Atomic RoadRunners

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Brewers will bat Prince Fielder third and Ryan Braun fourth in the lineup — the reverse of what they did for much of last season. “Braunie has done a nice job of making it work,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. “If Braunie can take the same steps that Prince took in his second year, in terms of plate discipline, that’s a big key to our offense. He’s one of those special hitters, he’s very smart and has great hitting instincts. I don’t think he’ll have any trouble with the adjustment. They’re going to pitch around Prince at times and when they do, I want Braunie to make them come right after him. If they don’t throw him strikes, he’s going to have to take his walks and let Billy Hall and Corey Hart back him up.” Fielder didn’t shown much of a power swing this spring, and he’s battling the fly right now, but no worries. He will be locked in starting Monday. He has lineup protection, so Fielder should be in for another potential 50-homer season. He still remains an elite Fantasy 1B. (CBS Sports)

I blame the move to vegetarianism.  Growing boy needs protein.

The Cincinnati Enquirer notes that Scott Hatteberg will get the Opening Day start at first base against Arizona Monday, but Dusty Baker is not considering him the regular first baseman over Joey Votto.

Killer quote: “The regular first baseman is who’s playing that day,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. Joey has great upside potential,” Baker said. “But Hatteberg had a great spring.”

Hatteberg hit .386 this spring, while Votto underwhelmed at .205. “Votto came on strong at the end,” Baker said. “You wish he’d done a little better. The fact that he’s here is based on what he did last year.” Whoever starts at first base will likely hit in the seventh spot of the batting order. “I need someone down there swinging the bat good,” Baker said. “(Adam) Dunn had a fair spring in the fifth spot. Edwin (Encarnacion) struggled all spring in the sixth spot. You don’t want to have that many guys in a row who aren’t on top of their game.” Until one wins the job over the other, there are better NL-only starters than mixed-league for now.

(CBS Sports)

Braves 1B Mark Teixeira connected for a crucial double in the top of the ninth inning Sunday at Washington, and the ball just missed clearing the fence in deep right-center for a home run. He finished the game 1-for-4 with a strikeout. Teixeira is historically a slow starter, and the trend continued this spring as he hit only .211. However, he has the potential to hit .300 with 40 home runs over the course of a season, so stick with him if he starts slowly again in 2008. (CBS Sports)

Yesterday’s Stats (3/30/08)

Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.2500  1 1   1    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL    0.2500  0 0   0    0

Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Moylan, Peter RP ATL       6.75  2 0   0 0.75

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Goodfellas          39.5    29.0     68.5  68.5 0.0
 2   Atomic Roadrunners  40.5    23.0     63.5  63.5 5.0
 3   Get Off Kong!       34.0    29.0     63.0  63.0 5.5
 4   Uncle Lester        32.5    29.0     61.5  61.5 7.0
 5   Shoeless Jews       26.0    29.0     55.0  55.0 13.5
 6   Cover Zero          22.5    29.0     51.5  51.5 17.0
 7   Stanimals           20.0    29.0     49.0  49.0 19.5
 8   Misogynistic Padres 20.0    28.0     48.0  48.0 20.5
 9   X-Men               20.0    26.5     46.5  46.5 22.0
 10  The Pi Train        20.0    23.5     43.5  43.5 25.0

Covered in the Live Blog a few minutes ago:

Braves setup man Peter Moylan took the loss in the season opener Sunday at Washington, allowing a solo home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the bottom of the ninth inning. He pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing only the one hit and striking out two. Moylan was downright unhittable at times in his first full big-league season, going 5-3 with a 1.80 ERA and giving up just 65 hits in 90 innings. The Braves plan to lean on the side-armer out of the pen this year, so consider him a viable Fantasy option in leagues that use true middle men. (Rotoworld)

From CBS Sports:

Dodgers OF Andruw Jones sat out the spring finale Sunday against the Red Sox because of a cramp in his leg. Manager Joe Torre said he could have played, but wanted to stay on the safe side. Jones struggled for consistency all season during his last campaign with the Braves in 2007. He hit .222, and his 26 homers was his lowest total since hitting 26 in 1999, his third full season in the majors. Jones will be motivated for a big season after a disappointing sendoff in Atlanta. Consider him a comeback candidate in Fantasy. We assume he’ll be fine to open the season.