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

Chipper Jones had another birthday to remember, right down to teammate Brian McCann’s belly flop of a slide. Jones celebrated his 36th birthday by going 3-for-3, including a home run, to lead Atlanta past the NL East-leading Florida Marlins 7-4 on Thursday night. For his career on April 24, he’s hitting .500 (18-of-36) with four home runs, eight RBI and 10 runs. “I always feel like I need to do something cool on my birthday,” the third baseman said. “Hit a homer or have three hits. I would have taken either one, to be honest. Today, I got ‘em both. It was awesome.” Not that it’s anything new this season. Jones raised the best average in the majors to .442, with seven home runs and 20 RBI. “Every day has been his birthday,” manager Bobby Cox joked.

While Jones got everything from a Dale Earnhardt video box set to an autographed guitar from country stars Rascal Flatts, the best present of all might have been a surprise from McCann, the Braves’ slow-running catcher. In the eighth, he drove one off the wall in right, the ball bouncing away from Jeremy Hermida, and flopped into third with something resembling a headfirst slide for his first career triple. Jones nearly buckled over in the dugout, laughing at McCann’s inelegant work on the basepaths. “That was just pure poetry in motion,” Jones said, still chuckling about it in the clubhouse. “That’s pretty much how Pete Rose used to draw it up.” Keep laughing Chipper because you have earned it. The injury-prone third baseman is really tearing it up and remains a must-start Fantasy option. (CBS Sports)

Giants RP Brian Wilson recorded his second straight save in as many days when he closed the book on a 1-0 win Thursday against the Padres. Wilson didn’t have as much trouble Thursday as he did Wednesday, when he loaded the bases twice in a 3-2 win. Wilson did allow a two-out walk Thursday, but also struck out two. He has seven saves in eight chances. Wilson now has scoreless outings in six of his last seven appearances. By no stretch of the imagination is Wilson a dominant closer. He makes things interesting more often than not and it could get him in trouble down the road. Heck, he might even lose his job. However, he is still the team’s closer at this time and a No. 3 Fantasy RP. (CBS Sports)

Rich Aurilia hit a home run off Chris Young in the seventh inning to keep Tim Lincecum perfect this season and give San Francisco a 1-0 victory on Thursday night in another low-scoring game at Petco Park. Lincecum (4-0) extended his scoreless streak to 16 1/3 innings and lowered his ERA to 1.23. He allowed four hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out nine and walked five.The Padres mounted an early rally by putting two runners on the first, but Lincecum escaped the jam and cruised the rest of the way. This super sophomore continues to defy expectations playing for a perennial last place team, and we could have a Fantasy stud on our hands for years to come. Lincecum opening the season 4-0 qualifies as one of the most amazing feats of 2008. The Giants have scored more than three runs in just one of his five starts, but they’ve won all five anyway. They’re 5-13 when he doesn’t pitch. Continue to start Lincecum in all Fantasy formats. His next scheduled start is for Tuesday against the Rockies. Depending on how the Giants use their off day Thursday, Lincecum might be a two-start pitcher Fantasy Week 5 (April 28-May 4) with his second start coming against the Phillies. (CBS Sports, Rotoworld)

Diamondbacks RP Brandon Lyon used a 15-pitch ninth inning Thursday against the Dodgers to record his sixth save in a 6-4 win. Lyon pitched a perfect frame without recording a strikeout. He has had three saves since Monday and seven straight scoreless outings. Lyon had some very rough outings to begin the season and it didn’t quite look as though he was prepared to fill the shoes of Jose Valverde. How wrong that assesment seems to be. Lyon has been dominant the last few weeks and can be used as a No. 2 Fantasy RP. (CBS Sports)

The Dodgers optioned rookie 3B Blake DeWitt to Triple-A Las Vegas Thursday and promoted RP Cory Wade because the Dodgers needed a 12th pitcher to replenish a battered bullpen. Wade, who will turn 25 next month, made his big league debut with a hitless ninth after four-plus seasons in the minors. DeWitt has not been starting much since the return of Nomar Garciaparra. So instead of having the youngster waste away in the majors, he can get some at-bats in the minors. The Dodgers wanted to go with 12 pitchers and chose to recall reliever Cory Wade, necessitating DeWitt’s demotion. Nomar Garciaparra is now the only Los Angeles player with third base experience on the 25-man roster. DeWitt is likely to return at some point in 2008, but is nothing more than a NL-only Fantasy option. (CBS Sports, Rotowire)

Brian Barton’s two-run single in the fifth inning gave St. Louis the lead on its first hit off the erratic Tom Gorzelanny, and the Cardinals beat the Pirates 6-2 on Thursday night behind Joel Pineiro’s seven effective innings. Gorzelanny (1-3) took a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the fifth despite allowing baserunners in all but one inning, only to walk the bases full ahead of Barton’s single. Barton finished 2-for-4 with one walk. Barton has made just 35 plate appearances this season, but he is producing at a .343 clip. He has been a good Rule-5 steal from Cleveland, but right now, St. Louis doesn’t have everyday at-bats for Barton, who remains just a NL-only Fantasy reserve. (CBS Sports)

Braves RP Manny Acosta pitched two scoreless innings of relief Thursday against the Marlins for his second save in a 7-4 win. Acosta issued a walk, but struck out two. He has not allowed a run in his last nine outings. Acosta was blasted in his first appearance this season for four runs in 2/3 of an inning, but the young right-hander hasn’t slipped up since. He continues to act as closer with Rafael Soriano on the DL, but it might only be a temporary job. Acosta remains a nice stopgap Fantasy option for the time being. (CBS Sports)

Cubs SP Jason Marquis pitched seven strong innings Thursday against the Cubs, but was outdueled by Aaron Cook and did not factor in the 4-2 loss to the Rockies. Marquis kept pace with Cook (8 IP, 2 ER). After Colorado got two on in the second inning, Marquis gave up one more hit through the sixth and didn’t let a runner get past first base. He allowed a leadoff walk to Matt Holliday in the sixth, but retired the next three batters before giving up Chris Iannetta’s solo homer to start the seventh. Marquis allowed two runs, eight hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out four.

