We know what the world has come to. So much has become clear in the last two days:
- No hitters come every two days now. Anyone can throw one, since Wade Miley can.
- Anyone’s career can end on a random Thursday.
- Nothing is guaranteed… except entropy.
- Some people are perfectly willing to exploit entropy for their own end.
- “Tsking” at them will not in the slightest dissuade them.
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Peshastin Pears | 22 | 10 | .689 | — | 142.7 | 96.0 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 23 | 10 | .684 | — | 188.9 | 126.3 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 22 | 11 | .682 | — | 144.1 | 96.9 |
| Haviland Dragons | 23 | 11 | .670 | 0.3 | 149.6 | 107.1 |
| D.C. Balk | 22 | 11 | .666 | 0.6 | 180.0 | 130.1 |
| Kaline Drive | 20 | 14 | .592 | 2.9 | 147.8 | 124.3 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 17 | 15 | .533 | 5 | 166.4 | 155.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 16 | 17 | .493 | 6.3 | 190.4 | 199.1 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 16 | 17 | .489 | 6.4 | 176.1 | 180.3 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 14 | 16 | .463 | 7.2 | 122.3 | 142.8 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 12 | 18 | .411 | 8.7 | 133.6 | 164.8 |
Peshastin Pears: W, 4 – 0. (42 PA, .237, .275, .474; 14 ip, 1 er. 0.64 ERA). That rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem comes disguised as the most unexciting of all fruits, the Wade Miley of the pome family. Ryan Mountcastle — the third Wolverine pick in this year’s rookie draft — led the Pear offense at 3 for 4 with a homer. Jack Flaherty posted only the fourth-best start of the day Friday, going 7 innings with 0 earned runs, but he was backed with 7 more almost as good. All this elevated the Pears into first place, perhaps the latest they have occupied such high ground since the first EFL season.
Old Detritus: L, 6 – 8. (42 PA, .263, .333, .632; 11.3 ip, 11 er, 8.76 ERA). Who needs the #1 pick in the rookie draft (Ke’Bryan Hayes)? Who needs the team’s second pick in the first round of the rookie draft (Nate Pearson)? Who needs another stud who would have gone at or very near the top of the previous EFL rookie draft (Eloy Jimenez)? Who needs the team’s third pick in the rookie draft (Mountcastle)? Who needs the prize of the free agent draft (Byron Buxton)? Not the Wolverine offense! Just let Nate Lowe loose on Chris Flexen for a homer, add homers from Carlos Correa, and …. JP Crawford (??) and… Josh Bell (????) … and you’ll be fine. Oh, but if you are going to do that, try not have Jonathan Loiasiga allow his 2d, 3rd, 4th, and 5th earned runs of the season in a single 1/3 of an inning, for lurid Royal Chulk, or else you’ll find yourself falling into the middle slot of a three-way tie for first.
Flint Hill: L, 4 – 7. (34 PA, .212, .235, 515; 35 ip (?!?!?), 16 er, 4.11 ERA) The Tornados took care of 5 games of pitching in a single day, with performances ranging from Carlos Rodon’s 6 shutout innings to Julio Urias’ 5 ip, 5 er clunker. Somehow (allocation?) the T’s still added 7 earned runs to their monthly total. Three homers (Mookie Betts, Dante Bichette, and Teoscar Hernandez) saved the offense from embarrassment (but not the game from being lost) and the Flinties spot at the bottom of a three-way tie for the EFL lead.
Haviland: “W”, 5 – 5. (.46 PA, .256, .304, .465; 5 ip, 2 er, 3.60 ERA). Petty non-descript day. I wouldn’t try to defy it with a description, except the Dragons also blasted three homers (Harrison Bader, JT Realmuto, and Gary Sanchez.
DC: L, 3 – 8. (39 PA, ..182, .308, .303; no pitching). Even less descript than Haviland’s day, except in terms of the result: the Balk could have siezed first place when the Wolverines slipped up, but DC chose yesterday to stink. Danny Jansen’s homer was the only sign or Balkan life.
