The British Baseball Federation Board will be looking for a new Secretary after John Walmsley resigned at the end of last week. The decision, taken “after serious deliberation”, leaves two major places on the Board vacant following Rob Rance’s resignation as President in May. Darrin Muller is currently filling Rance’s former role on an interim basis. Continue reading
The last set of BaseballGB fantasy matchups are at the halfway point.It seems incredible, but it’s true: we’ve reached the final week of the MLB regular season. Of the eight potential playoff spots, there are probably only two still up for grabs over these last few days. The Rockies are still in pole position to win the NL Wild Card, but the Braves are catching them fast and could still snatch it from them at the death. Meanwhile the AL Central is a genuine two-way battle between the Twins and Tigers and they will meet for a four-game series in Detroit, the final game of which is an early encounter on Thursday.
All times are in BST. Continue reading
As we enter the final week of the 2009 season, only three teams have secured play-off places so far, but expect the picture to become a lot more clear over the coming days. Meanwhile, there’s still a few races going on, and for some teams their post-season hopes may really go down to the wire.
It’s a full house of early games today as all fifteen contests will take place under daylight. ESPN will be showing the Red Sox-Yankees game rather than broadcasting in the usual Sunday Night slot. All times are in BST.
18.05. Orioles @ Indians – Tillman (2-4), Huff (10-8)
18.05. Red Sox @ Yankees – Byrd (1-2), Pettitte (13-7)
18.07. Mariners @ Blue Jays – Rowland-Smith (4-3), Tallet (7-9)
18.10. Mets @ Marlins – Misch (1-4), Johnson (15-5)
18.35. Braves @ Nationals – Lowe (15-9), Hernandez (8-12)
18.35. Dodgers @ Pirates – Kershaw (8-8), McCutchen (0-2)
19.05. Reds @ Astros – Cueto (10-10), Rodriguez (13-11)
19.05. Tigers @ White Sox – Jackson (13-7), Hudson (0-1)
19.05. Phillies @ Brewers – Blanton (11-7), Bush (5-8)
19.10. Twins @ Royals – Liriano (5-12), Greinke (15-8)
20.05. Rays @ Rangers – Price (9-7), McCarthy (7-4)
20.10. Cardinals @ Rockies – Lohse (6-8), De La Rosa (15-9)
20.35. A’s @ Angels – Gonzalez (0-3), Saunders (14-7)
21.05. Cubs @ Giants – Wells (11-9), Cain (13-7)
21.10. Padres @ D-Backs – Mujica (3-4), Buckner (2-6)
Plenty to look forward to there, including a big game for the Braves who have now pulled to within 2.5 games of the Rockies in the NL Wild Card race thanks to their five-game winning streak. The Giants and Marlins may both feel that they still have an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs as well. In the American League, the only race really left open is in the Central division. Detroit look to have the better of the match-ups today. They have Edwin Jackson on the mound against Ben Hudson, making just his second Major League start. In contrast, Minnesota have to face Zack Greinke.
All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, Gameday Audio and MLB.tv). ESPN America will broadcast the Red Sox-Yankees game at 18.00 and then an ‘as live’ showing of the Cardinals-Rockies game at 22.00.
The end of September leads all eyes to focus on the potential postseason teams. Excitement-filled nights in October await eight teams and only one will emerge from the marathon MLB season with their dreams fulfilled.
It’s a captivating story that leaves us all engrossed every year, but for many it seems a long way away. While some managers are getting ready to lead their charges into the playoffs, others fear the axe or are packing their bags already. Continue reading
There are four early games today. The Mariners and Blue Jays are playing out the string, but the other three games take you right into the heart of the postseason race. All times are in BST.
18.05. Braves @ Nationals – Hanson (10-4), Mock (3-9)
18.07. Mariners @ Blue Jays – Snell (7-10), Purcey (1-2)
21.10. Red Sox @ Yankees – Matsuzaka (3-5), Sabathia (18-7)
21.10. Cubs @ Giants – Gorzelanny (6-2), Zito (10-12)Â Continue reading
As the U.S. waits to see who they will face in the Baseball World Cup final, Great Britain’s players, coaches and supporters have had time to reflect on the nation’s own World Cup performance this week. America are the reigning champions and anything less than an appearance in the final would have been considered a failure.Â
In contrast, Great Britain had more modest targets heading into the tournament. Stephan Rapaglia’s men achieved their main goal of getting to play ten games against good quality opposition and the event has to be seen as a success for the side. Continue reading
Scenario: With a runner on first the batter appears to have a hit a run-scoring triple, but the preceding runner is called out on a appeal play for failing to touch second base.
The batter obviously loses a run batted in, but, as the official scorer, to what do you downgrade the triple?
A – A double.
B – A single.
C – No hit (just an at-bat).
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer: C – No hit (just an at-bat).
Rule 10.05(b)(2) states:
[The official scorer shall not credit a base hit when a] batter apparently hits safely and a runner who is forced to advance by reason of the batter becoming a runner fails to touch the first base to which such runner is advancing and is called out on appeal. The official scorer shall charge the batter with a time at bat but no hit.
I was contacted last week by the excellent Baseball Brainiac site, asking if I would take part in an interview about BaseballGB. I was more than happy to oblige and the finished article is now available.Â
Baseball Brainiac is a website all about the history of the sport. It’s “an excellent source for baseball information such as; how Major League Baseball came to be, who invented baseball, the origins of baseball, early versions of the game, facts you might not know about the World Series, baseball history, tips, records and more”. Well worth a visit.
The interview contains one main piece of news about BaseballGB. After several months of planning, I’m working towards launching a redesigned version of this website. It’s the latest part of my plan to improve the site year-on-year and my current aim is to be able to ‘go live’ in time for the World Series, or earlier if possible. Hopefully by the Fall Classic you will be able to log on and find your BGB content packaged in a new, impressive and more user-friendly design.