And just like that, August is over! Old Detroit began the month in first place and is ending the month in first, and with a little cushion, too. In fact, most of our standings look exactly the same as they did on our first August update. Here are the standings as they were published on August 6th, the first update of the month:
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 76 | 33 | .699 | — | 619.1 | 405.6 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 73 | 36 | .666 | 3.6 | 577.4 | 406.0 |
| D.C. Balk | 68 | 40 | .633 | 7.3 | 621.4 | 469.3 |
| Peshastin Pears | 68 | 41 | .627 | 7.9 | 539.3 | 419.8 |
| Kaline Drive | 66 | 43 | .609 | 9.8 | 571.0 | 457.3 |
| Haviland Dragons | 63 | 46 | .580 | 13 | 557.4 | 488.6 |
| Cottage Cheese | 60 | 49 | .549 | 16.3 | 632.8 | 586.1 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 59 | 49 | .549 | 16.4 | 553.7 | 517.9 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 59 | 50 | .541 | 17.2 | 550.5 | 506.3 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 57 | 52 | .519 | 19.7 | 467.0 | 449.6 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 49 | 60 | .449 | 27.3 | 549.4 | 617.5 |
There is only one difference in the order of our teams, and that belongs to the Haviland Dragons, who began the month ahead of Cottage and Canberra, but who end it behind them both.
DC and Cottage were the only two teams to keep pace with the Wolverines, while everyone else lost anywhere from 2 to 6 games off the leader.
So little movement in the standings doesn’t give anyone much hope, except for OD, who doesn’t really have a need for more hope. But that doesn’t mean we should all give up now with 30 games left to play. If you’re hoping to find your way to a better draft pick in the spring, or if you’re hoping to chip away at the Wolverines lead, day after day, increasing the likelihood of at least some tension in the final days of the season. Or, if you’re content to cheer on the others from a perch somewhere in the middle, then do it with intentionality and zest. Let’s make this last month one to remember!
Speaking of making this month one to remember, today is the Rosebud owner’s 40th birthday!!! Almost everyone in the league can say they’ve celebrated a 40th birthday, and it is a millstone milestone worth celebrating! 1981, Mark’s birth year, was a unique MLB year, due to a player strike that lasted for nearly a month. The season was divided into two halves, and the winners of each half faced off in the playoffs. The Rosebud owner was born in the heart of Royals land, and the pandemonium would have been palpable when he born on September 1, because the Royals, who had finished the first half 12 games behind the Oakland Athletics, ended up winning the second half by one game over the A’s. Their first half record was a paltry 20-30, but their second half record was 30-23! That’s inspirational, don’t you think? Sadly, the A’s swept them 3-0 on the ALDS.
Happy birthday, Mark! May your 5th decade be as exciting as the second half of the Royals 1981 season (and may the Tornadoes be inspired to do the same this year!).
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 91 | 41 | .693 | — | 758.6 | 505.5 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 85 | 47 | .647 | 6 | 695.2 | 512.2 |
| D.C. Balk | 83 | 48 | .636 | 7.6 | 752.1 | 568.6 |
| Peshastin Pears | 81 | 51 | .614 | 10.3 | 655.5 | 523.7 |
| Kaline Drive | 81 | 51 | .612 | 10.6 | 710.3 | 564.8 |
| Cottage Cheese | 76 | 57 | .571 | 16 | 754.8 | 672.1 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 72 | 59 | .553 | 18.5 | 680.1 | 623.1 |
| Haviland Dragons | 72 | 60 | .544 | 19.7 | 680.9 | 647.3 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 72 | 61 | .538 | 20.3 | 669.1 | 618.2 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 70 | 63 | .524 | 22.2 | 570.3 | 544.2 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 62 | 70 | .466 | 29.9 | 700.3 | 753.4 |
Old Detroit: L, 5-7; 50PA, 14.7IP
| AVG: 0.333 | OBP: 0.360 | SLG: 0.396 | OPS: 0.756 |
| ERA: 4.90 | WHIP: 0.884 |
The Wolverines, namely Jameson Taillon, decided to give one last glimmer of hope to the rest of the league by tossing a stinker on the final day of August. Taillon lasted only 4.2 innings and gave up 6 runs total. Though it was mentioned in an earlier update that if the month ended and the Wolverines were ahead by 5ish games the Tornadoes would be hopeful, this feels close enough. The hitters did a decent job, too, of getting hits but most of them singles and therefore not too damaging. This kind of light hitting will do just fine to create some tension in the final month. Two Wolverine hitters really shined brightly this month – Austin Riley and Will Smith. Riley led the team in hits with 39, and Smith led the team with a 1.033 OPS. On the mound, Walker Buehler pitched 40 innings with an ERA of 1.56.
