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

Ryan Theriot went 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBI Wednesday as the Cubs won their third straight against the Brewers. Derek Lee, Reed Johnson, and Mark DeRosa drove in one run apiece. Alfonso Soriano stole a base, his 10th of the year, and scored two runs. Ryan Dempster even had a hit and scored a run. Theriot singled twice and hit a two-run triple. He is hitting .322 with 31 RBI this season. Oh, but he did get caught stealing. So cancel the celebration. Theriot hasn’t had a whole lot of extra-base hits to go with his .322 batting average, but he’s shown a great eye at the plate, impressively tallying 11 more walks than strikeouts on the season. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Josh Johnson, making his fourth start of the year after returning from Tommy John surgery, allowed four runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings and collected his first major league win since Aug. 28, 2006. He had a much better-looking fantasy line before allowing a three-run homer to Damion Easley in the seventh inning, although he had just two strikeouts to go with two walks. He also helped his own cause with an RBI double. (Rotowire)

John Maine, who has been diagnosed with a mild strain of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, no longer is officially listed as Sunday’s starter in Houston. The expectation is Oliver Perez instead will pitch on standard rest that day against the Astros, the NY Daily News reports. Maine may not miss a full turn, and could re-enter the rotation as soon as Tuesday at Shea. However with off-days Thursday and Monday, the Mets would be better served allowing Maine to build strength in the surrounding area and not have him start until August 9. Both Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner have spoken about how painful the injury is and the need for building strength in the shoulder and rest, so hopefully the team errs on the side of caution and doesn’t let Maine talk them into letting him start Tuesday. (Rotowire)

Shane Victorino put together a 3-for-5, three RBI night Wednesday to lead the Phillies past the Nationals 8-5 and move his team back atop the NL East. The Phillies picked up their fourth consecutive victory on RBI from Pat Burrell, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and of course, Victorino. Shane singled in the fifth to score Jamie Moyer and Rollins, then homered in to right field in the seventh. He is now hitting .287 on the season with nine homers and 38 RBI. The Flyin’ Hawaiian also extended his hit streak to 10 games, and he has been on fire of late, having stolen three bases during his current streak and hit a surprising four home runs. While the home run numbers should taper off, he remains a great option going forward. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Chris Iannetta blasted a three-run homer in the fifth inning Wednesday to lead the Rockies over the Pirates 7-4. Clint Barmes got things going for the Rockies with a sac fly in the second inning that scored Troy Tulowitzki. Matt Holliday followed with an RBI single in the third, then the Rockies plated five runs in the fifth, with the highlight being Iannetta’s dinger. The bullpen held onto the lead and Brian Fuentes pitched a flawless ninth inning, fanning two, to earn his 18th save of the season. Iannetta is hitting .276 with 12 homers and 44 RBI in 203 at-bats this season. (Rotoworld)

Prince Fielder hit his 21st homer of the season Wednesday night in a losing effort to the Cubs. Fielder finished 2-for-3 with one RBI, the result of his solo shot in the ninth inning. Ray Durham drove in the only other run for the Brewers as they were defeated easily by their division rival. Fielder is batting .278 this season with 60 RBI. (Rotoworld)

First baseman Mark Teixeira went 0-for-4 in his debut with Los Angeles Wednesday vs. the Red Sox after being obtained from Atlanta on Tuesday. He walked and struck out twice. Don’t let Wednesday’s performance fool you, Teixeira is an immediate game-changer in AL-only leagues, so don’t hesitate to blow your entire FAAB budget on him. With a .281 batting, 20 home runs and 78 RBI, he remains a must-start in Fantasy. (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 0-for-4 and committed his fifth error Wednesday against the Diamondbacks. He’s made four errors in 31 games in the outfield. We were as in favor of Headley’s callup as anyone, but the Padres likely would have been better off with both Scott Hairston and Jody Gerut playing regularly for the last six weeks. There’s no reason to make a change now — Headley is still a far bigger piece in San Diego’s plans than either veteran — but he’s not playing very well at all at the moment. (Rotoworld)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  44.0    36.0     80.0  1.0  0.0
 2   X-Men               23.0    39.0     62.0  0.0  18.0
 3   Stanimals           29.0    32.5     61.5  -3.5 18.5
 4   The Pi Train        30.0    30.0     60.0  2.5  20.0
 5   Shoeless Jews       24.0    34.0     58.0  2.0  22.0
 6   Goodfellas          36.0    17.5     53.5  -1.5 26.5
 7   Uncle Lester        12.0    38.5     50.5  1.0  29.5
 8   Misogynistic Padres 27.0    15.5     42.5  -1.5 37.5
 9   Cover Zero          25.0    17.0     42.0  -1.0 38.0
 10  Get Off Kong!       25.0    15.0     40.0  1.0  40.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/30/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA       0.6667  0 1   0    0
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 0.0000  0 0   0    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.6667  1 1   1    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.5000  1 1   1    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.2500  1 1   3    0
Pearce, Steve RF PIT     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.5000  0 2   0    1
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.5000  0 1   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     1.0000  0 1   3    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.6000  1 3   3    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/30/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Johnson, Josh SP FLA       5.40  2 0   1 1.50

