The beginning of the MLB season this year has seemed to produce more injuries to key players than a normal year, and many of them have had a direct impact on our EFL teams. Take a look at some of the most high profile players who have are currently injured in one form or another (some of them short term and others perhaps more long term, but all of them impact players):
Bellingham: Ronald Acuna, Jr.
Canberra: Miles Mikolas, Sixto Sanchez, Alex Bregman, Austin Nola
Cottage: Chris Archer, Adrian Morejon, Tony Gonsolin
DC: Adalberto Mondesi
Flint Hill: Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Rendon
Haviland: Spencer Howard, AJ Puk, Aristides Aquino
Kaline: Max Fried, Dinelson Lamet (returning tonight!), Julian Merryweather
Old Detroit: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Eloy Jimenez, Nate Pearson, Gavin Lux
Peshastin: Juan Soto, James Paxton, Mike Soroka
Pittsburgh: Sonny Gray, Jose Altuve
Portland: None that I could find?
If you are like me, you are dreaming of the day when all of your injured players are back hoping that for a bit the whole team will be able to lead they way instead of having to piece things together. But I’ve learned that it is rare (perhaps impossible) to have everyone healthy at the same time. And so, all of us forge ahead, hoping for health and dreaming of what things might be like if in a perfect world.
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 14 | 4 | .771 | — | 100.8 | 54.9 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 13 | 5 | .739 | 0.6 | 76.2 | 45.3 |
| Haviland Dragons | 12 | 6 | .648 | 2.2 | 73.1 | 53.9 |
| D.C. Balk | 8 | 4 | .644 | 3.2 | 57.5 | 42.7 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 9 | 7 | .590 | 3.4 | 71.0 | 59.2 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 9 | 7 | .568 | 3.8 | 79.7 | 69.6 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 7 | 5 | .575 | 4 | 64.4 | 55.3 |
| Peshastin Pears | 10 | 8 | .541 | 4.1 | 74.7 | 68.8 |
| Kaline Drive | 10 | 8 | .537 | 4.2 | 80.4 | 74.7 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 9 | 9 | .499 | 4.9 | 78.6 | 78.7 |
| Cottage Cheese | 6 | 9 | .397 | 6.4 | 79.9 | 98.5 |
Old Detroit: W, 4-(-3); 43PA, 12IP
| AVG: 0.162 | OBP: 0.279 | SLG: 0.270 | OPS: 0.549 |
| ERA: 1.50 | WHIP: 1.167 |
The Wolverines are the first team this month to eclipse the 100 run mark, though they did in rather unremarkable fashion. They collected 6 hits on the day, only two of them for extra bases – Carlos Correa with a 2B and Josh Bell with a HR. Byron Buxton did return, but perhaps Ron’s transactional plea yesterday was too desperate, therefore putting too much pressure on his hitter? He ended up with 4 Ks in 6 PAs. Chris Paddack gave up 5 runs, but only one of them earned thanks to an error from fellow Wolverine Jurickson Profar. Jameson Taillon gave up 1 earned run, too, but no others. The Wolverines are keeping pace with the MLB leading Dodgers in terms of wins, a hard thing to do, and have an even higher run differential than they do, 56 to 38.
Flint Hill: W, 4-0; 23PA, 19.4IP
| AVG: 0.227 | OBP: 0.217 | SLG: 0.545 | OPS: 0.763 |
| ERA: 0.46 | WHIP: 0.928 |
Despite all of the injuries suffered on the offensive side of the Tornado clubhouse, the team has continued to be bolstered by excellent pitching. Yesterday’s heroes were Julio Urias (7ip, 0er), Carlos Rodon (5ip, 1er), and even the recently benched Sean Manaea got in on the fun, throwing 7ip with 0er. The hitting was little (23PAs) and lackluster (you see the line). Austin Meadows and Bo Bichette were the only two to do anything and they did enough, combining to go 5 for 9 with a 2B and 2 HRs.
