League Updates

Trend lines

 

I am watching the Mariners peck the Blue Jays to death with three straight ground balls through the right side.  The Jays weren’t shifted on any of them — had they been, all those ground balls would be outs. I am going to double check with the Wolverines’ fielding coach, to be sure we’re shifting suitably aggressively.
EFL Standings for 2016
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Old Detroit Wolverines 61 34 .640 513.2 384.5
Portland Rosebuds 61 35 .632 0.7 508.4 381.8
Haviland Dragons 61 36 .628 0.9 470.0 364.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 56 39 .593 4.5 509.8 423.3
Peshastin Pears 52 44 .544 9.1 445.4 402.2
Canberra Kangaroos 52 45 .538 9.6 461.4 424.2
Flint Hill Tornadoes 46 49 .488 14.5 400.6 407.2
Cottage Cheese 45 50 .478 15.4 455.9 471.3
Kaline Drive 41 56 .422 20.9 476.0 557.3
D.C. Balk 32 65 .326 30.2 378.4 550.3
Old Detroit:  W 2, L 0; 9 – 6. (.214, .320, .476;  11 ip, 2 er)   The Orioles retook first place from the Red Sox yesterday, giving the Wolverines and the Tornadoes a double header.  They used the opportunity differently.
Portland:  “W”, 1 – 2.  (.208, .269, .417;  23 ip, 7 er.)  All that good pitching stored up will come in handy over the next few days. Since June 15, the Rosebuds haven’t had a winning percentage worse than .604 nor better than today’s .632.  I doubt anyone else has been so consistent for so long. The W’s range over that period: .620 to .657.
Haviland: W, 3 – 2. (.219, .324, .344; 8.7 ip, 2 er).  The Dragons have been over .600 since June 25.  The Dragons have been over .600 since June 25, living in the .611 – .639 range since then  – the same breadth (0.028) as the Rosebuds, but over a shorter time.
Pittsburgh: W, 0 – (-2). (.208, .269, .417; 23 ip, 7 er. )  Since the Rosebuds passed the .600 mark, the Alleghenys have been as low as .527 (on June 25) and as high as .595 (on July 20).  With the three teams ahead of them tethered within a narrow winning percentage range, the trends are looking awfully good for the Alleghenys.
Peshastin: L, 1 – 3. (.222, .286, .311; 3 ip, 1 er).  The Pears first crossed the .500 line on June 14, but bobbed between .489 and .519 for the rest of June.  The Pears moved above .500 for good on July 1.  Their current .544 mark is the highest of the entire season for the Pears. Here’s another team whose trend line could lead to an exciting pennant race.
Canberra: L, 2 – 7. (.220, .289, .268;  5.3 ip, 4 er).  The trend line for the Kangaroos is not as promising. If you ignore the chaotic first month of April, the Kangaroos had the league’s highest winning percentage at .745 on May 4, and the second highest at .742 on May 16. They dropped under .700 on May 18, under .600 on June 1, leveled out in the .570’s from June 8 through June 17, and have drifted gently downward since then, with today’s .538 being the low point so far. The ‘Roos could continue on this slope the rest of the season and almost still stay above .500, I think.
Flint Hill:  W (-1), L, 3; 4 – 12. (.194, .237, .278;  3 ip, 2 er).  Since May 1, Flint Hill had its peak winning percentage (.572) on May 25.  They dipped below .500 on June 10. Since then they’ve held very steady, never straying higher than .521 (June 22), and never lower than today’s .488.  That 0.033 range is only .005 bigger than the sibling rival Rosebuds.
Cottage: W, 5 – (-1). (.237, .310, .368; 23 ip, 7). The Cheese emerged from April at .430, on the way down to a .364 nadir on May 14. By June 25 they had reached .500, and got to a peak of .507 on July 8.  Things have not gone as well since then, bottoming out at .472 Thursday.
Kaline: W, 6 – 2.  (.242 .308 .606;  15.3 ip, 5 er).  A very good day for the Drive, who haven’t been above .500 since the third day of the season.   After the Drive first regained the .400 level on May 7, they spent four weeks in the .400’s, reaching a high of .454 on May 26. They dipped below .400 on June  4, and stayed there for all but two days until they re-crossed the .400 again on July 5.  Their .422 mark today ties their post- July 1 high — so the Drive, too, have shown remarkable consistency.
D.C.: “W”, 3- 4. (.267, .324, .300;  3.3 ip, 1 er).  The Balk were in first place after the first day of the season. Their winning percentage went up to .877 the next day, but Haviland had exploded to an .885 mark to take over the lead. Two days later the Balk were all the way down to .251, and reached a .130 nadir on April 10. They got back above .200 on April 25, above .301 on May 10, but drifted back into the .200’s two days later. They surpassed the .300 mark for good on June 13, reaching a peak (so far) of .341 earlier this week.
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Old Detroit Wolverines 61 34 .640
Baltimore Orioles 55 40 .579 5.8
Boston Red Sox 54 40 .574 6.3
Toronto Blue Jays 54 43 .557 7.8
New York Yankees 49 47 .510 12.3
Flint Hill Tornadoes 46 49 .488 14.5
Tampa Bay Rays 38 58 .396 23.3
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Washington Nationals 57 40 .588
Miami Marlins 52 44 .542 4.5
Canberra Kangaroos 52 45 .538 4.8
New York Mets 51 44 .537 5
Philadelphia Phillies 45 53 .459 12.5
Atlanta Braves 33 64 .340 24
D.C. Balk 32 65 .326 25.4
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 56 39 .593
Cleveland Indians 56 39 .589 0.3
Detroit Tigers 51 46 .526 6.3
Kansas City Royals 48 47 .505 8.3
Chicago White Sox 46 50 .479 10.8
Minnesota Twins 36 60 .375 20.8
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Chicago Cubs 58 37 .611
St. Louis Cardinals 52 44 .542 6.5
Pittsburgh Pirates 49 47 .510 9.5
Cottage Cheese 45 50 .478 12.6
Milwaukee Brewers 40 54 .426 17.5
Cincinnati Reds 37 59 .385 21.5
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Haviland Dragons 61 36 .628
Texas Rangers 55 42 .567 6
Houston Astros 52 44 .542 8.5
Seattle Mariners 49 47 .510 11.5
Los Angeles Angels 43 53 .448 17.5
Oakland A’s 43 54 .443 18
Kaline Drive 41 56 .422 20
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Portland Rosebuds 61 35 .632
San Francisco Giants 57 39 .594 3.6
Los Angeles Dodgers 54 44 .551 7.6
Peshastin Pears 52 44 .544 8.4
Colorado Rockies 45 51 .469 15.6
San Diego Padres 42 55 .433 19.1
Arizona Diamondbacks 40 56 .417 20.6