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

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Victorino, Shane   .250  0    0    2     0

All things being equal, Phillies starter Brett Myers is glad they are facing the Rays in the World Series, as SportsbyBrooks explains:

Most players have that stock answer ready when you ask them “so, who would you rather play in the next round of the playoffs?” It’s usually something along the lines of “we’ll take either team, we’re confident either way,” yadda yadda. Well, it seems nobody asked Brett Myers this question when the Phillies won the NLCS, because he definitely had a real opinion.

In an astonishingly revealing interview published today, Myers says that he really, really didn’t want to play the Red Sox in the World Series, and if they did, he was going to ask Charlie Manuel if it was OK that he not pitch at Fenway Park. You see, Boston is where Myers had his little domestic violence dust-up a couple of years ago, and the whole experience still has him shaken up. It’s just probably better not to announce it to the world, there, Brett. I’m sure opposing fans everywhere are going to take it easy on you from now on.

USA TODAY’s national baseball writer Bob Nightengale tries to paint Myers as a rough-around-the-edges guy who quietly does a lot for the community and all that. But it’s Myers who brings some of his own past transgressions into the spotlight:

“I know there are people out there that think I’m a jerk. There are people out there who think I’m a wife-beater. That will never change…But you know what, I really don’t care what people think about me. If people don’t like me, they can deal with it. This is who I am.”

If anything, he should’ve just stopped there. But no, it soon became weepy time:

Myers lowers his head. He blinks away the wetness in his eyes and speaks almost in a whisper. “I just wish people took time to know me before they make judgments,” Myers says. “That’s all I ask. They think I’m this rude guy who doesn’t appreciate what I got. If only they knew.”

Don’t you just want to give him a big hug? He already claims that he had to get security for his wife in Los Angeles during the last series, and he was frightened at the prospects about having to go back to Boston with his wife and kids:

But he couldn’t escape the fear of the Phillies’ possible World Series opponent. “I did not want to play Boston,” says Myers, 28. “If Boston had beat Tampa, I would have gone to (manager) Charlie (Manuel) and told him, ‘I don’t want to pitch in Boston.’

“I don’t ever want to pitch in Boston again.”

You listening, Theo Epstein? Just don’t want you to be embarrassed when he becomes a free agent and you’re thinking about getting in touch with him.

Myers does recount the incident in 2006 that ended with him being arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife, Kim. He freely admits to being drunk and somewhat disorderly, but both parties claim guilt for what actually happened that night:

“They say I dragged my wife by her hair,” Myers says. “Never happened.

“They say I kicked her and threw her around like a rag doll. Never happened.

“I never did anything to her. There was nothing on her face. I was actually trying to protect her and get her to her room. She didn’t want to go, and things got carried away.

“When you’re both heavily intoxicated, that stuff does stuff to you you’re not supposed to do.”

I wonder if all of this would’ve come out if the Phillies were playing the Red Sox. Would Myers make it public that he was refusing to pitch in Boston? How would Charlie Manuel have handled that info? Unfortunately, this World Series is more interesting for the things that could have been, rather than what’s actually happened.

Joe Blanton pitched two-run ball for six-plus innings and homered Sunday to earn a win in Game 4 of the World Series. Blanton lined one to left off Edwin Jackson to become the first pitcher to homer in a World Series game since Ken Holtzman in 1974. He issued two walks, recorded seven strikeouts and, at the plate, even contributed a home run. “I just close my eyes and swing hard in case I make contact,” said Blanton, who thought he hadn’t homered since high school. “Better to be lucky than good, I guess.” The Phillies have won all three of his postseason starts, with Blanton compiling a 3.18 ERA in the process. He hasn’t lost in 16 regular and postseason starts for Philadelphia. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Victorino, Shane   .000  0    0    0     0

Player             ERA   WHIP   W   SV   K
------------------------------------------
Blanton, Joe       3.00  1.000  1    0   7

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Victorino, Shane   .000  0    0    0     0

