Monthly Archives: April 2014

BGB Fantasy League 2014: Week Four

We have completed four weeks of the 2014 fantasy baseball season. Who is on their way up the standings and can anyone stop Beck ‘Nams?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bits & Bytes	15	0	14	1	.245	.667	1	2	29	1	4.68	1.35	2
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	33	6	14	5	.253	.718	4	0	52	0	2.88	1.15	9

We begin with another win for JJ, as Â Beck ‘Nams thumped Bits & Bytes 9-2 to stay top of the standings. Navarro, Escobar and Dozier were the offensive stars as the batters took five out of six categories, while four different starters picked up wins, with Wood striking out 12. Kendrick, Mlina and Bogaerts hit well for Bits & Bytes, but the lineup, missing the injured Cuddyer, failed to hit a single homer. Cishek and Ziegler took care of saves and holds.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	20	3	33	2	.254	.697	0	4	24	2	5.85	1.64	4
London Bananas	26	5	26	3	.233	.675	2	7	41	0	4.14	1.14	8

The Bananas are right on JJ’s tail, beating the Riverkings 8-4. The pitching staff won every category aside from holds, with Lohse and Lynn the pick of the starters. K-Rod and Reed combined for seven saves while Tulo hit three homers and Infante’s monster Sunday saw him drive in eight runs for the week. Byrd, Hill and Castellanos helped the Riverkings salvage RBIs, average and OPS, while Allen had two holds.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	25	9	36	3	.286	.827	2	1	30	0	6.66	1.50	4
Richie’s RBI’s	26	4	24	5	.270	.755	4	2	59	1	1.08	0.96	8

My Isotopes are in a funk, losing 8-4 to the RBIs. Tanaka (18n strikeouts), Burnett (13) and Roark all pitched excellently and the staff took five categories, while Gardner stole four bases and scored five times. Cruz had a big week with the bat, belting four homers and driving in 13 runs, bbut it was a nightmare week for my pitching staff, which posted a 6.66 ERA. They had a devil of a time.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	25	8	28	3	.222	.669	4	2	57	1	3.23	1.16	4
Jesmond Dennings	34	9	31	6	.264	.763	2	7	53	1	4.97	1.28	7

Jesmond Dennings are back at .500 after a 7-4 win against Batteries Essential which included an offensive sweep thanks to Pujols, Trout, Pierzynski and Arenado. Perkins, Broxton and Hawkins combined for seven saves. Castro and Gattis were the pick of the Batteries hitters, while Jose Fernandez and Garza helped the pitchers salvage four categories.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Norwich No II	31	12	30	2	.292	.881	3	2	63	3	3.90	1.32	4
The Cheddar Chasers	33	8	37	9	.318	.889	3	3	48	3	4.78	1.56	6

The Chasers got the better of Norwich 6-4, hitting their way to victory. The offense took five categories thanks to Miguel Cabrera, Melky Cabrera, Kipnis, Martin and Pence. Tommy Hunter ahd two saves. Norwich belted 12 homers, including three from Seager and McCutchen and a pair for Napoli and Justin Upton. Salazar and Peralta racked up the strikeouts, while Eovaldi helped win ERA and WHIP.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	30	4	19	6	.278	.761	5	1	52	3	2.75	1.20	4
Weston-Super-Sox	30	4	24	5	.303	.828	2	3	41	1	1.44	1.01	6

The Sox are starting to move up the standings after defeating the Slugs 6-4. It was a very stingy week for the pitchers, as Greinke, Cueto, MadBum and Cole all put up great numbers and Street had three saves. Ruiz, Morneau and Jackson helped take average and OPS. Donaldson belted three homers for the slugs, with Gomez and Dee Gordon swiping three bases each. Five pitchers picked up wins, with Ventura the pick of the bunch and Siegrist had two holds.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Northfleet Knights	28	5	25	3	.283	.747	2	4	67	0	2.83	1.05	5
Enfield Butchers	21	7	24	3	.218	.691	3	3	78	1	2.75	0.96	6

The Butchers just got the better of the Knights 6-5 in a very tight matchup. Both teams pitched extremely well, but Enfield managed to win five of the six categories, as Price, Straily and Richards racked up the strikeouts and Perez helped take wins, ERA and WHIP. Blackmon had a three-homer week and swiped a pair of bases. The Knights had the better of the offense thanks to Bautista, Zobrist and Pedroia while Shields won twice and Soria had three saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	32	15	47	2	.260	.819	5	2	49	1	2.06	1.05	5
Angels of Ash Vale	18	3	20	4	.211	.559	5	3	53	2	1.22	0.90	6

Finally, the Angels squeezed past Iron Men 6-5 in another matchup with plenty of good pitching. Wainwright (two wins), Dickey, Lee and Kazmir all had great weeks for the Angels, who took five pitching categories. Papelbon had three saves and Murphy stole three bases in an otherwise quiet week for the offense. Iron men slugged 15 homers, with Jose Abreu going deep five times and driving in an incredible 14 runs. A-Go, Lawrie and Morse had three homers each. Wheeler, Strasburg and Colon all pitched well, while Rodney had a win and two saves.

