Monthly Archives: June 2010

BaseballGB Fantasy League – Week Twelve

Leave a reply

BgbFantasyHeadlineWelcome to our weekly round-up of the BaseballGB Fantasy League competition.  This is a mixed Head-2-Head league involving BGB writers and readers. 

There are fourteen teams who pair up in different combinations each week, making for seven match-ups in any given week. The teams battle over twelve statistical categories, gaining one point for each category they win.  All the points are carried over into the season league table at the end of the weekly match-ups. The top six teams with the most points at the end of the fantasy season will go on to the playoffs during the last three weeks of September. 

SWAT were the victors in the inaugural BGB Fantasy League last year.  Will they retain their title in 2010, or will a new champion emerge?

The race for the BaseballGB fantasy title is really hotting up, with another week seeing another change at the top. But which team is leading the way after last week’s matchups?  Continue reading →

England v Wales in a Welsh Baseball International on Saturday

10 Replies

WelshBBThe annual international Welsh Baseball game between England and Wales takes place this Saturday at Tredegar Park, Newport, Wales. ‘Kick off’ is scheduled for 2 p.m and a poster for the event can be found here.

Welsh baseball, also sometimes known as British baseball, is a hybrid of baseball, cricket and rounders and has been featured on BaseballGB previously.

The annual international game was first held in 1908 and it would be fair to say that the Welsh have dominated the tie in recent years.  England haven’t prevailed since 1987, with a rain-induced draw in 1998 being the only time since then that they have managed to avoid defeat.

Does that sequence mean England have no chance again this year, or do the laws of probability tell us the Welsh winning streak has to come to an end soon?

Why not head along to Newport this Saturday and find out, while taking in a truly unique sporting event that is steeped in history.  For more details about Welsh Baseball, just visit the official website.

BST guide to this week’s MLB games: Reds and Cubs, Halladay and Sabathia

Leave a reply

There are twelve early games in total this working work as we return to normal order with Interleague play now having come to an end for the 2010 season.

The Reds and Cubs have three early games this week, two of which are the opening games of their series together at Wrigley Field.  Both the Blue Jays and the Yankees are in early action twice,  with one of New York’s match-ups being a rare Friday day game from Yankee Stadium. 

Roy Halladay is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday against the Reds, while Edwin Jackson returns to the mound for the first time since his walk-strewn no-hitter and Tom Gorzelanny looks likely to take Carlos Zambrano’s place in the Cubs’ rotation.  CC Sabathia is due to pitch against the Aussie Ryan Rowland-Smith on Thursday and we may also get to see Carlos Silva take the mound after he was moved from his scheduled day game start last week.  All times are in BST.

Monday 28 June

No early games

Tuesday 29 June

No early games

Wednesday 30 June

17.35. Philadelphia @ Cincinnati (Roy Halladay – Aaron Harang)
18.10. Detroit at Minnesota (Andrew Oliver – Kevin Slowey)
19.10. Houston at Milwaukee (Wandy Rodriguez – Dave Bush)
19.15. Arizona at St. Louis (Edwin Jackson – Jeff Suppan)
19.20. Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs (Brad Lincoln – Tom Gorzelanny)
20.35. Colorado at San Diego (Jeff Francis – Clayton Richard)
20.45. LA Dodgers at San Francisco (Vicente Padilla – Jonathan Sanchez)

Thursday 1 July

17.05. Toronto @ Cleveland (Shaun Marcum – Justin Masterson)
18.05. Seattle @ NY Yankees (Ryan Rowland-Smith – CC Sabathia)
19.20. Cincinnati @ Chicago Cubs (Sam LeCure – Carlos Silva)

Friday 2 July

18.05. Toronto @ NY Yankees (Brett Cecil – A.J. Burnett)
19.20 Cincinnati @ Chicago Cubs (Bronson Arroyo – Ryan Dempster)

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv), while ESPN America’s MLB schedule can be found here. A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com.

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Zambrano strikes again

Leave a reply

WhgbHlSqIf we needed baseball to be a diversion from other disappointing sporting events this past week, and we undoubtedly did, then once again MLB came to our rescue.

The D-Backs’ Edwin Jackson pitched the fourth no-hitter of the season, throwing 149 pitches and walking eight hitters in the process.  It should have been the fifth no-hitter of 2010, of course, had Jim Joyce made the right call on out number 27 for Armando Galarraga.  A mystifyingly bad call followed by demands for instant replay.  That sounds painfully familiar.

