Monthly Archives: May 2013

MLB this Week: Early baseball every evening

We have at least one MLB game starting before midnight U.K. time every day this working week.

The week starts with a set of early games due to it being Memorial Day on Monday.

Over the rest of the week there are several early games from Wrigley Field, including Thursday’s clash against the White Sox that will be broadcast live on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra. The ESPN America game that evening will be determined by a “viewers’ vote” poll, so head over to their website if you want to cast a vote.

All times are in BST.

Monday 27 May

18.05. Baltimore at Washington (Hammel – Gonzalez)
18.08. Pittsburgh at Detroit (Liriano – Verlander)
18.10. Cleveland at Cincinnati (Jimenez – Leake)
19.10. St. Louis at Kansas City (Wainwright – Shields)
19.10. Minnesota at Milwaukee (Correia – Peralta)
19.10. Colorado at Houston (Chacin – Norris)
20.10. Miami at Tampa Bay (Fernandez – Odorizzi)
20.40. Texas at Arizona (Darvish – Skaggs)
21.05. San Francisco at Oakland (Bumgarner – Straily) *ESPN America
21.10. San Diego at Seattle (Richard – Harang)

Tuesday 28 MayÂ Â

17.37. Atlanta at Toronto (Maholm – Morrow) *ESPN AmericaÂ Â Â
19.10. Colorado at Houston (De La Rosa – Lyles)

Wednesday 29 May

19.20. Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs (Danks – Feldman) *ESPN America

Thursday 30 May

19.05. Arizona at Texas (Miley vs Holland)
19.20. Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs (Peavy – Wood) *BBC 5LSX
20.40. Seattle at San Diego (Hernandez – Cashner)
20.45. Oakland at San Francisco (Griffin _ Zito)

Friday 31 May

19.20. Arizona at Chicago Cubs (Kennedy – Garza)

All of these games are available to watch live via theÂ MLB.TV subscriptionÂ atÂ MLB.com.Â The early games being shown on ESPN America are highlighted above, while the full ESPN/ESPN America schedule can be foundÂ on their website.Â BBC 5 Live Sports Extra can be found on digital radio, digital TV and on the BBC.co.uk website (coverage on the website is only available to UK residents). The complete schedule for this weekâ€™s MLB games can be found onÂ MLB.com

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Baseball at the Etihad Stadium?

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I was planning to take a Bank Holiday break with my Monday morning Weekly Hit Ground Ball column; however the recent news of a tie-up between Manchester City and the New York Yankees deserves a mention.

The main news concerns the creation of an expansion team in Major League Soccer calledÂ New York City Football Club (NYCFC). Man City will be the majority owners – it’s fair to say they’ve got the money – and the Yankees will be “an active member of the ownership group”.

This past week saw Man City and Chelsea play two exhibition games in America, one in St. Louis and then one in New York. Watching the teams playing football at Busch Stadium and Yankee Stadium made for a slightly odd sight, but it did provoke the thought that if English teams can play football in baseball stadiums, why not bring a couple of baseball teams over here to return the compliment and play in football stadiums.

Baseball teams have a long history of playing on English football grounds, be it British teams using these facilities or teams crossing the pond for exhibitions, such as the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox playing in front of a crowd including King George V at Stamford Bridge in 1924.Â With the NFL, NBA and NHL all having played games in London in recent years, it would be great to see MLB following suit.

Of course, there are significant logistical issues in bringing MLB teams over to Britain.

A football stadium doesn’t offer ideal dimensions within which to set out a Major League standard field. MLB players might be prepared to put up with this for a couple of exhibition games, but it wouldn’t provide the best backdrop from which to showcase the sport, from the point of view of the fans in the stadium or those watching on TV.

Ideally MLB would want to come to Europe to play games in a dedicated ballpark. The impressive new facility currently taking shape in Hoofddorp, just outside of Amsterdam, would be the most likely setting for any games in this continent.

Even with a ballpark to use, finding a space in the calendar would be the biggest obstacle. Spring Training would make sense from the perspective of the teams but, as British teams know only too well, expecting ‘baseball weather’ in Blighty during March would require a substantial amount of optimism on the part of the organizers. The same could also be said for the Netherlands and it would be more likely that regular season MLB games would be brought over around the All-Star break. If the teams were playing ‘games that count’ then that would increase the desire for any games to be played in an actual ballpark with ‘normal’ baseball dimensions.

