Fantasy Hardball: a bloop and a blast

Cricket 101 - the American way

2009-08-05T17:38:29Z

AS the Mets ~~struggle~~ beat down Albert Pujols and the Cardinals, England is doing remarkably well in The Ashes against Australia.

For those not in the know, The Ashes is the most famous cricket match, played as a best-of-five series between England and the Aussies every other year.

With that in mind, here's my cricketing 101 masterclass. And by masterclass, I mean as much useless knowledge you will ever need to understand our beautiful game.

Like that gloves are outlawed for all fielders except the wicket-keeper (catcher), that you could miss a whole week of work to watch ONE cricket match and that opponents have been known to throw candy at the opponents' feet to make the ball bounce in unexpected ways.

You want more?

Ok, how about that there is a fielding position called 'cow corner', that a ball pitched right into a hitter's wheelhouse is called a 'dibbly dobbly' or that a 'leg break' is a type of pitch - not nearly as vicious at it sounds.

Premise:

The batting team tries to score as many runs as possible before they are all out. Once they are out, they take their turn at trying to get the other team out. One team fields while the other team bats, then they switch around halfway through. Simple, right?

There are a number of differences you need to know.

Players keep batting until they are out. Each player gets just one out per game, not like in baseball where you can have three, four or five at bats. In cricket, one batter can have an at bat that lasts six or seven hours. Games can last between a few hours and five days.
Even after playing for five days, games can still - and often do - end in a draw.
Players bat in the middle of the field and they can hit the ball in any direction, even backwards.
There are two batters playing at once, standing opposite each other. The bowlers (pitchers) take turns bowling from each end.
Players score runs by running between two sets of wickets, 20 meters apart. Wickets are three wooden stumps that are 28 inches tall and 9 inches wide in total
Players score four runs if the ball goes to the boundary after bouncing (like a ground rule double) or six runs if it doesn't bounce (like a home run).

There are a number of ways a player can make an out in cricket:

Bowlers throw the ball towards the wicket (see above). The batsman has to defend the wicket and stop the ball hitting it. If the ball or bat hits the wicket, the batter is out.
The batter can be caught out, as in baseball.
The batter can only use his bat to stop the ball hitting the wicket. If he uses any other part of his body (and the ball was in line to hit the wicket) he is out.
If, when the batsmen are running between the wickets, the fielding team throws the ball into the wicket, the batter is out. Think of it like getting thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Or trying to steal second base. If the ball beats you there, you are out.

Here's one of my favorite catches - England's Paul Collingwood against Australia.

Now, throw a few of these terms from my pseudo report below into conversation, and you could pass as any colonial. Just don't ask people why they're not wearing a glove in the outfield. Your cover will probably be rumbled.

ARIZONA opening bowler Dan Haren dazzled the New York Mets on Monday, taking figures of 21-5 off of seven overs.

By contrast, the Mets' Nelson Figueroa never recovered from a disastrous first spell, taking just four wickets for a costly six runs.

Figueroa could find neither line nor length, struggling with bite as the D-backs won the toss and elected to bat.

Stephen Drew scampered between the stumps for a quick pair and batting partner Gerald Perra flashed the willow comfortably against the swing attack.

Figueroa's first victim of the afternoon came when mid-on fielder Alex Cora stumped Parra after a perfect throw from behind the bails from wicket keeper Omir Santos.

Justin Upton went for a duck for the second wicket of the inning soon after when he was run out by short mid-wicket David Wright, but Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero both hit dibbly dobblies pitched as buffet ball yorkers over the boundary for six, first over long-on and then past extra cover.

Chris Young was the next D-back to go back to the pavillion when he dollied a jaffa of a googly to mid-on and Haren went for 0 when he feathered a ball back over the top to long-off.

He should have gone moments earlier after successive deliveries had beaten the bat, but in the end the bodyline tactics forced him to dink the cherry on an off break chuck and leave the crease.

The asking rate was already too much though and the Mets failed to make inroads into the host's total.

Make sense? No? Perfect.

Here's a defensive layout for a right-handed batter and a quick list of terms to help you on your way:

Bite - the turn a spin bowler is able to produce.: Translation: How much movement there is on a pitch.

Bodyline - a tactic involving bowling directly at the batsman's body, particularly when surrounded by fielders.: Translation: Pitching a batter inside to try and jam him in on the hands.

Buffet bowling - bowling of a very poor quality, such that the batsmen is able to "come and help himself" to runs.: Translation: Gopher ball pitchers like Eric Milton.

Cherry - The (red) cricket ball, particularly the new ball which is shinier.: Translation: Simply the ball.

Crease - One of several lines near the stumps.
Translation: It's basically the area where the batter stands, so essentially the batters' box.





Dink - a gentle shot.: Translation: Like a popup or shallow fly ball or a tapper. Maybe also a swinging bunt.

Dolly - a very easy catch.

Full toss - a delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing. In cricket this is considered a bad thing.

Golden duck - a dismissal for nought (zero), from the first ball faced in a batsman's innings.: Translation: Making an out on the first pitch of an at bat.

Googly - a deceptive spinning delivery by a bowler.
Translation: A pitch that starts on the outside of the plate and comes in across the zone. Think of a leftie throwing a slider to a right-hander batter.

Watch this video to see how much spin some of the cricketers put on the ball. This ball moved in about 20 inches.

