League Updates Uncategorized

Everything else is gravy

Jamie did Friday’s update amazingly early.  I think he’d updated the stats by 6:30 AM, when I woke up and checked.  He got the whole thing done quickly, because the next time I checked it was there. 

But in his haste, Jamie missed the story of the day.  Luckily for us, I happened to turn on the the Nats-Padres game Thursday evening as it moved into the bottom of the fourth inning.   Washington was ahead 8 – 0, and Max Scherzer was pitching, having held the Padres to one hit.  in the fourth, Scherzer surrendered a homer to Fernando Tatis, then struck out Jake Cronenworth.  Then he sort of fell apart:  Manny Machado HBP, Trent Grisham single, Eric Hozmer HBP, mound visit, Wil Myers walk, making the score 8 – 2. 

Scherzer struck out Victor Caratini, at which point Padres manager Jace Tingler left relief pitcher Daniel Camarena in the game to face Scherzer with two outs and the bases loaded. 

I had the Nationals TV feed on.  As Scherzer got two quick strikes, the Nats announcers couldn’t get over their amazement that the Padres wouldn’t pinch hit in this situation.  When Scherzer missed with a breaking pitch, the announcers were impatient with him, noting this was Camarena’s second game in the big leagues (he debuted June 19 but was sent right back down) and his first big league at-bat. 

Just as Scherzer was delivering his pitch, the Nats announcer said “Maybe it’s time to blow him  away.” When he finished saying this, Camarena was already swinging at the 96 MPH fastball just below the inside bottom corner of the zone.

He hit it out. 

You can watch both the National’s call of the homer, and the Padres’ call by Don Orsillo, here (hat tip to Ryan for the link). I recommend you watch them both (Orsillo is at the top of the page; scroll down a little way for the Nats’ call). 

Some notes on Camarena: 

  1.  He graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego in 2011. 
  2.  He hit his most recent home run for his high school team. 
  3.  He was drafted in 2011 in the 20th round by the Yankees. 
  4.  He made AA by the end of the 2014 season, but got hurt and missed 2015 entirely. 
  5.  He made it to AAA in 2016, and again in 2017.  But the Yankees let him go that fall.
  6.  He signed with the Cubs, but just before opening day 2018 the Yankees bought him from the Cubs.  He played in the minors for them until he was released again in May of 2018. 
  7. He signed with the Giants for the rest of 2018, but SF released him that fall.
  8. He signed with the Twins in January 2019, but they released him that April. 
  9. He signed with the Yankees for the third time in May 2019, but was released from NYY a third time in August 2019.
  10. He signed with San Diego in February 2020 but spent the entire season on the taxi squad, never appearing in any games. 
  11. He was pitching for El Paso this season.  He was on a late night bus from Albuquerque to El Paso as recently as Tuesday evening.  He was called up Thursday. 
  12. He had pitched the top of the 4th.  He struck out Scherzer, gave up a single to Alcides Escobar and a home run to Trea Turner, but then got Tommy Pham and Josh Bell. At that point his big league ERA was 12.27. 
  13. Someone said it was the first time a pitcher had hit a grand slam in his first plate appearance since something like 1895. 
  14. His family was at the game to see his debut.  The Padres’ camera crew knew where they were. You can see them celebrating.

I highly recommend you watch them celebrate.   You can see them best on the Padres’ clip at the link I gave you above. To me, that scene is worth the entire baseball season.  Everything else is gravy. 

Scherzer pitched to one more batter, surrendering a double to Tommy Pham.  Then he was replaced, and Pham scored on a Tatis single, making the score 8 – 7 in favor of the Nats. Camarena pitched a 1 -2 -3 top of the fifth, getting his ERA down to its current 9.64. The Padres ended up winning the game 9 – 8 on a walk-off Trent Grisham single with two out in the bottom of the ninth. 

Off Sam Clay.  I’ve had better gravy.

