The EFL Defense Pact Gets A Very Warm Reception

1)  There clearly was an error in yesterday’s stats, which credited the K’s with scoring 37 runs in two days.  Today BP corrected the error. Unless I did.  BP does make errors very occasionally.  Something sort of like that can be said about the EFL Commissioner, too.  But it’s fixed now. I apologize on behalf of whoever goofed yesterday.  Those shock-waves of despair you felt yesterday at the Kangaroo’s sudden leap forward were unnecessary. As will be the dismay in Canberra to see so many runs evaporate overnight.

2)  That .429, .429, .643 line gets buried in the effects of the error-and-correction.  It was from only four hitters compiling only 14 plate appearances, but still, it deserved more attention than it’s probably going to get today.

Haviland: W 1, L (-2); 8 – (-6).  (.525, .558, 1.150; 2 ip, 0 er).  Huh.  The Dragons seem to have some reservations about the EFL Defense Pact (EDP). They sent nine men to the plate yesterday, for a total of 43 plate appearances.  They got 21 hits, 4 doubles, 3 walks… and 7 home runs.  By 7 different hitters. Of the nine, eight batters OPSed over 1.000.  Not 1.000 or more: Over 1.000. The OPSes down the lineup, arranged alphabetically, go 1.400, 2.000, 2.250, 2.550, 2.550, 1.400, 1.400, 1.750, and 0.400 — that last batter, hitting like a pitcher in the pitchers’ spot, was Juan Uribe.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a massive outpouring of OPS firepower in one day.

Old Detroit: DNP, 3 – 5.  (.409, .417, .727;  4 ip, 7 er).  I initially thought the Wolverines had a monster day at the plate.  But so far, working down the standings, the W’s 1.144 Super Edgar Martinez Day is tiny compared to the Dragon’s Gargantuan Edgar Martinez Day.  And John Lamb’s 4 inning meltdown didn’t help, either.  Hmmm.  The EDP is off to a rough start.

Portland: W 1, L (-1); 1 – (-4). (.273, .400, .545; 6.3 ip 4 er).  Only three batters showed up for the Rosebuds. They did well, but not enormously so. At least, it doesn’t look enormous in light of what happened further up the standings.

Pittsburgh: W 1, L (-1); 3 – 1. (.400, .455, .700;  1 ip, 2 er).  Another Happy Edgar Martinez Day, albeit over a light 22 plate appearances. But with the Rosebuds blossoming and the mini-chulk from Alexi Ogando, the Alleghenys subsided into 5th place.

Flint Hill:  W 1, L (-1); 2 – 0. (.333, .467, .583 — happy EMD! 7 ip, 2 er.)  Ho hum, another outstanding hitting performance, this time with 4 hitters and 13 plate appearances. Robbie Ray earns a rare (for today) commendation for good pitching.

Kaline:  W 0, L (-1); (-6) – (-8).  (.188, .278, .250; 0 ip, 0 er). The Drive brought an Hechavarria-class broken twig to a fight amongst giants swinging tree trunks.  They came out ok, probably by judiciously keeping to the sidelines.

Peshastin: DNP, (-1) – (-1).  (.227, .310, .273; 0.7 ip, 0 er).  We are now out into the peaceful pastoral regions of the EFL.  So pleasant here. So quiet. So boring. Boring gets underrated sometimes, but at least no one is trying to clock you with a Douglas fir. Has news of the EFL Defense Pact even reached these parts?

Cottage:  DNP, (-1) – (- 6).  (.214, .214, .214; 11.7 ip, 2 er).  That batting line practically embodies a nap.  That pitching line is its perfect counterpart, thanks to Sean Manaea and Drew Smyly: each allowing a single earned run in 6.7 and 5.0 innings, respectively.

DC: DNP,  0 – 2. (.333, .333, .333 ; 6.7 ip, 4 er) Another flatline hitting performance, albeit at a higher level — but in the Balk’s case, representing only 6 plate appearances involving only 2 players.