Hawk Eye - a computer-generated graphic showing the probable trajectory of the ball if it were not hindered by the batsman. Used by commentators to estimate whether a decision was correctly made by an umpire.
Translation: Like K-Zone or pitch tracker.

Jaffa - an exceptionally well bowled, practically unplayable delivery.: Translation: Think of Mariano Rivera's cutter, or just a perfect pitch that catches the corners, knee high.

Reverse Sweep - a right handed batsman sweeping the ball like a left handed batsman and vice-versa.: Translation: Imagine switch hitting after the pitcher has already thrown the ball to the plate.

Spell - the number of continuous overs a bowler bowls before being relieved.: Translation: How many innings a pitcher plays before getting pulled.

Stump - one of the three vertical posts making up the wicket or a way of dismissing a batsman.: Translation: This is harder to explain. It is a noun in one context but a verb in another. The wicket is made up of three posts in the ground (so imagine this as the strike zone).

Wagon wheel - a graphical chart which divides a cricket ground into six sectors and shows how many runs a batsman has scored into each area.: Translation: Essentially a hit chart to show batting tendencies. (see below)

Wicket-keeper - the player on the fielding side who stands immediately behind the batter.
Translation: The catcher.

And remember - as in baseball - always wear a helmet. Balls that bounce hard and fast don't always miss.

Big Papi's lies: translating the Ortiz hypocrisy

2009-07-30T21:19:13Z

COMPLETELY by chance, I just stumbled across David Ortiz's MLBlog page.

Let me start off this rant with a caveat - I think him being linked to steroid and PEDs is another smear on baseball; a black mark on the game, his character and the Red Sox Championships.

I love the Red Sox and I respect their fans and franchise. My best baseball experience ever was watching the Red Sox at Fenway. They have some of the most knowledgeable and passionate fans in the game.

This is, instead, a slash at Ortiz who, if the reports are correct, tested positive for performance-enchancing drugs and then got on his moral high horse about how the game needs stiffer penalties to stamp it out.

Watch ABC's news report on David Ortiz discussing the use of PEDs from earlier this year.

I could not let this freakish opportunity pass without being sarcastic.

These are my initial thoughts, my shoot-from-the-hip, my act-before-thinking irrational gut reactions. If I am wrong, I will gladly eat the biggest slice of apologetic humble pie. I'll even write him a personal letter of apology.

I was reading his latest entry and some things caught my eye.

Let me translate some of it for you.

• Papi says: "The main reason is because I've got a whole bunch of stuff going on off the field."
Marshall translates: "I've just been rumbled - my name has been leaked and I need some good PR."

• Papi says: "Things have been clicking for me at the plate lately, and I feel good."
Marshall translates: "I hit a massive 3-run bomb last night because I was doped up to my eyes."

• Papi says: "I'm back. I'm the kind of guy who a lot of people count on."
Marshall translates: "My new supplies have arrived. Please don't let me get found out."

• Papi says: "The first two months, I had a lot of ups and downs."
Marshall translates: "I was a cranky *** bitch trying to weed myself off the growth hormones."

• Papi says: "This team the past five years has been all about chemistry."
Marshall translates: "Without my cocktail of steroids, the Sox would never have won the World Series in 2004 or 2007.

You were better than this; bigger than this.

Your team deserved better. Your fans deserved better. How perceptions can change in a heartbeat.

Red Sox Nation has every right to feel betrayed. The rest of the league has every right to point the finger and call you a cheat.

A cheat and a hypocrite.

Mets continue to own Rockies - extend streak to 5

2009-07-30T20:35:52Z

The New York Mets made it five in a row behind seven strong innings of shutout ball from Johan Santana in the first half of a day-night doubleheader at ~~Shea Stadium~~ Citi Field on Thursday.

The Mets scored five runs in the 2nd inning before adding insurance runs in the 5th and 7th innings to extend their unbeaten streak and temporarily reduce the gap in the wildcard race to 5.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants.

The Mets knocked Rockies starting pitcher Jason Hammel out of the game after just 1.1 innings of work, sending nine men to the plate and stringing together five consecutive hits - six in total - to give Johan more than enough support to improve to 12-8 on the year.

Daniel Murphy led off the bottom of the 2nd with a line drive to right field, Jeff Francoeur hacked the first pitch he saw into right and Cory Sullivan gave the Mets a 1-0 lead, lining a 1-0 fastball into centre field for an RBI single.

Omir Santos made it 2-0 with a single up the middle and Angel Berroa added a pair with an RBI double to Dexter Fowler who couldn't come up with the ball.

After Johan struck out swinging, Angel Pagan scored Berroa on the sixth hit of the inning - a single to right field.

The 5-0 cushion was all the Mets pitching staff needed.

Such was Johan's dominance that he only allowed five baserunnres all afternoon, walking one and striking out eight over 104 dominant pitches.

He improved his record at Citi Field to 8-2, dropping his home ERA to 1.71.

Bobby Parnell pitched the 8th inning for the Mets, with Tim Redding working around a one-out walk to close the door in the 9th.

The Mets will aim to complete the sweep in the nightcap against the Rockies. Should they do so, it will be their first six-game winning streak since they swept the Braves (2), Phillies (2) and Pirates (3) in the first week of May.

With Luis Castillo with his wife for the birth of their child, Alex Cora made his first start at 2B since June 21, with Angel Berroa deputizing at shortstop.

Each of the Mets' position players got at least one base hit, with Pagan, Cora and Sullivan each going 2-for-4.

