[Westheim]

We had Monday off, which was the day of the A level season, where our team, the Aumsville Beagles, won their division to advance to the playoffs against the Norfolk Expos (the Bayhawks affiliate). The St. Petersburg Alley Cats (AAA) beat Albuquerque to clinch their division with four to go.

Raccoons (90-53) vs. Titans (72-72)

Both our Miguel Lopez and the Titans’ Cesar Sanchez managed to achieve an undesirable feat in the game: both threw a wild pitch for the go-ahead run to score; Sanchez’ wild one got the Coons 2-1 ahead in the bottom 2nd, while Lopez was unable to hold on and then gave the Titans a freebie in the top 5th to make it a 3-2 Titans game. The Raccoons would leave the tying run in scoring position in both the fifth and the sixth, and then the Titans moved away uncatchable by scoring a run in the top 7th (Cordero had a hand in there again). Bottom 8th. Down 4-2, the first two Coons reached in Salazar and Higgins. Hall was caught out looking at a borderline 3-2 pitch before Osanai loaded the bases with a walk. O-Mo flailed, and Quinn rolled out to short. Nobody scored. Bottom 9th: Vinson walked to start the frame and Jesus Cortez would now face the tying run in Glenn Johnston, whose power from the last years had vanished with only one dinger this season. But he singled, and the Coons were in business for the fifth consecutive inning. Reyes pinch-hit for Carrillo and struck out, before Salazar singled up the middle to load the bags. Higgins to the plate. He grounded a 3-1 pitch to 2B Joey Tucker. Four, to six, to three. 4-2 Titans. Johnston 4-4, 2 2B, RBI; Carrillo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

If they continue at this pace, we don’t need to worry about the Condors in the playoffs. This offense would lose to a Miracle League team.

And with our starters producing nothing but runs at this point, we needed another reliever, and Daniel Miller was called up from AAA. With the AA season over, they got another arm from there.

Game 2. Daniel Hall got the day off, Arnold was in. Kisho Saito pitched, fell 1-0 behind, but Matt Higgins drilled an offering by Luis De Jesus for a 3-piece in the bottom 3rd. That 3-1 lead was pulverized when Gary Lang, who had homered in game 1 off Miguel Lopez, homered in game 2 off Saito for two in the fourth right away. Sigh. David Vinson led off the bottom 4th with a home run then. They were certainly flying well today. Well, it was not the start of starts for Kisho Saito, but he settled in eventually and went eight innings of 3-run ball, also conserving the bullpen. That bullpen created a mess once it was allowed to enter. The Coons had added a few runs on Kinji Kan in the eighth and led 7-3 into the ninth. Matthews put two on and the game appeared to get away. Grant West was brought in to collect the final out from SS Ricardo Vargas. 7-3 Coons. Salazar 3-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Higgins 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Johnston 2-4, 2B; Reyes (PH) 1-1; Saito 8.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (18-5) and 1-2;

It was Jason Turner vs. Carlos Gonzalez for the rubber game. The Raccoons trailed 1-0 in the top 4th with a runner on second, when Gonzalez came up with two out and doubled off Turner. That was about the deciding moment in the game, especially with Alejandro Espinoza following up with another double. Turner was not sharp, not commanding his stuff, and took a beating. Bottom 4th, and now Gonzalez’ command eluded him as he walked three in the inning and allowed a hit to Osanai. One run in, the bases were loaded for Arnold with one out, but he popped out. That brought up Turner and he flew out on a 3-1 pitch. Turner went back out for the fifth, but didn’t survive it. Two across, two in scoring position, two down, Gonzalez to the plate. Get that sucker out, NOW!! Gonzalez singled between Salazar and O’Morrissey and both runs scored. 7-1 Titans. Hall drove in Higgins in the bottom 5th but the inning appeared over after that, but O’Morrissey’s grounder was mishandled by George Waller and the Raccoons got extra life. They scored two more (unearned) runs and loaded the bases, bringing up the #9 spot. Bobby Quinn on an off day was called upon to lay Gonzalez to bed. He got a grounder through 2B Juan Valentin and two runs scored. Salazar then grounded out, but the rally continued in the sixth against Kan, and O-Mo drove in Hall with two down to tie the game, and saddled Kan with two more in the seventh, Salazar driving in the go-ahead run this time around. And now, with a 9-7 lead, everything went south again in an instant. Miller and Lagarde blew it in the top 8th, with Lagarde surrendering a 3-run double to Shotaro Ono with two out. 10-9 down. I can’t even … fathom … how … Bottom 9th: Arnold drew a leadoff walk. Martin struck out in the pitcher’s spot. Salazar walked. Now, can we get the big bats to the plate and produce, please? Higgins flew deep to left – but was out. Two down, Hall, 2-2, deep to center, caught, out, over. 10-9 Titans. Arnold 2-3;

Jason Turner allowed seven runs, all earned in 4.2 innings, shooting up his ERA from 2.01 to 2.27. Yeah, well, why shouldn’t everything go to ****ing hell now!? And especially against master ****head Gonzalez. I have come to hate him so passionately.

We also ended a 5-year streak of beating the Titans over our 18-game set by losing that final game.

The Canadiens continued to play as bad as the Raccoons, losing three of four at home against the inept Crusaders.
Raccoons lead by: 13
Magic number: 4
Wins for franchise record: 5

Raccoons (91-55) vs. Falcons (57-89)

As everything was disintegrating in Coon City, we faced the worst team in the Continental League for three. Everything goes, I guess.