Week Five matchups:

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Jesmond (7th)

Bananas (2nd) v Slugs (13th)

Butchers (3rd) v Iron Men (6th)

Knights (4th) v Isotopes (9th)

Chasers (5th) v Batteries Essential (12th)

Norwich (8th) v RBIs (10th)

Angels (11th) v Riverkings (15th)

Sox (14th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

MLB this Week: Four games

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It’s going to be a week of catching up on highlights and archived games during the British evening in the main as there are only four day-games taking place this working week in MLB

All times are in BST

Monday 28 April

No early games (and only seven MLB games at night)

Tuesday 29 April

No early games

Wednesday 30 April

18.45. Milwaukee at St. LouisÂ (Garza – Miller) *ESPN

The third game of a three-game set as the team that enter this week with the best record in MLBÂ takes onÂ last year’s National League champs.

19.10. Detroit at Chicago White Sox (Porcello – TBA)

Staying in the Central but moving across to the American League, this would have been Erik Johnson’s starting slot for Chicago but a 1.1 inning outing against the Rays on Friday saw him demoted to Triple-A. We’ll wait and see who the White Sox move into the rotation as a result.

Thursday 1 May

18.10. LA Dodgers at Minnesota (Beckett – Correia) *ESPN

The first day of May offers us just one early game. It might seem like a mismatch on paper, but the beauty of baseball is that you never know what might happen on a given day. The Dodgers will be hoping that Josh Beckett’s strong eight-inning performance against the Rockies on Friday is a sign of good things to come.

Friday 2 May

19.20. St. Louis at Chicago Cubs (Lyons – Arrieta) *ESPN

A slow week for day-games does at least end on a high with a contest from Wrigley Field with a classic rivalry between the Cardinals and Cubs.

All of these games are available to watch live via theÂ MLB.TV subscriptionÂ atÂ MLB.com. The early games being shown on ESPN are highlighted above. The complete schedule for this weekâ€™s MLB games can be found onÂ MLB.com

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Rules and Confusion

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A catch wasn’t necessarily a catch on Thursday, but by Friday it was.

If that sounds a confusing way to start then that about sums up where we are in MLB so far this season. The laws of the land have changed and no one’s on a sure footing with any of it.

The ‘transfer’ rule fiasco was one of the first unintended consequences of baseball adjusting to the game being played with the possibility of instant replay challenges hanging over every act.

Being able to use slow-motion replays to judge if a catch had been made or not was always going to lead to a grey area around plays when the fielder loses their grip on the ball on the ‘transfer’, taking the ball from the glove quickly so that a throw can then be made.

MLB knew this all too well and therefore adjusted the definition of what constituted a catch so that umpires basically had to rule ‘no catch’ if the ball was fumbled in that situation. This change was made to make it easier for umpires as there then was no real grey area once the replay footage kicked in; the laws said it wasn’t a catch and if people didn’t like it then that was their problem.

It was a similar thought-process that went into deciding that ‘neighbourhood’ plays (when an infielder is awarded an out at second-base whilst turning a double-play even if they don’t quite touch the bag) shouldn’t be reviewable under the new instant replay. Subjecting those plays to such scrutiny would have changed the game in a way no player wanted, so they solved this simply by not allowing that type of event to be challenged.

It was a noble intention to take away the area of judgement on transfers, but it’s not always the case that making rules black-and-white leads to a satisfactory outcome. Referees in football may be glad in one sense that they have no choice but to award a penalty and a sending off when a clear goal-scoring opportunity is denied, yet they know better than anyone that most people think this ‘double jeopardy’ outcome is unfair.

So was the case in the opening weeks of this MLB season. Catches in both the outfield and the infield – the latter particularly on the pivot during a double-play attempt – that players, managers, fans and, most probably, umpires would normally see as being a good catch were now being turned down. Something had to give and that’s why MLB acted to implement a change on Friday to take the interpretation back to how it used to be.

It’s to MLB’s credit that they admitted the change had caused issues and quickly reversed course, although it would be welcome if they took that decisive approach more often (more than four years on and the Blue Ribbon panel looking at the Oakland A’s potential relocation to San Jose still hasn’t given any clear steer on the matter, for example).

It’s one of the helpful things about MLB being a largely self-contained competition that they can implement such changes, with the agreement of the respective unions of the players and umpires, rather than being at the mercy of the industrial-scale bureaucracy created by UEFA and FIFA in football.

Rules do need to adapt over time as the games change and it’s important that the rule-makers are sensitive to potential issues when they implement something new or different. Football has a slightly bizarre tendency to bring in changes at the biggest tournaments – the 1998 World Cup ruling on harshly penalizing tackles from behind being a good example – which often can leads to those changes providing the post-match talking points rather than the skill of the players.

We’re seeing the same situation with MLB’s new rules on home plate collisions. Early in the Rangers-A’s game on Wednesday it looked like Alex Rios had scored to make it 2-0 to Texas, only for Oakland’s manager Bob Melvin to challenge the call that he was safe on a close play at the plate.

