Fascinations fed again!

EFL
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB	RS	RA
Portland Rosebuds	59	38	.612	—	513.9	403.5
Old Detroit Wolverines	59	40	.593	1.6	455.7	376.4
Canberra Kangaroos	56	40	.579	3.3	429.7	367.1
Brookland Outs	53	41	.567	4.5	500.9	438.7
Cottage Cheese	52	42	.552	5.9	482.7	431.1
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	50	46	.520	8.9	504.1	488.9
Kaline Drive	51	49	.508	10	462.3	445.3
Flint Hill Tornadoes	49	50	.496	11.2	427.7	432.7
Peshastin Pears	46	51	.479	12.9	417.2	439.7
Haviland Dragons	44	56	.440	16.8	423.0	484.8
D.C. Balk	39	57	.401	20.3	398.0	490.8

Portland: W (-1), L 2; 0 – 11. (39 PA, .147, .231, .176; 12.7 ip, 9 er, 6.39 ERA). The All-Star Break might have been a little too long: Sam Gaviglio (7.7 ip, 4 er) and German Marquez (5 ip, 5 er) seem to have gone rusty.

Old Detroit: W, 10 – 3. (59 PA, .320, .424, .600 — Happy Edgar Martinez Day!;  9 ip, 8 er, 8.00 ERA).  Fortunately for the Wolverines, Clayton Richard’s 3 ip, 7 er were accomplished for the Toledo Mud Ferrets. Rich Hill’s 6 ip, 1 er coordinated nicely with a huge day of offense by Wolverine standards. Ronald Acuna led the way with his 3 for 4 with a homer, double, walk, and two stolen bases. Mallex Smith supplied the missing triple, along with a single, a walk, and a stolen base in 4 plate appearances.

Canberra: “W”, 2 – 3. (50 PA, .167, .280, .333; 7.3 ip, 1 er, 1.23 ERA). Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson combined to go 0 for 8 — at the hands of fellow Kangaroo Wade LeBlanc, who had a dominant outing. The Mariners benefitted from this somewhat more than the Kangaroos did.

Brookland: L, 7 – 7.  (48 PA, .250, .354, .400; 5 ip, 6 er, 10.80)  Jake Arrieta couldn’t clear the cobwebs, either: 3.3 ip, 4 er. On the other hand, Manny Machado warmed up immediately to his new Dodger digs: 2 for 3 with 2 walks.  So the big question is whether the Outs are going to take the Machado trade or hang on to the superstar.

Cottage: W, 9 – 5.  (40 PA, .313, .425, 406; 14.7 ip, 7 er) So when was the last time I wrote about Yandy Diaz as the hitting hero for the Cheese?  Don’t remember? Me neither. Four for six with a triple: that’s what he did Friday. All the other Cheeses together went 6 for 26 with a double (and 7 walks). Except the pitchers: Tyler Mahle might as well have been pitching to a lineup of Yandy Diazes (5.7 ip, 7 er). Danny Duffy did better: 7 ip. 1 er.

Pittsburgh: L, 0 – 3. (37 PA, .147, .216, .206; 18.3 ip, 7 er, 3.44 ERA) Stephen Strasburg had a bad day — and then, at least while on TV in the dugout, didn’t take kindly to Max Scherzer’s mentorship. I was proud of Scherzer’s good sportsmanship, sharing his wisdom with a member of the franchise that has been our chief bane over the years.  But if Strasburg doesn’t want to listen… well, that’s not Scherzer’s fault.  Anyway, David Price and Dereck Rodriguez covered for their teammate with 12.7 ip, 1 er.  On the offensive side, Wolverine-trained Jurickson Profar assembled a 2.000 OPS.  The rest of the team OPSed only .377.  Clearly the key to an Allegheny turnaround is more Wolverine largesse.

Kaline: W, 12 – 5. (58 PA, .415, .466, .585;  1 ip, 0 er, 0.00 ERA).  AJ Pollock went 5 for 5 with a double to lead the speeding Drive past the… hmm, past the Tornados.

