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

Braves 3B Chipper Jones singled in his last at-bat in the eighth inning Monday against the Giants to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Jones is 10-for-33 (.303) with one homer and six RBI in that span. Jones’ batting average has actually dropped from .371 to .363 during his latest run. It’s not very often when a hitting streak actually hurts your average, but that’s how good Jones has been in 2008. He continues to perform well coming off the DL and remains a must-start Fantasy 3B. (CBS Sports)

Chipper Jones went 1-for-5 with an RBI in Thursday’s loss to the Cubs. He had missed Wednesday night’s game to a virus, but he appears to be over it. He’s batting .333 (6-for-18) with a home run since returning from a hamstring injury. He’s batting .333 (6-for-18) with a home run since returning from a hamstring injury. (Rotoworld)

Chipper Jones is out of Atlanta’s lineup on Wednesday night due to a stomach virus. Perhaps of more concern is that Jones said prior to Wednesday’s game that his legs are still not at full health. “My hamstring’s great. My quad is still pretty sore,” Jones said. Martin Prado replaced him at third base on Wednesday night. (Rotoworld)

Up:

• P John Maine
• P Joe Blanton
• 3B Chipper Jones
• OF Chase Headley

Down:

• OF Gregor Blanco
• OF Steve Pearce
• P Matt Lindstrom
• P Carlos Villanueva

Move:

• 3B Casey Blake to Utility
• U Jody Gerut to OF

Braves 3B Chipper Jones only needed a handful of at-bats to begin looking like the guy who is leading the major leagues in hitting. Jones returned from the disabled list with a pair of hits, including a home run estimated at 434 feet, powering the Braves to an 11-6 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. He finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. “I was feeling very rusty early if you saw the first couple of swings,” Jones said. “That’s to be expected after going 15 days and not seeing a pitch. But it came back quickly.” Out since July 24 with a strained left hamstring, Jones raised his batting average to .371. More importantly, he didn’t feel any pain in his legs “for the first time in months.” He added: “I don’t know if I’ll be able to put any deodorant on in the morning. I’m pretty sore. But we’ll see how it goes.” Jones is one of the top Fantasy performers when healthy, but there’s the rub on him. Get him back active now, but he might have another muscle pull before season’s end. (CBS Sports)

Braves manager Bobby Cox said he might limit Chipper Jones (hamstring) to pinch-hitting duty when he comes off the disabled list on Friday. Chipper, of course, said, “I’m not planning on that whatsoever.” Depending on who wins this battle, it might be a couple days before he’s back in the starting lineup. “He might not be able to play right away. He might have to pinch-hit him for a few games,” manager Bobby Cox told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

3B Chipper Jones (strained left hamstring), who went on the 15-day DL retroactive to July 24, hopes to return when first eligible Aug. 8. Track Jones’ progress through the weekend before considering him for Fantasy Week 20 (Aug. 11-17) at this point. When healthy, he is a must-start third baseman in all leagues. You will have to deal with week-to-week and day-to-day injury risk as always, though. (CBS Sports)

Chipper Jones (hamstring) expects to return from the disabled list on Friday. He’s been out since July 23, but took batting practice and fielded grounders before Saturday’s game. Friday is the first day he’s eligible to come off the disabled list. “I feel great,” Jones said. “Everything feels good. I’ll be ready by Friday.” Upon his return, Jones will be competing for his first career batting title, after flirting with .400 for a decent share of the first half of the season. (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

FAAB Acquisition:

• 3B Casey Blake, Dodgers [$35 bid, add to actives]

Up:

• P Josh Johnson
• OF Steve Pearce

Down:

• 3B Chipper Jones
• P Joe Blanton
• OF John Bowker

Cut:

• OF Andruw Jones

Notes:

• This is the first week this season that the Atomic Roadrunners infield has been disrupted, here in Week 18. The core of Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeira, Chipper Jones, Jose Reyes, Brandon Phillips, and Ryan Theriot had not been interrupted this season. The catching situation has been remarkably stable as well, as Chris Iannetta replaced Javier Valentin in Week 4, and Chris Coste replaced Carlos Ruiz in Week 8.
• Former 2008 Roadrunner Matt Herges was released by Stanimals when he picked up John Grabow.
• I also bid $3 on Joel Hanrahan, who had been on my scout team since the pre-season, due to his scoreless innings streak in Spring Training. X-Men acquired him for $41 FAAB, as he is now the presumptive closer for the Nationals with the trade of Jon Rauch.

