Monthly Archives: April 2015

BGB Fantasy League 2015 – Week Three

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The third week of matchups in the BaseballGB fantasy league is complete. Which teams are still riding high and which unlucky manager has been hit by the injury to Adam Wainwright?
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
26
5
26
1
.244
.701
1
5
27
1
3.19
1.04
3
26
8
36
3
.269
.776
2
4
33
3
5.34
1.47
8
The Slugs stay top after defeating the RBIs 8-3. Hanley had a three-homer week and moss knocked in nine as the Slugs came a run away from an offensive sweep. Boxberger had two wins out of the bullpen, Romo had two holds and Lester struck out 10. Melancon and Davis took saves for the RBIs while Pineda and Weaver had good weeks for ERA and WHIP.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
33
8
25
5
.255
.756
4
1
49
3
3.17
1.32
7
19
2
17
10
.272
.702
3
4
40
2
2.63
1.15
5
Jesmond are in second after defeating the Sox 7-5. Travis, Chris Davis and Myers were the offensive stars while Carrasco had a win and 13 strikeouts. Archer also had a very good week, and could have helped Jesmond take ERA and WHIP had he not been on the bench on Sunday. The Sox ran wild with 10 steals, including pairs from Gordon and Gardner, while Perkins had three saves and joined Robertson and Betances in not allowing an earned run.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
27
13
36
5
.239
.843
2
1
58
2
3.88
1.15
7
25
3
15
4
.242
.729
3
5
44
1
2.89
1.03
5
Beck ‘Nams continued their good start with a 7-5 win against the Riverkings. Teixeira had a monster week, belting five homers and driving in 10 as the offense took five categories and were .004 away on average from a sweep. Arrieta had two wins with 13 strikeouts and Benoit collected two holds. Harvey, King Felix and Cueto helped the Riverkings claim wins, RA and WHIP while Rizzo made the difference in average.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
33
3
18
4
.318
.829
3
1
43
4
1.57
1.07
6
26
3
20
4
.297
.808
3
4
45
1
4.01
1.18
3
The Maltsters are nearing .500 after beating the Chasers 6-3. Longoria hit .500 for the week and Polanco scored seven times and stole four bases while Walden had two holds and Bauer, Greinke and Scherzer helped take ERA and WHIP. Stanton hit three homers and drove in six for the Chasers as K-Rod and Uehara each had two saves and Carlos Martinez struck out eight.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
32
6
27
11
.294
.818
1
2
38
2
4.09
1.24
6
27
6
27
0
.251
.717
4
2
37
1
2.57
1.16
3
Another 6-3 result saw Batteries Essential defeat Iron Men. Machado had a two homer week while Hamilton stole five of his team’s 11 bases. Brantley helped take average and OPS. Betancourt had two holds while Bumgarner helped nick strikeouts by one. Marte had a multi-homer week for Iron Men while Cole, Wacha, Tanaka and Keuchel helped take wins, ERA and WHIP.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
21
6
30
4
.230
.697
3
2
47
0
3.20
1.18
5
25
9
34
3
.318
.906
0
7
37
2
4.95
1.67
7
My Isotopes suffered their third straight loss, going down 7-5 against Norwich. Abreu, Dickerson and Bryant helped Norwich take five offensive categories while Kimbrel, Rondon, Miller and Hughes made the difference in saves and holds. Morrow and Simon helped my staff salvage wins, ERA and WHIP, while Altuve swiped three bases. But my pitching staff may be without Wainwright for the rest of the year.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
33
6
20
8
.288
.835
2
0
26
0
4.78
1.37
6
20
6
18
3
.195
.595
4
5
50
0
4.57
1.63
4
Bits & Bytes fell a homer shy of an offensive sweep in their 6-4 win against the Knights. Kemp scored seven times, knocked in five and stole two bases while Alex Gordon had a multi-homer week. Ventura and McHugh helped take WHIP. Encarnacion homered twice for the Knights, while Salazar had a win with 11 strikeouts and joined Bradley in taking ERA.

The week four matchups are as follows

Slugs (1st) v Maltsters (9th)
Jesmond (2nd) v Isotopes (14th)
Beck ‘Nams (3rd) v Norwich (5th)
Sox (4th) v Batteries Essential (13th)
Riverkings (6th) v Chasers (7th)
RBIs (8th) v Knights (12th)
Bits & Bytes 910th) v Iron Men (11th)

Reminder

The suspensions handed out after the White Sox/Royals brawl could mean some pitchers being forced to push a start back a few days. If you think this may mean you fall short of the 20 inning minimum, you may want to add an extra arm to your staff.