 

EFL Standings for 2021
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Old Detroit Wolverines 63 26 .706 518.5 334.4
D.C. Balk 55 28 .666 4.6 469.0 333.1
Flint Hill Tornadoes 58 31 .652 4.8 446.4 326.1
Peshastin Pears 54 32 .630 7.1 414.3 322.1
Kaline Drive 55 34 .617 8 463.5 368.6
Haviland Dragons 54 35 .602 9.2 446.1 372.1
Canberra Kangaroos 50 33 .604 9.7 419.5 344.0
Cottage Cheese 47 42 .529 15.8 503.2 488.4
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 46 41 .526 16.1 442.9 417.9
Bellingham Cascades 45 42 .516 17 370.6 353.9
Portland Rosebuds 36 50 .423 25 429.1 507.7

Old Detroit:  W, 10 – 5.  (47 PA,  .222, .404, .417;  4.3 ip, 1 er, 2.09 ERA)   Eleven free passes (10 walks and a hbp) keyed the Wolverine offense, which also featured a modest 8 hits.  Devers homered and walked twice, Austin Riley doubled, tripled, and walked once, and JP Crawford doubled and walked twice to pace the Wolverine “attack”.  Sam  Clay appeared again, surrendering a run in 1.3 innings pitched, but Jonathan Loaisiga and Andrew Kittredge — isn’t that Digory Kirk’s uncle’s name? — combined for three scoreless innings to help offset some replacement innings creeping into the Wolverine statistics.  Clay’s ERA, for those of you following along at home, is down to 5.04, although in his five appearances he has accumulated three losses for the Nationals already. Since he’s only active 33% for the W’s, I suppose that means his EFL record is 0 – 1 instead of MLB’s 0 – 3. 

 

 DC:  DNP, (-7) – (-6). (46 PA,  .171, .261, .293;  9 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  The Balk were only one triple and six walks worse than the Wolverines at the plate, but got a huge effort from Triston McKenzie (7 ip, 0 er, 1 hit, 1 walk, 9 K) and two relievers  — although Jose Alvarado’s shutout inning involved filling the bases with a hit and two walks, and then not letting anyone score. Pete Alonso blasted a home run and Matt Chapman doubled and singled to lead the Balkan “attack.”   While the result erased a fraction of a run more from the offense than it did from the defense, it improved the proportion of runs scored to runs allowed enough to improve the Balk’s winning percentage by .001 — although the result is an ominous .666, and a .4 game slide in the standings. 

 

Flint Hill:  W, 9 – 5. (51 PA, .340, .392, .574; 1 ip, 1 er, 9.00 ERA).  An outstanding day at the plate delivered a solid win, as Patrick Wisdom consoled Tornado management for not playing Brad Miller by blasting a home run (while Miller went 0 for 3 for the Coronado Height Castles).  Enrique Hernandez also homered, and added a double, while John Nogowski lingers for some reason on the Tornado roster (ahem Dave) hitting a double and two singles which are not being counted in the Tornado stats. 

The Flinties clouted 5 doubles overall, but took a measly 4 walks.  

Jake Brentz triple chulked (1/3 of an inning, 1 earned run) but Ryan Tepera got two scoreless outs to keep the pitching woes to a manageable level. Still, the T’s slipped in the standings by 0.2 games. 

 

Peshastin:  DNP, 2 – 2.  (32 PA, .280, .438, .440;  1.3 ip, 3 er, 20.77 ERA).  Genesis Cabrera nonuple chulked — a tiny one, but still painful.  While getting one out, he walked two and hit another batter, all three of whom came around to score after he had been yanked from the game.  My Spanish is rusty enough that I seem to have forgotten that “Genesis Cabrera” translates as “the beginning of trouble.” 

Kendall Graveman pitched a spotless inning, not only closing out another improbable Mariners win, but also  saving the off-day from being a loss. Like the Balk, the Pears nudged their winning percentage up by .001, but lost .3 games in the standings.

