Atomic RoadRunners

Cubs SS Ryan Theriot went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored Sunday against the Indians. He also walked twice. He’s batting .436 (24-for-55) this spring. Theriot doesn’t have much natural ability, but he did hit .307 and steal 22 bases last season. The Cubs trust him as their starting shortstop, so he should score a decent number of runs, if nothing else. Consider him a decent late-round middle infielder, especially in Rotisserie leagues. (CBS Sports)

Cubs SS Ryan Theriot went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored Monday against the Athletics, raising his spring batting average to .432 (19-for-44). He also drew a walk. Theriot doesn’t have much natural ability, but he did hit .307 and steal 22 bases last season. The Cubs trust him as their starting shortstop, so he should score a decent number of runs, if nothing else. Consider him a decent late-round middle infielder, especially in Rotisserie leagues. (CBS Sports)

Cubs manager Lou Piniella hopes to give Theriot more days off this season, MLB.com reports. “Theriot plays with a lot of energy,” Piniella said. “If we can get him a little more of a breather, I think that will help him.” This sounds much like spring training wishful thinking more than anything. While he may not reach the 580 ABs he saw last season, expect Theriot to be over the 500 mark by the time October rolls around. (Rotowire)

Protected lists have been submitted, and we’re locked in for the 2009 WBRL Draft.  Here’s who we’re bringing:

• C – Chris Iannetta  (2 / $1)
• 2B – Brandon Phillips  (1 / $16)
• SS – Ryan Theriot  (1 /$1)
• 3B – Chipper Jones  (1 / $23)
• MI – Blake DeWitt  (2 / $5)
• OF – Chase Headley  (2 / $5)
• OF – Jody Gerut  (2 / $5)
• P – Tim Lincecum (1 / $7)
• P – Josh Johnson (2 / $5)
• P – Todd Wellemeyer (2 / $5)
• P – Matt Lindstrom (2 / $10)
• P – Brian Wilson (1 / $10)
• P – Mike Gonzalez (2 / $5)
• 3B – Mat Gamel (3 /$5) (Minors)

Here are the figures:

• Players Protected: 14
• Payroll: $98
• Players Needed: 11
• Available: $162
• Available per Player: $14.73

Also note that the Atomic Roadrunners will have the final selection in the 2nd Round of the Minor League Draft (the 11th pick overall)

With protected rosters due in six days, it’s time to review the options for the 2009 Roadrunners. As I did last season, I’ve broken the list into five groups:

• The No Doubters
• The Almost Automatics
• The Probables
• The Fringe
• Not So Much

These should be self-explanatory. First up, the No Doubters:

Tim Lincecum
1 Year – $7
18 Wins, 2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 265 K’s
Seabiscuit was ridden hard by Manager Bruce Bochy, wrapping up a Cy Young award and an All-Star appearance. He was first in strikeouts, K/9, hits/9, shutouts, and wild pitches. He was 2nd in ERA, Wins, and won-loss percentage. For $7.

Ryan Theriot
1 Year – $1
.307 Average, 85 Runs, 1 HR, 38 RBI, and 22 steals
Theriot again earned his salary with the high average and runs, and 22 steals were nice as well, though he was caught 13 times. Gained 50 points of average to offset 6 fewer steals and 2 fewer homers.

Brandon Phillips
1 Year – $16
.261 Average, 80 Runs, 21 HR, 78 RBI and 23 steals
Considered a “down” year for Phillips, he didn’t match his 2007 30/30 totals, but still was possibly the second-best 2B after Chase Utley. 20/20 is still very nice, but the drop in AVG and batting cleanup are both concerns.

Chris Iannetta
2 Years – $1
.264 Average, 50 Runs, 18 HR, 65 RBI, 0 Steals
Iannetta finally broke-out in his second season, stealing playing time away from the presumptive starter Yorvit Torrealba to start in 104 games. With additional playing time, counting stats should improve, but the average is a problem. Still, for $1, he’s the 4th or 5th-best catcher in the NL.

Josh Johnson
2 Years – $5
7 Wins, 3.61 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 77 K’s
Picked up mid-season as he came back from Tommy John surgery, Johnson went 7-1 in 14 starts, with 77K’s in 87 innings. Better yet, reports indicate that he gained 2-3 mph on his fastball. Very good for $5.

