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

Philadelphia optioned Myers to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Myers has 88 strikeouts in 101 2/3 innings and his .284 average against is hardly that bad, but he was still ineffective because of all of the homers he allowed and he seemed to be scared of contact in his last start. Myers has struggled all season long and the Phillies had had enough, hoping that he can straighten things out in the minors. Myers, 3-9 after giving up five runs and getting knocked out without retiring a batter in the third inning in Friday night’s 8-7 loss at Texas, has a 5.84 ERA. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he spoke with Myers on Monday about accepting the assignment to work on his delivery. Myers will start Wednesday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. “We don’t look at it as a demotion,” pitching coach Rich Dubee said. “We look at it as the means to getting his delivery right. He’s a guy we need.” Manuel said Myers, who saved 21 games in 2007 before returning to the rotation this season, will remain a starter when he returns. “Mentally this is going to give him a blow,” Manuel said. “He needs to get sharp. He needs to get his confidence up.” (CBS Sports)

Myers agreed to accept the assignment even though he could have refused because he has more than five years of service time. “I can’t say enough about Brett’s willingness to accept this assignment,” GM Pat Gillick said. “He understood and is eager to get back on track again. He’s struggling right now, but he is a quality major league pitcher who we are going to need in the second half of the season.” (Rotoworld)

As for who will replace him for his next start, Philadelphia has stated it will make a decision on Wednesday. Cole Hamels would be able to go on five days rest, while middle-reliever and former starter Chad Durbin as well as lefty J.A. Happ from Triple-A appear to be the other two candidates. (Rotowire)

The Cubs shuffled their rotation on Monday to make room for Carlos Zambrano’s return on Friday, with Jason Marquis the big loser in the moves. Marquis was supposed to start Sunday against the Cardinals, but he has now been pushed back to Tuesday against the Reds. He will now be a two-start guy in Fantasy Week 15 (July 7-13), against Cincinnati and the Giants. Marquis pitched seven strong innings Tuesday against the Giants, but it wasn’t enough as Matt Cain pitched eight scoreless innings and San Francisco won 2-1. Marquis has been far from the Cubs ace in 2008 and remains at best a low-end Fantasy SP in mixed leagues. (CBS Sports)

Chipper Jones (quadriceps) did some running prior to Tuesday’s game against the Phillies and was in the starting lineup, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Jones missed eight consecutive starts with a strained right quadriceps and was expected to be placed on the DL on Tuesday. He appeared to be nearing a stint on the DL as of Sunday, but things are apparently progressing along much better than expected as Jones said that he’s now 80-85 percent healthy. Jones said he felt no pain while stretching and then running before the game. He leads the major leagues with his .394 batting average. Quite a surprise. Manager Bobby Cox said today that he fully expected Chipper to land on the disabled list. (Rotowire, Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Charlie Morton gave up five runs and lasted just two innings with one strikeout and one walk in Tuesday’s loss to Philadelphia. Morton, who made his big-league debut on June 14, pitched fairly well over his first three starts with the Braves, but had his first taste of major adversity tonight. He had only allowed one run through the first two innings, but was pulled after giving up six straight hits to start the third.Expect some ups and downs as the rookie gets used to the majors. His minor league strikeout numbers show he can succeed in the majors, but it may take awhile. Morton, a two-start pitcher in Fantasy week 14 (June 30-July 6) who makes his next start Sunday against Houston, has now lost back-to-back starts, though he pitched much better on June 24 against Milwaukee. This was easily his worst outing in four starts on the year and he is only worth starting in NL-only leagues for the time being. (Rotowire, Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Brandon Phillips went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in Tuesday’s loss to the Pirates. Phillips lost his power stroke in June, hitting just two home runs for the month. The homer was Phillips’ first in 15 games and his 14th of the season. Phillips now has eight hits in his last three games and has raised his average 22 points in the last two weeks to .284. He started July off right and with the Reds playing a heavy home schedule throughout the next few weeks, more long balls could follow. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Shane Victorino went 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBI to lead the Phillies offense in an 8-3 victory over the Braves on Tuesday night. Victorino was one of six Phillies hitters with multiple hits in the game. He ripped a two-run homer early in the game to spark a four-run second-inning rally, and then added a two-run single in the ninth to open Philadelphia’s lead to five runs. Prior to tonight’s game, Victorino hadn’t driven in a run since June 13, and hadn’t homered since May 21. (Rotoworld)

