Monthly Archives: October 2010

A guide to the 2010 World Series

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MlbHlSqThe bittersweet moment of the World Series coming around is with us once again. 

The arrival of the World Series means that the baseball season will soon be over, with seven games remaining at most.  However, the games coming up promise to be some of the most exciting, nerve-jangling, passion-filled contests of the year. 

The San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers have made their way through the MLB marathon and are within touching distance of the ultimate prize in the sport.  One team will see their dreams fulfilled, the other will fall agonizingly short of their goal.  It’s the pressure of being so near and yet so far from glory that makes the Fall Classic such a great spectacle. 

The two teams

The 2010 World Series lineup reveals the difference between casual TV viewers and true baseball fans.  While FOX were praying for a New York Yankees-Philadelphia Phillies series that had the big-name drawing power, the rest of us were happy to see two relatively unfancied teams making it to the Fall Classic.

The Giants franchise is no stranger to success.  Only the Yankees have made the World Series on a greater number of occasions and they’ve won the championship five times.  However, those victories all came when the team was in New York.  Since moving to San Francisco for the 1958 season, the Giants have only made it back to the Fall Classic three times.  Their most recent appearance came in 2002 when they lost 4-3 to the Anaheim Angels.  Their bay area rivals, the Oakland A’s, have won four World Championships since moving to California in 1968 (their most recent, in 1989, coming at the expense of the Giants) and Giants fans will tell you it’s about time that their team started to redress the balance.

In contrast, the Texas Rangers are complete newcomers to the big stage.  After eleven fruitless years as the Washington Senators, the organization moved to Texas for the 1972 season and didn’t make it to the playoffs until 1996.  They were knocked out in the first round that year, as they were in 1998 and 1999 (swept 3-0 on both occasions), so their triumph over the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS this year was the first time they had won a postseason series.  They then won a Championship Series at their first attempt.  Maybe they’ll do the same in their first World Series?  Continue reading →

Giants end Phillies’ National League three-peat pursuit

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MlbHlSqAs Ryan Howard watched a 3-2 slider from Brian Wilson cross over the plate for strike three, the Phillies saw their pursuit of a third straight National League Championship come to an end. 

There will be no Phillies-Yankees World Series repeat in 2010.  Instead both teams will be sitting at home as the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants star in the Fall Classic.

Citizens Bank Park fell eerily silent as the Giants’ bench players streamed on to the field.  Even though they trailed 3-2 in the series, the home fans still expected their team to come through. 

And with good reason.  The Phillies have made the World Series two years in a row and, on paper and on their regular season record, they are the best team in the National League.

However, the Giants played better than the Phillies in this series, so they are the team that progresses.

It’s difficult to write about San Francisco’s triumph without the words coming off as a backhanded compliment.  The Giants’ batting lineup looks decent without being fearsome.  They have some genuine top-level pitchers in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Brian Wilson, but otherwise a batter would fancy their chances against their pitching staff.  They are not outstanding defensively, nor do they wow the crowds with unrivalled base-running exploits. 

In short, not much about them screams ‘World Series contender’.

Yet they haven’t made it this far by luck.  The Giants are a good team, a group that adds up to more than the sum of their parts under manager Bruce Bochy.  Whether you want to put it down to performing well in the clutch, having a ‘never say die’ attitude or any other phenomenon you wish to cite, they have found a way to win when it matters the most. 

Is that something you can measure with statistics?  Is it even just a figment of the imagination?  I don’t know, but I do know that the Giants edged their way into the postseason on the final day of the regular season, they beat the Braves in the NLDS and have now knocked the Phillies out in the NLCS.  You can’t argue with the results.

The fact that the Giants don’t bowl you over on paper only makes their World Series berth all the more exciting.  The stage is set for Lincecum or Cain to dazzle with a dominating (no-hit?) performance, for Buster Posey to cap his rookie season with a memorable moment or two, or for Pablo Sandoval to end a disappointing season for him personally by performing some World Series heroics in the same way that Cody Ross won the NLCS MVP award.

