MLB this Week: Four days out of five

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With just a few weeks of the regular season to go, every day-game is an ever-more precious chance to catch some MLB action at a convenient hour.

There is at least one early game on four of the five working days this week, starting on Monday with two games from the heart of the American League playoff race.

There is an England European Championship qualifier that evening too, of course, although that’s not likely to offer much competition for your attention based on recent form.

After a baseball-free early evening on Tuesday, there are a couple of games on Wednesday including the latest installment in the Braves-National rivalry with Stephen Strasburg currently on schedule to make the start for Washington.

There are four further day-games on Thursday before a bonus game on Friday as the Yankees and Orioles play the opener of a day-night double-header.

All times are in BST.

Monday 8 September

18.05. LA Angels at Cleveland (Weaver – Salazar) *ESPN
21.08. Kansas City at Detroit (Guthrie – Verlander) *BT Sport2

Tuesday 9 September

No early games

Wednesday 10 September

18.35. Baltimore at Boston (Chen – Workman) *BT Sport2
21.05. Atlanta at Washington (Harang – Strasburg) *ESPN

Thursday 11 September

17.05. Minnesota at Cleveland (Nolasco – Kluber) *MLB.com Free Game
17.35. St. Louis at Cincinnati (Lynn – Cueto) *ESPN
19.10. Oakland at Chicago White Sox (Kazmir – Sale)
20.45. Arizona at San Francisco (Delgado – Peavy) *ESPN

Friday 12 September

18.05. NY Yankees at Baltimore (McCarthy – Gausman)

All of these games are available to watch live via theÂ MLB.TV subscriptionÂ atÂ MLB.com. The early games being shown on BT Sport or ESPN are highlighted above. The complete schedule for this weekâ€™s MLB games can be found onÂ MLB.com

Alcantara and Azcuy become first players in British baseball history to win four straight national titles

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Last weekend, the Essex Arrows claimed their first ever National Baseball Championship.

Their pursuit of a title gained a boost earlier in the year thanks to the capture of sluggers Edwin Alcantara and Maikel Azcuy and, having completed their successful title challenge, they created a little piece of history, as revealed by Project COBB:

7 September 2014

Edwin Alcantara and Maikel Azcuy have become the first players in British baseballâ€™s 125 year competitive history to win four straight national titles

Both were key players on the Essex Arrows squad that swept the London Mets in a best of three national final over the final weekend of August.

The slugging pair have been playing together since both players joined the Southern Nationals in their founding year of 2011.

The Nationals became the first British baseball team to win three titles in their first three seasons of existence but this year they fell to the London Mets in the wildcard final.

Alcantara and Azcuy moved to the Arrows during the last offseason and, in winning the championship with their new club this year, added their names to a list now 17 strong of players with four or more national titles. The full list can be viewed at:

http://www.projectcobb.org.uk/national_finals/titles-players.png

Also adding his name to the list of four-time winners was Steve Simmons, playerâ€“manager of the 2014 national champions. His titles span a period of 25 years â€“ the longest among such players.

If the Arrows are to retain their title in 2015, you suspect keeping hold of Alcantara and Azcuy will be an important part of the process.

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: The race is on

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After close to thirty years spent languishing between false hope and no hope, fans of the Kansas City Royals have entered this September in an unfamiliar competitive position.

The unfamiliar encourages a sense of excitement but also trepidation.

However much Royals are trying to outwardly enjoy this season, inwardly there is bound to be a sense of foreboding. Good things don’t happen to their team. This isn’t really happening. It’s all about to come crushing down.

Watching Danny Duffy leave the mound at Yankee Stadium on Saturday after throwing a solitary pitch was the moment when those fears were realised.

Look beyond the largely irrelevant 8-11 win-loss record and you’ll see that Duffy has been excellent for Kansas City this season. It’s not just been the way Duffy has pitched but also that he’s finally broken through after years of promise since he was drafted back in the 2007 amateur draft.