Cardinals SP Todd Wellemeyer could not hold an early lead Tuesday against the Mets and ended up taking the 7-4 loss. The Cardinals staked Wellemeyer a 3-1 lead after two innings, but the lead was gone by the fourth inning. Ramon Castro’s two-run double tied it in the fourth, Ryan Church’s RBI highlighted a three-run fourth and David Wright’s homer made it 7-3 in the sixth. Wellemeyer gave up a career-high 12 hits Tuesday and watched his ERA rise to 3.86. He walked two and struck out two. Wellemeyer only retired 11 of the first 24 batters he faced. The Mets punished Wellemeyer, the National League pitcher of the month in May, but he is 1-2 with a 6.52 ERA and two missed turns in the rotation due to elbow woes since receiving the honors. Wellemeyer did pitch five scoreless innings the last time out, but he needs to regain his confidence on the hill shortly or it will be time to bail in Fantasy leagues. Wellemeyer’s next scheduled start is for Sunday against the Cubs. His phenomenal May is fading quite a bit. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Giants RP Brian Wilson recorded the final three outs Tuesday against the Cubs for his National League-leading 23rd save in 25 opportunities during a 2-1 win. He got his fourth save since June 24th not before allowing Derrek Lee’s leadoff triple in the ninth and Geovany Soto’s RBI single two batters later. He was charged with three hits and one run. He struck out one. Wilson has allowed runs in three of his last five appearances and is by no means a dominant closer. But he has blown just two saves in 2008 and leads the NL at this point. Consider Wilson a decent No. 2 Fantasy RP. (CBS Sports)

Chris Iannetta started on Tuesday for the fifth time in the Rockies’ last six games. His platoon with Yorvit Torrealba has ebbed and flowed, but the long-term trend favors Iannetta, who has started 17 of the Rockies’ last 25 games. Iannetta’s prospect status and trade rumors involving Torrealba further swing the balance in his favor. Iannetta hit .308 in June with three homers and 10 RBI in 52 at-bats. (Rotowire)

The Sports Xchange reports that Brewers 1B Prince Fielder, in a 2-for-27 slump on the Brewers’ three-city trip, was given his first game off Tuesday since May 8 in Florida. Despite his recent struggles, Fielder remains a must-start 1B in all formats simply because of his power potential. Like most sluggers, he is prone to streaky play now and again. (CBS Sports)

Ryan Theriot didn’t start Tuesday’s game due to a stomach illness, but later replaced Ronny Cedeno at shortstop and struck out twice, the Arlington Daily Herald reports. Theriot has had to deal with a swollen right hand in the last week as well. His second strikeout halted the Cubs best rally and ended the game. The fact Theriot eventually played leads us to believe he will not miss much time, if any games after Tuesday. Theriot continues to have a solid season hitting in front of Derrek Lee, but his lack of power hurts him in Fantasy. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Padres 3B Chase Headley extended his hit streak to seven games Tuesday when he went 1-for-3 in a 4-0 loss to the Rockies. While Headley’s streak is nice, he doesn’t have a multi-hit game during it and his average has stayed at .250. Consider him a sleeper in deeper leagues here on out, especially since the rebuilding Padres will give him a full-time opportunity to display his outstanding potential. (CBS Sports)

John Maine, who said his arm felt dead during his poor start Monday, indicated that his arm is fine and he anticipates making his next start, Sunday at Philadelphia, the Westchester-Journal News’ Mets blog reports. Maine, who allowed seven hits and five runs - three earned - against St. Louis Monday - attributed part of the problem to rushing through his between starts throwing routine because of Friday’s two-stadium, day-night double header with the Yankees. With five days off between starts, Maine should be refreshed heading into Sunday. (Rotowire)

Brewers’ 3B prospect Mat Gamel was named to the U.S. team for the Futures Game. The Futures Game is July 13 at Yankee Stadium, two days before the All-Star Game. It can be just the springboard a top prospect needs to get a promotion, so consider Gamel a flier to take in any long-term keeper league they are available.(CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  45.0    38.0     83.0  -1.0 0.0
 2   X-Men               19.0    39.0     58.0  0.5  25.0
 2   The Pi Train        30.0    28.0     58.0  -1.0 25.0
 2   Shoeless Jews       25.0    33.0     58.0  0.0  25.0
 5   Goodfellas          33.0    22.5     55.5  2.5  27.5
 6   Stanimals           34.0    18.0     52.0  -2.5 31.0
 7   Uncle Lester        12.0    38.0     50.0  -1.0 33.0
 8   Misogynistic Padres 26.0    23.5     49.5  0.0  33.5
 9   Get Off Kong!       27.5    21.0     48.5  1.0  34.5
 10  Cover Zero          23.5    14.0     37.5  1.5  45.5

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/1/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 0.5000  0 0   0    1
Bowker, John OF SF       0.0000  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        0.2500  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.6000  0 2   1    2
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.3333  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.3333  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.6000  1 1   4    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.2000  0 0   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL    0.0000  0 0   1    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.4000  1 1   4    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/1/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Marquis, Jason SP CHC      2.57  5 0   0 1.00
Morton, Charlie RP ATL    22.50  1 0   0 4.50
Wellemeyer, Todd SP STL   10.80  2 0   0 2.80
Wilson, Brian RP SF        9.00  1 1   0 3.00