[Westheim]

Ben Simon was 2-3 with a homer and four RBI to start the Crusaders series. Too bad their monster Ralph Nixon went 2-5 with a homer and five RBI and the Crusaders trumped the Raccoons 9-5. Four unearned runs came off a throwing error by Darryl Maloney in the sixth, so one had to wonder what could have been. I was growing a bit tired of Maloney’s act, too. He was batting sub .200 and was less than 20% in getting stealers out this year. Lawson would get a shot at being the #1 catcher.

Game 2. Wyatt Johnston bashed two homers for four runs in the game (plus a single and two walks), but both times the lead got blown up again by the Crusaders. The game went to extra innings at 5-5. The Raccoons didn’t score, and Bill Baker took the loss, although the Raccoons threw out Jeremy Churchill at third to get the second out, Baker walked the next batter to get a runner in scoring position. Tony Lopez came on there, with Paul Kavanagh to bat. Kavanagh already was 4-4 on the night and snipped one right through Ben Simon at short to score Ralph Nixon from second and walk the Crusaders off, 6-5. Game 3 was a clean cut 6-1 loss. The Raccoons had only one chance in the seventh, but Johnston was thrown out at home trying to score from second on a Rob Pickett single with the bases loaded and the Raccoons only got that one run from Ben Simon.

After that, the Indians were up, the division leaders. They had dropped two against the Canadiens and threw Salah Brunet against Logan Evans. Brunet had a no-hitter (in 1977) and the lowest ERA in the league. Evans had no control over his pitches. Evans won it on 7.2 innings of 1-run ball, while the Raccoons shoved three down Brunet’s throat in the 3-1 win. Hatfield got a save after being slotted back to the closer roll after some strong relief efforts.

Miguel Sanchez was up for the Indians in game 2, and he was 2nd in wins, 2nd in ERA, 4th in K’s in the Continental League. He didn’t let the Raccoons as much as breathe, shutting them out over eight innings, while Romero allowed three in the second, where he gave away a couple of costly walks. Then came the ninth, Sanchez was trying to complete the shutout, but then had to leave the game with pain in his arm. The Indians imploded. Hoyt Cook and Freddy Lopez provided big two out hits for the Raccoons that tied the game. They could not get ahead, though. Wally Gaston held the Indians at bay to send the game to extra innings, where the Raccoons won 5-3 on a 2-run double by Rob Pickett. Gaston got one, Hatfield two outs in the bottom 10th. Sanchez was diagnosed with a strained triceps. His season was over at 19-7 with a 2.06 ERA.

Powell was again terrible in game 3. He allowed nine hits and two runs in 3.2 innings and was removed with the bases loaded, where Bill Baker wiggled out. Kieran Lawson tied the game with a 2-run shot in the top 5th. Sullivan homered to make it 3-2, while Baker pitched 4.2 stellar innings and all would have been well, but the Raccoons broke apart in the bottom 9th. Lopez and Wright loaded the bases with two outs. Gaston came in (both him and Hatfield were worn out) and the Indians sent in Luis Montano to match up against Gaston. They went to a full count before Montano banged one through the right side that scored two and walked off the Indians, 4-3.

The Crusaders were still sending a thank you card for shutting down the Indians. The two teams were tied again for the lead. The Raccoons in turn agreed to a waiver trade with the Pittsburgh Miners. The Miners wanted Jorge Lopez, who was hitting .091 now and was a misfit everywhere but rightfield, which was a healthy Pedro Sánz’ realm. They offered Ángel Costa, a decent 2B/3B guy with good contact hitting. I figured that if someone claimed a player here, it would be Costa, since Lopez was just so bad. In the worst case, they’d claim Lopez and a 40-man roster spot would be freed up in time for September 1 for Daniel Hall to move up. Hall was shredding through AAA pitching and I was eager to move him up earlier than intended. If I got Costa, I had the option to take him to the 40-man roster and release the struggling Jeffries.