I'm not a weatherman, but there wont be a DH tomorrow

2009-07-29T23:57:24Z

WELL, it's been like this all day here in Queens, so the Mets' 100th game of the season will just have to wait.

Here's the problem:

And this is what I just saw on the Mets.com homepage:

Because the Mets aren't playing I decided to watch the Braves-Marlins game. Their commentators just said the same thing:

It will be a long day in New York tomorrow because they're playing a split doubleheader.

Now, I don't want to make MLB look silly, but that's not going to happen. Queens has had two solid days of rain, and thunderstorms are scheduled for 8 of the next 9 days.

Here's the forecast for Thursday, according to my iPhone and the weather channel:

Do you think you're getting 2 games in there?

My phone is giving me a severe weather thunderstorm warning already.

I thought MLB had offices in New York. I guess they just don't have the technology that I have in my pocket.

Mets find a groove to show signs of a fight in the NL

2009-07-28T17:27:50Z

THE New York Mets are on a roll.

Maybe not the kind of stretch the Yankees found themselves on after the All Star break, but equally important.

Some would argue, even more so.

After winning back-to-back games to take the last series in Houston, the Mets rallied from behind on the strength of Fernando Tatis' pinch hit grand slam to take the opener of a four-game set against NL Wildcard-leading Colorado Rockies.

Tatis went down to drill an 0-2 changeup over the tall wall in left center field to lift the spirits of the Mets faithful and remind them that, as banged up as they are right now, they can still lock horns with the best of them.

With the exception of the catcher, Jerry Manuel named an unchanged team for the third successive night and the continuity proved to be successful again as the Amazin's defeated the Rockies 7-3.

Oliver Perez labored through five innings of work but only allowed three runs as Colorado wasted chances to bury the Mets early, stranding runners in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th innings.

New York's bullpen held the Rockies in check and one big swing of the bat busted the game open in the 8th after chasing starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez out of the game.

Revitalised

In a season of struggles, a three-win streak in Queens is practically unheard of.

The last time it happened was at the end of May when they swept the Nationals at Citi Field before taking the opening game in the following series against the Marlins.

Maybe not coincidently, it was also the last time the Mets were in first place.

While the Mets did not make up ground on any of their NL East opponents, they did not slip further behind. With crunch fixtures against the Braves, Phillies and Marlins still three weeks away, now is the time for the Mets to try and put something together.

Recap

The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning but Jeff Francoeur cut the deficit in half with a solo home run in the 4th.

Clint Barmes reinstalled Colorado's two-run lead with a home run to lead off the 5th inning but the Mets plated two runs on three hits and a sac fly to level the game at 3-3.

That was the way the score stayed until Tatis' late heroics made it 7-3, quickly helping Mets fans forget some of the struggles earlier on in the game.

You could flip a coin to guess which Oliver Perez would turn up at Citi Field and, as it happened, fans got to see a little of each as he tip-toed his way anxiously around the big-hitting Colorado lineup.

Oliver 'walks are a part of the game' Perez started quickly, throwing just seven pitches in the 1st inning.

But he fell behind in the 2nd, giving up a pair of runs on Troy Tulowitzki's home run to center field.

This lead looked like it could be enough early on, with the Mets mustering just one hit - Luis Castillo's one-out double - through the first three innings.

Dexter Fowler left the bases loaded in the top of the 4th inning after Perez had given up two walks and an infield chopper to his opposite number, and the Mets pulled one run back in the home half of the inning.

David Wright had extended his hitting streak with a lead-off single, but Daniel Murphy grounded into a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. This brought up Jeff Francoeur who hit his eighth home run of the season - his third as a Met - on an off-speed pitch to left field.

The Rockies however regained their two-run lead when Clint Barmes turned on a belt-high 3-2 fastball and sent a frozen rope drive deep into the stands down the third base line.

Perez walked the high rope again in the 5th inning but escaped unharmed, getting out of the inning and stranding two men on base.

His 103rd pitch was his final pitch of the evening, leaving him on the hook for the loss after allowing three runs on five hits, two home runs and four walks.

Bullpen

Brian Stokes kept the Rockies in check in the top of the 6th inning and the Mets bats turned Perez's potential loss into a no decision in the bottom of the frame with a two spot to tie the game at 3-3.

Castillo legged out an infield single against Jimenez to lead off the inning and Wright turned on an inside fastball to single through the hole.

Daniel Murphy drove in Castillo with an RBI single to right field and Cory Sullivan hit a sac fly to Hawpe in right field to knot the game.

Stokes worked around a pair of two-out hits to post two scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th and Pedro Feliciano got through the back end of the Rockies order to keep the game tied in the 8th.

While the Mets bullpen did their job, veteran reliever Juan Rincon self destructed.

Rincon airmailed a 3-2 pitch to Luis Castillo to the backstop and then walked David Wright on four straight pitches to put men on first and second.

Daniel Murphy dropped down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to force Rincon to intentionally walk Francoeur and then Tatis - hitting for former Rockie rookie Sullivan - took Franklin Morales deep to see New York on their way to the victory.

Which team is a glorified AAA club? The playoff bracket you'll never see.

2009-07-24T14:15:52Z

WHICH is the worst team in baseball this year?

There could certainly be a case made that it is my New York Mets. They have quickly become an embarrassment both off and on the field.

But what about the Nationals? They are the joke of any franchise, surely? They were terrible as a Canadian team, arguably worse in the nation's capitol and they fail to spell their own name right.

