Monthly Archives: May 2015

MLB this Week: 22 early games to enjoy

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CovMLBUK2014Apologies for not getting to post the weekly update on Monday as I normally would. That was Memorial Day in the States in any case so 10 of the 15 MLB games were played during the daytime to enjoy.

We’ve got a good group of games over the rest of the working week too that start before midnight UK time.

Wednesday offers us eleven early games to choose from, whilst the White Sox and Orioles are playing a double-header on Thursday and the Kansas City Royals take on the Cubs at Wrigley on Friday.

All times are in BST.

Monday 25 May

18.05. Royals at Yankees
18.10. Rockies at Reds
18.10. Phillies at Mets
18.35. Astros at Orioles
19.10. Red Sox at Twins
19.10. Giants at Brewers
19.20. Nationals at Cubs
21.05. Tigers at A’s
21.10. Rangers at Indians
21.15. D-Backs at Cardinals

Tuesday 26 May

No early games

Wednesday 27 May

17:10. Rangers at Indians (Lewis (4-2) – Carrasco (5-4))
17:35. Rockies at Reds (Kendrick (1-6) – Leake (2-3))
17:35. Marlins at Pirates (TBA – Cole (6-2)) *ESPN
17:37. White Sox at Blue Jays (Samardzija (4-2) – Estrada (1-3))
18:05. Royals at Yankees (Young (4-0) – Pineda (5-2))
18:10. Red Sox at Twins (Porcello (4-3) – Hughes (3-4))
18:10. Phillies at Mets (O’Sullivan (1-3) – Syndergaard (1-2))
18:10. Mariners at Rays (Hernandez (7-1) – Archer (5-4)) *MLB.com Free Game
18:40. Giants at Brewers (Vogelsong (3-2) – TBA)
20:35. Tigers at A’s (Simon (5-2) – Kazmir (2-3)) *ESPN
21:35. Astros at Orioles (McHugh (5-2) – Jimenez (3-3))

Thursday 28 May

18:05. White Sox at Orioles (Sale (3-2) – TBA)

Friday 29 May

21:05. Royals at Cubs (TBA – Arrieta (4-4)) *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.