He was one of a crop of young players that were hailed as the answer to the Royals’ many years in the doldrums and, up until now, like most of the rest he had failed to live up to the billing. This season, in deed and in the sense of hope, Duffy has personified the way that things have finally turned around for Kansas City.

Seeing him grimace in discomfort and exit early with a sore shoulder was the last thing the Royals needed, again both in terms of actual impact (losing him for the game and potentially the foreseeable future) and the demoralising effect this blow could have on the team.

Kansas City went on to lose that game against the Yankees 6-2 to compound their misery and yet there was a chink of light from Detroit where the Tigers failed to capitalise. Despite having their recently-acquired ace David Price on the mound – an addition thought at the time to hammer another nail into the Royals’ coffin – Detroit lost 5-4 to the surging San Francisco Giants, keeping Kansas City two games ahead at the top of the AL Central.

Duffy’s condition will be assessed further over the next few days to determine whether it was a mere blip or something that could see him miss extended time, potentially the rest of the season. If he is out for the year then he’ll be a big loss, yet maybe it won’t be a sign of things inevitably going wrong for the Royals and instead will show that this is destined to be the year playoff baseball returns to Kansas City, regardless of the obstacles that come their way.

The Royals’ emergence in the AL Central, where many – including myself – predicted another season of Detroit domination, is one of many great stories building to a crescendo this month.

Baltimore look set to win the AL East division for the first time since 1997, whilst in the AL Wild Card race the Seattle Mariners may just turn their offseason splurge on Robinson Cano into a first playoff appearance since 2001.

The Mariners are even catching up the Oakland A’s who looked certainties for a third consecutive AL West title before a startling collapse over the last month that has seen a rampant LA Angels team fly past to gain not only a lead in the division but the best win-loss record in the Majors.

The A’s were able to snatch a walk-off win on Saturday against the Houston Astros, turning around a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, and that’s the sort of win that could spark an all-important change in fortune as we head into the last few weeks of the season. That’s what this A’s is clinging to, at least.

In the National League it’s been the Milwaukee Brewers playing the role of the A’s, plummeting from an unexpected stay at the top of the Central and seeing the St. Louis Cardinals resuming normal service at the summit. The Brew Crew have won only three of their past 16 games and now need to forget about what has gone. They are still firmly in the Wild Card race, a position they would have been delighted with if offered it before the season began, and need to somehow find a way to make that their mindset.

And as the regular season begins to wind down, the Philadelphia Phillies reminded us all on Monday that there’s something to play for every time you take the field. Their combined no-hitter was a rare enjoyable moment in what has been yet another poor season for a team that enjoyed so much success between 2007 and 2011.

The Texas Rangers are another team to quickly hit hard times after a recent run of excellent seasons. They were the first time to be eliminated from playoff contention this season and questions were already being asked about manager Ron Washington’s future before he stepped down for personal reasons on Friday. Wash had his game-management called into question at times, but there’s no doubt he was a manager that his players fought for and it’s one of the harsh realities of sport at the highest level that his time in charge will be remembered for the two World Series championships his time narrowly missed out on, rather than all of the other regular season success they had.

BGB Fantasy League 2014: Week 21

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With just one week of the regular season left, four teams are safely into the playoffs. Who can make a push to finish in the top eight for a shot at the title?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	30	8	27	7	.272	.815	3	3	58	1	3.88	1.24	11
Richie’s RBI’s	20	7	25	2	.223	.647	1	0	32	1	4.02	1.31	0

Batteries Essential secured their playoff place in style, thumping the RBIs 11-0. Chris Davis, homered three times, scored eight and drove in eight, while Hamilton swiped five bases as the offense completed a sweep, while Alex Wood and Peavy’s great pitching helped the staff take wins, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. Posey had a three-homer, 10 RBI week for the RBIs, while Smith picked up a hold.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bits & Bytes	16	4	16	0	.250	.727	2	2	21	0	3.86	1.19	0
London Bananas	33	12	32	5	.295	.886	4	2	57	0	3.39	1.12	10