Upon review the footage showed that the A’s catcher Derek Norris had applied the tag just before Rios got to the plate and the run therefore came off the scoreboard, yet former Major League catcher and current A’s commentator Ray Fosse got more convinced with each replay that Norris probably hadn’t complied with the new plate-blocking rules and that Rios should have been given the run anyway due to the plate being blocked before Norris had the ball.

The truth was that no one, from Fosse to Norris to Rios to the umpires, seemed to know exactly what should be allowable when blocking the plate.Â It appears as though runners and catchers are still ending up in that situation in a game far from clear precisely as to how their actions will be interpreted.

And then we return after a two-week break to the sticky matter of pitchers using pine-tar. We’re in a situation there were the rules are clear that a pitcher shouldn’t use pine tar, yet they are doing so and both pitchers and hitters don’t seem to have an issue with it so long as it’s not excessive and is done discretely.

The Yankees’ Michael Pineda could not have been less discrete when putting pine-tar on his neck in a game against the Red Sox this week and even the Yankees agreed that Red Sox manager John Farrell had little choice but to alert the umpires to it. It tells you a lot that as standard an opposing manager – even in the red-hot heat of a Yankees-Red Sox rivalry – wouldn’t want to take such action, presumably as his own pitchers are sometimes breaking the same rule too.

Joe Torre, in his role as MLB executive vice president, has cautioned against the growing idea that the rules should change to allow pitchers to use pine tar and such caution is advisable (there are rules on how much pine tar hitters can apply to their bats, but it would be difficult to draw a line between using enough pine tar simply to get a safe grip of a baseball and actually gaining an unfair advantage), but pressure will grow if those in and around the game don’t feel the current laws are viable and realistic.

Confusion abounds at the moment. The only thing we can be thankful for in the current tangle of rules is that checking if a pitcher is using pine tar is not something that’s reviewable under the instant replay challenge system. So far, at least.

BGB Fantasy League 2014: Week Three

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JJ’s Beck ‘Nams took top spot in the Baseball GB fantasy league last week. Are they still leading the way after Week Three?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Northfleet Knights	32	6	24	1	.266	.799	4	3	47	0	2.66	1.24	10
Angels of Ash Vale	29	2	13	5	.248	.612	2	2	42	1	3.86	1.33	2

We begin with the biggest winners of the week, as the Knights thumped the Angels 10-2. The hitters and pitchers each took five categories, with Myers hitting two homers, Goldschmidt, Pedroia and Bautista each scoring six runs. Shields and Alex Wood both pitched well, but Aaron Harang (who knew?!) did even better for the Knights with seven no-hit innings. Soria had two saves. Daniel Murphy was the pick of the Angels’ batters, hitting .345 and being one of five players to steal a base. Cliff Lee pitched excellently in an otherwise tough week for the staff, with Henderson collecting the lone hold of the matchup.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	31	6	19	4	.265	.754	2	3	53	2	3.71	1.40	3
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	28	5	25	7	.304	.797	3	1	56	2	3.12	1.34	8

Beck ‘Nams do remain top after their 8-3 win against the Slugs. Aoki, Kemp and Dozier each stole two bases, while Callaspo drove in five runs for Beck ‘Nams. An excellent week for Shelby Miller made the difference in wins and strikeouts, while he teamed with Sabathia to take ERA and WHIP. Chris Perez had two holds. The Slugs had great weeks from Fielder (two homers) and Donaldson, who each scored six runs, while Uehara and Carpenter combined for three saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Richie’s RBI’s	17	3	20	2	.198	.573	3	2	33	3	2.04	1.06	3
Enfield Butchers	32	5	23	2	.265	.728	1	3	37	8	5.08	1.31	8

The Butchers are in third after another 8-3 win, defeating the RBIs. Yelich and Votto (two homers) each batted well over .400 for the week and helped take runs comfortably. It was a monster week for the bullpen, as Melancon, Clippard, Phelps and Ogando combined for EIGHT holds, while Holland had three saves. Hart and Hardy were the pick of the hitters ina Â poor offensive week for the RBIs, although Jim Johnson vultured two wins and Tanaka and Burnett helped take ERA and WHIP.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Norwich No II	32	7	38	2	.260	.783	3	3	53	4	3.29	1.37	4
Batteries Essential	29	13	34	6	.277	.870	3	1	39	6	2.63	1.13	7

Batteries Essential surged up the standings with their 7-4 win against Norwich. Cespedes, Brantley and Stanton each hit two homers, but were outdone by Gattis (three) and Walker (four) in a huge power display. Billy Hamilton added four steals. Fernandez, Wacha and Chen all pitched excellently, helping to take ERA and WHIP, while Cecil had three holds. Norwich had the edge in runs and RBIs thanks to Ozuna, Frazier and Rosario, while Ervin Santana racked up 18 strikeouts and Jansen had three saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	26	6	33	4	.308	.860	0	1	57	2	4.45	1.43	5
London Bananas	35	8	31	8	.255	.794	4	5	44	0	3.83	1.34	7

