League Updates

Potpourri

Three teams with 48 wins, Rosebuds fade, Bryant goes off, and two, um, boys are not obeying the pool safety rules.

EFL Standings for 2016
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Old Detroit Wolverines 48 27 .646 424.8 315.1
Haviland Dragons 48 29 .626 1.2 390.1 303.6
Portland Rosebuds 48 30 .619 1.7 403.1 310.3
Canberra Kangaroos 43 34 .563 6.1 373.0 325.2
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 40 35 .539 8.1 377.9 350.5
Flint Hill Tornadoes 38 37 .513 10 339.5 331.1
Peshastin Pears 38 40 .493 11.5 335.8 340.2
Cottage Cheese 37 38 .488 11.8 367.5 370.8
Kaline Drive 30 47 .386 19.7 355.5 450.1
D.C. Balk 26 51 .333 23.8 302.5 435.3
Old Detroit:  W (-1), L 1; 2 – 2. (.267, .450, .667; 5.3 ip, 4 er) .  Seems a rather harsh result for what was essentially a tie on an off-day — 1.9 to 2.0.  But with great power comes great responsibility, I guess, which means if you want to enjoy the benefits of a winning percentage over .600, you have to live up to a tougher standard.
Haviland: W, 3 – (-1) (.273, .292, .409;  16 ip , 2 er). The league’s best pitching currently belongs to the Dragons, barely better than the Rosebuds. Mercurial Vincent Velasquez was in his quicksilver state yesterday, striking out 7 in 5 shutout innings. Danny Duffy added 8 innings, 2 er, and Juan Nicasio mopped up with three more scoreless frames.
Portland: L, 1 – 6. (.175, .222, .275;  7 ip, 4 er).  A rough day in Portland.    Ian Desmond was the only hitter to have a better than average day  — and that was only because his one hit was a homer.  From the internet: “Generally mid to late May into the first two weeks of June is peak bloom time for roses.”  It’s now late June, so I suppose we are already slipping past the prime season for rosebuds. Perhaps better irrigation would help keep those buds coming?  Some way of keeping them cool? Because the same source predicts a second peak bloom once the weather cools in September…
Canberra:  W, 10 – 5.  (.444, .565, .889; no pitching).  Wow. Only 5 hitters, but 23 plate appearances (or 24 if you count the sacrifice bunt).  All five hitters had OPSes of at least 1.000 — Kipnis exactly at 1.000 up to Logan Forsythe at exactly 2.000 on the day. They went 8 for 17 with 5 walks  and two homers. Thus the ‘Roos took 10% off their deficit in the EFL pennant race.   It would be nice to see them in the thick of things again.
Pittsburgh:  “L”, 7 – 4. (.370, .393, .741;  8.7 ip, 4 er).  Mike Trout  (3 for 4 with 2 2bs and a hr) and Aledmys Diaz (2 for 3 with 2 doubles) led the A’s offense. Pretty impressive, eh?  Well, reserve judgment for now…
Flint Hill: W (-1), L 1; 2 – 5. (.333, .444, .600;  19 ip, 13  er).  The Tornado traded  Jeff Samardzija to  the Balk yesterday effective at the end of the month.  Samardzija turned in a 6 ip, 6 er performance last night.  A nasty gesture by an ungrateful Tornado reject?  Or maybe a bit of sharp dealing by the (relatively) veteran Dragonmaster? Did the trade come before the meltdown?  Would the Balk have agreed to the deal if it were offered this morning after the meltdown?  Such interesting questions!
Peshastin: L, 6 – 7.  (.364, .400, .591;  2 ip, 0 er)  Light returns on such good hitting, mostly because they only mustered 24 plate appearances.  Seven different batters appeared in the game — all reached bast safely at least once.  It was just enough, because…
Cottage:  “W”. 4 – 6.  (.258, .303, 290;  5.3 ip, 4 er) ... the Cheese had a moldy day. My mental image right now for the Cheese and Pears is two boys who’ve been swimming each trying to get out of the pool before the other.  For a moment there they were both on the bank, just barely, but now they’ve knocked each other back in, and at this moment both are underwater.  Which is a good thing, because it keep the actual combatants out of focus for the moment, so we can visualize them as grade school boys rather than old guys in their 60’s.
Kaline:  “W”, 8 – 11.  (.419, .438, .806; 4.7 ip, 7 er).  Wow.  The Drive played it very big on both sides of the plate.  Kris Bryant led the way on offense, piling up three homers and 2 doubles,with 16 total bases and 6 RBI.  That’s an OPS of 4.200! The pitching results were… Wow, too.
DC: .L , 3 – 7. (.235, .235, .235 – very convenient!  Thanks!.  1 ip, 0 er)  So that straight line of .235 is an impressive feat, but didn’t help your team too much. Hopefully that Shark you just bought will use its teeth on opposing hitters rather than its own team’s ERA from now on.
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Old Detroit Wolverines 48 27 .646
Baltimore Orioles 45 30 .600 3.5
Boston Red Sox 41 35 .539 8
Toronto Blue Jays 41 37 .526 9
Flint Hill Tornadoes 38 37 .513 10
New York Yankees 37 38 .493 11.5
Tampa Bay Rays 32 43 .427 16.5
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Washington Nationals 45 32 .584
Canberra Kangaroos 43 34 .563 1.7
Miami Marlins 41 35 .539 3.5
New York Mets 40 35 .533 4
Philadelphia Phillies 33 45 .423 12.5
Atlanta Braves 26 50 .342 18.5
D.C. Balk 26 51 .333 19.3
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Cleveland Indians 45 30 .600
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 40 35 .539 4.6
Kansas City Royals 40 35 .533 5
Detroit Tigers 38 38 .500 7.5
Chicago White Sox 38 38 .500 7.5
Minnesota Twins 24 51 .320 21
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Chicago Cubs 49 26 .653
St. Louis Cardinals 39 36 .520 10
Cottage Cheese 37 38 .488 12.4
Pittsburgh Pirates 37 40 .481 13
Milwaukee Brewers 34 41 .453 15
Cincinnati Reds 29 48 .377 21
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Texas Rangers 50 27 .649
Haviland Dragons 48 29 .626 1.8
Houston Astros 40 37 .519 10
Seattle Mariners 38 38 .500 11.5
Oakland A’s 33 43 .434 16.5
Los Angeles Angels 32 45 .416 18
Kaline Drive 30 47 .386 20.3
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
San Francisco Giants 49 29 .628
Portland Rosebuds 48 30 .619 0.7
Los Angeles Dodgers 42 36 .538 7
Peshastin Pears 38 40 .493 10.5
Colorado Rockies 37 39 .487 11
Arizona Diamondbacks 36 43 .456 13.5
San Diego Padres 33 44 .429 15.5