Atomic RoadRunners

From The Onion: “Fantasy Baseball Owner Rips Team in Media”

BROOKLYN, NY—Mark Mendicus, 26-year-old Staples employee and principal owner of the fantasy baseball team Beat With Uggla Stick, blasted his underperforming team in the media Monday, going so far as to single out individual players, criticize their recent play, and question their commitment to winning.

“The Beat With Uggla Sticks have a proud tradition of winning,” continued Mendicus, whose team has made the playoffs the past two years, including a league championship win in 2006. “But apparently that means nothing to this group of players. Apparently they’d rather just lose every single 5×5 category. Apparently my players don’t care about winning the 12-team Yahoo! Plus ‘Mmm…Fantasy Baseball’ league pennant as much as I do.”

Classic!

John Sickels of Down on the Farm fame today did a Prospect-Retro on Ryan Theriot over at his site, Minor League Ball:

All told, in his major league career Theriot is hitting .288/.357/.380 in 921 at-bats. This is somewhat better than you’d expect given his minor league performance, although even in the minors he showed good plate discipline and contact ability. Interestingly, if you told a scout in 2001 that Theriot would be a .288 hitter in the majors but without big power, he would probably not be surprised…that is what people thought he would be coming out of LSU.

Razzball.com had a brief mention of the Atlanta bullpen, and promising expectations for the remainder of Mike Gonzalez’s season:

Mike Gonzalez is now the closer of the Braves. Right? Right…. Kinda. He’s going to be closing games when he’s available. Cox may take it easy on him since he’s coming back from Tommy John surgery. Gonzalez was not rushed through rehab, so that’s a good thing. Barring an injury, there’s no reason why Gonzalez can’t save 20 games this year. (<—– That’s my projection for Gonzalez.) Soriano might grab another couple and Acosta might snatch a few more. Mike Gonzalez is not some schmohawk that just turned up on the Braves roster. He was an effective closer on the Pirates. He can be again. If Ryan Franklin and Salomon Torres can earn saves, then goddamnit, so can Mike Gonzalez. Okay, now go pick him up. As if he’s still on waivers in any league.

Good thing I picked him up in May.

RotoProfessor had a lengthy feature today studying the allure of new callup (and new Roadrunner) Charlie Morton:

What’s amazing to me is that Seth McClung, who has had 3 straight strong starts, is owned by only 7% of owners in CBS leagues.  Do I think McClung should be owned in more leagues?  No, I’m not saying that, but in my mind he has just as much a chance to pitch well, if not a better chance, then Morton.

At least McClung, a former first-round pick, has made 5 starts in the majors, 4 of which he has allowed 2 runs or less.  He had one rough start against the Braves, but otherwise it has been impressive pitching, more impressive then Morton’s one start, actually.

If Morton goes out tonight against the Rangers and shuts them down over 6 innings, my opinion may change.  Honestly, I would think the chances of him getting shelled for 5 runs is more likely, however.  If you are among the 26% who have already grabbed him, I wish you luck.  I’m certainly among the 74% of leagues who are still sitting back and waiting, and I would recommend you do the same.  He just doesn’t have any type of track record to show me anything different at the moment.

Hmm, perhaps I jumped too soon with too much FAAB?

Jose Reyes started Wednesday and went 3-for-5 with a steal and three runs scored to help the Mets beat the Angels 5-4 in 10 innings on Wednesday. David Wright singled in Reyes in the ninth to tie the game off Francisco Rodriguez, and Damion Easley homered in the top of the 10th to give the Mets the lead. Billy Wagner then closed it out. Reyes tweaked his hamstring on Tuesday, but he said all along that he planned on playing tonight. The steal was his 26th of the season.

Explaining what happened when Jose Reyes put up a fight when asked to leave Tuesday’s game with a hamstring injury, manager Jerry Manuel joked: “I told him next time he does that I’m going to get my blade out and cut him. I’m a gangster. You go gangster on me, I’m going to have to get you. You do that again, I’m going to cut you right on the field.” Manuel has been on the job for less than a week, but that has to be the leader in the clubhouse for managerial Quote of the Year. He was known as a relatively laid back manager while with the White Sox, but has apparently been sharpening his blades and taking gangster lessons since then. Reyes returned to the lineup Wednesday and went 3-for-5 with a steal, three runs and zero incidents of going gangster. (Rotoworld)