The Bananas got the better of Iron Men in a very close matchup. Lance Lynn’s two wins and 16 strikeouts helped the Bananas win the matchup on the mound, with Lohse and Cain helping take ERA and WHIP. K-Rod and Gregerson took care of saves. The middle infielders were productive with the bat, as Infante drove in seven and Tulo hit .500 and scored eight runs. Marte swiped four bases. Iron Men took RBIs, average and OPS thanks to Lawrie, Kinsler and Mesoraco. Strasburg struck out 14 and Thornton had two holds.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	21	6	25	3	.274	.752	6	4	58	2	3.57	1.29	4
The Cheddar Chasers	25	5	15	6	.280	.795	5	4	47	2	2.45	0.97	6

Matt took the spoils in this BaseballGB matchup, as his Chasers defeated my Isotopes 6-4. McCann scored five runs, Pence stole three bases and Melky Cabrera and Leonys Martin helped take average. Scherzer, Lester, Ross and Ryu all pitched brilliantly, taking ERA comfortably and posting a sub-1.00 WHIP. I made a Â move in a bid to boost my offense, and Uribe responded with two homers, while Cruz drove in six. On the mound, six different pitchers, including Zimmermann (13 strikeouts) and Soriano (two saves), picked up wins.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bits & Bytes	17	5	17	3	.269	.732	3	1	33	0	2.73	1.18	4
Jesmond Dennings	21	5	25	11	.241	.672	2	6	33	0	2.57	1.31	5

In a very tight matchup, Jesmond Dennings got the better of Bits & Bytes 5-4. The Angel duo of Trout and Pujols were the pick of the hitters, combining for four homers 10 runs and 13 RBIs. Andrus ran wild, stealing five bases. Hwakins, Broxton and O’Day combined for six saves, while Bailey and the now-injured Kelly helped take ERA. Kendrick homered twice, drove in seven and hit .370 for the week, with Soriano and Chris Johnson also in good form. King Felix, Pineda, Santiago and Cashner all pitched well to take ERA, but the very short pitching staff will get shorter with the injury to Nova. If Bits & Bytes don’t make additions soon, they run the risk of forfeiting all pitching categories by not hitting the 20-inning minimum limit.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	19	4	30	2	.249	.642	3	1	44	2	2.25	1.11	6
Weston-Super-Sox	29	8	29	5	.293	.824	1	3	43	0	3.13	1.15	6

Finally, the Riverkings and Sox could not be separated. Morneau’s three homers and 12 RBIs, added to Braun’s three-homer week, gave the Sox the edge offensively while Street had three saves. Cueto racked up 12 strikeouts on his way to a win. Wright gave the Riverkings the edge in RBIs, and the pitchers took five categories. Lincecum struck out 12 and picked up a win, Gio Gonzalez also won and helped take ERA and WHIP while Allen had two holds.

It’s still early

Just 11.5 games separate the top and bottom teams in the league, so ground can easily be made up if you are off to a slow start (or lost if you’re doing well!) Those teams who act quickly to replace injured players can really reap the benefits, so be sure to keep an eye on your rosters to make sure you keep up-to-date with who’s starting when and who needs to be put on the DL.

Week Four matchups

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Bits & Bytes (11th)

Knights (2nd) v Butchers (3rd)

Bananas (4th) v Riverkings (14th)

Chasers (5th) v Norwich (8th)

Iron Men (6th) v Angels (13th)

Isotopes (7th) v RBIs (15th)

Batteries Essential (9th) v Jesmond Dennings (10th)

Slugs (12th) v Sox (16th)

MLB this Week: TEX-OAK, Scherzer and Colon

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There are 12 games this working week that are scheduled to start before midnight, U.K. time.

The week starts with the traditional early game at Fenway Park on Patriots Day, which will be an emotional occasion on the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon tragedy.

After a break on Tuesday we have a batch of games on Wednesday highlighted by a clash between the top two teams in the AL West, the Rangers and A’s. With Martin Perez and Sonny Gray being the probable starting pitchers, it should be an exciting game.

‘Get-away’ Thursday offers six day-games including a Max Scherzer start for the Tigers and a Bartolo Colon start for the Mets. The latter continues to defy his age – and physique – with his pitching performances, whilst providing a regular source of amusement when his turns at-bat come around.

All times are in BST.

Monday 21 April

16.05. Baltimore at Boston (Chen – Buchholz) *ESPN

Tuesday 22 April

No early games

Wednesday 23 April

17.10. Miami at Atlanta (Eovalid – Harang)Â *ESPN
19.20. Arizona at Chicago Cubs (Miley – Samardzija)
20.10. San Francisco at Colorado (Cain – Chatwood)
20.35. Texas at Oakland (Perez – Gray)Â *ESPN
20.40. Houston at Seattle (Cosart – Young) *MLB.com Free Game

Thursday 24 April

17.05. Kansas City at Cleveland (Chen – Kluber)
17.35. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (Cingrani – Rodriguez)
18.08. Chicago White Sox at Detroit (Quintana – Scherzer)
18.10. St. Louis at NY Mets (Lynn – Colon)
18.10. Minnesota at Tampa Bay (Nolasco – Bedard)Â *ESPN, MLB.com Free Game
19.20. Arizona at Chicago Cubs (Bolsinger – Jackson)

Friday 25 April

No early games

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Precious Porter

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Those fabled old â€˜unwritten rulesâ€™ of baseball frequently come along and cause confusion.