The Bananas are a big step closer to the playoffs after their 10-0 blanking of Bits & Bytes. Ellsbury was the star of an offensive sweep, clubbing five homers, knocking in nine and batting .522 for the week, while Werth, Ackley and Plouffe also had multi-homer weeks. Buchholz was the star pitcher, joining Latos in recording double-digit strikeouts. Holliday hit four homers and knocked in 13 for Bits & Bytes, while the pitching staff, normally so strong in wins, ERA and WHIP, failed to win any category.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	24	5	13	5	.193	.569	2	4	42	0	4.32	1.40	2
Iron Men	31	6	32	3	.333	.902	5	1	57	1	3.25	1.05	10

Iron Men ran out deserved 10-2 winners against my Isotopes, who are limping to the finish line somewhat. Kinsler, Soler and Abreu were the offensive stars while Samardzija recorded a win and 19 strikeouts, joining Starsburg and Smyly in posting stingy ERA and WHIP numbers. My Isotopes took steals thanks to Frazier while Mejia had three saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	25	2	20	2	.273	.711	4	0	50	3	2.40	1.07	3
Weston-Super-Sox	27	10	25	4	.302	.856	2	1	40	0	1.09	0.64	9

The Sox played spoiler to Beck ‘Nams playoff hopes, picking up a 9-3 win. Gordon, Rollins, Altuve and Braun were the key hitters behind an offensive sweep, while Street had the lone save and Bumgarner and Greinke took care of ERA and WHIP. Andrew Miller had two wins and a hold out of the pen for Beck ‘Nams, while Liriano struck out 13.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	16	2	23	4	.218	.599	1	2	28	3	3.22	1.07	4
Enfield Butchers	18	4	24	1	.233	.664	6	6	49	0	3.74	1.23	8

The Butchers are top and secured their playoff place with an 8-4 win against the Riverkings. It was hardly a vintage week for the offense, but Wong, Aramis Ramirez and Perez helped the Riverkings take five out of six categories, while Davis, Melancon and Odorizzi took care of wins, saves and strikeouts respectively. Baez swiped two bases for the Riverkings, while Walden had two holds.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	26	3	20	4	.255	.702	7	3	52	0	2.28	1.09	6
Angels of Ash Vale	25	6	23	2	.270	.720	0	3	43	0	3.21	1.29	4

The Slugs kept their playoff hopes alive with a 6-4 win against the Angels. Shoemaker’s pair of wins and 13 strikeouts, as well as great ERA and WHIP, helped the staff take four categories, while Carp[enter and Gomez made the difference in runs and steals. Carter hit three homers for the Angels, while Prado, Alexei Ramierz and Hunter helped take RBIs, average and OPS.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Cheddar Chasers	24	4	25	1	.222	.599	1	2	41	1	3.40	1.04	5
Jesmond Dennings	19	6	20	3	.239	.671	3	2	30	2	3.82	1.51	6

Jesmond are currently the team in possession of the final championship playoff spot after their narrow win against the Chasers, who are now safe of a top-eight place despite a 6-5 loss. J-Hey, Trout and Pujols helped the offense take four categories, while Gee and O’Day made the difference in wins and holds. Pence helped the Chasers take runs and RBIs, while Scherzer struck out 11 and Hudson and Ross combined to take ERA and WHIP.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Norwich No II	21	5	21	1	.280	.701	2	5	50	3	2.55	1.21	5
Northfleet Knights	27	14	28	1	.217	.724	2	2	21	5	3.74	1.38	5

Finally, Norwich secured their top-eight place with a Â 5-5 tie against the Knights. Cobb, Santana, Britton and Chapman helped the pitchers take saves, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP, while Aybar and Joseph put up great averages. The Knights had the better of the offense, belting 14 homers including five from Bautista, three from Harper and two from V-Mart and Pedroia. Familia had three holds.

