Fantasy Forecaster

09/04/2010 5:09 AM - 

On tap: Many of you might have Labor Day off, but Major League Baseball sure doesn’t. It’s actually one of the busiest days on the baseball calendar so far this year, including a doubleheader between the Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and every one of the 30 teams is scheduled for a game. It’s also an early-start Monday; that refers to the fact that the first pitch of the day is set for 1:05 p.m. ET, and in fact, four games begin that early and 12 of the 16 are day games. Owners in leagues with weekly deadlines should keep that in mind when planning around their weekend barbeques.

The early portion of the week includes several “last-ditch series,” games between playoff hopefuls where the team trailing in the standings is effectively in a must-win situation. The American League wild card-leading — and within 1½ games of the East lead — Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox tangle for three games at Fenway Park, with the Red Sox in the must-win situation being 6½ games behind the Rays. The National League Central-leading Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies play three at Coors Field, with the Rockies 6½ games in back of the wild card-leading Phillies and 7½ games back in the West. And the NL West-leading San Diego Padres host the Los Angeles Dodgers for three, with the Dodgers trailing their division rivals by nine games in the standings.

With rosters now expanded to as many as 40 players and teams beginning to consider shutting down their young starters bumping up against innings caps, expect rotations to be in a bit more flux than usual. Remember that the Forecaster only projects rotations for the upcoming weeks, rather than provides you with a guarantee, and you should be prepared for the occasional midweek shuffling; the Texas Rangers‘ recent bumping back of Cliff Lee is a prime example.

SOURCE: ESPN