Fantasy Faceoff: Interleague implications

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May 11, 2006

Editor's note: Each week two Fantasy writers will debate a topic pertaining to Fantasy Baseball. Send your suggestions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com and maybe two of our staffers will battle it out in a future Fantasy Faceoff!

How should interleague play influence Fantasy rosters?
Brian Flood	Sergio Gonzalez
The biggest conflict is probably with the defending champion White Sox. Luckily, owners won't have to worry just yet -- because the ChiSox open interleague play at home against the Cubbies. However, it's inevitable that they'll play some games without the DH. So, who sits -- Konerko or Thome? The logical choice would be Thome, since it's basically Konerko's team these days plus he's started at first base 32 times thus far. Not so fast. The red-hot Jim Thome has doubled Konerko's home run total this season and he played 52 games at first last season in Philly, so he's not exactly a stranger to the position. I say they split time, meaning both sluggers take a hit in Fantasy value for the week. For other players, interleague play will be a positive thing. Travis Hafner has only played first once in his last 163 games, but you can bet that will change this season. He's simply too good to keep out of the lineup and this will help his position eligibility in many leagues. David Ortiz is another player that will gain first base eligibility during the upcoming interleague games -- giving him a boost in value. Owners of regular DHs that will lose at-bats, such as Carl Everett, Phil Nevin, Rondell White and Bernie Williams, need to pay close attention to the situation and bench these guys when their teams travel to NL cities.	The senior circuit will get a big boost when some teams head into American League cities to begin interleague play. But does any team get a bigger boost than the San Francisco Giants? With Felipe Alou trying to do everything possible to preserve Barry Bonds, he'll get a chance to use him as a designated hitter for four games at Oakland. With Moises Alou out of the picture for over a month, that will mean that two not-so-regular players will see some extra at bats. Mark Sweeney and Steve Finley will get a slight boost for Week 7 (May 15-21). Finley has played regularly in Alou's absence and he's worth adding in all NL-only formats and larger mixed leagues while Mo is away. Fantasy owners should look for similar situations with Cincinnati, San Diego, Florida, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cubs who will all be facing off against AL opponents on the road next week. If you are an owner who will be losing at bats due to a DH who won't play, these teams will offer plenty of short-term solutions to that problem. These aren't players that will stick around on your roster for long, but they could be key players in getting you the production that you'll most certainly be losing over the next two weeks.