 

Kaline:  L, 3 – 7.  (63 PA, .196, .286, .339;  8 ip, 6 er, 6.75 ERA).   Three Drive relievers each delivered scoreless innings, the only flaw being a walk issued by newly-acquired Aaron Loup.  This kind of mop up was urgently needed after JT Brubaker coughed up 6 earned runs in only 5 innings.  Those 7 runs allowed made the hitters’ task more difficult — too difficult for a replacement-like batting line.  Wilmer Flores hit a home, and there were five doubles and 7 free passes — but this was too thinly spread across a whopping 63 plate appearances to allow the Drive to pull out a win.  They fell 0.9 games in the standings, but managed to cling to 5th place. 

 

Haviland:  W 2, L (-1);  16 – 3.  (50 PA, .317, .420, .488;  3 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  The Dragons notched a double win and lost a loss with a great day at the plate and a sterling three innings from the mound.  Of the 13 Dragon batters who played Friday, nine reached base safely at least once, eight reached safely at least twice, and three reached safely thrice.  Jose Iglesias blasted a triple and two singles in four plate appearances, and Joc Pederson hit two doubles and walked once in five trips to the plate. 

Chad Green pitched two innings of shutout relief, and Michael Kopech added another shutout inning.  Haviland gained 0.8 games on the Wolverines, and managed to dodge the Kangaroos as they…  

 

Canberra:  W (-1), L 1; (-9) – (-1).  (25 PA, .200, .200 , .280;  8 ip, 3 er, 3.38 ERA)… plummeted 1.1 games in standings to land back into 7th place. 

Kangaroo pitching was fine, as Jake Odorizzi turned in a solid 6 ip, 2 er outing, and two relievers combined to pitch 2 innings with 1 more earned run. But the offense offended:  5 for 25 overall, with Kyle Tucker getting 40% of the hits and 100% of the extra bases with his two doubles in 3 plate appearances. The rest of the team went 3 for 22, with newly acquired EWIE Nate Lowe grounding into a double play in his only plate appearance, erasing one of the team’s scarce singles. 

 

Cottage:  DNP. (-2) – 0. (39 PA, .265, .359, .382;  14 ip, 4 earned runs, 2.57 ERA).  Three Cheese pitchers started yesterday, and all three surrendered at least 2 earned runs.  Alex Cobb went 5.3 ip against the Mariners, giving up 2 runs — neither of which were earned!  Alek Manoah pitched 3.7 innings, allowing 3 earned runs — only one of which was earned!  Taijuan Walker pitched 5 innings for the Mets, allowing 2 runs, and will have to explain to the Head Cheese why he let both of them be earned runs.  That will be an unpleasant conversation for Mr. Walker, I’m afraid. 

The hitters did not stoop to sleight of hand to bury their mistakes. Shohei Ohtani wowed the Seattle Mariners announcers with his 463-foot blast into the upper deck in right field at T-Mobile Park — but the joke’s on him!  Even a 463-foot home only counts as one!  And the M’s came back and won! Like the Angels, the day ended less happily for the Cheese, as they LOST runs on an off-day. Despite the mighty Ohtani blast, that .741 OPS was below average for the Cheese in July, who slid 0.6 games. 

 

 Pittsburgh:  W 2, L (-1); 15 – 5.  (38 PA, .361, .395, .556;  4 ip, 2 er, 4.50 ERA).  All 8 of the Allegheny’s starting position players got hits, with Andrew Vaughn notching three (including a double), and Jorge Soler blasting a home run.  Logan Webb compiled three scoreless innings, but Anthony Bender’s bender must not have been working: he leaked 2 earned runs in one inning of pitching. But Bender’s blunder didn’t sabotage the day much, since the Allegheny’s joined the fellow past EFL champion Dragons in a double win, lost loss day, gaining 0.6 games on the Wolverines and 1.2 games on the Cheese. 

 

Bellingham:  W 2, L (-1);  16 – 0.  (35 PA, .400, .486, .600;  12 ip, 1 er , 0.75 ERA). But once again, for the second time this week, the Cascades had the best day in the league, even while two other teams also won two and lost a loss.  Like the Alleghenys, all 8 of the Cascades’ starting position players got hits. Curt Casali led the way with three hits in four trips, including a homer and a double. Charlie Morton almost matched Triston McKenzies’ start, going 7 scoreless innings but allowing 2 hits and two walks. Shane McClanahan completed 4 innings with only 1 earned run, and Jake McGee closed the day with a scoreless inning of his own. 