However where there’s a will – and money – there’s a way. Maybe the Yankees will enthral Man City ownerÂ Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan so much that he will reach down the Â back of one his sofas and find some loose change to build a ballpark in or around Manchester. We can but dream.

In the meantime, here’s a mocked-up image of what the Etihad Stadium would look like with a baseball diamond at one corner.

The short left-field wall wouldn’t appeal to the pitchers, but it looks a good sight for the rest of us.

British Baseball Beat: London Mets remain the team to beat

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The London Mets (8-0) preserved their unbeaten start to the National Baseball League season with two wins against the Southampton Mustangs (7-3) last Sunday.

Both teams had won six consecutive games going into the double-header, but it was the Mets that came out on top by scores of 10-0 and 1-0, the latter going into extra innings in a tightly-contested affair.

Although it is still early in the season, the match-up seemed to carry more significance than a standard regular-season twin set due to the teams involved.

Considering the Mets won both games on the road, and kept their opponents off the scoreboard in the process, they are quite literally the team to beat in the NBL right now.

British Baseball Federation NBL report

NBL form

With the Mets snapping Southamptonâ€™s six-game winning streak, the next big match-up takes place this Sunday when the Mustangs take on the third-placed Herts Falcons.

Herts couldnâ€™t take full advantage of the Mustangsâ€™ losses last Sunday as they could only obtain a split against the Essex Arrows. The Falcons have lost three of their last four games after winning five of their first six; far from being a true loss of form but something that manager Lee Manning would want to see his team rectify soon. A home double-header against the Mustangs gives them a challenging, but exciting, opportunity to do that in style.

As for the form of the rest of the NBL, both the Harlow Nationals and Lakenheath Diamondbacks have won four of their last six games to make for solid starts to the campaign. The Nationals host the Blazers this weekend aiming for a sweep to push the defending two-time champs above .500 for the first time this season.

The Essex Arrows and South London Pirates have been consistent of late, both splitting their last three double-headers after being swept in their opening match-up. At the other end of the scale, the Bracknell Blazers have lost five of their last six and the Essex Redbacks, NBL newcomers donâ€™t forget, have lost six in a row.Â The Redbacks will look to break that sequence with a home double-header against local rivals the Essex Arrows. The teams split a double-header back on 21 April.

Trojans still ahead in the AAA-North

When it comes to teams in form, you don’t get much better than the Livepool Trojans in the AAA-North. After taking a loss in the first game of a double-header against Cartmel Valley Lions on 28 April, the reigning champs have won seven in a row including a double-header sweep over those Lions last Sunday.

Halton Jaguars are the next team to take on the Trojans. The Jaguars have won three in a row and, with Liverpool being a very strong bet to take the division, they already appear to be locked in a battle with the Lions for the second playoff spot.

Halton (5-3) currently sit one game ahead of Cartmel Valley (4-4) in the standings and with the Lions playing a double-header against the 0-9 Menwith Hill Patriots this Sunday, it is likely that they will need to win at least one of their games against the Trojans to stop themselves dropping to third before the teams enter a period of games against AA-North competition.

Teams on the rise in the North

The AA-North is starting to look like being a great battle this season between several clubs.

Bolton Robots of Doom were expected to be a leading contender having moved down from the AAA Level, but they had an underwhelming start to the season, going 1-4. Somebody must have rebooted the Robots at that point as they’ve won their last four games to move over .500 and into joint-third in the standings alongside the Harrogate Tigers (5-4).

The Tigers have actually slipped back as last Sunday they became the latest victim in the Manchester A’s winning streak. The A’s have won all six of their games since dropping their season-opening double-header against Hull Scorpions, moving up into second place.

Hull were not in action last Sunday but they still lead the way with a 7-1 record and will look to build on that with a home double-header against the Newton Aycliffe Spartans (1-5) this Sunday.

Royals reign in AAA-South

The Cambridge Royals currently top the AAA-South after a split against the Oxford Kings on Sunday improved their season record to 7-3.

Most of the rest of the division have played eight games, with the Kings, London Mets II and London Metros all holding 5-3 records and the Bristol Badgers at an even 4-4.

