Think Happy Thoughts!

Umm… I’m getting a little nervous. Three days ago I complained that “our leaderboard isn’t nearly as volatile as the one they’ve got at St. Andrews (the British Open).”  Then I went and said something very stupid.

“We need a few eagles and missed short puts to generate some drama.”

When I said that, the Alleghenys were 10.8 games back in sixth place.

Today the Alleghenys are… closer. A lot closer. And umm…

Hey!  Let’s not think about that.  Let’s go to a happy place.

 

Old Detroit: W, 7 – 4.  .283, .377, .435; 0 ip, 0 er.  Breathe deeply, Wolverines.  The Allegheny are still 8 games back.  And you might not ever hit into 5 double plays like you did yesterday.  And think about the Sports on Earth article you read Tuesday about the trio of young players 23-and-under who are having an historic season.

Yes, I know, there’s something scary in that picture, but focus on the guy on the left.  Yes!  That’s our own Manny Machado!  And look at that second paragraph in the article:

Going into Monday’s action, Nationals Kangaroos right fielder Bryce Harper led the Majors at 6.5 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.com, and he’s in his age-22 season. Angelslleghenys center fielder Mike Trout, 23, follows closely behind at 6.1. Then, after … (some older dude), there’s Wolverines third baseman Manny Machado, at 5.1 as a 23-year-old.

That’s right!  Manny Machado has been officially elevated to the level of Harper and Tr… Tr… Tr…  that other guy.

Manny went 1 for 3 yesterday with a double, a walk and a stolen base — just an OPS of 1.167.  Since June 1 he’s been, on average, a daily Edgar Martinez:  .327, .404, .591.  The difference is, Machado can play third base as well as anyone.  Also, at age 23 Edgar had not yet appeared in the major leagues. And we have Machado through 2017. That’s almost like forever. Ben and Sam will have their driving permits before we lose Machado… so, yeah, relax, he could survive us as a Wolverine. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

Haviland: L, 2 – 6. .255, .308, .447; 10.3 ip, 8 er.  Cory Anderson and Kevin Gausman let the Dragons down with 8 earned runs in a total of 8.7 innings.  But young Preston Tucker slammed two homers in four at bats.  Alas, Tucker is only allocated at 30% this month.  And now there is nothing between the Dragons and the upthrusting Alleghenys but 7.4 games of air.

And that “some older dude” part from the Sports on Earth article I quoted above. That older dude is Paul Goldschmidt.  True, he’s somewhat elderly at age 27 years, 10 months and 13 days (according to Fan Graphs). But he’s been worth 5.9 WAR by Baseball Reference’s reckoning.

Pittsburgh: W 2, L (-1); 10 – (-1).  .385, .429, .615;  15 ip, 4 er.  He-who-shall-not-be-named, you know, the fishy king, went 0 for 4!  And hit into a double play!  Ha ha!  His WAR has plummeted to only 6.0.  His career is so over.  You only zoomed all the way up to third place because Michael Brantley went 4 for 5 with a double and a homer, and Nick Castellanos went 2 for 3 with a homer and a walk. And Fowler, Kang, and Russell all had OPSes of 1.000 or better. None of those guys can keep that up.  So who’s afraid of Virginia Wolverine-Eating Mountains?

Cottage:  L, 1 – 3. .132, .250, .184;  9 ip, 3 er.  The Cheese can be forgiven for such crummy hitting numbers.  They had just been bowled over by a passing range of flinty mountains.  Give them a chance to catch their breaths and clear their Head, and they’ll be fine.  No, the Triumvirate of Young Superstars doesn’t include any Cheese, but the Sports on Earth article also mentioned in passing some other very promising 23-years-old-and-younger players who may end up keeping company with the Big Three, including Kris Bryant (3.0 WAR this year), who is a Cheese.  Well, yes, only as a debutant, which means it’s highly unlikely he’ll still be a Cheese next year.  But the article does say “and several others,” which might stretch all the way to Jorge Soler, who’s already been worth 0.5 WAR this year according to Baseball Reference.

Peshastin:  “W”, 3 – 4.  .302, .373, .396 (and 4 gdp); 7 ip, 3 er.  I only mentioned the Pear’s ground-into-double-play number to show how compassionate the Pears are, to share others’ sufferings by almost matching the gruesome 5 double plays the Wolverines hit into.  In return, the Pears deserve some good news to make up for being blown past in the standings by piles of rock.  So — we’ve covered Machado and Trout among the Triumvirate of Youthful Awesomeness, which leaves one more player…  who is NOT a Pear.  How about the list of other players who might someday join the Big Three on the Podium of Greatness? Why, lookie here: Carlos Correa makes the list!  He only went 1 for 4 yesterday, but he’s already up to 2.0 WAR just 37 games into his career!  Wow! Too bad he’s only a debutant, eh, Peshastin?  And too bad you don’t have a shot at Canberra’s draft pick.

Flint Hill: “W”, 7 – 9.  .326,  .370,  .698; 16.3 ip, 11 er.  True, the Tornados were in front of the Alleghenys as recently as three days ago.  True, they are now three places and four games behind Pittsburgh.  But Sports on Earth listed two Tornados — Xander Bogaerts and Joc Pederson — as players just behind the Triumvirate “among the talented group of 23-and-under position players.”   And yesterday both of those players… umm, went 1 for 4. Just piddly little singles.  Nothing like the 2 for 4 with a homer by some guy named Francisco Lindor who’s only a debutant.  Whenever you get discouraged,  Tornados, just remember this:  “Flint Hill” means “Little Allegheny” in Kansan, so any trail the A’s blaze now could some day be followed by the T’s when they’re all grown up.

Kaline: “L”, 2 – 1.  .150, .227, .150;  7 ip, 0 er.  That Mike Bolsinger! He wasn’t supposed to be more than a back-of-the-rotation starter. Here he is throwing more shutout innings. He’s been worth 2.0 WAR himself this year with a 2.79 ERA. Sure, he’s already 27, but if he is late blooming as he seems to be doing, he’ll be valuable all the way through his 2016 contract.

Canberra: L, 10 – 10.  .366, .426, .537; 10.7 ip, 10 er.  Another day at the office for the Kangaroos.  The world’s best offense did its thing again. The Third Member of the Triumvirate of Young Superstars, Bryce Harper, went a nice 2 for 4 with a walk.  He was surpassed by the legendary Logan Forsythe (2 for 4 with a double, a homer and a walk) and the amazing Honest Billy Hamilton (4 for 9 with two doubles and no stolen bases). But Mike Montgomery chulked (2.7 ip, 6 er) and the other Kangaroo pitchers couldn’t put out the fire in time to salvage the game.

Portland:  W, 8 – 3.  .481, .517, .556; 5.3 ip, 4 er.  One of the great things about being in last place is you have so many role models to choose from.  The Rosebuds chose to emulate the Kangaroos, who have the advantage of relative proximity for easier observation. That immense offense was achieved even without official Triumvirate of Young Greatness honorable mention Mookie Betts, who didn’t play yesterday.

Final Note: The Sports on Earth article specifically mentions nine players as either leading the league now, or with obvious potential to do so in the future — Harper, Trout, Goldschmidt, Machado, Betts, Bogaerts, Pederson, Bryant and Correa.  All nine are currently under EFL contract. Nice work, gentlemen!