Flint Hill: “L,” 6-4; 38PA, 1.7IP
| AVG: 0.212 | OBP: 0.316 | SLG: 0.364 | OPS: 0.679 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 1.765 |
The Tornadoes missed a chance to make up more ground than .3 games, though at least we are heading in the right direction. There was one good performance on the last day of the month, with Mookie Betts going 1 for 2 with a home run and 2 walks. A healthy Mookie could really help down the stretch! For the month, Paul Goldschmidt lead the team in hits with 38, and Tyler Naquin surprisingly lead the team in OPS at 1.195. Patrick Wisdom led the team in home runs with 10 – talk about two no-names carrying the team this month! The pitching was pretty bad in Flint Hill this month, but Julio Urias did manage to toss 26 innings with an ERA of 1.16.
DC: “L,” 10-7; 34PA, 1IP
| AVG: 0.355 | OBP: 0.412 | SLG: 0.871 | OPS: 1.283 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 1.000 |
The Balk ended the month with a bang, even though they were saddled with a database loss. Bryce Harper went 3 for 5 with a double, and Matt Chapman launched two home runs on the final day of the month. Three other guys hit a home run each, and that was good because not enough pitchers pitched to stave off replacement innings. DC tied for the most wins this month (with Cottage), and did so by leading the lead in RC/G at 6.49. Their best performers this month were (no surprise) Bryce Harper who OPSed 1.304 on the month with 34 hits, 11 of them home runs and 11 of them doubles and (surprise!), Myles Straw, who tied Bryce Harper for hits at 34, though only had 11 combined extra base hits (9 doubles and 2 home runs). On the mound, Triston McKenzie (1.93 ERA in 28IP) and Dylan Cease (2.83 ERA in 35IP) were really good.
Peshastin: L, 1-3; 36PA, 9.3IP
| AVG: 0.147 | OBP: 0.194 | SLG: 0.235 | OPS: 0.430 |
| ERA: 3.87 | WHIP: 0.753 |
Blake Snell seemed pump to get the news he was traded to the leading Wolverines, because in his last start as a Pear he tossed 7 no-hit innings. Here’s to hoping August 31st is when he peaked this season. Unfortunately for the Pears, no one else did much to help the team win in their final game this month. In fact, Kendall Graveman did all he could to take his team to the grave, man. I bet Jerry Dipoto loved seeing Abraham Toro torch Gravement for a Grand Slam home run. Talk about vindication! He gave up 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning. The Pears were quiet at the plate, garnering only one run on the day, with no hitter getting more than one base hit. For the month, Juan Soto had the type of month predicted once the trade deadline had passed and the best Nat hitters had been shipped out: he had 32 walks in 108 plate appearances. Coupled with 20 hits, his OBP for the month was an incredible .495. Mike Zunino lead the team in home runs with 7, while Ryan Mountcastle contributed 12 extra base hits to lead the team. Snell’s great night yesterday capped off his best month of the season, in which he tossed 36.7 innings with a 1.72 ERA.
Kaline: W, 8-6; 44PA, 1.7IP
| AVG: 0.359 | OBP: 0.432 | SLG: 0.564 | OPS: 0.996 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 1.765 |
The Drive finished the month with an excellent day at the plate, which helped to cover replacement innings on the mound. They sent 11 men to the plate, and all of them except for pinch-hitter Daulton Varsho got at least one hit. In 44 plate appearances, they only struck out a total of 4 times, which is really impressive. Hunter Renfroe returned from the bereavement list to go 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, both in honor of his late father whom he recently lost to cancer. For the month, the Drive were lead by a scorching hot Aaron Judge who collected 38 hits, including 8 home runs, and OPSed 1.047. Hunter Renfroe was, amazingly, able to keep pace with Judge’s home run prowess, swatting 8 of his own. He is finally having a breakout year! The pitching staff was lead by Max Fried, who tossed 33 innings with a 1.36 ERA.