The crucial week 22 matchups are as follows:

Butchers (1st) v Slugs (10th)

Norwich (2nd) v Iron Men (9th)

Chasers (3rd) v RBIs (15th)

Batteries Essential (4th) v Knights (11th)

Bananas (5th) v Beck ‘Nams (7th)

Isotopes (6th) v Riverkings (12th)

Jesmond (8th) v Sox (13th)

Angels (14th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

MLB this Week: Games galore

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It happens every year: you look at the calendar and think, ‘how it is September already’?

The final month of the MLB regular season is upon us and it looks like we’re in for a treat as teams battle it out for playoff spots; some trying to avoid the one-game Wild Card contest, others desperate to be a part of it.

A public holiday in the States gets the month, and this working week, off to a good start as we have a host of day-games to enjoy during the British evening on Monday.

Among them are important games from the NL Central (Pirates vs Cardinals), the AL West (Mariners vs A’s) and the AL Central (Tigers vs Indians). The latter could provide the outstanding pitching battle of the day with David Price and Corey Kluber scheduled to take the mound.

After a gap on Tuesday, the five games starting before midnight U.K. time on Wednesday offer another game each from the Pirates-Cardinals and Mariners-A’s series. The latter game is currently scheduled to be a potential pitching classic between Felix Hernandez and Jon Lester. Wednesday also gives us a clash between the current leaders in the NL East (Nationals) and NL West (Dodgers).

The Monday holiday means that we have a very rare Thursday without any day-games, but you can get the weekend started with some live baseball on Friday courtesy of a game at Wrigley Field between the Pirates and Cubs.

All times are in BST.

Monday 1 September

18.00. Philadelphia at Atlanta (Hamels – Teheran) *ESPN
18.10. NY Mets at Miami (Wheeler – Alvarez)
18.10. Boston at Tampa Bay (De La Rosa – Smyly)
18.35. Minnesota at Baltimore (Hughes – Gausman)
19.15. Pittsburgh at St. LouisÂ Â Â Â (Cole – Lynn)
19.20. Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs (Nelson – Turner)
21.00. Detroit at Cleveland (Price – Kluber) *ESPN, MLB.com Free Game
21.05. Seattle at Oakland (Young – Hammel)
21.10. Arizona at San Diego (Cahill – Ross)
21.10.Â San Francisco at Colorado (Hudson – Morales)

Tuesday 2 September

No early games

Wednesday 3 September

17.10. Philadelphia at Atlanta (Buchanan – Santana) *ESPN
18.10. Pittsburgh at St. LouisÂ Â Â (Volquez – Miller) *MLB.com Free Game
19.10. Washington at LA Dodgers (Zimmermann – Haren) *ESPN
20.10. San Francisco at Colorado (Vogelsong – Bergman)
21.10. Seattle at Oakland (Hernandez – Lester)

Thursday 4 September

No early games

Friday 5 September

19.20. Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs (Worley – Wada) *ESPN

BGB Fantasy League 2014: Week 20

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The race is on for a top-eight place in the BaseballGB fantasy league. There are just two weeks of the regular season left and there’s been a change at the top…

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Norwich No II	38	8	32	4	.286	.813	5	6	41	1	1.39	0.86	11
Richie’s RBI’s	23	5	16	4	.254	.708	2	0	27	0	3.60	1.23	0

Norwich have made the race for first very interesting after their 11-0 thumping of the RBIs, falling a steal shy of a clean sweep. Justin Upton, Ozuna and Aybar were the offensive stars, while Porcello, Cobb, Fiers and Jansen were all in great form on the mound. The RBIs had a multi-homer week from Posey and four players swiped bases.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	15	3	24	5	.241	.662	2	2	42	1	5.68	1.46	3
The Cheddar Chasers	31	7	23	6	.278	.801	3	3	39	0	3.60	1.09	9

The Chasers are in very good form, defeating Batteries Essential 9-3. Ortiz, Pence and Simmons each had multi-homer weeks and Kipnis stole a pair. Hudson made the difference in wins and teamed with Ross and Lester to claim ERA and WHIP. Walker and Stanton each drove in six runs for Batteries Essential, Peavy struck out eight and Storen had the lone hold.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	21	7	24	2	.242	.688	3	2	55	1	3.77	1.40	1
London Bananas	41	8	38	12	.352	.986	3	2	30	1	3.29	1.28	8

An offensive sweep helped the Bananas defeat the Slugs 8-1. In a monster week for the hitters, Plouffe, Ackley, Werth and Marte all had big weeks while Lynn and Lackey helped take ERA and WHIP. The Slugs took strikeouts thanks to Shoemaker (nine).

