League Updates

Fascinations fed again!

Finally baseball is back in full swing.  The rest did some of us good. Some of us.

EFL Standings for 2018
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Portland Rosebuds 59 38 .612 513.9 403.5
Old Detroit Wolverines 59 40 .593 1.6 455.7 376.4
Canberra Kangaroos 56 40 .579 3.3 429.7 367.1
Brookland Outs 53 41 .567 4.5 500.9 438.7
Cottage Cheese 52 42 .552 5.9 482.7 431.1
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 50 46 .520 8.9 504.1 488.9
Kaline Drive 51 49 .508 10 462.3 445.3
Flint Hill Tornadoes 49 50 .496 11.2 427.7 432.7
Peshastin Pears 46 51 .479 12.9 417.2 439.7
Haviland Dragons 44 56 .440 16.8 423.0 484.8
D.C. Balk 39 57 .401 20.3 398.0 490.8
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Portland: W (-1), L 2; 0 – 11. (39 PA, .147, .231, .176; 12.7 ip, 9 er, 6.39 ERA). The All-Star Break might have been a little too long: Sam Gaviglio (7.7 ip, 4 er) and German Marquez (5 ip, 5 er) seem to have gone rusty.
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Old Detroit: W, 10 – 3. (59 PA, .320, .424, .600 — Happy Edgar Martinez Day!;  9 ip, 8 er, 8.00 ERA).  Fortunately for the Wolverines, Clayton Richard’s 3 ip, 7 er were accomplished for the Toledo Mud Ferrets. Rich Hill’s 6 ip, 1 er coordinated nicely with a huge day of offense by Wolverine standards. Ronald Acuna led the way with his 3 for 4 with a homer, double, walk, and two stolen bases. Mallex Smith supplied the missing triple, along with a single, a walk, and a stolen base in 4 plate appearances.
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Canberra: “W”, 2 – 3. (50 PA, .167, .280, .333; 7.3 ip, 1 er, 1.23 ERA). Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson combined to go 0 for 8 — at the hands of fellow Kangaroo Wade LeBlanc, who had a dominant outing. The Mariners benefitted from this somewhat more than the Kangaroos did.
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Brookland: L, 7 – 7.  (48 PA, .250, .354, .400; 5 ip, 6 er, 10.80)  Jake Arrieta couldn’t clear the cobwebs, either: 3.3 ip, 4 er. On the other hand, Manny Machado warmed up immediately to his new Dodger digs: 2 for 3 with 2 walks.  So the big question is whether the Outs are going to take the Machado trade or hang on to the superstar.
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Cottage: W, 9 – 5.  (40 PA, .313, .425, 406; 14.7 ip, 7 er) So when was the last time I wrote about Yandy Diaz as the hitting hero for the Cheese?  Don’t remember? Me neither. Four for six with a triple: that’s what he did Friday. All the other Cheeses together went 6 for 26 with a double (and 7 walks). Except the pitchers: Tyler Mahle might as well have been pitching to a lineup of Yandy Diazes (5.7 ip, 7 er). Danny Duffy did better: 7 ip. 1 er.
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Pittsburgh: L, 0 – 3. (37 PA, .147, .216, .206; 18.3 ip, 7 er, 3.44 ERA) Stephen Strasburg had a bad day — and then, at least while on TV in the dugout, didn’t take kindly to Max Scherzer’s mentorship. I was proud of Scherzer’s good sportsmanship, sharing his wisdom with a member of the franchise that has been our chief bane over the years.  But if Strasburg doesn’t want to listen… well, that’s not Scherzer’s fault.  Anyway, David Price and Dereck Rodriguez covered for their teammate with 12.7 ip, 1 er.  On the offensive side, Wolverine-trained Jurickson Profar assembled a 2.000 OPS.  The rest of the team OPSed only .377.  Clearly the key to an Allegheny turnaround is more Wolverine largesse.
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Kaline: W, 12 – 5. (58 PA, .415, .466, .585;  1 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  AJ Pollock went 5 for 5 with a double to lead the speeding Drive past the… hmm, past the Tornados.