Flint Hill: W (-1), L 2; 4 – 18. (43 PA, .220, .256, .366; 12 ip, 18 er, 13.50 ERA) I have been so mean to the Trouted Tornados… even with my shriveled conscience I have trouble sleeping at night.  So…

so…

so…

Aggh! I can’t hold it in!  The Trouted Tornados are in EIGHTH place now, a notch LOWER in the standings than they were when they agreed to the trade for Mike Trout.

I am not saying this is Trout’s fault.  He went 0 for 4, sure, but that’s small fry compared to the pitching staff producing a 13.50 ERA.  I am not saying it’s the Tornado management’s fault. It’s just that it’s such a fascinating case for those of us who follow baseball franchises.  It’s like so many successful TV shows – the kind that depict life’s train wrecks:  awful, but so fascinating we can’t look away.

Peshastin: W 2, L (-1); 10 – 3. (44 PA, .359, .432, .744 — even better than an Edgar Martinez Day!  33.7 ip, 6 er, 1.60 ERA). Aledmys Diaz went 5 for 5 with a double and a homer.  Joey Gallo hit 2 homers in 5 at bats.  But even more impressive: the Pears produced 33.7 innings of 1.60 ERA pitching in a single day. At the rate they’re improving, the Pear’s in their rebuilding year will go over .500 well before the season is over, to their embarrassment.

 .

Haviland: L, 4 – 9. (42 PA, .200, .310, .400; 5 ip, 5 er,  9 ERA).  I am not seeing what stands out in the Dragons’ day Friday.  Raimel Tapia’s pinch hit homer officially produced a 5.000 OPS. Five pitchers scattered five runs  equally, on average,  across their 5 innings of work.

DC: L, 1 – 9. (48 PA, .233, .327, .302; 5 ip, 5 er). Dylan Bundy did all by himself what it took 5 Dragon pitchers to do: spread 5 earned runs across 5 innings.  Lucas Duda led the modest Balky offense with his 3 hits in 4 plate appearances, including a homer.

.

AL East
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Boston Red Sox	69	30	.697	—
New York Yankees	62	34	.646	5.5
Old Detroit Wolverines	59	40	.593	10.3
Tampa Bay Rays	49	48	.505	19
Flint Hill Tornadoes	49	50	.496	19.9
Toronto Blue Jays	44	52	.458	23.5
Baltimore Orioles	28	70	.286	40.5

NL East
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Canberra Kangaroos	56	40	.579	—
Philadelphia Phillies	54	42	.563	1.5
Atlanta Braves	53	42	.558	2
Washington Nationals	48	49	.495	8
Miami Marlins	42	57	.424	15
New York Mets	40	55	.421	15
D.C. Balk	39	57	.401	17

AL Central
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Cleveland Indians	53	43	.552	—
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	50	46	.520	3.1
Minnesota Twins	44	51	.463	8.5
Detroit Tigers	41	58	.414	13.5
Chicago White Sox	33	63	.344	20
Kansas City Royals	28	68	.292	25

NL Central
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Chicago Cubs	56	38	.596	—
Brookland Outs	53	41	.567	2.7
Milwaukee Brewers	55	44	.556	3.5
Cottage Cheese	52	42	.552	4.1
St. Louis Cardinals	49	47	.510	8
Pittsburgh Pirates	49	49	.500	9
Cincinnati Reds	43	54	.443	14.5

AL West
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Houston Astros	65	35	.650	—
Seattle Mariners	59	39	.602	5
Oakland A’s	55	43	.561	9
Kaline Drive	51	49	.508	14.2
Los Angeles Angels	49	49	.500	15
Haviland Dragons	44	56	.440	21
Texas Rangers	41	57	.418	23

NL West
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Portland Rosebuds	59	38	.612	—
Los Angeles Dodgers	54	43	.557	5.3
Arizona Diamondbacks	53	45	.541	6.8
Colorado Rockies	52	45	.536	7.3
San Francisco Giants	51	48	.515	9.3
Peshastin Pears	46	51	.479	12.9
San Diego Padres	40	60	.400	20.8