Anyone attending the London Tournament this weekend, where I’ll be running a Project COBB stand, should find me in a chipper mood. The reason… I spent 14 months researching the Aston Villa baseball team, and the last 7 months following up on queries relating to the resulting book, but never found out what half of the players looked like, or even what kit they wore. Until today. Continue reading
For Muhlenberg College catcher Brett Rosen, it seemed that the 2011 baseball season would be a short one when less than two-fifths of the way through the 38-game NCAA Division III schedule he received news that he had a glandular fever infection. Despite 2011 being his freshman year, he’d seen time behind the dish in seven of those first 15 games; however, the news brought a sudden end to that promising start.
Richmond was the setting for the latest National Baseball League ‘Special Event’ and it proved to be a special Sunday for the home team.Â
Meanwhile the Essex Redbacks Youth Academy hosted international opponents and we look ahead to this weekend’s London Tournament.
NBL: Richmond take sole possession of the top spot in Pool A
The Richmond Flames were the big winners at the second ‘Special Event’ of the National Baseball League season.
The Flames have shared the top spot in Pool A with the Southampton Mustangs for several weeks, but they now lead the Pool on their own following a 13-3 victory over the Mustangs. Â
Southampton started the season with nine straight wins before Richmond brought that run to an end by defeating them twice in succession. They’ve now made it three wins from three against the Mustangs and Southampton will be keen to recapture their early season form as quickly as possible, having lost five of their last seven games.
The one saving grace for the Mustangs on Sunday was that they retained a four-game cushion over the third-placed Bracknell Blazers. The Blazers suffered a 14-5 loss against the Croydon Pirates. The Pirates have now won four of their last five games, a sequence preceded by an eight-game losing streak. Continue reading
Welcome to our weekly round-up of the BaseballGB Fantasy League competition. This is a mixed Head-2-Head league involving BGB writers and readers.
There are fourteen teams who pair up in different combinations each week, making for seven match-ups in any given week. The teams battle over twelve statistical categories, gaining one point for each category they win.
All the points are carried over into the season league table at the end of the weekly match-ups. The top six teams with the most points at the end of the fantasy season will go on to the playoffs during the last three weeks of September.
| Â | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| SWAT* | 23 | 8 | 20 | 2 | 0.261 | 0.754 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 1 | 4.64 | 1.24 | 4 |
| daebhid2 | 23 | 6 | 16 | 9 | 0.265 | 0.77 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 1.26 | 0.98 | 7 |
| Â | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Beck ‘Nams (GB) | 25 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 0.282 | 0.762 | 3 | 2 | 56 | 5 | 4.53 | 1.26 | 5 |
| Weston-Super-Sox | 36 | 15 | 46 | 6 | 0.316 | 1.015 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 2 | 3.83 | 1.36 | 7 |
Interleague play is now over for the 2011 season, so we return to the standard American League/National League-only contests in the short run up to the All-Star break.
These are the MLB games starting before midnight UK time this working week. There are plenty of games being played in the day time on Monday as the U.S. celebrates Independence Day, while we have five early starts on Wednesday and one on Thursday.
All times are in BST.
Monday 4 July
18.05. Chicago Cubs at Washington (Coleman – Zimmermann) * ESPN America
18.35. Toronto at Boston (Morrow – Lackey)
18.35. Houston at Pittsburgh (Myers – Maholm)
19.10. Tampa Bay at Minnesota (Price – Duensing)
21.05. Seattle at Oakland (Pineda – McCarthy)
21.10. Arizona at Milwaukee (Hudson – Marcum)
22.05. San Diego at San Francisco (Richard – Lincecum)
23.10. Philadelphia at Florida (Worley – Nolasco) *ESPN America
23.15. Cincinnati at St. Louis (Cueto – Carpenter)
23.35. NY Yankees at Cleveland (Burnett – Tomlin)
There’s a good choice of games on Independence Day. Jordan Zimmerman and Brandon Morrow have both been in excellent form of late for the Nationals and Blue Jays respectively, as has the Rays’ David Price. Tim Lincecum takes the mound at AT&T Park, while a Johnny Cueto start against the Cardinals is always a potential firecracker after the way the Reds-Cards rivalry spilled over last season.
Tuesday 5 July
No early games Continue reading
All-Star games are not a feature of British sports, so in many respects they are an unfamiliar, alien concept to fans in the UK.
And yet rather than put you off and make you ambivalent towards them, this makes them all the more special. They are one of the many features of the North American sports landscape that provide something different to how we do things over here.Â
Us baseball fans are particularly lucky as MLB’s All-Star game is the most enjoyable of the lot. It carries the same razzmatazz and excitement that also makes the others a great spectacle, but the game itself is much more of a ‘proper’ contest than its NFL, NBA and NHL counterparts.