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	29	5	23	2	.241	.727	2	0	51	3	4.94	1.53	2
Jesmond Dennings	33	10	30	2	.289	.872	2	4	27	2	2.60	1.01	8

Jesmond batted their way to an 8-2 win against Beck ‘Nams, as Arenado (.545) joined Trout and Dickerson in posting a multi-homer week. Hawkins had two saves while Teheran and Tillman made the difference in ERA and WHIP. Kennedy and Warren took care of strikeouts and Â holds for Beck’ Nams, while Beltre hit .526 for the week.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	23	7	30	4	.209	.670	3	3	33	0	3.24	1.59	3
Angels of Ash Vale	37	6	39	2	.323	.884	5	7	65	0	3.56	1.07	8

A team effort saw the Angels take four offensive and four pitching categories in the 8-3 win against the Riverkings. Mauer, Prado, Heyward and Crawford were the hitting stars, while Iwakuma, Duffy, Rondon and Papelbon were the top pitchers. The Riverkings salvaged ERA thanks to Gio Gonzalez and Ventura, while Baez hit three homers and Desmond and Revere stole two bases each.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	35	11	32	2	.289	.863	1	4	28	2	5.85	1.27	6
Enfield Butchers	25	1	20	2	.266	.723	0	4	31	2	2.29	1.25	3

Iron Men went home run crazy against the Butchers, belting 11 roundtrippers in a rare loss for Enfield. Peralta, Josh Hamilton and Abreu each hit a pair, while Smyly picked up the only win of the matchup. The butchers salvaged strikeouts, ERA and WHIP thanks to Price bit have been hit by the injury to Garrett Richards.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bits & Bytes	18	1	21	4	.259*	.662	2	1	30	0	2.70	0.98	4
Weston-Super-Sox	21	8	25	7	.259*	.798	2	1	25	0	3.13	1.26	5

In battle of the basement, the Sox ran out narrow 5-4 winners against Bits & Bytes in a matchup which saw average settled on a tiebreak. The Sox didn’t win a single pitching category, as the hitters carried the load. Rizzo and Gordon hit two homers each, Longoria drove in six and Rollins swiped a pair of bases. Bits & Bytes took four pitching categories thanks to Kershaw and Hughes.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	27	10	28	1	.215	.733	7	2	67	1	3.28	1.26	5
Northfleet Knights	30	7	24	1	.267	.725	3	3	29	1	2.75	1.25	5

Finally, the Knights and my Isotopes finished in a 5-5 tie. V-Mart (six runs, two homers, 11 RBIs) was the offensive star for Northfleet, while Feliz and Minor took care of saves, ERA and WHIP. Duda (five homers, 11 RBIs) carried my offense, Soriano had two wins out of the pen and Archer, Leake and Zimmermann each had double-digit strikeouts.

The penultimate regular season matchups are as follows:

Norwich (1st) v Northfleet (11th)

Butchers (2nd) v Riverkings (12th)

Chasers (3rd) v Jesmond (8th)

Isotopes (4th) v Iron Men (10th)

Batteries Essential (5th) v RBIs (113th)

Beck ‘Nams (6th) v Sox (15th)

Bananas (7th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

Slugs (9th) v Angels (14th)

MLB this Week: Early games on Wednesday and Thursday

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The final week of August offers slim pickings when it comes to MLB games taking place during the British evening.

Wednesday and Thursday are the only days this working week that offer any day-games, subject to a rainout or two causing an unexpected doubleheader.