Outside the NL East though, there are still plenty of other contenders - the Padres, Royals and Diamondbacks spring to mind.

I've been joking that the Mets are playing like a AA team and Hyun Young at 'Made in San Diego' joked about her Padres being a AAA club.

I'm sure other fans are feeling the same about their clubs. Especially if you wake up supporting the Royals or As every day.

I actually don't think the As are the worst team in baseball and I do think they are a legitimate big league club. The Mets and Padres and Nats, I'm not so sure.

So anyway, I'm going to conduct an experiment. It's not scientific and it actually proves nothing, but it will make me feel better about getting to follow some other miserable bums for a change.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to track the fortunes of 8 lovable losers. I'll put them into a fictitious playoff bracket and see just who is the worst team in the league right now.

More importantly, I want to see which team should get demoted to the minors. My instincts right now say the Nationals. They really do suck. But, for 'scientific' purposes, I'll let the results take care of themselves.

Here is the bracket, in all of its ridiculous and random glory.

So, let's meet the teams:

New York Mets (44-50)
10.5 games back
4th in NL East

They have $57m of talent on the DL.
Mets VP Tony Bernazard challenged the AA Binghampton Mets to a fight.
The Mets rank last in home runs at just 54.
They can't find the gaps either - they also rank last in extra base hits (244).
Mets pitchers have given up the most walks of any team (372).

Kansas City Royals (37-57)
12.5 games back
Last AL Central

Only the Padres have scored fewer runs this year.
Alex Gordon has a worse hip than my great grandma.
Gil Meche. Yes, the 4-9 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP back spasming Gil Meche. Enough said.

San Diego Padres (37-59)
24.5 games back
Last in NL West

The Padres are on a worse run right now than even the Nationals, and that is saying something.

They are 2-8 in their last 10 games and 3-17 in their last 20.
They have only won 19 games against a starting right-handed pitcher (worst in the majors)
Their road record (13-33) is second, only to Washington.
They have rank last in hits (738), runs scored (350) and RBI (335) and average (.230)

Oakland As (40-54)
16 games back
Last in AL West

Two words - Jason Giambi. Batting a league-worst .193 and now on the DL. Excellence.
Bottom 5 in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage.
Matt Holliday was never going to post 2007 numbers outside of Coors. People expected too much.

Arizona Diamondbacks (41-55)
20.5 games back
4th in NL West

Only the Nationals are more defensively inept in the field.
You have Chris Young on your team. Ouch. Batting .198 with 6 home runs.
Conor Jackson has Valley Fever pneumonia swine flu plague and Brandon Webb. Well, don't get me started on his 4 innings of work in 2009.
You know you're in trouble when your best player leads the league in Ks. Again!

Cleveland Indians (38-58)
12.5 games back
4th in AL Central

The Indians rank dead last in ERA (5.31)
Grady Sizemore has been a massive flop - no power, no speed, no All Star vote.
It took Cliff Lee 20 - yes twenty - games to get his fifth win.

Baltimore Orioles (41-53)
16.5 games back
Last in AL East

Their pitchers rank inside the bottom four teams in the majors for strikeouts, hits and ERA.
'All Star' - and I use that term loosely - Melvin Mora has 26 RBI. In 2008 he had 104.

Washington Nationals (28-67)
27 games back
Last in NL East

Okay, it's pretty easy to see why the Nationals don't deserve to be a Big League club. Yes, they took two out of three from the Mets, but they are still the worst franchise in the country.

They are 5-15 in their last 20 games
They have the worst home record in the majors (18-32)...
...AND the worst road record (10-35)
They rank dead last when they play teams under .500 (12-19)

The Mets got beat up by the Nationals? No, seriously. They did. Again.

2009-07-23T16:03:00Z

YOU know you're struggling when you lose back-to-back games against the Nationals.

Washington beat the Mets for the second straight night on Wednesday, handing them a 3-1 defeat behind a stiffling pitching performance.

The Mets could only manage four hits and one walk against starting hurler Craig Stammen, who did not allow a baserunner until the 5th inning.

Stammen allowed just one run in 7.1 innings of solid work and the bullpen trio of Bergmann, Beimel and MacDougal did the rest, combining for 2.3 innings of perfect relief.

The Nats took the lead on Ronnie Belliard's sac fly in the 4th inning but the Mets tied the game at 1-1 in the 6th on an Angel Pagan triple to centre field.

But the Nationals regained the lead - which they would hold for good - in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer to Josh Willingham - one of his four hits on the night.

The Mets fell to six games below .500 for the first time this season and the loss also meant they remained double-digit games behind the first-place Phillies.

I don't want to harp on about the injuries the Mets are dealing with - injuries are part of the game - but consider these numbers:

The Mets' makeshift lineup was the 67th different 1-through-8 formation used by Manuel this year.

Angel Berroa was the 6th different starting shortstop used by the Mets in 2009.

Cory Sullivan was the 8th different guy to start in left field this season and the 5th to start the game there in the last 29 games.

Since Carlos Beltran went on the DL one month ago, the Mets have used 9 different starting outfielders.

Jeff Francoeur almost gave the Mets the lead in the top of the 2nd when he sent Adam Dunn back to the warning track in left field and next batter Cory Sullivan was then robbed of an extra-base hit by Nyjer Morgan when the centrefielder ranged back to the wall.

Things didn't get any easier for the Mets when Luis Castillo was tossed out of the game in the home half of the inning after arguing a call at second base.

