League Updates

Street Corners and Tornado Warners

In the Spring of 2019 the Boston Red Sox began their season in Seattle, and so I jumped in the car and drove up to T-Mobile Park for Opening Day. It was my first Opening Day anywhere (tickets to Opening Day in Boston were always too expensive for a grad student/social worker budget), and the electricity in the air was palpable. Street vendors were out in full force, while fans clad in Mariners and Red Sox jerseys moved in unison towards the field.

I had one of my sons with me, and as we were walking quickly towards the field hoping to make it in time to watch some batting practice, our gait was slowed by a man wearing a sandwich board, holding a megaphone and informing all passerby they were going to hell.

I knew the Mariners had been bad the past few years, but that statement felt harsh to me. To be fair, it was the first season of the park being named T-Mobile Park, and the amount of pink fluorescent lights adorning every nook and cranny of the facade in some ways created an attenuated version of hell (at least Dante’s version of it). And if I am really honest, I suppose someone yelling in my face with a megaphone that I was, “going to hell because God hates me,” is not an unbelievable form of hell.

It seemed as though we were in this man’s realm of auditory influence for a long time, seeing as he strategically placed himself right where the lines formed to enter the field. After enduring his abuse, we walked up the steps hearing the crack of the wood bats even before our eyes could confirm we were, indeed, not in hell. 

Though the Red Sox lost that day (in fact, the Mariners took 2 of 3 from them that opening series – the two games I watch were the losses, of course), and though my son and I had so much fun sitting in the stands on Opening Day, taking in all the revelry (and a guest appearance by rapper Macklemore!), I still remember the gall of that man with a megaphone, and the utter inanity of thinking anyone would respond to his shaming message with repentance borne of the Spirit’s work. 

On a walk yesterday I turned on a podcasted sermon of a local pastor, and listened as he attempted to make a case for evangelism. Immediately my mind flashed back to man outside the Mariners game, and I nearly shut my phone off for fear of another “spiritual leader” telling me (and anyone else who was listening) that we need to be more bold in our proclamation as a Christ-follower.

However, this sermon made a case for substituting the word evangelism for the word invitation. The basis for this assertion was based on the story in John 1 where the disciples invite Nathanael to “come and see” instead of telling him who he needed to be in order for Jesus to accept him.

Invitation. It is simple and yet profound.

And, apparently, it is effective!

Just two days ago, our beloved Commissioner and the current leader of the EFL invited others to come a little closer. It was a clear invitation given with heartfelt meaning, and it gave the rest of the league permission to stop their backwards march and instead become a little more like Old Detroit.

That was two days ago, when the closest team (the Tornadoes) to the Wolverines was 7.8 games away from them, and the next team (the Balk) were another .5 game behind at 8.3 – an eternity! Since that invitation, though? The Tornadoes have made up almost 2 whole games, the Balk and Pears one whole game each. With another week left to go in the month, at that pace the top four teams might all be within 3 games of one another. That would be a true indication of the gospel taking root in the EFL, one akin to the community in Acts 2. 

Once again, the Wolverines are leading the way for the rest of us, and I, for one, am grateful. Are you?

 

 

EFL Standings for 2021
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Old Detroit Wolverines 87 38 .693 710.4 472.7
Flint Hill Tornadoes 81 44 .644 6 662.7 492.9
D.C. Balk 79 45 .636 7.2 714.8 539.6
Peshastin Pears 78 46 .627 8.3 621.1 482.4
Kaline Drive 75 49 .607 10.8 668.1 538.2
Haviland Dragons 70 54 .566 15.9 649.2 586.1
Cottage Cheese 70 55 .561 16.5 710.9 645.3
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 69 56 .550 17.8 634.8 572.8
Canberra Kangaroos 68 56 .545 18.5 641.6 598.9
Bellingham Cascades 65 60 .517 22 537.3 520.3
Portland Rosebuds 58 66 .470 27.8 660.4 704.4
 
Old Detroit: “W,” (-1)-4; 47PA, 6IP
AVG: 0.182 OBP: 0.234 SLG: 0.227 OPS: 0.461
ERA: 3.00 WHIP: 1.000
Ron has been so inviting to the rest of us it is only fair that we focus on his team’s strengths first in this update: Marcus Stroman tossed 6 innings yesterday, giving up only two runs to the vaunted Dodger defense. There is no proof that I was, for the first time in my life, rooting hard for the Dodgers to do some damage. Alas, Stroman was too good. But the good news really stops right there. The Wolverine offense was so bad yesterday they shed a run. In 44 at bats they collected a grand total of 7 singles an one double, 2 walks and 14 strikeouts. I say these things not to make Ron feel even worse for the transgressions of his team, but simply to state that, indeed, he was was serious when he invited the rest of us to come a little closer. There is no hypocrisy in this man – he means what he says. The Wolverines are glad for an off day today to regroup and remember what got them to a nearly 8 game lead this month.
 