Houston Astros manager Bo Porterâ€™s reaction this week to what he perceived to be a breach of the code by the Oakland Aâ€™s Jed Lowrie was one of the more bizarre of recent years.

The Aâ€™s had jumped on Astros starter Jarred Cosart for seven runs in the first inning on Friday night and Porter decided to try to stop the bleeding by putting a defensive shift on with Lowrie stepping into the batterâ€™s box.

The Aâ€™s infielder saw the shift and attempted to beat it by laying down a bunt. Lowrie was put-out on the play but that wasnâ€™t enough punishment in Porterâ€™s eyes.

When his turn to bat came around again in the third inning, Lowrie had to dodge two pitches coming at him and Porter then came onto the field and started shouting at him at the end of the inning.

Clearly, Porter thought Lowrie was taking liberties by trying to bunt with his team leading 7-0.

There arenâ€™t many greater crimes in baseball â€“ perhaps any sport â€“ than deliberately showing up the opposition, but how the Astrosâ€™ manager thought that was what Lowrie was doing here is anyoneâ€™s guess.

Firstly, it was still only the opening inning of the game. The Astros arenâ€™t exactly an offensive juggernaut so their chances of coming back and scoring enough runs to win the game werenâ€™t great, but it was hardly insurmountable. Two runs scored in one inning, then another two in the next and they are firmly back in the game, with the Aâ€™s starting to feel the pressure of blowing a great starting position.

Had it been 7-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning then Porterâ€™s anger would have been more understandable. A bunt in that situation would be akin to standing near the corner flag doing step-overs when leading 5-0 in a football game, an act likely to provoke opposing fans to scream â€œtake him outâ€ or â€œput him into the standsâ€ and for one or two players to do their best to act on the advice.

However, had it been the bottom of the eighth, itâ€™s unlikely Porter would have shifted his infield and that was the only reason Lowrie attempted the bunt in the first place. He wasnâ€™t taking the proverbial, he was reacting to the way the Astros had lined up their infield to try to keep the inning going.

Itâ€™s always the way with this type of situation; the team leading has every right to keep playing to the best of their ability. They are letting themselves down if they donâ€™t.

To oppose this is to say either a) that the leading team should ease off to let the opposition back into the game, or b) that the team losing should give up and take the loss without putting up a fight. Whilst neither option is getting close to match-fixing, they are starting to stray down the route of one or both teams not doing all they can to win the game and thatâ€™s a bigger injustice to the sport than any perceived slight caused by contravening an â€˜unwritten ruleâ€™.

Baseballâ€™s unwritten rules are similar in essence to the spirit of the game in cricket. At heart, they are about creating a culture in which teams play to win but do so in a fair manner, what you would call the â€˜sportingâ€™ way. Maybe some would call such niceties a relic of an amateur age out of place in the billion dollar/pound industries that the sports have become; however, they are an intrinsic part of the charm and character of the games.

The â€˜unwritten rulesâ€™ are no bad thing, yet sometimes those involved in baseball could do with injecting a bit of common sense into their thought-process before applying them.

Maybe Porter was just trying to gee-up his young team with a show of defiance? If so, youâ€™d like to think there are better ways of doing it than acting like a 5-year-old who has been told to share their toys with their friends.

British Baseball Beat: Season openers

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After the National Baseball League openers on 6 April, last Sunday was opening day for many teams across the rest of the British baseball landscape.

Around the leagues

I was at Coldham’s Common on Sunday to watch the Cambridge Royals start life in the new AAA-Central division with an impressive double-header sweep over the Nottingham Rebels, a two-game set that also saw the debut of the Royals’ ‘Ump Cam’.

There was a good atmosphere at the ground; the barbecue wasn’t the only thing creating smoke as Matt Maitland flirted with a no-hitter in the opener. The Rebels put up a sterner test in the second game, but the Royals rallied late on to start 2-0 and to set up an early season humdinger of a double-header against the MK Bucks on 27 April.

The Bucks started their title defence with two victories in Leicester against the Blue Sox with Jarrod Pretorius having a strong day at the plate for the Bucks after performing well in the NBL last season with the Nationals. Fingers should be firmly crossed for good weather in Cambridge on the 27th to allow both teams to show the quality of play that can be found in Triple-A.

That extends out from the Central division to the North and the South. Halton Jaguars have jumped ahead in the North after a two-game sweep over the Harrogate Tigers, whilst the Oxford Kings and Herts Eagles split a double-header in the South.

