Today's Fantasy Rx

Schedule recommendations for teams with 8 games

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
New York Yankees: 4 Home vs. TOR; 4 Home vs. TB.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 7 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Atlanta: 3 Home vs. CIN; 4 Home vs. STL.
Boston: 3 Home vs. KC; 4 Home vs. CHW.
Chicago Cubs: 4 Home vs. SF; 3 Home vs. ARI.
Milwaukee: 4 Home vs. MIL; 3 Home vs. SF.
San Diego: 3 Home vs. NYM; 4 Home vs. PHI.
Washington: 3 Home vs. HOU; 4 Home vs. COL.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Arizona: 4 Road at MIL; 3 Road at CHC.
Cleveland: 3 Home vs. CHW; 4 Road at TEX.
Florida: 3 Home vs. STL; 4 Home vs. CIN.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 Home vs. PHI; 4 Home vs. NYM.
Tampa Bay: 3 Home vs. LAA; 4 Road at NYY.
Texas: 3 Road at OAK; 4 Home vs. CLE.
Toronto: 4 Road at NYY; 3 Home vs. SEA.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Colorado: 3 Road at PIT; 4 Road at WAS.
New York Mets: 3 Road at SD; 4 Road at LAD.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Chicago White Sox: 3 Road at CLE; 4 Road at BOS.
Cincinnati: 3 Road at ATL; 4 Road at FLO.
Philadelphia: 3 Road at LAD; 4 Road at SD.
San Francisco: 4 Road at CHC; 3 Road at MIL.
St. Louis: 3 Road at FLO; 4 Road at ATL.

Schedule recommendations for teams with 6 games

Good for hitters / Good for pitchers
Minnesota: 3 Home vs. DET; 3 Home vs. LAA.
Oakland: 3 Home vs. TEX; 3 Home vs. BAL.
Seattle: 3 Home vs. BAL; 3 Road at TOR.

Good for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Detroit: 3 Road at MIN; 3 Home vs. KC.
Kansas City: 3 Road at BOS; 3 Road at DET.
Los Angeles Angels: 3 Road at TB; 3 Road at MIN.
Pittsburgh: 3 Home vs. COL; 3 Home vs. HOU.

Bad for hitters / Good for pitchers
Houston: 3 Road at WAS; 3 Road at PIT.

Bad for hitters / Bad for pitchers
Baltimore: 3 Road at SEA; 3 Road at OAK.

Pitchers with 2 starts(to deploy everywhere you own them):
Bronson Arroyo: Tue:@ATL(Jo Jo Reyes); Sun:@FLO(R.Vanden Hurk)
David Bush: Mon:ARI(M.Owings); Sat:SF(T.Lincecum)
Paul Byrd: Tue:CHW(J.Garland); Sun:@TEX(Ro.Tejeda)
Matt Garza: Tue:DET(N.Robertson); Sun:LAA(Er.Santana)
Chad Gaudin: Tue:TEX(Ro.Tejeda); Sun:BAL(J.Guthrie)
Jeremy Guthrie: Tue:@SEA(F.Hernandez); Sun:@OAK(C.Gaudin)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@NYY(A.Pettitte); Sun:SEA(Ho.Ramirez)
Mark Hendrickson: Tue:@PHI(J.Durbin); Sun:NYM(O.Hernandez)
Orlando Hernandez: Tue:@SD(J.Peavy); Sun:@LAD(M.Hendrickson)
Rich Hill: Mon:SF(T.Lincecum); Sat:ARI(M.Owings)
Byung-Hyun Kim: Mon:STL(B.Looper); Sat:CIN(B.Livingston)
Cliff Lee: Mon:CHW(J.Danks); Sat:@TEX(Jam.Wright)
Tim Lincecum: Mon:@CHC(R.Hill); Sat:@MIL(D.Bush)
Sean Marshall: Tue:SF(B.Zito); Sun:ARI(Y.Petit)
Jake Peavy: Tue:NYM(O.Hernandez); Sun:PHI(J.Durbin)
Brad Penny: Mon:PHI(J.Moyer); Sat:NYM(Jo.Sosa)
Andy Pettitte: Tue:TOR(R.Halladay); Sun:TB(J.Shields)
James Shields: Tue:LAA(Er.Santana); Sun:@NYY(A.Pettitte)
Jorge Sosa: Mon:SD(D.Wells); Sat:@LAD(B.Penny)
John Van Benschoten: Mon:COL(T.Buchholz); Sun:HOU(W.Williams)
Rick Vanden Hurk: Tue:STL(B.Thompson); Sun:CIN(B.Arroyo)
Claudio Vargas: Tue:ARI(Y.Petit); Sun:SF(B.Zito)
Tim Wakefield: Tue:KC(L.Nunez); Sun:CHW(J.Garland)
David Wells: Mon:NYM(Jo.Sosa); Sat:PHI(J.Moyer)
Woody Williams: Mon:@WAS(M.Bacsik); Sun:@PIT(J.Van Benschoten)
Barry Zito: Tue:@CHC(S.Marshall); Sun:@MIL(C.Vargas)