Cottage: W, 8-1; 46PA, 1IP
| AVG: 0.278 | OBP: 0.413 | SLG: 0.528 | OPS: 0.941 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.000 |
The Cheese were the best EFL team in August, notching 19 wins and only 9 losses. They were the only team to allow fewer than 100 runs this month, the next closest team (Bellingham) allowing over 108. The Cheese pitchers did exactly what their owner asked them to do – how great is that? There wasn’t much pitching yesterday, but the hitting was pretty good. The main goodness came from Abraham Toro, who torched Kendall Graveman for a game-winning grand slam. I still can’t get over how that must make Jerry Dipoto feel. The top performers for the Cheese this month were definitely pitchers. Steven Matz and Robbie Ray, specifically. Matz tossed 27.7 innings to the tune of a 1.30 ERA, while Ray tossed 41 innings with a 1.76 ERA. Abraham Toro led the team in hits, getting 32 of them in August, and Adolis Garcia led the team in home runs, with 8.
Canberra: L, 4-5; 33PA, 3IP
| AVG: 0.258 | OBP: 0.303 | SLG: 0.452 | OPS: 0.755 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 1.333 |
Yesterday was simply and average day for the Roos. Nothing about it was too special, not nothing about it too awful. I imagine for a team biding its time until the end of the season a day like yesterday feels ok. In response to the Commissioner’s prodding, Carter did earn his last name, hitting a home run. As did Vlad Jr., but that is nothing new. The team had a couple walks and a few strikeouts, and two relievers combined for 2 innings of scoreless pitching. Pretty ok. For the month, the Roos were lead offensively by Deb Wander Franco (perhaps the #1 pick next spring?). Franco had 33 hits on his way to an OPS of .916. And despite what Ryan’s father intimated yesterday, Carter Kieboom led his team in home runs, with 6. The pitching was thin for the month, but Chris Flexen managed a 2.67 ERA over 37.1 innings while Emmanuel Clase pitched 12.7 scoreless innings.
Haviland: W, 10-8; 28PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.370 | OBP: 0.393 | SLG: 0.741 | OPS: 1.134 |
| ERA: 7.71 | WHIP: 1.714 |
That excellent offensive line yesterday might help to mitigate the sting of a pretty bad month for the Dragons. Haviland was the only EFL team to finish under .500 this month, and their 11 wins were a full 4 wins less than Canberra who was directly above them in the standings this month. A team ERA of 5.89 was the main culprit, and many of those came from replacement innings – 51.3 innings to be exact – most in the league. But yesterday! Amed Rosario was the top hitter according to BR, going 5 for 5 with 2 home runs! And Kyle Schwarber was 2 for 4 with his own home run. On the month, Rosario led the team with a whopping 41 hits. Brandon Lowe hit 10 home runs, and Kyle Schwarber OPSed 1.173 in his return from the IL. All of those players are under contract for another year or two, which must feel nice. Only one pitcher had an ERA under 3.00, and it was Joe Barlow who only tossed 9 innings this month.
Pittsburgh: L, (-1)-7; 28PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.115 | OBP: 0.179 | SLG: 0.115 | OPS: 0.294 |
| ERA: 13.50 | WHIP: 2.000 |
There isn’t anything Mark would want me to mention about yesterday, so we will skip to the monthly stars of his team. The OPS leader for the team was Bobby Dalbec, who caught fire this month. Immediately after the trade of Altuve for Dalbec, it looked as though Tom got the best of the deal. However, Dalbec this month has OPSed 1.216 while leading the team in home runs and RBI. Luis Robert has also quickly proven his worth as a number one pick, though it didn’t come until August. His .329 batting average was second only to Bobby D’s .349. On the mound, Logan Webb had a masterful month, tossing 38.3 innings with a 1.41 ERA. Webb will be a mainstay for another 3 years on the Alleghenys. Their second best pitcher, though, will be gone after this season – Vlad Gr. tossed 35.3 innings with a 2.80 ERA.
