Monthly Archives: July 2009

Short week causes upsets

The All-Star break meant a shorter week than usual for the fantasy managers in the BaseballGB league.

These matchups tend to go back and forth during the four days of games, but which teams would take advantage?

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Cheddar Chasers	14	2	14	3	.238	.644	1	3	24	0	2.08	1.12	8
SWAT	8	1	8	1	.237	.597	3	3	12	2	2.30	0.95	3

The Chasers got the better of SWAT with an 8-3 win. As you would expecxt in a four-day matchup, a number of categories were close, including average which the Chasers took by .001. The middle infield combo of Roberts and Aybar, with a little help from Chipper Jones, were the key hitters for the Chasers, while Vazquez and Grienke both pitched well. Jurrjens and Oswalt both pitched well for SWAT, while MarkakisÂ was their best hitter.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Josh & Jonny Whos	22	8	24	1	.325	1.010	2	1	23	1	3.04	1.27	9
Syracuse Nationals	14	4	10	2	.189	.648	1	4	40	0	4.17	1.34	3

The ‘Cuse failed to take advantage of SWAT’s defeat, losing 9-3 to the Whos. JJ’s hitters put up crazy numbers over the four days, scoring an impressive 22 runs with 8 homers and 24 RBIs thanks to Escobar, Soriano. Obviously JJ’s note to Soriano did the trick. The ‘Cuse’s bullpen took saves comfortably and put up good strikeout numbers.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	13	4	8	2	.245	.790	4	3	26	1	2.79	1.22	6
The Wright Stuff	9	3	11	2	.194	.567	3	3	34	0	2.45	1.20	4

My Isotopes just got the better of the Stuff 6-4, although the majority of categories could have gone the other way. Utley and Howard were the pick of my hitters while Cain and Marquis both pitched well. Troncoso’s win in relief proved to be vital too. The Stuff got good pitching from Haren and Carpenter but couldn’t recover from Billingsley’s rough outing.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bonestalkers	11	1	3	2	.272	.758	1	1	21	0	1.71	1.19	4
RussDev Giants	19	2	10	4	.284	.767	0	1	17	0	3.57	1.53	6

The Giants slugged their way to a 6-4 win over Bonestalkers, taking all six hitting categories. Prince Fielder, fresh from the Home Run Derby, and All Star MVP Carl Crawford provided power and speed. Bonestalkers took four pitching categories thanks to Lincecum and Sabathia.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Braughing’s Bangers	13	1	5	4	.242	.682	3	0	26	0	1.32	1.09	8
stevenston angels	7	2	10	3	.208	.546	0	1	6	0	6.75	1.58	3

Some impressive pitching from the Bangers saw them wrap up a 8-3 win over the Angels. The rotation of Happ, Zambrano, Jackson, Ervin Santana and Wainwright combined for an excellent week with Matt Kemp the pick of the hitters. Derrek Lee was the best of the Angels’ hitters but the pitching staff couldn’t recover from James Shields’ rough outing.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Borders Bats	8	3	19	2	.205	.607	1	2	13	1	3.38	1.33	4
the gas	10	3	9	0	.303	.815	1	2	18	3	3.63	1.66	5

A close matchup saw The Gas edge the bats 5-4. Aaron Cook, not normally known for strikeouts, picked up eight and three holds helpedÂ the Gas.Â Teixeira was the pick of the Bats’ hitters, but the big RBI numbers were not matched with runs or average.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Rio Crande Typos	22	5	14	2	.281	.768	3	1	20	0	1.62	0.96	7
Tribal Warfare	8	0	8	0	.310	.785	2	0	14	0	1.13	0.56	4

The Typos’ hitters were the stars in a 7-4 win over Warfare. Kinsler and McCann led the offense while Cliff Lee, Halladay and Buerhle were the pitching stars. Kershaw’s in good form for Warfare, but the hitters lacked power and speed.

The results leave SWAT 2.5 games up on the ‘Cuse. The Stuff are 4.5 back, followed by my Isotopes. Bonestalkers and the Giants make up the top six. The Bats, Whos, Chasers and Angels are not much further back, but the Bangers, Typos, Gas and Warfare have work to do.

Early MLB games this week: Back to normal

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After the All-Star break last week, we’re back to the standard MLB regular season format.Â There are twelve early games during the working week, spread out over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and they feature twenty-one of the thirty teams.Â

All times are listed in British Summer Time (BST).Â Continue reading →

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: the Second Half

Great Britain heading to Croatia for Baseball World Cup

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Great Britain Baseball

Great Britain’s 2009 Baseball World Cup journey will now begin at a new destination.Â The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) announced yesterday that Croatia will replace Russia in the tournament and take over as the host of Pool D.Â

The move from Moscow to Zagreb has been confirmed less than two months before the tournament is scheduled to begin on 9 September.Â Continue reading →

You Are the Scorer: Number 37

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Scenario: The game is tied in the bottom half of the last regulation inning, and, with a runner on third, the batter hits a ball that bounces in fair territory and hops over the home-run fence. The ground rules state that the batter is enitled to a double on such a play.

As the official scorer, what do you award the batter with?

A – A single.
B – A double.

Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:

Answer: A – A single.

Rule 10.06(f) states:
When a batter ends a game with a safe hit that drives in as many runs as are necessary to put his team in the lead, the official scorer shall credit such batter with only as many bases on his hit as are advanced by the runner who scores the winning run.

