No, I haven’t broken any axles on the underpowered 4-wheel drive we are renting here in Costa Rica, but we are driving on some pretty rough roads, and I did hit a big rock yesterday that could have done some damage (but doesn’t seem to have). That experience, and news of similar rough road experiences posted by the Shawn and Katrina McConnaughey in Kenya, gave me a new window on what’s going on in Flint Hill these last couple of days.
EFL Standings for 2018
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Portland Rosebuds | 46 | 30 | .611 | — | 395.0 | 307.8 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 45 | 29 | .604 | 0.7 | 321.5 | 259.3 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 43 | 32 | .572 | 3 | 335.1 | 289.8 |
| Brookland Outs | 42 | 34 | .554 | 4.3 | 399.5 | 360.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 39 | 36 | .525 | 6.6 | 388.8 | 377.3 |
| Cottage Cheese | 39 | 37 | .518 | 7 | 371.7 | 359.8 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 38 | 36 | .515 | 7.3 | 306.7 | 297.0 |
| Kaline Drive | 38 | 40 | .482 | 9.8 | 331.6 | 344.0 |
| Haviland Dragons | 37 | 41 | .479 | 10 | 331.7 | 346.1 |
| Peshastin Pears | 33 | 43 | .435 | 13.4 | 319.1 | 366.1 |
| D.C. Balk | 32 | 43 | .427 | 13.9 | 311.7 | 360.7 |
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Portland: “L”, 9 – 5. (42 PA, .285, .395, .629; 1 ip, 0 er). Had they gotten any pitching, the Rosebuds would have broken free of any competition. And really, all that hitting was mostly just 5 guys: Goldschmidt (1.933 OPS), Realmuto (1.850), Rendon (1.750), Teoscar Hernandez (1.400) and Ozuna (1.250). So only five injuries separate the Rosebuds from disaster. Hmm. How do you inflict 5 broken axles on a single vehicle? I suppose if it’s a semi truck…
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Old Detroit: “W”, 2 – 3. (44 PA, .122, .182, .293; 6.3 ip, 2 er). If you’re wondering how a team gets its season winning percentage above .600, and keeps it there, with these numbers, come sit by me and we can wonder together. The W’s are lucky to be here — here in the standings, here with such a nice record. We do not feel like a juggernaut, and we haven’t got 3 or 4 spare axles.
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Canberra: W, 4 – 3. (.256, .333, .349; 6.7 ip. 1 er). A reasonable effort here to right the Kangaroo ship — not many Kangaroo ships out there, are there? We need a better image. Something with an axle. Anyway, the ‘Roos only slipped another 0.1 games in the standings, If Tim Anderson can keep going 2 for 4 with a homer, backed up by Mitch Garver’s 3 for 4, and keep getting good pitching…
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Brookland: “L”, 9 – 8. (47 PA, .308, .417, .641 – Happy Edgar Martinez Day to the Outs! 5.3 ip, 6 er: Happy Edgar Martinez Day to the Outs’ foes!). Jake Odorizzi triple chulked, with 1.7 ip, and 6 er. Jose Bautista terrorized pitchers as he did in days of yore: 2 for 3 with a double, a homer and a walk. The net effect was slightly better than 0.
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Pittsburgh: W, 8 – 4. (48 PA; .351, .500, .541 — Happy EM Day!; 1 ip, 0 er). The Alleghenys leapt two places in the standings with their monster offense. Maikel Franco went 4 for 4 with a double and Stephen Piscotty went 2 for 3 with a homer, a double and a walk, in celebration of what I presume to be his brother or cousin getting drafted and signed by the A’s.
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Cottage: L, 1 – 6. (33 PA, .167, .242, .157; 12.3 ip, 6 er). The Cheese reminded us yesterday that they were still in the league, even though they had traded away Mike Trout. They reminded us both verbally and by moving ahead of their erstwhile Trout trade partners. Today they reminded us again by being passed by the mighty Alleghenys. I am sure they’ll remind us again tomorrow.
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Flint Hill: L, 2 – 4. (44 PA, .119, .156, .214; 13.7 ip. 6 er). Manuel Margot is so excited to be going to Cottage he went 2 for 4 with a double in celebration, tying Carlos Santana for the best daily OPS for the Tornados Saturday. But the rest of the team could only stagger to a 2 for 34 line, with two singles and a walk being the extent of their offense. (.059, .086, .059 batting line, if you’re curious.) Now the T’s have fallen another place in the standings, where they currently stand in 7th place. The Trout deal is heavy, man, maybe too heavy for the Tornados to handle. Except for stalwart Carlos Santana, of course. His years as a Wolverine has toughened him. He’s ready to face into things. But other than Carlos, I I think the Tornado offense has broken an axle. How low will they go before Trout actually arrives July 1?