Haviland: W, 2-0; 53PA; 7.3IP
| AVG: 0.122 | OBP: 0.189 | SLG: 0.265 | OPS: 0.454 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.822 |
The Dragons continued yesterday’s trend of poor hitting with excellent pitching (those things often go hand in hand in the EFL because, well, if our pitchers do well then our hitters have a good chance of not doing well). Their excellent pitching was just enough in terms of innings and more than enough in terms of runs allowed – a sterling 0.00 ERA. Jesus Luzardo, who donned glasses for this start – rebounded from a not so great start to put up 5 innings of scoreless baseball. Three RP did their part with a combined 2 innings of runs. Like the Tornadoes, only two hitters did any damage, but it was enough. Brandon Lowe and Gio Urshela combined to go 4 for 8 with a 2B and 2 HRs.
DC: W, 5-3; 44PA, 5.3IP
| AVG: 0.211 | OBP: 0.318 | SLG: 0.316 | OPS: 0.634 |
| ERA: 1.70 | WHIP: 1.321 |
The Balk jumped over three teams in the standings yesterday, landing in 4th place. The tried and true “pitch it, don’t hit it” method worked well for them as it did for the teams above them yesterday. Jose Berrios stepped onto the mound after his team’s COVID break this past weekend, and twirled 5 innings giving up only 1 run. Xander Bogaerts hit his first HR of the season on the way to a 2 for 4 day, also chipping in a 2B. And Bryce Harper collected 2 hits and 2 BBs.
Bellingham: W, 5-4; 31PA; 8IP
| AVG: 0.241 | OBP: 0.290 | SLG: 0.621 | OPS: 0.911 |
| ERA: 2.25 | WHIP: 0.750 |
Like the Balk, the Cascades quaked themselves (that’s how a mountain range would move, duh) up the standings, from 8th to 5th, on the strength of – you guessed it – strong pitching with weak hitting. The good thing for Bellingham is their hitting was not as weak as the teams ahead of them, thus leading to 5 runs scored (because the pitching wasn’t as strong as the teams ahead of them, either). Cascade hitters collected 3 HRs (Brad Miller, Tim Anderson and Rhys Hoskins) and also a triple (Hanser Alberto). The Cascade pitchers were led by Charlie Morton’s strong start of 6 innings and 1 earned run.
Pittsburgh: L, 2-7; 27PA, 4.7IP
| AVG: 0.222 | OBP: 0.222 | SLG: 0.259 | OPS: 0.481 |
| ERA: 7.66 | WHIP: 1.915 |
The Alleghenys did their part to keep EFL hitting weak on the day, but they broke rank by running out Logan Webb who gave up 4 runs in 4ip. Almost all of their offense came from two guys (Luis Robert and Dominic Smith) who combined to go 5 for 8 with a 2B and a stolen base. But the team didn’t earn a single walk, and couldn’t escape Webb’s web.
Canberra: L, 1-8; 47PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.163 | OBP: 0.234 | SLG: 0.349 | OPS: 0.583 |
| ERA: 18.00 | WHIP: 2.500 |
Were it not for Mike Trout there might not be a lot to write about for the Roos. But Trout, he the best hitter of this era, hit a ball 446 feet last night with an exit velocity of 115.5 MPH on his way to a 3 for 4 evening. Tommy La Stella also hit a HR, which isn’t something you get to write very often. Get this – in his 8 year career, La Stella has hit 32 HRs, but 16 of them came in one year (2019) which means he has averaged 2.5 HRs every other year of his career. That is odd, and one more reason why baseball is fun. Those two HRs were not enough to overcome the mountain created by Rich Hill, who gave up 4 runs in 2 innings.
Peshastin: L, 1-8; 30IP, no pitching
| AVG: 0.074 | OBP: 0.167 | SLG: 0.111 | OPS: 0.278 |
Yikes! The Pears plummeted to 8th place after being in 4th yesterday. The news of Juan Soto’s injury has already been noted, and perhaps the air became stale after his departure from the Pear’s game, because how else can you explain that line? Yoan Moncada collected a 2B and Mitch Haniger a single and that’s it.