Flint Hill: “W,” 6-7; 35PA, 1IP
AVG: 0.257 OBP: 0.257 SLG: 0.571 OPS: 0.829
ERA: 0.00 WHIP: 1.000
We need to be totally transparent – the nearly two games gained on the Wolverines is almost entirely because of what they have done and not because of how the Tornadoes have played. Any team carrying over 20 replacement innings pitched in one month does not deserve to be inching closer to the top of the standings, and yet the graciousness of OD has allowed there to be some upward movement in Flint Hill. Yesterday’s star was Tyler Naquin, who went 2 for 4 with two home runs. Paul Goldschmidt also hit a home run, and Bo Bichette had 2 singles and one double. The bad news is that the team did not earn a single walk on the day, limiting their run potential on a day where there could have been more ground made up. 
 
DC: L, 4-9; 28PA, 3.4IP
AVG: 0.167 OBP: 0.286 SLG: 0.250 OPS: 0.536
ERA: 7.94 WHIP: 0.882
Well, DC did not really take advantage of the Wolverine’s second day of kindness. Their batters were mostly ineffective, except for Ryan McMahon who went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. In fact, Pete Alonso and Matt Chapman both collected hat tricks in strikeouts, inevitably trying to do too much to propel their team a little closer to the top. The usually solid Garrett Crochet was more threadbare yesterday, allowing 3 runs in 1.7 innings pitched. 
 
Peshastin: L, 1-7; 37PA, 1IP
AVG: 0.156 OBP: 0.270 SLG: 0.250 OPS: 0.520
ERA: 9.00 WHIP: 2.000
The Pears, perhaps satisfied with the wonderful anecdote of freshman Phil reigniting Ron’s passion for baseball, did not make up any ground yesterday though the door was wide open. It, too, was due to poor offense and bad pitching. Willi Castro led the Tigers to a win, going 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, but that wasn’t enough for the Pears who had 6 total players for 0-for the day. Kendall Graveman only pitched one inning, but gave up a run while doing so. 
 
Kaline: “L,” 8-5; 32PA, 6IP
AVG: 0.321 OBP: 0.375 SLG: 0.536 OPS: 0.911
ERA: 4.50 WHIP: 1.000
Finally some good offense to write about, good enough to climb .5 game closer to the top at the invitation of Ron. Daulton Varsho and Jose Altuve both collected three hits apiece, with Varsho hitting for the cycle. I love it when catchers hit for the cycle! John Means found some semblance of his old self, tossing 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. That isn’t quite his normal output, but it is getting closer than he has been this season. The Drive are close enough to the Pears and Balk to create a little discomfort for them, but will they?
 
Haviland: “L,” 7-6; 28PA, 4IP
AVG: 0.308 OBP: 0.357 SLG: 0.577 OPS: 0.934
ERA: 4.50 WHIP: 1.500
Two teams in row producing some excellent offense, and also being saddled with a fake loss. It doesn’t seem fair! At least they were rewarded with climbing .4 games closer to the top, though I have to imagine the Dragons would rather be closer to the bottom in order to maximize their draft pick next season. Amed Rosario loves the Little League Classic, playing in it for the second season in a row. With his 3 for 4 last night, including a first inning home run, he is 6 for 8 with 5 RBI. In the month of August he is second in MLB with 50 hits – he’s on fire! JT Realmuto added a home run and a stolen base (I love when catchers steal bases!), and Jake Cronenworth and Brendan Rodgers both hit a double. The pitching was not as great, but it was good enough. Three relievers combined for 4 innings, AJ Puk giving up the only two runs allowed. 
 
