.500 is 💯

EFL
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB	RS	RA
Old Detroit Wolverines	105	48	.689	—	886.8	596.5
Flint Hill Tornadoes	100	53	.653	5.5	847.3	614.7
D.C. Balk	95	56	.626	9.8	872.2	674.8
Kaline Drive	94	59	.615	11.3	814.6	644.5
Peshastin Pears	93	60	.607	12.5	785.3	638.6
Canberra Kangaroos	84	67	.556	20.4	808.6	733.2
Cottage Cheese	83	70	.543	22.4	837.3	783.8
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	82	71	.536	23.4	755.2	701.3
Haviland Dragons	81	72	.530	24.2	791.9	770.5
Bellingham Cascades	78	75	.511	27.2	649.9	636.5
Portland Rosebuds	77	76	.502	28.6	817.9	826.0

 

AVG: 0.296

OBP: 0.367

SLG: 0.556

OPS: 0.922

ERA: 0.00

WHIP: 2.000

Yesterday was a pad the surplus stats day for the Wolverines, who are now at Kalinian levels with 151 total surplus PAs across all 9 positions. Could that be problematic? Perhaps. Was it yesterday? Not one bit. Yesterday’s best hitter, Cal Raleigh, is only 33% active, which helps the surplus PAs but not the runs scored. He went 2 for 4 with a double and home run to help the Mariners sweep the As in a crucial series for their playoff hopes. Austin Riley, Eloy Jimenez and Ke’Bryan Hayes all added a home run, and Craig Kimbrel recovered from his blown save last outing to notch a scoreless inning.

ERA: 9.00

WHIP: 1.500

ALl of the pitching woes from yesterday were avoided by the Tornadoes, thankfully, with Yu Darvish, Jake Cousins and Brad Boxberger all pitching in Granite Flats. Those three combined gave up 8 runs in 6 innings – whew! Sadly, the best hitter in all of MLB yesterday, Tim Anderson, was also playing in Granite Flats. His 3 for 4 with 2 home runs meant nothing for the Tornadoes. Paul Goldschmidt and Teoscar Hernandez combined to go 5 for 9 with 3 home runs and on double. This is a huge weekend for the Tornadoes. If Monday morning comes and we have not made significant ground on the Wolverines all hope will be lost.

 

AVG: 0.241

OBP: 0.353

SLG: 0.379

OPS: 0.732

ERA: 7.30

WHIP: 1.351

The Balk quest to finish within 10 games of first place took a step back, though they still are closer than 10 games back. Bryce Harper was 0 for 2, but earned 3 walks. Sam Hilliard collected 3 hits, one of them a double. And Sean Murphy went 2 for 4 with a home run. But it wasn’t enough as James Kaprielian, recently sent to the bullpen to preserve his innings, gave up 3 runs in 2 innings. It is difficult to be motivated when first place isn’t in reach, but I wonder if getting to the 100-win mark might motivate the Balk players a little bit more over this next and final week. Three teams over 100 wins would certainly be a strong indication of the strength of our league compared to MLB managers.

ERA: 10.29

WHIP: 2.286

If only Aaron Civale had been benched like his nemesis, Tim Anderson, was. Civale gave up two runs to Anderson before leaving with a line of 1.7 innings pitched and 7 earned runs allowed. Four other pitchers allowed, each going 1 or 2 innings and holding the other team scoreless, but it was too little to overcome the tidal wave caused by Civale. Daulton Varsho and Willy Adames both collected two hits. Editor’s note: The Chief Drive(r) chimed in just this morning to confirm his disgust for Aaron Civale’s day on the mound, to which the Chief Cheese(r) empathized, in a pure EFL moment. What other league would do so much for fellow owners? None, I say, none. 

 

AVG: 0.556

OBP: 0.600

SLG: 1.222

OPS: 1.822

Here’s something you haven’t seen or heard in a while (eye roll emoji): Juan Soto was awesome yesterday. He didn’t get out in 4 plate appearances, going 3 for 3 with 2 home runs and a walk. Will the Nationals be able to take advantage of his elite skill before it is too late? Will the Pears be able to catapult themselves to their first ever EFL championship on the strength of his abilities next season? They’ve only got two more years with him, which should speed the urgency up a bit. Ryan Mountcastle continued his excellent rookie season, going 2 for 4 with a home run. Could the Pears have the NL MVP and the AL Rookie of the Year on their team this year? We will see!

ERA: 4.50

WHIP: 2.000

Speaking of pressure, the Roos should feel some next year, too. They have the potential AL MVP (Vlad, Jr.) and the Sophomore of the Year (if such a thing existed – Kyle Tucker). Those two have combined for 11.3 WAR this season and are a solid backbone for the next two years. Neither of them served as the hero yesterday, though, a title that belongs to Mitch Garver and his 3 for 4 with a double.