The two London teams are the only AAA-South sides in action this weekend. The Metros got the better of their club-mates last Saturday in winning both games of their double-header and they will join the Royals at the top of the division if they can repeat the trick this weekend. However, the Mets II ran the Metros close in both games last Saturday and they’ll be keen to gain revenge one week on and push themselves up to the top of the table.

Close competition in the A-South

The Richmond Dukes’ 20-8 victory over the Old Timers last Sunday means that all 12 Single-A teams now have at least one win on the board after three or four games.

The London Marauders have won three games in a row since dropping their season opener against the Guildford Mavericks II and they take on the Herts Raptors (2-2) this Sunday. The Raptors’ club-mates, the Eagles, have won their last two games to even their season record at 2-2 and next they will face the 3-1 Milton Keynes Coyotes.

High-flying Hove

Hove Tuesday have made a flying start to life in the AA-South. After losing the first game of their season-opening double-header against Herts Hawks on 21 April, Hove have won six a row toÂ catapultÂ themselves to the top of the table.

Hove’s form is even more impressive when set alongside their debut season in the BBF leagues last year. They had a perfect 9-0 Single-A regular season in 2012, meaning that they’ve gone 15-1 in BBF regular season games so far.

Hove lost out to the Leicester Blue Sox in the Single-A National Baseball Championship final last year, but they did win a quarter-final and semi-final along the way. Add it all together and they have won 17 of their first 19 BBF games: a very impressive record to say the least.

The AA-South division looks like another that will be keenly contested this year and Hove are sure to be one of those firmly in the mix.

BGB Fantasy League 2013 Week Seven

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The BaseballGB fantasy league saw its first trade made. Which teams are wheeling and dealing, and how has it impacted their teams?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	20	6	27	4	.240	.685	2	6	47	1	3.83	1.28	2
Norwich No II	40	11	36	5	.336	.951	3	4	44	2	2.62	1.05	10

We begin with the week’s biggest winners, as Norwich moved up to second after handing Batteries Essential a 10-2 thumping. Votto was the pick ofthe hitters responsinble for an offensive sweep, batting .583, scoring seven times and joining Aramis Ramirez and Nelson Cruz in homering twice. Strasburg, Samardzija and Chapman all picked up wins, Jansen had two holds, and the young trio of Cobb, Fernandez and Miller helped take ERA and WHIP. Wright, Bruce and Pujols all batted well for Batteries, while Masterson won both of his starts and struck out 20. Reed had three saves, while Bell, Valverde and Parnell also closed games out.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	31	8	27	1	.281	.813	4	2	54	5	2.88	1.14	8
Cardiff Redsox	21	2	27	5	.257	.688	4	2	42	2	2.89	1.20	1

Four wins each in offense and pitching helped Iron Men defeat the Redsox 8-1. Mitch Moreland had a monster week, belting four homers and driving in 10, while JJ Hardy also had a multi-homer week. Zimmermann joined Lynn in posting double-digit strikeouts and joined Lester, Iwakuma and CJ Wilson in taking ERA and WHIP. Rosenthal had four holds. The speedy Redsox outfield of Crawford, Gomez and Jennings swiped four bases and the pitching staff were unfortunate not to win a single category, as they put up more than respectable numbers overall.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Richie’s RBI’s	29	5	27	5	.304	.807	3	1	26	3	2.41	1.04	8
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	25	6	25	6	.223	.669	2	2	49	0	5.20	1.34	4

A big week from Ryan Zimmerman helped the RBIs to an 8-4 win against Beck ‘Nams. Ryan hit .385, homered twice and drove in nine. Scutaro’s red-hot streak saw him bat .500 for the week and Gardner stole four bases. On the mound, it was a busy week for Joel Peralta, who had a save and three holds. Gio Gonzalez and Estrada helped take ERA and WHIP. CarGo had three homers and three steals to give Beck ‘Nams the edge in both of those categories, Grilli had two saves and King Felix struck out 16.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Wright Stuff	27	9	30	2	.275	.802	1	6	31	1	3.82	1.17	4
SWAT*	36	7	35	12	.342	.898	3	1	36	1	5.40	1.43	7

