I worked for over an hour on an update yesterday (Tuesday) but somehow lost it all with a couple of ill-advised keystrokes. I had neither time nor heart to try to reconstruct it. So here is the first two-day-at-a-time EFL update for 2019.
EFL Standings for 2019
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 8 | 2 | .796 | — | 73.9 | 37.4 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 8 | 4 | .671 | 0.9 | 87.9 | 61.6 |
| Cottage Cheese | 7 | 5 | .616 | 1.6 | 71.8 | 56.7 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 6 | 4 | .607 | 1.9 | 63.7 | 51.3 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 7 | 5 | .568 | 2.1 | 71.8 | 62.6 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 7 | 5 | .564 | 2.2 | 67.2 | 59.1 |
| Peshastin Pears | 7 | 5 | .560 | 2.2 | 64.4 | 57.1 |
| Kaline Drive | 6 | 7 | .470 | 3.3 | 42.0 | 44.5 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 5 | 5 | .464 | 3.3 | 51.8 | 55.7 |
| D.C. Balk | 3 | 7 | .348 | 4.5 | 32.5 | 44.6 |
| Brookland Outs | 4 | 8 | .303 | 5.3 | 44.2 | 67.0 |
| Haviland Dragons | 4 | 9 | .312 | 5.4 | 55.3 | 82.0 |
Results for Monday and Tuesday:
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Canberra: W 1, L 1; 6 – 9. (69 PA, .290, .354, .594; 19.7 ip, 9 er, 4.12 ERA). Finally the Kangaroos show some hints of being humans: two legs, two arm, standing upright — what more is there? Also, Mitch Garver hit two homers and two singles in 5 PAs and Michael Conforto hit a homer, a double, a single and two walks in 5 PAs, to concoct replica 2.800 OPSes. Cedric Mullins chipped in 2 triples in 3 PAs (2.500). Joey Lucchesi’s rough outing (4 in, 7 er) sabotaged Blake Snell’s and Corey Kluber’s fine ones (6 ip, 1 er each). Top ‘Roos to date: Tim Beckham (.400, .489, .825, 1.314) and Rhys Hoskins (.324, .477, .824, 1.301).
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Flint Hill: W 2, L 0; 20 – 11. (66 PA, .339, .426, .554 — Happy Edgar Martinez Days!; 14.3 ip, 8 er, 5.02 ERA). The Tornados churned their way into a strong second place. Austin Meadows went 4 for 5 with a homer and two walks (2.257 OPS) to lead the way. Yasmani Grandal followed with 2 homers of his own, with 2 singles and a walk (2.054). Mikolas and Cahill did ok in their starts (12 ip, 5 er between them), but the bullpen coughed up 3 runs in 1.3 innings for a small chulk. Top Tornados to date: Mike Trout (.406, .592, .938, 1.529) and… um… OK, Trout counts for two.
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Cottage: W 0, L 2; 6 – 15. (61 PA, .224, .262, .397; 2.7 ip, 1 er, 3.37 ERA) A dismal couple of days at the Cottage, only partly brightened by the ongoing brilliance of Jorge Polanco (3 for 5 with a triple and a homer, 2.200 OPS). Top Cheese so far: Polanco (.405, .450, .811, 1.261) and… the three Y’s: Yandy (.946), Yoan (.997) and Yonny (12 ip, 1 er, 0.75 ERA).
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Pittsburgh: DNP, 1 – 1. (80 PA, .289, .317, .605; 13.3 ip, 8 er, 5.40 ERA). The Alleghenys treaded water — if you can picture such a thing… Ok, the Alleghenys pretty much just stood there like they do in reality. They had 5 hitters OPSing over 1.000, but the top one was Jurickson Profar (!?) going 5 for 8 with a homer and a walk. Stephen Strasburg and Derek Holland produced — this will be a shocker — one great and one terrible start. The great start (6 ip, 1 er) was by… Holland. Strasburg: 4 ip, 6 er. Peak Allegheny so far: Dansby Swanson, finally fulfilling his promise as a super-prospect (.324, .419, .765, 1.183) and Maikel Franco (.294, .442, .706, 1.148).
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Old Detroit: W 1, L 1; 10 – 16. (67 PA, .286, .328, .476; 15 ip, 12 er, 7.20 ERA). The pitching… Madison Bumgarner and Eric Lauer compiled identical 6 ip, 5 er lines Monday. Jonathan Loaisiga was on the same path (3 ip, 2 er) when someone compassionately let him go take a shower. Dan Vogelbach cooled off Tuesday, only going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles. Piffles compared to Monday: 2 for 2 with a homer and three walks. Leading Wolverines so far: Vogey (.500, .621, 1.364 for an OPS of 1.984!) and the injured Trea Turner (.357, .400, .857, 1.257).
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Portland: W 1, L 1; 14 – 20. (77 PA, .258, .359, .409; 21.7 ip, 19 er, 7.89 ERA). It’s like a miracle! The mighty Rosebuds having two crummy days hitting at the same time as they produce two terrible days of pitching! It was enough to drop them behind the Wolverines, an arrangement I think we would all agree is much more comfortable. German Marquez and Chris Sale, Rosebud stalwarts a year ago, were equally stalwart for league equal opportunity this week, combining for 9 ip and 10 earned runs. Go Rosebuds. Top ‘Buds: Anthony Rendon (.421, .489, .895, 1.384; Jose Berrios (20.7 ip, 5 er, 2.18 ERA).