BGB Fantasy League 2015: Week Seven

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Some upsets were caused in week seven of the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Which teams were picking up wins against the top teams?
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
27
5
21
4
.230
.660
0
3
41
0
5.22
1.44
2
30
9
27
6
.283
.884
4
1
26
3
3.45
1.29
10
Jesmond were the biggest winners in week seven, defeating Norwich 10-2. McCutchen (three homers) and Pollock (eight runs, four steals) were the stars of an offensive sweep, while Archer, Samardzija and Carrasco all had good weeks on the mound, helping take wins, ERA and WHIP. Kenley Jansen’s return from injury saw him take saves for Norwich while Fiers led the staff with eight strikeouts and harper belted two more homers.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
35
10
34
3
.223
.721
5
7
56
1
5.10
1.46
9
18
5
22
1
.222
.600
3
2
39
1
2.68
1.23
2
A good sporting weekend for the Knights, what with Newcastle avoiding the drop and a 9-2 win against the Chasers. Encarnacion (three homers) and Upton (two homers) each knocked in eight as the Knights completed an offensive sweep, while five different pitchers picked up wins, including Liriano who struck out 14. Storen had three saves and there were two each from Street and Gregerson. The Chasers took ERA and WHIP thanks to nice weeks from Carlos Martinez, Zimmermann and Cashner and fell just .001 shot of a tie in average.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
10
3
15
4
.234
.591
3
4
56
2
5.35
1.41
6
24
3
15
3
.207
.590
2
4
20
0
3.79
1.21
3
My Isotopes picked up another win, defeating the RBIs 6-3. For a second straight week, my team had a larger lead vanish on the final day. not helped by some pitching meltdowns from Gonzalez and Frias. Alexei Ramirez stole two bases and Cruz helped take average and OPS. Reed had a win and two holds while Sale struck out 17. Fowler gave the RBIs the edge in runs while Weaver and Volquez helped take ERA and WHIP.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
26
3
19
1
.261
.709
5
4
50
0
1.73
0.98
6
36
5
20
14
.251
.700
2
4
41
0
2.00
1.09
4
The Maltsters caused an upset, beating the league-leading Sox 6-4. Bauer had two wins, joined Santiago in tacking up 11 strikeouts and joined Scherzer and Greinke in helping to take ERA and WHIP, while Cervelli, Longoria and Soler made the difference in average and OPS. The Sox ran wild with 14 steals, including five from Gordon, Cespedes scored seven runs and Goldschmidt homered twice. The pithing staff posted great ERA and WHIP numbers which would normally have been good enough to win most other weeks.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
23
8
31
1
.263
.761
1
4
65
3
3.92
1.14
5
25
5
31
4
.258
.700
4
0
43
4
1.38
1.02
6
The Slugs slipped to a 6-5 defeat to Iron Men in a very tight matchup. Cole, Kluber, Kuechel and Wacha all picked up wins and helped take ERA and WHIP while Gomez scored seven runs, drove in five and stole two bases. Gattis, Duda and Moss each homered twice for the Slugs, while Shields and Price combined for 30 strikeouts and Boxberger had three saves.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
25
8
30
3
.252
.738
2
2
46
2
3.80
1.07
5
25
5
34
3
.289
.798
2
4
42
0
3.88
1.36
4
The Riverkings’ pitching staff helped the team to a 5-4 win against Batteries Essential. DeGrom and Harvey each had double-digit strikeouts, King Felix helped take ERA and WHIP and Smith had two holds. Choo scored seven runs and Dozier went deep three times. Batteries essential had a monster week from Fielder, who homered three times and drove in nine, while Papelbon and Grilli each had two saves.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
13
5
14
1
.273
.785
3
0
76
0
4.61
1.22
5
20
4
18
1
.264
.739
2
0
30
2
3.34
1.03
5
Finally, Beck ‘Nams and Bits & Bytes ended 5-5. Teixeira homered twice and Leonys Martin helped take average and OPS, while Hamels had two wins and Hammel struck out 17. Batteries Essential had runs and RBIs from Belt and Trout in an injury-ravaged lineup while McGee had two holds and Teheran helped take ERA and WHIP.

DL SPOTS: A REMINDER

Remember, if you pick up injuries, you have three DL spots at your disposal. move the injured player to one of them and you will open up a roster spot for a reinforcement from the free agent pool. there;’s no excuse for carrying lots of injured players without using the DL and doing so will only harm your chances of winning.

The week eight matchups

Sox (1st) v Slugs (3rd)
Riverkings (2nd) v Bits & Bytes (13th)
Beck ‘Nams (4th) v RBIs (11th)
Jesmond (5th) v Chasers (8th)
Knights (6th) v Iron Men (10th)
Batteries Essential (7th) v Norwich (14th)
Isotopes (9th) v Maltsters (12th)

 