Game 1 in the Condors series was Berrios vs. Miranda. The latter pitched like I remembered him from last year, walking three in the first inning, and the Raccoons got two runs across. Miranda ended up tagged with six runs in less than three innings. The Raccoons won 7-1, but the win could have been much higher with ten walks and nine hits for the team. Game 2 sucked. Logan Evans left injured in the first inning. Jenkins dealt four walks, Gaston dealt four walks, and the game was tied 5-5 after nine, 6-6 after ten with a run off Wright, that Hatfield inherited and couldn’t contain, and Hatfield lost it in the 11th with two straight hits, 7-6. All that after only Hoyt Cook’s 2-run double had sent the game to extra innings in the first place, come with two outs in the top 9th. With game 2 depleting the pen, Romero had to go deep in game 3, but struggled with command, as did Baker, who was the only other pitcher not still aching from the day before. Baker lost the game to a 2-run walk off homer by Mark MacCamie. So, the Condors may be the worst team in the CL South, but the Raccoons still can’t get through them, no matter how horribly they pitch.

Kevin Hatfield signed a 3-year extension, buying out his arbitration years at slightly above the current price. Should he further improve, the next two years will be – as the Ferengi in me would call it – profit. I’m also taking another shot at a contract extension for Wyatt Johnston. I made him an offer over three years (third year a vesting option) for $375,000 a year – a healthy 14% cut in pay. He will at least think about it.

Meanwhile the waiver trade for Ángel Costa was completed with the Miners. Costa remained designated for assignment yet, though, although we had only 24 guys on the majors roster. The reason was simple. Pedro Sánz had only one more day remaining on the DL and was healthy again. He would be back for game 2 against Thunder. But it was August 28, the rosters would expand soon anyway. No reason to release Jeffries now – he would not get a new contract anyway. Costa would stay DFA for four days.

Logan Evans meanwhile had torn his triceps in the Condors game and his season was over. He went to the 60-day DL on August 29. Ned Ray was recalled for lack of other options.

Thunder was another team the Raccoons were badly struggling against. The series opened with a 3-2 ten innings loss with Brett Justice on the receiving end. Another walk off loss followed in game 2. The Raccoons led 7-5 into the bottom 9th. Freddy Lopez had pinch hit in the top half of the inning and remained in there at 3B for Sullivan for better defense. He throw away an easy ball on the first play that also threw Hatfield’s game and the Thunder scored three runs to walk off 8-7. All three bottom 9th runs were unearned because of Lopez’ error. There was some shouting in the clubhouse afterwards. Ned Ray then made his first majors start in over two months against the Thunder. He sucked a ton, allowing five runs in the first three innings, but got a no-decision thanks to a 5-run inning by the Raccoons later in the sixth. They added three more in the seventh, but got behind 9-8 in the bottom 7th on a dismal outing by Tony Lopez. Gaston couldn’t pick up his trash. The Raccoons tied it once more in the top 8th when Swift sacrificed in Sánz. Gaston stayed in there and lost the game 10-9 in the bottom 9th. Three games in Oklahoma City, three times lost in walk off fashion.

In other news:
August 18 – Salem’s Victor Garcis silences the Warriors with a 3-hit 10-0 shutout.
August 18 – In a big game in regards to the playoffs, Jose Vazquez shuts out the Rebels on four hits, as the Blue Sox win 6-0.
August 24 – The Rebels lose their closer Stanley Holman for the season with a torn labrum. Holman had been 2-2 with 23 saves and a 2.75 ERA.

Raccoons stuck in last place. The first two weeks in September will feature games against the CL North, first the Loggers and Titans at home, then the Canadiens and Loggers on the road. The Raccoons add five players to the majors roster on September 1: relievers Stanton Coleman and Jose Vazquez, catcher R.J. Sanderson, infielder Ángel Costa (acquired from the Miners), and outfield prospect Daniel Hall. I really want to see Hall, our 1977 #1 draft pick (#2 overall), perform against the big guys. He’s torn up AA and AAA pitching already this year despite missing a few weeks to injury.