Atomic RoadRunners

Clayton Kershaw surrendered five runs over 4 2/3 innings to take the loss to the Phillies in his Game 1 start on Thursday. Kershaw started the game with four scoreless innings, but he fatigued quickly. If manager Joe Torre had it to do over again, he would have yanked the left-hander after Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run homer with none out in the fifth. Kershaw went on to walk the pitcher, and while he got two outs from there, he walked Chase Utley and gave up a two-run double to Ryan Howard before being pulled. Kershaw walked five in all and threw three wild pitches. (Rotoworld)

Clayton Kershaw will start Game 1 of the NLCS against the Phillies. Kershaw was slated to start Game 5 of the NLDS had it been necessary, so this announcement comes as no great surprise. It should be noted that the 21-year-old lefty has struggled against the Phillies, going 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA against them in 2009 and 0-3 with a 6.64 ERA in his career. (Rotoworld)

Christian Guzman, scheduled to have surgery on his right shoulder on Thursday, is likely shifting to second base in 2010. No word yet on when he’ll be ready for baseball activities, but chances are that Guzman will be back in time for spring training. As for the switch from shortstop to second, the Nationals reportedly believe Guzman no longer has the range to play short. This would appear to open an opportunity for Ian Desmond, who posted an 879 OPS with four homers in an 82 at-bat audition down the stretch this season. (Rotoworld)

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that according to GM Doug Melvin and assistant Gord Ash, Casey McGehee “has taken the bull by the horns” with regard to the starting third base job in 2010. Melvin said that moving Mat Gamel to the outfield is not likely, suggesting that Gamel could potentially be dealt for a pitcher this offseason. McGehee hit .301 with 16 homers and 66 RBI in 355 at-bats this season and should be a cheap source of infield production in next year’s drafts. (Rotoworld)

Sean West was reportedly involved in a fight and nearly got into another fight on Saturday night. This info comes courtesy of a limo driver by the name of Big Penny, who provided details of West’s alleged scuffles outside a club and adventures in a limousine with five women. It’s doubtful that the incident was serious enough for the Marlins to consider discipline, but if nothing else it’s an entertaining non-playoff story on the first day of the postseason. (Rotoworld)

Asked if he was going to trade Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun, general manager Doug Melvin said on Wednesday, “I don’t see that happening.” No real surprise here. The Brewers should be doing everything in their power to lock up Fielder long-term, and Braun’s eight-year, $45 million deal through 2015 remains a huge bargain for Milwaukee. (Rotoworld)

Batting Average:

Qualifiers:

• .299 – Prince Fielder*
• .285 – Brad Hawpe*
• .284 – Ryan Theriot*
• .280 – Casey Blake*
• .276 – Brandon Phillips*
• .267 – Adam Dunn*
• .264 – Chipper Jones*
• .262 – Chase Headley
• .252 – Emilio Bonifacio*

Non-Qualifiers:

• .321 – Josh Thole*
• .313 – Matt Diaz
• .292 – Brendan Ryan
• .282 – Fernando Tatis*
• .280 – Ian Desmond
• .279 – Jose Reyes*
• .279 – Ryan Roberts
• .271 – Rusty Ryal
• .271 – John Baker
• .267 – Drew Stubbs
• .266 – Delwyn Young

Home Runs:

• 46 – Prince Fielder* (2nd in NL)
• 38 – Adam Dunn*
• 23 – Brad Hawpe*
• 20 – Brandon Phillips*
• 18 – Casey Blake*
• 18 – Chipper Jones*
• 16 – Chris Iannetta
• 13 – Matt Diaz
• 12 – Chase Headley
• 11 – Jake Fox*

Runs:

• 103 – Prince Fielder*
• 84 – Casey Blake*
• 82 – Brad Hawpe*
• 81 – Adam Dunn*
• 81 – Ryan Theriot*
• 80 – Chipper Jones*
• 78 – Brandon Phillips*
• 72 – Emilio Bonifacio*
• 62 – Chase Headley
• 59 – John Baker

Runs Batted In:

• 141 – Prince Fielder* (T-1st in NL)
• 105 – Adam Dunn*
• 98 – Brandon Phillips*
• 86 – Brad Hawpe*
• 79 – Casey Blake*
• 71 – Chipper Jones*
• 64 – Chase Headley
• 58 – Matt Diaz
• 54 – Ryan Theriot*
• 52 – Chris Iannetta

Steals:

• 25 – Brandon Phillips*
• 21 – Ryan Theriot*
• 21 – Emilio Bonifacio*
• 14 – Angel Pagan
• 14 – Brendan Ryan
• 12 – Matt Diaz
• 11 – Willie Harris*
• 11 – Jose Reyes*
• 10 – Chase Headley
• 10 – Drew Stubbs

Also:

• Angel Pagan was 4th in Triples with 11 (the leader had 13).
• Ryan Theriot was tied for 6th in Caught-Stealing with 10.
• Adam Dunn was 2nd in Walks with 116, while Prince Fielder was 4th with 110 and Chipper Jones was 5th with 101.
• Prince Fielder was 2nd in SLG (.602), OPS (1.014), total bases (356) and total plate appearances (719), and was 5th in OBP (.412).
• Adam Dunn was 2nd in number of Pitches Seen (2893), while Prince Fielder was 6th (2804).
• Adam Dunn was 3rd in pitches per plate appearance (4.33), while Casey Blake was 4th (4.31) and Brad Hawpe was 7th (4.24).
• Matt Diaz was tied for 4th in HBP with 13. Chris Iannetta was tied for 9th with 11.

* – Not with Atomic Roadrunners for entire season.

Wins:

• 15 – Josh Johnson
• 15 – Tim Lincecum* (2009 Cy Young Winner)
• 12 – Randy Wells
• 11 – Johnny Cueto*
• 9 – Max Scherzer*
• 8 – Clayton Kershaw*
• 8 – Sean West
• 7 – Todd Wellemeyer*
• 7 – Kenshin Kawakami*

ERA:

• 2.48 – Tim Lincecum* (2nd in NL)
• 2.79 – Clayton Kershaw* (5th in NL)
• 3.05 – Randy Wells
• 3.23 – Josh Johnson
• 4.12 – Max Scherzer
• 4.55 – Johnny Cueto

WHIP:

• 1.05 – Tim Lincecum* (4th in NL)
• 1.16 – Josh Johnson
• 1.23 – Clayton Kershaw*
• 1.28 – Randy Wells
• 1.34 – Max Scherzer*
• 1.36 – Johnny Cueto*

Strikeouts:

• 261 – Tim Lincecum* (Led NL)
• 191 – Josh Johnson
• 185 – Clayton Kershaw*
• 174 – Max Scherzer*
• 132 – Johnny Cueto*
• 105 – Chad Gaudin*
• 105 – Kenshin Kawakami*
• 104 – Randy Wells

Saves:

• 38 – Brian Wilson* (T-3rd in NL)
• 15 – Matt Lindstrom*
• 10 – Mike Gonzalez
• 9 – Juan Gutierrez*
• 3 – Kyle McClellan*
• 2 – Jon Rauch*
• 2 – Dan Meyer*

Also:

• Tim Lincecum was 3rd (225.1) and Josh Johnson was 13th (209)  in Innings Pitched.
• Tim Lincecum was tied for 1st in Complete Games (4), while Josh Johnson had 2.
• Mike Gonzalez and Brian Wilson were both tied for 2nd with 7 blown saves.
• Mike Gonzalez was 3rd in Games Pitched with 80.
• Johnny Cueto was 2nd in HBP’s with 14, while Max Scherzer was tied for 5th with 10.
• Randy Wells and Todd Wellemeyer were tied at 12th for inducing GIDP’s with 20.

* – Did not spend entire season with Atomic Roadrunners

Clayton Kershaw struck out 10 batters over six scoreless frames Saturday as the Dodgers clinched the NL West with a 5-0 victory over the Rockies. Kershaw was fantastic, allowing just three hits while lowering his ERA from 2.89 to 2.79. He was left with a no-decision, but still finishes the regular season with an 8-8 record and 1.23 WHIP. Kershaw is going to play a crucial role in the playoffs, especially against the Cardinals, who have struggled against lefties. It’s manager Joe Torre’s second straight NL West title. (Rotoworld)

Angel Pagan went 4-for-4 with two runs scored in the Mets’ 4-0 win over the Astros on Sunday. Pagan doubled twice, tripled, and singled in the contest. He completes the season with a .306 average, 22 doubles, 11 triples, and six homers in in just 343 at-bats. With all the problems the Mets had this season, Pagan was one of the few bright spots and could well return as a starter in 2010. (Rotoworld)

Josh Johnson surrendered five runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Phillies on Sunday but did not factor into the decision of a 7-6 Marlins’ loss on Sunday. Johnson struck out five and walked one, but he did yield seven hits. It was a disappointing outing from Johnson, with Jayson Werth being the only Phillies’ regular in the lineup. Still, the young right-hander had a superb campaign with a 15-5 record, 3.23 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 195 strikeouts. (Rotoworld)

Prince Fielder went 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBI in a 9-7 win over the Cardinals in 10 innings on Sunday. Fielder hit an RBI single in addition to a pair of solo homers. He finished second in the majors with 46 homers and tied Albert Pujols for the major league lead in RBI with 141. Fielder will deservedly finish in the Top 5 in National League MVP voting, and may well finish second. (Rotoworld)