BGB Fantasy League 2015: Week Six

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There were some outstanding pitching performances this week. Which managers saw the benefits of Kluber’s 18 strikeout game and Shelby Miller’s near no-hitter?
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
28
9
26
4
.235
.721
2
2
26
1
5.08
1.50
2
31
7
29
0
.281
.790
5
5
48
1
3.25
1.28
9
The Sox find themselves in first after defeating the RBIs 9-2. Goldschmidt, Hosmer and Cain helped take runs, RBIs and average, while the pitchers were a hold away from a sweep, as Lynn collected two wins and 16 strikeouts, Burnett on twice and Robertson and Perkins combined for five saves. A-Rod hit three homers for the RBIs, while Granderson went deep twice and was one of four players to swipe a base.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
26
9
28
4
.284
.836
1
4
51
2
3.30
1.32
8
22
6
25
3
.222
.662
4
1
73
3
3.36
1.08
4
An offensive sweep saw the Riverkings defeat Jesmond 8-4. After a slow start Choo is heating up, belting three homers while Rizzo and Dozier went deep twice. Rosenthal, Britton and Smith took care of saves and holds. Four different Jesmond pitchers had double-digit strikeouts, including Carrasco who had 16 and Miller, whose near no-no made the difference in WHIP.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
24
4
23
1
.287
.759
6
3
65
0
1.46
1.01
4
27
8
27
4
.310
.864
4
2
80
4
3.03
1.07
8
Iron Men found some form with an 8-4 win against the Maltsters. A productive week from the outfield of Carlos Gomez, JD Martinez and Marte helped an offensive sweep, while Kluber’s 18 strikeout game, joined with 15 from Ubaldo and 14 from Cole, saw the staff pile up 80 strikeouts. Scherzer and Paxton each won twice for Cheshunt, and joined Greinke and Bauer in taking ERA and WHIP. The 65 strikeouts the staff recorded would have easily been good enough to win in almost any other week. Peralta and Trumbo each went deep twice.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
25
9
29
2
.276
.771
3
0
48
1
3.20
1.10
8
26
7
19
3
.265
.777
2
1
35
0
6.14
1.61
4
My Isotopes got back to winning ways against Bits & Bytes, although a 10-1 score became 8-4 on the final day. Sandoval batted under .100 but joined Beltre in hitting two homers while Adrian also knocked in seven and Ethier batted .429. Sale led the pitchers win a win and 11 strikeouts, while Lohse and Miguel Gonzalez did not allow an earned run in their starts. Belt found his power stroke for Bits & Bytes, hitting three homers, knocking in seven and scoring nine, while Carpenter returned after some time off with a couple of homers. Feliz managed the lone save.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
18
4
19
2
.220
.582
4
3
56
3
3.60
1.47
5
29
10
29
6
.218
.727
0
7
37
0
4.06
1.22
7
The Knights came out on top in a hard-fought matchup against the Slugs, winning 7-5. There wasn’t much hitting for average, but the Knights were just .003 away from an offensive sweep. Edwin Encarnacion hit four homers, Justin Upton went deep twice and Danny Santana stole two bases. The pitchers went winless but racked up the saves with Chase Anderson and Happ helping take WHIP. Duda helped the Slugs take average while Lester won both his starts and struck out 13. Yimi Garcia had two holds.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
33
11
37
4
.337
1.053
4
4
55
0
4.90
1.37
6
34
10
39
3
.295
.831
2
4
46
1
2.40
1.07
5
Norwich squeezed past the Chasers 6-5 in a very tight matchup. Another monster week from Bryce Harper (10 runs, three homers, nine RBIs, two steals, .522 average) helped Norwich take four offensive categories while new recruit Syndegaard had a win and 11 strikeouts. Stanton and Posey each knocked in seven for the Chasers, with Kinsler and Alcides Escobar both scoring six times. Quintana, Gray and Zimmermann helped take ERA and WHIP while Herrera had the lone hold.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
25
8
27
4
.250
.799
5
0
70
1
2.51
1.03
6
36
12
40
3
.346
1.036
3
5
41
0
5.51
1.29
6
Finally, Beck ‘Nams and Batteries Essential could not be separated, finishing 6-6. Kipnis scored eight runs for Batteries Essential, Miguel Cabrera hit four homers, Fielder hit three and the slugging pair each knocked in nine. Papelbon had three saves. Frazier gave Beck ‘Nams the edge in steals, while five different pitchers collected wins, including Arrietta, who struck out 17. Jake also joined Shoemaker, Anibal Sanchez and Hammel with an ERA of a little over 1.00.

Week seven matchups

Sox (1st) v Maltsters (13th)
Slugs (2nd) v Iron Men (10th)
Riverkings (3rd) v Batteries Essential (8th)
Beck ‘Nams (4th) v Bits & Bytes (14th)
Knights (5th) v Chasers (7th)
Jesmond (6th) v Norwich (12th)
RBIs (9th) v Isotopes (11th)

 

Anyone can manage an MLB team

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The Miami Marlins under the ownership of Jeffrey Loria are expected to do things that leave you bewildered, sometimes in a good way for their fans (giving Giancarlo Stanton a $325m/13 year contract extension this off-season) but more often not (take your pick: acquiring a high profile manager and several free agents in a blaze of publicity when opening a brand new ballpark, only to get rid of most of them one year later would be a good place to start).

