Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

Nine Bo Jacksons did some analysis of the Dodgers’ 3B situation:

Blake Dewitt: Although he’s only had 282 ABs above High-A, Dewitt seems like the opening day starter. He’ll split time with Tony Abreu. Due to the lack of upper level experience, Dewitt will be a natural liability in AVG. Since we don’t have a good enough grasp on the PT breakdown, I can’t give dollar values for him - but he’s a speculative NL Only add if you need someone to man the hot corner for a few weeks. He’s as good as gone once LaRoche is back, though.

New Ernie Banks statue missing an apostrophe.  (Big League Stew)

Researching managerial tendencies by analyzing facial characteristics (New York Times)

Here’s the real reason for the Kotsay and Spiezio acquisitions in Atlanta (Bugs & Cranks)

Kevin Goldstein apologizes for no apparent reason about Brian Barton (Baseball Prospectus Unfiltered)

Just how bleak is the outlook in San Francisco? (Crooked Pitch)

In Philadelphia, they truly have “blessed balls” (not even mentioning John Kruk) (Bugs & Cranks)

Even if he’s dead, 97-year-old Bob Sheppard will introduce Jeter -on tape. Ok, maybe not dead. (MLB.com)

APRIL FOOLS - Interview with Steve Bartman.   (Bugs & Cranks)

Jeff Francouer has a blog.  Wait, he thinks there’s 32 baseball teams? Oh, boy. (Delta Blog)

James (rotator cuff) gave up three runs with three strikeouts and three walks over six innings in a minor league exhibition game for Low-A Rome on Tuesday. “Without a doubt, I feel like I am back to 100 percent,” James told the Rome News-Tribune. “Today, I was working on my slider and working on my location. I felt good.”  He’ll likely open the season at Triple-A when eligible to come off the DL on April 6, but could be promoted to the majors early if Jair Jurrjens struggles. (Rotowire)

Cardinals OF Brian Barton, hit on the nose by a breaking pitch late in spring training, was able to play in the team’s season opener Tuesday against the Rockies. He singled in a pinch-hit appearance and stayed in the game to play the outfield. Barton, a Rule-5 pick from the Indians, hit .351 with a .596 slugging percentage this spring. He was a good hitter in the minors for the Indians, but for some reason was left on the market for the Cardinals this winter. He has to stay on the Cardinals’ roster all season if the team doesn’t want to send him back to Cleveland, and he might be a sleeper to start at some point. Right now, he’s an option only for NL-only leagues.

Marlins SP Rick VandenHurk worked a no-decision in his 2008 debut Tuesday against the Mets. VandenHurk came out in the fourth inning after allowing a RBI single to Angel Pagan. He allowed three runs and six hits in three-plus innings. He also walked one and struck out three. The highlight, or even lowlight, of his start came in the second inning when he squared off against Pedro Martinez, who worked a 12-pitch at-bat against VandenHurk. Martinez eventually struck out swinging to end the inning, but by then, VandenHurk had already thrown 55 pitches. VandenHurk was pulled with two men on base and no outs in the fourth inning despite the Marlins holding a 4-1 lead, and reliever Renyel Pinto let both runners in. He needed 55 pitches to get through two innings, including a 12-pitch battle against Pedro Martinez, which is nothing new given that he led the NL with nearly 19 pitches per inning last season. He was at 74 pitches upon exiting, so the Marlins could have given him a chance to work his way out of a jam and potentially pick up a victory, but manager Fredi Gonzalez took heat for leaving his starter in too long on Opening Day. VandenHurk was the surprise second starter for the Marlins after their rotation had to get bounced around with Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre dealt with injuries this spring. VandenHurk had a 4.35 ERA this spring, but was nothing really spectacular. Pretty much the same thing that could be said for his 2007 debut. VandenHurk remains a NL-only Fantasy option at this time. His next scheduled start is for Sunday against the Pirates. He has yet to face them in his major league career.  (CBS Sports, Rotoworld)

Phillies OF Shane Victorino went 0-for-3 in the team’s season opener Monday against the Nationals. He did have a sacrifice, however. Victorino didn’t show much power this spring, slugging only .382, but he has the potential to hit 12-15 home runs, particularly playing in such a small ballpark. And if he’s getting everyday at bats, 30 stolen bases is almost a given. Consider him a No. 3 OF in Fantasy. (CBS Sports)

Phillies C Carlos Ruiz collected a double in the season opener Monday against the Nationals. He finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.  Ruiz was inconsistent at the plate last season, as you would expect from a catcher in just his first full year in the majors. But he calls Citizens Bank Park home, and he has shown enough promise to warrant use as a No. 2 catcher in all mixed Fantasy formats. (CBS Sports)

Yesterday’s Stats (4/1/2008)

Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Davis, Rajai OF SF         0.000 0  0  0    0
DeWitt, Blake 3B LAD       0.000 0  0  0    0
Jones, Andruw OF LAD       0.000 0  0  0    0
Reyes, Jose SS NYM         0.200 0  0  1    0
Spilborghs, Ryan OF COL    0.000 0  0  0    0

Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
VandenHurk, Rich SP FLA     9.00  3 0   0 2.33

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
1   Goodfellas          37.0    29.0     66.0  66.0 0.0
2   Get Off Kong        32.5    31.0     63.5  63.5 2.5
2   Uncle Lester        34.5    29.0     63.5  63.5 2.5
4   The Pi Train        36.0    25.5     61.5  61.5 4.5
4   Shoeless Jews       21.0    40.5     61.5  61.5 4.5
6   X-Men               19.5    28.5     48.0  48.0 18.0
6   Misogynistic Padres 19.5    28.5     48.0  48.0 18.0
8   Stanimals           32.0    15.5     47.5  47.5 18.5
9   Atomic Roadrunners  19.0    28.0     47.0  47.0 19.0
10  Cover Zero          24.0    19.5     43.5  43.5 22.5

FAAB Acquisition:

• Blake DeWitt, 3B, Los Angeles ($0 bid)

Up:

• 3B Blake DeWitt to Utility
• C Javier Valentin
• P Carlos Villanueva
• P Zach Duke
• P Jason Marquis

Down:

• U Scott Hatteberg
• P Peter Moylan
• P Tony Pena
• P Jon Lieber

Cut:

• 2B Emilio Bonifacio

From Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein yesterday:

Don’t Believe The Hype: What does Emilio Bonifacio offer other than game-changing speed and good glovework at second? Not a whole heckuva lot. He needs to develop a more patient approach, or he’s going to hit towards the bottom of a lineup.

Emilio, we hardly knew you.