Atomic RoadRunners

Trades:

Trade 1:

• Atomic Roadrunners receives:  Reds SP Johnny Cueto
• Cover Zero receives: Nationals OF Adam Dunn

Trade 2:

• Atomic Roadrunners receives:
  • Diamondbacks SP Max Scherzer
  • Dodgers SP Clayton Kershaw
  • Cardinals 3B Prospect Brett Wallace
• Misogynistic Padres receives:
  • Braves 3B Chipper Jones
  • Reds 2B Brandon Phillips
  • Giants Closer Brian Wilson
  • Braves SP Kenshin Kawakami

FAAB Acquisitions:

• Jon Rauch, RP Diamondbacks ($0 bid, reserve)
• Alex Romero, OF Diamondbacks ($0 bid, active)

Up:

• CM Emilio Bonifacio
• RP Nick Masset
• OF Andres Torres (to DH)

Down:

• RP Matt Lindstrom
• SP Shairon Martis

Move:

• 2B Matt Downs (from DH – replaces Brandon Phillips)
• 3B Mat Gamel (from CM – replaces Chipper Jones)

Cut:

• SP Mat Latos (prospect)

Notes:

• RP Matt Lindstrom was placed on the 15-Day DL on June 25th with elbow inflammation.  Will be out at least six weeks
• SP Shairon Martis was optioned to AAA Columbus on June 28th
• SP Antonio Bastardo was placed on the 15-Day DL on June 30th with a left shoulder strain
• Jon Rauch was originally protected by Misogynistic Padres for 2009, and was released on May 12th.  He retains his contract and salary – signed through 2010 for $1.
• Former RoadRunner Chad Gaudin was selected by X-Men for $6.  I had bid $5 to re-acquire Gaudin after two stellar outings.
• Former RoadRunner Jake Fox was selected by X-Men for $11 due to his strong interleague performance.
• The first big AL Free Agent joined the NL.  In this case, Mark DeRosa was traded to the Cardinals on Thursday.  Bidding was as follows:
  • $70 Stanimals
  • $46 X-Men
  • $45 Atomic Roadrunners (max bid)
  • $43 Shoeless Jews
  • $33 Get Off Kong!
  • $25 Cover Zero

Bengie Molina homered and drove in three runs, Brian Wilson struck out the side for his seventh straight save, and the San Francisco Giants defeated the error-prone Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 on Wednesday. Wilson struck out the top of the Diamondbacks’ order — Felipe Lopez, Ryan Roberts and Justin Upton — to record his 16th save in 19 chances and lock up the victory for Barry Zito (3-6), who went five shaky innings. Wilson might not always have a 1-2-3 inning, but he has been among the top NL save leaders the last two seasons and has averaged a strikeout per inning. Wilson continues to pass as a viable Fantasy RP.

Giants closer Brian Wilson recorded a save Monday against the Nationals, putting out the fire after Washington had already scored three runs in the ninth inning. He struck out the only batter he faced. Wilson has struck out 19 batters in 17 innings this season and looks like a better all-around pitcher than the one who saved 41 games last year. He might get sporadic opportunities pitching for the Giants, but he’s a high-end No. 2 Fantasy closer. (CBS Sports)

Brian Wilson blew his second save of the year on Sunday by giving up a solo homer to Casey Blake, but then got the win when the Giants rallied in the subsequent inning. That Wilson worked two innings on Sunday isn’t especially unusual. He came into Friday’s game in the eighth inning and had an epic battle with Blake before striking him out on the 14th pitch, so the two are even over the series. (Rotowire)

Giants closer Brian Wilson came on to pitch the ninth in a scoreless game against the Rockies on Sunday. Wilson walked two but struck out two and didn’t allow a hit in a scoreless inning. His ERA lowered to 3.38 on the year as the Giants won the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. Wilson did not factor into the decision. Wilson has six saves for the Giants this season. He hasn’t been as lights out as he was last season but he continues to get opportunities and only has one blown save this season. Wilson is looking no worse than a high-end No. 2 Fantasy RP. (CBS Sports)

Brian Wilson allowed a run on two hits in 1.1 innings Wednesday, but still picked up his fifth save of the season. This was Wilson’s first time this season earning a save without earning a strikeout. The final score may have read 9-4, but he entered when it was 7-3 with two on, hence he earned the save. Wilson needed to work a four-out save during Wednesday’s 9-4 win against the Dodgers. The Giants were held scoreless until the eighth inning by Tim Lincecum. Juan Pierre hit a leadoff single and scored the Dodgers’ first run on Orlando Hudson’s broken-bat double. Lincecum left after walking Manny Ramirez to load the bases, and Los Angeles scored two runs with Jeremy Affeldt on the mound before Wilson got Casey Blake on a foul pop. Wilson gave up Pierre’s RBI double in the ninth, but got his fifth save in six chances. He allowed two hits and one run in 1 1/3 innings. (Rotwire, CBS Sports)

Brian Wilson struck out all three batters he faced to pick up his fourth save of the season Monday. This was encouraging after Wilson blew a save Sunday by allowing three runs to the Diamondbacks. He’s now pitched in three straight games, and he threw 32 pitches Sunday, so he may be unavailable Tuesday. He has a 3.72 ERA with a 12:3 K:BB ratio over 9.2 innings this season. (Rotowire)

