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

Up:

• P John Maine
• P Joe Blanton
• 3B Chipper Jones
• OF Chase Headley

Down:

• OF Gregor Blanco
• OF Steve Pearce
• P Matt Lindstrom
• P Carlos Villanueva

Move:

• 3B Casey Blake to Utility
• U Jody Gerut to OF

Casey Blake hit a two-run homer and Manny Ramirez doubled home two more during a six-run third inning that carried Derek Lowe and the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night. Blake homered to center off Kyle Kendrick for a 6-0 lead. Blake has three homers and seven RBI in 16 games since joining Los Angeles in a trade with Cleveland. Blake had two hits Monday, but came into the game with just one hit — a homer — in his previous 16 plate appearances. Blake has always been a streaky hitter, but he is doing a good job of driving in runs for the Dodgers. Consider him a viable low-end Fantasy option at this time. (CBS Sports)

Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart each hit home runs and Dave Bush pitched a five-hitter over 6 1/3 innings to help the Milwaukee Brewers sweep the four-game series against the Washington Nationals with a 7-1 victory Monday. Hart is a streaky outfielder on the right side of things at the plate right now. Consider him a solid option in any league at this point, especially as a regular in a potentially potent lineup. (CBS Sports)

After coming up empty with the bases loaded in the fourth inning Monday, Steve Pearce’s two-run single in the ninth inning capped the Pirates’ comeback in a 7-5 win over the Mets. Down 5-1 after six innings, the Pirates fought back against the Mets’ highly flammable bullpen. Ryan Doumit tied the game in the ninth inning with an RBI single and Pearce plated two runs with a sharp single to left-center field before John Grabow closed out the victory with a scoreless frame that included Mets skipper Jerry Manuel getting tossed. Pearce hasn’t been doing much at the plate until very recently, but he is an everyday starting outfielder for the Pirates at this point. Consider him a sleeper in deeper formats, especially NL-only and long-term keeper leagues. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Phillies OF Shane Victorino had two singles and one run in four at-bats Monday against the Dodgers. He also walked once. Victorino has four multi-hit games in his last seven outings and is 9-for-27 (.333) with one homer, four RBI and six walks in that span. What has gotten into Victorino? He had two home runs right before the All-Star break and has nine already afterward. He had underperfomed power-wise before this recent hot streak, but he again looks like a 15-40 candidate. (CBS Sports)

In today’s MLB Front Office, their Trendspotting feature highlighted the two seasons of Victorino:

Shane Victorino: For the Phillies outfielder, this has been a tale of two seasons. April OPS: 583; May OPS: 855; June OPS: 630; July OPS: 1000. He hit no homers in April and June but still has 11 on the season. His career numbers outline a similar pattern - April and June are bad months, with a good May squeezed in between. If his career patterns continue, you can expect a better August, followed by a mediocre September. He’s shown a little more power than last year, and had he not missed some time to injury he would be a lock for 20/30. Victorino is only 28 and he should continue to develop - he may never go in the first rounds but he is quickly becoming a guy who is productive across the board.

Blake DeWitt is hitting .316/.385/.474 for Triple-A Las Vegas, but more importantly is doing it while logging most of his time at second base. If DeWitt can handle the position defensively (a big “if”), then he could be a prime candidate to take over for Jeff Kent in 2009. He may not have the bat to be an asset as a corner infielder, but at second base, DeWitt could be above average offensively. (Rotoworld)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  45.0    38.0     83.0  1.5  0.0
 2   X-Men               25.5    39.0     64.5  3.5  18.5
 3   Stanimals           27.0    34.0     61.0  1.0  22.0
 4   Shoeless Jews       25.5    33.0     58.5  -2.5 24.5
 5   The Pi Train        27.5    27.0     54.5  -3.0 28.5
 6   Goodfellas          35.0    19.0     54.0  0.0  29.0
 7   Uncle Lester        13.0    38.0     51.0  0.0  32.0
 8   Cover Zero          27.0    16.0     43.0  0.5  40.0
 9   Misogynistic Padres 25.5    17.0     42.5  -0.5 40.5
 10  Get Off Kong!       24.0    14.0     38.0  -0.5 45.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/11/08)
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA        0.4000  1 1   2    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    0.5000  0 2   1    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD         0.0000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.5000  1 1   2    1
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Moss, Brandon OF PIT      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Pearce, Steve RF PIT      0.5000  0 0   2    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.4000  0 1   0    2
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.5000  0 1   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/11/08)
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Lindstrom, Matt RP FLA      0.00  1 0   0 3.00