Cottage: W, 6-3; 42PA, 9IP
AVG: 0.314 OBP: 0.405 SLG: 0.400 OPS: 0.805
ERA: 2.00 WHIP: 1.000
Finally, a real win! And it was a convincing one, too. Only two of the ten starting position players didn’t get a hit. The team didn’t hit any home runs, but they did hit three doubles. That means a lot of singles were hit, which is why they collected 11 hits and 6 walks but only scored six runs. Steven Matz was awesome (6 innings, 1 run) as was Chris Archer until he left with an injury (2 innings, 0 runs). 
 
Pittsburgh: W, 1-(-3); 23PA, 20IP
AVG: 0.095 OBP: 0.174 SLG: 0.238 OPS: 0.412
ERA: 0.90 WHIP: 0.700
That is definitely one way to mitigate an awful day at the plate – just throw 20 innings and give up 2 total runs! The pitching was excellent, with three guys starting and all of them going at least 6 innings and none allowing more than 1 run. Frankie Montas tossed 7 innings of scoreless baseball to best Vlad Gr. (7 innings, 1 run) and Logan Webb (6 innings, 1 run). Mike Moustakas hit a home run and Dansby Swanson hit a single and had 2 walks, and that was it in 23 plate appearances for the entire team.
 
Canberra: W(2), L(-1), 15-6; 33PA, 4.3IP
AVG: 0.444 OBP: 0.545 SLG: 0.889 OPS: 1.434
ERA: 4.19 WHIP: 2.093
Now that is an EXCELLENT day at the plate! Every starter but one (Vlad Jr.) got a hit, and Austin Meadows had three. Carter Kieboom and JD Davis both had a home run, and Wander Franco had two doubles. Four relievers did a good enough job, and the Roos has a three game swing in one day!
 
Bellingham: L, 0-5; 16PA, 5.4IP
AVG: 0.067 OBP: 0.067 SLG: 0.133 OPS: 0.200
ERA: 5.00 WHIP: 1.296
Ouch…let’s look past that offensive line for now. It is one hit (Austin Hedges) and that’s it. Brutal. Bailey Falter faltered, giving up 3 runs, to lose the game for the Cascades. Well, maybe the hitters lost the game? 
 
Portland: W, 11-7; 21PA, 6.3IP
AVG: 0.357 OBP: 0.524 SLG: 0.786 OPS: 1.310
ERA: 7.14 WHIP: 1.587
 
The Rosebuds earned a rare real win, on the strength of Rhys Hoskins two home runs. Jon Gray was bad, but it didn’t matter!
 
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Old Detroit Wolverines 87 38 .693
Flint Hill Tornadoes 81 44 .644 6
Tampa Bay Rays 77 48 .616 9.6
New York Yankees 72 52 .581 14.1
Boston Red Sox 70 55 .560 16.6
Toronto Blue Jays 64 58 .525 21.1
Baltimore Orioles 38 85 .309 47.6
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
D.C. Balk 79 45 .636
Atlanta Braves 68 56 .548 10.9
Canberra Kangaroos 68 56 .545 11.3
Philadelphia Phillies 63 61 .508 15.9
New York Mets 61 63 .492 17.9
Washington Nationals 53 70 .431 25.4
Miami Marlins 51 74 .408 28.4
 
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Chicago White Sox 72 53 .576
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 69 56 .550 3.2
Bellingham Cascades 65 60 .517 7.4
Cleveland Indians 61 61 .500 9.5
Detroit Tigers 60 66 .476 12.5
Kansas City Royals 55 68 .447 16
Minnesota Twins 54 70 .435 17.5
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Milwaukee Brewers 76 49 .608
Cottage Cheese 70 55 .561 5.9
Cincinnati Reds 69 57 .548 7.5
St. Louis Cardinals 63 60 .512 12
Chicago Cubs 54 72 .429 22.5
Pittsburgh Pirates 44 80 .355 31.5
 
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Kaline Drive 75 49 .607
Houston Astros 73 51 .589 2.3
Haviland Dragons 70 54 .566 5.1
Oakland A’s 70 55 .560 5.8
Seattle Mariners 67 58 .536 8.8
Los Angeles Angels 62 64 .492 14.3
Texas Rangers 43 80 .350 31.8
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
San Francisco Giants 80 44 .645
Peshastin Pears 78 46 .627 2.2
Los Angeles Dodgers 78 47 .624 2.5
San Diego Padres 68 58 .540 13
Portland Rosebuds 58 66 .470 21.8
Colorado Rockies 57 67 .460 23
Arizona Diamondbacks 42 83 .336 38.5