Pitchers with 2 starts to deploy only in leagues that don't count qualitative stats:
Mike Bacsik: Mon:HOU(W.Williams); Sat:COL(T.Buchholz)
Brian Bannister: Mon:@BOS(K.Gabbard); Sun:@DET(N.Robertson)
Taylor Buchholz: Mon:@PIT(J.Van Benschoten); Sat:@WAS()
John Danks: Mon:@CLE(Cl.Lee); Sat:@BOS(K.Gabbard)
Kyle Davies: Mon:CIN(B.Livingston); Sun:STL(B.Thompson)
J.D. Durbin: Tue:@LAD(M.Hendrickson); Sun:@SD(J.Peavy)
Josh Fogg: Tue:@PIT(S.Youman); Sun:@WAS(T.Redding)
Kason Gabbard: Mon:KC(B.Bannister); Sat:CHW(J.Danks)
Jon Garland: Tue:@CLE(P.Byrd); Sun:@BOS(T.Wakefield)
Kei Igawa: Mon:TOR(J.Towers); Sat:TB(J.Howell)
Bobby Livingston: Mon:@ATL(K.Davies); Sat:@FLO(B.Kim)
Braden Looper: Mon:@FLO(B.Kim); Sat:@ATL(B.Carlyle)
Jamier Moyer: Mon:@LAD(B.Penny); Sat:@SD(D.Wells)
Micah Owings: Mon:@MIL(D.Bush); Sat:@CHC(R.Hill)
Yusmeiro Petit Tue:@MIL(C.Vargas); Sun:@CHC(S.Marshall)
Horacio Ramirez: Mon:BAL(B.Burres); Sun:@TOR(R.Halladay)
Tim Redding: Tue:HOU(C.Sampson); Sun:COL(J.Fogg)
Nate Robertson: Tue:@MIN(M.Garza); Sun:KC(B.Bannister)
Ervin Santana: Tue:@TB(J.Shields); Sun:@MIN(M.Garza)
Robinson Tejeda: Tue:@OAK(C.Gaudin); Sun:CLE(P.Byrd)
Brad Thompson: Tue:@FLO(R.Vanden Hurk); Sun:@ATL(K.Davies)
Jamey Wright: Mon:@OAK(D.Braden); Sat:CLE(Cl.Lee)
Josh Towers: Mon:@NYY(K.Igawa); Sat:SEA(Jef.Weaver)

Diamond Challenge

With a dire need for another second baseman and Brandon Phillips available as a free agent, we're spending our last FA move to grab Phillips while cutting Ian Kinsler.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Wed:DET(An.Miller)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:@PIT(T.Gorzelanny)
John Smoltz: Wed:CIN(A.Harang)
Ben Sheets: Thu:ARI(L.Hernandez)???
Jake Peavy: Tue:NYM(O.Hernandez); Sun:PHI(J.Durbin)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@NYY(A.Pettitte); Sun:SEA(Ho.Ramirez)
Brandon Webb: Fri:@CHC(J.Marquis)
John Lackey: Fri:@MIN(C.Silva)
C.C. Sabathia: Thu:@TEX(K.Loe)
Josh Beckett: Fri:CHW(J.Contreras)
Chris Young: Thu:PHI(C.Hamels)
Felix Hernandez: Tue:BAL(J.Guthrie)
Jon Papelbon: 3 Home vs. KC; 4 Home vs. CHW.

While we hoped to run Santana, our sheer lack of bench options leaves us with a preferred rotation of Peavy, Halladay, Webb, Lackey, Beckett, and Felix, especially with Papelbon's saves far less useful than more wins and strikeouts.

Phillips sends Kendrick to the bench, where he joins Atkins, Hall, and Taveras.