 

MLB this Week: A lucky 13

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CovMLBUK2014We’ve got pre-midnight games every day this working week, although that’s largely due to a slight anomaly.

The games in the series between the Royals and Indians, and the Blue Jays and Red Sox, are all starting one hour earlier than usual. This means that they dip in under the pre-midnight cut-off by one hour, rather than starting just after midnight as you would tend to expect from east coast night games.

It’s worth picking out from those games that reigning Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is seeking his first win of the season on Monday night for Cleveland, whilst Trevor Bauer should make the start for the Tribe on Tuesday having missed his scheduled spot in the rotation on Saturday due to illness. Yordano Ventura is scheduled to start for the Royals on Wednesday, although he may have started a suspension by then following his recent transition into the maddest man in baseball.

Later in the week, Michael Pineda will look to continue his impressive start to the season for the Yankees as he is set to take to the mound against the Rays on Wednesday. We don’t yet know who will be starting for the Cardinals on Thursday in their day-game against the Phillies as that would be Adam Wainwright’s turn and the way he limped off the field in pain on Saturday would suggest he’ll miss that start and potentially quite a few more.

The Brewers and Cubs end the working week and start off the Bank Holiday weekend with a game on Friday at Wrigley Field. Jon Lester is still looking for his first win in a Cubs uniform and will see this as a good chance to get it against a struggling Milwaukee who enter the week with the worst record in MLB. He pitched well last time out against the Reds, striking out 10 over six innings whilst conceding three runs.

All times are in BST.

Monday 27 April

23:10. Royals @  Indians (Vargas (1-1) – Kluber (0-2))
23:10. Blue Jays @ Red Sox (Sanchez (1-2) – Kelly (1-0))

Tuesday 28 April

23:10. Royals @ Indians (Guthrie (1-1) – Bauer (2-0))
23:10. Blue Jays @ Red Sox (Hutchison (2-0) – Buchholz (1-2))

Wednesday 29 April

17:35. Brewers @ Reds (Garza (1-3) – Bailey (0-1))
18:05. Rays @ Yankees (Smyly (0-0) – Pineda (3-0))
18:10. Tigers @ Twins (Greene (3-1) – Hughes (0-4))
20:40. Astros @ Padres (Keuchel (2-0) – Cashner (1-3))
23:10. Royals @ Indians (Ventura (2-1) – Salazar (2-0))
23:10. Blue Jays @ Red Sox (Dickey (0-2) – Porcello (1-2))

Thursday 30 April

18:45. Phillies @ Cardinals (Buchanan (0-4) – TBA)
20:35. Angels @ Athletics (Richards (1-1) – Kazmir (2-0)) *BT Sport 2, MLB.com Free Game

Friday 1 May

19:20. Brewers @ Cubs (Peralta (0-3) – Lester (0-2)) *ESPN

All of these games are available to watch or listen to live via an MLB.TV subscription. TV coverage of MLB comes courtesy of the BT Sport and ESPN channels and these are highlighted above, as are any games that are available to view online for free via MLB.com. The above list of games just shows those starting before midnight UK time. The full schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com.

New York, New York

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Frank Sinatra famously sang about “New York, New York”. There haven’t been too many times that both of the city’s baseball teams have been a dominant force since the high-water mark of the Yankees-Mets World Series in 2000.

Their rivalry is probably most similar to the Man Utd-Man City football rivalry in the pre-Abu Dhabi Sheikh days for the Blues. The Yankees were the Utd of the baseball equivalent, racking up titles, becoming the team everyone else loved to hate and being more interested in their rivalry with another city (Boston Red Sox in the Yankees’ case, Liverpool for Utd) than with their “noisy neighbour”.

The Mets were more like the old Man City, fleeting moments of brilliance heavily outnumbered by heartbreak and occasional farce.

Man City have turned things around thanks to Middle East investment of staggering proportions, to the extent that their global plans have seen them link up with the Yankees as part of the New York City Football team.

In contrast, the Mets are lumbered with the Wilpon family who have cut the team’s budget in the last three years after losing substantial sums in the Madoff investment scandal. Mets fans have not been happy seeing their team settling for a mid-ranking payroll despite being in one of the biggest sports markets in the world with a new ballpark and running a lucrative TV network, with frustrations summed up by a billboard protest at the start of this season.