The All-Star starting rosters are created by a public ballot and the results for this year’s lineups were announced yesterday. Fellow BaseballGB writer Mark George and I submitted ballots online and our selections and explained below. Please note that Mark’s ballot was submitted a couple of weeks ago and, for consistency, his comments reflect how the players were performing at the time.
American League
Catcher
Mark George (MG): Alex Avila. I wasn’t expecting him to hit .300. I thought he’d be in the .250s.
Matt Smith (MS): Alex Avila. After a learning year during his first full term as a Major Leaguer in 2010, the Tigers’ catcher is having a strong season, both in the batter’s box and behind the dish. Carlos Santana and Matt Wieters will stake a claim for the spot in future years, but Avila deserves the call this time around.
First baseman
MG: Adrian Gonzalez. Honourable mention to Konerko, but Gonzo’s been outstanding.
MS: Adrian Gonzalez. Not much of an argument, really. Everyone thought that the former Padre would fit Fenway perfectly and after a slightly slow start, he has been outstanding for the Red Sox, finally getting the superstar recognition that he had deserved during his time in San Diego. Konerko, Miguel Cabrera and Mark Teixeira are all having good years too.Â
Second baseman
MG: Robinson Cano. Easiest choice on the ballot?
MS: Ben Zobrist. I’m going in a different direction for this pick, partly on the grounds that Cano is almost certain to make it so voting another way isn’t likely to hurt his strong case to start.  Zobrist plays in the outfield as well so that perhaps counts against him on the ballot; however he’s been the Rays’ best position player this year and it would be good to see him get some recognition. Continue reading
A big thank you must go to James Norman and (indirectly) Peter Beach for submitting a team-name story and a bunch of photos relating to the Bournemouth Cubs, a club that Peter’s father Vic founded and for which Peter played shortstop. A photo of the team is below (Vic is in the centre of the front row and Peter at the right of that row).
The team-name story (which I’ve already added to the archive of those things) is as follows:
“The Bournemouth Cubs were founded in the late 1940s by Vic Beach, and the name can be explained by the fact that Vic wrote to the Chicago Cubs, asking if they could help with any equipment. Their response was generous, and they also adopted the team as their British contact. The team did not actually play in Bournemouth, though, since in those days that south-coast town had a strict bylaw: no Sunday sport on council-owned pitches. Home games could only be arranged on a Sunday, but the team still managed to stay by the coast, playing over the council boundary in Poole. Opponents included the Hornsey Red Sox, the Wokingham Monarchs, and Chipping Norton, and teams enjoyed playing the Cubs on the road as it allowed them to bring friends and family for a day out at the seaside.”
Another story that James submitted on behalf of Peter relates to the photo below.
At first I thought that the haziness at the top was some kind of fading, or even dodgy developing, but according to Peter it is in fact smoke from bonfires that had been lit by the local residents, who were trying to stop baseball game from being played.
I came in to this series with a little hesitation. It’s the Brewers at Yankees three-game match up and the first time the Crew have visited Yankee Stadium for over a decade. Technically, the first time ever at the new Yankee Stadium.
With inter-league in danger of becoming old-hat and overplayed there are at least a few inter-league matches which are not seen often. The Brewers – Yankees is one of them, having met only once before in Inter-League play back in ’05 in Mil-town. Back when the people of Milwaukee were cheering for the AL in the All Star Games, the Crew and the Evil Empire met on a fairly regular basis, for a while in the late 70s and early 80s even going as far as to call each other rivals. That was of course back when the Brewers were known as much more of a power house than in recent years.
The Yankees are always going to be a challenge for any team. Though their ability to put a W on the board wanes and waxes, no team should take them lightly. It almost goes without mentioning that they are, and have been for as long as I’m sure any of us can remember, one of, if not the, most popular and talked-about teams in the Major League. This season is no different. As the voting window for the All Star Game draws to a close the Bronx Bombers have more players in the line-up than any other team, a pattern which seems to crop up almost every year. Continue reading
In Part II of the four-part Project COBB series currently being run on the British Baseball Federation website, it is mentioned that I am “looking for one or more research associates who can travel to Colindale in North London on occasional Saturdays, particularly during the off-season, to collaborate […] on some exciting new projects.” I’d like to give some more details on that here.
A trip to Colindale is the quintessential newspaper research experience, and it is just like you see in films, with a choice between:
It was a glorious summer day on Sunday for all those involved in British baseball to enjoy. We had joy, we had sun, we had strikeouts and earned runs.
Or something like that.
As befitted a weekend of high temperatures, the hot teams stayed hot as several division leaders kept up their winning ways.