Not a bad outing, especially when you consider it was in Coors Field, and the game-time temperature was 70 degrees. Marquis has been solid early on, but he was effective early last season too before getting absolutely pounded. Tread carefully here. Marquis has been quite good in his last three starts. He has allowed a total of five earned runs in 18 innings and has 13 strikeouts in that span. Marquis wasn’t sure if he would be in the rotation or even with the Cubs coming out of spring training, but Chicago stuck with him and it has paid off. Marquis is still just a low-end Fantasy SP at this time. His next scheduled start is for Tuesday against the Brewers since the Cubs are skipping Rich Hill’s turn in the rotation. Marquis is now on scheduled to be a two-start pitcher Fantasy Week 5 (April 28-May 4) with his second start against the Cardinals. He was 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two starts against Milwaukee last season, and 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four starts against the St. Louis. (CBS Sports, Rotowire)

Braves reliever Mike Gonzalez pitched one perfect inning at extended spring training Thursday, his first appearance since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery some 11 months ago. Gonzalez, who had 24 saves as Pittsburgh’s closer in 2006, struck out two in his appearance at Kissimmee, Florida. The left-hander was acquired by the Braves before last season in a deal that sent Adam LaRoche to the Pirates. Gonzalez went 2-0 with two saves and a 1.59 ERA in 18 appearances before he underwent Tommy John surgery on May 31. He’s ahead of schedule in his rehab, with the Braves hopeful that Gonzalez might return to the big league club by mid-May. His next appearance at extended spring training is scheduled for Saturday. The Braves weren’t really in need of Gonzalez until Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan both went down with arm injuries. Now, Gonzalez can’t get healthy fast enough. There is a possibility Gonzalez will close out games down the road, so NL-only Fantasy owners will want to stash him away. (CBS Sports)

Chuck James gave up four runs over five innings with three strikeouts and five walks, but still got a win in Thursday’s victory over Florida. James gave up a run in the top of the first, but had a fairly comfortable cushion the rest of the way thanks to a five-run first inning from the Braves offense. The Marlins drew within a couple runs on Josh Willingham’s two-run homer in the fifth, but the Atlanta bullpen took care of business for the final four innings to lead the Braves to their sixth win in their past eight games. James may only get one or two more starts in the rotation with Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton due back from the DL. (Rotowire, Rotoworld)

Update: Braves optioned LHP Chuck James to Triple-A Richmond. James started Thursday, allowing four runs in five innings. With Tom Glavine set to return Tuesday he’s no longer needed in the rotation and the Braves are expected to call up a reliever to replace him on the roster Friday. (Rotoworld)

Rockies C Chris Iannetta lead off the seventh inning of Thursday’s game against the Cubs with a solo home run. It ended up being his only hit in four at-bats. Iannetta has hit safely in five of his last six games (7-for-16) with one homer and four RBI in that span. Iannetta is hitting .333 through 27 at-bats and is showing the offensive potential we all expected from him heading into the 2007 season. There is no denying that Iannetta is still the future behind the plate in Colorado, but Yorvit Torrealba continues to see the majority of starts, rendering Iannetta useful as a No. 2 Fantasy catcher in NL-only leagues. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Shoeless Jews       46.5    30.0     76.5  4.0  0.0
 2   The Pi Train        38.0    35.0     73.0  1.5  3.5
 3   Goodfellas          36.0    35.0     71.0  -1.5 5.5
 4   X-Men               28.0    38.0     66.0  4.0  10.5
 5   Atomic Roadrunners  20.0    33.0     53.0  -0.5 23.5
 6   Misogynistic Padres 31.0    18.5     49.5  3.5  27.0
 7   Uncle Lester        11.5    35.0     46.5  -4.0 30.0
 8   Stanimals           31.5    14.0     45.5  0.5  31.0
 9   Get Off Kong!       18.0    26.5     44.5  -3.0 32.0
 10  Cover Zero          14.5    10.0     24.5  -4.5 52.0  

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (4/24/08)
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL  0.2500  0 0   0    0
Bowker, John OF SF        0.0000  0 0   0    0
Dewitt, Blake 3B LA       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.2500  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.2500  1 1   1    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     1.0000  1 2   1    0
Murton, Matt LF CHC       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.2000  0 0   0    0
Ruiz, Carlos C PHI        0.0000  0 0   0    0
Spilborghs, Ryan CF COL   1.0000  0 0   1    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL     0.2500  0 1   1    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (4/24/08)
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Acosta, Manny RP ATL        0.00  1 1   0 1.00
Lincecum, Tim SP SF         0.00  9 0   1 1.42
Lyon, Brandon RP ARI        0.00  0 1   0 0.00
Wilson, Brian RP SF         0.00  2 1   0 1.00