However, there are signs that the baseball tide is turning in New York. The Yankees have missed out on the play-offs in each of the past two seasons and have a team dominated by high-earning older players. The Mets meanwhile have some of the most exciting young talent in the Major Leagues, particularly on their pitching staff.

One big difference between the New York and Manchester sporting rivalries is that the baseball teams play in different leagues so don’t directly compete against each other in the standings. Until regular season ‘inter-league’ play began in 1997, the two teams didn’t meet at all unless both made it to the World Series, which has only happened that one time in 2000. Now they do at least play each other every season for a few games and recently that has been a case of the underdog Mets coming along and hoping to win some bragging rights as a small bit of joy to cling to in an otherwise disappointing season.

Yet the ‘Subway Series’ that began last night was different. The Mets came into the series with the best record in MLB and riding an 11-game winning streak. Much as they would try to deny it, the Yankee players would have been peeved to have seen so much attention being lavished on their opponents as they ‘welcomed’ them to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series.

It was almost to be expected that the Yankees would snap the Mets’ winning streak in the opener on Friday night and that’s exactly what they did with a 6-1 victory. Whilst it’s only early in the season, the Yankees would take great pleasure in knocking the Mets down a peg or two by going on and sweeping the series.

The game on Saturday should be an absolute cracker with the Mets’ young pitching star Matt Harvey taking to the mound at Yankee Stadium against CC Sabathia. It’s a day-game in the Bronx, making for a 21.05 BST start time, and it’s being shown live on the ESPN UK channel.

Unsurprisingly, the series finale has been chosen as the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game so that will be live on ESPN UK too, in this case a 1 a.m. start on Sunday night/Monday morning.

The U.S. ESPN channel often gets accused of east coast bias, but in this case you can’t blame them for focusing on New York. There’s genuine reason for excitement with these two teams colliding this season thanks to the rise of the Mets and that’s something all baseball fans should enjoy.

BGB Fantasy League 2015 – Week Two

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Week two of the BaseballGB Fantasy League is complete. Have the early pace-setters managed to continue their good starts?
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
26
5
22
3
.305
.834
2
1
30
0
5.90
1.52
2
31
10
38
3
.233
.769
4
4
47
2
5.01
1.33
9
The Slugs are in first after their 9-2 win against Bits & Bytes. The offense struggled to hit for average but Zimmerman knocked in nine runs and Hanley Ramirez and Bautista each slugged a pair of homers. The pitching staff completed a sweep as Hahn picked up a win without allowing an earned run and the trio of Ross, price and Shields each struck out nine. Soria had a win and two saves. Carpenter and Trout helped Bits & bytes take average and OPS, but with Gomes, Rios and McGee all hurt but not being placed on the DL, the roster is three players light.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
22
4
24
5
.261
.692
1
4
38
1
4.63
1.41
3
28
11
27
1
.233
.711
3
7
57
0
2.86
1.11
9
The Knights are back to winning ways after their 9-3 victory against Batteries Essential. Donaldson (7 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .379 AVG) was the offensive star while Utley, d’Arnaud and Upton each hit two homers. Salazar was the pick of the starters with a win and 10 strikeouts while the bullpen collected seven saves without allowing an earned run. Cabrera, Holliday and Fielder helped Batteries Essential take average and five different players swiped a base. Otero had the lone save.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
29
7
25
2
.239
.750
4
5
51
0
3.17
4
33
9
39
10
.306
.843
3
3
33
2
1.25
8
An offensive sweep helped the Sox defeat Norwich 8-4. Goldschmidt, Cain and Cespedes were the star hitters, while Gordon and Gardner helped the team swipe 10 bases. Betances had two holds while Collmenter’s shutout made the difference in ERA. Greene won two games for Norwich and Odorizzi had a win and 12 strikeouts, helping take WHIP on a tiebreak. Miller had three saves and struck out nine.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
18
1
22
3
.231
.615
5
1
86
1
4.42
1.22
4
22
5
28
1
.262
.700
6
2
60
0
3.97
1.32
8
The Chasers notched their first win of the season, defeating Beck ‘Nams 8-4. Stanton (6 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI) was the top hitter while team-mate Morse went deep twice and Seager hit .391 and drove in five. Six different pitchers collected wins, including Martinez and Tillman, who helped take ERA. Beck ‘Nams racked up a very impressive 86 K thanks to Sanchez, Kershaw, Kazmir and Dickey and Benoit had a win, a save and a hold. Leonys Martin swiped two bases.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
37
9
22
1
.848
4
3
33
2
3.78
1.03
7
28
7
23
2
.787
3
3
43
1
3.50
1.28
4
The RBIs climbed up the standings with their 7-4 win against the Maltsters. A-Rod slugged three homers and scored seven runs while Votto, Jackson and Puig helped take average on a tiebreak. Pinerda had two wins, Ziegler notched two holds and Leake helped take WHIP. Soler knocked in seven to help the Maltsters take RBIs while Polanco and Revere swiped bases. Bauer and Scherzer helped take strikeouts and ERA.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
28
11
29
2
.366
1.053
2
1
33
1
4.03
1.23
5
23
2
18
4
.215
.599
3
10
45
3
3.94
1.12
7
Two weeks, two losses for my isotopes, as the pitching struggles continued against the Riverkings, who ran out 7-5 winners. The Met pair of Harvey and DeGrom chipped win with wins while Porcello and Cueto had double-digit strikeouts. Another Met, Familia, had five saves as the bullpen racked up 10 in total and three holds. Offensively, Rizzo swiped two bases. My Isotopes at least had big offensive weeks from Cruz (7 R, 6 HR, 10 RBI, .500 AVG) and Adam Jones (6 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .520 AVG) but a rough week for the bullpen did damage to the team ERA and WHIP.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
31
9
33
4
.279
.811
3
1
38
3
3.20
1.27
5
24
7
29
4
.266
.745
5
2
59
4
1.02
0.57
6
Jesmond fell a steal shy of a 6-6 tie against Iron Men, who nicked it 6-5. Iron Men posted great pitching numbers in a sweep, with Cole winning twice and striking out 14, while new Colorado closer Ottavino had two saves and Watson had a pair of holds. Marte had two steals and joined Kendrick in having multi-homer weeks. Souza had two homers, eight RBIs and two steals as Jesmond dominated the offensive categories with eight different players homering. Shelby Miller won his two starts.