Bellingham is now 7 – 1 for July, a game better than the 6-2 Tornados and two games ahead of three other teams (Old Detroit, Cottage, and Pittsburgh) at 5-3. The Cascades’ team July ERA of 2.11 easily outpaces second-place Flint Hill (3.69).  

I recognize I can write with this unbridled enthusiasm for the Cascades’ July success because they are still 17 games away from first.  I also understand those teams closer to the Cascades’ volcanic rise may be sleepless at night worrying about being buried in Bellingham’s pyroclastic flow.  To our readers in Pittsburgh and the Cottage, I want to convey the Commissioner’s Office’s deepest empathy.  Your fears are well-founded.  If you don’t want to get buried, you’d better get moving. 

 

Portland:  DNP, 2- (-4).  (39 PA, .235, .333, .353;  6.3 ip, 3 er, 4.29 ERA).  The Rosebuds demonstrate the possibility of life after burial in a Cascade eruption. They spent their offday enjoying the slants of fellow resurrectee Eric Lauer (6 ip, 1 er).  Did Brian Abreu’s little sextuple chulk (0.3 ip, 2 er) spoil their day? Not a bit, considering he was pitching for the AAA Newberg Camelliabuds. 

Rosebud offense was slim, but Max Kepler did get a triple and a single in 3 plate appearances, while Dylan Carlson hit a double and two singles, and drew a walk in his 5 PAs.  It was enough to add a couple of runs to their July offensive totals.  The Portly winning percentage improved by 0.005, and they limited their slippage in the standings to a miniscule 0.1 games.

 

Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Old Detroit Wolverines 63 26 .706
Flint Hill Tornadoes 58 31 .652 4.8
Boston Red Sox 55 34 .618 7.9
Tampa Bay Rays 52 36 .591 10.4
Toronto Blue Jays 44 41 .518 16.9
New York Yankees 45 42 .517 16.9
Baltimore Orioles 28 59 .322 33.9
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
D.C. Balk 55 28 .666
Canberra Kangaroos 50 33 .604 5.1
New York Mets 45 38 .542 10.3
Philadelphia Phillies 42 43 .494 14.3
Washington Nationals 42 44 .488 14.8
Atlanta Braves 42 44 .488 14.8
Miami Marlins 38 48 .442 18.8
 
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Chicago White Sox 52 35 .598
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 46 41 .526 6.2
Bellingham Cascades 45 42 .516 7.1
Cleveland Indians 44 42 .512 7.5
Detroit Tigers 40 49 .449 13
Minnesota Twins 37 50 .425 15
Kansas City Royals 36 52 .409 16.5
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Milwaukee Brewers 53 36 .596
Cottage Cheese 47 42 .529 6
Cincinnati Reds 45 42 .517 7
St. Louis Cardinals 43 45 .489 9.5
Chicago Cubs 43 45 .489 9.5
Pittsburgh Pirates 32 54 .372 19.5
 
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Kaline Drive 55 34 .617
Houston Astros 54 35 .607 0.9
Haviland Dragons 54 35 .602 1.3
Oakland A’s 50 40 .556 5.4
Seattle Mariners 47 42 .528 7.9
Los Angeles Angels 44 43 .506 9.9
Texas Rangers 35 53 .398 19.4
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Peshastin Pears 54 32 .630
San Francisco Giants 54 32 .628 0.2
Los Angeles Dodgers 54 34 .614 1.2
San Diego Padres 52 38 .578 4.2
Colorado Rockies 38 50 .432 17.2
Portland Rosebuds 36 50 .423 17.8
Arizona Diamondbacks 25 64 .281 30.7
 
 

 

 

Jamie did Friday’s update amazingly early.  I think he’d updated the stats by 6:30 AM, when I woke up and checked.  He got the whole thing done quickly, because the next time I checked it was there. 