The postponement of two of the three NBL double-headers last Sunday resulted in a reduced day of action in the top-tier and leaves several teams with a fair wait before they get back out onto the diamond.

The London Mets and Essex Arrows split their double-header, improving the Arrows’ record to 3-1 after their Opening Day sweep of the Bracknell Blazers and maintaining the Mets’ solid .500 start with a 2-2 record. The NBL, as with most of the rest of the BBF leagues, takes a break this coming Sunday before getting back underway on 27 April with a slate of games that includes the 2-0 Southampton Mustangs’ home opener against the South London Pirates.

Check out the BBF website for round-ups from the games in AA-South (including a Triple play by the Herts Hawks), AA-North and A-South.

Tweets of the Week

Great news for baseball-loving kids on the south coast as the Southampton Mustangs reveal details of their new youth programme:

We are about to launch the very first youth programme on the south coast! Stay tuned for more details! pic.twitter.com/GPI0KO6LLt

— Southampton Mustangs (@SotonMustangs) April 15, 2014

A nice action shot from Grovehill Ballpark and the Kings-Eagles double-header:

Herts Eagles bounce back after loss in game 1 vs Oxford Kings to win second game 16-11. (photo by @richardleephoto) pic.twitter.com/GdTwnzvCI2

— Herts Baseball Club (@HertsBaseball) April 13, 2014

The view from Newton Aycliffe:

Spartans off to a good start in AA Northern Division http://t.co/y2IAw0XHBn pic.twitter.com/jBI2wJED8z

— Spartans Baseball (@naspartans) April 14, 2014

This weekend

The main baseball attraction on the Easter Weekend is being staged at Farham Park as the inaugural Great Britain All-Star Series gets underway. The series will bring together the GB Lions, GB Juniors, Northern All-Stars and Southern All-Stars teams over four weekends across April, May and July in a competition designed to create some additional high-level contests to aid the players’ development and to produce some great games for fans to enjoy at the impressive new facility near Slough.

The only standard BBF league action this weekend comes in Single-A, where there are two double-headers scheduled for Sunday. The Cambridge Monarchs take to the field for the first time at Coldham’s Common against the Northants Centurians, whilst the Milton Keynes Coyotes host the Nottingham Rebels II team.

BGB Fantasy League 2014: Week Two

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It’s time to check in on the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Are last week’s the fast starters still setting the pace or is it all change at the top?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	22	5	33	1	.225	.644	2	4	41	2	5.87	1.41	2
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	28	7	27	2	.268	.792	3	0	68	3	3.41	1.09	10

We begin with the new league leaders… Beck ‘Nams. JJ’s side surged to the top of the standings after an impressive 10-2 win against the Riverkings. Despite an injury to Adrian Beltre, the offense took five categories. Beltran and Dozier each hit three homers, Escobar helped win average and combined with Navarro to collect a steal. On the mound, Kluber had a win and 14 strikeouts, Kuroda won both his starts and Chris Perez had two holds. Byrd (seven) and Desmond (six) helped Riverkings salvage RBIs, while Harper and Montero had hot weeks with the bat. Kelley, Balfour and Valverde combined for four saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Norwich No II	33	12	31	4	.308	.930	5	2	39	2	3.98	1.13	9
Jesmond Dennings	34	6	18	4	.302	.824	0	2	21	0	4.37	1.46	1

Norwich were the next biggest winners, defeating Jesmond 9-1. Both teams put up very good offensive numbers, but Freeman (six runs, two homers, eight RBIs) and Justin Upton (eight runs, four homers, eight RBIs) gave Norwich the edge. Avisail Garcia was having a good week until his season-ending injury. Five different pitchers picked up wins, including Ervin Santana in his Braves’ debut and Salazar struck out 10 in 3.2 innings. For Jesmond, Pujols had a three-homer week, Trout went deep twice and Pierzynski and Phillips put up great averages. Perkins and Hawkins each had a save.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Northfleet Knights	24	7	30	2	.223	.686	4	3	61	0	2.94	1.23	3
London Bananas	30	5	23	7	.282	.806	5	4	48	2	2.83	1.20	9

The Bananas avoided slipping up against the Knights, running out 9-3 winners. The pitching staff took five categories, with Lohse (two wins) in impressive form. Gregerson had two holds and a save, while K-Rod had two saves. Werth (six runs, two homers, seven RBIs) was the top Banana with the bat, while Marte and Ellsbury each swiped three bases. Zobrist (three homers) carried the Knights’ offense, while the pitching staff performed well and will feel unlucky to have fallen just short in many categories. Gray, Haren and Alex Wood each picked up a win and at least eight strikeouts.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	33	13	37	3	.254	.858	2	4	37	1	2.30	1.17	8
Weston-Super-Sox	31	9	30	4	.311	.921	3	1	33	0	3.81	1.41	4

Iron Men made it back-to-back wins with a 8-4 score against the Sox. In a matchup full of power, Adrian Gonzalez’s four homers and 11 RBIs made him the top hitter for Iron Men, outdoing Abreu, who also hit four homers. The pitching staff won five categories, with Strasburg striking out 12 and combining with Peavy to take ERA and WHIP. Grilli and Rodney had two saves each. Adam Eaton (10 runs) and Braun (seven runs, three homers, 10 RBIs) were the top Sox hitters, while Greinke, Cole and Bumgarner each won a start. Too bad MadBum’s grandslam didn’t count towards the hitting stats!

