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

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  44.0    39.0     83.0  0.5  0.0
 2   X-Men               33.0    37.5     70.5  -2.5 12.5
 3   Shoeless Jews       29.0    35.0     64.0  3.5  19.0
 4   Stanimals           23.5    34.0     57.5  0.5  25.5
 5   Goodfellas          35.0    21.0     56.0  -0.5 27.0
 6   The Pi Train        25.0    27.0     52.0  -1.0 31.0
 7   Uncle Lester        12.0    38.0     50.0  0.5  33.0
 8   Cover Zero          27.0    16.5     43.5  -0.5 39.5
 9   Get Off Kong!       27.0    11.0     38.0  -2.0 45.0
 10  Misogynistic Padres 19.5    16.0     35.5  1.5  47.5

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/27/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Dickerson, Chris OF CIN  0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.0000  0 0   0    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.7500  0 1   1    1
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.2500  0 1   0    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.2500  0 1   1    1
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.7500  0 1   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.2500  0 0   0    0
Moss, Brandon OF PIT     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.2500  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.6000  0 1   0    0
Sandoval, Pablo C SF     0.3333  1 1   1    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA    0.7500  0 0   1    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.2500  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (8/27/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Ayala, Luis RP NYM         0.00  0 1   0 0.00
Johnson, Josh SP FLA       1.00  8 0   1 0.78
Lincecum, Tim SP SF        1.17 10 0   1 1.04
Marquis, Jason SP CHC      0.00  3 0   1 0.71
Wilson, Brian RP SF        0.00  0 1   0 0.75

Tim Lincecum held the Rockies to just one run in 7 2/3 innings on Wednesday night.He picked up his fifteenth win in the process, tying him for the second-most behind Brandon Webb. He also lowered his ERA to a league-leading 2.43, and his 210 strikeouts put him far atop the National League. It’s too bad the amazing season is being wasted in San Francisco. (Rotoworld)

Manager Jerry Manuel said Wednesday that Luis Ayala gives the Mets “the best chance right now to close the game out.” Ayala converted his first save chance Friday before blowing the lead Tuesday, but bounced back by closing out a 6-3 win Wednesday. “I like what he does,” Manuel said. With Billy Wagner’s (elbow) status still uncertain, Ayala is definitely worth owning in all leagues. Given another chance after blowing Tuesday’s lead, Luis Ayala closed out the Mets’ 6-3 win over the Phillies on Wednesday. Ayala has been awful all year, but the important thing is that he wasn’t being awful for the Mets. He’s currently the preferred choice of Jerry Manuel in the closer’s role, and he would have been out there tonight even if Aaron Heilman had been available. (Rotoworld)

Josh Johnson pitched a four-hitter to win his first major league complete game on Wednesday night. He allowed just one run, striking out eight and allowing just three walks on the evening. He’s 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA in nine starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. Johnson is now 4-0 on the year and has strung together five consecutive quality starts. This one came against a weak Braves lineup, but it was an impressive outing nonetheless. He’s still available in over half of all fantasy leagues, and he shouldn’t be. His next start is also against the Braves. (Rotoworld)

Cardinals optioned LHP Jaime Garcia to Triple-A Memphis. Garcia wasn’t a good bet at all to succeed as a reliever. He allowed seven runs in nine innings since being added to the St. Louis pen on Aug. 1. Garcia allowed three runs in one inning of relief Tuesday against the Brewers. The Cardinals want him to be a starter, so he’ll head back to the minors and join the rotation for the final part of the season. “He needs to go back and pitch some,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s a starting pitcher, he’s not really a left-handed reliever.” La Russa went on to say that Garcia may not return to the Cards this year, even when rosters expand next month. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Dodgers recalled third baseman Blake DeWitt from Triple-A Las Vegas. With a .255/.306/.445 line and 12 RBI in 30 games since being acquired, Casey Blake hasn’t been the upgrade the Dodgers hoped he’d be. DeWitt has 11 hits and two homers in his last four games, so the team will probably see if he can give the lineup an immediate spark against right-handers. Blake will still play against lefties and could resume regular duty if DeWitt’s hot streak doesn’t hold up. (Rotoworld)

