Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 4 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Boston: 4 Home vs. TOR.
Minnesota: 4 Home vs. OAK.
New York Mets: 4 Home vs. CIN.
Seattle: 4 Home vs. DET.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 4 Home vs. CHW.
Chicago White Sox: 4 Road at BAL.
New York Yankees: 4 Road at TB.
Oakland: 4 Road at MIN.
Tampa Bay: 4 Home vs. NYY.
Toronto: 4 Road at BOS.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Detroit: 4 Road at SEA.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Cincinnati: 4 Road at NYM.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 3 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Arizona: 3 Home vs. SD.
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. PIT.
Chicago Cubs: 3 Home vs. HOU.
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. KC.
Florida: 3 Home vs. WAS.
Los Angeles Angels: 3 Home vs. TEX.
Milwaukee: 3 Home vs. COL.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at MIL.
Houston: 3 Road at CHC.
Philadelphia: 3 Home vs. STL.
San Diego: 3 Road at ARI.
St. Louis: 3 Road at PHI.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 Road at SF.
Pittsburgh: 3 Road at ATL.
San Francisco: 3 Home vs. LAD.
Washington: 3 Road at FLO.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Kansas City: 3 Road at CLE.
Texas: 3 Road at LAA.

No pitcher starts twice due to the shortened week of games.

Diamond Challenge

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:OAK(J.Blanton)
Roy Oswalt: Sat:@CHC(T.Lilly)
John Smoltz: No start(DL).
Ben Sheets: Fri:COL(J.Francis)
Jake Peavy: Sun:@ARI(B.Webb)
Roy Halladay: Thu:@BOS(T.Wakefield)
Brandon Webb: Sun:SD(J.Peavy)
John Lackey: Sun:TEX(B.McCarthy)
C.C. Sabathia: Sat:KC(G.Meche)
Josh Beckett: Sun:TOR(J.Towers)
Chris Young: Sat:@ARI(L.Hernandez)
Felix Hernandez: Thu:DET(An.Miller)
Jon Papelbon: 4 Home vs. TOR.

The singles from Santana, Sheets, Lackey, Sabathia, Beckett, and Felix all look solid, but we'll go ahead and deploy Papelbon over Becket for cap reasons.

On offense, Hall and Kinsler obviously remain glued to our bench while Morneau flips for Atkins and Taveras essentially stays seated for cap reasons.

Rotohelp.com(10th lg; 101st div; 1595th overall)
Week 15: July 9-July 15

 
C	Brian McCann		880
C	Russ Martin		680 
1B	Albert Pujols		2050 
1B	Ryan Howard		1420 
2B	Howie Kendrick		520
2B	Kelly Johnson		400 
3B	David Wright		1550
3B	Mark Teahen		750
SS	Jose Reyes		1610 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		1100
OF	Matt Holliday		1410 
OF	Manny Ramirez		1390
OF	Barry Bonds		830 
OF	Magglio Ordonez		820 
OF	Delmon Young		750
OF	Shane Victorino		560 
DH	Justin Morneau		1180
DH	Prince Fielder		910 

SP	Johan Santana		1960 
SP	Ben Sheets		1220 
SP	John Lackey		1040 
SP	C.C. Sabathia		1040 
SP	Felix Hernandez		840
SP	Jon Papelbon		900 
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260 
RP	Takashi Saito		1200
RP	Joe Borowski		1110 
RP	Matt Capps		600

Total Salary for Week 15: 	29980

Diamond Challenge - 2nd Season

With Al Reyes on the DL, we're adding Matt Capps and releasing Randy Wolf, retaining Reyes since we'll need to spot him down the stretch when Capps faces Cordero and Valverde.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:OAK(J.Blanton)
Roy Oswalt: Sat:@CHC(T.Lilly)
Jake Peavy: Sun:@ARI(B.Webb)
John Lackey: Sun:TEX(B.McCarthy)
C.C. Sabathia: Sat:KC(G.Meche)
Jeremy Bonderman: Fri:@SEA(J.Washburn)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Sat:TOR(D.McGowan)
Dan Haren: Sat:@MIN(C.Silva)
Tim Hudson: Fri:PIT(I.Snell)
Cole Hamels: Sat:STL(M.Maroth)
Randy Wolf: No start(DL).
Jon Papelbon: 4 Home vs. TOR.

Santana, Lackey, Sabathia, and Hamels look like the easy calls, and since we still need saves, Papelbon stays active. While Matsuzaka, Hudson, and even Haren also seems solid, Dice-K seems a better bet both for wins and ERA help.

While we want to run Upton against the Yankees, the fact that he hasn't attempted a single steal in seven games of his rehab stint suggests that he won't run wild this week. Instead, J.J. Hardy replaces the hurting Youkilis while McCann, Kinsler, Upton, and Alex Rios stay benched.