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Flint Hill: W (-1), L 2; 4 – 18. (43 PA, .220, .256, .366; 12 ip, 18 er, 13.50 ERA) I have been so mean to the Trouted Tornados… even with my shriveled conscience I have trouble sleeping at night.  So…
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so…
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so…
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Aggh! I can’t hold it in!  The Trouted Tornados are in EIGHTH place now, a notch LOWER in the standings than they were when they agreed to the trade for Mike Trout.
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I am not saying this is Trout’s fault.  He went 0 for 4, sure, but that’s small fry compared to the pitching staff producing a 13.50 ERA.  I am not saying it’s the Tornado management’s fault. It’s just that it’s such a fascinating case for those of us who follow baseball franchises.  It’s like so many successful TV shows – the kind that depict life’s train wrecks:  awful, but so fascinating we can’t look away.
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Peshastin: W 2, L (-1); 10 – 3. (44 PA, .359, .432, .744 — even better than an Edgar Martinez Day!  33.7 ip, 6 er, 1.60 ERA). Aledmys Diaz went 5 for 5 with a double and a homer.  Joey Gallo hit 2 homers in 5 at bats.  But even more impressive: the Pears produced 33.7 innings of 1.60 ERA pitching in a single day. At the rate they’re improving, the Pear’s in their rebuilding year will go over .500 well before the season is over, to their embarrassment.
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Haviland: L, 4 – 9. (42 PA, .200, .310, .400; 5 ip, 5 er,  9 ERA).  I am not seeing what stands out in the Dragons’ day Friday.  Raimel Tapia’s pinch hit homer officially produced a 5.000 OPS. Five pitchers scattered five runs  equally, on average,  across their 5 innings of work.
DC: L, 1 – 9. (48 PA, .233, .327, .302; 5 ip, 5 er). Dylan Bundy did all by himself what it took 5 Dragon pitchers to do: spread 5 earned runs across 5 innings.  Lucas Duda led the modest Balky offense with his 3 hits in 4 plate appearances, including a homer.
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Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2018
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Boston Red Sox 69 30 .697
New York Yankees 62 34 .646 5.5
Old Detroit Wolverines 59 40 .593 10.3
Tampa Bay Rays 49 48 .505 19
Flint Hill Tornadoes 49 50 .496 19.9
Toronto Blue Jays 44 52 .458 23.5
Baltimore Orioles 28 70 .286 40.5
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Canberra Kangaroos 56 40 .579
Philadelphia Phillies 54 42 .563 1.5
Atlanta Braves 53 42 .558 2
Washington Nationals 48 49 .495 8
Miami Marlins 42 57 .424 15
New York Mets 40 55 .421 15
D.C. Balk 39 57 .401 17
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Cleveland Indians 53 43 .552
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 50 46 .520 3.1
Minnesota Twins 44 51 .463 8.5
Detroit Tigers 41 58 .414 13.5
Chicago White Sox 33 63 .344 20
Kansas City Royals 28 68 .292 25
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Chicago Cubs 56 38 .596
Brookland Outs 53 41 .567 2.7
Milwaukee Brewers 55 44 .556 3.5
Cottage Cheese 52 42 .552 4.1
St. Louis Cardinals 49 47 .510 8
Pittsburgh Pirates 49 49 .500 9
Cincinnati Reds 43 54 .443 14.5
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Houston Astros 65 35 .650
Seattle Mariners 59 39 .602 5
Oakland A’s 55 43 .561 9
Kaline Drive 51 49 .508 14.2
Los Angeles Angels 49 49 .500 15
Haviland Dragons 44 56 .440 21
Texas Rangers 41 57 .418 23
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Portland Rosebuds 59 38 .612
Los Angeles Dodgers 54 43 .557 5.3
Arizona Diamondbacks 53 45 .541 6.8
Colorado Rockies 52 45 .536 7.3
San Francisco Giants 51 48 .515 9.3
Peshastin Pears 46 51 .479 12.9
San Diego Padres 40 60 .400 20.8