MLC x GTB: Vol. 1 Episode 2

The MLC Derby takes center stage this week, but not on a diamond. Whit's Leicester City travel to London to take on Fulham in the second match of the Premier League season. The newly-promoted Foxes dug out an impressive draw against Tottenham on Monday, while Fulham gave up an 87th-minute goal to fall at Old Trafford to a decidedly mediocre Manchester United. The Whites kinda need a result this morning.

Closer to home, the Sox and Mets tangle in Queens a week from Monday. All derbies, all the time in this corner of the interwebz.

The Week in Red Sox

Record: 67-59

7 GB AL East, 3.5 GB Last Wild Card 

Though the Sox dropped a game in the Wild Card chase, it wasn't a bad week. Boston closed out a difficult road trip by winning a series in Houston after a four-game split in Baltimore. Meanwhile, Minnesota came back to the pack a bit, so the Sox are chasing both the Twins and the Royals for a spot in the postseason.

With their next 7 at home against Arizona and Toronto in advance of a three-game set in Detroit, the Sox would certainly hope to make some hay. Since I wrote that out loud, and we're talking about baseball, no actual hay may be manufactured.

I enjoyed the baseball stylings of second-year Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida this week. According to my notes, "Yoshida battles the orange robots!" was a thing I said after his two-run homer gave the Sox a 4-2 lead in the first game in Houston. Sadly, their old bugaboo came back to haunt them for the second consecutive day, as a fielding mishap by catcher Danny Jansen led to two runs. In a one-run loss, that'll leave a mark.

Sox color man Kevin Millar, who will never, ever buy his own beer in Boston, is enamored of Yoshida's running style, waxing rhapsodic about his perfect form. Yoshida, it should be pointed out, is not particularly fast. He has, in fact, one stolen base this season. Which he got on Wednesday, just as Millar was talking about that running form, which led to a predictably and hysterically gleeful reaction from the booth. Millar's reliably entertaining, and I still miss Jerry Remy. I can hold two different thoughts in my brain at the same time.

Young multi-position player Ceddanne Rafaela also caught my attention this week. He's slender and quick, and while he's not particularly good at the plate (.707 OPS, though his 61 RBI rank him third on the team out of the 9th spot in the order), he's equally adept with the glove at shortstop and in center field, with excellent range in both positions. He's a fun watch. 

Let's hope this week matches him.

The Week in Mets

Our man from Citi Field is traveling, so the Metropolitan portion of your programming will follow shortly.