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

In an excellent article on SI.com, Tom Verducci dives deep into the interesting and effective delivery of Tim Lincecum. BP’s Will Carroll says that “This might be the best article I’ve seen on pitching. Ever.”

As if peering around a corner, the Freak tilts his head slightly to the left as he begins his explosive, homemade pitching delivery. What lurks around that corner is either greatness or danger, which makes tiny Tim Lincecum, all 172 pounds of him, the most fascinating pitcher in baseball. Not since Mark (the Bird) Fidrych spoke to baseballs, manicured mounds and baffled hitters more than 30 years ago has a pitcher been this consistent and this captivating from the start of his career. Lincecum does not throw a baseball as much as he launches it, 98-mph rockets somehow expelled, with finely tuned kinetic energy, from a batboy’s body. He scares hitters and scouts alike.

Since his May 2007 call-up Lincecum has been only slightly more challenged by major league hitters. In 40 starts through Sunday, he was 16-6 with a 3.30 ERA and 264 strikeouts in 256 innings. Only one starting pitcher in baseball history, Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in the mid-’80s, has won 70% of his decisions over his first two seasons while logging more strikeouts than innings.

The normal stride length for a pitcher is 77% to 87% of his height. Lincecum’s stride is 129%, some 7 1/2 feet.

Brewers SP Seth McClung, who gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start, pitched more like he did in his previous four starts Wednesday at Arizona. He allowed two runs on eight hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six. He did not factor in the decision, however. Omitting that one poor start, McClung has a 2.70 ERA over his last five. He has joined the ranks of Ryan Dempster, Todd Wellemeyer and Scott Feldman this season in transforming from a mediocre middle reliever to an above average starting pitcher. Use him in all NL-only leagues and don’t immediately discount him in deeper mixed formats. He lines up for two starts in Fantasy Week 15 (July 7-13), with his next one scheduled for Monday against the Rockies. (CBS Sports)

Pirates recalled outfielder Steve Pearce from Triple-A Indianapolis. To do what? The Pirates aren’t going to sit Adam LaRoche or either corner outfielder, so unless a trade comes, Pearce won’t do much more than pinch-hit, and as mediocre as he’s been this year, it’s doubtful he’d be of any use while getting a handful of at-bats per week. He was hitting .259/.311/.445 in Triple-A. Pearce entered the game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-hitter for John Grabow, and struck out swinging against Bill Bray. (Rotoworld)

Giants OF John Bowker scored the only runs off Cubs SP Ryan Dempster Wednesday as he slugged a two-run homer off the right-hander. Bowker, who now has nine homers, finished 2-for-4. He is 6-for-12 (.500) with four RBI in his last four games. Bowker continues to be a decent source of power for the Giants since his recall in mid-April. He is still not seeing everyday at-bats, but the Giants are finding ways to get him into the lineup. Bowker still remains just a sleeper for deeper Fantasy leagues. (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 1-for-3 with a solo homer as the Padres lost to the Rockies on Wednesday night. Headley is hitting .254 after his first 59 at-bats. He’s on an eight-game hitting streak, but has just two multi-hit games in fifteen contests so far this year. That being said, he’s already tallied four home runs in his first two and a half weeks in the majors. (Rotoworld)

Chipper Jones went 1-for-4 with a solo homer as the Braves defeated the Phillies on Wednesday night. Headley got San Diego on the board when he hit an opposite-field homer off Ubaldo Jimenez in his first at-bat in the second inning. It would be the only run scored by the Padres. After almost being placed on the disabled list earlier this week, it was reassuring to see Jones smack his 17th homer of the season off J.C. Romero. The bad news is that the one-hit outing lowers his average on the season to .391. (Rotoworld)

Diamondbacks closer Brandon Lyon, who came into a tie game in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Brewers, surrendered the lead, allowing one run on one hit, though the run was unearned, thanks to a Mark Reynolds error. It should be noted that Reynolds had pinch-hit for Chad Tracy and stayed in the game at 1B, a position he’s never played before in the majors. So the error really goes to manager Bob Melvin. Lyon suffered the loss, falling to 2-3. Lyon had five saves in June and has less than doubled his total since April. The D-Backs have struggled, but they remain in first place, so expect more save opportunities to come Lyon’s way. (CBS Sports)

Brett Myers allowed three runs in five innings Wednesday in his first Triple-A start. Myers didn’t give up a homer. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six. He seems certain to make at least two more starts in the minors. (Rotoworld)

The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Phillies SP Brett Myers, who was sent down Tuesday and struggled in his first minor-league start Wednesday, will be checked out by a team doctor in the next few days. “There’s no reason to believe there is anything wrong,” assistant GM Ruben Amaro said. “Talking to Brett, he feels healthy, he feels like his arm is fine,” pitching coach Rich Dubee said. “I talked to him (Monday) about it; he felt like there is no problem with his arm. That’s all you can go off of. I don’t get inside his elbow or his shoulder to examine the thing.”

The Phillies are desperately trying to find a reason for Myers’ struggles this season, but maybe he’s just going through a rough patch right now. Then again, you don’t usually get seen by a doctor unless you suspect something might be wrong. Keep Myers stashed in deeper mixed formats for now in case he does return in the second half, but be prepared to drop him if an injury is discovered. (CBS Sports)

Manager Lou Piniella said he’s bumping Marquis out of the weekend rotation against St. Louis in favor of Sean Marshall so that the Cubs will have two lefties (with Ted Lilly) against a Cardinals team that entered Wednesday with a 33-22 record against right-handed starters and 15-14 vs. lefties, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. For now, it’s just one start, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Marshall and Sean Gallagher were to bump Marquis out permanently before too long. (Rotowire)

Ryan Spilborghs’ teammate Willy Taveras (quadriceps) missed Wednesday’s game and might not play on Thursday, according to the Rockies’ official site. Spilborghs started in center field on Wednesday and went 1-for-4; he is 3-for-16 since June 24. Taveras wants to return on Thursday or Friday, so it looks like Spilborghs will be limited to spot starts moving forward. He benefited from the DH last week and from injuries before that. (Rotowire)

Ryan Theriot is likely to hit eighth once Alfonso Soriano returns from the DL. Soriano will resume his leadoff role, and Kosuke Fukudome will slide into the two hole. Expect Theriot to run a bit less and score less runs. (Rotowire)

Mets SS Jose Reyes hit his major league-leading ninth triple and finished Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals 3-for-5 with one run. Reyes is 10-for-31 (.323) in his last seven games. Reyes dealt with a minor hamstring injury in late June that gave the Mets and Fantasy owners a bit of a scare. However, he has recorded a few triples since and hasn’t shown any lingering issues. Continue to start the Rotisserie threat in all Fantasy formats. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
1   Atomic Roadrunners  45.0    39.0     84.0  0.0  0.0
2   The Pi Train        30.0    30.0     60.0  1.0  24.0
3   Shoeless Jews       25.0    33.0     58.0  0.0  26.0
4   X-Men               18.5    39.0     57.5  0.0  26.5
5   Goodfellas          33.0    20.5     53.5  0.5  30.5
6   Stanimals           34.5    18.0     52.5  -2.0 31.5
7   Uncle Lester        13.0    38.0     51.0  0.0  33.0
8   Misogynistic Padres 26.0    22.5     48.5  -1.0 35.5
9   Get Off Kong!       26.0    20.0     46.0  -1.5 38.0
10  Cover Zero          24.0    15.0     39.0  3.0  45.0

Yesterday's Stats

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

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/2/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Lyon, Brandon RP ARI       0.00  0 0   0 1.00
McClung, Seth RP MIL       3.38  6 0   0 1.69