With the anaemic Mets offense struggling at the plate, the Nats soon took the lead.

Nick Johnson drew a one-out walk in the 4th inning, advanced to third base on Josh Willingham's double down the left field line and came home on Ronnie Belliard's RBI single.

For a moment, one run almost seemed enough. The Mets have been shut out in five of their last 14 contests and they are last in the NL in home runs and extra base hits.

Tied game

The Mets did however find parity in the 6th inning against Stammen, who entered the game with a 2-5 record and 4.48ERA in 11 starts, when Angel Pagan lined a two-out triple past Morgan in centre field.

Morgan hit cutoff man Christian Guzman who inexplicably threw the ball away in to the away dugout as Pagan came in to third base standing up.

With the game tied at 1-1, Pelfrey handed the lead right back in the bottom of the frame.

Adam Dunn led off the inning with what should have been a routine fly ball to right field.

But as Francoeur came in to snag the ball, he lost it in the lights, bailed out of the way and let the ball roll all the way to the wall, allowing Dunn to go to second base without a throw.

Pelfrey got Johnson to ground out on a sinker down and away but he left a hanging slider in the middle of the plate on a 2-1 count to Willingham to give the Nats a 3-1 advantage they would not relinquish.

It was the first time the Mets have lost back to back games against the Nationals since that fateful September last year

In the four games the Mets have lost against the Nationals, they have only scored three runs, losing 8-1, 7-1, 4-0 and 3-1.

By contrast, the two teams ahead of the Mets in the standings, the Phillies and Marlins, have beat up on the Nats to the tune of 19-2.

In want to finish with a seemingly obvious insight which has apparently been overlooked by the Mets.

Until Daniel Murphy drew a walk in the 6th inning, the Mets had gone 107 plate appearances without a base-on-balls. That is hideous.

They also made 15 of their 27 outs on ground balls, increasing their already league-worst 46 per cent.

Here's an idea: take pitches, draw walks and hit the ball out of the infield.

I know it sounds simple, but with millions of dollars of talent sidelined for the foreseeable future, I guess that is easier said than done.

My first trip to Yankee Stadium: the pictures

2009-07-21T14:49:16Z

Even though everyone knows I'm a Mets fan and that I now live in Queens, my first big league game since coming over to New York from England was to see the Yankees beat the Detroit
Tigers 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Yankee Stadium is fantastic - if you've never been, get down there when you get a chance. We had the most amazing seats for the game, thanks to my fiance's father who took the whole family down there as a gift to us.

We were down the first base line just behind first, 17 rows up, which meant I was able to get some nice pictures. Have a look through and see what you think. If you like them, there's plenty more from this game at my Shutterfly album.

*****

The House that Taxpayers' Money Built

Monument Park

My photo montage of big fat CC Sebathia

Placido Polanco

A-Rod fielding down at third base.

Teixeira holding Brandon Inge on at first as big fat CC gets his signs.

Justin Verlander topping out his heater.

Jeter starting an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to get big fat CC out of the 3rd inning.

Jeter going through his pre-pitch routine.

Hideki Matsui gets under one and sends it straight up the chute.

Mark Teixeira fielding at first base.

Jeter taking a pitch below the knees and looking across to his bench for a signal.

A-Rod breaks a 0-0 tie with a 7th inning opposite-field home run. Number 571.

Enter Sandman. Game over.

Mid-summer classic eludes NL yet again

2009-07-15T03:25:14Z

IN one of baseball's most historic cities, the stars of the American League continued their mid-summer dominance of the NL to stretch their unbeaten streak to 13 years.

It was a game where a Tampa Bay outfielder saved a Red Sox pitcher from a loss, a first-time All Star drove in the go-ahead run, a veteran in pinstripes improved his unbeaten ASG record to 9-0-1 and the best closer in the history of the game slammed the door for a record-setting fourth year to consign the National League to yet another defeat.

The American League plated a pair of runs in the 1st inning but the NL hit right back with a three-spot in the home half of the 2nd.

The visiting AL fought back to make it 3-3 in the 5th inning and they came from behind to take the lead in the 8th.

While the pre-game festivities - so often just a predictable preamble to the on-field action - had their share of cheers and jeers, one highlight was the ceremony recognising the true all stars of communities across the country who embody the values that aptly represent the baseball nation - hard work, leadership, passion and teamwork.

Elsewhere, President Obama, sporting a White Sox jacket, threw out the first pitch - a low off-speed offering for those who cared - and then mocked the awful Washington Nationals, Sheryl Crow took the mic to sing the national anthem and Stan The Man Musial received the biggest cheer of the night as he appeared on a cart from right field.

On the field, the best of the best then took centre stage... and Albert Pujols was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, it wasn't quite the two days the St Louis faithful had hoped for. The slugger failed to win a fat man a Chevy before the home run derby on Monday night, he didn't make it past the final four in the derby proper and he went 0-3 with an error during the Mid-Summer Classic itself on Tuesday.

24 hours after Prince Fielder stole the manbeast's thunder in the frankly disappointing longball showdown, it was Carl Crawford, Curtis Granderson and Adam Jones who took the plaudits to give the AL home field advantage in the World Series this fall.

The National League's heartache began early on, subsided as quickly as it rose and then seared its ugly head again as they failed to solve the connundrum of the Greinke, Paplebon and 39-year-old stopper Mariano Rivera.

