There wasn’t any fanfare in yesterday’s update when the Old Detroit Wolverines made it to the 100-win mark. And today they made it to 101, so it’s already too late to celebrate. Being the first to get to 100 wins in a league where every team but one is over .500 is quite an accomplishment, and so we should celebrate! If EFL teams could make the playoffs, the Wolverines would have already clinched a spot and the news would have been about them and not the Dodgers and Giants, who both managed to do so this week.
Congrats, Ron! Now stop winning.
EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
RS |
RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
101 |
44 |
.694 |
— |
833.0 |
553.6 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
96 |
49 |
.661 |
4.7 |
799.7 |
563.9 |
| D.C. Balk |
89 |
54 |
.620 |
10.9 |
817.0 |
641.7 |
| Peshastin Pears |
89 |
56 |
.611 |
11.9 |
735.7 |
592.0 |
| Kaline Drive |
88 |
56 |
.609 |
12.4 |
770.4 |
617.1 |
| Cottage Cheese |
81 |
64 |
.556 |
20 |
811.4 |
743.4 |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
78 |
65 |
.543 |
22 |
752.5 |
706.0 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
78 |
66 |
.541 |
22.3 |
720.1 |
662.8 |
| Haviland Dragons |
77 |
67 |
.533 |
23.4 |
736.9 |
713.6 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
74 |
70 |
.516 |
25.8 |
613.2 |
594.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
70 |
75 |
.485 |
30.3 |
766.9 |
799.9 |
Old Detroit: W, 4-3; 67PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.271 |
OBP: 0.328 |
SLG: 0.356 |
OPS: 0.684 |
The Wolverines managed to stave off any advance from the Tornadoes by sending out Marcus Stroman to the mound. Stroman, with a 3.18 ERA this month, led his team to victory in fantasy but not in real life. But who cares about real life? He pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs. Cal Raleigh had arguably the best night at the plate for OD, going 2 for 4 with a double, but he is only 33% active. Will Smith added a home run, too. That’s a pretty good day from the catcher spot!
Flint Hill: “W,” 1-3; 76PA, 7.3IP
| AVG: 0.254 |
OBP: 0.289 |
SLG: 0.380 |
OPS: 0.670 |
After scoring 20 runs two days ago, the Tornadoes came back down to earth. The good news is they kept pace with the Wolverines. The bad news is they could have gained more ground had the offense hit anything besides singles. There were two home runs hit, but both by players who are either fully benched (Patrick Wisdom) or mostly benched (Joey Gallo). Nathan Eovaldi pitched well, but it could have been even better had Hunter Renfroe not dropped a can of corn that extended Eovaldi’s inning by 30 pitches. At least the Red Sox still won!
DC: “W,” 5-7; 40PA, 8IP
| AVG: 0.212 |
OBP: 0.350 |
SLG: 0.333 |
OPS: 0.683 |
Triston McKenzie is having a really good month. Over 18 innings he has an ERA of 1.50. Last night’s game was another strong outing in which he went 6 innings, giving up one run while striking out 7. Unfortunately, Drew Steckenrider gave up 3 runs in one third of an inning. It was fortunate for Red Sox fans, though. And since I know Rob likes the Red Sox, and because the Balk are not going to win a championship this season, I bet he felt ok with that bad outing from Steckenrider. He may have felt even better knowing that Xander Bogaerts is becoming a bit more like his old self, last night going 2 for 5 with a triple off of…yep, you guessed it…Drew Steckenrider.
Peshastin: W(2), L(-1), 4-(-5); 36PA, 11.4IP
| AVG: 0.273 |
OBP: 0.333 |
SLG: 0.394 |
OPS: 0.727 |
Is anyone else having as much fun as I am, watching the Pears and Drive swap places in the standings every single day? Yesterday’s swap came through pitching brilliance from the Pears, who did not allow a run in over 11 innings pitched! Freddy Peralta led the way, tossing 6 of those scoreless innings, and then several relievers joined in the fun. They only gave up 2 hits – 2! – in those 11.4 innings. The daily walk watch for Juan Soto was successful, as he earned another walk and was issued another IBB. But last night he got at least 4 pitches to hit, and got 3 singles with those 4 pitches. His OBP this month is .578!
Kaline: “W,” 3-3; 49PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.195 |
OBP: 0.306 |
SLG: 0.341 |
OPS: 0.648 |
I have to imagine the Drive are having fun with their end of season do-si-do with the Pears. Their day was not as good as the Pears yesterday, but if the pattern holds true, they’ll be back in front of them by this time tomorrow. Several relievers appeared, and pitched pretty well. Jose Altuve and Omar Narvaez each got two hits, and Aaron Judge recovered from his dizzy spell to hit a home run.
Cottage: W, 6-3; 41PA, 5IP
| AVG: 0.237 |
OBP: 0.275 |
SLG: 0.553 |
OPS: 0.828 |
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – it is extra sweet when your EFL player helps both your EFL team and your favorite MLB team win on the same night, which is exactly what Tony Gonsolin did for the Cheese yesterday. His 5 scoreless innings propelled the Dodgers into the playoffs and got the Cheese another win. Trea Turner also joined in the fun, hitting a Dodger/Cheese home run to help the cause. Good work, Trea and Tony!