KNIGHTS SWOOP ON WAIVER WIRE

The Knights made a big acquisition by claiming Carlos Gonzalez off waivers. I was very surprised to see a player of CarGo’s quality dropped, as even though he is an injury risk, he is still a player drafted in the fourth round. The Sox could easily have dangled him as trade bait but let him go for nothing. The Maltsters grabbed Joel Peralta, who appears to be the Dodgers’ closer until Jansen returns, while Norwich have picked up top White Sox prospect Rodon and can also see what Kris Bryant can do in the bigs after he was called up.

DL REMINDER

If you do have any injured players, please make sure you use your DL spots, which will then give you space to add replacements. Some teams are running the risk of losing matchups by carrying a number of hurt players, so make sure you aren’t damaging your chances of victory, especially if an injury to a small pitching staff means you may not meet the 20 inning minimum limit each week.

 

MLB this Week: Kluber, Tanaka, Greinke and Scherzer

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CovMLBUK2014There are pre-midnight MLB games on three days out of five this working week.

We start the working week with a very early game from Fenway Park on Monday as the Orioles and Red Sox complete their four-game series.

Wednesday’s sole early game takes us into the AL Central and a pitching match-up between Jeff Sarmdzija and the reigning Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.

Thursday is the key evening this work for catching some live baseball without sacrificing sleep. Highlights include a Masahiro Tanaka start for the Yankees against the Detroit Tigers, Zack Greinke facing the Giants in a game available to watch for free on MLB.com, and Max Scherzer starting at home for the Nationals against the Cardinals.

All times are in BST.

Monday 20 April

16:05. Orioles @ Red Sox (Chen (0-0) – Masterson (1-0)) *ESPN

Tuesday 21 April

No early games

Wednesday 22 April

19:10. Indians @ White Sox (Kluber (0-1) – Samardzija (0-1)) *ESPN

Thursday 23 April

17:35. Cubs @ Pirates (Hendricks (0-0) – Locke (2-0))
18:05. Marlins @ Phillies (Phelps (0-0) – O’Sullivan (0-1))
18:08. Yankees @ Tigers (Tanaka (2-1) – Sanchez (1-2))
18:10. Braves @ Mets (Teheran (2-0) – Colon (3-0))
18:40. Reds @ Brewers (Bailey (0-1) – Lohse (0-3))
20:10. Padres @ Rockies  (Ross (1-0) – Lyles (1-0))
20:45. Dodgers @ Giants (Greinke (1-0) – TBA) *MLB.com Free Game
21:05. Cardinals @ Nationals (Wacha (2-0) – Scherzer (1-1))

Friday 24 April

No early games

All of these games are available to watch or listen to live via an MLB.TV subscription. TV coverage of MLB comes courtesy of the BT Sport and ESPN channels and these are highlighted above, as are any games that are available to view online for free via MLB.com. The above list of games just shows those starting before midnight UK time. The full schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com.