The Phillies deserve credit for another excellent season and they will know as well as anyone that the difference between winning a World Series and missing out at the Championship Series stage is a very fine line. 

Meanwhile the Giants are four wins away from a World Championship.

2010 update: batting dominance, pitching dominance, league health, and league quality

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StatisticsIn early 2009 I published a series of articles offering between-season comparisons of batters, pitchers, league quality, and league health in the British top tier. Later on last year I updated this for the 2009 season, and here I do the same for the season just gone. The big question is how Daniel Williams’s season compares against other top performances in recent years. He did, after all, break the modern records for batting average and on-base average. It is also interesting to find out what impact the expansion of the National Baseball League from five teams to eight teams had on the quality of play and the health of the circuit. Continue reading →

Texas Rangers run the Yankees out of the playoffs

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MlbHlSqWho wrote that the Texas Rangers might be “steamrollered” by the New York Yankees in their American League Championship Series (ALCS)? 

Okay, it was me, but in my defence I only wrote that I had a “feeling” that could happen and I did so after the Yankees had staged an almighty comeback to win Game One.  That result, losing 6-5 at home after New York scored five times in the eighth inning, would have crushed a lesser team.  For the Rangers to recover and win the series 4-2 is a testament not only to their talent, but also to their spirit and fight.

The Rangers’ series-clinching win in the early hours of the British morning neatly summed this up. 

The fifth inning proved to be decisive.  The Rangers entered the frame leading 1-0 and starting pitcher Colby Lewis had thrown four no-hit innings before former Ranger Alex Rodriguez stroked a lead-off double into left-centre field.  Lewis had been on a roll and that could have knocked him out of his rhythm, especially when A-Rod scampered home from third on a wild pitch that should have been ruled a hit-by-pitch. 

The way the ball deflected showed that it must have hit somebody and the home plate umpire obviously thought it came off catcher Bengie Molina rather than Nick Swisher.  He was wrong and Swisher followed his captain’s lead by selling the play to the Yankees’ advantage.  Rightly or wrongly, it’s what most (all?) players would have done in the same situation, but it was another little moment to add to the Evil Empire legend and to make the neutrals root for the Rangers that little bit more (incidentally, it was very funny listening to MLB on 5 Live’s Jonny Gould on Wednesday night recalling Jeter’s angry reaction when he brought up the ‘Evil Empire’ nickname in an interview at the 2008 All Star Game).

Rather than rattling the Rangers, it seemed to galvanise them in the bottom of the inning.  Phil Hughes was chased from the game after Vlad Guerrero decided to take offence to the Yankees intentionally walking Josh Hamilton to pitch to him for the second straight time.  Vlad doubled home two runs and then Nelson Cruz welcomed David Robertson to the game by smacking a two-run homer to give Texas a 5-1 lead. They added another run in the seventh, but it wasn’t needed in the end.

It was a fully deserved series win.  The Rangers outplayed the Yankees and Joe Girardi can have no complaints about the result.  There were question marks over the Yankees’ starting pitchers heading into the postseason and they proved to be justified.  Add that to a spluttering offence and you’re not going to win many postseason games. 

As for the Rangers, fighting back in Game Two was important but their two comprehensive wins in Games Three (8-0) and Four (10-3) at Yankee Stadium was what won the series for them.  Listening to Game Five on Wednesday evening, there was a very muted atmosphere at Yankee Stadium early on, as if the usual Bronx confidence had taken a knock: quite an achievement by the Rangers.

Texas move on to their first ever World Series and will be full of confidence, especially as avoiding a Game Seven showdown means that Cliff Lee will be available for Game One of the Fall Classic.

The NCLS

Cliff Lee facing the Phillies would make for a fascinating story (not so fascinating for Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr, I suspect); however the Giants hold the advantage despite losing Game Five.  They have two more chances to make it back to the World Series for the first time since their loss to the Angels in 2002. 

