Still under the grading gun…

What I know most right now is the pathetic state of the Wolverine pitching staff.  Alex Meyer is the latest Wolverine to take the hill in May, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings yesterday.  Looks like he’ll fit right into the team’s 14.09 May ERA.  (Alex’s 13.50 actually improved the team ERA a little.)

Just as an aside: the “Wolverine Welcome” guide we give to new players has just been revised to match current practice.  Here are the options it suggests for new players who want to fit into the team:

1. Be a pitcher on the DL, like  Bumgarner, DeSclafani, Heaney, Hill, Jones, Kluber, Paulino, Skaggs, Whalen.  (That’s 80% of my preferred starting rotation, plus my main reliever, my 6th starter, and three supposedly shiny prospects.)
2. Be a pitcher with a May ERA at replacement or worse, like Kluber, Moore, Wood, Meyer.
3. Be in the minors like Armstrong, Meyer (depending on the day), Paulino, Whalen, Profar, Vogelbach,  Smith
4. Be a supposed star in a death-spiraling slump like Hedges (only while on the active roster), Machado, Polanco, Schwarber, Yelich.
5. Be a low-ceiling middle infielder: Ahmed, Iglesias, Wong.
6. Be on the roster as a sort of halfway house or monastic retreat, to be traded when your penance is over, like Starling  Marte

This leaves Shane Greene, Francisco Liriano, Clayton Richard, Josh Bell, Willson Contreras, and Steve Pearce as misfits, i.e., not any good, but at least not at this very moment useless or in disgrace.  But relax, their turn will come, probably before the weekend is over.

EFL Standings for 2017

Cottage:  “L”, 8 – 7. (.333, .455, .481;  6 ip, 4 er).

Peshastin: “L”, 6 – 2.  (.310, .341, .452; 15.7 ip, 6 er).

Kaline: L, 5 – 7. (.321, .446, .396; 5.7 ip, 4 er).

Pittsburgh:  W 1, L 1; 12 – 11. (.125, .263, .125; 2 ip, 0 er).

Haviland:  W, 2 – 1. (.095, .269, .238; 2.3 ip, 0 er).

Canberra: W, 4 – 2. (.243, .293, .351; 1.3 ip, 0 er).

Portland: W,  6 – 4. (.302, .348, .535;  no pitching).

Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2017