WHGB: Bryant creates a buzz

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WHGB11There was a buzz around Major League Baseball on Friday as the Chicago Cubs called up top prospect Kris Bryant for his debut.

After his booming home runs in the Minor Leagues and during the recent Spring Training, Bryant’s 0-for-4 performance at the plate (including three strikeouts) may have seemed an anti-climax, but that didn’t deter any of the MLB news outlets.

From MLB.com onwards, Bryant’s debut was the headline story and a couple of decent bits of fielding at third base – good, but nothing particularly special at the Major League level – were latched onto with gusto in lauding a new star.

You could try to argue that the Cubs’ cynical decision not to promote Bryant for Opening Day was a marketing masterstroke; a perfect example of making people wait and building up anticipation.

That would be wrong. In fact, all the hubbub just goes to prove exactly why the Cubs’ actions were a great shame for the sport.

If you missed the back story, it all came down to the way in which Major League teams are able to keep a player under contract for six full seasons when they start their career in the Big Leagues. By delaying Bryant’s debut by 11 days, the Cubs ensured that he would not build up enough days on their roster to gain a full season of credit this year. The result is that instead of potentially becoming a free agent at the end of the 2020 season, Bryant will now not be eligible for free agency until the end of the 2021 season.

From a business standpoint the Cubs’ decision was understandable. The small number of games he has missed will not affect their 2015 season to any significant extent and the value of getting an extra year from a player of Bryant’s calibre is potentially huge. They have put forward their arguments as to why it was a genuine baseball decision and could probably fund a team of sharp lawyers to state a strong legal case if needed, despite everyone knowing full well that the position is completely false.

However, as part of agreeing to the cut-off point at which a full-season cannot be claimed, the Players Association are adamant that there is an element of fairness that needs to be applied. Deliberately holding down a player who clearly should have been on the roster just to stop them accruing service time is a blatant act of bad faith.

As a committed baseball fan I can find many things that demonstrate the sport is in rude health, but concerns have been raised in the States that the sport’s standing is slipping among the casual ranks. The new ‘pace of play’ modifications introduced this season, designed to tackle the increasing length of games, were an acknowledgement of this.

Making changes to stop games drifting along is a positive step, but any such modifications are only going to have marginal benefits. When it comes to getting more people to take an interest, we should remember that sport is above all else a source of entertainment and entertainment is driven by stars.

It’s already recognised that MLB needs to do more to market its stars in a way that the NFL and NBA have done so successfully. Let more people know how great it is to watch Mike Trout or Andrew McCutchen making amazing catches in the outfield, Giancarlo Stanton launching mammoth home runs or Matt Harvey carving up Major League lineups and interest will take hold. The spike in ratings and at the turnstiles for Harvey’s home season debut for the Mets on Thursday is testament to the star talent being there and having an impact.

The 2015 MLB season opened up at Wrigley Field as the Cubs hosted the Cardinals in a marquee U.S. national TV match-up on ESPN. Instead of potentially seeing Kris Bryant send a stunning walk-off home run into the stands in a prime-time debut and immediately announcing himself to a national audience on every sports news outlet, his only impact was in the ESPN announcers telling us what an exciting talent he is and explaining why we weren’t able to enjoy that talent there and then.

The Cubs held down Bryant because it made business sense and they will receive no penalty as a result. If new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is serious about getting more youngsters in America excited about baseball once again that needs to change so it doesn’t happen again.

The MLB Commissioner has an overriding power that allows him to take action in the best interests of baseball. A situation where it benefits a team to hold down a young potential star for even a few days is clearly not in the best interests of baseball and needs to be rectified.

Red Sox Review: Week One

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The first week of the season has had many highs for the Red Sox, including Mookie Betts, who has lived up to the hype created during Spring Training.