They have added another entry to their list of wonderment today, but as a prelude to discussing this I’m led to a story that dominated the British sports news over the past week.

In all of the coverage about Steven Gerrard’s departure from Liverpool FC, it was noted that he is currently in the process of getting his ‘coaching badges’ to move into management when his playing career is over.

It doesn’t matter that he has had a 17-year professional playing career that’s seen him win major trophies and play for England over 100 times, he still had to obtain his ‘Level 2, Certificate in Coaching Football’ the same as someone wanting to do a ‘Football in the Community’ coaching role to set him on his way.

Gerrard is currently completing his ‘Level 3, UEFA B Licence’ that takes between 12 to 18 months of work (he has been coaching Liverpool’s Under-16 team once a week as part of this) before progressing on to the ‘Level 4, UEFA A Licence’ that can take a further two years and is a requirement to manage or coach professionally (either having the qualification or being in the process of working towards it).

From there, if he wants to manage in the Premier League or a major UEFA competition he has to have completed or be working towards the ‘Level 5, UEFA Pro Licence’, which can take another year.

Ryan Giggs, Gerrard’s contemporary, became the first person to obtain the Level 5 qualification whilst still playing and a feature by the Independent in 2013 explained what this stage in the qualification process involved:

“Giggs … will undertake 240 hours of study to gain the qualification – including spending three days at a European club and making a detailed case study of a business. He is expected to secure the qualification within the next 12 months after a period at Warwick University’s Business School.”

It’s all part of the UEFA coaching qualification pyramid that is designed to ensure men and women coaching or managing 14 year-olds in a football academy or experienced internationals in the Champions League have undergone a thorough period of study that goes a long, long way above simply being good at playing the sport when you were younger.

It certainly doesn’t preclude pockets of the ‘old boys’ network’ having a strong say in who gets employed at certain clubs, but it does at least ensure that coaching is something that merits the designation of being a profession in it’s own right, rather than just being there for the manager’s mate to earn some money to pay off his gambling debts.

In Major League Baseball, things aren’t quite so structured.

There is a growing trend in appointing former players to MLB managerial roles despite the individuals having precious little managerial or coaching experience. Craig Counsel (Milwaukee Brewers) Mike Matheny (St. Louis Cardinals) and Brad Ausmus (Detroit Tigers) are but three examples and every appointment has raised the same question: if teams don’t value experience in these roles then what do the roles actually consist of and how important are they?

The Miami Marlins have raised the stakes by sacking Mike Redmond and replacing him with General Manager Dan Jennings. By all accounts he’s held in high regard by many that know him and have worked with him, but he has no professional playing career to speak of and his coaching resume consists of a stint with a High School in Alabama years ago.

It may prove to be an inspired decision; however if it does then that’s perhaps an indictment on what a manager or coach does in MLB.

Can it really be right that at the very highest level of baseball – the pinnacle of the professional game – the small select group of managerial and coaching positions available can be handed out to people with no actual qualifications or direct experience in doing the jobs they have been appointed to?

 

MLB this Week: Potential Kershaw-Bumgarner match up

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CovMLBUK2014We always have to be careful about focusing on potential pitching match-ups for the week ahead as plans can change, either deliberately on behalf of a manager rearranging a rotation or rain leading to a game being postponed.

However, looking at the pre-midnight UK time MLB games this working week there is one contest that can’t be ignored.

The Dodgers and Giants are playing a three-game series at AT&T Park and the finale on Thursday currently is set to feature Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner. ESPN will be broadcasting the game in the UK, although they will be joining it after the completion of a 17.35 start between the Mariners and Orioles so hopefully the ‘pace of play’ changes will help keep that one within 3 hours.

This working week also offers two opportunities to catch the Houston Astros during the British evening. In recent seasons that comment would not have generated much excitement, but things are changing in Houston and they entered Sunday’s games with the best record in the American League. If you haven’t seen much of them so far this season, here’s your chance to learn a bit more about this emerging young team.

