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

Brett Myers (10-13, 4.55 ERA) was officially named the starter for Game 2 of the division championship series against Milwaukee on Thursday. Jamie Moyer (16-7, 3.71) will pitch Game 3 on the road Saturday. Cole Hamels is starting the opener Wednesday. Game 4 will go to either Kyle Kendrick or Hamel on three-day’s rest. Hamels is a top 10 starting pitcher in our initial rankings for 2009. Myers is 33rd, while Moyer is 87th and Kendrick is not in the top 150 at this point. (CBS Sports)

Giants GM Brian Sabean indicated Monday that he heads into the offseason looked at Pablo Sandoval as his first baseman, Emmanuel Burriss as his shortstop and Fred Lewis as his left field. There’s going to have to be some flexibility there, unless the Giants want to compete for having the league’s worst offense again. If those three are all starters, third base would be the only place the Giants can upgrade, and while Adrian Beltre would help, he’s not the kind of player that’s going to get them over the hump. Sabean added that he sees both Eugenio Velez and Nate Schierholtz on next year’s team, perhaps as backups. Velez stands to compete with Kevin Frandsen for the starting job at second. Rich Aurilia could be re-signed to help out as a part-timer, but Omar Vizquel will not be returning. (Rotoworld)

The Miami Herald reports that Kevin Gregg “won’t return” to the Marlins in 2009 despite being arbitration eligible. Gregg struggled mightily at the end of the season while dealing with a knee injury and the Marlins have Matt Lindstrom set to take over as closer. (Rotoworld)

Mets SP John Maine, who missed much of the second half with a bone spur in his right shoulder, doesn’t think he should have any trouble returning next season. “It’s a simple surgery. No cutting. No attaching anything,” said Maine, out since Aug. 23. “I’ll be 100 percent by spring training.” Maine’s surgery isn’t considered invasive, but bone spurs tend to develop when you have weakness in joints and ligaments, which could lead to more serious injuries. We won’t rule out Maine for being an ace for 2009, but you have to be wary at this point. (CBS Sports)

Maine underwent arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove a lesion from the back of his right shoulder socket. It doesn’t look like the Mets have any intention of trying to turn him into their closer next year. He went 10-8 with a 4.18 ERA this season. (Rotoworld)

As posted today on the WBRL message board from Alex Tava:

Roadrunners - Congrats on leaving us all in your dust like your namesake.

Tim Lincecum struck out 13 Dodgers while yielding just one run in seven innings on Sunday to improve his record to 18-5 on the season. Lincecum finishes with a 2.62 ERA to Johan Santana’s 2.53, but did lead the league with a whopping 265 strikeouts. Losing the ERA crown could hurt him in the CY Young voting, but picking Brandon Webb’s 22-7, 3.30 ERA season would still be a big mistake. Johan Santana ended with a better ERA, RA, and more innings pitched than both of them, but he’ll have to overcome a 16-7 record and the negative Mets’ stigma. Regardless of how the CY Young voting pans out, Lincecum’s future is enormously bright and there’s no better pitching property to own in keeper formats. Lincecum became the first pitcher in franchise history to lead the majors in strikeouts for a single season, saying: “Ahh, really? That’s cool.” The All-Star fanned 10 or more batters for the 11th time in his career and ninth time this year. That tied the San Francisco record he now shares with Jason Schmidt, who had nine games with 10 or more Ks in 2004. You have to worry about a pitcher as young as him pitching 227 innings, but he enters 2009 as a clear Fantasy ace and likely a top-five SP option. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Braves 3B Chipper Jones, who missed eight straight starts with a shoulder injury to end the season, walked in his only at-bat against Houston on Sunday and earned his first NL batting title, edging St. Louis’ Albert Pujols. Jones finished with a career-high .364 average; Pujols went 1-for-2 on Sunday to finish at .357. Jones’ average was the highest for an NL batting champ since Barry Bonds won with a .370 average in 2002. “It’s a tremendous feather in the cap, from an individual standpoint,” Jones said. “It’s one of those things that brings instant credibility. Hopefully, I already had it around the league. But once you have the label of batting champion, you’re respected and recognized by that.”

Jones drew a pinch-hit walk against Jose Valverde in the ninth inning Sunday and fell just shy of Mickey Mantle’s season record for a switch hitter. Mantle batted .365 in 1957. “When I was growing up, there were two guys that I wanted to be mentioned with, when I was done playing — Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray,” Jones said. “I’m starting to reach that kind of company now and I’m honored and humbled to be there.” This season, Jones hit 22 homers and drove in 75 runs after missing 14 games in July and August with a strained left hamstring. He’s been out of the starting lineup since Sept. 21 with right shoulder inflammation. “This year was not as good, because the run production and the power numbers aren’t there,” he said. That trend might continue as Jones increases in age. He’s getting to the point where injuries are the expectation, not the rule, placing him at the low end of No. 1 Fantasy 3B next season.

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 3-1 win over the Dodgers on Sunday for his 41st save of the season. Wilson’s season has to be one of the worst 40-save seasons ever, as he posted a 4.68 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Still, since he came at such a cheap price, both the Giants and fantasy leaguers were pleased enough with the performance. Despite mediocre ERA he’ll have plenty of job security next season. (Rotoworld)

Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom walked one in a scoreless ninth inning Sunday at the Mets to record his fifth save. He didn’t allow an earned run in his last 8 1/3 innings. Lindstrom overtook Kevin Gregg for ninth-inning duties late in the season, but he hasn’t had many opportunities to strut his stuff. Still, he projected as a possible closer of the future, so treat him as a No. 2 Fantasy option if he enters 2009 with that role.

John Maine will have surgery sometime this week week to fix a bone spur issue in his right shoulder. Manager Jerry Manuel told Maine on Thursday that he wasn’t going to pitch him again this season and the Mets made it official Sunday. “Once you decide he is not going to be on a postseason roster if we make it, then you might as well go ahead with the surgery,” GM Omar Minaya said. The procedure is considered fairly minor. Maine should be ready for spring training. (Rotoworld)

Jason Marquis will pitch out of the bullpen in the first round of the playoffs, the Chicago Tribune reports. With the Division Series being only five games, Cubs manager Lou Piniella won’t need all of his starters. (Rotowire)

Mets closer Luis Ayala didn’t get a chance to record a save Sunday against the Marlins, but he did pitch 1 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on two hits, recording one strikeout. Ayala finished the season as the closer, but he had a dreadful ERA and isn’t an ideal fit for the role. He will likely enter 2009 as just a middle reliever. (CBS Sports)

Shane Victorino had Sunday off after suffering a leg injury Saturday, but the Phillies said he’d be fine for the NLDS. Victorino was involved in a collision with Jimmy Rollins during the clincher on Saturday. (Rotoworld)