SWAT took five out of six offensive categories in their 7-4 win against the Stuff. Goldschmidt homered three times, Cano drove in eight, Fowler scored seven times and Everth Cabrera swiped seven bases in a very strong offensive week. Matt Moore won both his starts (again) and struck out 11, while SWAT can also look forward to the debut of Baltimore’s Kevin Gausman in the next matchup. The Stuff hit pretty well, with Ortiz homering three times and driving in 12, while Justin Upton and Choo (more on him later) each had multi-homer weeks. Street, Betancourt, Balfour and Cook all collected saves, while Latos and Milone helped take ERA and WHIP.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	48	11	40	9	.311	.944	6	2	44	1	5.64	1.35	7
Weston-Super-Sox	35	5	24	1	.305	.844	4	4	64	4	2.36	1.00	5

My Isotopes just got the better of the Sox 7-5 thanks to an offensive sweep. Seven different hitters homered, including two from McCutchen and Rosario and three from Kipnis, who drove in eight. Andrus, who swiped five bases, joined McCutchen in scoring eight times. Six different pitchers picked up wins, with Peavy the pick of the bunch in an otherwise lacklustre week for my staff. The Sox took all of the reamining pitching categories, with Bailey and Sale the most impressive starters, Mujica notching four saves and Crain collecting three holds. Miguel Cabrera had a three-homer game on the way to belting four for the week.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	15	2	13	3	.189	.566	5	2	58	0	2.96	1.03	4
The Cheddar Chasers	34	7	41	3	.327	.905	1	2	44	4	4.05	1.31	6

Finally, the Chasers hit their way to a 6-4 win against the Riverkings. A pair of Royals, Butler and Gordon, each hit .480 with Billy driving in 10. Rios hit over .400 for the week and joined Trout in going deep twice. McGee and David Hernandez had a pair of holds each. The Riverkings had a team-wide slump at the plate apart from Aoki (.526, four runs) and Freeman (.318, four RBIs) but took four pitching categories thanks to the strong rotation of Kershaw, Harvey and Wood.

TRANSACTIONS:

This week saw the fiirst trade of the season, as the Stuff dealt Choo to the Riverkings for Desmond. It’s a fair deal for both sides, each upgrading difficult positions to fill in CF and SS. The Riverkings needed an OF boost with Stanton and Jackson on the DL, while the arrival of Desmond comes at a good time for the Stuff with Kinsler now on the DL.

The week eight matchups are as follows:

SWAT (1st) v RBIs (11th)

Norwich (2nd) v Beck ‘Nams (3rd)

Iron Men (4th) v Isotopes (6th)

Sox (5th) v Riverkings (12th)

Stuff (7th) v Chasers (9th)

Batteries Essential (8th) v Redsox (10th)

MLB this Week: Potential Latos-Harvey match-up on Wednesday

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There are ten MLB games currently scheduled to begin before midnight U.K. time this working week.

Hisashi Iwakuma has arguably been Seattle’s best pitcher this season and he’ll look to help his team avoid a series sweep in the finale against Cleveland on Monday. The Indians have won the first three games of their series against the Mariners, including a victory against Felix Hernandez on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, Tampa Bay will call up pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi as a replacement for the injured David Price. Odorizzi was one of the prospects the Rays obtained from the Kansas City Royals when they traded away James Shields.

The probable pitching match-up that jumps out at you from the group on Wednesday takes place at Citi Field. Mat Latos and Matt Harvey should meet in an exciting game between the Reds and Mets.

On Thursday, Edwin Jackson and Jeanmar Gomez are the scheduled starting pitchers for the BBC 5 Live Sports Extra game on Thursday, starting a little earlier than usual at 17.35.

All times are in BST.

Monday 20 May

17.05. Seattle at Cleveland (Iwakuma – Kazmir) *ESPN America
18.07. Tampa Bay at Toronto (Odorizzi – Jenkins)

Tuesday 21 May

No early games

Wednesday 22 May

17.10. Minnesota at Atlanta (Worley – Maholm) *ESPN America
18.10. LA Dodgers at Milwaukee (Ryu – Peralta)
18.10. Cincinnati at NY Mets (Latos – Harvey)
19.05. Oakland at TexasÂ (Parker – Tepesch)
20.10. Arizona at Colorado (Cahill – De La Rosa)
20.45. Washington at San Francisco (Gonzalez – Bumgarner) *ESPN America
21.37. Tampa Bay at Toronto (Hellickson – Buehrle)

Thursday 23 May

17.35. Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh (Jackson – Gomez) *BBC 5LSX, ESPN America

Friday 24 May

No early games

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Upton away

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Every football fan knows the feeling of foreboding created by an ex-striker of your team coming back home to face you for the first time since their departure.