The Angels acquired first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Braves for first baseman Casey Kotchman and RHP Stephen Marek. The Angels are obviously counting on Teixeira having one of his typical big second halves. They’re probably adding about 100 points of OPS to their lineup at the cost of getting a lot more expensive at first base and a quality relief prospect. The Angels will surely make an attempt to re-sign Teixeira over the winter, but it won’t be easy, even for a team with a top-five payroll. Teixeira’s fantasy value is relatively unchanged with the deal. He has plenty of experience playing in the AL West, so that won’t be an issue. Teixeira will bat third for the Angels. He’ll have plenty of RBI chances with Chone Figgins leading off and Howie Kendrick likely hitting second, and will get some of the best protection in the league and some run-scoring help with Vladimir Guerrero behind him.

According to FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal, the Braves picked the Angels’ offer for Mark Teixeira over a package of Chad Tracy and Micah Owings from the Diamondbacks. Rosenthal also says the Braves tried to insert Will Ohman into the Angels’ deal with the goal of acquiring additionals youngsters, but that it didn’t work. Ohman remains likely to be moved before the deadline. (Rotoworld)

The Mets are calling John Maine day-to-day after an MRI revealed a mild rotator cuff strain. If only it was guaranteed to be the only problem, it’d be great news for the Mets. The team still hasn’t ruled out having him pitch Sunday against the Astros, but it is more likely that he will be skipped one turn. (Rotoworld)

Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll had a contrary view in today’s Under the Knife:

Yesterday, someone in the chat fed me a quote from the Mets new pitching coach saying that he’d told the media that Maine’s soreness in the back of his shoulder was a “good sign” and not in a “trouble spot.” It’s a good thing that he’s not a doctor, because the images showed a strained rotator cuff, something most pitchers would call a real trouble spot. Maine’s pain and inflammation is definitely a worry, especially the way that it appeared to increase in severity during his start, sapping velocity and causing a noticeable reaction on Maine’s face. With the return of Pedro Martinez, Jerry Manuel can juggle his rotation to give Maine a little bit of extra rest, but getting him back out there even after the extra time off is going to be risky. The Mets think Maine can come back without heading to the DL, but I’m not as confident.

Gregor Blanco reached in all five plate appearances on Tuesday night, going 4-for-4 with a walk in a loss to the Cardinals. It was the rookie’s second four-hit game in a week. All four hits tonight were singles, and he maintains a modest .330 slugging percentage thanks to only 11 extra-base hits in 306 at-bats. (Rotoworld)

Cardinals SP Todd Wellemeyer lasted six innings Tuesday at Atlanta, giving up two runs and eight hits. He issued one walk and recorded five strikeouts, finishing with a no-decision. He has now gone at least six innings in three of his last four starts. Wellemeyer faced a Braves lineup that didn’t include Chipper Jones (hamstring), Brian McCann (concussion) and the recently traded Mark Teixeira. Kind of makes his start less impressive, doesn’t it? He entered the game with a 6.51 ERA over his last five starts and doesn’t look like the same pitcher since returning from a strained right elbow. Treat him as a low-end mixed-league option. His next start is scheduled for Sunday against the Phillies. (CBS Sports)

Brett Myers allowed just one unearned run over seven innings on Tuesday night to pick up his first win since May 30 as the Phillies beat the Nationals 2-1. Myers, who has frequently struggled with his command this season and walked five in his last outing, issued only one free pass and gave up just four hits — all singles. Chase Utley’s two-run homer in the third inning proved to be the difference in this game. Take this one with a grain of salt - it was against the Nationals. (Rotoworld)

Braves closer Mike Gonzalez, who hadn’t pitched since Wednesday, looked a little rusty in a tune-up outing Tuesday against the Cardinals. He gave up five runs — one earned — on two hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning. As intense as Gonzalez gets in save situations, you have to expect him to struggle in non-save situations. The retooling Braves might not give him many opportunities down the stretch, so think of him as a low-end No. 2 Fantasy closer. (CBS Sports)