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Kaline: W, 4 – 2. (47 PA, .22o, .330, .439; 11 ip, 3 er.) Marcus Stroman finished 5 innings without allowing an earned run to set the tone for a good day for Kaline fans the world over. Steve Pearce came back from the DL ready to go: 1 for 2 with a homer!.
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Haviland: L, 4 – 5. (32 PA, 276, .344, .379; 6.3 ip, 3 er). The PA totals I give do not take into account sacrifice flies. Or maybe it’s sacrifice hits. One of those does not count as a plate appearance, but I can’t remember for sure which. Dylan Covey stumbled on the mound (4 ip, 3 er). Juan Soto had a day completely in line with his month (.311, .425, .607). Speaking of broken axles: with Puig (.975 OPS) and Nimmo (.925 OPS) to go with Soto in the outfield, who needs Bryce Harper (.505 OPS)? Hmmm. One is tempted to tempt one’s competitors: “Hey! Your brother got Trout. Shouldn’t you be snapping up Harper?”
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Peshastin: L, 7 – 8. (33 PA, .387, .424, .484; 3.7 ip, 5 er) Robert Gsellman tossed away his hitters’ great work by surrendering 5 runs in only 2 innings. His inability to pitch deeper into the game opened the weir to another gush of replacement relief innings.
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DC: L , 0 – 8. (44 PA, .171, .227, .195; 19.3 ip, 15 er). Starters Bundy, Liriano, Mengden and Musgrove combined for 16.3 innings and 14 er: a steady, consistent level of performance. Of the 12 Balkan hitters, two went .333, .500, .333 (a single and a walk in 4 PA, by Jorge Alfaro and Eduardo Nunez); four went .250, .250, .250 (a single in 4 PA, by Benintendi, Calhoun, Duda and Flaherty). And four went .000, .000, .000 (Altherr, Guzman, Russell, and Valencia. Scooter Gennett nonconformed (1 for 5 with a double) as did Brock Holt (1 walk in 4 PA).
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2018
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| New York Yankees | 50 | 24 | .676 | — |
| Boston Red Sox | 51 | 27 | .654 | 1 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 45 | 29 | .604 | 5.3 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 38 | 36 | .515 | 11.9 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 36 | 40 | .474 | 15 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 35 | 41 | .461 | 16 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 23 | 52 | .307 | 27.5 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Atlanta Braves | 43 | 32 | .573 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 43 | 32 | .572 | 0.1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 41 | 33 | .554 | 1.5 |
| Washington Nationals | 40 | 35 | .533 | 3 |
| D.C. Balk | 32 | 43 | .427 | 10.9 |
| New York Mets | 31 | 43 | .419 | 11.5 |
| Miami Marlins | 30 | 47 | .390 | 14 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Cleveland Indians | 42 | 33 | .560 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 39 | 36 | .525 | 2.6 |
| Detroit Tigers | 36 | 41 | .468 | 7 |
| Minnesota Twins | 33 | 40 | .452 | 8 |
| Chicago White Sox | 25 | 51 | .329 | 17.5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 23 | 53 | .303 | 19.5 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 45 | 31 | .592 | — |
| Chicago Cubs | 42 | 32 | .568 | 2 |
| Brookland Outs | 42 | 34 | .554 | 2.9 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 39 | 36 | .520 | 5.5 |
| Cottage Cheese | 39 | 37 | .518 | 5.6 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 36 | 40 | .474 | 9 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 31 | 45 | .408 | 14 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Houston Astros | 51 | 27 | .654 | — |
| Seattle Mariners | 47 | 30 | .610 | 3.5 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 41 | 36 | .532 | 9.5 |
| Oakland A’s | 40 | 37 | .519 | 10.5 |
| Kaline Drive | 38 | 40 | .482 | 13.4 |
| Haviland Dragons | 37 | 41 | .479 | 13.6 |
| Texas Rangers | 34 | 44 | .436 | 17 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Portland Rosebuds | 46 | 30 | .611 | — |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 43 | 33 | .566 | 3.4 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 40 | 35 | .533 | 5.9 |
| San Francisco Giants | 39 | 39 | .500 | 8.4 |
| Colorado Rockies | 38 | 39 | .494 | 8.9 |
| San Diego Padres | 35 | 44 | .443 | 12.9 |
| Peshastin Pears | 33 | 43 | .435 | 13.4 |