Whether you try to put him off through jeers or try to win him over with cheers, you know heâ€™s going to score against you. Returning strikers always do.

Fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks must have had that exact same feeling last Monday when Justin Upton returned to Chase Field for the first time since being traded to the Atlanta Braves over the off-season.

A ground-out and a single in his first two at-bats suggested his first game back wouldnâ€™t be too explosive. Then in the sixth inning Wade Miley hit B.J. Upton with a pitch as brother Justin waited in the on-deck circle.

That was Mileyâ€™s first mistake. The second came on a 2-0 change-up that Miley left up in the zone.

Justin Upton absolutely hammered it over the high wall in centre field for a two-run bomb; a swinging statement if ever there was one.

The D-Backsâ€™ determination to trade away the gifted younger Upton brother remains one of the most perplexing roster decisions of recent times. Itâ€™s the sort of move that you would expect to be shrouded in rumours of the player being a â€˜clubhouse cancerâ€™, but reported comments from former teammates show that couldnâ€™t be further from the truth. Arizonaâ€™s Front Office simply decided the organization was better off trading Upton for other pieces.

The team has had a promising start to the season, with Paul Goldschmidt really coming into his own as a leading hitter in the National League and Gerardo Parra reveling in a starting role manning the spot in right field that had previously been Uptonâ€™s. Martin Prado, the main established Brave that came Arizonaâ€™s way in the trade, has struggled so far and weâ€™ll have to wait several years before finding out if the Minor League prospects they obtained will come good.

Whatever the thought process was behind the trade, the early returns from Arizonaâ€™s perspective have been decent and the Braves are certainly not complaining either. Upton has been everything theyâ€™d hoped he would be, leading the Majors in homers with 14, whilst Chris Johnson has been a more-than-useful contributor so far too, including whacking a two-run longball of his own against his former team on Monday.

Maybe it will turn out to be a trade in which both teams â€˜winâ€™. Still, Iâ€™d sooner have Justin Upton in my team for the next few years and his home run on Monday may well not be the last time he makes Arizona regret their decision to part with him.

One brother to another

Justin Uptonâ€™s blistering form has been a big help to his older brother. B.J.â€™s early days with his new team have been distinctly underwhelming. Signed to a five-year, $75.25m contract over the offseason, B.J. Upton was â€˜hittingâ€™ just .145/.237/.239 heading into the Bravesâ€™ game on Sunday,

His struggles have shown that spending money on a leading free agent doesnâ€™t guarantee you instant returns. If youâ€™re going to spend money to improve your roster, it has to be done as part of a wider plan to make sure that an injury or loss of form for your new recruit doesnâ€™t completely scupper a season.

The Yankees’ fountain of youth

The Toronto Blue Jays thought they had followed that line of thinking to the letter when they brought in a whole host of new players over the offseason. Unfortunately for them, even the best laid plans can unravel.

Despite a four-game winning streak at the start of the last week, the Blue Jays sit dead last in the AL East. They lost the first two games of their series in New York before Sunday’s game was rained out, putting them ten games behind their opponents in the standings and 1-7 against the Yankees so far this season.

What is it about those magical pinstripes that brings the best out of players? Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Travis Hafner are the latest three discarded veterans to have found a new lease of life in the Bronx.Â The Yankees havenâ€™t yet found a lucky charm to turn around their Disabled List misfortunes, Andy Pettitte being the latest addition to the crowded treatment room, but Curtis Granderson made his season debut last week and both Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis shouldnâ€™t be too far behind in returning to the field.

If Wells and co can continue to keep this team firmly in contention, the Yankees could really come on strong in the second half. My prediction that the Yankees will win the AL East might not turn out to be such a reach after all.

Harvey backs up the hype

The Yankeesâ€™ surprisingly strong start to the season isnâ€™t quite the biggest baseball story in New York. That award has to go to the New York Metsâ€™ young phenom Matt Harvey.

A day-game against the Chicago Cubs on Friday provided the perfect opportunity to watch Harvey at work and, after a slightly wayward first inning, he settled in and showed exactly why everyone is talking about him. Harvey even showed a flair for the dramatic by breaking a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning when he singled home the go-ahead run that decided the game and improved his win-loss record to 5-0.

