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2009 All-Star selections: National League
July 2nd, 2009 by Matt SmithAfter looking at the American League yesterday, today I make my picks for the Senior circuit team.
Once again, don’t forget that you have until 4.59 on Friday, British time, to submit your 2009 MLB All-Star ballot(s) at MLB.com. Continued…
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2009 All-Star selections: American League
July 1st, 2009 by Matt SmithThe online voting system has made the MLB All-Star game a great way for fans around the world to be a part of the event. The deadline for submitting your 2009 MLB All-Star ballot(s) at MLB.com is 4.59 on Friday, British time.
Mark published his All-Star selections in one go on Saturday. I’m going to split mine into two posts, with the American League taking centre stage today. As you will see, I’ve named my first choice and an honourable mention for every position. I’m with Mark and Joe on their dislike of the fact that everyone can vote twenty-five times. My system this year was to vote three times, submitting my first choice line-ups twice and then voting for my honourable mentions once. Continued…
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BaseballGB Fantasy roundup: Week 12
June 30th, 2009 by Mark GeorgeIt’s BaseballGB Fantasy League roundup time again. Can anyone stop Syracuse’s good form?RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreThe Cheddar Chasers 23 7 24 0 .235 .778 4 3 38 0 2.05 1.20 0 Syracuse Nationals 36 13 38 4 .275 .909 6 3 45 0 1.96 1.15 10 The ‘Cuse followed up their move to the top with a 10-0 thrashing of the Chasers. The pitching categories were close, and the Chasers can feel hard done by that an ERA of 2.05 and a 1.20 WHIP weren’t enough to win those categories. Aaron Hill and, of course, Pujols were the big hitters for The Orange.RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreBonestalkers 24 2 27 8 .301 .789 5 3 43 0 2.55 1.04 6 SWAT 33 10 27 2 .333 .957 2 2 40 2 4.53 1.49 5 Bonestalkers edged SWAT 6-5 thanks to their pitching staff. While SWAT’s hitters got the job done, Bonestalkers took five out of the six pitching categories, including very impressive ERA and WHIP numbers, helped by the trio of Lincecum, Sabathia and Beckett.RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreOrpington Isotopes 24 4 23 3 .236 .719 5 5 51 1 2.21 1.11 6 RussDev Giants 25 6 25 5 .307 .898 1 1 16 1 4.08 1.42 6 A topsy-turvy matchup ended in a 6-6 tie between the Giants and my Isotopes. Strangely, Russ took all of the hitting categories while I won all of the pitching categories, despite a tie in holds, as Russ failed to meet the 20 ining weekly minimum limit, although I was already ahead in five of the categories. Sizemore was the star hitter for Russ, while I had very good weeks from Danks, Saunders and Hanson.RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreBorders Bats 30 6 23 5 .267 .759 4 4 45 2 2.86 1.18 12 stevenston angels 21 2 19 2 .233 .634 1 2 23 0 5.45 1.79 0 What a week for the Bats, who completed a 12-0 sweep against the Angels. The Bats had an excellent week from Ichiro, who hit .500 and scored 8 runs, while Burnett led the pitching staff. The Angels had nice weeks from Pierzynski and Derrek Lee, but it was a bad week for their pitchers.RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreThe Wright Stuff 35 12 46 4 .313 .955 3 3 35 0 5.36 1.35 8 Tribal Warfare 17 5 18 5 .200 .682 2 1 33 2 3.03 1.21 4 The Stuff picked up an 8-4 win over the Warfare thanks to a big week from their hitters. Hanley Ramirez drove in 15 runs all by himself, while A-Rod and Uggla also had very good weeks. Warfare’s pitchers salvaged some of the pitching stats, taking holds, ERA and WHIP.RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreRio Crande Typos 28 10 29 3 .286 .868 1 1 26 1 3.27 1.12 7 Braughing’s Bangers 27 9 27 8 .244 .771 1 3 33 0 2.98 1.15 4 The Typos are back playing .500 ball after a 7-4 win over The Bangers. The Typos just did enough to take runs, HR and RBIs while ERA and WHIP also proved to be very close. Although hge didn’t hit for average, Ethier’s three-homer game helped the Typos, while Happ, Wainwright and Edwin Jackson pitched very well for The Bangers.RHRRBISBAVGOPSWSVKHLDERAWHIPScoreJosh & Jonny Whos 23 4 18 3 .245 .668 2 3 35 0 4.34 1.36 5 the gas 21 3 18 0 .264 .688 5 1 29 2 3.83 1.23 6 The Gas edged The Whos 6-5 in a close matchup. In the end the pitching stats proved decisive, as Wakefield, Cook and Richmond helped the Gas take wins, ERA and WHIP.The results leave The ‘Cuse on top, stretching the lead to 6 games over SWAT. My Isotopes are 1/2 a game further back, closely followed by The Stuff and The Bats. Russ makes up the top six. The Typos, Chasers, Whos and Bonestalkers are bunched up very close together.This week sees The ‘Cuse take on my Isotopes, while SWAT take on the red-hot Bats. -
Early MLB games this week: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
June 29th, 2009 by Matt SmithWe’ve settled into a pattern with the early MLB games. The opening part of the week is fairly quiet, with most (if not all) games being played at night. The second half of the week brings more joy for Brits hoping to catch some MLB games live at a convenient time.
However, Sky subscribers will now have greater access to games thanks to ESPN America’s move to the News and Events pack. Some are live, some are broadcast ‘as live’ the following day. Either way, there are even more chances to watch the action. Here’s your guide to this week’s early games, all times listed in British Summer Time. Continued…
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This Week in MLB
June 28th, 2009 by Marty GabelAdmittedly, it was a fairly quiet week news-wise, but sometimes that’s not such a bad thing. Major League Baseball has already had its fair share of controversies this season, but as the last of this year’s interleague matches draw to a close and the mid-season All-Star break rapidly approaches, the divisions remain as closely contested as ever, with a few exceptions of course.