Rotohelp.com(10th lg; 83rd div; 1310th overall)
Week 16: July 16-July 22

 
C	Brian McCann		880
C	Russ Martin		680 
1B	Albert Pujols		2050 
1B	Ryan Howard		1420 
2B	Brandon Phillips	930
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	Jake Peavy		1180 
SP	Roy Halladay		1140
SP	Brandon Webb		1130 
SP	John Lackey		1040
SP	Josh Beckett		1000 
SP	Felix Hernandez		840
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260 
RP	Takashi Saito		1200
RP	Joe Borowski		1110 
RP	Matt Capps		600

Total Salary for Week 16: 	29720

Diamond Challenge - 2nd Season

While our moves also continue to drop here faster than we'd like, we'll add Brandon Phillips as a free agent while releasing Ian Kinsler.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Wed:DET(An.Miller)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:@PIT(T.Gorzelanny)
Jake Peavy: Tue:NYM(O.Hernandez); Sun:PHI(J.Durbin)
John Lackey: Fri:@MIN(C.Silva)
C.C. Sabathia: Thu:@TEX(K.Loe)
Jeremy Bonderman: Thu:@MIN(S.Baker)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Thu:CHW(J.Vazquez)
Dan Haren: Sat:BAL(G.Olson)
Tim Hudson: Thu:STL(M.Maroth)
Cole Hamels: Thu:@SD(C.Young)
Jon Papelbon: 3 Home vs. KC; 4 Home vs. CHW.

Santana, Peavy, Dice-K, Haren, Hudson, and Papelbon seem a good group, and despite the fact that Cordero faces Valverde for four games here, we're not risking the possibility that Al Reyes might miss the entire week by activating him.

To settle under the cap, Phillips, Alex Rios, and B.J. Upton respectively will replace Kendrick, Holliday, and Teahen, who join McCann and Youkilis on the bench.

Rotohelp.com(10th lg; 72nd div; 412th overall)
Week 16: July 16-July 22

C	Victor Martinez		1310 
C	Russ Martin		680 
1B	Justin Morneau		1180
1B	Prince Fielder		910 
2B	Brandon Phillips	930
2B	Kelly Johnson		400
3B	Mike Lowell		1070
3B	B.J. Upton		410
SS	Jose Reyes		1610
SS	Hanley Ramirez		1100
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	1880
OF	Grady Sizemore		1380 
OF	Alex Rios		1000
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	Jake Peavy		1180
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka	950 
SP	Dan Haren		940 
SP	Tim Hudson		880
SP	Jon Papelbon		900
RP	Francisco Cordero	1260
RP	Takashi Saito		1200 
RP	Jose Valverde		1100 
RP	Matt Capps		600

Total Salary for Week 16: 	27850

Internet Challenge

Despite our rapidly diminishing number of moves, we're again dropping Kinsler in favor of Brandon Phillips.

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Wed:DET(An.Miller)
Roy Oswalt: No start.
Ben Sheets: Thu:ARI(L.Hernandez)???
Jake Peavy: Tue:NYM(O.Hernandez)
Brandon Webb: No start.
Greg Maddux: Wed:NYM(J.Maine)
Josh Beckett: No start.
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Thu:CHW(J.Vazquez)
Dan Haren: No start.
Felix Hernandez: Tue:BAL(J.Guthrie)
Matt Cain: Wed:@CHC(C.Zambrano)
Jon Papelbon: 3 Home vs. KC; 1 Home vs. CHW.

Santana, Peavy, Maddux, Dice-K, and Felix will join Papelbon.

Offensively, Phillips and Rios replace Kendrick and Holliday, who join Teahen, Hall, and Taveras on the bench.

Rotohelp.com(9th lg; 221st overall)
Week 16a: July 16-July 19

 
C	Victor Martinez		1310 
C	Brian McCann		880 
1B	Ryan Howard		1420
1B	Travis Hafner		1380
2B	Brandon Phillips	930
2B	Kelly Johnson		400 
3B	David Wright		1550
3B	B.J. Upton		410
SS	Jose Reyes		1610 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		1100 
OF	Manny Ramirez		1390 
OF	Alex Rios		1000
OF	Barry Bonds		830 
OF	Delmon Young		750
OF	Shane Victorino		560 
OF	Corey Hart		430
DH	Albert Pujols		2050 
DH	Prince Fielder		910

SP	Johan Santana		1960 
SP	Jake Peavy		1180
SP	Greg Maddux		1040
SP	Daisuke Matsuzaka	950 
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 16a Salary:		29950

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

SP(6)
Johan Santana: Wed:DET(An.Miller)
Roy Oswalt: Fri:@PIT(T.Gorzelanny)
John Lackey: Fri:@MIN(C.Silva)
Jake Peavy: Tue:NYM(O.Hernandez); Sun:PHI(J.Durbin)
Josh Beckett: Fri:CHW(J.Contreras)
C.C. Sabathia: Thu:@TEX(K.Loe)
Ben Sheets: Thu:ARI(L.Hernandez)???
Chris Young: Thu:PHI(C.Hamels)
Cole Hamels: Thu:@SD(C.Young)
Jon Papelbon: 3 Home vs. KC; 4 Home vs. CHW.