Kaline: “W,” 7-8; 51IP, no pitching
| AVG: 0.295 | OBP: 0.392 | SLG: 0.591 | OPS: 0.983 |
Finally, an EFL team with a good offensive line. But wherefore art thou, pitchers? Mitch Moreland led that way for the Drive, going 3 for 4 with 2 HRs and a BB. Bobby Dalbec and Willy Adames both collected 2 hits, one of them a triple for each guy. Some pitching might have put the Drive up into 4th place, but that will need to be left in the land of speculation.
Portland: W, 6-0; 43PA, 8IP
| AVG: 0.220 | OBP: 0.256 | SLG: 0.463 | OPS: 0.719 |
| ERA: 1.13 | WHIP: 1.000 |
How do you score 6 runs with that slash line? By making 5 of your 9 hits for extra bases with 2 doubles, 1 triple and 2 HRs. CJ Cron had the best day, going 2 for 4 with a 2B and a HR while Willians Astudillo also collected two hits, both singles. Jon Gray was excellent again, going 6.7ip giving up only one earned run.
Cottage: W(1), L(-1), 0-(-6); 42PA, 8IP
| AVG: 0.231 | OBP: 0.286 | SLG: 0.385 | OPS: 0.670 |
| ERA: 2.25 | WHIP: 1.875 |
The Cheese went along with Joe Maddon’s plan to not hit Ohtani on the day he pitched, and it worked for them, but it didn’t help their offense one bit. Ohtani threw 4 innings of scoreless baseball, which helped to erase some replacement innings for the Cheese. October darling Randy Arozarena went 3 for 6, Trea Turner went 2 for 4 (all singles for both of those guys), and Alec Bohm and JD Davis each added a HR.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 14 | 4 | .771 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 13 | 5 | .739 | 0.6 |
| Boston Red Sox | 12 | 6 | .667 | 1.9 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 10 | 8 | .556 | 3.9 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 8 | 9 | .471 | 5.4 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 7 | 10 | .412 | 6.4 |
| New York Yankees | 6 | 10 | .375 | 6.9 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 8 | 4 | .644 | — |
| New York Mets | 7 | 5 | .583 | 0.7 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 7 | 5 | .575 | 0.8 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 9 | .471 | 2.2 |
| Miami Marlins | 7 | 9 | .438 | 2.7 |
| Atlanta Braves | 7 | 10 | .412 | 3.2 |
| Washington Nationals | 6 | 9 | .400 | 3.2 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Bellingham Cascades | 9 | 7 | .590 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 9 | 7 | .568 | 0.4 |
| Kansas City Royals | 9 | 7 | .563 | 0.4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 9 | 9 | .500 | 1.4 |
| Cleveland Indians | 8 | 8 | .500 | 1.4 |
| Detroit Tigers | 6 | 10 | .375 | 3.4 |
| Minnesota Twins | 6 | 10 | .375 | 3.4 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Cincinnati Reds | 9 | 6 | .600 | — |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 10 | 7 | .588 | — |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 9 | .471 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 7 | 9 | .438 | 2.5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 7 | 9 | .438 | 2.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 6 | 9 | .397 | 3 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Haviland Dragons | 12 | 6 | .648 | — |
| Seattle Mariners | 11 | 7 | .611 | 0.7 |
| Oakland A’s | 11 | 7 | .611 | 0.7 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 9 | 6 | .600 | 1.2 |
| Kaline Drive | 10 | 8 | .537 | 2 |
| Texas Rangers | 8 | 10 | .444 | 3.7 |
| Houston Astros | 7 | 9 | .438 | 3.7 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 14 | 4 | .778 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 11 | 6 | .647 | 2.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 10 | 8 | .541 | 4.3 |
| San Diego Padres | 10 | 9 | .526 | 4.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 9 | 9 | .499 | 5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 6 | 10 | .375 | 7 |
| Colorado Rockies | 5 | 12 | .294 | 8.5 |
I just want to express my thanks for the amazing responsiveness of our transaction crew. I posted a transaction yesterday just before play started in which I asked for Byron Buxton to be healed ASAP. And lo! an hour or two later, there he was, in the lineup! Stellar work!