… in which Dave is J.P. Crawford and I get to be Cal Raleigh. Not to brag or anything.
Standings: Week 16, Game 5 (July 12, 2024)
| Team | Wins | Losses | WPct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Rosebuds | 53.65 | 41.35 | .565 | 0.0 |
| Haviland Dragons | 53.13 | 41.87 | .559 | 0.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 52.03 | 42.97 | .548 | 1.6 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 51.55 | 43.45 | .543 | 2.1 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 46.70 | 48.30 | .492 | 7.0 |
| D.C. Balk | 46.25 | 48.75 | .487 | 7.4 |
| Salem Seraphim | 45.55 | 49.45 | .479 | 8.1 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 45.35 | 49.65 | .477 | 8.3 |
| Cascadia Glaciers | 43.51 | 51.49 | .458 | 10.1 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 37.02 | 57.98 | .390 | 16.6 |
| Kaline Drive | 34.38 | 60.62 | .362 | 19.3 |
Why am I touting Dave as the hero in the weirdest play of the season? Because he was there to grab the ball after BP spent most of the day fumbling it around the infield. And why am I claiming to be Cal Raleigh? Because I saw his post that the stats were done when it sprang into my mailbox, and immediately caught it and applied the tag.
Sure, writing these updates is not something you can do in a split second. But this one is going to be quick, on the scale of an update.
Portland 0.28 (Wk: 1.14 – 3.86)
The Rosebuds got a ton of good pitching: 19 ip, 7 er. Cole Ragans led the way with 7 ip, 1 er. But the hitters struggled again: just 9 for 51, and 16 strikeouts (in 55 PA, to be sure). The total: .176, .222, .255. Jesse Winker led the team: 2 for 4 with a double and a homer, accounting for all of the team’s extra bases.
Haviland: 1.99 (Wk: 2.86 – 2.14)
The Dragons have really been struggling lately — but yesterday they broke ot of their doldrums in a mighty way! Pitchers completed 23.7 innings at the cost of 11 earned runs. That 4.19 ERA isn’t snazzy, but it was plenty good enough given what Dragons did at the plate: .379, .486, .655. Jeimer Candalario went 2 for 3 with a homer and two walks to lead the offensive onslaught. This catapulted the Dragons back into second place, just half a game behind the Rosebuds.
Peshastin: 1.38 (Wk: 3.23 – 1.77)
Four Pear pitchers combined to rack up 13.7 ip. James Paxton didn’t do that well (3.7 ip,, 3 er) but Taj Bradley and two relievers twirled 10 innings without a single run allowed. Meantime Pear hitters were putting up another Happy Edgar Martinez Day: .343, .415, .543. Bobby Witt, Jr. had a great day: 2 for 4 with a homer and a HBP, but Cal Raleigh did even better: 2 for 4 with a homer and a walk, and being alert to catch Crawford’s hurried throw to prevent an Angel runner from scoring from second on an infield single that glanced off Ty France’s glove, over to Jorge Polanco, who threw to the pitcher Bryan Woo at first. But Woo was lax, late in getting to first, and muffed the throw which somehow careened across the diamond to where JP fielded it bare handed near second and, off balance, pegged it to Raleigh. That’s the 3-4-1-6-2 putout I was referring to.
Canberra: (-0.10) (Wk: 1.49 – 3.51)
Canberra slid from second to fourth place despite getting 4 innings of very good pitching, allowing only 1 earned run. Kangaroo hitters – 12 of them — had 49 plate appearances but only managed a .222, .265, .267 batting line. Ceddane Rafaela had the best day at the plate: 2 for 3 with a double. 6 for 38 to
Pittsburgh: 0.23 (Wk: 2.08 – 2,92)
Allegheny batters were meek and mild Friday, going 6 for 38 to achieve a .158, .289, .184 slash line. Fortunately, Kyle Harrison had a good outing (5.3 ip, 1 er) and Bryse Wilson backed him up with a scoreless inning.
DC: 0.30 (Wk: 2.62 – 2.38)
No pitchers graced the Balkan mound. Lots of hitters showed up, however, and slugged three homers to give them a .526 SLG to go with their .263 AVG and .293 OBP. Harrison Bader clouted two homer runs in 4 plate appearances to salvage the 3/10ths of a win.
Salem: 0.26 (Wk: 2.74 – 2.26)
Salem almost copied the Balk’s pitching output, but Daniel Hudson saved the day with a single scoreless inning. They need it becayse the hitters did not hit ANY home runs: .206, 289, .265.
Flint Hill: 0.18 (Wk: 2.72 – 2.28)
The Tornados sent 4 guys to the mound, assembling 7.7 innings while being not-too-generous with the earned runs — only 4, for a heavy by not unbearable 4.69 ERA. It almost wasn’t enough because Tornado hitters were on the weak side: .267, .267 .400. That’s 11 strikeouts but zero walks or hbp’s. They did get a nice Julio Rodriguez homer.
Cascadia: 0.67 (Wk: 2.67 – 2.33)
Cascadian pitchers turned out in their half-dozens Friday, working together to compile 12.3 ip for 6 earned runs. 3.3 of those innings were by Bryan Woo, who lost the game for the M’s with his poor pitching and slow reaction and clumsy fielding on the 3-4-1-6-2 play. I mean, the guy seemed to be out of it! I doubt the Arch Seraph will tolerate that sort of stuff. If he’s fed up with Woo, I am willing to help out.
Old Detroit: 0.71 (Wk: 3.78 – 1.22)
Hunter Brown — whom I tried to trade away last month, and fortunately failed — went 6 strong innings (2 er) and got another inning of scoreless relief from Mason Miller. This was the main part of the day’s success. The hitting wasn’t terrible (.304, .346, .304) but was totally punchless (and a little short on volume: 6 hitters, only 26 PA).
Kaline: 0.15 (Wk: 1.47 – 3.53)
Two relievers finished 1.7 scoreless innings, just enough to cover the hitters from losing previous wins. Those slacking Drive hitters only went .214, .292, .381 on 48 PA. Mark Vientos continues to hit VERY well: 2 for 3 with a double, a home run, and a walk.
