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

AAA-North report

AAA-South report

AA-North report

AA-South report

A-South report

NBL form

With the Mets snapping Southampton’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 couldn’t take full advantage of the Mustangs’ 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 don’t forget, have lost six in a row.  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 to catapult 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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 Texas  (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

All of these games are available to watch live via the MLB.TV subscription at MLB.com.  The early games being shown on ESPN America are highlighted above, while the full ESPN/ESPN America schedule can be found on their website.  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 week’s MLB games can be found on MLB.com

Whether you try to put him off through jeers or try to win him over with cheers, you know he’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 wouldn’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 Miley’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-Backs’ determination to trade away the gifted younger Upton brother remains one of the most perplexing roster decisions of recent times. It’s the sort of move that you would expect to be shrouded in rumours of the player being a ‘clubhouse cancer’, but reported comments from former teammates show that couldn’t be further from the truth. Arizona’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 Upton’s. Martin Prado, the main established Brave that came Arizona’s way in the trade, has struggled so far and we’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 Arizona’s perspective have been decent and the Braves are certainly not complaining either. Upton has been everything they’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 ‘win’. Still, I’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 Upton’s blistering form has been a big help to his older brother. B.J.’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 ‘hitting’ just .145/.237/.239 heading into the Braves’ game on Sunday,

His struggles have shown that spending money on a leading free agent doesn’t guarantee you instant returns. If you’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 doesn’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.  The Yankees haven’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 shouldn’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 Yankees’ surprisingly strong start to the season isn’t quite the biggest baseball story in New York. That award has to go to the New York Mets’ 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.

He’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 (£26.6m).

It’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.

BBF NBL report

AAA-South report

AA-South report

A-South report

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 Mets’ 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) didn’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 Badgers’ 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 Kings’ 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 ‘mercy’ 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) – beneficiaries of two forfeit victories this past Sunday from the Leones de Feltham – 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 latter’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)  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:

“[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 year’s home run champion. He’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 fashion”.

The Eagles’ victory ended the Raptors’ 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-North’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 NBL’s London Mets (6-0) and the AAA-Midlands’ 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.

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.

JJ got the better of Chris in this matchup 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.

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.

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.

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. It was otherwise a rough week for my pitchers, aside from Wainwright’s gem.

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. The Redsox bullpen 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)

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 ‘that’s got to hurt’ 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 Harper’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 slugger’s hitting prowess – 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, he’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 ‘wow’; whether that’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 they’re not already. The most outstanding players tend to provoke extreme reactions; either you love them or hate them, there’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.

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 Oakland    (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

All of these games are available to watch live via the MLB.TV subscription at MLB.com.  The early games being shown on ESPN America are highlighted above, while the full ESPN/ESPN America schedule can be found on their website.  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 week’s MLB games can be found on MLB.com

The season had not begun well for the umpires.

Marty Foster made one of the most mindboggling incorrect strike calls against the Tampa Bay Rays’ Ben Zobist in a game against the Texas Rangers on 9 April. It was an odd error of judgement made all the worse as it ended the game and made for a very unsatisfactory way for closer Joe Nathan to log his 300^th career save.

Foster didn’t duck from the incident, admitted his mistake and his regret that he couldn’t go back and re-do things.  It showed his decency and met our expectations that no one feels worse than the umpire when they get an important call wrong; however it did nothing to quell the growing feeling that in this day and age there’s no reason why technology should not be used to stop such a blatant error determining a result.

We’ve all seen balls-and-strikes calls go against our club and nothing is more frustrating, especially if a player ends up getting ejected for showing displeasure when they know they’ve been wronged. Still, it’s a split-second decision that is nowhere near as easy as it may look.

A Baseball-Reference blog post in 2010 put the average pitches thrown by a team as 146 per game. With 290 instant decisions to make, you have to accept not every single one will be correct and it’s likely bad luck, rather than anything more meaningful, if one of those happens to come at a potential crucial moment.

Whether that acceptance means living with the errors or allowing them to be reviewed is a matter of personal preference, with arguments on either side.

However there can be no arguments with the two umpiring mistakes witnessed this past week.

The botched review of Oakland A’s infielder Adam Rosales’s double/home run on Wednesday was so calamitous that it must lead to changes in the instant replay process. Whatever MLB might want to do – such as issuing an ‘oh well, mistakes happen’ press release and trying to leave it at that – their Commissioner’s Office has to be seen to do something in response.

