[Westheim]

Next was a stretch of nine games, including six more at home, and then the start of a road trip to three CL South teams. And more culling, if possible.

Also, with Carlos Gonzalez hurt once again, we had to dig deeper into our (bleeding) system, and called up Jerry Ackerman once again. Ackerman, now 29, was 7-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 25 games (12 starts) at AAA, and also had two saves. Ackerman was to take over the spot vacated by Gonzalez, pitching the last game of the Loggers series.

Raccoons (44-49) vs. Loggers (38-55)

Kisho Saito went out to start the series, and was broken up in a messy fifth inning, the Raccoons dropping another early 1-0 lead. Judd Montgomery went eight for the Loggers, and while the Raccoons never trailed by more than two, Montgomery’s dominating performance made it feel like a 9-0 game by the sixth. Pedro Durán closed it out for Milwaukee, and the Raccoons lost, 4-2. Osanai 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Dumont 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Scott Wade turned in a gem in his start in the middle game, going eight frames of 3-hit, 1-run ball. He took the loss. A Tetsu Osanai double was all that stood between Neil Stewart and a no-hitter, and the Raccoons lost, 1-0. And it was a burning loss.

Jerry Ackerman had already spent parts of four seasons with the Raccoons. He was 23-27 with a 4.37 ERA in 90 games (65 starts) overall. Unless he could turn in a shutout, he would go to 23-28 in game 3. Too bad, he was behind 2-0 almost as soon as he took the mound. Ackerman’s start was not too bad, seven innings with four runs, but no walks, but that was enough to trail by four. Glenn Johnston’s 2-run homer in the bottom 7th gave the Raccoons some life they didn’t even deserve against a magnificient John Fowler. Then came the bottom 8th, and Hall led off with a pinch-hit single. Thompson added a single, and suddenly the tying runs were aboard. Armando Sanchez was punched out, and Mark Dawson found a way to collect the last two outs. They also put two on, with two out, in the bottom 9th against Durán. Kelly Weber pinch hit for Ramirez and singled to left to score Osanai. Winning run on first base. Grant West had pitched the ninth and was pinch hit for with Matt Higgins, who was 0-10 in his major league career. He struck out, the Raccoons lost (4-3), and were swept by the Loggers. Weber (PH) 1-1, RBI; Hall (PH) 1-1;

Raccoons (44-52) vs. Aces (49-48)

Venegas and Las Vegas’ Jarrod Schroeder were 0.07 apart in terms of ERA, which with ERA’s over five could make for an interesting outcome. Both teams started playing crapball of messy offense and defense at the same time. The Raccoons trailed 2-1 after the top 5th, but Mark Dawson hit the gong with a 2-run homer in the bottom 5th and they added three more runs off Schroeder in that inning. It was enough to win the game, 6-2. Hall 2-4; Dadswell 3-4, 2B; Dumont 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI;

The Aces did not put up a single right-handed bat (except for pitcher Jou Hara) in the middle game against Jason Turner. Hall made a pair of great plays early on to hold a 1-1 tie for Turner. He also filled the bags with a 2-out full count walk in the bottom 3rd. Kelly Weber grounded slowly up left, and 3B Ira Houston couldn’t make any play for an infield single and the Raccoons taking the lead. Hall made another great grab leading off the top 6th, still up 2-1, on a flyer just short of the base of the ball sent by “Icon” Allen. Turner went into the seventh before jamming, and Ed King got him out. The Coons added some more runs late in the game, and won 6-1. Thompson 2-4, BB; Sanchez 2-5, 2B; Hall 1-2, 3 BB, 2 RBI; Weber 2-5, RBI; Dadswell (PH) 1-1; Turner 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (2-2);

The Raccoons did something strange in the last game, having a .000 batter in the leadoff spot. Andy Higgins went there, playing second base, with a .350 OBP. He broke that oh-for with a leadoff double, his first big league hit in 21 trips to the plate. Higgins was brought in to score and the Raccoons added two in the fifth, while Kisho Saito performed top notch. He held the Aces at bay into the ninth, where the shutout was broken up with two outs by Craig Knapp. Grant West collected the final out to save the win, 3-1. Higgins 2-3, 2B; Dadswell 2-4, 2B, RBI; Osanai 1-2, 2 BB; Sanchez (PH) 1-1; Saito 8.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (8-10);

In other news

July 20 – ATL SS Eddy Bailey (.279, 7 HR, 37 RBI) will miss time until early September with a groin strain.
July 20 – New York’s Domingo Alonso notches his 300th save in a 3-2 win over the Indians.
July 22 – Nashville’s SS Manuel Flores (.305, 0 HR, 29 RBI) has torn his ACL and won’t be back until next season.
July 24 – DAL SS Claudio Ayala (.337, 10 HR, 62 RBI) has pieced a 20-game hitting streak together.

Complaints and stuff

Matt Higgins’ unfortunate K with the winning run on base in the final game against Milwaukee not only dropped him to 0-11 in his career – it also dropped the Raccoons to 878-1,000 overall. They were the second team to go *there* after the Loggers, narrowly beating out the Titans (998 losses), Aces (995), and Pacifics (989).

We made an offer to Steve Walker, who was currently unsigned, since being let go as a free agent by the Knights. Yes, that Steve Walker. With all hope gone, and Higgins struggling in the Bigs, I want Walker to help us get through the season. He signed the contract on the morning of the final game against Vegas, and was placed with the AAA team for a few days to get warm – he hasn’t played professionally this season at all.

No culling this week, we couldn’t get trades for Sam Dadswell and a few others together. Armando Sanchez won’t be traded, I want the draft picks for next year. Ed King and Wally Gaston will also not be re-signed, but won’t be compensation eligible.

And they were swept by the Loggers, then swept the Aces? I will never understand baseball.