Braves placed third baseman Chipper Jones on the 15-day disabled list a strained left hamstring. Tim Hudson is joining him. By placing both on the disabled list, the Braves could be waving the white flag on their season, making a Mark Teixeira trade more likely. Omar Infante and Martin Prado will fill in at third base for the next couple of weeks. The move for Jones will likely be retroactive to July 24, so he could return in early August if things go according to plan. He has played in 89 of 103 games this season, but hasn’t played in more than 137 games since the start of the 2004. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Chipper Jones thinks he might need to go on the disabled list because of his strained left hamstring. Jones hasn’t played since Wednesday. “It still bothers me just walking around,” he said. “Doing anything baseball-related is a few days away, at the very least. Braves manager Bobby Cox and general manager Frank Wren said that they would wait until Monday before determining what to do with Jones, who suffered the injury while running down the first-base line. This would be a real devastating blow to Fantasy owners if Jones does end up on the DL. He has played in 89 of 103 games this season, but hasn’t played in more than 137 games since the start of the 2004. He has managed to avoid a DL stint thus far and been very productive for Fantasy owners. Prepare for the worst and consider reserving Jones for Fantasy Week 18 The Braves could make a move on Monday. If they place him on the DL, it’s likely that they’d call up Brent Lillibridge. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Chipper Jones doesn’t believe he’ll need to go on the DL after suffering a strained left hamstring in Wednesday’s game. Jones left Wednesday’s game in the fourth inning with a strained left hamstring. Jones was injured running to first base. However, it does look like he’ll miss some time. “It’s sore right now,” he said. “Hopefully it feels a lot better and I’ll be able to get in there in a couple of days. As of right now it doesn’t look good.” Omar Infante and Martin Prado will fill in if Chipper can’t play this weekend against the Phillies. Jones will be re-evaluated after having a chance to rest during the Braves’ scheduled off-day on Thursday. Jones has avoided the DL thus far this season, despite suffering strains to his right quadriceps and right groin, but he may not be so lucky this time. “It’s sore right now,” Jones said. “I don’t know what the timetable is going to be. Hamstrings are a little more delicate than [quadriceps muscles] or groins. They really affect you when you do any kind of running.” (Rotoworld, Rotowire)

All-Star Game Statistics:

Hitters		AB  R  H  RBI  BB  K  LOB  AVG
----------------------------------------------
Hart, Corey	3   0  0   0    0  1   3   .000
Jones, Chipper  3   0  1   0    0  1   2   .333

Pitchers	IP  H  R  ER  BB  K  HR  ERA
----------------------------------------------
Webb, Brandon	 1  0  0  0   0   2   0  0.00
Wilson, Brian	.2  0  0  0   0   1   0  0.00

Braves 3B Chipper Jones started the All-Star Game Tuesday and, of course, picked up the game’s first hit for the National League. Jones finished 1-for-3. Jones’ average sits at .376, good enough to lead the league in hitting, so it only makes sense he picks up the Mid-Summer Classic’s first hit. He’s 4-for-10 in his last three games for the Braves with two walks, so he’s not exactly slowing down too much. He deserves to remain active in all leagues through thick and thin — as long as he’s healthy.

Chipper Jones was 0-for-3 Wednesday at Los Angeles, and he is hitless in his last 10 at-bats to see his average dip to .375. Well he wasn’t going to hit .400 all year, after all. Despite his mini slump, which serves as a bit of a market correction for his ridiculous hitting in the first half, he deserves to remain active in all leagues through thick and thin — as long as he’s healthy. (CBS Sports)