The incident was exactly what the replay system is there for: a decision at a crucial moment (A’s trailing by one run in the top of the ninth inning) that was difficult to call with one look in real time. It is completely unacceptable that the umpiring crew, led by Angel Hernandez, could get that decision wrong by reviewing the footage and not ruling that the ball hit the railing above the yellow line and was therefore a clear home run.

The decision was so inexplicable that Peter Gammons gave credence to the possibility that it may have been an act of protest by the umpiring crew against the use of replay.  That’s something I’m sure would be vehemently denied by all concerned, although the only other realistic explanation – gross incompetence – isn’t something that MLB and the umpires would want to admit to either.

It is believed that an expanded form of instant replay reviews will be introduced in 2014. If so, this incident highlights two things that need to be changed as part of any expansion. Firstly, the decision should be made by a fifth umpire (probably from a central office rather than posting an extra official at every game) and secondly we should be able to see exactly what is being looked at as part of the decision-making process. That’s how it works in cricket and rugby: you can follow what camera angles are being used and see the additional official replaying and focusing in on specific things.

The current method of the umpiring crew leaving the field, huddling in their little ‘ump cave’ and reviewing the play in secret whilst everyone else twiddles their thumbs none the wiser as to what the umpires are looking at is completely farcical and needs to end.

The last thing MLB umpires needed was another glaring error and unfortunately for them one followed the very next day.

Fieldin Culbreth and his crew incorrectly allowed Houston Astros’ manager Bo Porter to change relievers in their game against the Los Angeles Angels before the reliever originally brought in, Wesley Wright, had thrown a pitch to a batter.  Angels manager Mike Scioscia was furious and his team played the rest of the game under protest, ultimately put to bed due to his team coming back to win the game.

It was a genuine mistake by the umpires, but it was right that the crew were disciplined for it (I don’t think fining umpires for such a mistake is the most appropriate way to go, but that’s how it works).  Getting split-second judgement calls wrong in the heat of the moment is one thing, incorrectly applying a rule when you have ample time to discuss it as a crew and to get it right is just not on.

All of which made it a week in which the credibility of MLB umpires, who normally do a good job, took a real hit.

With so many people clamouring for expanded replay, and with the increasing likelihood that it will be on its way, that’s something they can ill afford.

There’s a general sense that some umpires feel their authority is being compromised and that may account for a few of their number being especially precious about players ‘showing them up’, as seemed to be the case a week ago when John Hirschbeck ejected Bryce Harper in the first inning of a game.

However, the fact that they have a tough job does not mean umpires should be allowed to make mistakes and if they want to continue to have the respect of players and fans (the latter often coming grudgingly) then they have to continue to earn it.

Mistakes like they made this past week really won’t help their cause.

We know that BT Sport has acquired ESPN’s MLB broadcasting rights as part of the ESPN UK/America deal and they are likely to be the only TV channel option for watching MLB for the foreseeable future.

BT will be offering two BT Sport channels alongside an ESPN channel as part of a bundle subscription package.

No details have been disclosed as to how the sports rights portfolio will be divided between those channels (except for the FA Cup games that will be on ESPN due to the terms of the existing contract with the FA), but the BT Sport channels will probably host the majority of their main content (Premier League football, Rugby, Tennis, MotoGP from 2014 etc), with any MLB programming likely to be on the new ESPN channel.

MLB is not the least bit prominent in BT Sport’s promotional info. Whether that might foreshadow a slight reduction in the number of live games available compared to the current amount on ESPN America remains to be seen. The fact that BT has two main channels, as compared to the current ESPN UK’s one, offers hope that there will still be plenty of broadcasting space for a good number of MLB games on the ESPN channel.

The only confirmed news we have is in regard to the subscription price details for BT and Sky customers. BT Broadband customers will get the channels for free, whilst Sky subscribers will pay £12 per month.

BT and Virgin Media are still yet to come to an agreement to sell the BT Sport package, the sticking point seemingly being BT’s desire to sell the channel directly to Virgin Media subscribers rather than the sale being conducted through Virgin Media (Sky have already agreed to this, so Sky subscribers would need to contact BT to get the BT Sport package added when it becomes available).

BT Sport will start broadcasting from 1 August, with current subscribers to the ESPN package seeing their subscription come to an end on 31 July. We know this new sports bundle will become the new home for MLB TV coverage in the U.K., but we still don’t really know what the house will be like when MLB fans start moving in.