Reigning Cy Young winner and NL starter Tim Lincecum gave up a broken bat base hit to lead-off hitter Ichiro Suzuki and he beaned Yankees shortstop Jeter Jeter on the left wrist with an 0-2 changeup.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer grounded into a forceout at third and Mark Teixeira reached on a Pujols error on an in-between hop to score Jeter from second.

Jason Bay singled back up the box to load the bases and Mauer scored to make it 2-0 on Josh Hamilton's groundball to the right side when Lincecum was slow to cover first base.

The AL's lead was short-lived however, as Charlie Manuel's team rallied on the strength of three base hits and an error to move ahead 3-2.

David Wright flared a two-out broken-bat bloop and moved over to second on Shane Victorino's base hit. Hometown boy Yadier Molina drove in Wright with an RBI single to right field and Victorino tied the game at two when Josh Hamilton's throw to third base hit the Phillies' switch hitter and bounced away to the stands.

The National League then took the lead on pinch hitter Prince Fielder's ground rule double down the left filed line, but the AL knotted the game in the top of the 5th inning when Joe Mauer laced an RBI double down to left to score Derek Jeter from 1st after he had earlier grounded into a forceout at second base.

The NL bats were mostly quiet from here on out until the 7th inning when Red Sox closer Jonathan Paplebon was given a brief scare.

Brad Hawpe launched a first pitch towards the AL bullpen in left field, only to be robbed by a jumping Carl Crawford who pulled it back into the yard for a long, loud out.

Hawpe was one out in a sequence of 18 hitters who were retired in order, such was the American League's pitchers' dominance.

The catch would prove to be pivotal as the AL would take a lead they would not relenquish.

Curtis Granderson legged out a one-out triple off of Heath Bell in the top of the 8th inning and he came home on Adam Jones' 0-2 sac fly to right field.

Adrian Gonzalez took a two-out walk off of Twins' closer Joe Nathan and the big-hitting Padre went first-to-third on Orlando Hudson's base hit off the glove of shortstop Jason Bartlett.

The mini-rally brought Ryan Howard to the plate to pinch hit, but Howard fanned on a 2-2 fastball down and in to preserve the slender lead.

Mariano Rivera then took care of business in the bottom half of the 9th inning, setting the side down in order to record his eighth consecutive scoreless inning.

I would be more upset, but with the Mets six-and-a-half games behind in the NL East, I doubt we will be going to the Series anyway.

As with so many other things for Mets fans, there's always next year.

Chicks dig the long ball - Home Run Derby

2009-07-14T00:03:11Z

Here are my picks for the All Star Game home run derby. Who do you have?

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An Englishman in New York

2009-07-06T19:08:11Z

The Mets have an off-day and, more importantly, I have an off-day.

I've been kinda neglectful of my blog the last month, but here's a quick run-down of what's been going on.

4 weeks ago I finished my job at the Harrogate Advertiser where I had spent the last three years as a senior reporter. I had the cover story for my last ever edition which was quite nice too and I got some fantastic gifts from everybody there.

This was one of the gifts...
For the Mets fans out there, definitely check this out if you haven't already. Later on in the season, I'll write an actual review of this DVD, so keep your eyes peeled.

I had a going away party at work and a week later I came back for my stag party.

We went go-karting (I was rubbish)

and later when we went out on a bar crawl, they made me wear a very nice dress.

Two weeks ago I had a few leaving drinks with my family at the village near near my home

and then I finally moved permanently to New York to be with my fiance Lisa.

We are living in a quaint little neighborhood in Queens

and as well as being a tourist and taking photos of everything, we watched the 4th of July fireworks from the roof of our apartment.

Plans are also afoot to go and see both the Mets and the Yankees, but I did go along to fireworks night at the Single-A Brooklyn Cyclones on Friday for their game against the Tri-City Valley Cats.

Keyspan Park is a gorgeous and intimate little ballpark in Coney Island next to the beach, backing on to the Atlantic Ocean.

Both teams played really well, but the Cyclones pulled out a rally in the bottom of the 9th inning, winning the game 3-2 on a bases-loaded walk-off single off the wall in left field.

No matter what the level, or what the team, this just proved that the magic of baseball can be seen anywhere, anytime. You don't need to pay $150 for good seats to a great game.

Here are the pick of the pics I took down there...

The wedding is now less then 7 weeks away, so if I go MIA now and then, fear not, I am still here, but probably just very busy. And if you know of any writing gigs in NYC, you know where to find me.

Until then, keep working hard - I need your taxes :-)

Johan, Mets, topple NL Central-leading Cardinals

2009-06-25T20:09:21Z

Hello and welcome back to my blog. What a crazy few weeks it has been with me - I have left my job, emmigrated to New York to be with my wife-to-be Lisa and I have had to try and help plan a wedding from England.

That's like three crazy things which are hard enough on their own, let alone trying to do them all at once!

So, that is the reason for my absense. I will have a proper update about what's been going on with me tomorrow. For now, here's a quick note about today's Mets-Cards game.

Enjoy

**********

IT was billed as a pitching duel between two of the modern day greats and it did not fail to live up to the expectations as the New York Mets edged the St Louis Cardinals 3-2 to take the series at ~~Shea Stadium~~ Citi Field.

Just one day after ripping the Cardinals for 11 runs on 16 hits, Johan Santana and the Mets came up against a much stiffer opponent in Chris Carpenter.

The Mets have given Santana just 3.1 runs of support this season, the third worst in the majors, but it was three important runs which proved just enough to give the Mets their first series win in three weeks.