The potential highlight of the week comes on Wednesday when the court will be in session at Safeco Field. ‘King’ Felix Hernandez is the front runner for the AL Cy Young award and he’ll look to further his case against the Rangers whilst aiding Seattle’s playoff push. Unfortunately Seattle have changed their plans and pushed Hernandez’s next start back one day, so we will not be able to enjoy watching him pitch after all this week. The Mariners will find a spot-starter for the game instead.

All times are in BST

Monday 25 August

No early games

Tuesday 26 August

No early games

Wednesday 27 August

17.35. St. Louis at Pittsburgh (Wainwright – Locke) *ESPN
20.40. Texas at Seattle (Lewis – TBA) *MLB.com Free Game, *ESPN

Thursday 28 August

17.35. Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati (Arrieta – Leake)
18.08. NY Yankees at Detroit (Kuroda – Ray) *BT Sport2
20.45. Colorado at San Francisco (Lyles – Petit) *ESPN

Friday 29 August

No early games

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Royals for real

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Sky Sports News have a habit of making mistakes on their MLB scrolling news section, such asÂ mixing up team names with other U.S. sports or getting player names wrong.

Consequently when it popped up on Sunday morning at breakfast that the Kansas City Royals had a three game lead in AL Central and had won 24 of their last 30 games, I wasn’t prepared to believe it until checking the facts myself.

The doubt wasn’t just down to typical SSN sloppiness but also a reflection on the fact that you don’t associate the Royals with leading or winning much.

That’s not been their way for many years and yet, sure enough, they have overhauled the Detroit Tigers and have been playing some great baseball over the past month or so.

Based on Fangraphs, over the last 30 days the Royals’ batting production has been the second best in MLB based on a 5.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) mark, with only the even-more-unfancied Minnesota Twins bettering that with a 6.2 WAR. The pitching sits 10th based on WAR over the same span, more than holding their end up to support the hitters.

Over the season so far Alex Gordon has been the actual and symbolic leader of the Royals’ resurgence. He struggled initially when he made the Majors in 2007 whilst trying to live up to the expectations of being the next George Brett as a star Royals third baseman.

A move to left field and an impressive determination to learn from his difficult days has turned Gordon into one of the better players in the American League over the past few seasons.

According to FanGraphs, Gordon is having the best season of any position player in the Majors this season with a 5.8 WAR, bettered only by pitcher Felix Hernandez with a 6.2 mark.

Part of Gordon’s standing comes from a large boost due to FanGraphs’ calculations of his defensive value, which – purely from a sniff-test point of view rather than anything more studied – often seem a little overly generous to me.

Baseball-Reference’s version of WAR leaves Gordon sitting just outside the top ten of all MLB players this season and eighth among position players, which seems more appropriate. He’s not been quite the best player in the game, but he’s been among the elite and is having a tremendous year.

The Royals are also receiving an impressive return this season from James Shields and Wade Davis, the two players they acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2013 season for their best prospect Wil Myers in a deal that provoked considerable negative comment against the Royals’ General Manager Dayton Moore (whose track record had not built up much in the way of credit or benefit of the doubt, to say the least).

Despite finishing 2013 ten games over .500 with an 86-76 win-loss record, missing out on the playoffs yet again immediately cast more doubt on the wisdom of trading away Myers for short-term gains.

Royals fans will be more than happy with the decision if their team is able to hold onto their division lead and play postseason baseball for the first time in a long time, with Shields and Davis contributing handsomely to the effort from the mound alongside another pitcher, Jason Vargas, who has performed much better than the naysayers predicted when he was signed as a free agent over the past offseason.

