Atomic RoadRunners

This is the final installment of the 2010 Atomic Roadrunner Protected List preview series. Protected lists are due for submission this Monday, February 1st, by midnight, Eastern. Here are the folks that are saying goodbye, as they will not be protected for 2010:

Kyle Blanks
2 Years – $10
.250 Average, 24 Runs, 10 HR, 22 RBI, and 1 steal
Blanks was a top 1B prospect for the Padres, but was moved to the outfield due to the presence of Adrian Gonzalez. To give you a vision, Blanks is like a fatter Frank Thomas in the outfield. He can slug, but he probably should be tethered to first base. He was lost for the season in August with plantar fasciaitis, and just isn’t worth protecting for $10, as he was originally drafted by Misogynistic Padres in the third round of the minor league draft.

Kiko Calero
2 Years – $5
2 Wins, 1.95 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 69 K’s (in 60 innings)
Still a free agent as of this writing, Calero strung together a good season in the Marlins’ pen, but is not a player anyone should consider protecting. No save chances, just some decent WHIP if you need it.

Nick Masset
2 Years – $5
5 Wins, 2.37 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 70 K’s (in 76 innings)
Like Calero, Masset is another guy that was picked up for ERA and WHIP assistance. The problem with relievers is you can usually never bank on them repeating their performance from year-to-year. One bad outing will taint the stats for three months. Meanwhile, some other scrub is mowing them down, and thus is worth the FAAB flyer in May. Masset just signed a two-year, $2.58 million extension, and will likely be one of the top Reds set-up guys, but not for $5.

Steve Peace
2 Years – $5
.206 Average, 19 Runs, 4 HR, 16 RBI, and 1 steal
Originally picked up by The Pi Train in 2009, Pearce was a second-hand pickup in August. Pearce’s career is at a crossroads, and may already be over, though the Pirates will keep paying him for another year or two. Pearce had a tremendous season in 2007 in AAA as a 1B/OF, but he couldn’t repeat the magic. Pittsburgh got tired of waiting for him to develop, and now he’s behind Garrett Jones and possibly Jeff Clement at 1B, and also may lose out to Jones, Ryan Church, and Brandon Moss in right field (assuming Milledge and McCutchen occupy left and center, respectively). And he keeps getting worse at the plate. Pass.

Ryan Roberts
2 Years – $5
.279 Average, 41 Runs, 7 HR, 25 RBI, and 7 steals
Picked up after the Roadrunner trade of Brandon Phillips, Roberts pretty much was the starting 2B for the Diamondbacks after the deadline trade of Felipe Lopez to Milwaukee, and he filled in rather well. At the end of the season, it was thought that Roberts might have a shot as the starting 2B for 2010, but then the D’backs received Tony Abreu from the Dodgers to complete the Jon Garland deal, and then signed a below-market-value Kelly Johnson in January. Now either Roberts or Abreu is the primary middle-infield backup, assuming the D’backs can move Augie Ojeda. Roberts also can play 3B and OF, so he’s a handy guy to have around. Obviously, not worth protecting.

Rusty Ryal
2 Years – $5
.271 Average, 11 Runs, 3 HR, 9 RBI, and 0 steals
If Ryan Roberts isn’t worth protecting, what does that mean for Roberts’ backup in Rusty Ryal? Bad news, that’s what. Ryal was called up in August to help out, and to his credit, he filled in at first and second base once it was clear the Diamondbacks were phoning it in. He did hit 17 homers and 70 RBI with a .290 average at AAA Reno, but quite obviously, there’s no protections here.

Delwyn Young
2 Years – $5
.266 Average, 40 Runs, 7 HR, 43 RBI, and 2 steals
Young was given every chance to earn the 2B job after the Pirates traded Freddy Sanchez to the Giants at the deadline. The fact that Pittsburgh traded for Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura is an indication of how that experiment went. Pirates GM Neal Huntington has announced that Young will be on the squad in a utility role, as he can play OF corners, 2B, and a passable 1B (though he’d be forth or fifth on that depth chart). Not really protectable material.

