Sunday is here again and that means it’s time for another edition of “weekly hit ground ball”. It’s Jackie Robinson day and the world of MLB will pay their respects to the man who did so much to break down the colour barrier, and was a great baseball player to boot. The number 42 will loom large over the day’s proceedings, but I will resist the temptation to stretch this post to 42 points.

Home run of the week – Josh Hamilton provided many journalists with a great Spring training story. The former number one draft pick was perceived as a complete bust having battled a drug addiction. When the Cubs plucked him from the Rays via the Rule 5 draft and sent him to the Reds, sports reporters were able to write about Hamilton’s attempts to try and get his life back on track. Few probably thought he would make the Reds’ roster and carry on the story, but he did and he has. Hamilton is hitting .308 and got his first Major League home run on Tuesday against the D-Backs. A real fairytale moment for him and his family.

Nice Guy of the Week – From a guy who’s turned his life around, to someone who seemingly can’t shake off the past. That loveable chap Jose Guillen was at it again on Tuesday. He was thrown out of the Mariners’ game against the Red Sox after getting into a slanging match with former team mate Brendan Donnolly. I say team mate, but I’m not sure if mate is really the right word. Maybe he’s just misunderstood?

Home stand of the week – Who else could I choose but the Cleveland Indians who started their home season at Miller park during the week? Miller park in Milwaukee of course. Great credit to the locals for turning out (the first game against the Angels had an attendance of 19,000) and good thinking by the Brewers/Indians for setting ticket prices at a reasonable rate. The organisers of the Cricket World Cup would do well to take note. Cleveland finally saw some baseball on Friday, although only 17,000 attended. The fact that temperatures were around 0 degrees centigrade during the game just might have had something to do with it. And everyone’s worried about global warming?!

Pedestrian hater of the week – Walking back to happiness? Not for Oliver Perez that’s for sure. Perez followed up a great first start of the season by walking two batters and hitting another while the bases were loaded, bringing in three runs for the Phillies. In just 2 2/3 innings he managed to walk seven batters. The Phillies have struggled out of the gate, but someone should tell Perez that sometimes you can be too kind.

Jeckyll and Hyde performance of the week – While Perez played Jeckyll and Hyde in two starts, Carlos Zambrano pips him to this award by doing it in five innings against the Reds. 5-0 up going into the fifth, two runs of which can courtesy of his own two-run homer, and seemingly cruising; Zambrano gave up five hits, a walk, a HBP and four runs without getting anyone out and leaving two men on. Will Ohman probably didn’t endear himself to Big Z by walking the next two batters to add two more runs onto his ledger before Wuertz came in and made them look even worse by striking out three batters straight. Just when you think you’ve got the game sussed, it comes back and bites you.

Fantasy day of the week – Carlos Lee went deep not once, not twice, but three times against the Phillies on Friday. Combine that with three runs, three hits and six RBIs and you’ve got a 42 point day in the Fantasy Baseball UK competition. No stolen bases unfortunately (just to split a few hairs). Although Carlos doesn’t look the most nimble of athletes, he steals more bases than you would think. While it provides an easy target for baseball doubters, I love the way all shapes and sizes can perform in MLB. Good for you Carlos. He’s going to have a great season for the Astros although I’m not sure I would have given him a six year contract. I guess Houston had to stretch to secure his signature. They were able to protect themselves a bit though as according to the Cot’s Baseball Contracts site it does include a “nominal weight clause”!

Injury of the week – You don’t need me to tell you that the Cards could not afford to lose Chris Carpenter for any length of time. Much as I love watching Adam Wainwright’s 12-6 curveball, the Cards pitching staff doesn’t look good right now. And with Albert Pujols starting the season slower than a Molina family sprint-race relay team, Jockety, La Rusa and Duncan will really have to work some of their much-fabled magic to keep this team in contention.

Birthday of the week – It’s a weekend of anniversaries as Sports Illustrated reports that Boston’s Wally the Green Monster celebrated his ten year birthday at Fenway yesterday. The star-spotters among you will be excited to learn that the guest list included Bernie Brewer, Billy the Marlin, Friar Tuck from the Padres, alongside the mascots from the Boston Bruins and Celtics. SI didn’t say that Paris Hilton was there, but I can’t imagine her wanting to miss out on a party.

Computer game advert of the week – After MLB.tv’s initial PONG effort, yesterday I watched their Pacman advert break clip for the first time with glee. Space Invaders and Astroids are surely just around the corner (the games that is, no need to head for the bunkers).