In the opening game against the Phillies, the Red Sox dominated and won 8-0. The impressive score was all down to home runs. Both Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia hit two homes run to show how strong the offensive is. Ramirez also hit a grand slam in the final inning to seal the first victory of the season. Betts was also among those to score a home run.

The first week had the added excitement of the age old rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees. The Red Sox came out on top as they won two of the games in the series. On Friday going into the small hours of Saturday, the game went into 16 innings and lasted 6 hours, 49 minutes, this was the longest game in franchise history and were back in the Yankee stadium a mere 11 hours later.

The highlight of the home opener was to have four time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots throw out the first pitch. Brady’s talents are probably best left on the football field as the ball took a lucky bounce to reach David Ortiz.

Betts was definitely the star of the home opener against the Nationals. He hit a three – run homer, stole second base and to top it off he prevented Bryce Harper from scoring a home run.

Going into the second week, the Red Sox are ranked third in the power rankings and look to gain on their success. The second week will also see the return of Koji Uehara who was placed on the disabled list to a left hamstring strain.

BGB Fantasy League 2015 – Week One

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The first matchups are complete in this year’s BaseballGB Fantasy League. Which teams are looking like Detroit and Kansas City with hot starts and which teams are looking more like Minnesota?

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
34
7
33
4
.265
.810
3
2
43
1
2.39
0.98
10
22
5
29
4
.238
.676
2
8
37
0
5.72
1.27
1

 

The early leaders are Jesmond, who handed the Knights a 10-1 loss. Nolan Arenado (2 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R .375 AVG), Carlos Santana and McCutchen (2 HR) carried the load offensively as Jesmond fell a steal shy of a hitting sweep. Carrasco had a win and 10 K and joined Archer and Shelby Miller in not allowing an earned run. Encarnacion and Pujols each hit two homers for the Knights, while the bullpen of Storen, Street, Peralta, Allen and Gregerson combined for eight saves.

 

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
21
5
21
3
.219
.600
3
3
40
0
5.19
1.33
2
24
13
25
0
.249
.830
6
0
61
1
3.99
1.15
10

 

JJ’s off to to a flier after thrashing my Isotopes 10-2. JJ had two of baseball’s hottest hitters to thanks, as Adrian Gonzalez (5 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, .609 AVG) and Todd Frazier (3 HR, 8 RBI) did most of the offensive damage. In a loaded pitching staff, the best performers were Kazmir (W, 10K, 0.00 ERA) and Benoit (2 W, HLD). Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz each hit two homers for my team and Altuve stole two bases. Rodney had a win and two saves, but the rotation was hit by injuries to Holland and (possibly) Alvarez.

 

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
20
3
23
11
.259
.675
3
4
36
0
6.23
1.53
4
22
7
19
0
.193
.593
4
4
68
4
3.67
1.32
7

 

The Slugs fell a save shy of a pitching sweep as they defeated Batteries Essential 7-4. James Shields, Tyson Ross and David Price each had a win and double-digit strikeouts while Boxberger, Soria, Cecil and Romo each had either two saves or two holds. Cecil has lost the closing role in Toronto, but Soria is picking up saves in the absence of Detroit’s Joe Nathan. Hanley Ramirez hit .320 for the week, belting three homers and driving in seven and Bautista scored seven runs. The Slugs hit well, with Miguel Cabrera batting .520 for the week, hitting two homers and driving in eight runs. Pappelbon had two saves and Jimmy Nelson already looks a good pickup after his impressive season debut.

 

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
22
8
20
3
.242
.725
2
6
47
1
2.87
1.07
7
19
7
30
2
.248
.716
3
0
62
8
3.72
1.23
5

Norwich just got the better of Iron Men 7-5 in a close matchup. Corey Dickerson had two homers, nine RBIs and helped take OPS ans Norwich took four offensive categories. New Padre Kimbrel and Rondon each had two saves and Odorizzi, Hahn and Paxton helped take ERA and WHIP. Norwich also have Toronto rookie Castro in their bullpen. J.D. Martinez and Tulowitzki helped Iron Men take RBIs and average, while Keuchel and Wacha each picked up wins, Kluber struck out 17 and Ottavino, O’Day, Farquhar and Watson combined for eight holds.