All times are in BST.

Monday 18 May

18:07. LA Angels at Toronto (Wilson – Sanchez) *MLB.com Free Game, ESPN

Tuesday 19 May

No early games

Wednesday 20 May

19:10. Oakland at Houston (Hahn – Keuchel) *ESPN

Thursday 21 May

17:10. Arizona at Miami (Bradley – Latos)
17.35. Seattle at Baltimore (Happ – Chen) *ESPN
18.08. Houston at Detroit (Feldman – Price)
18.10. St. Louis at NY Mets (Lyons – deGrom) *MLB.com Free Game
20.10. Philadelphia at Colorado (Williams – De La Rosa)
20.45. LA Dodgers at San Francisco (Kershaw – Bumgarner) *ESPN

Friday 22 May

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.

BGB Fantasy League 2015: Week Five

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Week five of the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw a homer binge by Bryce Harper and a number of young arms racking up the strikeouts. But which teams would benefit?
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
22
4
21
4
.280
.788
0
3
24
0
5.18
1.56
0
34
9
27
6
.303
.839
5
5
37
2
3.27
1.14
12
The Sox had a perfect week, defeating Bits & Bytes 12-0. Goldschmidt, Semien and Hunter were the star hitters, while five different pitchers collected wins and Perkins, Robertson and Betances took care of saves and holds. Bits & Bytes are several players light as injured men are not on the DL.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
25
9
27
3
.249
.747
4
4
43
2
1.33
0.98
10
19
3
16
1
.268
.714
3
0
36
5
4.20
1.36
2
The RBIs had an impressive week, defeating Iron Men 10-2. Vogt, Granderson and McCann each hit two homers as the offense won five out of six categories while Pineda racked up two wins and 22 strikeouts. Ramos, Tulo and V-Mart helped Iron Men take average while Watson had three holds.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
18
6
18
3
.247
.709
2
4
38
3
5.02
1.37
2
31
7
26
12
.310
.851
2
2
66
0
4.34
1.24
9
Batteries Essential gave my Isotopes a hammering, winning 9-2 thanks to an offensive sweep. Russell Martin hit .588 for the week and joined Brantley in hitting two homers while four players had multi-steal weeks. Bumgarner and Garza helped take strikeouts, WHIP and ERA. Rodney and Dunn helped salvage saves and holds, but a very slow start to the week for my offense proved costly.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
44
12
34
3
.309
.983
5
7
50
3
2.52
1.02
9
35
13
44
2
.302
.943
4
5
62
0
3.92
1.44
3
The Riverkings also enjoyed a big win, defeating Norwich 9-3 in a slugfest. Grandal had a monster week, hitting .643, homering twice and driving in 10, while Dozier, Pederson and Simmons scored seven, eight and nine runs respectively. King Felix had two wins and joined DeGrom and Porcello in taking ERA and WHIP. Norwich benefitted from Harper’s power binge (six homers, 13 RBIs) while Wong (two homers, nine RBIs) also had a big week. Odorizzi led the staff with 13 strikeouts.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
24
5
15
1
.200
.600
3
3
53
1
4.55
1.50
2
26
7
27
1
.236
.711
0
4
55
1
4.91
1.45
8
The Chasers are over .500 after defeating the league-leading Slugs 8-2. Seager and Kinsler were the pick of the hitters while K-Rod and Uehara each had two saves and Carlos Martinez struck out 11. Lester helped the Slugs salvage wins and ERA while Betts had a three-homer week.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
14
7
31
3
.275
.845
4
1
74
2
5.00
1.31
4
39
9
24
3
.256
.804
5
1
51
2
2.86
1.17
5
Jesmond squeezed past Beck ‘Nams 5-4. Miller, Samardzija and Richards combined to take ERA and WHIP, with Garrett also striking out 15. Santana led the way with seven of the whopping 39 runs scored, while Lind and Chris Davis homered twice. Shoemaker, Kershaw and Lackey all racked up double-digit strikeouts for Beck ‘Nams, with Byrd homering three times and driving in eight, one less than Adrian Gonzalez.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
38
8
29
1
.292
.848
5
3
41
3
3.78
1.24
6
31
5
19
9
.286
.790
7
4
66
1
3.39
0.89
6
Finally, the Maltsers and Knights could not be separated as they ended level at 6-6. Cheshunt had the better of the offensive categories as Peralta, Trumbo and Longoria each had multi-homer weeks, while Freeman joined Longo in knocking in seven runs. Ramos had two holds. The Knights dominated the pitching categories, with Colon and Street each winning twice, Salazar striking out 20 and Storen picking up two saves. Justin Upton stole four bases.