ESPN America took the SNY feed for the game and co-commentator Keith Hernandez provided an insight into what Harvey is like as a character. Hernandez noted that whilst the young pitcher is keeping his head down among more experienced team mates, inside there is a steely confidence that drives his determination to not simply be a quality Major League starter, but to be the very best.

Heâ€™s got a long way to go to get there, but the early signs are that he has all the tools necessary to give it a good shot.

Reward for Rizzo

Finally, the only Cubs batter to get an extra-base hit against Harvey was Anthony Rizzo. He had an excellent week off-the-field too as the Cubs announced he had signed a seven-year contract with the team worth at least $41m (Â£26.6m).

Itâ€™s a well-deserved deal that will provide financial security for the player who, after his enthusiastic play for Italy during the recent World Baseball Classic, can surely be claimed by us as an honorary European.

British Baseball Beat: Mets and Mustangs meet on Sunday

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The action from the British Baseball Federation leagues last weekend saw the number of unbeaten teams come down to three.

Mustangs v Mets this Sunday

Mustangs Field in Southampton is set to host a top-of-the-table clash this Sunday in the National Baseball League.

The London Mets sit at the top of the standings after two wins last Sunday against the Essex Redbacks improved their season record to 6-0. Meanwhile their nearest challengers, the Southampton Mustangs, won two games on the road against the Bracknell Blazers to keep the pressure on with a 7-1 record.

The two teams meet this Sunday with the Mustangs intent on breaking the Metsâ€™ unbeaten start to the season, whilst London will see it as a chance to put some distance between themselves and their rivals.

The third-placed Herts Falcons (5-3) didnâ€™t play last weekend and will get back to action this Sunday with two away games against the Essex Arrows (3-5). Herts had won 5 of their first 6 games before being dealt two losses by the Mets last time out.

Another no-hitter in the AAA-South, and this one was perfect

The Bristol Badgersâ€™ Miguel Peralta laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the AAA-South pitchers by pitching no-hitters in his first two games of the season.

This past Sunday, the Oxford Kingsâ€™ Santo Militello took up the challenge against the Richmond Knights and proceeded to pitch a perfect game, shortened to five innings due to his team mates plating 10 runs to see the game end early on the â€˜mercyâ€™ rule.

Which AAA-South pitcher is going to do it next?

The Knights rebounded from being no-hit by winning the second game of their double-header 14-6 and it goes to show how competitive the division is going to be this season. The London Mets II (5-1) lead the way with Cambridge Royals (6-2) â€“ beneficiaries of two forfeit victories this past Sunday from the Leones de Feltham â€“ right there with them, the Oxford Kings (4-2) one game back and the London Metros and Bristol Badgers both within striking distance with 3-3 records.

The Mets II and Metros are scheduled to face each other in an intra-club double-header at Finsbury Park on Saturday, with the Cambridge Royals and Oxford Kings meeting at the latterâ€™s Horspath Road field on Sunday.

Eagles eke out victory against Raptors

The Mets II v Metros clash is sure to be a thriller if it follows the lead set in Single-A between the Herts Eagles (1-2)Â and Herts Raptors (2-1). The two teams combined for 61 runs and were only separated by a single one of them at the end of the game when Mike Cresswell won the bragging rights, as explained on the Herts Baseball website:

â€œ[The Raptors] were in front, 30-28, as the Eagles went in to bat in the bottom of the ninth. The stage was set.

The first man got on, stole second. And up stepped pinch hitter Adrian Smithers, last yearâ€™s home run champion. Heâ€™d not played since the first game of the season, but he came through with a drive down the third base line to bring in a run. He scored the tying run himself after Will Belbin continued his excellent form at the plate and got aboard.

And when lead-off man Mike Cresswell stepped in, Belbin was there on third base as the winning run waiting to score. The crack of the bat was a clean sound and the ball sailed decisively out to the outfield. Arms aloft, Will Belbin crossed the plate. He was mobbed by a team which had its first win of the season in the most dramatic fashionâ€.

The Eaglesâ€™ victory ended the Raptorsâ€™ unbeaten start to the season.

Elsewhere in the division, the Milton Keynes Coyotes (2-1) faced the Essex Archers in a match-up between two Pool leaders and it was the Archers who came out on top, 38-16, inflicting the first loss of the season on the Coyotes.