Rotohelp.com(12th lg; 48th div; 303rd overall)
Week 15: July 9-July 15

C	Victor Martinez		1310 
C	Russ Martin		680 
1B	Justin Morneau		1180
1B	Prince Fielder		910 
2B	Howie Kendrick		520
2B	Kelly Johnson		400
3B	Mike Lowell		1070
3B	Mark Teahen		750
SS	Jose Reyes		1610
SS	Hanley Ramirez		1100
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	1880
OF	Matt Holliday		1410 
OF	Grady Sizemore		1380
OF	Magglio Ordonez		820 
OF	Ken Griffey		790
OF	Shane Victorino		560 
DH	Corey Hart		430 
DH	J.J. Hardy		420

SP	Johan Santana		1960 
SP	John Lackey		1040 
SP	C.C. Sabathia		1040 
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka	950
SP	Cole Hamels		660
SP	Jon Papelbon		900
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260
RP	Takashi Saito		1200 
RP	Jose Valverde		1100 
RP	Matt Capps		600

Total Salary for Week 15: 	27930

Internet Challenge

With only Felix and Papelbon as usable pitchers for Thursday's single day of games, we otherwise will try to set our rotation for the weekend and therefore have listed all our pitchers' starts for the week.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:OAK(J.Blanton)
Roy Oswalt: Sat:@CHC(T.Lilly)
Ben Sheets: Fri:COL(J.Francis)
Jake Peavy: Sun:@ARI(B.Webb)
Brandon Webb: Sun:SD(J.Peavy)
Greg Maddux: Fri:@ARI(D.Davis)
Josh Beckett: Sun:TOR(J.Towers)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Sat:TOR(D.McGowan)
Dan Haren: Sat:@MIN(C.Silva)
Felix Hernandez: Thu:DET(An.Miller)
Matt Cain: Fri:LAD(C.Billingsley)
Jon Papelbon: 4 Home vs. TOR.

Of our current active pitchers, only Daisuke will remain in the lineup for this weekend, so for Thursday, the only move that makes sense is activating Papelbon for Oswalt. We also will deploy Upton for Teahen since the Rays are one of the few teams that play on Thursday.

Rotohelp.com(10th lg; 227th overall)
Week 15a: July 12

 
C	Victor Martinez		1310 
C	Brian McCann		880 
1B	Ryan Howard		1420
1B	Travis Hafner		1380
2B	Kelly Johnson		400 
3B	David Wright		1550
3B	B.J. Upton		410
SS	Jose Reyes		1610 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		1100
OF	Matt Holliday		1410 
OF	Manny Ramirez		1390
OF	Barry Bonds		830 
OF	Delmon Young		750
OF	Shane Victorino		560 
OF	Corey Hart		430
DH	Albert Pujols		2050 
DH	Alex Rios		1000

SP	Brandon Webb		1130
SP	Greg Maddux		1040
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka	950 
SP	Dan Haren		940
SP	Felix Hernandez		840 
SP	Jon Papelbon		900  
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260
RP	Takashi Saito		1200
RP	Joe Borowski		1110 
RP	Matt Capps		600

Total Week 15a Salary:		28970

Fantasy Baseball & Fanball.Com Cap Challenge (aka Budget Baseball)
(Same rules = same rosters and moves for both teams)

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Fri:OAK(J.Blanton)
Roy Oswalt: Sat:@CHC(T.Lilly)
John Lackey: Sun:TEX(B.McCarthy)
Jake Peavy: Sun:@ARI(B.Webb)
Josh Beckett: Sun:TOR(J.Towers)
C.C. Sabathia: Sat:KC(G.Meche)
Ben Sheets: Fri:COL(J.Francis)
Chris Young: Sat:@ARI(L.Hernandez)
Cole Hamels: Sat:STL(M.Maroth)
Jon Papelbon: 4 Home vs. TOR.

While everyone except Oswalt and Peavy seems solid, Santana, Lackey, Sabathia, Sheets, Hamels, and Papelbon seems preferable given Young's road start and the possibility of rain in Boston on Sunday messing with Beckett.

While Bard, Adrian Gonzalez, Kinsler, Stephen Drew, and Baldelli stay benched, Swisher and Pujols will replace Bonds and Atkins. B.J. Upton, set to return from the DL on Thursday, also will replace Mark Teahen to get us under the cap.

Rotohelp.com(FB: 7th lg; 677th overall)
& Rotohelp.com(FC: 9th lg; 1435th overall)
Week 15: July 9-July 15

 
C	Joe Mauer		1890 
C	Brian McCann		1880 
1B	Ryan Howard		3240
1B	Prince Fielder		1850 
2B	Chase Utley		2850 
2B	Brandon Phillips	1160
3B	David Wright		2900  
3B	B.J. Upton		1000
SS	Jose Reyes		2460 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		2150
OF	Grady Sizemore		2760 
OF	Matt Holliday		2730 
OF	Nick Swisher		2190
OF	Delmon Young		1500
OF	Magglio Ordonez		1770 
OF	Willy Taveras		1460 
DH	Albert Pujols		3890
DH	Chris B. Young		1000 

SP	Johan Santana		3410
SP	John Lackey		2790
SP	C.C. Sabathia		2490 
SP	Ben Sheets		2030
SP	Cole Hamels		1450
SP	Jon Papelbon		1950
RP	Takashi Saito		2200
RP	Joe Borowski		2100
RP	Jose Valverde		1880
RP	Matt Capps		1000

Total Salary for Week 15:	59980

Today's Fantasy Rx: Check the rules and/or the website in each of your leagues to determine the latest time you can modify your lineups. Some sites require lineups set this evening while plenty of others will give you until Thursday. CDM moved to a deadline of noon Thursday this year, and given the extra time, we're going to wait until teams announce their post-break rotations before setting this lineup. Hence, we will not post our CDM moves and lineups in the above articles until the middle of the week.