With Sheets hurting, Young opposing Hamels, and Oswalt looking weak against Gorzelanny, we'll deploy Santana, Lackey, Peavy, Beckett, Sabathia, and Papelbon.

To get under the cap, Adrian Gonzalez, Stephen Drew, and Bonds will replace Howard, Holliday, and Willy Taveras, who join Bard, Kinsler, Atkins, Teahen, and Baldelli on the bench.

Rotohelp.com(FB: 7th lg; 671st overall)
& Rotohelp.com(FC: 8th lg; 1426th overall)
Week 16: July 16-July 22

 
C	Joe Mauer		1890 
C	Brian McCann		1880 
1B	Albert Pujols		3890
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	Barry Bonds		2560 
OF	Nick Swisher		2190
OF	Delmon Young		1500
OF	Magglio Ordonez		1770 
OF	Chris B. Young		1000 
DH	Stephen Drew		1450
DH	Adrian Gonzalez		1420

SP	Johan Santana		3410
SP	John Lackey		2790 
SP	Jake Peavy		2730 
SP	Josh Beckett		2520
SP	C.C. Sabathia		2490 
SP	Jon Papelbon		1950
RP	Takashi Saito		2200
RP	Joe Borowski		2100
RP	Jose Valverde		1880
RP	Matt Capps		1000

Total Salary for Week 16:	59750

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball

SP(6)
Jake Peavy: Tue:NYM(O.Hernandez); Sun:PHI(J.Durbin)
Jeremy Bonderman: Thu:@MIN(S.Baker)
Josh Beckett: Fri:CHW(J.Contreras)
C.C. Sabathia: Thu:@TEX(K.Loe)
Roy Halladay: Tue:@NYY(A.Pettitte); Sun:SEA(Ho.Ramirez)
Erik Bedard: Wed:@SEA(J.Washburn)
Cole Hamels: Thu:@SD(C.Young)
James Shields: Tue:LAA(Er.Santana); Sun:@NYY(A.Pettitte)
John Maine: Wed:@SD(G.Maddux)
Jon Papelbon: 3 Home vs. KC; 4 Home vs. CHW.

Along with Peavy, Halladay, Shields, and Papelbon, Bonderman and Beckett look like our best bets, however Bedard will substitute for Bonderman for cap reasons.

While we see little need to deploy McCann, Kendrick, Hardy, Holliday, Rios, or Victorino, Upton and Chris Young respectively will sub for Ryan Howard and Hunter Pence.

Rotohelp.com(3rd lg; 217th overall)
Week 16: July 16-July 22

 
C	Joe Mauer		1890
C	Russ Martin		1290
1B	Justin Morneau		2620
1B	Prince Fielder		1850
2B	Chase Utley		2850 
2B	Brandon Phillips	1160
3B	Ryan Braun		1500
3B	Akinori Iwamura		1400
SS	Jose Reyes		2460 
SS	Hanley Ramirez		2150
OF	Grady Sizemore		2760 
OF	Gary Sheffield		2630 
OF	Magglio Ordonez		1770
OF	Curtis Granderson	1550
OF	Corey Hart		1120 
OF	Chris B. Young		1000
DH	Alex Rodriguez		3630
DH	B.J. Upton		1000 

SP	Jake Peavy		2730 
SP	Josh Beckett		2520
SP	Roy Halladay		2480
SP	Erik Bedard		2160 
SP	James Shields		1280
SP	Jon Papelbon		1950
RP	J.J. Putz		2360
RP	Takashi Saito		2200
RP	Kevin Gregg		1430
RP	Matt Capps		1000

Total Salary for Week 16:	54740

Today's Fantasy Rx: With the second half in full swing, the MLB non-waiver trade deadline only sixteen days away, and many fantasy leagues' trade deadlines also approaching, try to find time in the next week to review each of your roto squads to see what trades you should pursue. While you can complete many trade negotiations within a day or so, some deals do require a week or two, especially with plenty of owners potentially on vacation and possibly even completely off-line right now. Offering proposals now just might give you the needed flexibility to insure you complete deals in time.