Kaline: W, 5 – 2. (49 PA, .311, .347 .467; 9 ip, 2 er, 2.00 ERA). Jose Urquidy provided 7 strong innings, and Garrett Whitlock finished the game off with 2 scoreless innings. Kyle Lewis was the Drive (and Mariners) hitting star, going 3 for 5 with a double. The Drive continue their attempt to surge into the top tier of the league. Keep an eye on them!
Portland: W, 6 – 5. (44 PA, .333, .409, .564 — Happy Edgar Martinez Day!; 13.4 ip, 6 er, 4.03 ERA). The Rosebuds stooped to relying on pure luck Friday. Their hurlers coughed up 10 runs, not 6 — but managed to give up 4 of them after errors. Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler homered — Polanco adding a double and two walks — to score enough runs for a win.
Cottage: L, 1 – 6. (45 PA, .209, .244, .349; 3.3 ip, 4 er, 10.91 ERA). Given how similar this pitching line is to the Wolverines’, except on a smaller scale, and the trade in pitchers between Old Detroit and the Cheese, it would be natural to assume some ex-Wolverine had fallen apart on the mound. But that would be wrong… it’s all down to never-Oldiers Cody Stashak and Robert Gsellmen. Shohei Ohtani doubled twice in 5 at bats to highlight the offense. Still, the Cheese slipped back under .500.
Canberra: W, 7 – 3. (4o PA, .265, .375, .412; 4.3 ip, 8 er, 5.03 ERA). We were listening, Ryan and I, when Nate Lowe hit his mighty home run off the Kangaroos’ Chris Flexen. Mercifully, we were NOT listening when Emmanuel Clase infinitely chulked: 0 ip 2 er. Nor did we hear Mike Trout’s triple, part of a 2 for 4 day with a stolen base, sparking the ‘Roos to a win despite Clase’s collapse.
Bellingham: DNP, 2 – (-2) I will update the Bellies and the Pitties later. Right now I have to get in the car. The Roos’ management and I are taking a quick trip to Seattle to scout AAA, AA, A, Rookie League, Little League talent for future drafts.
Pittsburgh: DNP, 1 – 2.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 23 | 10 | .684 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 22 | 11 | .682 | 0.1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 20 | 13 | .606 | 2.6 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 18 | 16 | .529 | 5.1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 16 | 15 | .516 | 5.6 |
| New York Yankees | 16 | 16 | .500 | 6.1 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 15 | 17 | .469 | 7.1 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 22 | 11 | .666 | — |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 18 | 15 | .545 | 4 |
| New York Mets | 14 | 13 | .519 | 5 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 16 | 17 | .489 | 5.9 |
| Miami Marlins | 15 | 16 | .484 | 6 |
| Atlanta Braves | 15 | 17 | .469 | 6.5 |
| Washington Nationals | 13 | 15 | .464 | 6.5 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 17 | 13 | .567 | — |
| Cleveland Indians | 17 | 14 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 16 | 15 | .516 | 1.5 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 14 | 16 | .463 | 3.1 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 12 | 18 | .411 | 4.7 |
| Minnesota Twins | 12 | 19 | .387 | 5.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 9 | 24 | .273 | 9.5 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 19 | 14 | .576 | — |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 17 | 16 | .515 | 2 |
| Chicago Cubs | 16 | 16 | .500 | 2.5 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 15 | 15 | .500 | 2.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 16 | 17 | .493 | 2.7 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 13 | 18 | .419 | 5 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Haviland Dragons | 23 | 11 | .670 | — |
| Kaline Drive | 20 | 14 | .592 | 2.6 |
| Oakland A’s | 20 | 14 | .588 | 2.8 |
| Seattle Mariners | 18 | 15 | .545 | 4.3 |
| Houston Astros | 17 | 15 | .531 | 4.8 |
| Texas Rangers | 16 | 18 | .471 | 6.8 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 14 | 17 | .452 | 7.3 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Peshastin Pears | 22 | 10 | .689 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 19 | 13 | .594 | 3 |
| San Diego Padres | 18 | 15 | .545 | 4.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 17 | 15 | .533 | 5 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 17 | 16 | .515 | 5.5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 15 | 17 | .469 | 7 |
| Colorado Rockies | 12 | 20 | .375 | 10 |