Chase Headley hit his first major league home run as the Padres lost to the Yankees on Wednesday night. “It’s bittersweet, obviously,” Headley said. “To get your first home run and to get it at Yankee Stadium is something really special and something 20 years from now I’ll look back and enjoy. But obviously, it’s better when you win.” His homer was his lone hit of the night, and he finished 1-for-4. He’s 3-for-8 in two games since getting called up. Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez also went deep for the Padres, and Edgar Gonzalez hit two doubles to raise his average to .317 on the season. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Jason Bergmann allowed three runs – one earned – in six innings Wednesday night, but didn’t factor into the decision as the Nationals lost. It’s an encouraging performance considering Bergmann had allowed 25 hits and 13 runs in his previous 15 2/3 innings. He had three poor outings followed by three excellent ones followed by three poor ones before tonight. Perhaps he’ll have two more decent efforts, but don’t bet on it against the Angels next week. (Rotoworld)

Chipper Jones went 2-for-5 with a solo homer as the Braves beat the Rangers on Wednesday night. Jones’ average remains at .400, and he now has 16 homers and 45 RBI on the season. Kelly Johnson also had a solid night, driving in two runs, one of them coming during a three-run ninth that put the Braves ahead 5-2, which ended up being the final score. (Rotoworld)

Mike Gonzalez threw a scoreless ninth inning in Wednesday’s win over Texas, recording a save in his first appearance since coming off the DL. It looks like Atlanta has finally found its closer after Rafael Soriano’s elbow injury. He may not pitch back-to-back games initially, but it looks like he’s the arm to own for saves in the Atlanta bullpen. (Rotowire)

Chris Iannetta has started nine of the Rockies’ last 11 games, including both games since platoon mate Yorvit Torrealba returned from a two-game suspension. Iannetta is clearly the Rockies’ top catcher right now. He is hitting .303 in June with three homers and five RBI. The youngster could be Colorado’s starting catcher for years to come, so the team will likely give him ample opportunities to prove himself. (Rotowire)

Ryan Spilborghs started on Wednesday for the first time since last Saturday. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI as Colorado’s right fielder. Spilborghs gave Brad Hawpe a break against a left-handed starter. Spilborghs has not asserted himself as expected in center field; Willy Taveras has started 11 of the Rockies’ last 13 games at that position. Taveras has regained a significant edge over Spilborghs, who is hitting .212 in June. The Rockies will gain the DH for six games next week, which could help Spilborghs’ chances for playing time, but right now he is clearly the Rockies’ fourth outfielder. (Rotowire)

Josh Johnson (Tommy John surgery) will be stretched out to 80-85 pitches in a rehab start for High-A Jupiter on Thursday, the Miami Herald reports. The Marlins are aiming to get him back in the rotation around the All-Star break. (Rotowire)

Brewers OF Corey Hart had two hits, including his 17th double, one RBI and one run in four at-bats Wednesday against the Blue Jays. Hart came into the game mired in a 0-for-17 slump after going deep three times in two games on June 11-12. Hart dropped to fifth in the order Tuesday after struggling at the plate and it looks as though the moved might have helped getting him back on track. Hart continues to fill the stat sheet for Fantasy owners and remains a high-end option. (CBS Sports)

Brewers slugger Prince Fielder owes more than $400,000 in unpaid taxes, according to a published report. Fielder declined comment on the report through a team spokesman before Wednesday night’s game against Toronto. An IRS spokesman told The Associated Press that Fielder could have made payments or even paid it off, but that it might not be recorded yet. The Detroit News’ Tax Watchdog blog published Tuesday a copy of the IRS’ Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed against Fielder on Oct. 6, 2005. It was addressed to a residence in his name in Melbourne, Fla., and noted he owed a total of $409,149.14 assessed on Sept. 13, 2004, and Feb. 7, 2005. As Brewers manager Ned Yost put it: “That’s nobody’s business but his. That has nothing to do with baseball.” This won’t have anything to do with Fielder’s Fantasy stats. Fielder has been hot, making up for his slow start. Consider him a must-have and must-start in all Fantasy leagues right now. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  39.0    37.0     76.0  -2.0 0.0
 2   Shoeless Jews       30.0    33.0     63.0  -1.0 13.0
 3   The Pi Train        30.5    29.0     59.5  2.5  16.5
 4   X-Men               18.5    39.0     57.5  0.0  18.5
 5   Goodfellas          34.0    23.0     57.0  0.5  19.0
 6   Misogynistic Padres 29.0    25.5     54.5  0.5  21.5
 7   Stanimals           36.0    17.0     53.0  -2.5 23.0
 8   Get Off Kong!       26.0    23.0     49.0  2.5  27.0
 9   Uncle Lester        10.0    37.5     47.5  0.5  28.5
 10  Cover Zero          22.0    11.0     33.0  -1.0 43.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/18/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 0.2500  0 1   1    0
Bowker, John OF SF       0.2500  0 0   0    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.0000  0 0   0    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.0000  0 1   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.5000  0 1   1    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.2500  1 1   1    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.3333  0 0   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.4000  1 1   1    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.5000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.6000  0 3   0    1
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.2500  0 0   2    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.0000  0 1   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/18/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL      0.00  1 1   0 0.00