Yesterday’s seismic activity seems to have left the EFL rendered into halves at the end of the first month of competition – those vying for first and those vying for .500. Which competition is your team in, and how might you fare on this final day of the month? Let’s find out.
EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
RS |
RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
19 |
7 |
.720 |
— |
156.9 |
97.8 |
| D.C. Balk |
18 |
7 |
.720 |
0.2 |
129.9 |
80.9 |
| Haviland Dragons |
18 |
8 |
.701 |
0.5 |
106.1 |
69.3 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
17 |
9 |
.653 |
1.8 |
99.1 |
72.3 |
| Peshastin Pears |
16 |
9 |
.652 |
1.9 |
106.3 |
77.7 |
| Kaline Drive |
14 |
12 |
.546 |
4.5 |
119.9 |
109.3 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
12 |
11 |
.528 |
5.1 |
93.2 |
88.1 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
13 |
12 |
.518 |
5.3 |
127.2 |
122.7 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
11 |
12 |
.473 |
6.4 |
105.7 |
111.7 |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
12 |
13 |
.462 |
6.7 |
128.9 |
139.2 |
| Cottage Cheese |
11 |
14 |
.426 |
7.6 |
144.5 |
167.8 |
Old Detroit: “W,” 3-6; 27PA, 1.7IP
| AVG: 0.269 |
OBP: 0.296 |
SLG: 0.346 |
OPS: 0.642 |
The W’s eked out an EFL win yesterday, and now stare closely into Balkan eyes. Not to be confused with
Balkanize, to which I think Ron, as a pacifist, would be opposed. Although this may feel like an attack by DC (and by Haviland and Flint Hill), it is most certainly not. Consider more of a gathering, in which the members are attempting to end the month much closer than they began it, a truly noteworthy and valuable experience. Considering what OD did two days ago, yesterday was paltry – only 7 hits (2 double and 5 singles) and one walk. Everyone by Tommy Edman got a hit, and Austin Riley continued his hot streak, going 2 for 3 with a walk. The main issue, though, is they needed pitching and didn’t get very much (though the 1.7 innings were good).
DC: W(2), L(-1), 6-(-5); 25PA, 12.7IP
| AVG: 0.318 |
OBP: 0.400 |
SLG: 0.545 |
OPS: 0.945 |
Is this the closest anyone has been in two weeks to unseating the Wolverines this first month of the season? I believe it is. With an excellent day, the Balk now sit only .2 games behind OD though they share the same exact winning percentage of .720. How exciting! I do not have time to sort through old posts, so Rob will have to help us know the answer to the question: if the Balk end up in first before the month is over (today is the final day), will that be their first time atop the standings? If so, how exciting! This will irk Ron, but the Balk offensive line was almost exactly the same as the Wolverine line, but for a couple differences: the Balk had 2 fewer plate appearances, 2 more walks, and 1 more HR. The hits were otherwise exactly the same, but for the Balk it meant 6 runs and for the W’s it meant 3. But it is the pitching we must celebrate this morning! Martin Perez and Dylan Cease combined for that excellent line, including 16 total Ks.
Haviland: W, 5-1; 30PA, 4IP
| AVG: 0.240 |
OBP: 0.367 |
SLG: 0.440 |
OPS: 0.807 |
The Dragons, like the Balk, put more pressure on the Wolverines with a good day on the mound (and, according to the previous month’s Dragon hitting record, a good day at the plate). The Dragons only sent two relievers to the mound, and both collected 2 innings of scoreless baseball. JT Realmuto led the offense with 2 hits in 3 at bats, and a walk for good measure. Brandon Lowe chipped in a HR, and the Dragons find themselves within striking distance of first place as the month comes to an end.
Flint Hill: L, 0-1; 22PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.095 |
OBP: 0.136 |
SLG: 0.143 |
OPS: 0.279 |
Carlos Rodon was awesome again, pitching 6 innings and giving up one run, and Tanner Scott added a scoreless inning to the total. Flint Hill management thought that would be good enough to get the win, and boy were we wrong. The team OPS (.279) on the day was what one would consider an ok EFL day in terms of AVG.
Peshastin: DNP, 0-(-1); 25PA, 2ER
| AVG: 0.250 |
OBP: 0.280 |
SLG: 0.458 |
OPS: 0.738 |
The Pears round out the top group pushing for first at the end of the month, only being held back from leaping over the Tornadoes because the Pears did not play yesterday. Yoan Moncada made sure no one forgets he was once a highly touted prospect, going 3 for 6 with a double and a HR. Rookie Luis Patino went 2 innings giving up 0 runs and only one hit. The Pears are also within striking distance of first place as the month ends, though it would take quite a bit jump 1.9 games in one day. Even sitting this close as the month ends today has to feel encouraging after spending the first half of the month near the bottom.
Kaline: L, 1-2; 34PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.156 |
OBP: 0.176 |
SLG: 0.250 |
OPS: 0.426 |
The Drive needed only a few runs in order to win, thanks to Kwang Hyun Kim’s excellent day on the mound (5IP, 1 ER). But he didn’t get much help at the plate, leading to a close loss. Three of the five Drive hits on the day were doubles, but it wasn’t enough. The Drive are leading the group of EFL teams who, at month’s end, are attempting to stay above .500, which the Drive will most assuredly do.