Baseball Prospectus recently released the results of the 17th Annual Internet Baseball Awards, and Chipper Jones finished sixth in the balloting for National League MVP. 2008 IBA Cy Young Tim Lincecum placed ninth overall. Below are the results:

Rnk Name                   1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10       B       P
  1. Albert Pujols       1233   97   38   17    5    7    4    2    2    1    1406   18650
  2. Hanley Ramirez        26  454  191  164  105   76   46   38   14   15    1129    8477
  3. Lance Berkman         14  223  195  167  159   89   74   46   31   26    1024    6853
  4. Chase Utley           21  105  196  155  149  101   85   54   45   16     927    5899
  5. David Wright          10   93  163  152  171  118  104   63   50   28     952    5694
  6. Chipper Jones         14   70  131  128  133  115   81   68   47   28     815    4793
  7. Ryan Howard           53  116   75   80   64   44   38   28   35   24     557    3880
  8. Manny Ramirez         32   63   72   65   79   50   40   42   49   51     543    3205
  9. Tim Lincecum           5   33   61   77   94   61   70   50   44   22     517    2803
 10. Ryan Braun             7   49   61   94   55   53   56   44   37   22     478    2732

 12. Jose Reyes             3   12   35   38   63   68   59   72   58   45     453    2027
 23. Prince Fielder         0    1    5    7    9    9   10    7    4    2      54     268
 24. Brandon Webb           0    1    2    4    6    5    7    8    8    6      47     188
 39. Mark Teixeira          0    0    0    3    1    1    0    0    1    1       7      35
 42. Shane Victorino        0    1    0    1    0    3    0    0    1    0       6      33
 62. Brandon Phillips       0    0    0    0    0    1    1    0    1    2       5      13
 74. Corey Hart             0    0    0    0    1    0    0    0    1    0       2       8
 88. Chris Iannetta         0    0    0    0    0    1    0    0    0    0       1       5
 95. Brandon Lyon           0    0    0    0    0    0    1    0    0    0       1       4
104. Ryan Theriot           0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    1       1       1

It seems that I may have placed the vote for Theriot . . .

The Roadrunners are dealing with quite a few injuries as the season winds down, and these are affecting my stats over the final week:

Catcher: Both Chris Iannetta and Pablo Sandoval are day-to-day after weekend injuries.  Sandoval had a strained quad, while Iannetta was pulled from Sunday’s game with severe leg cramping, which isn’t good for a catcher.  Both are day-to-day over the final week.

Infield: Brandon Phillips is on the 60-Day DL due to a broken finger from two weeks ago.  Ryan Theriot‘s Cubs have already clinched, and he and other regulars are being rested over the final week in preparation for the post-season.  Chipper Jones‘ latest injury is shoulder inflammation, which has limited him to pinch-hitting appearances since last Friday.  Depending on the pitching matchup, he may sit occasionally.  Even September call-up Mat Gamel admitted he was injured, and he was shut down with a sore elbow, though this is likely what caused his poor second half.

Outfield: Remember when the Roadrunners had ridiculous depth of somewhat-decent outfielders?  Well, no more.  Corey Hart is slumping badly, though at least the Brewers are striving for the wild card – they’ll trot him out there each day.  Brandon Moss just learned that he has some bad knee cartilage, and he has been shut down, and may require surgery that’ll have him miss part of Spring Training.  Ten days ago Chris Dickerson hurt his foot, and he had been hobbled.  Finally an MRI detected a hairline fracture in his heel, so he’s shut down as well.  Jody Gerut has only one start since August 27th due to a strained finger tendon, making it impossible for him to hold a bat – though he has been a pinch runner.  Gregor Blanco has been sitting of late as the Braves try to figure out which of their young outfielders will be in their plans for next season.  Blanco should be safe, but he’ll be no more than a No. 4 OF.

Pitching: The pitching isn’t in bad shape in this final week.  In addition to the Noah Lowry pickup (he was rehabbing while on the 60-Day DL when picked up), John Maine has basically been shut down for the season. Well, but no one told him that – there’s a chance he’ll be on the playoff roster (if the Mets win the wild card), but he has a bone spur that requires surgery.  Idiotic Giants manager Bruce Bochy has been driving Tim Lincecum into the ground, and yesterday’s start showed that he might not have anything left in the tank.  Lincecum of course leads the majors in pitcher abuse points, and I’d like to personally thank Bochy for ruining Lincecum’s career for a fourth-place 70-87 squad that’s 12 games out of first.