In fact, the ESPN.com game report from the Royals’ win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday included this nugget from their Stats and Information team thatÂ shows Kansas City may well have every reason to be gettingÂ excited about their baseball team once again:

“Following Saturday’s games, the Royals now lead the AL Central by 3 games. This is the furthest into a season they have led the division by at least 3 games since 1985. That was the last time they made the postseason and the only season in which they won the World Series”.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has put ‘parity’ among clubs as one of the key cornerstones of his regime, alongside revenue-raising and labour peace. Like much else during his tenure, the positive value of Selig’s actions can be debated. Is this parity merely produced by mediocrity at the expense of seeing truly great teams battling it out and lowering the bar to reaching the playoffs with first the wild card and then the recent introduction of a second wild card team? If so, is that good for baseball or not?

Whatever your personal view, the Royals will be delighted to make the postseason regardless and it would be seen as a fittingÂ end to Selig’s last year as Commissioner if it happened.

BGB Fantasy League 2014: Week 19

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With just a few weeks left until the playoffs begin, which teams are picking up the pace and who is struggling to stay the course?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	35	9	27	8	.275	.821	4	3	54	1	2.48	1.17	11
Weston-Super-Sox	31	8	26	4	.278	.767	0	3	16	0	1.80	1.00	1

We begin with the biggest winners of the week, as the Slugs hammered the Sox 11-1. Admittedly this was helped with a sweep of the pitching categories as the Sox failed to meet the 20-inning minimum requirement, but the Slugs were still on course for a healthy win regardless. Donaldson, Carpenter and JD Martinez were the top hitters while Gordon swiped five bases. McHugh won both his starts, Arrieta struck out 13 and Betances had a win and a hold. Morneau and Altuve salvaged average for the Sox.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Norwich No II	36	6	30	3	.251	.752	3	5	51	3	3.46	1.23	9
The Cheddar Chasers	22	6	26	2	.269	.738	2	3	44	4	3.98	1.33	2

It was a great week for Norwich, who shot up the standings with their 9-2 score against the Chasers. Fiers, Britton and Cobb helped the pitchers take every category bar holds, while Justin Upton, Seager and Freeman had big weeks with the bat. Joe Smith picked up four holds for the Chasers, while Ortiz and Miguel Cabrera helped take average.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	21	2	21	0	.229	.646	3	3	37	1	3.89	1.30	2
Richie’s RBI’s	29	5	21	4	.250	.690	5	0	32	2	3.50	1.10	9

I have to tip my cap to the RBIs, who picked up a well-deserved 9-2 win against my Isotopes. LaRoche, Cano and Blackmon led the offense to five out of six categories, falling one RBI short of a sweep. Young and a pair of wins and led the staff in ERA and strikeouts while Will Smith took care of holds. Puig and Utley forced a tie in RBIs, Archer struck out 12 and Soriano had three saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	24	7	24	4	.232	.718	1	2	40	2	2.40	1.11	7
London Bananas	20	2	31	7	.225	.613	1	5	51	0	3.86	1.40	4

The Riverkings got the better of the Bananas 7-4. Both teams will have better weeks with the bats, but Cespedes, Desmond and Santana helped take four offensive categories while Sale made the difference in ERA and WHIP. The Bananas had RBIs and steals from Escobar and Marte while Reed and K-Rod had two saves each and Latos struck out 12.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Northfleet Knights	25	4	32	0	.281	.713	5	1	60	3	3.41	1.17	5
Enfield Butchers	26	5	27	3	.321	.870	4	7	48	6	3.48	1.18	7

The Butchers stay top after a very tight 7-5 win against the Knights. Morse batted .643 for the week, Yelich hit .464 and made the difference in runs and steals while Calhoun homered twice. Kimbrel and Holland each had three saves while Clippard had a busy week, collecting four holds. Harper and Gyorko helped the Knights win RBIs, while Gallardo won both his starts, making a big difference in ERA and WHIP, and Minor struck out 14.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Bits & Bytes	13	3	17	0	.245	.663	2	2	31	0	2.65	0.91	5
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	26	1	19	4	.251	.643	2	0	57	4	4.03	1.17	6

