Monthly Archives: June 2009

BaseballGB Fantasy roundup: Week 12

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BgbFantasyIt’s BaseballGB Fantasy League roundup time again. Can anyone stop Syracuse’s good form? 
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
The Cheddar Chasers 23 7 24 0 .235 .778 4 3 38 0 2.05 1.20 0
Syracuse Nationals 36 13 38 4 .275 .909 6 3 45 0 1.96 1.15 10
 
The ‘Cuse followed up their move to the top with a 10-0 thrashing of the Chasers. The pitching categories were close, and the Chasers can feel hard done by that an ERA of 2.05 and a 1.20 WHIP weren’t enough to win those categories. Aaron Hill and, of course, Pujols were the big hitters for The Orange.
 
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
Bonestalkers 24 2 27 8 .301 .789 5 3 43 0 2.55 1.04 6
SWAT 33 10 27 2 .333 .957 2 2 40 2 4.53 1.49 5
 
Bonestalkers edged SWAT 6-5 thanks to their pitching staff. While SWAT’s hitters got the job done, Bonestalkers took five out of the six pitching categories, including very impressive ERA and WHIP numbers, helped by the trio of Lincecum, Sabathia and Beckett.
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
Orpington Isotopes 24 4 23 3 .236 .719 5 5 51 1 2.21 1.11 6
RussDev Giants 25 6 25 5 .307 .898 1 1 16 1 4.08 1.42 6
 
A topsy-turvy matchup ended in a 6-6 tie between the Giants and my Isotopes. Strangely, Russ took all of the hitting categories while I won all of the pitching categories, despite a tie in holds, as Russ failed to meet the 20 ining weekly minimum limit, although I was already ahead in five of the categories. Sizemore was the star hitter for Russ, while I had very good weeks from Danks, Saunders and Hanson.
 
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
Borders Bats 30 6 23 5 .267 .759 4 4 45 2 2.86 1.18 12
stevenston angels 21 2 19 2 .233 .634 1 2 23 0 5.45 1.79 0
 
What a week for the Bats, who completed a 12-0 sweep against the Angels. The Bats had an excellent week from Ichiro, who hit .500 and scored 8 runs, while Burnett led the pitching staff. The Angels had nice weeks from Pierzynski and Derrek Lee, but it was a bad week for their pitchers.
 
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
The Wright Stuff 35 12 46 4 .313 .955 3 3 35 0 5.36 1.35 8
Tribal Warfare 17 5 18 5 .200 .682 2 1 33 2 3.03 1.21 4
 
The Stuff picked up an 8-4 win over the Warfare thanks to a big week from their hitters. Hanley Ramirez drove in 15 runs all by himself, while A-Rod and Uggla also had very good weeks. Warfare’s pitchers salvaged some of the pitching stats, taking holds, ERA and WHIP.
 
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
Rio Crande Typos 28 10 29 3 .286 .868 1 1 26 1 3.27 1.12 7
Braughing’s Bangers 27 9 27 8 .244 .771 1 3 33 0 2.98 1.15 4
 
The Typos are back playing .500 ball after a 7-4 win over The Bangers. The Typos just did enough to take runs, HR and RBIs while ERA and WHIP also proved to be very close. Although hge didn’t hit for average, Ethier’s three-homer game helped the Typos, while Happ, Wainwright and Edwin Jackson pitched very well for The Bangers.
 
 
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
Josh & Jonny Whos 23 4 18 3 .245 .668 2 3 35 0 4.34 1.36 5
the gas 21 3 18 0 .264 .688 5 1 29 2 3.83 1.23 6
 
The Gas edged The Whos 6-5 in a close matchup. In the end the pitching stats proved decisive, as Wakefield, Cook and Richmond helped the Gas take wins, ERA and WHIP.
 
The results leave The ‘Cuse on top, stretching the lead to 6 games over SWAT. My Isotopes are 1/2 a game further back, closely followed by The Stuff and The Bats. Russ makes up the top six. The Typos, Chasers, Whos and Bonestalkers are bunched up very close together.
 
This week sees The ‘Cuse take on my Isotopes, while SWAT take on the red-hot Bats.