Up:

• CM Mat Gamel
• MI Rusty Ryal
• DH Oscar Salazar

Down:

• CM Steve Pearce
• MI Ian Desmond
• DH Josh Thole

Notes:

• This being the final week, only X-Men made any pickups, acquiring OF Tony Gwynn, Jr. to replace Orlando Hudson on the active roster. He also acquired Diamondbacks P Billy Buckner, as a reserve, which won’t really help him in this final week.
• Final tally of players on the 2009 Atomic RoadRunners: 92  Yikes!
• Number of players still on the roster from Draft Day 2009: 7 (Chris Iannetta, John Baker, Mat Gamel, Chase Headley, Josh Johnson, Madison Bumgarner, Mike Gonzalez)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• SS Ian Desmond, Nationals ($0, active at MI)

Up:

• CM Steve Pearce

Down:

• CM Mat Gamel
• MI Oscar Salazar

Cut:

• RP Jon Rauch

FAAB Acquisitions:

• MI Oscar Salazar, Padres ($1 bid, active)
• OF Willie Harris, Nationals ($2 bid, active)
• OF Cory Sullivan, Mets ($2 bid, active)

Up:

• CM Mat Gamel

Down:

• OF Kyle Blanks
• CM Steve Pearce
• MI Rusty Ryal

Cut:

• 1B Casey Kotchman
• 1B Jeff Clement

Notes:

• I had also bid $0 on new Giants starter Brad Penny, but was outbid.  The results: $15 X-Men, $14 Misogynistic Padres, $10 Get Off Kong, $0 Atomic RoadRunners.
• I outbid Misogynistic Padres for Cory Sullivan – he bid $0.
• 1B Casey Kotchman has been reduced to a pinch-hitter for Boston, and since he’s not protectable, he’s pretty worthless.
• 1B Jeff Clement wasn’t called up due to an injury at the end of the AAA season.  Thus he’s even more worthless.
• OF Kyle Blanks is out for the season due to a broken foot.

FAAB Acquisitions:

• RP Juan Gutierrez, Diamondbacks ($12, active)

Up:

• 1B/DH Jeff Clement (to DH)
• SP Johnny Cueto

Move:

• CM Steve Pearce (from DH)

Down:

• CM Casey Kotchman
• RP Rafael Betancourt
• RP Jon Rauch

Notes:

• RP Jon Rauch was traded on August 28th from Arizona to the Minnesota Twins for SP Kevin Mulvey.
• RP Juan Gutierrez had been on the Roadrunners in April and May of 2009, but was named the de-facto closer, following the trade of Rauch, and the season-ending knee injury of D’Backs closer Chad Qualls.
• Other bidding for Gutierrez: $12 Misogynistic Padres (1st place), $10 Get Off Kong!
• I also bid $5 on new Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla, but was outbid.  He went for $10 to Misogynistic Padres
• Also, there was a last-minute trade: X-Men gets former RoadRunner Ryan Theriot, Shoeless Jews gets Matt Holliday.  This trade was within the rules, as players traded between the protection deadline and the cutoff cannot be protected. Neither could be protected in this case.

Trades:

• Atomic Roadrunners receives: Dodgers 3B Casey Blake
• The Pi Train receives: Rockies OF Brad Hawpe, Marlins 3B Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins RP Matt Lindstrom

FAAB Acquisitions:

• C/1B Jeff Clement, Pirates ($5 bid, reserve)
• 2B Rusty Ryal, Diamondbacks ($5 bid, active at MI)

Up:

• SP Sean West
• 1B Steve Pearce (to DH)
• OF Matt Diaz (replaces Hawpe)
• RP Nick Masset (replaces Lindstrom)

Moves:

• 3B Casey Blake replaces Bonifacio

Down:

• SP Johnny Cueto

Cut:

• SP Brandon Webb
• OF John Bowker
• SS Alex Cora

Notes:

• Mets SS Alex Cora is out for the year to have surgery on both wrists
• Reds SP Johnny Cueto on the 15-Day DL for a hip pointer