Bellingham: DNP, (-5)-(-2); 28PA, 1IP
| AVG: 0.154 |
OBP: 0.214 |
SLG: 0.269 |
OPS: 0.484 |
The Cascades didn’t play yesterday, and as such are poised to finish .500 or above this month. There was not a lot that happened for the Cascades on their off day, besides Marcell Ozuna’s home run and Devin Williams scoreless inning.
Portland: DNP, (-7)-(-3); 29PA, 11IP
| AVG: 0.071 |
OBP: 0.103 |
SLG: 0.179 |
OPS: 0.282 |
Perhaps the Rosebuds can take some solace in the fact that their team OPS on the day, though awful, bested their brother’s team OPS? The team collected 2 hits (1 of them a HR from Travis Shaw) and one walk. And that’s it. On the mound, Adbert Alzolay was good (6IP, 2ER) but Bryse Wilson was awful (3IP, 4ER). The good news? The Rosebuds are almost a lock to finish the month above .500, and I think that is something with which they will be pleased in this rebuilding year.
Pittsburgh: W(-1), L(1), 0-6; 24PA, 5IP
| AVG: 0.200 |
OBP: 0.333 |
SLG: 0.250 |
OPS: 0.583 |
The Alleghenys opted for a little more challenge in their bid to end the month .500 or above, dropping one win and gaining one loss to move from .502 to .473. A win today will most likely push them to .500, and the good thing is Derek Holland and Luke Weaver won’t be able to pitch today. They combined for 7 earned runs over 9 innings. Without that challenge, the Allegheny hitters might feel more encouraged to hit something, literally anything, tonight.
Canberra: W, 5-4; 17PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.214 |
OBP: 0.294 |
SLG: 0.429 |
OPS: 0.723 |
The Kangaroos are certainly within striking distance of .500, though it will take a very good day to get there. And yesterday was an ok day, so they’ll need to pick it up a tiny notch to make it to .500. As a team there were a HR short of the cycle, with a double by Jackie Bradley, Jr. and a triple Javier Baez. On the mound, Casey Mize and Caleb Smith combined for 7 innings and 3 runs.
Cottage: “W,” 5-9; 22PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.238 |
OBP: 0.273 |
SLG: 0.333 |
OPS: 0.606 |
Well, I do not believe it is possible for the Cheese to finish .500 this month, so they will have something else to play for today – taking first this month in Runs Scored. Is this a tall task? Yes, it is. They will need to outscore the Wolverines by 12 runs. Is it impossible? Not by any means! The Cheese offense has been really good this month, and a final push to finish atop this statistical category will be just what they need to stay motivated until they can fortify their pitching in the monthly draft.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
19 |
7 |
.720 |
— |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
17 |
9 |
.653 |
1.8 |
| Boston Red Sox |
16 |
10 |
.615 |
2.7 |
| Tampa Bay Rays |
13 |
13 |
.500 |
5.7 |
| Toronto Blue Jays |
11 |
12 |
.478 |
6.2 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
11 |
14 |
.440 |
7.2 |
| New York Yankees |
11 |
14 |
.440 |
7.2 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| D.C. Balk |
18 |
7 |
.720 |
— |
| Atlanta Braves |
12 |
13 |
.480 |
6 |
| Philadelphia Phillies |
12 |
13 |
.480 |
6 |
| New York Mets |
9 |
10 |
.474 |
6 |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
12 |
13 |
.462 |
6.5 |
| Miami Marlins |
11 |
13 |
.458 |
6.5 |
| Washington Nationals |
9 |
12 |
.429 |
7 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Kansas City Royals |
15 |
8 |
.652 |
— |
| Chicago White Sox |
14 |
10 |
.583 |
1.5 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
12 |
11 |
.528 |
2.9 |
| Cleveland Indians |
11 |
12 |
.478 |
4 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
11 |
12 |
.473 |
4.1 |
| Minnesota Twins |
8 |
15 |
.348 |
7 |
| Detroit Tigers |
8 |
18 |
.308 |
8.5 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers |
15 |
10 |
.600 |
— |
| St. Louis Cardinals |
13 |
12 |
.520 |
2 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
12 |
12 |
.500 |
2.5 |
| Cincinnati Reds |
11 |
13 |
.458 |
3.5 |
| Chicago Cubs |
11 |
14 |
.440 |
4 |
| Cottage Cheese |
11 |
14 |
.426 |
4.4 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Haviland Dragons |
18 |
8 |
.701 |
— |
| Oakland A’s |
16 |
10 |
.615 |
2.2 |
| Kaline Drive |
14 |
12 |
.546 |
4 |
| Seattle Mariners |
14 |
12 |
.538 |
4.2 |
| Los Angeles Angels |
12 |
11 |
.522 |
4.7 |
| Houston Astros |
13 |
12 |
.520 |
4.7 |
| Texas Rangers |
11 |
15 |
.423 |
7.2 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Peshastin Pears |
16 |
9 |
.652 |
— |
| San Francisco Giants |
16 |
9 |
.640 |
0.3 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers |
16 |
10 |
.615 |
0.8 |
| San Diego Padres |
14 |
12 |
.538 |
2.8 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks |
13 |
12 |
.520 |
3.3 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
13 |
12 |
.518 |
3.3 |
| Colorado Rockies |
9 |
16 |
.360 |
7.3 |