Jason Marquis shutout the Pirates for seven innings to pick up his ninth win of the season on Wednesday. Marquis allowed just five hits, striking out three without issuing a walk. The solid outing lowers his ERA to 4.52 on the season, but he’s still sporting a troubling 77/52 K/BB ratio. Of the 18 non-strikeout outs he recorded, 11 were on the ground. This is about as good a game as Marquis can pitch, and he should remain in the rotation going forward. Don’t count on him to pitch this well consistently, however. He’ll take it to Houston in his next start. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

San Diego OF Jody Gerut singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the San Diego Padres denied Randy Johnson his 295th career win with a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Gerut, who had three hits in the game also hit a two-run game-winning homer on Monday. He went 3-for-4 and added a triple and a run scored. Jody Gerut’s teammate, Scott Hairston, is likely headed to the disabled list with a broken left thumb, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Gerut had been platooning with Hairston in center field despite clearly outperforming Hairston, especially recently. Hairston’s injury should open up more playing time. Gerut has been hitting well of late and is batting .297 for the season. He’s got hits in five straight games with five RBI. Consider him a solid option in deeper leagues, especially NL-only formats down the stretch. The Padres need guys who are productive at the plate, so Gerut will get regular at-bats in their outfield. (Rotowire)

Mark Teixeira went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Angels’ loss to the A’s on Wednesday. Teixeira’s RBI on Wednesday gives him 100 for the season, the fifth consecutive year he has reached that plateau. (Rotowire)

Chris Iannetta went 3-for-4 and scored the Rockies lone run against the Giants and Tim Lincecum on Wednesday night. Ianetta is quietly having a pretty good year for the Rockies as he is hitting .275 with an on-base percentage over .380 in 258 atbats. (Rotowire)

Brian Wilson pitched 1.1 innings and picked up his 36th save of the year against the Rockies on Wednesday night. Wilson just proves that you really can never be sure about where the saves for your fantasy team are going to come from. Good teams or bad teams are a general indicator, but Wilson has been a steal this year. (Rotowire)

Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants avoided a three-game sweep with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. After Molina’s one-out homer off Livan Hernandez tied the game at 1, Sandoval connected for his first major league homer with a drive just inside the left-field foul pole — and that was it for Hernandez (1-3). It marked just the second time this year San Francisco has hit consecutive homers. Molina and Aaron Rowand did it on May 23 at Florida. Sandoval has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games and is hitting .372 since his recall. He is seeing a decent amount of starts at first base and hitting in the middle of the Giants lineup. We are not sure if this hot streak will last, but you might as well use him in NL-only leagues since he is catcher-eligible. (CBS Sports)

Mets SS Jose Reyes amassed three more hits on Wednesday night in a win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Reyes went 3-for-5 with a run scored. He’s hitting .306. Reyes has hits in seven straight games and has four multi-hit efforts in that grouping. Reyes continues to keep his batting average above .300 and continues to be a must-start at a weak Fantasy position. (CBS Sports)

Dodgers 3B Casey Blake had a solo home run off Nationals SP Tim Redding in the second inning Wednesday and later added a RBI single in the eighth during a 5-4 loss. Blake, who also walked once, homered and had a RBI for the first time since Aug. 15. Blake has been kind of hit or miss at the plate in August, but he has five homers and 14 RBI. He is still finding ways to produce. Consider him a viable low-end Fantasy corner infielder. (CBS Sports)

Brandon Webb, who battled soreness in his rib cage all weekend after getting hit by a liner Thursday, didn’t fare well in his next trip to the mound Tuesday at San Diego. In his first bid for his 20th win, Webb had one of his worst starts of the year Tuesday, giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Padres. Webb took his first loss in two months and fifth overall. He hadn’t allowed an earned run in his two previous starts versus the Padres, both of which were victories. No telling if the soreness affected Webb’s pitching, but the Diamondbacks didn’t consider it serious at last check. He looks like the favorite for NL Cy Young, so he remains a must-start in Fantasy, obviously. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)