Unfortunately, the early end to the ALCS has meant that Game Six tonight has been shifted from the UK-friendly time of 20.57 BST to just before one in the morning.  Still, Sunday gives us plenty of chance to catch up on the missed sleep.  Roy Oswalt and Jonathan Sanchez are scheduled to start.

Wednesday Night Baseball on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra

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Mlb5XtraHlWhile commenting on the Minnesota Twins’ loss in the ALDS, I noted that some of the fans went down the ‘be pessimistic and we won’t be disappointed’ route.

I admit I was doing the same thing when I stated that the Texas Rangers might get steamrollered by the New York Yankees after Game One of their American League Championship Series.

I don’t have anything  against the Yankees particularly, but like most ‘neutral’ fans, I feel that they have enjoyed plenty of success already (not least with last year’s triumph) and would prefer to see someone else having their day in the sun rather than watch a pinstriped party for the second year in a row. I think I can put that sentiment down to first falling for baseball back in 1998 and seeing nothing but Yankee World Series wins in my first three seasons.

So when the Rangers lost the ALCS opener in such heartbreaking fashion, I went into self-defence mode. Hurry up and get it over with, just sweep them and be done with it.

But I should have had more faith in Texas.

They’ve battled back magnificently and now stand on the brink of making their first ever World Series. Bengie Molina, another eighth spot hitter please note, came through in Game Four with a three-run homer as the Rangers turned a 1-0 series deficit into a 3-1 lead. That fourth win is always the hardest to get, and we all know this New York Yankees team will do all they can to get back into the series, but the Rangers now have every chance of winning it.

First pitch of Game Five is set for 21.07 BST tonight and BBC 5 Live Sports Extra will be broadcasting the game live from 21.00.  Will the Yankees start their fightback or will the Rangers take their first chance to seal the series?  With C.J. Wilson and CC Sabathia on the mound, it should be a fascinating encounter.

5 Live Sports Extra’s MLB coverage can be found on DAB radio, digitial TV and, for UK residents, on the BBC.co.uk website.

Eighth spot heroes

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MlbHlSqTop billing was given to ‘Doc’ and the ‘Freak’, but it was plain-old eighth spot hitter Cody Ross who stole the show in Philadelphia last night.  The former Marlin took Roy Halladay deep twice as the San Francisco Giants took an early lead in the NLCS with a 4-3 Game One victory.

The eighth spot in the batting order doesn’t typically provide much power.  In the National League, it’s often the landing spot for a team’s least effective hitter, unless Tony La Russa is pulling his ‘pitcher batting eighth’ trick for the Cardinals. 

Not so in last night’s game.  Ross did his damage batting eighth and his opposing number in the Phillies’ lineup, Carlos Ruiz, also hit a home run against one of the elite starters in the game today (Lincecum in Ruiz’s case).

A player’s spot in the batting order can assume a surprising level of importance.  There’s an obvious tactical side to the construction of a lineup that makes a manager want to put his best hitters in certain positions.  Speed and on-base skills for the lead-off hitter, a ‘professional hitter’ in the two spot who can advance the runner or get on base himself, followed by the 3-4-5 heart of the order who  drive home the runs (that’s the theory, at least).

Being in one of those roles therefore bestows an additional element of responsibility and importance.  It’s not just a number, it’s a badge of honour.  Ever player will toe the party line and talk about ‘what’s best for the time’, but no one gives up their lofty batting lineup position lightly. 

Few will forget the fuss that was made when Alex Rodriguez was demoted down to the eighth spot by Joe Torre during the Yankees’ 2006 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers.  Rodriguez was struggling at the plate, but moving him all the way down to the eighth spot was a symbolic move as much as anything.  It was considered a serious slight against Rodriguez, some would say a deliberate slight (an act of humiliation even) by a manager who later saw fit to reveal stories of Rodriguez being called ‘A-Fraud’ by his teammates. 

For Rodriguez, hitting in the eighth spot was a come-down, but we shouldn’t fall into the trap of downplaying the lower-order hitters.  Somebody has to hit there after all and sometimes the lower-order is home to postseason heroes like Cody Ross.

