Full Disclosure: A National disaster

Just when I thought I had my rosters settled, just when I thought I had set my lineups for the last time, confident I had done everything in my power to maximize my potential for the upcoming scoring period, in came the news that rocked the foundation of every one of my Fantasy teams.

Elijah Dukes had lost his starting job to Austin Kearns. He'll begin the season on the bench.

What ... the heck? I know the deal with sleepers. I've had my share over the years, and I realize that for every one that goes right, one usually goes wrong.

But why did it have to be the one that just so happened, for no other reason than the fall of the dice, to land on every one of my Fantasy teams?

It hurt. I sighed so hard it sounded more like a groan. And it still didn't make me feel better.

So now what? The guy goes from a potential breakout to a useless reserve. He'll still play occasionally. He could still end up starting eventually. I still like him. Should I cut him?

Let's examine that pleasant topic on a case-by-case basis as well as reviewing all my other lineup decisions during the past week.

12-team mixed Rotisserie

First, I need to catch you up on my other roster moves leading up to the Dukes disaster.

As I discussed last week, I replaced Troy Glaus once he became DL-eligible, opting for Todd Helton over Nick Johnson and Andy LaRoche. Looking back, it doesn't even seem like a choice now. With his performance this spring, I optimistically (unrealistically?) believe Helton can regain some of the power he lost when his back trouble began in 2005. Hey, it's not just me. The scouts say his bat speed has returned. In a league without a bench, Helton immediately slots as my starting corner infielder.

I had to pounce on Jason Motte with the news of him closing in St. Louis. It wasn't a choice, really -- too much potential there with his stuff on an expected contender -- but I had to cut personal favorite Jordan Zimmermann to clear a roster spot. I realize I have four closers now, which seems like overkill, but I'd rather get a head start in trouble stats like saves and steals than have to play catch-up later.

My decision to cut Ryan Spilborghs for Denard Span isn't so much a condemnation of Span as an acknowledgement that I now prefer Spilborghs over him, which brings me to my latest outfield move: the cutting of Dukes. Span might seem like a natural replacement since I still like him to get numbers, but I don't know that he'll get me the right numbers. More than one reader wrote in about my lack of power, which I fully acknowledge but think is a little exaggerated. Still, to help counteract it, I decided to turn to Jeff Francoeur, a player I've never liked in Fantasy.

I certainly see the upside and think his adjustments this spring have helped, but I generally distrust any player who walks as infrequently as he does. And his collapse last year pretty much validated that distrust. I'll take him now and hope for the best, but I won't hesitate to pull the plug if he gets off to a slow start.

Finally, I had to replace John Lackey, who went on the DL with an elbow injury. I could have gone with Zimmermann again, but I didn't see the point in a league without a bench since he won't start until April 19. I opted for Brad Penny instead, who I don't like as much, but at least he gets a start this week.

10-team mixed Head-to-Head

Not nearly as many moves in this league, but Dukes cast a nasty shadow over my team again, giving me one early bust on my bench full of sleepers. Not a good start, boys.

Again, I'll review the moves in the order I made them, which means I had to respond to the Carlos Marmol mishap first. I could have turned to Chris Ray on my bench, but I didn't think I could trust him right away since the Orioles never officially designated him the closer over George Sherill. It's only a matter of time, people. On waivers, I had my choice of Troy Percival or ... Fernando Rodney. Awesome. Percival seemed the easy call there. Pitching on a clear contender with a top pitching staff, his potential isn't in question, just his health.

Of course, I didn't want to pull the plug on Marmol just yet. I paid a hefty price for him, so I should at least make sure he won't steal the job from Kevin Gregg at the first sign of trouble. Instead, I cut David Purcey -- a player who I like but who isn't on anyone else's radar yet. No sense using a bench slot on him when he'll go untouched on waivers.

And I could have had him back a few short days later, when B.J. Upton went on the DL. Instead, I opted for Wandy Rodriguez, who another team cut a day or two earlier. I don't know why everybody sleeps on this guy. He had a 3.54 ERA and 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings last year.

In the end, I still ended up with Purcey because of the decision with Dukes. None of the hitters on waivers particularly thrilled me, and I prefer to maximize starts in Head-to-Head leagues, meaning I needed more pitchers on my bench.

Of course, I opted against maximizing starts this first week, keeping one-start Kevin Slowey in my lineup over two-start Ian Snell. I see the upside with Snell, but I can't lean on him until he shows me something. Right now, the divergence between my top five starting pitchers and my bottom four is huge, giving me little reason to adjust my starting rotation until some sleepers emerge.

With Upton sidelined, I have to rely on one sleeper in my starting lineup. I opted for Ryan Spilborghs over Denard Span and Andy LaRoche just because Spilborghs showed me more this spring.

