Monthly Archives: June 2017

BaseballGB Fantasy League 2017 Week Nine

Leave a reply

Week nine of the BaseballGB fantasy league saw the league leaders held – but could the teams below them take advantage?

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
Batteries Essential 34 10 35 6 .297 .840 1 3 45 1 7.07 1.55 2
Durham Riverkings 37 15 40 4 .347 1.007 2 1 60 2 4.97 1.22 10

The Riverkings were the biggest winners of the week, downing Batteries Essential 10-2. Both teams put up great offensive numbers, but Durham came out on top as Healy hit three homers and joined Inciarte in knocking in six. Morales scored eight runs and Murphy and Beckham each hit .500. Manaea picked up a win and helped take ERA and WHIP, Leake struck out 11 and Vizcaino had two holds. Andrus stole four bases for Batteries Essential and Glover collected two saves.

 

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
Cheshunt Maltsters 43 10 35 4 .335 .957 6 6 60 3 3.19 1.00 9
Mighty Slugs 36 10 36 2 .277 .816 2 2 52 4 6.75 1.67 2

The Maltsters climb up to second with a 9-2 result against the Slugs. Sale won twice and struck out 18 while Vargas helped take ERA and WHIP. Osuna had four saves. Altuve scored eight runs and hit .481, while McCutchen also scored eight runs and was one of four hitters with a multi-homer week. Zimmerman hit three homers and knocked in nine for the Slugs, while O’Day and Minor had two holds each.

 

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
The Bath Bombers 27 5 27 7 .279 .805 2 1 58 2 5.54 1.35 3
Weston-Super-Sox 35 12 31 6 .292 .891 1 3 25 2 4.28 0.84 8

The Sox took five out of six offensive categories on the way to a 8-3 win against the Bombers. Springer was the clear star, scoring 10 runs, hitting four homers, knocking in six and batting .520. Maurer had three saves and Price helped take ERA and WHIP on his return from injury. The Bombers had five steals from Trea Turner while Carrasco had a win and 10 strikeouts.

 

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
Iron Men 34 14 35 1 .322 .969 2 3 41 1 1.30 0.80 8
Jesmond Dennings 29 16 44 4 .255 .882 1 2 37 4 5.33 1.50 4

Iron Men defeated Jesmond 8-4, taking five pitching categories. Kershaw struck out 14 and helped take ERA and WHIP, while Martinez picked up a win and Oh had two saves. Holliday scored six runs while Bour hit .417 and helped take OPS. Correa had a four-homer, 12 RBI week for Jesmond while Votto was one of four players with a steal and Miller and Alex Wilson had two holds each.

 

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
Beckenham A&E Dept 33 5 26 3 .271 .773 7 4 54 0 1.72 0.92 6
Newcastle Knights 34 12 38 0 .268 .841 1 4 46 3 3.86 1.24 5

In the battle of the former Croydon Pirates, JJ’s A&E Dept edged past the Knights 6-5. Posey hit .409 and Garcia was one of three players with a steal. Roark won twice while Scherzer struck out 11 and teamed with Wainwright to help take ERA and WHIP. Stanton scored seven runs, Pujols knocked in seven and Donaldson hit four homers for the Knights. Bradley had two holds.

 

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
Orpington Isotopes 34 9 27 1 .238 .735 5 3 55 0 6.00 1.63 6
Norwich No II 32 12 24 9 .216 .698 3 4 46 5 3.46 1.08 6

Norwich held a big lead in the early days of this matchup but were pegged back to tie 6-6 with the Isotopes. Gardner hit three homers while Sanchez and Bellinger had two each and Perzaz stole four bases. Kimbrel had three saves while Devenski and Hand had two holds each. For the Isotopes, Cruz scored eight runs, hit .400 and helped take OPS while Teheran won twice and Straily struck out 10.

 

Team R HR RBI SB AVG OPS W SV K HLD ERA WHIP Score
Richie’s RBI’s 24 7 22 6 .215 .697 3 0 49 3 4.37 1.26 6
The Cheddar Chasers 33 12 31 5 .219 .696 5 2 35 0 6.81 1.65 6

The RBIs and Chasers could not be separated, finishing 6-6. Villar swiped two bags for the RBIs while Judge helped take OPS. On the mound, Barnes had two holds while Severino struck out 15 and helped take ERA and WHIP. Goldschmidt, Fowler, Benintendi and Upton (six runs, seven RBIs, .381) each hit two homers for the Chasers. Five different pitchers had a win, including Wilson, who also had two saves.