FAAB Acquisitions:

• 2B Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks ($0 bid, active at 2B)
• OF Delwyn Young, Pirates ($0 bid, active at OF)
• 1B Steve Pearce, Pirates ($5 bid, active at UT)
• RP Rafael Betancourt ($3 bid, active)

Up:

• C  John Baker

Down:

• C Ryan Hanigan
• OF John Bowker

Cut:

• 3B Brett Wallace
• OF Chris Duncan
• 2B Brooks Conrad
• SP Ryan Sadowski

Notes:

• Cardinals OF Chris Duncan was sent down to AAA Memphis on July 22nd.  Later that day, he was traded to Boston for SS Julio Lugo
• Braves 2B Brooks Conrad was send down to AAA on July 23rd
• Rafael Betancourt was acquired by the Rockies from the Indians for RHP prospect Connor Graham.
• Cardinals 3B prospect Brett Wallace was traded to the Oakland A’s on July 24th as the centerpiece of the package for OF Matt Holliday
• Giants 1B/OF John Bowker was sent down to AAA Fresno after the FAAB deadline to make room for the newly-acquired Ryan Garko
• I bid maximum $35 for Matt Holliday. Goodfellas won the bidding with a $96 bid, while  Shoeless Jews bid $75, Misogynistic Padres bid $53, X-Men bid $48, and Get Off Kong! bid $43
• I bid $21 for new Cardinals MI Julio Lugo.  Shoeless Jews won the bidding with a $25 bid, and Get Off Kong bid $14.
• I won the bidding for Steve Pearce (formerly Steven Pearce) with a $5 bid.  Both X-Men and Get Off Kong! bid $4, while Misogynistic Padres bid $0.
• Pearce’s salary was adjusted back to $1. He was drafted by The Pi Train in 2009, who released him July 14th.
• I won the bidding for Delwyn Young with a $0 bid.  Stanimals also bid $0, but due to the standings, he was .5 points ahead of me in the standings, so I win.  Here are his comments:

At 2009-07-28 09:43:26, Stanimals wrote:
So I lose Delwyn Young to Flynn because I’m a half-point ahead of him in the standings on the day the bids go through, even though I’ve been behind him the entire year, and I’m again behind him today and may be the rest of the year.  We have to change this rule.  Absolute crap.

And follow up:

At 2009-07-28 11:24:19, Atomic Roadrunners wrote:
You want Delwyn Frickin’ Young? Bid more than $0, cheap ass!

At 2009-07-28 12:01:13, Goodfellas wrote:
Stan, FYI-Dmitri is still available…I will not be making a bid, so you only have to worry about Mark edging you out with a $O bid.

• Atomic Roadrunners acquires Lastings Milledge ($9/1 year)

• Cover Zero acquires Steve Pearce ($1/1 year)

The Sports Xchange notes, Pirates RF Steve Pearce has been a disappointment since being called up on July 26 when Xavier Nady was sent to the New York Yankees as part of a six-player trade, hitting .208 with five RBI in 15 games. Most disappointing is that Pearce has yet to hit a home run in 116 major-league at bats over the past two seasons after going deep 34 times in the minor leagues in 2007. Pirates’ manager John Russell said he first wants Pearce to get untracked at the plate before worrying about hitting for power. Hitting for power? Pearce should try hitting period. Still, he’s starting every day for the struggling Pirates. Consider him a sleeper in deeper formats, especially NL-only and long-term keeper leagues. (CBS Sports)

OF Lastings Milledge continues to perform well for the Nationals even when his team is struggling. Milledge has hit safely in 16 of his past 18 games, going 26-for-71 (.366) with five homers, 11 RBI and nine extra-base hits. His season average is up to .261. Milledge is having a nice second half, finally proving to be the elite talent he is. Consider him someone to trust in all deeper leagues now, especially Rotisserie formats. (CBS Sports)

Analysis: With the trading deadline just hours away, the Atomic Roadrunners accepted the trade offer from Cover Zero. There is no question that Milledge is hitting better than Pearce right now, and it’s probable that Milledge will shine for the rest of the season (even though he’s a National). The deal came down to years. Milledge is a free agent in the WBRL after this season, and Pearce is protectable for two more years at $1. However, Pearce may not be in the rebuilding Pirate’s plans. Next season will likely feature Nate McLouth, Brandon Moss, and possibly rookie Andrew McCutcheon. And with Adam LaRoche back, Pearce may only be a 4th OF/backup 1B, which may not be worth protecting, even for $1.