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	31	8	27	8	.280	.813	1	1	50	2	4.12	1.49	8
Bits & Bytes	28	7	28	1	.277	.803	3	0	30	0	1.17	0.61	4

The Slugs also picked up an 8-4 win, defeating Bits & Bytes. The two teams were very close in most of the offensive categories, but Josh Donaldson (three homers), Carlos Gomez (two) and Bonifacio (three steals) helped claim five of the six. Cingrani racked up 11 strikeouts, Uehara had a save before his injury and McGee made the difference in holds. Soriano belted three homers for Bits & Bytes, Ibanez went deep twice and drove in eight while Molina plated six. Hernandez, Pineda and Cashner all pitched well, but Bits & Bytes’ pitching staff is below the required six pitchers and in danger of forfeiting future weeks of pitching categories if the 20 inning minimum is not met.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Richie’s RBI’s	24	6	22	2	.259	.705	3	2	45	2	3.49	1.16	3
Angels of Ash Vale	29	5	23	7	.279	.739	4	2	58	2	3.93	1.18	7

Another close matchup saw the Angels get the better of the RBIs 7-3, taking five offensive categories thanks to Mauer, Alexei Ramirez, CarGo and Everth Cabrera. Four different pitchers collected wins, with Kazmir (14 strikeouts) the pick of the bunch. CJ Wilson helped the RBIs take ERA and WHIP, while Kelly Johnson belted three homers.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Cheddar Chasers	19	7	20	7	.238	.718	6	1	65	2	2.93	1.06	6
Enfield Butchers	27	4	18	3	.250	.740	7	4	58	3	4.03	1.15	6

The Chasers and Butchers could not be separated in their matchup, which ended 6-6. The sides even split the hitting and pitching categories. Melky Cabrera and Kipnis were the top Chasers at the plate, while Scherzer racked up 18 strikeouts and Nolasco and Ryu helped take ERA and WHIP. Aramis Ramirez, Yelich and Votto were the pick of the Butcher batters, while Martin Perez had two wins, Kimbrel had a pair of saves and three other relievers each picked up a hold.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	26	6	22	6	.250	.754	3	3	40	2	4.82	1.63	5
Batteries Essential	24	9	28	2	.243	.710	3	2	41	2	4.75	1.58	5

Finally, my Isotopes drew 5-5 with Batteries Essential. Seven different batters went deep for Batteries Essential including multi-homer weeks from Stanton (almost expected) and Starlin Castro (not so expected). Wacha was the best pitcher by far, winning twice, striking out 11 and helping win ERA and WHIP. Utley hit .563 for the Isotopes, Hanley scored six runs and Rios stole three bases. Romo had a win and a save, while Doolittle had a save after two holds.

Week three matchups:

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Slugs (10th)

Bananas (2nd) v Iron Men (3rd)

Butchers (4th) v RBIs (11th)

Norwich No II (5th) v Batteries Essential (14th)

Isotopes (6th) v Chasers (8th)

Angels (7th) v Knights (9th)

Bits & Bytes (12th) v Jesmond Dennings (13th)

Riverkings (15th) v Super-Sox (16th)

MLB this Week: 11 Early games

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With all the home openers out of the way, week three in the 2014 MLB season provides a more normal number of ‘early’ games during the working week.

We draw a blank on pre-midnight starts on Monday and Tuesday, but there are plenty of games to choose from on the next two days and we then have the first of what will be a regular Friday evening visit to Wrigley Field this season.

David Price and Chris Tillman should match up on Wednesday as the Rays and Orioles battle at Camden Yards and there’s equal competition for your eyeballs from the National League with Francisco Liriano and Johnny Cueto set to duel in Cincinnati.

The highlight of the week – provided starting pitching assignments are not adjusted – should come on Thursday in a marquee match-up between Zack Greinke and Madison Bumgarner at AT&T Park. That game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

All times are in BST.

Monday 14 April

No early games

Tuesday 15 April

No early games

Wednesday 16 April

17.35. Tampa Bay at Baltimore (Price – Tillman) *MLB.com Free Game
17.35. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (Liriano – Cueto) *ESPN
18.10. St. Louis at Milwaukee (Kelly – Peralta)
20.40. NY Mets at Arizona (Gee – McCarthy) *ESPN

Thursday 17 April

18.05. Atlanta at Philadelphia (Wood – Pettibone)
18.08. Cleveland at Detroit (Masterson – Porcello)
18.10. Toronto at Minnesota (McGowan – Gibson)
19.05. Seattle at Texas (Ramirez – Scheppers)
20.45. LA Dodgers at San Francisco (Greinke – Bumgarner) *ESPN
23.40. Colorado at San Diego (Anderson – Kennedy)

Friday 18 April

19.20. Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs (Simon – Samardzija)

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Head-first hurts

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Josh Hamilton was one of the major question marks hanging over the Los Angeles Angels coming into the 2014 season.

