The week Ahead - May 14 - May 20
May 14, 2007
One of the new features that we'll be bringing you each week will involve each team's upcoming schedule. This can be a major boost for those of you who keep a flex spot on your roster so that you can pick up players and use them as plug and play options. By knowing not only who they'll be facing, but also where they'll be facing them, this should give you some insight as to who the hot pickups for next week might be a few extra days in advance.
On Tuesdays, we'll be publishing our ballpark data from last season and a three year average for each stadium so that you'll be a little more familiar with how each stadium plays and what, exactly, it plays well to (it's a myth that all hitter's parks only play extremely well to power hitters). For now, we'll be using some of the top hitter's and pitcher's parks based on that data to compile which offenses have favorable schedules coming up and which offenses will be playing in parks that are more geared toward pitchers. As the year wears on, each team's opponents will factor more into the equation, based on how they have performed.
Home games are listed in CAPS, while the number in parentheses shows how many games they'll be playing each team.
Favorable
Milwaukee Brewers: Philadelphia (4), MINNESOTA (3) - Part of what's made the Brew Crew so great early on is their dominance at home (their 118 runs in 21 home games lead the majors). While only three of their games will come at home, the other four will be played in the league's third best hitter's park. They'll avoid Santana as well, giving them a solid bonus.
Chicago White Sox: NEW YORK YANKEES (3), Chicago Cubs (3) - Three at home against a middling Yankee pitching staff should make for some big power production to begin the week, while the warmer weather means Wrigley should start giving up a few more big flies as well.
Tampa Bay Rays: TEXAS (3), FLORIDA (3) - The best starter they'll face all week is Dontrelle Willis. Last season, the Rays were considerably better at home in the Trop, which played as a neutral hitter's park last season overall.
Texas Rangers: LOS ANGELES ANGELS (1), Tampa Bay (3), Houston (3) - The fact that they'll escape Roy Oswalt in the Astros series helps them out a bit, as does the fact that both of their road series will be played in neutral hitter's parks.
Toronto Blue Jays: BALTIMORE (3), Philadelphia (3) - Fresh on the heels of a horrific losing streak battling the AL East powers, the Jays will welcome a chance to face two historically poor pitching staffs in dominant hitter's parks.
Colorado Rockies: ARIZONA (3), KANSAS CITY (3) - While they'll have the misfortune of facing both Randy Johnson and Brandon Webb, the fact that the Rockies will play all six in Coors far outweighs that problem. Toss in the Royals' 25th ranked staff, and it's Yahtzee time!
Houston Astros: SAN FRANCISCO (3), TEXAS (3) - While their pitchers have figured out Minute Maid, opposing staffs often seem to have trouble. They'll play all six at home, and safely avoid the two best starters on their opponents' staffs (Zito and Cain).
Philadelphia Phillies: MILWAUKEE (4), TORONTO (3) - Though they'll face a hot pitching staff with Milwaukee, the starters they'll face late in the week when Toronto comes calling more than cancel that problem out. Seven at home in power-friendly Citizens Bank should mean we'll be seeing a ton of runs scored by the Phils, even without Ryan Howard in the lineup.
Unfavorable
Cleveland Indians: MINNESOTA (3), CINCINNATI (3) - They'll have the challenge of facing both Johan Santana and Aaron Harang this week, and they'll play all six games at home in pitcher-friendly Jacobs Field.
Oakland A's: KANSAS CITY (4), SAN FRANCISCO (3) - Though they'll have four chances to beat up on the lowly Royals, they'll also face the task of trying to beat their old ace (Barry Zito) and one of the best young pitchers in baseball (Matt Cain) when the Giants take a trip across the Bay. McAfee plays very poorly for power and slightly poor for average.
Seattle Mariners: LOS ANGELES ANGELS (3), SAN DIEGO (3) - Not only will they play all six of their games in pitcher-friendly Safeco, but they'll also face the fifth (Padres) and seventh (Angels) best staffs in baseball in terms of ERA.
Cincinnati Reds: San Diego (3), Cleveland (3) - Two trips to extreme pitcher's parks for a team that calls a top five hitter's park home figure to possibly drop the Reds out of the top ten offenses in baseball temporarily.
New York Mets: CHICAGO CUBS (4), NEW YORK YANKEES (3) - While they'll get three at home against the league's 24th ranked staff to close the week, they'll also face a team with a top ten ERA four times to start it. Looks are a bit deceiving in the Yankee series anyway, as the Mets will have to face a healthy Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte in this series. The fact that all seven come at home is a bad thing. The Mets lead the league with 108 runs in 19 road games, but they're 21st in the league with just 74 in 17 home games.
San Diego Padres: CINCINNATI (3), Seattle (3) - The Pads are a top ten offense on the road and a bottom six offense at home. Given that they'll have to face both Harang and Arroyo in the Reds' series doesn't bode well. Toss in King Felix to close out the M's series in another pitcher-friendly venue (Safeco Field), and there might not be much to look forward to from your Padres' hitters this week.
Washington Nationals: ATLANTA (4), BALTIMORE (3) - It doesn't really seem to matter who the opposition is. RFK is going to cut into offensive production a bit. Toss in Smoltz, Hudson, and Bedard, and things could get ugly for the Nats this week.
Fantasy Baseball 