While Santana, who entered the game with an 8-5 record and 3.22 ERA, struggled with his command early on, Carp came out of the gates flying, showing the Queens faithful why he is 5-1 so far this year.

Carp - who receives an equally dire 3.2 runs of support during his starts - was backed by a rare 1^st inning run off of Santana, but the Mets plated a trio of runs in the 4^th inning to give them the lead they would not surrender.

Santana, who had allowed just two 1^st-inning runs in his 13 previous starts coming in to today's game, fell behind 1-0 on the strength of two hits and a catcher's interference.

Skip Schumacher scored from second base on Yadier Molina's RBI single to center field after Rick Ankiel was waved to first on catcher Omir Santos' error.

Carpenter started well and never eased up, gaining the upper hand on his Cy Young counterpart until the Mets finally broke through in the 4^th inning.

Carp didn't allow a hit through the first three innings of work and he threw just five balls compared to 27 strikes as he moved the Mets down one after another.

But things were about to change thanks to some timely hitting and a little bit of good fortune as the Mets rallied half way through the game.

Luis Castillo singled and David Wright reached on an infield single when his hard-hit ball up the middle rebounded off of the pitcher's glove and away from Joe Thurston.

Ryan Church grounded into a broken bat fielder's choice to Golden Glove Albert Pujols but Fernando Tatis singled to right field to draw the Mets level.

Fernando Martinez advanced the runners to second and third on a grounder to the left side of the infield and Nick Evans laced a two-run double the other way to right field to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

Thurston brought the Cardinals to within one run in the 6^th inning when his two-out RBI single to center field scored Rick Ankiel.

Santana pitched through the 7^th inning despite a rocky start to the game, finishing with seven hits, three walks and three strikeouts, giving up two runs - one earned.

Pedro Feliciano pitched around a leadoff single to preserve the lead in the 8^th inning

That returned the momentum to the Mets who loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame but failed to add to their slim advantage.

Denny Reyes, who came in relief of the fantastic Carpenter, gave a lead off single to Daniel Murphy and followed it two batters later with a walk to Luis Castillo.

McClellan replaced Reyes but walked David Wright and leftie Trever Miller then came in to strikeout Ryan Church with the bases loaded.

Jason Motte, the fourth Red Birds pitcher of the inning, completed St Louis' escapology act by getting Tatis to pop up to end the inning.

Francisco Rodriguez then recorded his lead-tying 20^th save of the season, despite back-to-back two-out walks to Pujols and Ludwick, earning Santana his NL lead-tying ninth win of the year.

Johan, Mets, beat Phillies 6-5 in unexpected homer-fest

2009-06-10T02:12:57Z

BAT, ball and glove. Johan Santana proved Tuesday night he is proficient with them all.

The Mets ace helped himself to his eighth victory of the year with seven plus strong innings of work which featured a game-tying RBI double and starting an inning-ending double play.

He was nowhere as good as his expected brilliance - in fact, he was quite poor by his standards - but at the start of a tough run in to the All Star Break he gave the Mets a chance to win.

With 24 of the next 31 games coming against teams with winning records, that's all the banged up New Yorkers could have hoped for.

His teammates weren't bad either. David Wright broke his 100-at bat home run drought with a 2nd inning blast to left field, switch-hitting Carlos Beltran launched a two-run blast of his own in the 3rd and Ryan Church became the first Met to hit a ball into the big red apple in the 7th.

So much for Citi Field playing large, the Phillies had four - strangely the most Johan has given up since 2007.

Pedro Feliciano produced three outs on four pitches with a pair of grounders in the 8th and Francisco Rodriguez remained perfect on save opportunities with his 16th of the year.

The Phillies, whose starters came in to tonight 8-0 in the last 10 games since Myers hit the DL, turned to starter JA Happ to try and keep the patchwork Mets lineup in the yard.

He failed.

Wright took a fastball up and in over the 16ft wall in left field for his 4th home run of the season and first for more than a month to give the Mets a 1-0 lead early on in the ballgame and Beltran extended that to 3-0 in the 3rd when he hit a two-run jack to left field from the right hand side of the plate.

I guess Citi Field is a band box now, right?

The Phillies fought back in the 4th inning with back-to-back two-out home runs off of Santana. Ryan Howard dispatched a high offering over the bullpen when Santana caught too much of the plate and Raul Ibanez followed with one over the Modell sign near the porch.

Despite getting ahead of everyone and throwing strikes, the guys in the Mets SNY booth alluded to him maybe throwing too many strikes, especially ahead in the count.

Jimmy Rollins gave the Phillies the lead in the 6th inning on a two-run blast - another bomb with two men out - on a hanging changeup, but the Mets were on the tough end of a botched call in the bottom of the 6th inning when they thought they had scored the tying run against JA Happ.

Tatis led off the inning with a double off the wall, moving to third on catcher Ruiz's throwing error. With none out, the Phillies played back against Church to concede a run on a ball hit in the infield.

Church did his part and hit a soft one-hop to Howard who came home with a bad throw. Ruiz scooped it and cradled it and even though he didn't have control of it and Tatis was judged to be out.

Replays showed otherwise, but it was a moot point.

Clay Condrey relieved Happ, but Omir Santos singled and Santana pulled an RBI double to right on a butcher boy fake-bunt play to tie the game.

Castillo popped out for the second out of the inning, but Alex Cora got Johan his lead back with a single through the box to make it 5-4.

