Atomic RoadRunners

Jared Burton went on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained muscle in his right side. Burton has developed into one of the Cincinnati Reds’ most dependable setup relievers. The right-handed Burton was 4-1 with a 2.23 earned run average in 43 games, often as the setup man for closer Francisco Cordero. He pulled a muscle in his side on a pitch July 6, and has been bothered by it since then. He is a solid middle reliever for deeper leagues that use true middle men when healthy. (CBS Sports)

Phillies starter Joe Blanton was making his first start for the Phillies since being acquired from Oakland last week to solidify a shaky rotation on Tuesday vs. the Mets. He took the spot of Adam Eaton, who was 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA. Blanton came in having thrown 15 shutout innings against the Mets in two starts for the A’s and he looked as if he were pitching to form until he walked Jose Reyes on four pitches to open the third. He gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings and picked up a no decision. Blanton didn’t have the debut Philly fans would have liked, but the Phils won the game anyway. Still, Blanton hasn’t exactly been on target in his last eight outings. He’s given up at least four runs five times over that span and is just 2-5. Target him in NL-only leagues because he works deep into games and has better potential than he’s shown so far, but he obviously won’t give you an instant ace the way CC Sabathia and Rich Harden did. He was a two-start pitcher this week and his next start comes Sunday against the Braves. (CBS Sports)

FAAB Acquisition:

• P Joe Blanton, Phillies [$21 bid, Add to Actives]

Up:

• P Jason Bergmann
• P Jason Marquis
• OF Jody Gerut (to Utility)

Down:

• P Seth McClung
• P Jaime Garcia
• P Josh Johnson
• 3B Blake DeWitt

Cut:

• P Jared Burton

Notes:

• I didn’t expect to with the bidding for Blanton, and was presented with a “oh, great” reaction when I saw I had acquired him.

Cardinals optioned LHP Jaime Garcia to Triple-A Memphis. Garcia pitched two innings of scoreless relief for the Cards before allowing three runs in five innings in his lone start on Sunday. Garcia pitched well, but the Cardinals want to make sure they have plenty of fresh arms for their four-game series with the Brewers. (Rotoworld)

Brewers SP Seth McClung allowed St. Louis to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning Monday, but shut them down over the next four innings and was in line for the 3-2 win before a ninth-inning collapse. McClung allowed five hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings. McClung is winless in his last five starts and has last only six innings once in that span. The Brewers have already announced that McClung and Dave Bush will split starts as the team’s fifth starter, so despite a good run in the rotation, McClung is best left for NL-only Fantasy leagues. His next scheduled start is TBD. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  43.5    39.0     82.5  -1.5 0.0
 2   X-Men               22.0    39.0     61.0  0.5  21.5
 3   The Pi Train        28.5    32.0     60.5  -0.5 22.0
 4   Stanimals           31.0    27.0     58.0  2.0  24.5
 5   Shoeless Jews       22.0    32.5     54.5  -3.5 28.0
 6   Goodfellas          35.0    18.0     53.0  1.5  29.5
 7   Uncle Lester        12.0    39.0     51.0  -0.5 31.5
 8   Misogynistic Padres 29.0    15.0     44.0  0.5  38.5
 9   Cover Zero          26.0    17.0     43.0  2.5  39.5
 10  Get Off Kong!       26.0    16.5     42.5  -1.0 40.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/21/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 0.2500  0 1   0    1
Bowker, John OF SF       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.0000  0 0   0    0
DeWitt, Blake 3B LA      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.2500  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.2000  0 0   0    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.2000  0 2   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.2500  0 1   1    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL    0.5000  0 1   1    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (7/21/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL      0.00  0 0   0 0.00
McClung, Seth RP MIL       3.60  5 0   0 1.40