Avoiding Euro 2008 made easy

Apparently there’s a football tournament going on?  No England means no interest on my part, not that I’m bitter about us not qualifying.  Anyway, there are thirteen early games this week to divert our attention.  All times are listed in BST.

Monday 9th – Three early games, all of them worth watching for different reasons.  The D-Backs and the Pirates start off the action at 17.35, with Randy Johnson taking the mound for Arizona and Zach Duke for Pittsburgh.  It’s the youngster versus the veteran at Yankees Stadium from 18.05, as Luke Hochever starts for the Royals against Mike Mussina.  Finally, it’s a battle from the top of the AL Central as the Twins face the White Sox at 19.05 with Glen Perkins and Jose Contreras being the scheduled starters.

Tuesday 10th – No early games today, but there are several interesting pitching match-ups later on.  Daniel Cabrera versus Josh Beckett (00.05)should be a flame-throwing showdown, while there’s a fascinating contrast at Petco from 03.05 as rookie Clayton Kershaw faces pitching great Greg Maddux.

Wednesday 11th – Just the two early games from the American League, but both should be crackers.  At 17.37, Felix Hernandez and the Mariners take on Shaun Marcum and the Blue Jays, while at 20.35 it’s the small matter of Scott Kazmir and the Rays against John Lackey and the Angels.

Thursday 12th – There’s eight early games to choose from today.  The Nationals and the Pirates get things started at 17.35 from PNC Park, followed half an hour later by the game between the Tigers and the White Sox.  At 18.10, there should be a top-drawer pitching match-up between Dan Haren and Johan Santana, subject to the latter recovering from his bruised shoulder.  Ben Sheets and the Brewers face the Astros from 19.05, the Rangers start their game against the Royals five minutes later and Tim Hudson looks for win number eight as the Braves take on the Cubs from 19.20.  A little later, the Giants face the Rockies with first pitch set for 20.05 and Hiroki Kuroda looks to follow up his complete game shutout with another strong performance as the Dodgers play the Padres from 20.35.

Friday 13th – Today is unlucky for baseball fans hoping to catch an early game, but there should be some interesting games later on as we start another round of interleague action.

After a two week hiatus, Wednesday night baseball returns to Five this week, with coverage starting at 01.35. NASN’s MLB schedule for the week can be found here.