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Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Smoltz starts again
June 28th, 2009 by Matt SmithThere are some sights that you come to expect on a Major League ballfield. Albert Pujols blasting two homers in a game is a common sight, albeit an always spectacular one (especially when one of those bombs is of the grand slam variety, as happened against the Royals last Sunday). Milton Bradley going nuts is a familiar firework show of a different kind, one that Cubs manager Lou Piniella finally tired of on Friday.
But John Smoltz pitching in a Red Sox uniform? You see the footage, do a double-take and still it doesn’t fully sink in. Continued…
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Roundshaw Hop: Avoiding infamy
June 27th, 2009 by Joe Gray
Yesterday I was reading in The Great American Novel about the record-breaking exploits of the woeful Ruppert Mundys, a team that finishes with an abysmal 34-120 record in the 1943 season of Philip Roth’s fictional Patriot League. It set me thinking about what undesirable records the Croydon Pirates might be on pace to break in the 2009 National Baseball League season.I have compared southern top-tier teams across the last nine seasons in four statistical categories, each of which can give us an indication of how overmatched a team was (averaging across the players) in a particular season. This is what I found. Continued…
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BaseballGB on Baseball Over Here
June 27th, 2009 by Matt SmithI was very grateful when Ron Rollins, writer of the excellent Baseball Over Here blog, asked if I would contribute to an interview piece about BGB. Ron is an American currently living in Britain and he provides a unique perspective on baseball, both at his own blog and in his writings at the BaseballdeWorld website.
Check out Ron’s writing and, of course, the feature on his blog about BGB. Thanks again to Ron for getting in contact.
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Hey now, you’re an All Star
June 27th, 2009 by Mark GeorgeAs time is running out to vote for the players you want to see taking part in the All-Star Game, I thought it was about time I made my selections.I hate the fact MLB allows you to vote more than once - up to 25 times online! - so I only vote once.Here’s how I voted:American League:C - Joe Mauer, Minnesota. At the time of writing, he’s batting .395 with 14 HR. Not bad considering he missed a few weeks!1B - Miguel Cabrera, Detroit. Spoilt for choice here, as you make strong cases for Teixeira, Youkilis, Branyan and Morneau, but I’m voting for the Triple Crown threat.2B - Aaron Hill, Toronto. Could have gone with Kinsler here, but credit to Hill for an impressive comeback year.SS - Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay. Great years from Scutaro and Jeter, but Bartlett has more RBIs despite missing time injured.3B - Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay. No sophomore slump for this guy. Honourable mention to Brandon Inge.OF - Jason Bay, Boston. Huge RBI numbers for a player who has been such an important part of the lineup.OF - Torii Hunter, LA Angels. Much like Bay, he has helped carry his team’s offense when others have struggled or been injured. Still an incredibly good centrefielder too.OF - Nelson Cruz, Texas. Very close call between Cruz, Granderson and Adam Jones, but the natural right fielder just gets the nod.National League:C - Brian McCann, Atlanta. Bengie Molina has more HR and RBIs, but McCann is close despite a stint on the DL and is hitting for a much higher average.1B - Albert Pujols, St Louis. Despite very good years from Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard, Pujols is the easiest pick on the ballot.2B - Orlando Hudson, LA Dodgers. I know Utley will win and get the start, but Hudson deserves some All Star support. Until watching him regularly this year, I hadn’t fully appreciated how good this guy is. An important hitter and an excellent defensive player.SS - Hanley Ramirez, Florida. Maybe Hanley’s not having the huge year everyone thought he would, but he’s still my pick here. Tejada pushes him in my view, but one thing is for certain: Rollins doesn’t deserve to start.3B - David Wright, New York Mets. Wright’s power numbers are shockingly lower - he has just four homers at the time of writing, but he is batting .356 with 19 steals. Credit to Mark Reynolds for helping to carry Arizona’s offense and for Ryan Zimmerman, who seems a cert for a Gold Glove this year.OF - Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia. Impressive numbers before getting hurt from the best free agent signing (so far) of the offseason.OF - Ryan Braun, Milwaukee. Love the power and average combination.OF - Justin Upton, Arizona. I really need a true centrefielder, but I’m sure Upton can fill in just fine. Tough call between Upton, Dunn and Hawpe, before you even get to the Kemps and Beltrans of this world, but I’ll pick the phenom.On paper, you would have to say the AL has the stronger team, and you would like their chances assuming Roy Halladay or Zack Greinke starts for them.As for the NL, the starting pitcher is less clear cut, as cases can be made for Cain, Licecum, Santana, Billingsley and Josh Johnson.Will that impressive depth be the difference as the NL looks to snap their losing streak? -
You Are the Scorer: Number 34
June 26th, 2009 by Joe Gray
Scenario: With a runner on second base and one out, the batter hits a ground-ball to the shortstop, and the runner appears to deliberately try to interfere with the shortstop during this fielder’s attempt to throw the ball to first. Because of this, both the runner and the batter are called out by the umpire. To whom do you assign put-outs and assists (if any)?
As the official scorer… ?
A - 1 put-out to shorstop, 1 put-out to first baseman, no assists.
B - 1 put-out and 1 assist to shorstop, 1 put-out to first baseman.
C - 1 assist to shorstop, 2 put-outs to first baseman.
D - 2 assists to shorstop, 2 put-outs to first baseman.
E - 2 put-outs to first baseman, no assists.
F - 1 put-out to catcher, 1 put-out to first baseman, no assists.Click “Continued”/”Read the rest of this entry” to see the answer.
