[Westheim]

Matt Higgins came off the DL on the off day following our home stand and was assigned for a short rehab stint at AAA to get off the rust.

Raccoons (63-33) @ Knights (43-52)

Guessing what had befallen the once strong Knights was not that easy. Somehow, their team didn’t work at all.

Although the Knights crowded Robert Vazquez early on in the opener, they only put one run on him, which O’Morrissey tied already with an RBI single in the second. The Coons then took Jesse Carver apart in the fourth, scoring four runs as they took the lead. A 4-run lead didn’t mean the Raccoons had this one banked, however. Vazquez had a bad start and barely got through six, with 12 base runners against him, but the Knights only scored three, and we led 6-3 through six. The Raccoons broke the game open with a 4-run ninth before Daniel Miller had his perfect ERA broken up in the bottom 9th, loading the bags with one out and conceding two runs. 10-5 Raccoons. Reece 2-6, RBI; Salazar 3-6, 3B, 2 RBI; Quinn 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Reyes 2-5; O’Morrissey 4-5, 2 2B, RBI;

The middle game saw the Raccoons gain a 3-0 lead for Scott Wade quickly, but they also lost something quickly, as Bobby Quinn hurt himself while running the bases and had to leave the game. That spelled trouble. Michael Root homered off Wade in the fourth, 3-1, for his 20th dinger of the season. With Quinn out and Sabre in, the Raccoons lineup managed 32 home runs combined at that point. Wow, poor. Sabre didn’t bring much to the plate, but at least he threw out David Harris at home, ending the fifth still up 3-1. The Raccoons failed to add on runs and Anthony Hopper hit a 2-run home run off Wade in the seventh to tie the game. That left Wade with a no-decision. In the top 9th, Johnston doubled with one out. In a close play at second base, he somehow slammed his knee on the bag sliding in, and left the game limping. We emptied our bench trying to get that run in – didn’t work. Pinch-runner Jeff Martin was left on third base. Cordero never recorded an out in the bottom 9th, although the Knights only got started with an O’Morrissey error. They walked off with two hits after that, 4-3 Knights. The Raccoons had only six hits, and only two past the third inning. Reece 2-4, 2B; Quinn 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI;

Bobby Quinn is out with hamstring tendinitis and will head to the DL. Two weeks should be enough, but that could suck the remaining energy outta the middle of the lineup. To be honest, we don’t have anybody to play there now …! Glenn Johnston was listed DTD for about three days. Bob Arnold was ready to come off the DL just in time for game 3, but Quinn and Arnold can hardly be compared.

There was not much left of the powerful quintuplets of last season. Dawson gone, Hall and Quinn out, Osanai and Vinson struggling. O’Morrissey-Osanai-Vinson in the middle of the lineup had better sound last year.

Game 3 had Berry and that was never good news. With the deadline racing in, we were looking for an upgrade. With briefly-a-Coon Robert Sawyer on the mound for Atlanta, more bad things were brewing. In a scoreless game, the Coons loaded the bags in the fourth – and left them that way. The Knights also loaded the bases in the bottom 4th, and slimed Berry for three runs. An error got the Raccoons going in the top 5th, allowing Sabre to reach. Reece got on, and with one out Reyes, O’Morrissey, and Osanai all had RBI base hits to tie the game. Vinson could do more damage, and grounded perilously close to 2B Manuel Guzman, but Guzman didn’t get it, and O’Morrissey scored from second. Five straight Coons had reached, and then, finally, Salazar hit into that long-awaited double play. Berry loaded the bags with one out in the bottom 5th and was yanked. Anthony Hopper flew out to left, Michael Root tagged, went for home, and was thrown out. Inning over, Coons still up 4-3. A bloop hit by Alberto Reyes extended that lead to 6-3 in the sixth. We got awesome long relief from Burnett and that was supplemented by strong showings from Lagarde and West down the stretch. 6-3 Raccoons. Reece 2-5; Reyes 2-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; O’Morrissey 3-5, 2B, RBI; Osanai 2-4, RBI; Burnett 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2-1);

Heading to Charlotte, Matt Higgins was recalled and Matt Brown sent to AAA.