 

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
25
4
23
4
.280
.755
5
1
31
0
2.56
1.32
7
18
3
17
3
.213
.599
3
6
64
1
2.00
0.97
5

Another matchup, another 7-5. this time the RBIs got the better of the Maltsters, thanks to an offensive sweep. Pedroia had two homers, while carpenter knocked in five runs and Reyes (.417) and Trout (.400) helped take average. The offense will need a new catcher with Yan Gomes on the DL. The pitching staff is very light on numbers, which could have cost them a few categories, but Teheran and Ventura each had a pair of wins. The Maltsters had three saves each from Holland and Casilla while Scherzer, Greinke and Bauer helped take ERA and WHIP.

 

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
25
10
36
6
.212
.721
1
1
27
2
3.58
1.27
6
26
3
24
3
.254
.668
4
0
49
2
3.65
1.24
5

The RBIs start the year with a win, defeating the Chasers 6-5. Eight different batters homered for the RBIs, including three for Votto, who also knocked in eight. Rollins had seven RBIs and two steals while Wade Davis picked up the lone save and Fister’s scoreless start made the difference in ERA. Kinsler was the star hitter for the Chasers, scoring 10 times, knocking in seven and hitting .440. Sonny Gray was the pick of the pitchers with a win and and ERA and WHIP of 0.59.

 

Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
31
6
29
3
.259
.777
2
4
62
2
2.05
1.01
6
37
9
36
7
.311
.875
1
1
33
0
5.58
1.53
6

The Riverkings and Sox couldn’t be separated as each team had a sweep. The offensive categories went to the Sox as Salvador Perez hit three homers and drove in eight while fellow Royal Cain hit .4540 with five runs and five RBIs. King Felix and Harvey each had a win as the Riverkings swept the pitching stats. Cueto also didn’t allow an earned run, while Rosenthal had two saves.

PITCHING REMINDER

Remember that you need to meet the 20 inning minimum each week to stand a chance of winning any of the pitching categories. Now that rotations are taking shape with fifth members ready to go, you could be waving goodbye to a lot of category wins if you are currently using a small pitching staff. Now might be the time to look at other teams’ rosters to see if there’s a match for a trade or look at the free agent pool.

WEEK TWO MATCHUPS

Jesmond (1st) v Iron Men (11th)

Beck ‘Nams (2nd) v Chasers (9th)

Slugs (3rd) v Bits & Bytes (5th)

Norwich (4th) v Sox (8th)

RBIs (6th) v Maltsters (10th)

Riverkings (7th) v Isotopes (13th)

Batteries Essential (12th) v Knights (14th)

MLB this Week: Plenty of day-games to enjoy

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CovMLBUK2014We’ve got MLB games starting before midnight UK time every day this working week.

Tuesday’s entry is a bit of a fudge as it’s just 50 minutes ahead of that cut-off, yet it still counts and should be a good game in any case with Stephen Strasburg set to take on the Boston Red Sox. All three games of the interleague match-up between Washington and Boston are on the early side, as is the opener between the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.

The working week ends with both Chicago teams in day-game action. The White Sox are on the road facing the Tigers, likely a pitching match-up between Jeff Samardzija and David Price, whilst the Cubs host the Padres.

There a few more games on ESPN during the evening this week compared to last and there are also three early games that have been chosen as the MLB.com Free Game of the Day, meaning that everyone can watch them live online via the MLB.TV service even if you don’t have a subscription.

All times are in BST.

Monday 13 April

18:10. Phillies @ Mets (Harang (1-0) – deGrom (0-1)) *ESPN
18:35. Tigers @ Pirates (Sanchez (1-0) – Cole (0-0))
20:05. Nationals @ Red Sox (Zimmermann (1-0) – Porcello (0-1))
21:10. Royals @ Twins (Duffy (0-0) – May (0-0))
21:15. Brewers @ Cardinals (Garza (0-1) – Wainwright (1-0)) *ESPN, MLB.com Free Game
21:35. Rockies @ Giants (Butler (0-0) – Heston (1-0))

Tuesday 14 April

23:10. Nationals @ Red Sox (Strasburg (0-1) – Masterson (1-0))

Wednesday 15 April

17:10. White Sox @ Indians (Danks (0-1) – Bauer (1-0)) *ESPN
17:10. Marlins @ Braves    (Haren (0-0) – Stults (0-0))
18:35. Nationals @Red Sox (Gonzalez (0-1) – Miley (0-0))
19:05. Angels @ Rangers    (Santiago (0-1) – TBA) *BT Sport2

Thursday 16 April

18:10. Royals @ Twins (Vargas (1-0) – Milone (1-0)) *MLB.com Free Game
18:45. Brewers @ Cardinals (Fiers (0-1) – Lackey (0-0))

Friday 17 April

18:08. White Sox @ Tigers (Samardzija (0-1) – Price (1-0)) *MLB.com Free Game
19:20. Padres @ Cubs (Shields (2-0) – Hammel (1-0))

All of these games are available to watch or listen to live via an MLB.TV subscription. TV coverage of MLB comes courtesy of the BT Sport and ESPN channels and these are highlighted above, as are any games that are available to view online for free via MLB.com. The above list of games just shows those starting before midnight UK time. The full schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com.