Early MLB games this week: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

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We’ve settled into a pattern with the early MLB games.  The opening part of the week is fairly quiet, with most (if not all) games being played at night.  The second half of the week brings more joy for Brits hoping to catch some MLB games live at a convenient time.

However, Sky subscribers will now have greater access to games thanks to ESPN America’s move to the News and Events pack.  Some are live, some are broadcast ‘as live’ the following day.  Either way, there are even more chances to watch the action.  Here’s your guide to this week’s early games, all times listed in British Summer Time.  Continue reading →

This Week in MLB

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ThisWeekMLBAdmittedly, it was a fairly quiet week news-wise, but sometimes that’s not such a bad thing. Major League Baseball has already had its fair share of controversies this season, but as the last of this year’s interleague matches draw to a close and the mid-season All-Star break rapidly approaches, the divisions remain as closely contested as ever, with a few exceptions of course.

Continue reading →

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Smoltz starts again

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There are some sights that you come to expect on a Major League ballfield.  Albert Pujols blasting two homers in a game is a common sight, albeit an always spectacular one (especially when one of those bombs is of the grand slam variety, as happened against the Royals last Sunday).  Milton Bradley going nuts is a familiar firework show of a different kind, one that Cubs manager Lou Piniella finally tired of on Friday.

But John Smoltz pitching in a Red Sox uniform?  You see the footage, do a double-take and still it doesn’t fully sink in.  Continue reading →

Roundshaw Hop: Avoiding infamy

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Roundshaw-Hop-(128x128)Yesterday I was reading in The Great American Novel about the record-breaking exploits of the woeful Ruppert Mundys, a team that finishes with an abysmal 34-120 record in the 1943 season of Philip Roth’s fictional Patriot League. It set me thinking about what undesirable records the Croydon Pirates might be on pace to break in the 2009 National Baseball League season.

I have compared southern top-tier teams across the last nine seasons in four statistical categories, each of which can give us an indication of how overmatched a team was (averaging across the players) in a particular season. This is what I found. Continue reading →

BaseballGB on Baseball Over Here

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I was very grateful when Ron Rollins, writer of the excellent Baseball Over Here blog, asked if I would contribute to an interview piece about BGB.  Ron is an American currently living in Britain and he provides a unique perspective on baseball, both at his own blog and in his writings at the BaseballdeWorld website.

Check out Ron’s writing and, of course, the feature on his blog about BGB. Thanks again to Ron for getting in contact.

Hey now, you’re an All Star

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As time is running out to vote for the players you want to see taking part in the All-Star Game, I thought it was about time I made my selections.
 
I hate the fact MLB allows you to vote more than once – up to 25 times online! – so I only vote once.
 
Here’s how I voted:
 
American League:
C – Joe Mauer, Minnesota. At the time of writing, he’s batting .395 with 14 HR. Not bad considering he missed a few weeks!
1B – Miguel Cabrera, Detroit. Spoilt for choice here, as you make strong cases for Teixeira, Youkilis, Branyan and Morneau, but I’m voting for the Triple Crown threat.
2B – Aaron Hill, Toronto. Could have gone with Kinsler here, but credit to Hill for an impressive comeback year.
SS – Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay. Great years from Scutaro and Jeter, but Bartlett has more RBIs despite missing time injured.
3B – Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay. No sophomore slump for this guy. Honourable mention to Brandon Inge.
OF – Jason Bay, Boston. Huge RBI numbers for a player who has been such an important part of the lineup.
OF – Torii Hunter, LA Angels. Much like Bay, he has helped carry his team’s offense when others have struggled or been injured. Still an incredibly good centrefielder too.
OF – Nelson Cruz, Texas. Very close call between Cruz, Granderson and Adam Jones, but the natural right fielder just gets the nod.
 