Church's solo blast made it 6-4 before Johan gave up his fourth jack of the evening to bring the Phils back to within one.

But Feliciano slammed the door in the 8th inning and K-Rod took care of business in the 9th.

It was a game played the way baseball should be played. With a month left until the break, let's hope the Mets can produce more of the same.

Mets survive late Marlins scare, injury bug strikes again

2009-05-31T20:25:48Z

THE New York Mets survived a late rally at home to the Florida Marlins as Jerry Manuel's second-tier squad of rookies edged out a 3-2 win.

But the Mets' threadbare squad took another hit on Sunday afternoon, with both Angel Pagan and starter John Maine leaving the game with apparent injuries.

The Mets took the lead in the 3rd inning and added a pair in the 7th through RBI doubles from Pagan, Fernando Martinez and Omir Santos.

But Pagan left in the 4th inning tracking down a double to centre field and Maine got removed from the game right before the start of the 7th after complaining about flu-like symptoms.

Maine had pitched beautifully up to that point, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out five Fish in six shutout innings of work.

The rightie has been successful against the Marlins this year; on April 10 he allowed just two hits - both solo homers - and a few days later he gave up one hit and an unearned run over six innings in a 7-1 win.

On Sunday though, there would be none of that. No homers and no runs, unearned or otherwise, although Dan Uggla did come close in the 2nd inning.

Uggla drove a two-out double 14ft off the 16ft black wall in centre field, but a groundout to Luis Castillo ended the threat to keep the score level.

John Maine threw 35 pitches through the first three innings of work and he got some support when the Mets struck first in the bottom of the inning.

Wilson Valdez drew a one-out walk and after Maine sacrificed him out to second Pagan gave the Mets the lead on their first hit of the ballgame.

But Pagan's excitement was short-lived as he was forced to leave the game in the 4th inning with an apparent groin or quad injury.

Hanley Ramirez had laced a one-out double off the wall in centre field, but as Pagan turned and charged towards the warning track he came up limping and was immediately replaced by Jeremy Reed.

Volstad and Maine had both settled into a rhythm by this point, getting ahead of batters and keeping the ball in the yard. Maine was protecting a one-run lead, while Volstad was ensuring thr Marlins remained in the game.

If it wasn't for the Mets' defense, the lead could have gone soon after.

Emilio Bonafacio walked with one out in the 6th inning and he went first-to-third on a well-hit Ramirez single to right.

But David Wright flashed the leather and showed why he's a gold glover with a fantastic inning-ending double play, going low to his left to snare Jorge Cantu's sinking line drive and doubling off HanRam at first base.

Feliciano relieved Maine to pitch the 7th inning, fanning Hermida, retiring Uggla on a pop up to right and getting Baker to ground a slow tapper to Castillo.

Gary Sheffield crushed a ball foul down the line in the bottom of the inning and then hit a 50ft chopper to third base to reach on an infield single.

Murphy sacrificed him over to second and Fernando Martinez took a sinker away for an opposite field double for his third big league hit to make it 2-0.

Omir Santos padded the lead to 3-0 with an RBI double off the left centrefield wall and Wilson Valdez bunted for a base hit, but pinch-hitting Fernando Tatis grounded into a double play to end the frame.

JJ Putz came in from the Mets bullpen to pitch the eight, but after walking Cody Ross lined he walked Ross Gload, gave up a flair single to Chris Coghlan and RBI single to Emilio Binafacio.

Bobby Parnell replaced Putz and immediately gave up a run-scoring single to HanRam, but Cantu struck out swinging and Hermida flied out to deep left to preserve the Mets' lead.

Hanley had three of the Marlins' six hits and was the only real threat offensively in a game dominated by pitchers.

Fernando Rodriguez pitched around a 9th inning walk for his 14th save of the season and the Mets will go on the road with a win under their belt.

Latest leaderboard - Number 47

2009-05-22T12:08:24Z

Thank you to everyone who continues to read my blog - the only MLBlog which is scientifically proven to give you 100 per cent of your daily recommended allowance of my ramblings.

In the time-honoured tradition of dedicating rankings, I would like to praise one of the best crafty lefties of his generation, Tom Glavine.

Glavine wore the Mets' number 47 jersey from Opening Day 2003 until the end of the 2007 season, starting 164 games and compiling a 61-56 record.

He pitched more than 1,000 innings over the five-year spell with an ERA under 3.97. He never had overpowering stuff and, by the time he left the Mets at age 41, he was relying as much on his baseball savvy knowledge on the mound as he was on his pinpoint control and ability to keep the ball in the yard.

He won double-digit games with the Mets in all but his first season with the club and he went to the All Star Game in both 2004 and 2006 - his ninth and tenth appearances respectively.

While he never hit the 190-strikeout, 20-win seasons of his Cy Young years, he was still a valuable cog in the New York machine, even if every single person at Shea Stadium knew it was going to be a changeup away.

His 15-7 (.682) record in 2006 was the third best in the bigs and his 34 starts the following year was bettered in the National league only by Dontrelle Willis before he decided to turn into a headcase.

Whether the $48,000,000 he was paid to play for the Mets was money well-spent or not, fans will remember the Glavine years fondly. In fact, considering the ridiculous lack of depth in the rotation right now, the lure for the 43-year-old probably isn't that far away.

For a full list of the leaders, click here.

Pics:

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Examples/Example_HipsRotatingBeforeShoulders_TomGlavine_001.jpg

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050822/050822_tom_glavine_vmed.widec.jpg