WHGB: Notes from MLB Opening Week

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WHGB11There were 15 MLB games yesterday, 15 today and then another 14 tomorrow. After so many months without it, you very quickly get back into the swing of having baseball to enjoy every day.

I’m planning to publish articles a bit more regularly this season rather than bringing everything together into a weekly column, but there will still be weeks when I have a range of things to comment on that don’t fit into their own article.

I’ll badge them up under my usual ‘Weekly Hit Ground Ball’ theme, so just bear in mind that they might not be quite so weekly as the name suggests.

Good starts for some

It happens every season: several teams get off to good or bad starts and there’s an overreaction as to how representative that early record is compared to the true talent of the team concerned.

It’s not just baseball this happens in either. Aston Villa took 10 points from their first four games of the 2014/15 Premier League season and ridiculously gave manager Paul Lambert a contract extension on the back of it. “We can look to the future with real optimism”, Lambert said at the time. When reality set in (and considering their early good form included an unconvincing 2-1 home win against Hull and a 0-0 home bore draw against Newcastle, it shouldn’t have needed much thinking time) he ended up being hounded out in mid February with the team fighting a relegation battle.

So, nobody should be too quick to put money on the 4-1 Colorado Rockies winning the NL West, nor to laugh at the Washington Nationals’ pre-season favourites tag due to their 1-4 start.

Having written that, the Atlanta Braves should be celebrating their 5-0 start considering their lowly expectations for the year ahead, just as Cincinnati Reds can delight in their 4-1 start at home, and the Kansas City Royals can see their 5-0 start as a thumb in the eye for all who considered their 2014 World Series appearance to be a fluke.

Those starts to the season may not be the least bit indicative of the year ahead, but that doesn’t mean fans of those teams can’t enjoy them all the same.

Breakfast baseball

One part of following MLB in the UK that I neglected to mention in my recent article was the wonderful bonus of breakfast time baseball that we occasionally get to enjoy. This is typically when a west coast game runs on for a while – perhaps going into extra innings or due to a rain delay – so that the game is still ongoing around 7 a.m. BST.

We got our first dose of Bonus Breakfast Baseball on Wednesday morning and it was a memorable way to start as it featured Craig Kimbrel making his San Diego Padres debut. Kimbrel didn’t disappoint, striking out all three LA Dodgers batters he faced and leaving his new teammates like James Shields laughing in the dugout at the ease in which he can make Major Leaguer hitters look so helpless.

Rodriguez record approaching

Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka captured most of the attention from the New York Yankees’ opening game as concerns about the state of his elbow continue to keep the Yankee beat writers occupied. However, the other main story coming out of the game was the largely positive reaction Alex Rodriguez received from the home crowd following his year-long drug-related suspension.

Rodriguez undoubtedly will be booed at every other stadium he plays in – although that’s nothing new – but it was less certain quite how the Bronx faithful would respond to him wearing pinstripes once again.

The majority appear to have taken the stance that he has served his time and so long as he is trying to help their team win games from here, they will support him like they do the rest of their players. That may well change if he starts slumping at the plate as the season progresses.

The interesting story will come if Rodriguez does have a decent season and continues to add more home runs to the one he hit against Toronto on Thursday. The Yankees spent much of the off-season seemingly trying to find ways to get out of their contract with him and particularly in respect of the marketing bonuses he will receive as he reaches new home run landmarks.

Heading into Sunday, Rodriguez is fifth on the all-time MLB home run list with 655 and just five homers behind Willie Mays. The Yankees will have to pay him $6m if he gets to 660 and the next man on the list to catch is Yankee legend Babe Ruth with 714. Ruth’s tally will likely prove to be out of reach as Rodriguez turns 40 in July, but 660 should be only a matter of time and as pessimism over the team’s 2015 prospects already starts to grow, we may find the Yankees make more of the event than you might have thought just a few months ago.