National League:
C – Brian McCann, Atlanta. Bengie Molina has more HR and RBIs, but McCann is close despite a stint on the DL and is hitting for a much higher average.
1B – Albert Pujols, St Louis. Despite very good years from Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard, Pujols is the easiest pick on the ballot.
2B – Orlando Hudson, LA Dodgers. I know Utley will win and get the start, but Hudson deserves some All Star support. Until watching him regularly this year, I hadn’t fully appreciated how good this guy is. An important hitter and an excellent defensive player.
SS – Hanley Ramirez, Florida. Maybe Hanley’s not having the huge year everyone thought he would, but he’s still my pick here. Tejada pushes him in my view, but one thing is for certain: Rollins doesn’t deserve to start.
3B – David Wright, New York Mets. Wright’s power numbers are shockingly lower – he has just four homers at the time of writing, but he is batting .356 with 19 steals. Credit to Mark Reynolds for helping to carry Arizona’s offense and for Ryan Zimmerman, who seems a cert for a Gold Glove this year.
OF – Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia. Impressive numbers before getting hurt from the best free agent signing (so far) of the offseason.
OF – Ryan Braun, Milwaukee. Love the power and average combination.
OF – Justin Upton, Arizona. I really need a true centrefielder, but I’m sure Upton can fill in just fine. Tough call between Upton, Dunn and Hawpe, before you even get to the Kemps and Beltrans of this world, but I’ll pick the phenom.
 
On paper, you would have to say the AL has the stronger team, and you would like their chances assuming Roy Halladay or Zack Greinke starts for them.
 
As for the NL, the starting pitcher is less clear cut, as cases can be made for Cain, Licecum, Santana, Billingsley and Josh Johnson.
 
Will that impressive depth be the difference as the NL looks to snap their losing streak?

You Are the Scorer: Number 34

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YouAreScorer

Scenario: With a runner on second base and one out, the batter hits a ground-ball to the shortstop, and the runner appears to deliberately try to interfere with the shortstop during this fielder’s attempt to throw the ball to first. Because of this, both the runner and the batter are called out by the umpire. To whom do you assign put-outs and assists (if any)?

As the official scorer… ?

A – 1 put-out to shorstop, 1 put-out to first baseman, no assists.
B – 1 put-out and 1 assist to shorstop, 1 put-out to first baseman.
C – 1 assist to shorstop, 2 put-outs to first baseman.
D – 2 assists to shorstop, 2 put-outs to first baseman.
E – 2 put-outs to first baseman, no assists.
F – 1 put-out to catcher, 1 put-out to first baseman, no assists.

Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:

Answer: C – 1 assist to shorstop, 2 put-outs to first baseman.

Rule 10.09(c)(6) states:
When a runner is called out for having interfered with a fielder, the official scorer shall credit the putout to the fielder with whom the runner interfered, unless the fielder was in the act of throwing the ball when the interference occurred, in which case the official scorer shall credit the putout to the fielder for whom the throw was intended and shall credit an assist to the fielder whose throw was interfered with.

Rule 10.09(c)(7) states:
When the batter-runner is called out because of interference by a preceding runner, as provided in Rule 6.05(m), the official scorer shall credit the putout to the first baseman. If the fielder interfered with was in the act of throwing the ball, the official scorer shall credit such fielder with an assist but shall credit only one assist on any one play under the provisions of Rule 10.09(c)(6) and 10.09(c)(7).

So scored alone, each play should go down as 6-3, but the last sentence of Rule 10.09(c)(7) instructs us to not give two assists on the same play in this scenario.

Setanta Sports taken off the air

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EDIT: I wrote the original version of this post on the back of a couple of messages stating that ESPN America was down. Judging by other comments on the web, it appears as though it may still be broadcasting (I’m not a subscriber so can’t check myself). I’ve amended the post accordingly.

British baseball fans have already started commenting on the news that Setanta Sports has been taken off the air this evening.

Setanta Sports finally went into administration today after more than a month of uncertainty over the company’s future.  The administrators have pulled the plug immediately, meaning that channels such as ESPN America and Racing UK, that were sold to customers as part of the Setanta Sports package, will have their outlet taken away. 

At time of writing, ESPN America has still not published any information on their website to let North American sports fans know what is happening to the channel.  Racing UK have already clarified their position, informing horse racing fans that they will become a standalone subscription channel, with existing subscribers enjoying free access until the new set-up goes live. 

It seems likely that ESPN America will also take this approach, although ESPN’s recent acquisition of rights to Premier League games may prompt the media giant into launching an ESPN subscription package that includes ESPN America and ESPN Classics. 

Whichever way they decide to go, ESPN America has known for a while that Setanta’s future was bleak so many of the necessary discussions would have already taken place.  Hopefully they will be able to provide an update fairly soon.  If you hear any news, please share it via the comments function.