In essence, Pearce’s disappointment this season, plus the nagging notion of a “wasted” $1 bid on an active spot, wants me to be rid of him. Plus, with X-Men’s acquisition of Alfonso Soriano (also from Cover Zero), the Atomic Roadrunners need all the help they can get. So welcome, Lastings, may you make us proud in these final days before free agency! And as Chris Keck reminded me in August of 2000, “Flags fly forever.”

Update (8/22): Pirates optioned outfielder Steven Pearce to Triple-A Indianapolis. Pearce had gone 12-for-55 with seven RBI and no homers since getting called up in the end of July. He’ll be back in September. (Rotoworld)

Trade:

• Trade OF Steve Pearce ($1, 3 years) to Cover Zero.
• Acquire Nationals’ OF Lastings Milledge ($9, 1 year), added to actives

FAAB Acquisitions:

• OF Chris Dickerson, Reds [$0 bid, add to actives]
• P Noah Lowry, Giants [$0 bid]

Down:

• OF Shane Victorino

Cut:

• P Jason Bergmann
• OF John Bowker

Pirates RF Steve Pearce has been a disappointment since being called up on July 26 when Xavier Nady was sent to the New York Yankees as part of a six-player trade, hitting .208 with five RBI in 15 games. Most disappointing is that Pearce has yet to hit a home run in 116 major-league at bats over the past two seasons after going deep 34 times in the minor leagues in 2007. Pirates’ manager John Russell said he first wants Pearce to get untracked at the plate before worrying about hitting for power. Hitting for power? Pearce should try hitting period. Still, he’s starting every day for the struggling Pirates. Consider him a sleeper in deeper formats, especially NL-only and long-term keeper leagues. (CBS Sports)

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

After coming up empty with the bases loaded in the fourth inning Monday, Steve Pearce’s two-run single in the ninth inning capped the Pirates’ comeback in a 7-5 win over the Mets. Down 5-1 after six innings, the Pirates fought back against the Mets’ highly flammable bullpen. Ryan Doumit tied the game in the ninth inning with an RBI single and Pearce plated two runs with a sharp single to left-center field before John Grabow closed out the victory with a scoreless frame that included Mets skipper Jerry Manuel getting tossed. Pearce hasn’t been doing much at the plate until very recently, but he is an everyday starting outfielder for the Pirates at this point. Consider him a sleeper in deeper formats, especially NL-only and long-term keeper leagues. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Steve Pearce drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the 12th inning to defeat the Phillies on Friday. Ryan Doumit kicked off the top of the 12th inning with a double to deep left center. Brandon Moss then moved Doumit over to third when he grounded out to second, and Steven Pearce delivered the big hit. Freddy Sanchez then drove in Pearce to add an insurance run. Pearce is just 7-for-33 (.212) since being called up on July 26, but he should keep getting work in the outfield. (Rotoworld)

Pirates OF/1B Steve Pearce, who was recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis last weekend, will become the everyday right fielder, according to manager John Russell. Pearce had been splitting time with OF Jason Michaels in right since OF Xavier Nady was traded to the New York Yankees last weekend. Obviously we’re going to need to see the results before we rush out and put Pearce in our starting lineup, but this definitely raises his Fantasy value because we know he’ll at least be playing night in and night out. He has serious sleeper potential in the second half, but remains a low-end Fantasy option at this time. Michaels is now 100 percent just a backup for the Bucs and should only be used in NL-only leagues. (CBS Sports)

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.