Atomic RoadRunners

Giants C Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored Friday against the Dodgers. He’s now batting .343 in 143 at-bats. Sandoval has shown he has plenty of offensive potential, but he won’t play enough games at catcher to retain eligibility there entering 2009. Accordingly, think of him as just a late-round sleeper in mixed leagues. (CBS Sports)

Angels 1B Mark Teixeira was 0-for-1 with a walk before leaving Friday’s game against the Rangers. According to The Sports Xchange, Teixeira has reached base safely in 48 of the 52 games he has played with the Angels, scored 39 runs and driven in 42. Teixeira’s monster numbers with the Angels probably have more to do with him historically playing well in the second half than anything else. He’s a free agent in the offseason, but no matter where he signs, he’ll enter 2009 as a top-three Fantasy 1B and a likely third-round draft pick. (CBS Sports)

Padres OF Chase Headley went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Friday against the Pirates. He has had a strikeout in 22 of the Padres’ last 23 games — divided evenly into two, 11-game streaks. He has 33 strikeouts during the run and a total of 102 strikeouts in 325 at-bats over 89 games this season. Projected over a full season, that’s 185 strikeouts. Headley is a future star and a solid sleeper in deeper leagues down the stretch. He’ll have to cut down on the strikeouts before he can truly emerge, especially since he didn’t whiff at quite this rate in the minors. He should no doubt have a starting job next season, so consider taking a late-round flier on him in Fantasy drafts. (CBS Sports)

The Sports Xchange notes that 1B Prince Fielder extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a double in the seventh inning Friday. The 16-game streak matches the longest by a Brewer this season. SS J.J. Hardy hit in 16 in a row from June 11 to July 4. Fielder’s hot finish gives you reason to consider him among the top five first basemen on Draft Day 2009, but he is a safer pick after those elite options are off the board. We saw picking him in the first or second round this year was a bit overrating of the young slugger. (CBS Sports)

Joe Blanton struck out two and gave up four runs — one earned — in six innings of work as the Phillies handed the Nationals their 100th loss of the year. The Phillies spotted Blanton a 7-1 lead entering the third, and the team went on to win 8-4, ensuring that it’d remain at least one game ahead of the Mets in the NL East. Though this was just Blanton’s fourth win in his 13 starts, he has been a great midseason acquisition for the Phillies, who went 9-4 when he was on the mound. He finished the season just short of 200 innings (197 2/3) with a 111/66 K/BB ratio in his 33 starts split between Oakland and Philadelphia. He’s under control for two more years, so he’ll be back in the middle of the rotation next season. (Rotoworld)

Giants closer Brian Wilson allowed three runs on three hits in one inning Friday against the Dodgers to blow his sixth save of the season. He did, however, record two strikeouts. Wilson has a 4.70 ERA, but his 40 saves go a long way to disguising it. In any case, he has good stuff and should improve as he grows into the closer’s role. Target him as a No. 2 Fantasy option in 2009. (CBS Sports)

Marlins RP Matt Lindstrom allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning Friday at the Mets, recording one strikeout. Lindstrom, serving as closer right now, hasn’t recorded a save since Sept. 13. 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. (CBS Sports)

Jason Motte and Chris Perez expect to compete for the closer role in St. Louis next spring, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. It’s very possible that the Cardinals will bring in a more established closer, and Ryan Franklin will probably also be in the mix. Still, Motte’s numbers so far in the majors may give him the inside track heading into spring training. (Rotowire)

Chipper Jones (shoulder) is hoping to start against the Astros on Saturday. Jones rode the pine Friday, marking the sixth straight game that the Braves’ slugger hasn’t been in the starting lineup, the Associated Press reports. Chipper took batting practice and played catch Friday. “I’m better,” Jones said. “I’m going to try to play.” He currently holds an eight-point lead over Albert Pujols for the NL batting title. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

Noah Lowry will undergo surgery Tuesday to remove a bone spur from his left elbow. It sounds like Lowry will avoid Tommy John surgery. The recovery time expected to be about six weeks. Looking forward, manager Bruce Bochy is hopeful that “”this surgery will clear up everything and give him peace of mind. … Hopefully, it’s the last step to getting him fully recovered and being at the point where we can count on him being in the rotation” next season. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

On Friday, Reds OF Chris Dickerson had a small piece of bone removed from his left ankle related to a stress fracture, an operation done by Reds medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek. Dickerson is expected to be ready for spring training. Dickerson was a nice rookie surprise and might have done enough to be considered a starter entering next season. Consider him a sleeper in deeper leagues on Draft Day 2009. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  44.0    37.5     81.5  -0.5 0.0
 2   X-Men               31.0    38.0     69.0  0.0  12.5
 3   Shoeless Jews       32.0    32.5     64.5  0.5  17.0
 4   Goodfellas          41.0    23.0     64.0  0.0  17.5
 5   Stanimals           23.5    37.0     60.5  -0.5 21.0
 6   The Pi Train        24.0    27.5     51.5  1.5  30.0
 7   Uncle Lester        12.0    38.0     50.0  0.0  31.5
 8   Cover Zero          26.0    16.0     42.0  -1.0 39.5
 9   Get Off Kong!       22.0    13.5     35.5  -1.5 46.0
 10  Misogynistic Padres 19.5    12.0     31.5  1.5  50.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (9/26/08)
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blake, Casey 3B LA        0.0000  0 0   0    0
DeWitt, Blake 3B LA       0.2000  0 1   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.2500  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.5000  0 1   1    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.2500  0 0   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Milledge, Lastings LF WAS 0.0000  0 0   0    0
Moss, Brandon OF PIT      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Sandoval, Pablo C SF      0.7500  0 1   1    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ANA     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.6667  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.2500  0 0   0    2

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (9/26/08)
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Ayala, Luis RP NYM           N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL        N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Johnson, Josh SP FLA         N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Lincecum, Tim SP SF          N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Lindstrom, Matt RP FLA      0.00  1 0   0 1.00
Marquis, Jason SP CHC        N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Myers, Brett SP PHI          N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Webb, Brandon SP ARI         N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Wellemeyer, Todd SP STL      N/A  0 0   0  N/A
Wilson, Brian RP SF        27.00  2 0   0 3.00