Brian Wilson blew the save on Sunday, giving up three runs to the Diamondbacks, the final two on a Justin Upton laser that just barely cleared the fence. The rally against Wilson started with a Chad Tracy double, followed by Mark Reynolds’ RBI-single, before Upton tied the game. This is the first blown save of the year for Wilson, though his ERA jumped to 4.15 with the outing. Wilson was one of the best closers in baseball in 2008 and had been very solid so far in 2009 before blowing the save on Sunday. Hopefully this was an aberration and Wilson will bounce back with a strong Fantasy Week 4 (April 27-May 3). Keep thinking of him as a No. 1 Fantasy closer despite the blown save. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Update: New information from Sports by Brooks, of all places, sheds some light onto Wilson’s “off day” on the mound:

One of the knocks on modern professional athletes is that they’re too removed from the fans, that they live their lives in ivory towers unconcerned with the devotion and concerns of the common man. Recently, however, that’s begun to change. While mainstream journalists still love to pretend that social media is the exclusive domain of basement-dwelling dweebs, many athletes and celebrities have embraced things like blogs and Twitter in order to connect with their fans. Now, plebe and celebrity alike can look like dopes while hunched over their BlackBerries, punching in poorly-written updates on the minutiae of their daily lives.

One such athlete is San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson, who discovered the joy of Twitter last month and has been Tweetin’ strong ever since. While most of his updates are predictably banal (he likes linen pants! and Chuck Norris jokes!), a couple of updates from Saturday were pretty interesting indeed.

Over the weekend, the Giants were in Arizona for a three-game series against the Diamondbacks. After winning Saturday’s game 5-3, it’s completely understandable that some of the Giants would want to celebrate, even with a day game coming up Sunday. As Wilson said:

(Mobile web? Dude, you’re a pro athlete. Get a phone with a Twitter app.)

OK, fine, go get crazy (or Krayzee), you’ve earned it. But then, later, Wilson apparently decided to get into it with Scottsdale’s finest douchebags:

Hey, Brian? I’m not your boss or anything, but picking fights with wannabe MMA fighters at 3:18 in the morning before a day game maybe isn’t the best idea. Or, if you’re going to pick fights with wannabe MMA fighters at 3:18 in the morning, it’s best not to broadcast it to the nation. Just a thought.

Brian Wilson earned his third save Saturday with a scoreless ninth inning. Wilson gave up a one-out single, but got a strikeout and groundout to end it. He now has nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings this season and three walks. He allowed one hit in the ninth inning, striking out a batter as well. His ERA fell to 1.17 with the performance. Wilson has allowed only one run in 7 2/3 innings of work so far this season, posting a WHIP of 0.91 and a 9:3 strikeout to walk ratio. The Giants don’t usually score a lot of runs when they do win and Wilson should get plenty of chances to get saves this season. (Rotowire)

Brian Wilson picked up the win Wednesday by tossing two scoreless innings against the Padres. Wilson allowed one hit, walked one and struck out two, lowering his season ERA to 1.35 in the process. It’s a good thing the team has Thursday off, as Wilson would have likely been unavailable after throwing 39 pitches Wednesday. Wilson has allowed one run this season in 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts. He has two saves for the Giants and the victory on Wednesday. Still, the Giants don’t score a lot of runs or win often enough for him to be a No. 1 Fantasy closer. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save as San Francisco beat Arizona 2-0 on Sunday. Wilson, who was pitching in his third game of the series, picked up his second save in three days and now has six strikeouts while allowing only two hits in 4.2 innings. Wilson only had one save in five appearances coming into Sunday’s game. The Giants simply were not giving him the opportunities as he doesn’t have any blown saves. He’s allowed just one run this season in 4 2/3 innings and can remain worthy of starting as a No. 2 Fantasy RP in all formats. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Brian Wilson walked in the winning run in the Giants’ loss to the Dodgers Wednesday. The winning earned run was credited to Bobby Howry, so the loss and blown save were blown his direction and not Wilson’s. Still, not a good outing from a closer. He has pitched only 1 2/3 innings in three games so far with none of the appearances being in save situations. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Giants RP Brian Wilson was needed for one out during Tuesday’s season opener against the Brewers. The Giants held a comfortable five-run lead entering the ninth, but when Alex Hinshaw allowed one run, one hit and two walks, manager Bruce Bochy went to his closer. Wilson inherited a runner on second, but ended the game with a strikeout of Jason Kendall. While it wasn’t a save opportunity, Wilson looked strong on the hill Tuesday. Wilson’s fastball hit 99 mph consistently and 100 mph once during the ninth inning Tuesday night. “I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing calling the slider?’ ” catcher Bengie Molina joked. There was some concern about Wilson’s infected finger, but the way he pitched Tuesday should easily calm all of that. He’s clearly in midseason form.It’s no surprise seeing how he didn’t allow a run in 12 spring innings. Wilson is coming off a 41-save season and should get him an ample amount of save chances again in 2009 since most of the Giants’ wins will likely be in tight situations. (CBS Sports, Rotoworld)

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth for the save Sunday as the Giants beat the Dodgers 3-1 in the final game of the spring. Wilson had missed more than a week due to an infected finger, but he’ll avoid the disabled list and likely get the first save chance the Giants produce. (Rotoworld)

Brian Wilson threw a scoreless inning Friday in his first appearance since March 24, showing no effects of an infected middle finger, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He looks good to go for the start of the regular season. Despite the infected finger, Wilson couldn’t be taken out of his groove Friday. Now, if he can only pitch this well during the season. While Wilson came out of nowhere to record 41 saves in 2008, he still battled with inconsistency at times. The Giants should get him an ample amount of save chances since most of their wins will likely be in tight situations. Wilson is no worse than a No. 2 Fantasy RP. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)