Bellingham: W, 3-0; 17PA, 10.7IP
| AVG: 0.286 | OBP: 0.353 | SLG: 0.286 | OPS: 0.639 |
| ERA: 0.84 | WHIP: 0.467 |
The Cascade pitching finished the month strong, ending the month second only to the Cheese. Yesterday was a great example of their prowess on the mound this month. Charlie Morton shut down the Dodgers for 6 innings, his only run allowed a home run to Mookie Betts (thank you!). Three relievers added 4.7 innings of scoreless pitching. 4 singles and 2 walks were there only offense, though they only struck out 2 times. I am fairly confident that if I asked anyone, maybe even Andre, to look at his roster and tell me who led the team in offense you would get it wrong. The answer? Bryan de la Cruz! Quick, what MLB team does he play on? If you guessed the Marlins, you were smarter than me. de la Cruz had 33 hits and a monthly batting average of .384. His .941 OPS was just a touch under Jorge Polanco, who led the team with a .946 OPS this month. The best pitcher for them, also pried away by the Wolverines, was Shane McClanahan, who tossed 29 innings with a 2.76 ERA. Charlie Morton threw more innings (35) but had a slightly worse ERA (2.85…which is still very good).
Portland: W, 8-7; 22PA, 5IP
| AVG: 0.333 | OBP: 0.455 | SLG: 0.722 | OPS: 1.177 |
| ERA: 7.20 | WHIP: 1.400 |
Waking up to a win on his birthday must have felt nice! And it is was all due to excellent hitting. CJ Cron and Gary Sanchez both hit home runs, and Corey Seager added a clutch double (scored Mookie Betts for the go-ahead run). For the month, the Rosebuds had a lot for which to be grateful. CJ Cron led the team with 37 hits, 12 of them home runs, on his way to an OPS of 1.262. Maybe I need to pry him away from the Rosebuds in the final month of his contract. Nick Solak and Rhys Hoskins had nice months, but were cut short by injuries. The best pitcher was likely Tyler Alexander, who tossed 24 innings with an ERA of 3.38. I’ve already wondered if the Rosebuds would select Wander Franco first, but looking at their pitching this month, it might be a pitcher they select first. We’ll see! That is, of course, if the Cascades do not manage to pass them.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 91 | 41 | .693 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 85 | 47 | .647 | 6 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 84 | 48 | .636 | 7.4 |
| New York Yankees | 76 | 56 | .576 | 15.4 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 59 | .560 | 17.4 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 69 | 61 | .531 | 21.4 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 41 | 90 | .313 | 49.9 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 83 | 48 | .636 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 72 | 59 | .553 | 10.9 |
| Atlanta Braves | 70 | 61 | .534 | 13.4 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 68 | 64 | .515 | 15.9 |
| New York Mets | 65 | 67 | .492 | 18.9 |
| Washington Nationals | 55 | 76 | .420 | 28.4 |
| Miami Marlins | 55 | 78 | .414 | 29.4 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 77 | 56 | .579 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 72 | 61 | .538 | 5.4 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 70 | 63 | .524 | 7.3 |
| Cleveland Indians | 65 | 64 | .504 | 10 |
| Detroit Tigers | 62 | 71 | .466 | 15 |
| Kansas City Royals | 59 | 72 | .450 | 17 |
| Minnesota Twins | 58 | 74 | .439 | 18.5 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 81 | 52 | .609 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 76 | 57 | .571 | 5.1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 71 | 62 | .534 | 10 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 67 | 63 | .515 | 12.5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 58 | 75 | .436 | 23 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 48 | 84 | .364 | 32.5 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 81 | 51 | .612 | — |
| Houston Astros | 78 | 54 | .591 | 2.8 |
| Oakland A’s | 73 | 59 | .553 | 7.8 |
| Haviland Dragons | 72 | 60 | .544 | 9.1 |
| Seattle Mariners | 71 | 62 | .534 | 10.3 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 66 | 67 | .496 | 15.3 |
| Texas Rangers | 47 | 85 | .356 | 33.8 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| San Francisco Giants | 84 | 48 | .636 | — |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 84 | 49 | .632 | 0.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 81 | 51 | .614 | 2.9 |
| San Diego Padres | 71 | 62 | .534 | 13.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 62 | 70 | .466 | 22.4 |
| Colorado Rockies | 60 | 72 | .455 | 24 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 44 | 90 | .328 | 41 |
Happy Birthday, Mr. Rosebud. May you have another 40 and a half for an even 100.