Atomic RoadRunners

FantasyBaseballGeeks.com just ran their NL edition of “What We Learned in 2008” with a team-by-team rundown. I think this was based towards mixed-leagues, as it wasn’t that deep, but here are the takes on the 2008 Roadrunners:

NL East:

• Jose Reyes is the most exciting offensive player in fantasy when he is on and his slumps are becoming fewer as he matures.
• John Maine will be a bargain next year.
• Shane Victorino is a very useful fourth outfielder but shouldn’t be counted on for more.
• Brett Myers continue to baffle, but should be very useful next year.
• Josh Johnson is now the NL version of James Shields.
• Chipper Jones is a warrior but the show is closing.
• Lastings Milledge is still very raw but might turn into a decent fourth outfielder.

NL Central:

• My personal favorite fantasy story this year was “The-Riot” himself Ryan Theriot. Somehow he found a way to put up points with single after single. He will peck your opponents to death.
• Prince Fielder is not going to hit 50 homers every year, more like 35.
• Corey Hart is still underrated and showed off his 20/20 skills again this year with excellent RBI totals to go along with a .280 BA.
• Brandon Phillips is still an elite option to enjoy for years to come.

NL West:

• Brandon Webb is a Cy Young candidate every year but note carefully the innings toll and how he crawled to the finish line.
• Chris Iannetta finally got his average over .100 and showed some potential as a fantasy catcher.
• Chase Headley was still a little undercooked despite every expert demanding his promotion to the big leagues.
• Jody Gerut had a terrific year and showed why he was once a highly regarded young talent.
• Tim Lincecum is the new strikeout king and is the most dazzling young talent on the mound in quite a while. He is still young, but pitches like a veteran. He wants the ball bad and will go 7 innings; a rarity nowadays in this pitch count era.
• Brain Wilson had a great year as a closer and probably even his owners missed it. His ERA wasn’t pretty but he got the job done

In his fourth try, Brandon Webb finally got his 20th win Friday after hurling eight scoreless innings against the Reds. It still very nearly wasn’t enough. Aaron Harang might have matched him if not for his own error leading a run in the sixth. After Harang left a 1-0 game following the seventh, the Diamondbacks were able to supply two extremely important insurance runs in the eighth. They ended up needing them both, as Brandon Lyon was terrible again, and it took Chad Qualls striking out Jerry Hairston Jr. with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position to end the game. Webb gave up just five hits in his bounce-back performance. He was facing an awful offense, but he would have done well against any lineup tonight. (Rotoworld)

Handed a 3-0 lead to open the ninth, Brandon Lyon gave up two runs and four hits before being pulled from a save chance Friday against the Reds. It’s incredible that manager Bob Melvin gave Lyon another chance to blow a game after Wednesday’s debacle. His ERA has ballooned to 5.23. Lyon has given up at least a run in five of his last seven appearances. It’s hard to imagine he will keep the closer role much longer. Fortunately for Diamondbacks fans, his decision to play with fire didn’t burn the team tonight. “At that point, I had given (Lyon) enough rope, and I needed to go get him,” Melvin said. Lyon also blew a save in a wrenching loss at San Francisco on Wednesday, and Melvin hinted he may make a switch at closer. “Tomorrow, we’ll deal with some of the issues that we need to take care of,” Melvin said. Chad Qualls came in with two outs and the tying run on third and struck out Jerry Hairston Jr. to end the game. If this doesn’t get Lyon sent to a mop-up role, we honestly don’t know what will. Qualls would be the favorite for saves, but keep your eye on Tony Pena. (Rotoworld, Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Matt Lindstrom pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in Friday night’s 2-1 win over Washington. Since being named the closer to replace Kevin Gregg, Lindstrom is 3-for-3 without allowing a hit. Kevin Gregg pitched the seventh inning of Friday’s game. Lindstrom long projected as a closer and Gregg has blown nine saves this year, so perhaps the Marlins are just preempting the inevitable. If Lindstrom remains the closer, he could serve as a nice No. 2 Fantasy option down the stretch since he pitches for an above-.500 team. If you have a desperate need for saves, don’t cut Gregg just yet since this situation still seems a bit unsettled. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth inning and picked up his 38th save in Friday night’s win over the Padres. It wasn’t easy. Wilson gave up a single and walk with one out and put the tying run at the plate. But he got Adrian Gonzalez to fly out and struck out Kevin Kouzmanoff to end it. Wilson had blown his last two save opportunities. (Rotowire)