Raccoons (65-34) @ Falcons (39-58)

Kisho Saito and Manuel Movonda exchanged zeros in the opener until the Falcons got a liner up the middle, a full count walk and a home run all together to start the bottom 6th, branding Saito with a 3-0 deficit. Top 7th: after Sabre made an out, Saito, Reece, and Salazar all singled to put the tying runs on base with one out. O’Morrissey lined over 2B Gunnar Austin and the outfielders couldn’t cut off that blazer as it headed to the wall – O-Mo tied the game with a 3-run triple. Osanai and Vinson walked to reload the bags. Matt Higgins’ 2-run single to left downed Movonda. Martin rolled a single into right, before Sabre made also the second out in the inning, a K by the hands of Matt Rankin. Saito was *now* pinch-hit for to extend the lead, but Johnston struck out. What did the bullpen do to that 5-3 lead? Martinez put the first two men in the seventh on. Cordero was not really helpful, and Lagarde finally held the damage to one run. Because I could not trust anybody else, he also pitched the eighth, and West completed the win, as the Coons scrambled but held on to a 5-4 win. Salazar 2-4, BB; O’Morrissey 2-5, 3B, 3 RBI; Vinson 2-4, BB; Higgins 2-5, 2 RBI; Martin 2-5; Lagarde 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Jolly Jason (need a better nickname) appeared for game 2, facing Orlando Blanco, whose record (5-11) and ERA (3.77) were suggesting that he was deserving of a better offense just as Turner. The Raccoons didn’t necessarily storm out of the gates but posted a run every other inning through five to lead 3-0, and Bob Arnold hit a home run to make it 4-0 in the sixth. Meanwhile, Jason Turner was dealing – and the Falcons were onlookers. He was perfect through five, through six, and carried the perfecto through 20 outs, before Djordje Nedic took a full count walk in the seventh. Billy Mitchell, that guy traded away for Timeless Tetsu, then ended the no-hit bid with a single. Turner became undone, walking the bases full. Jose Rivera hit a grand slam. Jason Turner went eight, allowing four base runners, and four runs. I CAN’T ****ING BELIEVE IT. Burnett came in to pitch the ninth. His own error put the winning run on base, and he added another runner. Daniel Miller came in and Juan Barranco, who had homered for three off Saito the day before, homered for three off Miller. 7-4 Falcons. I CAN’T ****ING BELIEVE IT.

****! ****! ****!!!

The Raccoons barraged early, leading 5-0 through three, in game 3. Vazquez gradually gave runs away, leaving up 6-3 after seven. Martinez and Cordero almost blew it again, West saved the day. 6-3 Coons. I could hardly see it, my eyes still swollen from all the crying the night before. Osanai 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Higgins 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

In other news

July 18 – The Capitals add 1B Jesus Herrera in a trade with the Falcons. Herrera has hit 44 homers in AAA this season. The Capitals part with OF Augusto Garza (.333, 5 HR, 35 RBI).
July 18 – LVA OF Claudio Garcia (.244, 5 HR, 25 RBI) is out for the season with a broken elbow. The 28-year old remains riddled with injuries.
July 18 – LAP OF Lucio Hernandez (.357, 9 HR, 57 RBI) will miss four weeks with a quad strain. Hernandez leads the Federal League batting title race.
July 19 – VAN 2B David Brewer (.398, 4 HR, 47 RBI) is injured yet again and will miss four weeks with a sprained ankle. This could actually put the Canadiens to bed in the CL North.
July 20 – This has not been BOS SP Santiago Perez’ (3-7, 3.15 ERA) season. First he received no run support, and then he tore his back muscle. He is out for the season.
July 22 – DAL SP Antonio “Woody” Lopez (5-9, 4.82 ERA) will be sidelined for the next year due to a torn rotator cuff. Something was boiling here, since he just could not perform at all after winning 16 games between Sioux Falls and Portland last year.
July 22 – The Crusaders lose 1B/2B Antonio Esquivel (.270, 4 HR, 38 RBI), one of the few guys to give their roster credibility, to a herniated disc. Whether Esquivel will come back this season, is up in the air.
July 23 – Another ex-Coon down the drain to the DL: Boston’s 3B Cameron Green (.276, 7 HR, 49 RBI) is out for the year with a broken knee.
July 25 – Nashville sends OF/1B Alejandro Lopez (.245, 16 HR, 49 RBI) to the Condors for 1B Mauro Granados, who has not even appeared in the majors this year, and both players are in their mid-20s.

Complaints and stuff

I hate the entire universe. I just hate it. I hate everything.