NBL: Lakenheath’s lead remains intact
The Lakenheath Diamondbacks are making a big impression in their debut season.Â
The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) team were expected to be competitive, but they’ve really hit the ground running this year. They lead Pool B by 2.5 games after picking up two more wins over their airbase rivals Mildenhall Bulldogs. Form teams tend to find a way to win in close contests and that was the case here, with the Diamondbacks taking the first 5-4 and the second 3-2.
The Southern Nationals are the team trailing the Diamondbacks and they are another first-year club performing impressively. The Nationals earned two wins at home to Herts Falcons on Sunday, making it seven victories from their last eight games.Â
In Pool A, the top two teams stayed locked together as both had to settle for splits over the past weekend. The Southampton Mustangs seemed reasonably satisfied with a share of the spoils from a road contest against the London Mets. Meanwhile the Richmond Flames would have been expecting two wins at home against the Croydon Pirates; however the Pirates played brilliantly to take the opener and all the Flames could do from there was to win the second game to keep the Mustangs from taking sole possession of first place.
It’s the second ‘NBL Special Event’ of the season this Sunday as the Richmond Flames will be hosting a four-game extravaganza. The BBF states that the baseball action will be complemented by “a BBQ and drinks tent by the field, PA announcers, a full bar in the clubhouse and ESPN America will be on site filming and interviewing for their websiteâ€. The games begin at midday, so get down to Richmond’s ground if you’re in the area for a great day of baseball and possibly a starring role on ESPN America.Â
AAA: Trojans and Badgers keep ahead
There was no holding back the division leaders in AAA. Liverpool Trojans remain unbeaten in the North as they improved to 11-0 with two victories against the Halton Jaguars, while the Bristol Badgers’ took a big step towards securing the division title with two wins over their closest rivals: the Essex Redbacks.
None of the above are in action this Sunday, so the chasing pack have a chance to pull back a game or two. In the North, the Halton Jaguars and Manchester A’s will do battle at the latter’s Allen Field. In the South, the Oxford Kings have recovered from a five-game losing streak by winning their last three, all against the London Metros including a sweep on Sunday. The Kings have two home games against the Windsor and Bracknell Bears this Sunday before taking on the Badgers on 17 July.
AA: Bolton and Bucks get the brooms out
Bolton Robots of Doom and the Milton Keynes Bucks both swept double-headers on Sunday to continue their march towards division titles.Â
Bolton had been inactive since 22 May, but they quickly shook off any rust in two strong performances against the Sheffield Bladerunners, who had won three straight games heading into the contest. As for the Bucks, they knew two wins against the Birmingham Maple Leafs would give them a four game cushion in the Midlands standings and that’s exactly the position they find themselves in, with the Bucks having just six games left to play in the regular season.
While the Bucks may be off and away, the Maple Leafs and Nottingham Rebels are now locked into a fascinating battle for second place. The Rebels picked up two wins against the Leicester Blue Sox II team and are now 9-5 on the season after starting out with four straight losses. Their game against the Maple Leafs on 24 July could be decisive.
In the South, the Latin Boys and Guildford Mavericks split a double-header. Latin Boys lead Pool A and the edged the opener 7-5, only for the Mavs to hit back with an 11-1 victory in the second game. With the Pool B leaders Sidewinders taking a split against Croydon Pirates III, the Mavericks are now just half a game behind them. The Sidewinders are not scheduled to play this Sunday, so the Mavericks could jump ahead if they win both games of their double-header against the Pirates III.
A: Royals rampage on, Mustangs II do too
The Pool A leading Cambridge Royals improved to 7-0 on the season with an 18-3 victory over the Old Timers.Â
The sun was blazing down on Coldham’s Common and one Old Timer got a little too hot under the collar, arguing his case one too many times and being ejected from the game as a result in the third inning. The Royals were ahead 3-1 at this point after the Old Timers had been pegged back from an early 1-0 lead.Â
Cambridge’s starting pitcher Raj Perera was not quite in tune with the umpire when it came to the strike zone and he ended up with eight walks against his name. However, he battled to keep the baserunners from coming home and blanked the Old Timers in four of his six innings pitched, conceding three runs in total on the day.Â
Despite leading 7-3 by the middle of the sixth inning, the Royals weren’t playing at the top of their game and a quick team talk was held to spark them into life. The move had an instant impact as the Royals exploded for eleven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The run-fest was highlighted by a two-run homer by Mark Gilley. He went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three driven in, while Perera backed up his pitching performance by knocking a single in each of his five at-bats and coming around to score four times.
Adam Brown pitched a three-up, three-down seventh inning, including two swinging strikeouts, to close out the game early with the Royals winning 18-3.Â
The Royals and Old Timers will meet again on Sunday and Cambridge will be keen to keep their unbeaten run going prior to the big Single-A game on 17 July against the Southampton Mustangs II. The Mustangs II beat the London Marauders 27-10 on Sunday to improve to 9-0 and they host the Braintree Rays this weekend.