We don’t have much movement in terms of distance from first to second, though we did have some shuffling of the standings from 2nd-4th place. It appears that listened to me (be wary of the Wolverines) and not enough listened to Ron (hug the Wolverines), and for that I apologize. And so, I am changing my tune. Wolverines are cute. In order to hug them, as you should, you should get as near to them as possible before this month ends. Otherwise the dog days of summer might become the Wolverine days of summer, and I am not sure those will be very enjoyable by anyone outside of Ron’s household.
EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
RS |
RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
52 |
20 |
.727 |
— |
420.2 |
257.8 |
| Kaline Drive |
46 |
25 |
.653 |
5.5 |
369.0 |
268.1 |
| D.C. Balk |
43 |
22 |
.663 |
5.8 |
355.5 |
255.1 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
46 |
26 |
.646 |
5.8 |
342.2 |
255.2 |
| Peshastin Pears |
46 |
26 |
.635 |
6.6 |
342.8 |
264.2 |
| Haviland Dragons |
44 |
27 |
.625 |
7.5 |
341.9 |
271.2 |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
38 |
27 |
.590 |
10.5 |
337.7 |
284.5 |
| Cottage Cheese |
39 |
33 |
.541 |
13.4 |
400.3 |
379.9 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
39 |
33 |
.537 |
13.7 |
359.7 |
333.3 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
35 |
37 |
.482 |
17.7 |
290.1 |
303.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
32 |
40 |
.443 |
20.5 |
375.9 |
431.0 |
Old Detroit: W, 8-2; 61PA, 9.4IP
| AVG: 0.293 |
OBP: 0.328 |
SLG: 0.534 |
OPS: 0.862 |
That’s a lot of playing time for Wolverines yesterday, and all of it very good. Well, I suppose the hitting could be a little better in order to be considered very good. But there were four players who homered – Byron Buxton, Adolis Garcia, Carlos Correa, and Rafael Devers – and Tommy Edman added three singles. The pitching was very good, with no caveats. Mike Minor was major, tossing 6.7 innings and giving up only 2 runs. Two relievers, Jonathan Loaisiga and Craig Kimbrel, combined for another 2.7 scoreless innings. The Wolverine lead didn’t grow and it didn’t shrink.
Kaline: W (0), L(-1), (-7)-(-10); 51PA, 19IP
| AVG: 0.244 |
OBP: 0.333 |
SLG: 0.400 |
OPS: 0.733 |
The Houston Astros took over first place in the AL West by .003 percentage points, and so Kaline did not play yesterday. But their stats were so good they were able to shave a loss from their record and jump into second place. It was mainly the pitching that led the way. The three SPs – Dinelson Lamet, Kwang Hyun Kim, and JT Brubaker – combined for 15.7 innings and only 3 runs allowed on a meager 8 hits. Wilmer Flores led the way for the offense, going 4 for 4 with 2 home runs.
DC: W, 8-5; 46PA, 1.3IP
| AVG: 0.225 |
OBP: 0.326 |
SLG: 0.550 |
OPS: 0.876 |
The Balk managed a win on a day when their pitching was bad but minimal and their offense was meager but loud. I suppose it isn’t very fair to call the pitching bad, since it was only 1 run allowed in 1.3 innings pitched. Adalberto Mondesi continued to make his healthy presence known, going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles. Joey Gallo went 2 for 3 with a home run, and Pete Alonso added in his own home run. The Balk jumped ahead of the Tornadoes, and are now in third.
Flint Hill: “L,” 4-4; 44PA, 16.3IP
| AVG: 0.263 |
OBP: 0.364 |
SLG: 0.474 |
OPS: 0.837 |
That Tornado pitching line isn’t great, but the worst of it was the benched Zach Eflin, meaning the actual line was more palatable – 5 runs allowed in 11.3 innings, or a 3.98 ERA. That is certainly not what Tornado fans are used to, but it helped to keep things acceptable. The offense was pretty good, though some of that goodness was from the benched Enrique Hernandez, which is why an .837 OPS over 44 plate appearances only produced 4 runs. Paul Goldschmidt had the best day, going 4 for 6 with a home run and a walk. We’ll just conveniently skip the fact that Sean Murphy hit into a triple play, allowing the Yankees to win.
Peshastin: L, 2-5; 35PA, 2.3IP
| AVG: 0.206 |
OBP: 0.229 |
SLG: 0.265 |
OPS: 0.493 |
The Pears dropped their game yesterday, while also dropping almost an entire game off the leading Wolverines. The hitting was weak and the pitching was minor. Last year’s MVP, Juan Soto, collected two hits including a double. Two Pears, one a former Mariner and the other a current Mariner (Zunino and Haniger) combined for 6 strikeouts on the day. All three relievers relieved well, giving up 0 runs.
Haviland: W(-2), L(1), (-9)-(-2); 46PA, 5.4IP
| AVG: 0.163 |
OBP: 0.200 |
SLG: 0.279 |
OPS: 0.479 |
If one were watching from a distance the Father’s Day BBQ hosted at my house, you would not have suspected the Dragons were having a bad day. But alas, they were. Kudos to Dragon management for holding it together in the midst of a meltdown (though the melt has been a slow, steady melt, to be honest). With the Astros taking over first, the Dragons lost 2 wins and gained a loss, falling to 7.5 games behind the Wolverines. JT Realmuto played a good game, in the Dragons need a silver lining – going 3 for 4 with a home run.