Standings tighten up

This week’s results mean just 6.5 games separate first from fifth while 10.5 games cover the top seven. Plenty of incentive to keep those rosters up-to-date.

Week 10 Matchups

Norwich (1st) v Batteries Essential (8th)

Maltsters (2nd) v Knights (12th)

RBIs (3rd) v Isotopes (5th)

Bombers (4th) v Chasers (7th)

Riverkings (6th) v A&E Dept (11th)

Sox (9th) v Jesmond (13th)

Iron Men (10th) v Slugs (14th)

MLB This Week: Will Thursday be Corbin’s day?

3 Replies

I started writing these weekly MLB ‘early’ game articles back in 2007 and I learned quickly that spending too much time previewing potential pitching match-ups was often unwise.

You get excited about two ace starting pitchers being lined up to face each other in the week ahead, only for a rain-out, injury or general rotation switch-around to come along and make your carefully researched preview count for nothing.

So, all I’m going to write about the early Nationals-Dodgers game on Wednesday (live on BT Sport/ESPN) is that currently, as I type this preview, the Nationals’ starting pitcher would be Stephen Strasburg and the Dodgers’ would be Clayton Kershaw.

It’s the first game of a double-header and previous experience suggests there’s a fair chance Kershaw may get switched to the night-game instead for a larger night-time crowd to see his start. If so, Brandon McCarthy is the likely replacement, whilst if Strasburg gets moved to the night-game then Max Scherzer would be in line to pitch instead. Any which way, it looks like a tough day for the hitters at Dodger Stadium. [EDIT: scrap that: I used ESPN’s schedule and that gets confused when people from outside of the US visit as it tries to convert the time/date. Scherzer-McCarthy is on Tuesday, Strasburg-Kershaw will be the marquee match-up on Wednesday]

Elsewhere, Corey Kluber was impressive in his first start off the DL against the Oakland A’s last Thursday (the A’s hitters didn’t help themselves much, it has to be said) and he’ll look to back that up in an inter-league game at Coors Field against the Rockies. Colorado are in early action again on Friday when they take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

In between there are four early games on Thursday including a chance to catch the Milwaukee Brewers facing Johnny Cueto and the Giants. Thursday is General Election Day here in the UK and if you’re anything like me you’ll be pleased to have the distraction of baseball that evening rather than sitting through any political coverage.

Coincidentally, the Arizona Diamondbacks are scheduled to have a Corbin (Partick) on the mound. If he gets moved from that scheduled start, or gets hit around badly as the polling stations begin to close, it may be a sign of bad things to come for Labour. Based on the previous General Election and EU Referendum, it likely will give you as much insight as most of the poll predictions will, at least.

All times are in BST.

Monday 5 June

No early games

Tuesday 6 June

No early games

Wednesday 7 June

20:10    Indians at Rockies (Kluber, Freeland)
20:10    Nationals at Dodgers (Strasburg, Kershaw) *BT Sport/ESPN
20:35    Blue Jays at Athletics (Liriano, Triggs) *MLB.com Free Game

Thursday 8 June

17:35    Cardinals at Reds (Leake, Feldman)
18:10    Angels at Tigers (Ramirez, Fulmer)
19:10    Giants at Brewers (Cueto, Garza) *BT Sport/ESPN
20:40    Padres at D-backs (Richard, Corbin)

Friday 9 June

19:20    Rockies at Cubs (Chatwood, Hendricks) *BT Sport/ESPN

All of these games are available to watch or listen to live via an MLB.TV subscription. TV coverage of MLB in the UK comes courtesy of the BT Sport 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.

MLB in May

Leave a reply

Just three days of games into June showed us that we are in for another exciting month in MLB.

On Saturday alone, we got to witness a moment that has only happened eight times previously in the history of MLB.

Albert Pujols hit career home run 600, doing so in the grandest style of all with a grand slam. Whilst a no-doubter might have been more fitting for ‘The Machine’, it was all the more exciting due to the couple of seconds of suspense waiting to see if it would stay fair or go foul.

On the same day, the Miami Marlins’ Edinson Volquez pitched the first no-hitter of the 2017 season. It was a magical yet poignant moment when the final out was made, coming on the day that would have been ex-team mate Yordano Ventura’s birthday (Ventura was tragically killed in a car accident over the off-season) and with the memory of the late Jose Fernandez still burning brightly for all in the Marlins family.

However, we shouldn’t let the last couple of days distract us from looking back at all that happened in May. If you’ve not been able to keep up with it all, here are the division-leading teams.