12-team AL-only Rotisserie

Yes, I managed to avoid Dukes in one league. Granted, it was an AL-only league that didn't even acknowledge his existence, but I'll take it.

Don't get me wrong: I still had my share of disappointments, which tend to happen in leagues this deep. Cuts late in spring training left my outfield in shambles. Jerry Owens couldn't secure a starting job and then got sent to the minors. Ditto for Aaron Cunningham and Lou Montanez. Fortunately, Andruw Jones won a reserve role with the Rangers, and I'll have to settle for that for now. I can't say I like the thought of starting two outfielders who don't even play in the majors, though.

Again, we roster 360 players in this league. The actual American League rosters only 350. I have to remind myself and keep reminding myself just to keep level-headed.

With the injury to Alex Rodriguez and the demotion of Owens, who doesn't have the upside to justify a bench slot, I had two free roster spots, not that anyone on waivers stood out as having, well, a job.

I already have good pitching -- exceptionally good pitching, with the promotion of Jeff Niemann to his team's starting rotation making up for the removal of Sean Gallagher from his -- but I figured it couldn't hurt to platoon a couple of stable middle relievers with my lower-end starting pitchers. Joe Smith and Russ Springer got the call off the waiver wire -- Smith for his ridiculous 15 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings this spring and Springer for his impressive track record.

And oh yeah, I suddenly have an opportunity for saves now that Fernando Rodney has the closer role in Detroit. Honestly, though, I don't expect him to keep the job for more than a few weeks, not that Brandon Lyon will perform much better. The Tigers will eventually have to turn elsewhere for saves, maybe to Ryan Perry. Too back Eric Mack already claimed him. That guy ...

12-team NL-only Rotisserie

Leagues this deep don't allow for sweeping roster changes, though I did pick up Koyie Hill to start behind the plate until Angel Salome comes up from the minors. Hey, at least he'll get at-bats.

I also wanted to clear some dead weight from my roster now that spring position battles have sorted themselves out. Like in the AL-only league, a few of my outfielders got demoted, including Jonny Gomes, Joe Mather and Reggie Abercrombie. Gomes and Mather have enough upside that I'd like to keep them for now, but I never had much confidence in Abercrombie. I mostly just saw him as the likely candidate to start for the Astros if Michael Bourn struggled. So much for that.

I went ahead and cut Abercrombie along with the pointless Jose F. Capellan and the useless Jason Michaels. I picked up outfielder Craig Monroe -- hey, eight home runs are eight home runs, spring or not -- and relievers Peter Moylan and Geoff Geary, who could help temper my ERA and WHIP.

Plus, I just needed some suitable relievers. I still have J.A. Happ, who I want to keep just in case he can claim a rotation spot later in the season, but if I'm going to start a reliever anyway, I can probably do better than him. Also, Jorge De La Rosa scares me. If he doesn't make good on his sleeper potential, I won't want to keep him in my lineup for long.

Remember how I boasted about my outfield depth last week? Yeah, all those demotions kind of ruined it, or at least put a damper on it. When setting my lineup, I had only one choice to make: Micah Hoffpauir or Greg Dobbs at utility. The rest of my lineup set itself.

And oh, by the way, I also had Elijah Dukes starting in my outfield. Go figure.

In a league this deep, where every team has to start a few reserves anyway, I don't see any good reason to get rid of Dukes. He'll still start occasionally, and the Nationals will have to get his talent in the lineup eventually. I say he becomes a full-timer again before the end of the season, and in this league, I can afford to wait for that magical day.

20-team mixed Head-to-Head

I wanted to hang on to Dukes here. I really did. I still feel like he can make a difference in a league this deep, and when that day comes when the Nationals make him a starter again, I know someone will scoop him up before me. I hate that. People shouldn't beat me to my own players.

But the ridiculously small rosters in this league pretty much forced my hand. I couldn't afford to waste one of my precious few bench spots on a part-time player, and Austin Kearns shouldn't go unowned in a league this deep. As strange as it sounds, I do have a weird kind of misplaced confidence in Kearns based mostly on his 10-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio this spring. Plus, his hitting coach has helped him turn back the clock to the batting stance he used as a rookie in 2002. Hey, it's something.

Kearns will stay on my bench for now. Taking Dukes' place in my starting lineup is none other than the 10th-ranked outfielder in NL-only Head-to-Head leagues last year: Randy Winn. The more I say that, the more ridiculous it sounds.

The rest of my lineup remains more or less the same. I wouldn't dare touch any of my top five starting pitchers for any of those Scrubby McSrubbersons on my bench, though I might sing a different tune when one has a two-start week.

Oh, I did replace Happ with Franklin Morales when Happ lost his expected rotation spot to Chan Ho Park. I had more faith in Happ than I do in Morales this year, but Morales probably has more upside.

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