Week six matchups

Slugs (1st) v Knights (6th)
Sox (2nd) v RBIs (8th)
Beck ‘Nams (3rd) v Batteries Essential (9th)
Riverkings (4th) v Jesmond (5th)
Chasers (7th) v Norwich (12th)
Maltsters (10th) v Iron Men (13th)
Bits & Bytes (11th) v Isotopes (14th)

 

MLB this Week: Cardinals-Indians series and more

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CovMLBUK2014We’ve got 10 MLB games starting before midnight UK time this working week.

All three games of the inter-league series between the Cardinals and Indians are early starts (albeit the first two only come in under the pre-midnight line by fifty minutes). Reigning Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is still seeking his first win of the season and he’s set to start for Cleveland on Wednesday, whilst St. Louis’ Michael Wacha has a 5-0 record going into his start on Thursday.

In other games, Sonny Gray has been one of the few Oakland players performing consistently well and he’ll look to continue his good form in a home start against the Red Sox on Wednesday.

David Price limped out of his most recent start after stepping on a bat whilst backing up home plate; however the current position is that he will be good to go for his next scheduled Tigers appearance on Thursday. (UPDATE: Unfortunately that has now changed, with Price being given a couple of extra days of rest. Anibal Sanchez will start in his place).

All times are in BST.

Monday 11 May

No early games

Tuesday 12 May

23.10. Cardinals at Indians (Lynn – Carrasco)

Wednesday 13 May

20:35. Red Sox at Athletics (Miley – Gray) *ESPN
20:40. Nationals at D-backs (Gonzalez – De La Rosa)
23:10. Cardinals at Indians (Lackey – Kluber) *MLB.com Free Game

Thursday 14 May

17:10. Cardinals at Indians (Wacha – Bauer)
18:05. Pirates at Phillies (Worley – Harang) *MLB.com Free Game
18:08. Twins at Tigers (Pelfrey – Sanchez)
19:05. Royals at Rangers (Guthrie – Detwiler) *ESPN
19:20. Mets at Cubs (Niese – Wood)

Friday 15 May

19:20. Pirates at Cubs (Locke – Hendricks)

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.

Rays in Review 2015 – Solid Start For April

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The Tampa Bay Rays kicked off their 2015 season with a somewhat successful month that went relatively under the radar. Kevin Cash went about his business like a man relishing the very opportunity to be a major league skipper and in turn managed to steer the Rays to a winning record of 12-10 and now find themselves one place adrift of the summit of the AL East, trailing the Yankees by just one game.

Tampa Bay ended up playing 19 of their 22 games in April versus fellow AL East rivals and to say there was a mixed bag of results would be an understatement! Woeful against the Yankees with a record of 1-5 yet dominant over the Blue Jays at 6-1 is a total reverse in fortunes to what I had predicted pre-season. What I do know is that with a little more consistency against New York we would be topping the standings after a month. It’s early days on in the season I know but the more times you play the teams in your division the more there should be a will to win. The better we play early on the better the chance to cement the Rays in the race for postseason baseball come October.

Another one of my pre-season worries was how the Rays would cope with the loss of power in the batting line-up but those fears have been somewhat lessened with good Aprils for Kevin Kiermaier batting .306, Logan Forsythe batting .282, and the ever reliable Evan Longoria breaking out with a solid .293 average.

