League Updates

Hitting is Hard…for Some

Last night the Newberg High School Varsity Baseball team squared off against its next door neighbor, the Sherwood Bowmen. Sherwood started their University of Oregon commit, a tall lefty with three plus pitches who easily hits 85 MPH on the radar gun as a Junior. My son, the starting third baseman for the Tigers, along with the rest of this teammates, saw firsthand what very good pitching looks like. The team collected only one hit on the night – a ground ball that didn’t leave the infield but was beat out by our speedy lead-off hitter – and walked away with a 10-0 loss. 

It is rare to see that caliber of pitching on a regular basis, which makes it so much more difficult to hit. If every pitcher they faced was throwing similarly, perhaps the outcome would be different. At least the confidence level would be a bit higher going into the game than it was last night, when it seemed most of the Tiger hitters thought they were out before they even stepped into the box. 

I recall my high school playing days when, as a Freshman playing summer ball against some older teams, I faced a pitcher named Scott Pine. As a Senior in high school he was pitching in low 90s, and I, as a 15 year old kid, had never seen anything like it. I think I tried to bunt, but failed, striking out on three pitches that I know he threw but that I didn’t see.

All of this to say, hitting is hard! And some of our teams (ahem, Dragons and Tornadoes) are making it seem especially difficult, while others (Wolverines and Cheese) make it seem especially easy. 

EFL Standings for 2021
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Old Detroit Wolverines 17 7 .727 135.9 83.3
D.C. Balk 12 6 .685 2.1 93.1 63.2
Haviland Dragons 15 9 .635 2.2 96.0 72.7
Flint Hill Tornadoes 15 9 .634 2.2 89.8 68.3
Peshastin Pears 15 9 .615 2.7 98.2 77.7
Kaline Drive 14 10 .597 3.1 119.1 97.9
Portland Rosebuds 13 11 .548 4.3 121.5 110.4
Bellingham Cascades 12 10 .546 4.4 89.4 81.5
Canberra Kangaroos 10 8 .548 4.6 95.2 86.5
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 11 11 .518 5.1 105.9 102.2
Cottage Cheese 10 13 .447 6.7 132.5 147.5
 
Old Detroit: “L,” 7-4; 44PA, 12.9IP
AVG: 0.256 OBP: 0.341 SLG: 0.462 OPS: 0.802
ERA: 5.58 WHIP: 1.240
The Wolverines are trying (and succeeding) to create a little more distance between themselves and the rest of the field here at the end of April. Three players collected two hits apiece (Devers, Buxton, Edman) and Will Smith hit a HR in support of Walker Buehler who, if we were counting strike outs, had a good day (10 in 6 innings). 
 
DC: W, 4-0; 36PA, 8IP
AVG: 0.219 OBP: 0.306 SLG: 0.438 OPS: 0.743
ERA: 0.00 WHIP: 0.375
The Balk have unseated the Tornadoes as the second place team, climbing .3 games closer to the Wolverines on the strength of some really good pitching by Ian Anderson (7 innings, 0 runs). Two players, Bryce Harper and Asdrubal Cabrera, collected two hits each, and Joey Gallo and Ryan McMahon both chipped in a HR.
 
Haviland: L, 0-5; 29PA, 2.3IP
AVG: 0.185 OBP: 0.172 SLG: 0.185 OPS: 0.358
ERA: 3.91 WHIP: 1.304
The Dragons and the Tornadoes are in a knock-down, drag-out competition for worst offense this month, and right now the Tornadoes are winning (at least we are winning at something!) the competition easily. But that Dragon line is still difficult to look at. Maikel Franco continues to be the lone Dragon delight, yesterday collecting 2 more hits. He leads the Dragons in extra base hits this season, even though he was, I think, the last player taken in the draft (if not dead last, nearly the last).
 
Flint Hill: W(-1), L(2), 0-6; 32PA, 6.7IP
AVG: 0.100 OBP: 0.156 SLG: 0.233 OPS: 0.390
ERA: 6.72 WHIP: 1.343
The Tornadoes have only been what they have been this month due to excellent pitching, which didn’t happen last night. Actually, I blame Sam Coonrod, who came on to get Eflin out of a jam in the 7th inning, and failed. So what could have been only 3 runs given up became 6. Our hitters collected 3 hits and 2 walks. This awful output dropped the Tornadoes a game further back behind OD and two spots in the standings. The end of April can’t come soon enough!
 
Peshastin: “W,” 3-5; 36PA, no pitching
AVG: 0.229 OBP: 0.250 SLG: 0.371 OPS: 0.621
The Pears are tied in record with the Dragons and the Tornadoes, but still sit nearly 3 games out of first place. On a day with no pitching, Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies combined to go 4 for 8 with 2 doubles and a HR, but it wasn’t enough to earn an actual win, just a fake EFL win. 
 