But in his haste, Jamie missed the story of the day.  Luckily for us, I happened to turn on the the Nats-Padres game as it moved into the bottom of the fourth inning.   Washington was ahead 8 – 0, and Max Scherzer was pitching, having held the Padres to one hit.  Scherzer surrendered a homer to Fernando Tatis, then struck out Jake Cronenworth.  Then he sort of fell apart:  Manny Machado HBP, Trent Grisham single, Eric Hozmer HBP, mound visit, Wil Myers walk, making the score 8 – 2. 

Scherzer struck out Victor Caratini, at which point Padres manager Jace Tingler left relief pitcher Daniel Camarena in the game to face Scherzer with two outs and the bases loaded. 

I had the Nationals TV feed on.  As Scherzer got two quick strikes, the Nats announcers couldn’t get over their amazement that the Padres wouldn’t pinch hit in this situation.  When Scherzer missed with a breaking pitch, the announcers were impatient with him, noting this was Camarena’s second game in the big leagues (he debuted June 19 but was sent right back down) and his first big league at-bat. 

Just as Scherzer was delivering his pitch, the Nats announcer said “Maybe it’s time to blow him  away.” When he finished, Camarena was already swinging at the 96 MPH fastball just below the inside bottom corner of the zone.

He hit it out. 

You can watch both the National’s call of the homer, and the Padres’ call by Don Orsillo, here (hat tip to Ryan for the link). I recommend you watch them both (Orsillo is at the top of the page; scroll down a little way for the Nats’ call). 

Some notes on Camarena: 

  1.  He graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego in 2011. 
  2.  He hit his most recent home run for his high school team. 
  3.  He was drafted in 2011 in the 20th round by the Yankees. 
  4.  He made AA by the end of the 2014 season, but got hurt and missed 2015 entirely. 
  5.  He made it to AAA in 2016, and again in 2017.  But the Yankees let him go that fall.
  6.  He signed with the Cubs, but just before opening day 2018 the Yankees bought him from the Cubs.  He played in the minors for them until he was released again in May of 2018. 
  7. He signed with the Giants for the rest of 2018, but SF released him that fall.
  8. He signed with the Twins in January 2019, but they released him that April. 
  9. He signed with the Yankees for the third time in Ma 2019y, but was released from NYY a third time in August 2019.
  10. He signed with San Diego in February 2020 but spent the entire season on the taxi squad, never appearing in any games. 
  11. He was pitching for El Paso this season.  He was on a late night bus from Albuquerque to El Paso as recently as Tuesday evening.  He was called up Thursday. 
  12. He had pitched the top of the 4th.  He struck out Scherzer, gave up a single to Alcides Escobar and a home run to Trea Turner, but then got Tommy Pham and Josh Bell. At that point his big league ERA was 12.27. 
  13. Someone said it was the first time a pitcher had hit a grand slam in his first plate appearance since something like 1895. 
  14. His family was at the game to see his debut.  The Padres’ camera crew knew where they were. You can see them celebrating.

I highly recommend you watch them celebrate.   You can see them on Padres’ clip at the link I gave you above. To me, that scene is worth the entire baseball season.  Everything else is gravy. 

Scherzer pitched to one more batter, surrendering a double to Tommy Pham.  Then he was replaced, and Pham scored on a Tatis single, making the score 8 – 7 in favor of the Nats. Camarena pitched a 1 -2 -3 top of the fifth, getting his ERA down to its current 9.64. The Padres ended up winning the game 9 – 8 on a walk-off Trent Grisham single with two out in the bottom of the ninth. 

Off Sam Clay.  I’ve had better gravy.