Houston Astros (AL West 40-16)

We have to start with the rocket-propelled Houston Astros.  They have the best record in MLB, lead the AL West by a massive 12.5 games and head into their game against the Texas Rangers on Sunday having won nine games in a row.

The Astros went 22-7 during May. Their impressive batting lineup managed to score 180 runs in the process – Carlos Correa in particular having a great month at the plate – and when you’re averaging six runs per game, that gives your pitching staff plenty of breathing space.

In any case, Houston’s hurlers have been contributing handsomely and their rate of 10.34 strike-outs per nine innings was the best of any team in the Majors. With the AL West looking relatively weak, the Astros are a good bet to keep motoring along and to earn the best regular season record in the league and the home-field play-off advantage that comes with it.

Minnesota Twins (AL Central – 28-24)

Whilst the Astros’ pitching staff has been dominant, the same can’t be said for those toeing the rubber for the Twins. They were actually the second least-valuable contributors across MLB in May among pitching staffs when grading performance based on FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement (only Cincinnati were behind them).

Their 14-12 record in May (following a 12-11 record in April) came despite them allowing more runs (152) than they scored (125). That would suggest the Twins are getting some breaks so far that may go the other way soon enough.

Still, let’s not be too harsh on them. Few would have predicted that they would be leading the division at this point heading into the season so we should enjoy the fact that they are rather than getting too bogged down on their chances of staying there.

New York Yankees (AL East – 32-21)

Even though it was big news when the Yankees traded away Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman (since re-signed) and Carlos Beltran last summer, believing that it would start a rebuilding phase in the Bronx was always likely to be just wishful thinking for those who see them as the Evil Empire.

The Yankees aren’t for rebuilding, re-tooling or whatever term you wish to use. Their goal every year is to win and the changing of the guard last year was more about getting better for 2017, rather than 2019-2020, than some realised at the time.

Aaron Judge has been the undoubted star of the show. He leads the Majors with 18 home runs (although his 7 in May was second on the team behind Brett Gardner’s 9) and seems completely comfortable with all the attention he is getting. Fairly or not, it’s a simple fact that Judge doing what he’s doing in a Yankee uniform hits the headlines more than if he was wearing an A’s or Rays uniform.

Every sport needs new stars and what Judge is doing so far is great for the game.

Washington Nationals (NL East 34-20)

It’s no surprise that the first two months of the season have shown that the Nationals are a really strong team.

Their ten-game lead over the New York Mets is partly down to the latter’s issues – those crowing last summer about the Mets now being the star team in New York were perhaps a bit quick with their judgement – but that doesn’t take away from the Nationals’ performance as the team to beat in the Senior Circuit.

The perennial bullpen question in Washington still lurks in the background. So far this season, their relievers have the second-lowest FanGraphs WAR in MLB with only the aforementioned Twins beneath them and even with Koda Glover showing promise as their closer, they will once again be shopping for a reliever or two as we head towards the trade deadline to try to prevent another play-off disappointment.

It would be a major shock if they don’t reach the post-season though. Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer were predictably brilliant in May, Anthony Rendon started to heat-up at the plate, and Bryce Harper continued displaying his prowess with the bat, although not so much when it comes to throwing a batting helmet.

Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West – 35-22)

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies held them off for a good while, but the Dodgers have now climbed to the top of the division thanks to a blistering 19-9 May.

Cody Bellinger’s home runs (9 in the month) have stood out and he looks set to be a force in their line-up for years to come. However, don’t overlook the contribution made by the less-heralded Chris Taylor. He was acquired in a low-key trade with the Seattle Mariners last June and, despite hitting the headlines by hitting a grand slam as his first Big League home run against Arizona a month later, Taylor didn’t make the Major League team out of Spring Training.

Injuries have given him an opportunity and so far he has taken it. He led the team with 1.3 fWAR in May whilst showing flexibility in playing different positions in the field (mainly second base and centre field, with a few starts at third base and shortstop). Alex Wood also had a noteworthy May on the mound, putting up a 1.37 ERA in five starts.

Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central 29-27)

The Chicago Cubs are in second place and looking ominous, but for now the Brewers are leading the way and that’s a great story for a team that few people gave much of a chance to heading into the season.

Eric Thames added only three home runs during May to the 11 he swatted in April and you would suspect part of that drop-off to be a reflection of teams studying his approach from the first month – having spent the previous three seasons playing in South Korea – and adjusting how they pitch to him. That’s what makes it so difficult to have continued success in the Big Leagues, but don’t write Thames off as a one-month wonder just yet.