Giants-Phillies resume tonight on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra

Game Two of the NLCS will be broadcast on BBC radio tonight, with first pitch set for 1 a.m.  Jonathan Sanchez and Roy Oswalt are the scheduled starters as the Phillies look to level the series. 

Ryan and Rangers can smile again

I’m sure there were plenty of knowing looks among the crowd at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington when Texas took a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning yesterday.  The phrase ‘once bitten, twice shy’ comes to mind.  Nolan Ryan wouldn’t have been smiling quite so broadly as he was in Game One, that’s for sure.

This time there would be no patented Yankees comeback and the Rangers finally got their first ever postseason home win to level the series 1-1.  The Yankees will still feel they have the advantage heading back home for the next three games, but the Rangers should also enter Yankee Stadium with confidence.   Two games in and this looks a finely balanced series. 

The producer of BBC 5 Live’s MLB coverage, Simon Crosse, has stated that they may be broadcasting one of the games from this series during next week.  Further details will be provided when available.

Yankees’ rally leaves Rangers reeling

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MlbHlSqThey did it again.

Isn’t that what all the great sides do?  Like Man Utd getting an injury time winner, some teams just seem destined to come out on top and that was the case last night with the New York Yankees.  A five-run eighth inning rally turned a 5-1 deficit into a 6-5 lead and left the Rangers reeling.

The game couldn’t have started any better for Texas. 3-0 up in the first inning, they increased their lead to 5-0 in the fourth and chased CC Sabathia from the game with a pitching line of four innings pitched, five runs conceded.  While Phil Hughes pitched brilliantly in his ALDS start, Sabathia has been the only Yankee starter who has performed well consistently in recent weeks.  Beating CC but not beating the Yankees was a mistake that the Rangers couldn’t afford to make.

It wasn’t their only mistake either.  Ian Kinsler’s carelessness on the base-pads helped Kerry Wood settle down and shut off a Rangers rally in the eighth, while Ron Washington’s bullpen usage was questionable, and not for the first time.  Game One doesn’t decide a series, but the Yankees are hard enough to beat without giving them a head start.  Neftali Feliz is the Rangers’ best reliever and he should have been called on to stop the damage in the eighth.

He wasn’t and now the Yankees are 1-0 up in the series, and even further ahead in the minds of the Rangers’ players. 

I had a feeling that the Rangers, good team though they are, could get steamrollered in this series if the Yankees got on top early.  Last night’s game did nothing to allay those fears, but it’s probably a good thing for the Rangers that Game Two takes place today.  There’s no time to dwell on what has happened.  Get back out there and level the series before heading out to New York.

Today’s game should begin at a little past 9 p.m. UK time, with Phil Hughes and Colby Lewis taking the mound in Arlington.

Meanwhile the Giants-Phillies series gets underway at half past midnight. If ever there was a pitching match-up worth missing sleep for, Tim Lincecum versus Roy Halladay is it.

You Are the Scorer: Another query with a video

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YouAreScorer
Thanks to Dave Burke from the Leicester Blue Sox for this question. For the second time on this column, there is a video to go with the question.

First of all, watch this video.

Dave’s question is this… why does the official scorer not charge an error to the shortstop, as it’s pretty clear that a double play would have ordinarily resulted, yet the team made only one out. Continue reading →

Five more inductees join British Baseball Hall of Fame with announcement of second annual class