The need for solid at bats has long been an issue within the organization and even though Steven Souza Jr and Tim Beckham have lit up the month with their collective 7 home runs it will be up to the likes of these players to steadily raise their averages, get on base more and then in turn aid the overall production of run scoring.

One area we knew that Tampa Bay weren’t going to struggle was in the pitching department and once again the loss of major players around the camp hasn’t distracted Chris Archer. He has single handedly risen to the role of star pitcher for the Rays and his phenomenal ERA of 0.84 through his 5 starts in the month were exactly what was needed. On paper his 3-2 record isn’t one that jumps out as an ace in the line-up but that’s what he truly is. When he’s tossed the ball for a start there is that immediate sense of control and rhythm and this in turn should now lift the team in order to put the runs on the board to make his record even more favorable for the month of May.

There’s even more encouraging news on the pitching front for the Rays as Drew Smyly and Alex Colome have come through their injuries to retake their places in the rotation and now that leaves only Alex Cobb on the DL with tendinitis in his right pitching arm. An early return to the frame for Cobb could really see the Rays make a move in May and gives all us fans something to cheer about.

So when the dust settles on the first month of the major league season none of the headlines will be about the Tampa Bay Rays and that’s just how they will like to keep it. It’s better to be a sleeping giant and saunter quietly to success than to be widely fancied and having to deal with all the added pressures that accompany such a title. If the Rays can manage to sort out their form against the Yankees and put together a decent amount wins in a row then look for my May review to be just as positive as my April one.

BGB Fantasy League 2015: Week Four

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There were some big wins in week four of the BaseballGB fantasy league. Which teams would benefit?
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
20
1
17
4
.256
.664
2
2
40
2
3.91
1.28
1
34
11
56
0
.296
.862
5
4
67
4
3.53
1.13
11
The Slugs tightened their grip on top spot with an 11-1 win against the Maltsters. Gattis had a monster week with seven runs, five homers and 12 RBIs while Hanley hit two more bombs. Price won both his starts, Shields had 19 strikeouts and Soria picked up three saves. Four different Maltsters stole bases and Casilla had a win and two saves but the staff has been hit by the season-ending injury to bailey and now Jordan Walden is hurt.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
28
11
29
3
.229
.744
4
1
72
1
4.25
1.26
10
26
3
21
7
.213
.606
1
6
51
0
5.92
1.37
2
Despite the Slugs picking up a big win, Beck ‘Nams still remain close behind after a 10-2 win against Norwich. There wasn’t much hitting for average but the Cincinnati trio of frazier, Bruce and Byrd each had multi-homer weeks and Hammel was the pick of the pitchers. Springer stole five bases for Norwich and Miller, Kimbrel and Rondon combined for six saves, but the rotation was roughed up this week.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
20
6
20
7
.227
.675
2
1
28
1
3.64
1.21
2
33
10
35
4
.282
.802
3
6
35
0
3.09
1.03
10
The Knights are back over .500 after their 10-2 win against the RBIs. Upton, Blackmon and Donaldson were the offensive stars while Gio Gonzalez picked up a win and nine strikeouts without allowing an earned run and Storen had three saves. Jackson and Votto helped the RBIs swipe seven bases and Roark had the lone hold.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
43
7
36
3
.291
.848
3
3
32
0
3.12
0.97
8
25
6
30
1
.290
.768
5
2
60
0
2.10
1.08
3
An offensive sweep helped the Riverkings seal an 8-3 win against the Chasers. Simmons scored eight runs, while morales touched home seven times, homered and knocked in 10 runs. Grandal’s walkoff homer on Sunday night helped take longballs at the death. Familia had two saves and Porcello and King Felix made the difference in WHIP. The Chasers had eight runs, three homers and 12 RBIs from Reddick, while Gray won twice and helped take ERA ion a well-pitched matchup.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
32
8
32
2
.353
.964
2
4
35
1
4.85
1.38
7
33
8
29
1
.238
.727
4
1
45
2
4.89
1.42
4
My Isotopes finally pick up a win, defeating Jesmond 7-4. It was a good week for the ofdfense as Cruz hit four homers, new recruit Ethier went deep twice and Jones, Ortiz, Altuve and Sandoval joined Cruz in batting north of .400. Miguel Gonzalez and Morrow helped take ERA and WHIP while Rodney had three saves. It was a light week for the starters as the Orioles and White Sox pitchers were affected by the postponements of two games in Baltimore early in the week. Travis and Myers gave Jesmond the edge in runs, Arenado homered three times and Neshek had two wins and a hold for the red-hot Astros.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
41
12
31
2
.296
.945
4
2
45
2
5.30
1.44
4
42
7
26
9
.357
.964
1
4
35
2
0.31
0.68
7
The Sox had an incredible week on the mound, as Lance Lynn was the only pitcher to allow an earned run, and even then he had an ERA of 1.29. The team ERA and WHIP numbers were almost impossible to top. Perkins had three saves. Hosmer scored seven runs while Goldschmidt, Semien and Gordon each had multi-steal weeks, with Goldy batting .556 and Gordon .667. Batteries Essential had plenty of power as Kipnis and Miguel Cabrera each had three homers and Russell Martin went deep twice. Wood and Bumgarner each had a win and nine strikeouts.
Team
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OPS
W
SV
K
HLD
ERA
WHIP
Score
32
5
23
8
.329
.917
3
0
27
0
4.30
1.38
6
22
4
19
3
.232
.619
3
0
39
1
3.00
1.12
4
Finally, an offensive sweep saw Bits & Bytes defeat Iron Men 6-4. Carpenter scored eight runs, Trout homered twice and Ellsbury stole five bases and batted .538 for the week. Strsbrurg, Teheran and McHugh each had a win. Gerritt Cole and Keuchel helped Iron men take ERA and WHIP and O’Day had the lone hold.