Beck ‘Nams squeezed through 6-5 against Bits & Bytes, with Reyes and Aoki the most influential hitters. The red-hot Kluber had 10 strikeouts, as did Shelby Miller, while Andrew Miller took care of holds. Kendrick helped the RBIs take homers and OPS, while Cishek had two saves and Felix, Kershaw and Hughes won ERA and WHIP for the umpteenth week in a row.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	25	7	23	4	.286	.794	7	1	42	2	3.49	1.52	5
Jesmond Dennings	29	7	30	3	.267	.755	3	3	25	3	2.00	1.00	6

Another matchup, another 6-5. This time it was Jesmond getting the better of Batteries Essential. Perkins and O’Day took care of saves and holds respectively, while Fister’s stingy week was a big factor in claiming ERA and WHIP. Dickerson had a big week, homering three times, scoring six runs and knocking in 11. Billy Hamilton, Stanton and Starlin Castro helped Batteries Essential claim steals, average and OPS, while Koeher led the staff with two wins and 12 strikeouts.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	19	4	26	2	.247	.658	4	2	49	3	2.12	0.96	6
Angels of Ash Vale	23	8	18	2	.254	.735	2	4	40	0	2.67	1.08	5

As you can see, 6-5 was a very popular score this week, showing just how competitive this league is. Iron Men’s pitchers took five categories thanks to Smyly, Wheeler, Gausman and Strasburg and the relief duo of Fien and Rodney. Adam Jones led the team with five RBIs. Chris Carter (four homers, nine RBIs) had a monster week for the Angels, while Morales also hit well. Rondon took care of saves in a very good week for the pitching staff, who were perhaps unlucky not to have claimed more categories, particularly with a very good team ERA and WHIP.

The week 20 matchups

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

Chasers (2nd) v Batteries Essential (4th)

Norwich (3rd) v RBIs (13th)

Beck ‘Nams (5th) v Jesmond (8th)

Isotopes (6th) v Knights (10th)

Slugs (7th) v Banans (9th)

Riverkings (12th) v Angels (15th)

Sox (14th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

Finally, if you haven’t yet done so, here’s a chance to help one of your fellow managers. You can vote for Stu’s son to win some ice hockey equipment by casting your vote here.

MLB this Week: Price returns to the Trop

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There are plenty of opportunities to watch some live baseball this working week, with four of five days offering at least one MLB game staring before midnight UK time.

The week begins with a game from Citi Field as Bartolo Colon takes to the mound – and, just as importantly from a viewer’s perspective, to the batter’s box – against the Chicago Cubs.

After a fallow evening on Tuesday, there are four early games on WednesdayÂ in which Oakland and Seattle are in action against NL East teams, whilst Toronto and Milwaukee meet in an important series between two teams looking to make the playoffs.

The headline story on Thursday will come from Tropicana Field when David Price visits with his new team, the Detroit Tigers, just a few weeks after being traded away by the Rays.

The working week then ends, or perhaps we should say the weekend begins, with a day-game from Wrigley Field as the Cubs host the Orioles in an Interleague match-up.

All times are in BST.

Monday 18 August

17:10. Chicago Cubs at NY Mets (HendricksÂ -Â Colon) *BT Sport2

Tuesday 19 August

No early games

Wednesday 20 August

17:40. Texas at Miami (MartinezÂ -Â Eovaldi) *ESPN
18:05. Seattle at Philadelphia (PaxtonÂ -Â Hamels)
19:10. Toronto at Milwaukee (DickeyÂ -Â Nelson)
20:35. NY Mets at Oakland (WheelerÂ -Â Samardzija)Â *ESPN

Thursday 21 August

18:05. Houston at NY Yankees (KeuchelÂ -Â McCarthy)
18:10. Cleveland at Minnesota (KluberÂ -Â Hughes)
18:10. Detroit at Tampa Bay (PriceÂ -Â Cobb)Â *ESPN
21:05. Arizona at Washington (MileyÂ -Â Gonzalez)Â *ESPN

Friday 22 August

19:20. Baltimore at Chicago Cubs (GausmanÂ -Â Arrieta)