Three teams left with unbeaten starts to the season

The AA-Northâ€™s Hull Scorpions looked like they had a genuine shot at putting together a perfect winning season with some dominant displays in their first six games. However, the Harrogate Tigers ended those hopes by earning a split against the division leaders last Sunday.

That means only the NBLâ€™s London Mets (6-0) and the AAA-Midlandsâ€™ Nottingham Rebels and Milton Keynes Bucks (both 5-0) have yet to experience the bitter taste of defeat so far this year.

The Rebels face the 0-5 Stourbridge Titans this Sunday. If the form book holds true and Nottingham can win both of those games, it will set up an exciting contest in Milton Keynes on 26 May with two unbeaten teams coming together for a double-header.

BGB Fantasy League 2013 Week Six

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An eventful week in the world of MLB saw a number of high-profile umpiring blunders as well as multiple bids for a no-hitter. Here ‘s how it affected the BaseballGB fantasy league.

	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NE Riverkings	27	9	30	1	.254	.773	2	4	39	0	3.55	0.99	1
SWAT*	36	11	34	5	.279	.855	2	9	41	4	1.58	1.05	10

We begin with a big win for SWAT, who used an offensive sweep to defeat the Riverkings 10-1. Mauer hit .533 for the week, Goldschmidt belted four homers and Everth Cabrera stole three bases. On the mound, an incredible nine saves were racked up thanks to the AL East closers Rivera, Johnson and Janssen while Shields struck out 14 and helped take ERA. The Riverkings can feel a bit hard done by to lose this matchup so heavily, as they actually played pretty well. Moustakas hit three homers while Desmond and Reynolds went deep twice. Miley, Kershaw and Harvey all pitched excellently, helping post a sub-1.00 WHIP.

	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Wright Stuff	19	4	9	3	.238	.656	3	3	35	1	4.65	1.45	2
Beck ‘Nams (GB)	26	9	22	0	.254	.736	5	3	56	0	3.11	1.26	9

JJ got the better of Chris in this matchupÂ of former Croydon Pirates. Rizzo hit .440 and drove in seven, while Sandoval, Victorino and Asdrubal Cabrera all had multi-homer weeks. On the mound, Cliff Lee won both his starts, teaming up with King Felki and Maholm to take ERA and WHIP, while Grilli had three saves. For the Stuff, Choo hit two homers and joined Kemp and Bourn in stealing a base while Cook picked up the lone hold of the matchup.

	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Richie’s RBI’s	29	6	20	3	.257	.749	2	2	30	4	2.22	0.92	2
Norwich No II	30	13	31	5	.266	.861	2	3	63	4	4.76	1.32	8

An offensive sweep made it a very good week for Norwich, who defeated the RBIs 8-2. Five different players hit two homers and every batter went deep at least once apart from Votto. Chris Davis drove in seven, Pence scored seven times and joined the red-hot Jean Segura in swiping a pair. Kimbrel and Champan took care of saves, while Cobb and Shelby Miller racked up big strikeout numbers. The RBIs took ERA and WHIP thanks to Gio Gonzalez, Pettitte and Darvish, while Swisher and Donaldson had multi-homer weeks.

	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Iron Men	32	7	29	6	.337	.941	5	1	76	1	2.63	0.91	7
Batteries Essential	32	7	22	5	.219	.670	6	1	57	1	3.88	1.23	1

Iron Men took a big step closer to .500 with a 7-1 win against Batteries Essential. Longoria hit three homers, scored eight times and knocked in 11, while Altuve hit .364, homering and stealing a pair of bases. MadBum struck out 18, CJ Wilson fanned 15 and Lynn, Iwakuma and Zimmermann helped take ERA and WHIP. Parnell’s pair of victories from the bullpen helped Batteries salvage wins. Bruce homered twice, as did Uggla, who also scored nine times.

	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	29	8	36	5	.290	.834	2	3	48	0	5.84	1.48	4
The Cheddar Chasers	30	6	30	4	.313	.843	4	3	44	3	3.12	1.21	7

Matt has bragging rights after this BaseballGB battle, as his chasers defeated my Isotopes 7-4. Alex Gordon had a three-homer week, Morneau drove in nine and Yadier Molina hit .444 for the week and stole a base. On the mound David Hernandez had a win, a save and a hold while Price, Burnett, Kuroda and Holland helped take ERA and WHIP. My team salvaged homers and RBIs thanks to Bautista, Encarnacion and Kipnis while five different players stole bases. Hellickson struck out 11. ItÂ was otherwise a rough week for my pitchers, aside from Wainwright’s gem.