Brett Myers took the loss in Game 2, giving up three earned runs (four total) off seven hits and three walks while striking out two against Tampa Bay. It was an OK performance by Myers, who was hit early but settled down after the first two innings. He’s scheduled to pitch Game 6 if necessary. Despite struggling in his last few starts, Myers had a 7-4 record and 3.06 ERA in the second half. He had a tough time transitioning from the bullpen back to the rotation this season and even spent some time in the minors, but when he came around, he came around. Draft him as a No. 3 Fantasy SP next season. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Actually, Myers wasn’t that bad.  As John Perrotto points out in today’s Baseball Prospectus:

The Rays did not exactly smack losing pitcher Brett Myers around on their way to a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning. All of the Rays’ runs came on outs, including two in the first inning when consecutive grounders by Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria produced runs. B.J. Upton hit an RBI single in the second, Dioner Navarro scoring in front of Rico Baldelli’s being thrown out at the plate by right fielder Jayson Werth. Jason Bartlett’s squeeze bunt in the fourth made it 4-0. That was quite a change for the Rays, as they have slugged their way through October with 23 home runs in 13 games. “We can play long ball, small ball, any kind of ball you want,” Upton said. “It’s the World Series. You just try to score runs any which way you can. Do whatever you have to do to win ballgames.”

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Victorino, Shane   .500  0    0    0     0

Player             ERA   WHIP   W   SV   K
------------------------------------------
Myers, Brett       3.86  1.429  0    0   2

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Coste, Chris       .000  0    0    0     0
Victorino, Shane   .500  1    0    0     0

(From left, Shane Victorino, Brett Myers, Joe Blanton, Chris Coste) The World Series begins today in Tampa Bay with the Phillies facing the Rays. Brett Myers will be starting Game Two, and Joe Blanton may start Game Four, unless the Phillies need Cole Hamels to pitch on short rest. Victorino will start in center field, and bat either second or seventh, depending on who’s pitching. Coste hasn’t seen much action in the playoffs thus far, sitting to former Roadrunner Carlos Ruiz.

Update: Chris Coste will be the Phillies’ DH for Game 1 against the Rays, the Philly Inquirer reports. Coste will probably only get this start. The Phillies are facing lefty Scott Kazmir, but that’s the only lefty slated to start for the Rays at home. (Rotowire)

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Blake, Casey       .250  0    0    0     0
DeWitt, Blake      .000  0    0    0     0
Victorino, Shane   .500  0    0    0     0

Joe Blanton was not too sharp in his Game 4 start against Los Angeles, yielding three runs off seven hits and four walks while striking out four. While the Phillies were still able to muster a win once Blanton exited, you have to wonder whether they’d throw him out for a start if they make the World Series or if they’d opt to go to a three-man rotation. (Rotowire)

Shane Victorino belted a two-run homer for Philadelphia in the eighth inning to tie Game 4 up in what was eventually a Phillies win. Victorino now has a league-high 11 postseason RBI. Regardless of where Charlie Manuel places him in the lineup, he’s swinging one of the most dangerous bats at the moment. (Rotowire)

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Blake, Casey       .400  1    1    1     0
DeWitt, Blake      .000  0    0    0     0
Victorino, Shane   .333  1    1    2     0

Player             ERA   WHIP   W   SV   K
------------------------------------------
Blanton, Joe       5.40  2.200  0    0   4

Joe Blanton will start Game 4 for the Phillies on Monday, the Times of Trenton reports. This is not a surprise, as his start would have only been skipped in favor of Cole Hamels on short rest had the Phillies been down in the series. With a 2-0 lead entering Sunday, they’ll remain in command of the series regardless of the Game 3 outcome. (Rotowire)

Player             AVG   R   HR   RBI   SB
------------------------------------------
Blake, Casey       .333  1    0    1     0
Coste, Chris      1.000  0    0    0     0
DeWitt, Blake      .333  0    0    3     0
Victorino, Shane   .000  0    0    0     0