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The second class of inductees into the British Baseball Hall of Fame was announced on Tuesday 12 October 2010, and it saw five names join the three individuals elected in the inaugural class. The new figures are Alan Bloomfield (inducted under the Baseball players category), Margaret Borley (Coaches, managers, umpires, and other officials), Fred Lewis (Game builders), Sir Francis Ley (Game builders), and Gavin Marshall (Baseball players).
Alan Bloomfield, who was a junior footballer at Arsenal before committing to baseball, became one of the most consistently dominant ballplayers in the London area during the 1980s and 1990s. He appeared at more European Baseball Championships than any other Great Britain player and he was described by The Daily Mail of Hull in 1984 as “the best British player ever.” Bloomfield was a member of the first two Great Britain squads to win gold medals in European Championship competition, the B-Pool victories in 1988 and 1996. In 1988, he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Domestically, he competed for the Sutton Braves, the Southern Tigers, and the London Warriors, and he posted outstanding batting figures year after year. In all, he played on six national championship-winning squads.
Margaret Borley was the first member of the British baseball community to receive Queen’s honours for work in the sport, being named an MBE in 2007. Borley founded one of the country’s most successful youth organizations, the Tonbridge Bobcats Youth Baseball Club in Kent. In over 30 years of service to British baseball, Borley has led the Bobcats to numerous youth championships and helped develop a number of future Great Britain internationals, including Alex Malihoudis, Nick Carter, and Will Lintern.
Fred Lewis established baseball in the town of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, in 1909 and taught and administered baseball until his death in 1960. For at least 48 years – from 1912 until 1960 – baseball was played continuously in Chipping Norton thanks to Lewis. Lewis, who was a local Scout master, found out about baseball in 1909 when he obtained a year-old baseball guide. He immediately became an ambassador for the sport, fashioning much of his baseball equipment by hand or through local artisans. Through his disciplined work ethic, Lewis developed excellent ballplayers. In 1926, a Chipping Norton team led by Lewis travelled to London to play a team of expatriates, called the London Americans, at Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge. Lewis’s all-British team prevailed in the match-up, which earned attention from the national press for his club’s performance.
Sir Francis Ley was Britain’s original baseball magnate. He was the first domestic businessman to make a committed effort to develop the sport, by establishing the country’s first dynasty team – Derby – and erecting its first authentic baseball ground. Sir Francis’s teams won national championships in 1895, 1897, and 1898. This was the most of any team in baseball’s first decade in Great Britain. Sir Francis also proved that baseball had the potential to be a commercial venture in the United Kingdom, attracting upwards of 5,000 spectators on a regular basis.
Gavin Marshall was the first born-and-bred British baseball player to earn a professional contract in the United States. He was also a successful member of the British national team and a national champion. Marshall, whose father Barry and grandfather Ron were stand-out players and coaches both in domestic baseball and for Great Britain, showed his considerable baseball talents at a young age. The Hull native made his first appearance with the Great Britain senior side as a 16 year old in 1993. Marshall earned a college baseball scholarship to Centenary College in Louisiana and then to the University of the Pacific. After his collegiate career, he signed a professional contract in the independent Frontier League with the Dubois County Dragons. He played for 2 years in American professional baseball, making 57 appearances. He continued his baseball career in style upon his return to Great Britain, pitching the Brighton Buccaneers to a 5–1 victory at the 2002 national championships.
The Board of Electors for the British Baseball Hall of Fame comprises individuals who have experience in researching the history of British baseball. This includes one seat for a representative from SABR UK (the British chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research). An additional seat is reserved for a representative from the board of the British Baseball Federation as an acknowledgement of the governing body’s endorsement of the project.
New classes in the British Baseball Hall of Fame are announced annually, on the second Tuesday in October. The inaugural class was revealed on 13 October 2009, with induction requiring at least six “yes” votes from among the eight Electors. The Board of Electors grew to ten in number in 2010 and the threshold remained as six votes.
For biographies of all the inductees to date and other details on the British Baseball Hall of Fame, please visit the official website: www.bbhof.org.uk.

bbhof_200x225The second class of inductees into the British Baseball Hall of Fame was announced on Tuesday 12 October 2010, and it saw five names join the three individuals elected in the inaugural class. The new figures are Alan Bloomfield (inducted under the Baseball players category), Margaret Borley (Coaches, managers, umpires, and other officials), Fred Lewis (Game builders), Sir Francis Ley (Game builders), and Gavin Marshall (Baseball players).

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