EFL Standings for 2021
EFL
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Old Detroit Wolverines 63 26 .706 518.5 334.4
D.C. Balk 55 28 .666 4.6 469.0 333.1
Flint Hill Tornadoes 58 31 .652 4.8 446.4 326.1
Peshastin Pears 54 32 .630 7.1 414.3 322.1
Kaline Drive 55 34 .617 8 463.5 368.6
Haviland Dragons 54 35 .602 9.2 446.1 372.1
Canberra Kangaroos 50 33 .604 9.7 419.5 344.0
Cottage Cheese 47 42 .529 15.8 503.2 488.4
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 46 41 .526 16.1 442.9 417.9
Bellingham Cascades 45 42 .516 17 370.6 353.9
Portland Rosebuds 36 50 .423 25 429.1 507.7
 
Old Detroit:  W, 10 – 5.  (47 PA,  .222, .404, .417;  4.3 ip, 1 er, 2.09 ERA)   Eleven free passes (10 walks and a hbp) keyed the Wolverine offense, which also featured a modest 8 hits.  Devers homered and walked twioce, Austin Riley doubled, tripled, and walked once, and JP Crawford doubled and walked twice to pace the Wolverine “attack”.  Sam  Clay appeared again, surrendering a run in 1.3 innings pitched, but Jonathan Loaisiga and Andrew Kittredge — isn’t that Digory Kirk’s uncle’s name? — combined for three scoreless innings to help offset some replacement innings creeping into the Wolverine statistics.  Clay’s ERA, for those of you following along at home, is down to 5.04, although in his five appearances he has accumulated three losses for the Nationals already. 
 
 
                                                                                                                   
DC:  DNP, (-7) – (-6). 
 
Flint Hill:  W, 9 – 5.  Peshastin:  DNP, 2 – 2.  Kaline:  L, 3 – 7.  Haviland:  W 2, L (-1);  16 – 3.   Canberra:  W (-1), L 1; (-9) – (-1).   Cottage:  DNP. (-2) – 0.   Pittsburgh:  W 2, L (-1); 15 – 5.   Bellingham:  W 2, L (-1);  16 – 0.   Portland:  DNP, 2- (-4).  
 
 
 
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
AL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Old Detroit Wolverines 63 26 .706
Flint Hill Tornadoes 58 31 .652 4.8
Boston Red Sox 55 34 .618 7.9
Tampa Bay Rays 52 36 .591 10.4
Toronto Blue Jays 44 41 .518 16.9
New York Yankees 45 42 .517 16.9
Baltimore Orioles 28 59 .322 33.9
NL East
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
D.C. Balk 55 28 .666
Canberra Kangaroos 50 33 .604 5.1
New York Mets 45 38 .542 10.3
Philadelphia Phillies 42 43 .494 14.3
Washington Nationals 42 44 .488 14.8
Atlanta Braves 42 44 .488 14.8
Miami Marlins 38 48 .442 18.8
 
AL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Chicago White Sox 52 35 .598
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 46 41 .526 6.2
Bellingham Cascades 45 42 .516 7.1
Cleveland Indians 44 42 .512 7.5
Detroit Tigers 40 49 .449 13
Minnesota Twins 37 50 .425 15
Kansas City Royals 36 52 .409 16.5
NL Central
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Milwaukee Brewers 53 36 .596
Cottage Cheese 47 42 .529 6
Cincinnati Reds 45 42 .517 7
St. Louis Cardinals 43 45 .489 9.5
Chicago Cubs 43 45 .489 9.5
Pittsburgh Pirates 32 54 .372 19.5
 
AL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Kaline Drive 55 34 .617
Houston Astros 54 35 .607 0.9
Haviland Dragons 54 35 .602 1.3
Oakland A’s 50 40 .556 5.4
Seattle Mariners 47 42 .528 7.9
Los Angeles Angels 44 43 .506 9.9
Texas Rangers 35 53 .398 19.4
NL West
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB
Peshastin Pears 54 32 .630
San Francisco Giants 54 32 .628 0.2
Los Angeles Dodgers 54 34 .614 1.2
San Diego Padres 52 38 .578 4.2
Colorado Rockies 38 50 .432 17.2
Portland Rosebuds 36 50 .423 17.8
Arizona Diamondbacks 25 64 .281 30.7

 

 

 

(and Josh Bell was 1 for 3 with a double already, which at the time was th