Canberra: L, 5-7; 28PA, 12IP
| AVG: 0.238 |
OBP: 0.429 |
SLG: 0.286 |
OPS: 0.714 |
The Roos must surely be counting down the days until Mike Trout returns. Having been carried by Vladito while Trout has been out, there is now a needed injection of hope for Canberra, and Trout would do just that. The Roos collected 5 total hits and 6 walks. But the pitching was strong enough to win when only singles and walks were hit. Starters Casey Mize and Dane Dunnined for 6 earned runs in 9 innings, but the bullpen did their job, allowing only one run in three innings.
Cottage: “W,” 4-4; 41PA, 11IP
| AVG: 0.229 |
OBP: 0.341 |
SLG: 0.400 |
OPS: 0.741 |
The undulating adventures of the Cheese and Alleghenys continued yesterday, with the Cheese doing just enough to sneak above Pittsburgh. The Head Cheese’s move to activate Abraham Toro earlier this month proved prescient, as he went 4 for 5, collecting as many hits as the rest of the team combined. It can be said with certainty that Abraham played more like a torro than a toro, and all of Cottage is glad for that. Taijuan Walker toed the rubber for the Cheese and gave up a leadoff home run to Kyle Schwarber (the first of three for him yesterday), a symbol of what would happen as he tossed 6.3 innings and have up 3 more runs and 9 more hits.
Pittsburgh: L, 3-6; 24PA, 1.7IP
| AVG: 0.227 |
OBP: 0.292 |
SLG: 0.273 |
OPS: 0.564 |
The Alleghenys, as we already mentioned, were overtaken by the Cheese. Tomorrow will surely be a different story, if history is any indication. Trevor Larnach collected 3 hits, more than the rest of the team combined, who collected only 2 hits on the day. Anthony Bender pitched a scoreless 1.7 innings, but it wasn’t enough to stave off a loss.
Bellingham: W, 3-2; 36PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.143 |
OBP: 0.333 |
SLG: 0.286 |
OPS: 0.619 |
The Cascades did just enough to earn a win yesterday. Though the team only had 4 hits, they earned 8 walks (were you playing a Little League team?!?) on its way to victory. Ronald Acuna, Jr. hit a home run, too. Cam Bedrosian and Devin Williams combined for 0 runs allowed in 2 innings pitched.
Portland: “W,” 11-12; 37PA, 19.3IP
| AVG: 0.355 |
OBP: 0.432 |
SLG: 0.613 |
OPS: 1.045 |
First things first – does Portland even read these updates? Being last, and this week being on vacation while his children are being shuffled between their grandparents house and my house – does he even care enough to read that his team hit like all stars yesterday? Or that his pitchers pitched like replacement pitchers yesterday? Does he care that CJ Cron went 3 for 4 with a home run? Or that Gary Sanchez went 2 for 2 with 2 doubles? Or that 6 pitchers appeared and every single one gave up at least one run, including a total of 5 home runs and 9 walks? Or that I am feeding his kids fruit snacks every meal of the day?
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
52 |
20 |
.727 |
— |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
46 |
26 |
.646 |
5.8 |
| Boston Red Sox |
43 |
29 |
.597 |
9.3 |
| Tampa Bay Rays |
43 |
30 |
.589 |
9.8 |
| New York Yankees |
38 |
33 |
.535 |
13.8 |
| Toronto Blue Jays |
35 |
35 |
.500 |
16.3 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
23 |
48 |
.324 |
28.8 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| D.C. Balk |
43 |
22 |
.663 |
— |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
38 |
27 |
.590 |
4.7 |
| New York Mets |
36 |
29 |
.554 |
7.1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies |
34 |
35 |
.493 |
11.1 |
| Washington Nationals |
33 |
36 |
.478 |
12.1 |
| Atlanta Braves |
33 |
36 |
.478 |
12.1 |
| Miami Marlins |
31 |
40 |
.437 |
15.1 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Chicago White Sox |
43 |
29 |
.597 |
— |
| Cleveland Indians |
39 |
30 |
.565 |
2.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
39 |
33 |
.537 |
4.4 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
35 |
37 |
.482 |
8.3 |
| Kansas City Royals |
32 |
38 |
.457 |
10 |
| Minnesota Twins |
30 |
41 |
.423 |
12.5 |
| Detroit Tigers |
30 |
42 |
.417 |
13 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers |
40 |
32 |
.556 |
— |
| Chicago Cubs |
40 |
32 |
.556 |
— |
| Cottage Cheese |
39 |
33 |
.541 |
1.1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals |
36 |
36 |
.500 |
4 |
| Cincinnati Reds |
35 |
35 |
.500 |
4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
25 |
45 |
.357 |
14 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Kaline Drive |
46 |
25 |
.653 |
— |
| Haviland Dragons |
44 |
27 |
.625 |
2 |
| Houston Astros |
43 |
28 |
.606 |
3.3 |
| Oakland A’s |
44 |
29 |
.603 |
3.3 |
| Seattle Mariners |
38 |
36 |
.514 |
9.8 |
| Los Angeles Angels |
36 |
36 |
.500 |
10.8 |
| Texas Rangers |
25 |
46 |
.352 |
21.3 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| San Francisco Giants |
46 |
26 |
.639 |
— |
| Peshastin Pears |
46 |
26 |
.635 |
0.3 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers |
44 |
27 |
.620 |
1.5 |
| San Diego Padres |
42 |
32 |
.568 |
5 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
32 |
40 |
.443 |
14.1 |
| Colorado Rockies |
30 |
43 |
.411 |
16.5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks |
20 |
53 |
.274 |
26.5 |