Rule 10.06(f) Comment states:
The official scorer shall apply this rule even when the batter is theoretically entitled to more bases because of being awarded an â€œautomaticâ€ extra-base hit under various provisions of Rules 6.09 and 7.05.

Another bat-and-ball international in Cardiff

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Wales is a proud sporting nation and the superb job Cardiff made of hosting the first test of the 2009 Ashes Series last week was yet another example of this.Â However, the England-Australia encounter isn’t the only international bat-and-ball game to take place in theÂ city this month.Â

A ‘B’ British/Welsh Baseball International doesn’t quite have the wide media appeal of an Ashes test, but anyone in the vicinity of Trelai Park in Cardiff on Saturday 25 July shouldn’t miss the chance to watch a sporting battle between England and Wales, played out in this entertaining variation of baseball.Â The ‘A’ International is set to take place in Liverpool this Saturday.

Further details can be found on the WelshBaseball.co.uk website, including a link to a feature about leading Welsh baseball ‘bowler’ Matthew Hopkins.

Keeping Score with the Herts Little League

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HertsBB If you turn up at a Herts Little League day and spy some parents glancing at an electronic device, don’t be too hasty in criticising them for not paying attention.Â They are probably not checking their e-mails or writing a shopping list.Â They are much more likely to be playing an important role in documenting the game.

Official scorers at Little League games are an unfamiliar sight in Britain, but they are the latest example of the forward thinking that has become a hallmark of Herts Baseball Club.Â Continue reading →

All-Star break for fantasy managers

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So we have reached the All-Star break, which gives most of the players and all fantasy managers a few days off.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Braughing’s Bangers	40	6	30	5	.335	.973	5	2	52	0	2.83	1.15	7
Syracuse Nationals	35	6	30	8	.317	.849	1	5	45	0	5.82	1.53	2

The Bangers end the first half of the year on a high by handing the ‘Cuse a 7-2 defeat. Both teams put up impressive offensive numbers, but huge weeks from Tulowitzki, Kemp and Cano gave the Bangers the edge in runs, average and OPS. The Bangers’ rotation of Wainwright, Zambrano, Happ and Jackson were all in excellent form. The Nats had the speed of Ellsbury and their closing trio of Franklin, Wilson and Jenks to thank for winning their two categories.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Rio Crande Typos	34	6	22	7	.260	.751	2	4	35	1	6.59	1.42	2
SWAT	34	11	35	4	.292	.943	3	0	37	4	3.95	1.28	9

SWAT are the leaders of the BaseballGB league at the All-Star break after defeating the Typos 9-2. SWAT had big weeks from Jayson Werth and Pablo Sandoval, while rough weeks for Millwood and Buerhle damaged the Typos’ ERA and WHIP.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Wright Stuff	39	10	30	4	.297	.854	3	5	51	0	4.44	1.34	8
RussDev Giants	28	4	21	8	.270	.765	2	3	49	0	2.88	1.14	3

The Stuff slugged their way to victory over the Giants, taking five out of six hitting categories. A-Rod’s big week helped the Stuff to an 8-3 win and in a strikeout heavy matchup, the Stuff nicked it thanks to the efforts of Wandy Rodriguez, Haren, Harang and Baker. The Giants had a huge week from Verlander and plenty of speed, but it wasn’t enough.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	32	9	34	3	.298	.875	4	2	38	0	4.03	1.42	7
Josh & Jonny Whos	25	4	22	5	.244	.724	1	3	30	1	2.48	1.16	5

My Isotopes just got the better of JJ’s Whos in a 7-5 win. My hitters had a good week (for once!) with Manny, Utley and Howard providing most of the power. Jon Lester was the pick of my pitchers, although JJ took both saves and holds and had good weeks from Johan and Bannister. Despite my team having Stetter and Troncoso playing against each other for three games, there were no holds to be had!

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Borders Bats	38	11	39	7	.312	.889	2	5	19	4	3.07	1.09	7
Tribal Warfare	21	4	19	7	.217	.659	3	0	19	2	1.59	0.93	3

The Bats hit their way to a 7-3 win over Warfare, thanks to an incredible 15 RBIs from Ludwick. Warfare took three pitching categories but only just made it over the weekly minimum inning limit of 20.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bonestalkers	33	4	31	3	.302	.778	5	3	44	0	4.61	1.14	8
the gas	24	7	29	0	.271	.805	4	2	37	1	3.93	1.42	4

Bonestalkers ended the first half of the season with an 8-4 win, taking four hitting and four pitching categories. Victorino and Tejada were the pick of the Bonestalkers hitters, while Josh Beckett had a big week on the mound. Jered Weaver pitched pretty well for the Gas.

Â	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Cheddar Chasers	22	5	22	1	.202	.600	2	3	22	0	2.19	1.01	2
stevenston angels	31	10	37	6	.241	.757	4	5	46	0	3.48	1.06	9

The Angels picked up a 9-2 win over the Chasers, sweeping the hitting categories in the process. Michael Bourn and Brandon Phillips were the pick of the hitters, while Josh Johnson anchored the pitching staff. Konerko had a nice week for the Chasers, but they will now have to deal with injuries to Jay Bruce and Randy Johnson.

SWAT lead the ‘Cuse by two games, followed by the Stuff and my Isotopes. Bonestalkers and Borders Bats round out the top six, although the Giants, Angels, Chasers and Whos are not too far behind. The Bangers, Typos, Gas and Warfare have work to do.

As the All-Star break means there are not as many games this week, the usual weekly minimum innings limit of 20 will not apply in the next lot of matchups.

BaseballGB

British perspectives on baseball