Yes, baseball brings us plenty of joy, but it is also capable of causing extreme frustration.  Just ask Carlos Zambrano.

It’s been a strange season so far for the Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Carlos Zambrano and his frustration came out in typically spectacular fashion on Friday during a day game against the White Sox.

The volatile Venezuelan has gone backwards over the last two and a half seasons since his Cy Young candidate form of 2007.  Zambrano got pummelled by Atlanta for eight runs in 1.1 innings on Opening Day this year and he was shifted to the bullpen three starts later, making thirteen relief appearances before returning to the rotation on 4 June against the Astros. Zambrano pitched a good game in his fourth appearance back as a starter against the Angels, one run conceded over seven innings, and many questioned whether this was a mere fleeting glimpse of the Big Z of old or if had he genuinely turned the corner?  Continue reading →

Prince Harry does us proud!

4 Replies

It’s not every day that you see a member of the Royal Family at a ballpark, but that’s the sight we were treated to prior to the Twins-Mets game on Saturday.

Prince Harry stepped on to the mound with a Mets cap on his head and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He made a good job of it as well.  It was a bit high, but it’s much better to serve up a bit of chin music than to leave the field to a chorus of groans having failed to reach the plate.  Jonny Gould always used to claim, somewhat mischievously, that members of the Royal Family watched ‘Baseball on 5’.

On that evidence, maybe Jonny was telling the truth after all?

It’s not the first time the Royal Family has shown an interest in the sport.  As Josh Chetwynd explains in ‘British Baseball and the West Ham Club’,  on 4 July 1918 King George V was one of 38,000 people, including Winston Churchill and the Prime Minister David Lloyd George, packed into Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge to watch a ballgame between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy.

Prince Harry’s appearance was the second royal sporting visit of the week.  The Queen attended Wimbledon on Thursday for the first time in 33 years.  While the official line for her long absence was that she is always busy in the summer, many have suggested that Her Majesty is not much of a tennis fan.

Maybe she prefers baseball?

I’m sure she would be more than welcome at this year’s National Baseball Championships and she can bring Prince Harry along to throw out the first pitch.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra to broadcast MLB

16 Replies

Mlb5XtraHlBBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra is scheduled to broadcast a live MLB game for the first time next Sunday evening.  Baseball fans across Britain will be sitting excitedly at their DAB radio or computer to listen to a top match-up from the American League as the Rays take on the Twins at Target Field from 19.00.

British-based baseball fans have longed for some good news telling us that our beloved sport would be available more widely once again ever since Five’s decision to discontinue their North American sports coverage at the end of 2008, ending a 13 year relationship with MLB.

While established baseball fans can take advantage of subscriptions to ESPN America (now in HD on Sky) and/or the great offerings at MLB.com, MLB’s disappearance from terrestrial TV has been a big blow in the campaign to attract newcomers to the sport.

This isn’t quite a return to TV coverage, but it’s the next best thing.  Baseball suits the radio medium perfectly, in the same way that the BBC’s Test Match Special is the preferred way to follow England’s cricketing exploits for many people.

We don’t yet have details about whether this a one-off deal or a longer term arrangement, or quite what the programme format will be.  The NFL coverage on 5 Live Sports Extra normally takes a local radio feed for the game (occasionally they provide their own commentary), with a UK-based studio providing analysis and news during breaks in the play.  Arlo White, Neil Reynolds, Greg Brady and the rest of the ‘NFL on BBC’ crew take a similar approach to that of ‘Baseball on 5’: insightful analysis for both newcomers and established fans, with plenty of humour and audience interaction thrown in for good measure.

Hopefully the MLB coverage will take a similar format and it will be a regular programme.  ‘Baseball on 5’ didn’t just provide us with MLB games, it was the focal point for the British baseball community.  It’s not quite the same without the likes of Jonny Gould and Josh Chetwynd bringing us all together and if the BBC coverage can take on that role, it will be great news for us all.

19:00 –23:00 Sports Extra Baseball

Commentary on Tampa Bay Rays against Minnesota Twins on American independence day.

Who would have thought that a quick glimpse at the BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra schedule could bring so much joy?

UPDATE: As noted by Chris in the comments, it’s been confirmed that Jonny and Josh will indeed be hosting the show.  Roll on Sunday evening!

We are provisionally planning to run a live blog during next Sunday’s game.  More details will follow nearer the event.

Saturday’s early MLB games: Johan Santana faces the Twins

2 Replies

Ho hum, another no-hitter.  Maybe it’s a freak occurrence, maybe there’s an underlying reason why pitchers are racking up historical feats at an unprecedented pace this season?  I’ll leave such research to people better positioned to delve into the topic and get on with enjoying the games.

