League Updates

The immeasurable, the incalculable, and the inconsequential

Being impossible to measure doesn’t tell us much about whether it’s worth noting. Either way.

 

Peshastin:  W 1 (7.9 – 4.1), Bellingham W 0 (2.3 – 8.4). For example: in what may be the highlight of the Pears’ season, Cal Raleigh pinch hit last night. 

Note the game situation, bottom right: bottom of the ninth, two out, none on, full count.  Note the pitcher (Wolverine Domingo Acevedo). Note the context: Mariners one win away from clinching their first post-season appearance since 2001.  Note where the ball is — excellent placement, down and in, on the very edge of the strike zone, about to be a called strike three. Cal hasn’t flinched.

 

Less than two seconds later, the ball is inside the circle top left. It was an 86 MPB slider, but now it’s going MUCH faster, more soaring than sliding. 

Here’s the scene after another 18 seconds: 

And then a few minutes later:

For the Pears, I’m guessing it was the best day of the season.  Not only did Raleigh OPS 5.000, Jo Adell backed him up with a homer, a single, and a walk in 4 PA (2.417 OPS), and the team as a whole OPSed 1.167 (albeit with only 7 hitters covering only 24 PA).  PLUS Jack Flaherty pitched 6 brilliant innings, allowing only 1 earned run.  The Pears earned 0.98 wins to the C’ascade’s 0.02.  For the Cascades: I’m guessing Mariner fandom may have overwhelmed Cascade disappointment.  If there was any disappointment about drawing to within a half game of the first EFL pick next spring.

 

DC: #DIV/0! (4.0 – 0.0), Salem: #DIV/0! (5.9 – 0.0). Carlos Rodon twirled 6 shutout innings, two relievers combined to add 3 more, and DC management cleverly caged Tylor Megill in Hagerstown to keep his 2 earned runs allowed off the Balkan books, leaving the team with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.000 raw winning percentage.  Salem, on the other hand, got 8 shutout innings from Shohei Ohtani (who came pretty close to a no-hitter) and 1.7 shutout innings from relievers. They also quarantined the right pitcher (Maximo Castillo) in Corvallis, so his 0 ip, 3 er outing didn’t ruin everything. So the Salem ERA is also 1.000. 

This is an unprecedented situation in the EFL: opposing teams both have 1.000 raw winning percentages for the week. To a mathematical layperson like me, two teams with 1.000 winning percentages would tie each other every game, so we should allot a .500 adjusted winning percentage to each team. But the arithmetic gremlins in the spreadsheet insist that .500 is not the proper winning percentage for either team. Instead, it is incalculable. 

The M’s experienced the immeasurable last night, and the Pears felt an echo.  The Balk and the Seraphim experienced the incalculable.  I don’t know where either team is in the standings. They are outside the standings, in some ineffable position.  They’re cloaked, covered by the prohibition against dividing by 0 – a prohibition against doing what can’t be done anyway. MAYBE we could say the Seraphim had a BETTER version of incalculability, since they scored 5.9 runs to the Balk’s 4.0, but the ratio of runs scored to runs allowed is the same for both scores.  

 

Old Detroit: W 0.9 (6.1 – 5.6), Canberra W 0.1 (1.0 – 2.8). The Kangaroos came into the final week eliminated from the pennant race, but still barely in range to pass the Wolverines for what would be second place.  Having surrendered 2.8 runs, a 1.000 winning percentage is now impossible.  A .966 winning percentage — about what they’d need to do to catch the W’s — is possible. All they need to do is score 14 runs the rest of the week without surrendering any.  Reid Detmers matched Jack Flaherty’s line already this week. 6 – 1 isn’t quite enough. And a .119/.210/.237 batting line is never going to get you anywhere…

Unless your opponent is also struggling badly.  Which is how the Wolverines turned a thoroughly mediocre game (an ugly 5.23 ERA over only 3.3 innings, but a solid .278, .361, .472 offense creating 6.1 runs) into 0.9 wins.  

If you find something unjust about a team with a .542 raw winning percentage gaining ground on two teams with 1.000 raw winning percentages, I understand your concerns. But if it’s any consolation, consider this: in effect the Balk and the Seraphim have gone underground.  They’re submarines, running silent and deep, untrackable even with satellites.  

 

Haviland: W 0.9 (5.9 – 4.6), Flint Hill: W 0.1 (2.1 – 6.6).  This week is the culmination of the Johnson Family Cup competition.  In Week 17, Haviland beat Portland 4.7 wins to 1. 3.  In Week 18, Flint Hill beat the Rosebuds 4.6 -1.4. Now we have the final matchup.  Haviland jumped out to an imposing lead, led by Brendan Rodgers’ 3 for 3 with a walk, and Joe Ryan’s 6 scoreless innings (marred badly when Graham Ashcraft allowed 5 earned runs in only 2 2/3 innings — nearly a chulk. The Tornados got 4 shutout innings from Sean Manaea, but he was pitching for the minor league Coronado Heights Whirlwinds.  So the T’s relied on replacement pitchers, and would have been better off with replacement hitters since their real hitters created, as a team, 2.1 runs per game.  If the Top Tornado wants to sit at the head of the Johnson Family table at Thanksgiving, he needs to turn things around quickly. 

 

Kaline: W 0.8 (5.7 – 4.1), Portland: W 0.2 (3.9 – 6.2).  Uncle Tom’s final bid for an honored place at the Johnson table started off well this week. Kaline beat the Tornados in Week 17, but lost to the Dragons the following week.  As I understand it, the Wizard’s invitation to the Johnson family Thanksgiving feast hinges on the Drive’s ability to secure a winning record agains the rest of the Johnsons. Portland got a good 5 innings from Eric Lauer (0 earned runs) which were spoiled by bad 5 innings from Jon Gray (6 er). Despite Ryan Jeffers’ 3 for 7 with a homer, the Rosebud offense wasn’t all that offensive: .207/.303/.379.  Meanwhile, the Drive were piling up 23.3 innings of 3.86 ERA pitching, led by Max Fried (5 ip, 1 er), and an offense creating 5.7 runs per game, highlighted by Albert Pujols’ 701st home run. 

 

Pittsburgh Alleghenys W 0.7 (4.8 – 5.9), Pittsburgh Pirates 0.3 (1 – 2).   So we finally arrive at the Pittsburgh Showdown, the first direct competition in history between Pittsburgh’s two leading teams.  The two teams have seen rough times this season, the Pirates (59 – 97) a little rougher than the Alleghenys (64 – 93).  But the Pirates are still within range if they want to claim the Steel Throne.  Oneil Cruz (0 for 3 with 2 walks) and Jack Suwinksi (1 for 3 with a walk) were washes as they play for both teams. Oviedo pitched well for the Pirates (6 ip, 2 er) and got two innings of scoreless relief, which is better than the A’s who got 4 ip, 2 er from Braxton Garret. The A’s, on the other hand, got 5 homers, two of them from Mitch Haniger, to spark a solid offense.

What would it mean for the Alleghenys to claim the Steel Throne?  Who knows? He who has 7 EFL championships may consider the Steel Throne a trifle, not worth the risk of claiming it. (No, I’ve  never watched more than 5 minutes of The Game of Thrones, nor read a syllable. But I do know how to use Wikipedia, where I learned a throne made of swords endangers its occupant.)