Ryan Theriot got a day off Tuesday after the Cubs clinched home-field advantage on Monday, the Associated Press reports. Theriot could likely use a couple days off to help break his recent slump. However, Piniella insists he will play competitive lineups this week, so expect Theriot to play a couple more times this week. Ronny Cedeno got the start at shortstop. (Rotowire)

Ryan Theriot, who had been in a 3-for-33 slump, had three singles and two walks, according to the Chicago Tribune. Theriot is starting to show signs of coming out of his prolonged slump. As we saw earlier this week with Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs manager Lou Piniella subscribes to the “hit your way out of a slump” school of thought. Watch the starting lineups closely, as Theriot may get in there more than previously expected. (Rotowire)

Ryan Theriot has had just three hits in his last 33 at-bats, the Chicago Tribune reports. He’s going through a bit of a rough patch, perhaps due in part to whatever caused the dizziness and dehydration earlier this month. With the Cubs having clinched their division, manager Lou Piniella may start to use some of his subs over the last week to get ready for the post season. Theriot’s on-base percentage had been .395 in late August, but it is down to .375. His batting average has fallen to .298 because of a September in which he has gone 11-for-60 (.183). (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

FAAB Acquisition:

• P James Parr, Braves [$0 bid, reserve]

Up:

• OF Chris Dickerson
• SS Ryan Theriot
• P Mike Gonzalez

Down:

• OF Corey Hart
• 2B Brandon Phillips
• P Brandon Lyon

Cut:

• P Jaime Garcia

Notes:

• MI Blake DeWitt moves from MI to 2B, and Theriot is activated at MI
• Stanimals acquired former Roadrunner C Carlos Ruiz in an attempt to bolster his lineup.  Stanimals and Goodfellas are tied for fourth place.

FantasyBaseballGeeks.com just ran their NL edition of “What We Learned in 2008” with a team-by-team rundown. I think this was based towards mixed-leagues, as it wasn’t that deep, but here are the takes on the 2008 Roadrunners:

NL East:

• Jose Reyes is the most exciting offensive player in fantasy when he is on and his slumps are becoming fewer as he matures.
• John Maine will be a bargain next year.
• Shane Victorino is a very useful fourth outfielder but shouldn’t be counted on for more.
• Brett Myers continue to baffle, but should be very useful next year.
• Josh Johnson is now the NL version of James Shields.
• Chipper Jones is a warrior but the show is closing.
• Lastings Milledge is still very raw but might turn into a decent fourth outfielder.

NL Central:

• My personal favorite fantasy story this year was “The-Riot” himself Ryan Theriot. Somehow he found a way to put up points with single after single. He will peck your opponents to death.
• Prince Fielder is not going to hit 50 homers every year, more like 35.
• Corey Hart is still underrated and showed off his 20/20 skills again this year with excellent RBI totals to go along with a .280 BA.
• Brandon Phillips is still an elite option to enjoy for years to come.

NL West:

• Brandon Webb is a Cy Young candidate every year but note carefully the innings toll and how he crawled to the finish line.
• Chris Iannetta finally got his average over .100 and showed some potential as a fantasy catcher.
• Chase Headley was still a little undercooked despite every expert demanding his promotion to the big leagues.
• Jody Gerut had a terrific year and showed why he was once a highly regarded young talent.
• Tim Lincecum is the new strikeout king and is the most dazzling young talent on the mound in quite a while. He is still young, but pitches like a veteran. He wants the ball bad and will go 7 innings; a rarity nowadays in this pitch count era.
• Brain Wilson had a great year as a closer and probably even his owners missed it. His ERA wasn’t pretty but he got the job done

Cubs SS Ryan Theriot went 2-for-4 on Thursday against the Cardinals with a walk and an RBI. Theriot walked with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to drive in the run. As far as SS go, Theriot has been a good one this season. He’s owned in 88 percent of Fantasy leagues and it looks like he’ll be a nice start down the stretch of the season for a contending team. (CBS Sports)

Ryan Theriot (dizziness, dehydration) said he finally felt 100 percent Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Time reports. Theriot went on to admit that he wasn’t feeling perfect when he returned to the starting lineup the day before. In any event, he’s safe to reinsert into your lineup now. (Rotowire)

Ryan Theriot saw a doctor Tuesday in St. Louis after complaining of dizziness and dehydration during Sunday’s game, the Chicago Tribune reports. Piniella said Theriot was suffering “lingering effects.” While Theriot was a last minute addition to Tuesday’s starting lineup, look for the team to be cautious with him until he returns to full strength. It was a good time to come back as Theriot raked a triple and a single and crossed the plate twice for the Cubs.(Rotowire, CBS Sports)