Ortiz)

The greater variety of starters here makes our choices easier: Pedro, Randy, Schmidt, Mulder, Oswalt, and Santana.

Blalock and Uribe both belong on our bench, and we can't find room to run Manny, Vernon Wells, or Miguel Cabrera.

Umpire: The Masquerade(4th lg; 49th div; 387th overall)
Week 20: August 16-August 22

C	Jason Varitek		680
C	Victor Martinez		450
1B	David Ortiz		800 
1B	Lyle Overbay		400 
2B	Mark Loretta		820
2B	Jerry Hairston, Jr.	660
3B	Scott Rolen		1460 
3B	Vinny Castilla		760
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Royce Clayton		610 
OF	Bobby Abreu		1630 
OF	Lance Berkman		1390
OF	Carl Crawford		1040 
OF	Jeromy Burnitz		810 
OF	Melvin Mora		740 
OF	Matt Lawton		720 
DH	Craig Wilson		620
DH	Travis Hafner		500

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Randy Johnson		1550 
SP	Jason Schmidt		1240
SP	Mark Mulder		1200 
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200
SP	Johan Santana		1000
RP	Jason Isringhausen	1290
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Brad Lidge		830
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 20: 	27870

Internet Challenge

SP(6)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:TOR(T.Lilly)
Mike Mussina: Wed:@MIN(Joh.Santana)
Tim Hudson: Tue:@BAL(R.Lopez)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@MIN(B.Radke)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:MON(S-W.Kim)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:@PHI(R.Wolf)

No starts: Schilling, Randy, Wood, Brown, Beckett, Affeldt.

We're sitting Mussina in his first game back since we don't trust him and expect Santana to dominate; we'll run the other five with Affeldt.

Piazza, Fullmer, and Kaz Matsui stay benched, Crede isn't contributing much, and to squeeze under the cap, we'll opt for Podsednik over Pierre.

The Umpire Hunter(19th lg; 500th overall)
Week 20a: August 16-August 19

C	Jason Varitek		680 
C	Victor Martinez		450
1B	Lyle Overbay		400
1B	Mark Teixeira		760
2B	Alfonso Soriano		1930
2B	Mark Loretta		820 
3B	Scott Rolen		1460 
3B	Hank Blalock		850
SS	Alex Rodriguez		2010 
SS	Alex Cintron		450 
OF	Carlos Beltran		1760
OF	Vernon Wells		1150
OF	Carl Crawford		1040 
OF	Brad Wilkerson		690
OF	Adam Dunn		690
OF	Miguel Cabrera		570 
DH	Scott Podsednik		980
DH	Orlando Hudson		550

SP	Pedro Martinez		1800 
SP	Tim Hudson		1320
SP	Javier Vazquez		1280 
SP	Jason Schmidt		1240  
SP	Roy Oswalt		1200 
SP	Jeremy Affeldt		650
RP	Eric Gagne		1890
RP	Octavio Dotel		1250
RP	Danny Kolb		940 
RP	Joe Nathan		720 

Total Salary for Week 20a: 	29530

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

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Fri:@CHW(M.Buehrle)
Randy Johnson: Fri:CIN(Jo.Acevedo)
Javier Vazquez: Tue:@MIN(B.Radke)
Pedro Martinez: Tue:TOR(T.Lilly)
Kerry Wood: Fri:@HOU(P.Munro)
Tim Hudson: Tue:@BAL(R.Lopez)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:MON(S-W.Kim); Sun:NYM(V.Zambrano)?
Mark Mulder: Wed:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Josh Beckett: Sat:@SD(A.Eaton)
Kevin Brown: Sun:ANA(K.Escobar)

Schmidt, Randy, Pedro, Hudson, Mulder, and Beckett again look like our best bets here.

Necessary massive changes in our lineup leave LeCroy, Teixeira, Marcus Giles, Lowell, Orlando Cabrera, Beltran, Miguel Cabrera, and Kearns on our bench.

The Umpire Chronicles(11th lg; 1253rd overall)
& Umpire with a Soul(15th lg; 2669th overall)
Week 20: August 16-August 22

 
C	Brian Schneider		1100 
C	Johnny Estrada		1000 
1B	Derrek Lee		2690 
1B	Lyle Overbay		1000
2B	Mark Loretta		1650 
2B	Orlando Hudson		1420
3B	Hank Blalock		2020
3B	Tony Batista		1640 
SS	Alex Cintron		1100 
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	Hideki Matsui		1800 
DH	Todd Helton		3450
DH	Alfonso Soriano		3060

SP	Randy Johnson		2900 
SP	Pedro Martinez		2890 
SP	Tim Hudson		2840
SP	Jason Schmidt		2780 
SP	Mark Mulder		2610
SP	Josh Beckett		2000 
RP	John Smoltz		2800
RP	Octavio Dotel		2400 
RP	Brad Lidge		1730
RP	Joe Nathan		1420

Total Salary for Week 20: 	59950

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

SP(6)
Curt Schilling: Fri:@CHW(M.Buehrle)
Randy Johnson: Fri:CIN(Jo.Acevedo)
Jason Schmidt: Tue:MON(S-W.Kim); Sun:NYM(V.Zambrano)?
Roger Clemens: Wed:@PHI(C.Lidle)
Mark Mulder: Wed:@BAL(S.Ponson)
Roy Oswalt: Tue:@PHI(R.Wolf); Sun:CHC(C.Zambrano)
Matt Clement: Wed:@MIL(B.Sheets)
Ben Sheets: Wed:CHC(M.Clement)
Johan Santana: Wed:NYY(M.Mussina)
Carl Pavano: Mon:@LA(J.Weaver): Sun:@SD(S.Hitchcock)

In addition to Pavano, Oswalt, and Schmidt, Randy, Mulder, and Santana should give us the most upside.

Sitting Teixeira, Mike Young, Blalock, and Kaz Matsui is easy. We also aren't too fond of Abreu, J.D. Drew, or Miguel Cabrera, especially given the schedules of the latter two. While we'd like to run CJ over Estrada, we need to run the Braves' youngster to settle under the cap.

Umpire in Brooklyn(1st lg; 63rd overall)
Week 20: August 16-August 22

 
C	Victor Martinez		1120 
C	Johnny Estrada		1000
1B	David Ortiz		1980 
1B	Travis Hafner		1140
2B	Marcus Giles		1740
2B	Mark Loretta		1650
3B	Adrian Beltre		2090
3B	Vinny Castilla		1610
SS	Nomar Garciaparra	2340
SS	Carlos Guillen		1640 
OF	Manny Ramirez		2960 
OF	Jeromy Burnitz		2100 
OF	Adam Dunn		1950 
OF	Hideki Matsui		1800 
OF	Jose Guillen		1620 
OF	Jason Bay		1050
DH	Barry Bonds		3520
DH	Lyle Overbay		1000

SP	Randy Johnson		2900 
SP	Jason Schmidt		2780 
SP	Mark Mulder		2610 
SP	Roy Oswalt		2560
SP	Johan Santana		2170 
SP	Carl Pavano		1620
RP	John Smoltz		2800
RP	Francisco Cordero	2080
RP	Brad Lidge		1730
RP	Joe Nathan		1420

Total Salary for Week 20: 	54980

Today's Fantasy Rx: I don't see a single starter who currently appears particularly hot and should double this week. Yes, Oswalt, Pavano, Freddy Garcia, and Weaver seem fairly solid, however since Schmidt isn't guaranteed to double, I see no one who merits a buy this week. Conserving moves for the final six weeks probably makes the most sense right now.