Kaline: W, 9-5; 50PA, 7.7IP
AVG: 0.283 OBP: 0.320 SLG: 0.652 OPS: 0.972
ERA: 4.68 WHIP: 1.039
Now here is some offense! Over 50 PA the Drive demonstrated what it looks like to hit a baseball. They sent 13 batters to the plate, and 9 of them got hits. Jesse Winker got 3 of those 9 hits, one of them a HR and another a double. They also got 4 home runs – Bobby Dalbec with his first, Aaron Judge, Jonathan Schoop and the aforementioned Winker. Aaron Civale went deep in the game, but gave up 4 runs while doing so. 
 
Portland: W, 12-5; 43PA, 7.6IP
AVG: 0.368 OBP: 0.442 SLG: 0.711 OPS: 1.152
ERA: 3.55 WHIP: 1.447
I spoke too soon – THIS is an offensive line (sorry, Drive). The Rosebuds sent 11 players to the plate, and 8 of them contributed a hit. Nick Solak led the team going 3 for 4 with 2 HRs, but Tyrone Taylor also contributed 3 hits, including a HR. The Buds had 14 hits, 5 walks, and only 6 strike outs. Mike Foltynewicz did his part, going a little more than 5 innings and giving up 1 run. Portland gained .5 game on the lead and jumped over two teams in the standings. 
 
Bellingham: “W,” 3-3; 39PA, 8IP
AVG: 0.212 OBP: 0.333 SLG: 0.333 OPS: 0.667
ERA: 2.25 WHIP: 0.875
The Cascades eked out a win due some really fine pitching and just enough offensive runs to be ok. Michael Wacha and a stable of relievers gave up 2 runs in 8 innings and only walked one batter. DJLM added a double and Ronald Acuna, Jr. hit a ball 481 feet for a HR. 
 
Canberra: W, 6-3; 31PA, 3.3IP
AVG: 0.276 OBP: 0.323 SLG: 0.655 OPS: 0.978
ERA: 0.00 WHIP: 0.303
The Roos had the player with the best offensive day yesterday – Vladito, who hit 3 home runs (and also grounding into a double play). You don’t need much else when one player provides that much offense, but Mike Trout chipped in a couple of hits just for good measure. 3 relievers pitched scoreless innings, and the Roos climbed .1 games closer to the Wolverines.
 
Pittsburgh: “L,” 3-2; 30PA, 12IP
AVG: 0.214 OBP: 0.267 SLG: 0.321 OPS: 0.588
ERA: 3.00 WHIP: 1.083
Frankie Montas rebounded from a bad start to toss 6 innings with 3 earned runs, and Tyler Anderson did even better, matching the 6 innings but giving up only 1 run. 3 hitters were responsible for the teams 6 hits, with Dansby Swanson collecting 3 (all singles), Garrett Hampson collecting 2 (including a HR), and Jose Altuve adding a single. 
 
Cottage: L, 8-9; 43PA, .3IP
AVG: 0.289 OBP: 0.372 SLG: 0.605 OPS: 0.977
ERA: 0.00 WHIP: 6.667
The second best offensive line of the day resulted in a loss because of a lack of pitching. Francisco Mejia led the team in hits with 3 (2 doubles), Trea Turner led the team in home runs with 2, and Corey Dickerson led the team in walks with 3. But just one day after the Commissioner envisioned a month in which all EFL teams finished above .500, the Cheese put a damper on that dream.
 
 
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Old Detroit Wolverines 17 7 .727
Flint Hill Tornadoes 15 9 .634 2.2
Boston Red Sox 15 9 .625 2.4
Toronto Blue Jays 11 11 .500 5.4
Tampa Bay Rays 12 12 .500 5.4
Baltimore Orioles 10 13 .435 6.9
New York Yankees 10 13 .435 6.9
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
D.C. Balk 12 6 .685
Canberra Kangaroos 10 8 .548 2.5
New York Mets 9 9 .500 3.3
Atlanta Braves 11 12 .478 3.8
Philadelphia Phillies 11 12 .478 3.8
Miami Marlins 10 13 .435 4.8
Washington Nationals 8 12 .400 5.3
 
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Kansas City Royals 14 8 .636
Bellingham Cascades 12 10 .546 2
Chicago White Sox 12 10 .545 2
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 11 11 .518 2.6
Cleveland Indians 11 11 .500 3
Detroit Tigers 8 16 .333 7
Minnesota Twins 7 15 .318 7
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Milwaukee Brewers 14 9 .609
Pittsburgh Pirates 12 11 .522 2
St. Louis Cardinals 12 11 .522 2
Cincinnati Reds 11 12 .478 3
Cottage Cheese 10 13 .447 3.7
Chicago Cubs 10 13 .435 4
 
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Haviland Dragons 15 9 .635
Oakland A’s 15 9 .625 0.2
Kaline Drive 14 10 .597 0.9
Seattle Mariners 13 11 .542 2.2
Houston Astros 12 11 .522 2.7
Los Angeles Angels 11 11 .500 3.2
Texas Rangers 10 14 .417 5.2
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Los Angeles Dodgers 15 9 .625
San Francisco Giants 15 9 .625
Peshastin Pears 15 9 .615 0.2
Portland Rosebuds 13 11 .548 1.8
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 11 .522 2.5
San Diego Padres 13 12 .520 2.5
Colorado Rockies 9 14 .391 5.5