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

Tim Lincecum suffered a knee bruise as a result of the Brad Ausmus comebacker that knocked him out of Tuesday’s game. Lincecum tried to avoid the liner off the bat of Brad Ausmus, but it hit him in the side of the knee and he fell to the ground. He limped off the field before being replaced by Keiichi Yabu. He had allowed just one earned run 4 1/3 innings before leaving X-rays taken after the game revealed no fracture, and Lincecum was reportedly walking just fine after returning to the stadium later in the game. It won’t be known if he’ll make his next start until the team sees how he feel in the next few days. (Rotoworld)

Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer as the Brewers defeated the Padres on Wednesday night. Fielder’s homer came in the bottom of the fourth with the game locked in a 1-1 tie. It was Fielder’s 27th on the season, and fifth in the month of August. Coincidentally, the Brewers are 7-0 since Fielder shoved Manny Parra back on August 4. (Rotoworld)

Chris Iannetta homered for the 14th time this season and fifth since the All-Star break on Tuesday. However, he is 3-for-23 (.130) in August and he has evenly split the Rockies’ last 12 starts with Yorvit Torrealba. Iannetta has shown very good power this season with a homer every 16.1 at-bats. If he can improve his batting average and his defensive ability, he could grow into a true everyday catcher with the ability to hit 25-30 home runs. (Rotowire)

Shane Victorino left Tuesday night’s game due to stiffness in his lower back. He left after batting in the top half of the seventh inning. The severity is unknown. So Taguchi replaced Victorino in the game, with Jayson Werth sliding over to center field. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Victorino had gone on a major power surge since the All-Star break, so hopefully he doesn’t need multiple days off because of this back stiffness. As a 15-40 candidate, he’s a No. 2 Fantasy OF. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Arizona closer Brandon Lyon pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 30 chances on Tuesday night in a win over the Rockies. He had one strikeout. Treat Lyon as a No. 2 Fantasy closer as he has to continually look over his shoulder with Jon Rauch now on the roster. Still, pitching for a contending team, he figures to get plenty of save opportunities down the stretch if he keeps the job. (CBS Sports)

Tuesday night’s Cubs/Braves game has been postponed due to rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, with Jason Marquis and Rich Harden going for the Cubs and Charlie Morton and Jorge Campillo set to pitch for the Braves. Marquis was going to be skipped in the rotation this week but will now get a start. Atlanta rookie right-hander Charlie Morton is scheduled to face Jason Marquis in the opener. Morton was supposed to start Tuesday but will now face the Cubs on Wednesday. That shouldn’t change your Fantasy plans if you already have him starting this week. Morton has a 1.29 ERA in two starts but a 5.70 mark on the season. Still, the prospect’s last two starts might indicate at least a minor breakthrough, so take a flier on him now in NL-only leagues.(Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

John Maine (strained rotator cuff) is slated to be activated off the disabled list and start against Washington Wednesday, the NY News reports. To clear room for Maine, the Mets optioned Carlos Muniz to Triple-A New Orleans. Brian Stokes will work out of the bullpen, and may get an occasional start down the stretch to give extra rest to the five regular starters. Maine threw a 61-pitch simulated game Friday and has had no issues since then, paving the way for his activation. Maine is a nice two-start sleeper for Fantasy Week 21 (Aug. 18-24) at this point. Watch his return start before considering him, though. He had been struggling with high pitch counts, looking like a five-inning pitcher, which is real bad news on a team struggling mightily in the bullpen. Don’t worry too much about Maine becoming a reliever, though, because he has the potential to be one of the Mets true aces down the stretch. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Reds 2B Brandon Phillips went 1-for-4 Tuesday night against the Pirates. Phillips hit his 18th home run of the season, a two-run shot, and also scored twice. Phillips is heating up and now has two homers in his last four games after homering just once since the All-Star Break prior to that. He can get streaky at times, but as one of the few 30-30 candidates at second base, he deserves to start in all leagues. (CBS Sports)

Mets SS Jose Reyes reached 40 stolen bases for the fourth straight year. Reyes is having a very good year, despite a slight dip in steals totals. Consider him a must-start shortstop in all Fantasy leagues and an MVP in Rotisserie formats. (CBS Sports)

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that John Bowker “might be playing himself out of the lineup.” Bowker has been starting regularly at first base since mid-June, but hasn’t homered since July 2 and is hitting .179 in 30 games since. The newspaper speculates that Travis Ishikawa could get an opportunity to replace him at first base after hitting .299/.377/.578 with 24 homers and 94 RBI in 112 games between Double-A and Triple-A. (Rotoworld)

Pittsburgh outfielder Brandon Moss, playing in his first game at PNC Park since being traded from the Red Sox, went 0-for-4 Tuesday against the Reds. Moss struck out twice and is batting .254. Moss is an outstanding addition in NL-only leagues at this point. There is pop in his bat and the rebuilding Pirates will give him a good long look down the stretch. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  45.0    39.0     84.0  1.0  0.0
 2   X-Men               26.5    39.0     65.5  1.0  18.5
 3   Stanimals           27.0    32.5     59.5  -1.5 24.5
 4   Shoeless Jews       26.0    33.0     59.0  0.5  25.0
 5   The Pi Train        28.0    27.5     55.5  1.0  28.5
 6   Goodfellas          35.0    19.0     54.0  0.0  30.0
 7   Uncle Lester        13.0    38.0     51.0  0.0  33.0
 8   Cover Zero          27.0    16.0     43.0  0.0  41.0
 9   Misogynistic Padres 23.5    17.0     40.5  -2.0 43.5
 10  Get Off Kong!       24.0    14.0     38.0  0.0  46.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/12/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA       0.3333  0 0   2    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.5000  0 1   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.3333  1 1   3    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.2500  1 1   1    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.3333  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.2500  1 1   1    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Moss, Brandon OF PIT     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.2500  1 2   2    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.4000  0 0   0    1
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA    0.2500  0 0   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 (8/12/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Lincecum, Tim SP SF        2.08  7 0   0 0.69
Lyon, Brandon RP ARI       0.00  1 1   0 0.00