Canberra: L, 4-13; 36PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.233 |
OBP: 0.361 |
SLG: 0.333 |
OPS: 0.694 |
Jackson Koward ruined any hope the Roos had of a win, giving up 5 runs in 2 innings to Oakland. Needing a Herculean effort to overcome that stinker, Javy Baez tried to help the Roos as he also tried to help the Mets, but both were lost causes. His 2 for 2 with a home run and 3 walks did nothing for either team.
Pittsburgh: W, 11-5; 26PA, 19.9IP
| AVG: 0.435 |
OBP: 0.500 |
SLG: 1.043 |
OPS: 1.543 |
Look at that hitting line: it includes 3 home runs and 3 doubles and only one strikeout in 26 PAs – impressive! Luis Robert and Max Muncy were the main contributors, each going 2 for 3 with a double and a home run. Garrett Hampson continued to be hot at the plate, this time getting a triple and a single. Jose Berrios and Tyler Anderson pitched well, combining for 11.3 innings and 2 runs allowed.
Haviland: “W,” 5-7; 34PA, 11.3IP
| AVG: 0.281 |
OBP: 0.324 |
SLG: 0.531 |
OPS: 0.855 |
The Dragons are slowly making their way down the standings, now just 2 games from catching the Cascades. Joe Ryan pitched well (5 innings, 1 run), Jesus Luzardo did not (4 runs in 4 innings). Kyle Schwarber hit a pinch hit double (off Steckenrider), and Brandon Lowe and Brendan Rodgers both hit home runs.
Bellingham: “L,” 4-4; 46PA, 2.3IP
| AVG: 0.238 |
OBP: 0.283 |
SLG: 0.381 |
OPS: 0.664 |
DJLM had a good day at the plate, again, this time going 2 for 5 with a home run. He was one of the 5 Yankee home run hitters last night, a stat I do not like pointing out. Three relievers combined to not give up any runs, and the Cascades managed to keep the Dragons at bay.
Portland: “L,” 4-4; 39PA, 17.4IP
| AVG: 0.229 |
OBP: 0.282 |
SLG: 0.457 |
OPS: 0.739 |
The Rosebuds continued their solid September, and are now 9-4. Yesterday they got three good pitching performances (Jon Gray, Anthony DeSclafani and Luis Cessa) and one bad one (Logan Allen). They got a home run each from Ryan Jeffers and Tyler O’Neill, too.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines |
101 |
44 |
.694 |
— |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes |
96 |
49 |
.661 |
4.7 |
| Tampa Bay Rays |
90 |
55 |
.621 |
10.6 |
| Toronto Blue Jays |
81 |
64 |
.559 |
19.6 |
| New York Yankees |
81 |
64 |
.559 |
19.6 |
| Boston Red Sox |
82 |
65 |
.558 |
19.6 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
46 |
98 |
.319 |
54.1 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| D.C. Balk |
89 |
54 |
.620 |
— |
| Canberra Kangaroos |
78 |
65 |
.543 |
11 |
| Atlanta Braves |
76 |
67 |
.531 |
12.6 |
| Philadelphia Phillies |
72 |
72 |
.500 |
17.1 |
| New York Mets |
72 |
74 |
.493 |
18.1 |
| Miami Marlins |
61 |
84 |
.421 |
28.6 |
| Washington Nationals |
60 |
85 |
.414 |
29.6 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Chicago White Sox |
83 |
61 |
.576 |
— |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys |
78 |
66 |
.541 |
5.2 |
| Bellingham Cascades |
74 |
70 |
.516 |
8.7 |
| Cleveland Indians |
70 |
73 |
.490 |
12.5 |
| Detroit Tigers |
69 |
76 |
.476 |
14.5 |
| Kansas City Royals |
66 |
78 |
.458 |
17 |
| Minnesota Twins |
64 |
82 |
.438 |
20 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers |
89 |
56 |
.614 |
— |
| Cottage Cheese |
81 |
64 |
.556 |
8.4 |
| St. Louis Cardinals |
75 |
69 |
.521 |
13.5 |
| Cincinnati Reds |
75 |
70 |
.517 |
14 |
| Chicago Cubs |
66 |
79 |
.455 |
23 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
53 |
91 |
.368 |
35.5 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| Kaline Drive |
88 |
56 |
.609 |
— |
| Houston Astros |
84 |
60 |
.583 |
3.6 |
| Seattle Mariners |
78 |
67 |
.538 |
10.1 |
| Oakland A’s |
77 |
67 |
.535 |
10.6 |
| Haviland Dragons |
77 |
67 |
.533 |
10.9 |
| Los Angeles Angels |
70 |
74 |
.486 |
17.6 |
| Texas Rangers |
54 |
90 |
.375 |
33.6 |
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
PCT. |
GB |
| San Francisco Giants |
95 |
50 |
.655 |
— |
| Los Angeles Dodgers |
93 |
53 |
.637 |
2.5 |
| Peshastin Pears |
89 |
56 |
.611 |
6.3 |
| San Diego Padres |
74 |
70 |
.514 |
20.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds |
70 |
75 |
.485 |
24.7 |
| Colorado Rockies |
67 |
78 |
.462 |
28 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks |
47 |
98 |
.324 |
48 |