And thankfully there’s a decent selection of early games to enjoy live in the British evening today. 

The opener is the highlight of the day from a storyline perspective.  Johan Santana will face his former team for the first time since being traded to the Mets during the 2007/08 offseason.  That would be a notable story in itself, but it’s all the more so coming in a difficult week for the former Cy Young winner, both in admitting that he’s still recovering from offseason elbow surgery and the off-the-field revelation that he was accused of sexual battery last October, a case that was closed due to lack of evidence.  I’m sure he’ll be glad to get back out on the field and it should be a good match-up against Carl Pavano, who pitched a complete game against the Phillies last time out and is quietly having a very accomplished season.  In fact, his moustache seems to be getting more attention than his pitching.

Elsewhere, Cole Hamels takes on the Blue Jays a day after Roy Halladay returned to his former team and got the win, Ian Kennedy has the task of following up Edwin Jackson’s no-no as he matches up against David Price and the Rays, and the impressive Doug Fister makes a very welcome return for the Mariners after a stint on the Disabled List.  All times are in BST.

18.10. Minnesota at NY Mets (Carl Pavano – Johan Santana) * ESPN America
19.10. St. Louis at Kansas City (Blake Hawksworth – Kyle Davies)
20.05. Houston at Texas (Josh Banks – C.J. Wilson)
21.00. Detroit at Atlanta (Max Scherzer – Kenshin Kawakami)
21.05. Washington at Baltimore (Livan Hernandez – Brad Bergesen) * ESPN America
21.05. Philadelphia at Toronto (Cole Hamels – Shaun Marcum)
21.05. Arizona at Tampa Bay (Ian Kennedy – David Price)
21.10. Seattle at Milwaukee (Doug Fister – Randy Wolf)

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  It’s wall-to-wall MLB on ESPN America tonight, as the two noted games above are followed by Yankees-Dodgers from midnight. A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com

Web pick of the week: Baseball Bugs

Leave a reply

Web-PickThis week’s web pick is the classic Looney Tune ‘Baseball Bugs’, which among other things added yet another phrase into the incredible lexicon of baseball. 

Occasionally you will find a pitcher whose change-up is so confounding to the batter, it looks as though the ball has come to a stop somewhere between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. 

The batter swings so early at the offering that you could imagine him getting in position again and taking another hack at it before it actually crosses the plate.

The name for such a devastating pitch: a Bugs Bunny change-up. 

Bugs debuted his pitch back in 1946 in the classic cartoon. “I think I’ll perplex him with my slow ball”, says Bugs, and so he does, along with two other batters! 

Baseball Bugs is just 7 and a half minutes long, but it’s full of classic moments, from Bugs talking up his batting prowess (“Wham, a homer, wham, another homer!”) to chirping away behind the plate like all good catchers (“That’s the old pepper boy, that’s the old pitching, that’s putting it over the old plate boy!”), and is a much-cherished piece of baseball’s popular culture history.

British Baseball Beat: Postseason dreams

7 Replies

bbbHlsqWe’ve reached the point in the British baseball season when playoff predictions start coming to the fore.  Not that anything has been decided yet – far from it, there’s still plenty to play for -  but the teams have now played enough games that you can get a good idea of who is going to be in the postseason mix.

There are two main stages to the British baseball postseason in 2010.  The ‘playoffs’ stage takes place on Saturday 21 and 28 August, the first Saturday being an A and AA league exclusive round and then all four leagues being represented on the 28th.  The playoff games are there to determine the entrants to the marquee event of the British baseball season: the National Baseball Championships (NBC), taking place on 4-5 September.  Continue reading →

BaseballGB Fantasy League – Week Eleven

2 Replies

BgbFantasyHeadlineWelcome to our weekly round-up of the BaseballGB Fantasy League competition.  This is a mixed Head-2-Head league involving BGB writers and readers. 

There are fourteen teams who pair up in different combinations each week, making for seven match-ups in any given week. The teams battle over twelve statistical categories, gaining one point for each category they win.  All the points are carried over into the season league table at the end of the weekly match-ups. The top six teams with the most points at the end of the fantasy season will go on to the playoffs during the last three weeks of September. 

SWAT were the victors in the inaugural BGB Fantasy League last year.  Will they retain their title in 2010, or will a new champion emerge?

 

There is a new team at the top of the BaseballGB fantasy league standings, but who is celebrating this week?  Continue reading →