Transactions

The Sox decided to cut bait on Adrian Beltre, who is now an Isotope after I placed a waiver claim on him. Yes, he’s off to a slow start, but it was surprising to see a player of his quality cut loose when I’m sure the Sox could have used him as trade bait. Other notable moves include the Knights picking up Addison Russell, who was dropped by the Slugs for Marisnick, and the RBIs cutting Rollins for the red-hot Hechavarria.

Week five matchups

Slugs (1st) v Chasers (8th)
Beck ‘Nams (2nd) v Jesmond (3rd)
Riverkings (4th) v Norwich (10th)
Sox (5th) v Bits & Bytes (7th)
Knights (6th) v Maltsters (14th)
Iron Men (9th) v RBIs (13th)
Isotopes (11th) v Batteries Essential (12th)

 

MLB this Week: Avoiding the General Election coverage

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CovMLBUK2014There are eight MLB games scheduled to begin before midnight UK time this working week.

The best news is that five of them come on Thursday evening, so make for a good way to avoid some of the General Election coverage.

Wednesday offers us three games from the National League including a home start in Washington for Max Scherzer. What’s more, two of them are available on British TV and the other can be watched for free on MLB.com.

Thursday will be a good evening for central fans (in baseball terms, perhaps not in party political terms) as all five AL Central teams are playing day games, as are three of the five NL Central .

All times are in BST

Monday 4 May

No early games

Tuesday 5 May

No early games

Wednesday 6 May

18.05. Marlins at Nationals (Koehler (2-2) – Scherzer (1-3)) *ESPN
20.10. D-Backs at Rockies (De La Rose (2-2) – Butler (2-2)) *MLB.com Free Game
20.45. San Diego at San Francisco (Kennedy (1-1) – Heston (2-2)) *BT Sport 1

Thursday 7 May

18.10. A’s at Twins (Pomeranz (1-2) – Nolasco (1-1)) *MLB.com Free Game
18.40. Dodgers at Brewers (Baker (0-1) – Fiers (1-3)
18.45. Cubs at Cardinals (Arrieta (3-2) – Lackey (1-1))
19.10. Tigers at White Sox (Lobstein (2-2), Quintana (1-2))
19.10. Indians at Royals (Kluber (0-4) – Volquez (2-3)) *ESPN

Friday 8 May

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.