ERA: 3.10

WHIP: 1.839

Alex Cobb had a great day on the mound, the very thing for which the head Cheese has been pining. He gave up one run over nearly 6 innings of work. The team only collected 4 hits on the day, and 3 of them belonged to Trea Turner, all of them singles. Once again, Shohei Ohtani did not get a hit, but he did earn 3 walks and get his 24th stolen base of the year. It’s not too far-fetched to think he’ll end the season with 50 home runs and 25 stolen bases – something no one has even done in MLB history. Here’s a list of those who have come close:

ERA: 2.43

WHIP: 0.811

To be honest, I’m trying to not be too bitter that my own father didn’t want to write his team’s update a few days ago. Does blood mean nothing? Even my own brother, currently in last place, starting a new job, selling his home and trying to buy a new home, was able to write an update. But bitterness is not a good taste, and so I’m working hard to move on. What should I say about the Dragons? They lost again. Their hitting, after three months of being pretty good, has been not so good this month. And for the third month in a row (admittedly, this surprised me) their pitching dead last in the league. Most of those awful innings in the past three months can be chalked up to replacement pitchers. For instance, yesterday three pitchers appeared and they only gave up a total of one hit! It was a home run, but that is all they allowed! Then, replacement pitchers finished the job, and as you can see (and as is so predictable – I wish all of our pitchers were as predictable) they did not do well. To top it off, only two players got a hit – JT Realmuto with 3 and Yoshi Tsutsugo with one. 

ERA: 3.38

WHIP: 0.875

Once again we have the classic win one/lose one double header approach. This time the problem was not sending anyone to the mound for game two, and it cost the Cascades. Charlie Morton tossed a good game one, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. That, coupled with some heavy hitting, earned Bellingham a win in game one. Who were the heavy hitters, you ask? Unlikely hero Jack Mayfield was one of them. He went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles. How about unlikely hero Austin Hedges, he of the .176 average this season? He went 1 for 3 with a home run! And how about unlikely hero Ha-Seong Kim, he of the .352 slugging percentage? He went 2 for 4 with a home run! All of that unlikely offense was used up in game one, though, and the Cascades came tumbling back to earth in the second game. I have wondered, recently, if they will be content to fall to last or if they want to fight to finish out of last place. I guess we will see over this next week.

ERA: 2.25

WHIP: 1.500

As Ron so deftly predicted yesterday, the Rosebuds are officially over .500, which means every team in the EFL is over .500. Time to pat ourselves on the back, and the start making our protected lists because we will be having a competitive balance draft this winter due to our sheer awesomeness as a league. The Rosebuds also moved one game ahead of the Tornadoes this month for the best record (to be fair, the Tornadoes had an off day), and with 15 wins are one win away from tying their monthly high of 16, which happened last month. Be careful or you might Wander too far away from the top pick. Last night’s offensive onslaught was led by a trio of sluggers, all of them under contract through at least 2024 – Dylan Carlson (3 for 4 with a triple), Corey Seager (4 for 5) and Tyrone Taylor (2 for 4 with two home runs). Three pitchers combined for 4 innings and one run allowed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AL East
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Old Detroit Wolverines	105	48	.689	—
Flint Hill Tornadoes	100	53	.653	5.5
Tampa Bay Rays	94	59	.614	11.4
Boston Red Sox	88	65	.575	17.4
New York Yankees	86	67	.562	19.4
Toronto Blue Jays	85	68	.556	20.4
Baltimore Orioles	49	104	.320	56.4

NL East
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
D.C. Balk	95	56	.626	—
Canberra Kangaroos	84	67	.556	10.6
Atlanta Braves	80	71	.530	14.6
Philadelphia Phillies	79	74	.516	16.6
New York Mets	73	79	.480	22.1
Miami Marlins	64	88	.421	31.1
Washington Nationals	64	89	.418	31.6

 

AL Central
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Chicago White Sox	86	67	.562	—
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	82	71	.536	4
Bellingham Cascades	78	75	.511	7.8
Cleveland Indians	75	77	.493	10.5
Detroit Tigers	74	78	.487	11.5
Kansas City Royals	69	83	.454	16.5
Minnesota Twins	68	85	.444	18

NL Central
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Milwaukee Brewers	91	62	.595	—
St. Louis Cardinals	83	69	.546	7.5
Cottage Cheese	83	70	.543	8
Cincinnati Reds	78	75	.510	13
Chicago Cubs	67	85	.441	23.5
Pittsburgh Pirates	57	95	.375	33.5

 

AL West
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
Kaline Drive	94	59	.615	—
Houston Astros	91	62	.595	3.1
Seattle Mariners	84	69	.549	10.1
Oakland A’s	82	71	.536	12.1
Haviland Dragons	81	72	.530	12.9
Los Angeles Angels	73	80	.477	21.1
Texas Rangers	55	98	.359	39.1

NL West
TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT.	GB
San Francisco Giants	99	54	.647	—
Los Angeles Dodgers	98	55	.641	1
Peshastin Pears	93	60	.607	6.1
San Diego Padres	77	75	.507	21.5
Portland Rosebuds	77	76	.502	22.2
Colorado Rockies	71	81	.467	27.5
Arizona Diamondbacks	49	104	.320	50