Nationals OF Lastings Milledge went 1-for-4 on Friday at Florida. He’s batting .154 (4-for-26) with one home run over his last six games. Milledge keeps making small bits of progress, but he still doesn’t have the consistency to make him a trustworthy option in mixed leagues. Treat the potential 20-20 man as a No. 5 Fantasy OF. (CBS Sports)

Chipper Jones’ back stiffened up before Friday’s rainout and he was scratched from a lineup that was never used. Jones is considered day-to-day. He’s still in a tight race with the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols for the NL batting title. Chipper is hitting .362 to Albert’s .361. (Rotoworld)

Chris Dickerson rejoined the starting lineup on Friday and went 2-for-3 with a walk. Dickerson was limited to pinch-hitting duties over the previous five days because of a sore left ankle. (Rotoworld)

Reds placed second baseman Brandon Phillips on the 60-day disabled list with a broken right index finger. In surgery yesterday, Phillips had two pins inserted into his broken right index finger. He will be evaluated in four to six weeks. The roster move clears a 40-man roster spot for Micah Owings. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Angels 1B Mark Teixeira, who had missed the last two games with an illness, returned to the lineup Friday against the Mariners. He went 0-for-4. Teixeira is having his usual monster second half and is clearly an elite Fantasy 1B. Start him in all leagues. (CBS Sports)

Steady rain forced the postponement of a key matchup between the NL wild card-leading Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Sunday. The first game starts at 1:35 p.m. and the nightcap at 7:35 p.m. Scheduled starters Cole Hamels (12-9) and Manny Parra (10-7) are expected to start Saturday. Dave Bush and Joe Blanton were scheduled to start Saturday, but will now likely pitch in one of the two games on Sunday. Blanton has pitched as many as six innings only once in his last six starts, allowing four earned runs in four. He’s a mediocre pitcher at best, but pitching for the Phillies allows him to win a few games here and there. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  42.0    37.5     79.5  0.0  0.0
 2   X-Men               31.0    39.0     70.0  0.5  9.5
 3   Shoeless Jews       32.0    33.0     65.0  -0.5 14.5
 4   Goodfellas          40.0    22.5     62.5  3.0  17.0
 5   Stanimals           25.0    37.0     62.0  4.0  17.5
 6   The Pi Train        25.0    27.5     52.5  0.0  27.0
 7   Uncle Lester        12.0    38.0     50.0  -1.0 29.5
 8   Cover Zero          26.0    15.0     41.0  -1.0 38.5
 9   Get Off Kong!       24.0    12.5     36.5  -1.5 43.0
 10  Misogynistic Padres 18.0    13.0     31.0  -3.5 48.5

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (9/12/08)
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA        0.0000  0 0   0    0
DeWitt, Blake 3B LA       0.0000  0 0   1    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Milledge, Lastings LF WAS 0.2500  0 0   0    0
Moss, Brandon OF PIT      0.2500  0 1   2    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Sandoval, Pablo C SF      0.4000  1 2   1    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (9/12/08)
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Lindstrom, Matt RP FLA      0.00  1 1   0 0.00
Lyon, Brandon RP ARI       27.00  1 0   0 6.00
Webb, Brandon SP ARI        0.00  2 0   1 0.88
Wilson, Brian RP SF         0.00  1 1   0 2.00