	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Weston-Super-Sox	25	6	27	3	.281	.745	3	1	64	2	3.39	1.21	6
Cardiff Redsox	19	5	20	3	.269	.734	3	4	42	4	2.44	0.96	4

The Sox hit their way to victory, taking five offensive categories in the 6-4 win against the Redsox. Pedroia hit .483 for the week, including a homer, with Miguel Cabrera not far behind on .348. De Aza homered twice. Buchholz struck out 13 and Chris Sale pitched a near no-hitter.Â The Redsox bullpenÂ of Papelbon, Wilhelmsen, Melancon and Gregerson took care of saves and holds. Minor, Cain and Sabathia helped take ERA and WHIP.

The week seven matchups are as follows:

SWAT (1st) v Stuff (5th)

Beck ‘Nams (2nd) v RBIs (12th)

Norwich (3rd) v Batteries Essential (8th)

Sox (4th) v Isotopes (6th)

Iron Men (7th) v Redsox (9th)

Chasers (10th) v Riverkings (11th)

Box Office Bryce

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Bryce Harper came to the attention of most baseball fans when he was labelled â€œBaseballâ€™s Chosen Oneâ€ on the front cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16 year old.

Human nature being what it is, from that very moment there were people all too keen to see this precocious young buck fall flat on his face.

In some ways they got their wish on Monday night when Harper went face-first into the outfield fence at Dodger Stadium in a classic â€˜thatâ€™s got to hurtâ€™ moment that is sure to be replayed countless times over the years.

However, far from knocking him down, the incident illustrates that the bold predictions of greatness from a young age were not mere hype.

There are talented athletes and then there are a select few who somehow capture the public’s imagination more than the rest. People are drawn to them, everything they do becomes a story and their triumphs and failures seem that much more extreme.

In part it is a direct reflection on their ability. In Harperâ€™s case, he is clearly a gifted sportsman capable of producing athletic moments that even his teammates marvel at. The Washington Post recently published an outstanding feature on the young sluggerâ€™s hitting prowess â€“ setting the benchmark for other media outlets on utilizing graphics, video and text in a compelling piece of online analysis.

But it goes beyond his skills and production at the plate.

Quite simply, heâ€™s the sort of player you want to watch because you know that at any moment he can do something that will make you say â€˜wowâ€™; whether thatâ€™s hitting a monstrous home run or using his face to the test the structural soundness of a wall.

The attention he receives will mean some will soon be sick of the sight of him, if theyâ€™re not already. The most outstanding players tend to provoke extreme reactions; either you love them or hate them, thereâ€™s no in between.

But what everyone should agree with is that baseball is a more exciting place to have young stars like Harper coming through and making a name for themselves.

MLB this Week: Good games ahead

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The working week of MLB games starting before midnight U.K. time begins on Monday with a rare double-header in which both games fall in the ‘early’ bracket.

We then have a good group of games to choose from on Wednesday, before a Mets-Cardinals clash on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra on Thursday and a Mets-Cubs contest on Friday in which, providing New York’s rotation stays on its normal schedule, we’ll get a chance to watch one of the most exciting young pitchers in the game: Matt Harvey.

All times are in BST.

Monday 13 May

17.05. NY Yankees at Cleveland (Phelps – Masterson)
20.35. NY Yankees at Cleveland (Nuno – Bauer)

Tuesday 14 May

No early games

Wednesday 15 May

17.35. San Diego at Baltimore (Marquis – Garcia) *ESPN America
18.05. Cleveland at Philadelphia (Kluber – Hamels)
18.08. Houston at Detroit (Keuchel – Scherzer)
18.10. Chicago White Sox at Minnesota (Axelrod – Pelfrey) *MLB.com Free Game of the Day
20.35. Texas at OaklandÂ Â Â (Ogando – Straily) *ESPN America
20.40. Atlanta at Arizona (Hudson – Kennedy)

Thursday 16 May

18.45. NY Mets at St. Louis (Niese – Wainwright) *BBC 5LSX, ESPN America

Friday 17 May

19.20. NY Mets at Chicago Cubs (Harvey – Jackson) *ESPN America