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Peshastin: W 0, L 2; 6 – 15. (86 PA, .213, .256, .388; 7.3 ip, 7 er, 8.59 ERA) Victor Robles went off (4 for 8 with a double and a homer) and Juan Soto did, too, a little (2 for 7 with a double, a homer, and two walks). The third Nats/Pears outfielder, Adam Eaton, went 1 for 10. At leas the 1 was a double. Freddy Peralta, who dominated last time out as I recall, got dominated this time: a 3.3 ip, 7 er chulk. Prime Pears so far: Victor Robles (.324, .410, .706, 1.116) and Zach Eflin (12 ip, 1 er, .075 ERA).
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Kaline: W 1, L 1; 11 – 11. (77 PA, .294, .388, .544; 8 ip, o er, o.00 ERA) The league has formed two big convection chambers, one stretching from 2nd place to 7th place, and the other from 9th to 12th. Atop the first one the Kangaroos have been floating placidly for several day. Atop the second one we find the even more placid Drive. Look how they matched those 11 runs with 11 runs allowed — by showing 8 brilliant innings of first-rate pitching, led by Max Fried’s 6 scoreless innings , while calmly accepting several innings of replacement pitching (apparently). Kyle Farmer contributed a pinch hit homer for a 5.000 OPS. Best Drives so far: Fried (13.7 ip, 0 er, 0.0o ERA) and Hunter Renfroe (.333, .394, .833, 1.227).
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Bellingham: W 2, L (-2); 13 – (-5). (47 PA, .405, .532, 1.081; 7 ip, 1 er, 1.29 ERA). In keeping with the pattern they have established, the Cascades got great hitting — but not quite enough of it. Six Cascades OPSed over 1.000: Jarrod Dyson (5.000, 1 pinch hit homer), Charlie Culberson (3.000, one pinch hit double), Tommy La Stella (2.571, three homers and a walk in 7 plate appearances), Ronald Acuna (2.095, 2 homers, 2 singles, a walk and a hbp in 9 PAs), Hunter Pence (2.000, one pinch hit single), and Justin Bour (1.389, a homer, a single, and 3 walks in 9 plate appearances). This time they added some good pitching, but only 1 game’s worth stretched over two. Peak Cascades so far: Bryce Harper (.333, .511, .788, 1.299). Second highest Cascade? That’s a tough one. Acuna is piling up value at a volcanic rate but he was dormant for quite a while. Charlie Culberson has a 2.000 OPS — in only 4 plate appearances. I suppose Wade Miley might be the one: 11.7 ip, 3 er, 2.31 ERA.
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DC: W 0, L 2; 8 – 12. (63 PA, .250, .333, .286; 1.7 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA). Disappointing results, I would imagine, only slightly brightened by Nick Markakis’ 5 for 8 with a walk. Biggest Balkans to date: Willians Astudillo (.421, .455, .737, 1.191) and Mike Clevinger (12 ip, 0 er, 0.00ERA). But Clevinger is going onto the MLB Injured List, I believe.
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Brookland: W 1, L 1; 11 – 14. (57 PA, .286, .386, .469; 10.7 ip, 7 er, 5.91 ERA). Scott Schebler led the way for the Outs the last two days: 3 for 4 with a homer and a walk. Lourdes Gurriel stole home. For the season, the Loudest Outs are Cody Bellinger (.440, .500, .960, 1.460) and Adam Jones (.362, .388, .702, 1.090).
Haviland: W 0, L 2; 9 – 16. (57 PA, .264, .310, .453, 6.7 ip, 5 er, 6.75 ERA). Brandon Nimmo had a good day: 2 for 4 with a homer, double and walk. Kolten Wong, who’s been hot, was not: 0 for 6 with a hbp was all he managed Monday and Tuesday. Wong is still one of the Highest Flying Dragons so far (.361, .429, .722, 1.151), along with Tyler Glasnow (11 ip, 1 er, 0.82 ERA).
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2019
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 9 | 3 | .750 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 8 | 4 | .671 | 0.9 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 7 | 5 | .568 | 2.2 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3.5 |
| New York Yankees | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3.5 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 4 | 8 | .333 | 5 |
| Boston Red Sox | 3 | 9 | .250 | 6 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 8 | 2 | .796 | — |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 7 | 3 | .700 | 1 |
| Atlanta Braves | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1.5 |
| New York Mets | 6 | 4 | .600 | 2 |
| Washington Nationals | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3 |
| D.C. Balk | 3 | 7 | .348 | 4.5 |
| Miami Marlins | 3 | 8 | .273 | 5.5 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Cleveland Indians | 7 | 3 | .700 | — |
| Minnesota Twins | 6 | 3 | .667 | 0.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 7 | 4 | .636 | 0.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 6 | 4 | .607 | 0.9 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 5 | 5 | .464 | 2.4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 3 | 7 | .300 | 4 |
| Kansas City Royals | 2 | 8 | .200 | 5 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 8 | 4 | .667 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 7 | 5 | .616 | 0.6 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 5 | 4 | .556 | 1.5 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 6 | 5 | .545 | 1.5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3 | 7 | .300 | 4 |
| Brookland Outs | 4 | 8 | .303 | 4.4 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 2 | 8 | .200 | 5 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Seattle Mariners | 11 | 2 | .846 | — |
| Houston Astros | 7 | 5 | .583 | 3.5 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 6 | 6 | .500 | 4.5 |
| Kaline Drive | 6 | 7 | .470 | 4.9 |
| Oakland A’s | 7 | 8 | .467 | 5 |
| Texas Rangers | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 |
| Haviland Dragons | 4 | 9 | .312 | 6.9 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 8 | 4 | .667 | — |
| San Diego Padres | 7 | 5 | .583 | 1 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 7 | 5 | .564 | 1.2 |
| Peshastin Pears | 7 | 5 | .560 | 1.3 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 6 | 5 | .545 | 1.5 |
| San Francisco Giants | 4 | 8 | .333 | 4 |
| Colorado Rockies | 3 | 9 | .250 | 5 |