Jimmy Nelson and Chase Anderson have formed a good one-two punch in their rotation, whilst Nerd Power has arrived in Milwaukee with Eric Sogard building on his cult fandom from his time in Oakland with heroics in May. A’s fans like myself will know that Sogard doesn’t offer much with the bat normally, so enjoy this little hot spell while it lasts, but also that he offers decent defense at second base and is an easy player to get behind and want to do well.

MLB event coming to Hyde Park this July

3 Replies

Baseball fans in Britain received some exciting news today with the announcement of a baseball event in Hyde Park to coincide with America’s Independence Day on 4 July.

The BST Hyde Park Facebook update confirms the following details:

Major League Baseball will host a huge July 4th Party at Barclaycard presents BST Hyde Park during our Open House event!

The celebration of sport, street food and music will also feature representatives from Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers who will go head-to-head in a quick-fire game of baseball, never seen before in Europe!

Not only that but the Great Oak Stage will play host to a huge Home Run Derby with special guests battling it out to score the most home runs against the clock.

Best part… IT’S FREE. Come on down!
Tuesday 4th July, 5pm to 10pm.

Now, as soon as “Major League Baseball”, “London”, Boston Red Sox” and “Los Angeles Dodgers” started appearing on social media, it was understandable to get over-excited at Clayton Kershaw squaring off against David Price. Maybe you might see this event as a slight disappointment as a result.

But you shouldn’t.

Firstly, MLB hasn’t done a whole lot in terms of big events in the UK previously. There was the Legends of Baseball event at Old Trafford (Lancashire’s cricket ground, rather than Man Utd’s stadium) in 1989 with Willie Stargell and Bob Feller and other ex-MLB players taking on the GB national team. Feller had come across to the UK the previous year and helped to inspire the Old Timers club in the UK, still going strong in the BBF leagues years later.

Then four years later, Surrey’s Oval cricket ground hosted a game between minor-leaguers from the Red Sox and New York Mets, attended by over 5,000 curious spectators.

That was the end of the visits though, so it’s been 24 years since we had an event like that on these shores. The fact that MLB wants to stage any sort of show over here now has to be good news for anyone with an interest in baseball.

The other thing is that the true goal for MLB should be to raise the profile of the sport.

MLB needs to get itself out there to people who might not otherwise pay it any attention. Of course, playing regular season MLB games can be part of that and hopefully that dream will come true in the next few years, but it’s far from the only way they can achieve that aim.

For those of us that are already baseball fans, getting the chance to watch ‘real’ MLB games right here would be fantastic, but beyond the short burst of publicity it might bring (sadly, as we’ll all be aware, accompanied by plenty of dismissive comments from those who will refuse to give ‘glorified rounders’ a chance) that may largely end up being a case of preaching to the converted. For example, the MLB games at the Sydney Cricket Ground in March 2014 were fun to watch, but it doesn’t look like they have sparked any longer lasting additional interest in the sport in Australia.

Staging a big free event in Hyde Park will be a great way to grab the attention of people who perhaps wouldn’t initially shell out money to watch a full MLB game. A “quick-fire” game will give those in attendance the chance to see the essence of the sport: the speed of a blazing fastball, the glorious crack of the ball off the bat, the skill and grace of a smartly-turned double-play.

Home run derbies are always a great way to provide a few oohs and aahs too without expecting people to sit through a 3 hour-plus game playing rules they don’t fully (or even half-way) understand.

The “special guests” part of the derby should also present some opportunities for MLBUK to get some positive social media coverage.

Joe Gray’s article on this site from November 2010 told the tale of the two most notable home run derby events in the UK over the past thirty years. They involved England cricket stars Ian Botham in 1987 and Graham Gooch in 1988, the latter facing off against Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks.

Baseball purists may not be so keen, but if the likes of Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff are there to try to turn their hand to hitting another type of ball a long way, that will certainly garner some wider publicity and make for an enjoyable event.

So this event sounds like a great thing to me. Who knows, perhaps it could be turned into an annual event with other baseball-related meet-ups and promotions packaged alongside it.

Doing events like that, with all of the social media promotion that’s possible nowadays too – there was no one tweeting about Ian Botham doing his Babe Ruth impression back in 1987 – can help to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable growth in interest rather than just a quick flash in the pan, with clubs like the London Mets hopefully able to piggy-back onto that enthusiasm too and get even more kids and adults playing baseball and softball.

If events like this can do well and we then add a few MLB games in London on top of that in a few years’ time, we just might be on to something!