If he could regain his position as a fearsome hitter then the Halos would be one step closer to pushing for playoff contention; if he got lost in a mire of wild swinging again then they’d need to hope someone else could pick up the slack.

As always seems to be the case with Hamilton, things haven’t turned out quite that simply. He had shown encouraging signs at the plate that he was being more selective over his first eight games. The trouble is, he’s not going to be stepping into the batter’s box again for at least six weeks after tearing a ligament in his left thumb whilst sliding head-first into first base.

There’s no doubt that the all-action head-first slide looks good; it gives the impression of a player going all out to try to be safe regardless of any risk to his body. It’s not a smart way to play the game though; the Angels needed Hamilton in their lineup for the next six weeks much more than they needed him to be safe at first in the seventh inning of an early April game.

Sliding into bases does pose an injury risk, whether head-first or with your legs, and, as with any risk, you have to weigh up the rewards for the effort. The Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman fractured his right thumb diving back into second base on Saturday and he’ll be a loss to Washington, but from second base through to home plate the slide is often your only option to get there quickly whilst avoiding a tag play. You accept the risk that it’s the right way to do it and every now and then a digit can get caught in the wrong place.

That’s not the case at first base. The rules specifically allow you to run through the bag and not be tagged out. It’s the quickest way to get there, as shown in an ESPN Sports Science experiment, and is much the safer way. In a crucial late inning moment when a throw to first base is high it can be worth the gamble to slide, but in any other case it just doesn’t make sense and calling it ‘playing hard’ is to overlook the facts.

Facts that include Josh Hamilton sitting on the sidelines for the next six weeks or so, rather than helping his team to win games that may prove to be the difference between making the playoffs or not.

Injuries

Hamilton and Zimmerman were only two of the players to land on the Disabled List this week.

Much of the Tampa Bay Rays’ recent low-payroll defying success has been built on their young pitching talent and their ability to keep their hurlers relatively healthy.Â That made it all the more painful a sight to see Matt Moore clutching his pitching arm elbow after throwing a pitch against the Royals on Monday.

Moore had problems with his elbow last season and was able to come through them. His consultation with Dr James Andrews didn’t provide a definitive prognosis so there remains some hope that he will not be added to the Tommy John surgery list, but the Rays will be looking at their pitching options with the potential that they could be without Moore’s services for the next year or so.

That fate has already been decided for another bright young pitching prospect. The Pirates hoped to add Jameson Taillon to their rotation at some point this season, joining fellow youngster Gerrit Cole as a great duo to build around for years to come. Instead, Taillon will spend the next year rehabbing after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow this week.

Elbow injuries to pitchers are a common theme, which makes them all the more frustrating as – rightly or wrongly – they seem like something the sport could do more to prevent.Â Injuries will always be a part of the game though and we saw that this week when the Chicago White Sox’s outfielder Avisail Garcia landed awkwardly on his left shoulder when attempting a diving catch against the Rockies on Wednesday. Had he landed slightly differently he may have just been winded, instead he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and will now miss the rest of the season recovering from surgery.

When is a cheat not a cheat?

Cheat: verb, â€œact dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantageâ€ (definition as per Oxford Dictionaries)

Cheat is a word that gets bandied about quite a bit, but despite the seemingly straightforward definition, it is a muddled label to apply to someone, based predominantly on subjective opinion.

Take the topical case of Michael Pineda, the New York Yankeesâ€™ resurgent pitcher, and the dirty mark on his pitching hand during Thursdayâ€™s game against the Boston Red Sox.

Rule 8.02, paragraph 4 of MLBâ€™s Official Rules states that a pitcher shall not “apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball”. Within the Rules themselves, the only indication of what constitutes a foreign substance is in Rule 3.02, which explains thatÂ “No player shall intentionally discolour or damage the ball by rubbing it with soil, rosin, paraffin, licorice, sand-paper, emery-paper or other foreign substance”.

If, as it appeared, Pineda was putting some pine tar on his pitching hand, and therefore onto the ball, then that would contravene the rules and be an illegal act. The Boston Red Sox TV crew made much of the footage, not surprising perhaps after two of Boston’s pitchers – Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester – were hauled over the coals for the same thing last season. However, after the game players from both teams collectively shrugged their shoulders.

Pineda claimed it was just dirt used to stop the ball from slipping from his grasp and – after seeing Omar Infante get hit in the face by a pitch this week – if a bit of dirt or similar helps to avoid pitches slipping into a batter’s head then you could understand players being relaxed about such ‘cheating’.

Something brewing in Milwaukee

We’ve seen teams get off to hot starts in the past many times, only to quickly fall away. Still, the Milwaukee Brewers were touted as a team that could potentially pull itself up into Wild Card contention this season and their MLB-best 9-2 record to start the year gives fans of the Brew Crew something to shout about again after their disappointing 74-88 season in 2013.