Falcons starter Luis Herrera (ex-rule 5 pick from our organization) left in the fourth with an injury of the opener. Then, the game was tied 1-1 and two men on with Robert Vazquez batting. Vazquez singled and the Raccoons would score the go-ahead run in the inning, putting Herrera up for an L. He wouldn’t remain on the hook, though. A Quinn error plated the tying run in the sixth, after a Hall error had scored the first run for the Falcons in the third, earlier. The Falcons’ Ed Davis was quick to get himself onto the hook. Vinson tripled leading off the bottom 6th, and before the Coons ever had a chance to botch it, Davis threw a wild pitch to score him himself. This time, Vazquez managed to blow the lead himself and was left with a no-decision after eight frames in a 3-3 game. Juan Martinez struck out five, facing seven, following Vazquez and kept the Raccoons in the game as it hit double-digit innings. Higgins drew a 1-out walk in the bottom 10th. With Vinson at the plate, he stole second, and then Vinson doubled into the gap to walk off the Coons and end the suffering. 4-3 Coons. Salazar 2-5, RBI; Vinson 3-5, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Johnston 3-3, BB; Vazquez 8.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; Martinez 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, W (4-1);

The Canadiens out-lasted the Aces in Las Vegas, winning 3-0.

Game 2 saw Scott Wade surrender a leadoff home run to Christian Dunphy. Oh, great, here we go again. Wade surrendered lots and lots of hard hit balls, and the Falcons piled up doubles and runs quickly. He fell behind 3-0 quickly, before the Raccoons battered Bastyao Caixinha in the bottom 4th for three runs, before O’Morrissey left two in scoring position with one of those 0-0 pop ups. Neither team managed to score anything else as long as Wade was pitching and he got a no-decision. Burnett entered for the eighth, surrendered a double, and when Matthews entered with the runner on third and one out, he threw one pitch to score that runner on a Stan Potvin single. Cordero allowed a run in the ninth (because why not…). Then Johnston got on base to start the bottom 9th, bringing the tying run to the plate. And then Johnston fell asleep and was picked off. And on the very next pitch, Salazar hit a pinch-hit home run. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? O’Morrissey and Hall singled their way on with two out, and Osanai came up, 0-4, with three strikeouts. Why not make it four? 5-4 Falcons. Higgins 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Quinn 3-4; Flores 2-3, RBI; Johnston (PH) 1-1; Salazar (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI;

The Canadiens lost in Las Vegas, 8-6. Apart from them losing as many games as the Raccoons, everything is going wrong at this point. EVERYTHING.

Rubber game against the beaten dog of the league. Miguel Lopez went against Luis Velez, two beaten and defeated left-handers. Quinn gave the Coons a 1-0 lead in the first with a 2-out RBI single, but it didn’t last long, a throwing error by Flores (starting back-to-back games) helped the Falcons to tie it in the second, and Dunphy homered again in the third. We resorted to running aggressively around the bags to confuse the Falcons whenever we got runners, and with Higgins and O-Mo on base rather frequently, that worked actually well. The Coons scored three in the fifth, turning the game in their favor, 4-3, and Higgins and O-Mo got on in the sixth. Higgins had already stolen second base for the second time, and they then successfully executed a double steal. Hall, at the plate, was put on intentionally, and with nobody out, the Raccoons managed one run, an Osanai sac fly. With a 5-3 lead through six, you couldn’t trust Lopez, and once there was a man on with one out and right-hander Joe Jackson up, you couldn’t trust him even more. (You probably couldn’t trust him folding a piece of paper without cutting off one of his own arms…) Martinez got out of the inning, but not before making it interesting with a 2-out balk. Then came Lagarde and you couldn’t trust him anymore, either. Two out, one on, Dunphy came up, and homered, and tied the game. Nothing was working out anymore.

Through eight, we were tied at five. The Canadiens fell 5-4 behind the Aces in the bottom 8th there. If we could pull out a win and the Aces would not blow their lead, our magic number would cut to zero.

Burnett clicked off the top 9th, and Ricardo Medina had to be overcome to win in regulation – we had beaten him in the opener. Quinn struck out, but a misplay by Emmanuele Bedeschi in right gave Antonio Gonzalez a 1-out double. Salazar pinch hit for Arnold for his lefty bat. The Falcons didn’t mess with him and put him on. Flores lined out, and Reyes struck out, and we went into overtime.

The Canadiens came back in the top 9th.

SS Jeffrey Booker led off the top 10th with a triple off Daniel Miller, and scored on a 1-out sac fly. Higgins struck out to start the bottom 10th. O’Morrissey hit an infield single that Joe Jackson couldn’t pull out, making Daniel Hall the winning run. Behind him, Osanai had long been removed for defense and Jeff Martin was in the #4 hole. So Dan The Man had to make his AB count. He struck out. Martin rolled up the middle with two down. Quinn grounded out. 6-5 Falcons. Higgins 2-5, BB; O’Morrissey 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Hall 2-5, BB; Osanai 2-3, 2 RBI; Martin 1-1; Gonzalez 3-5, 2B;

The Canadiens lost in the 12th, 7-6, losing two of three to the Aces. There was the one team that was playing more awful than the Raccoons.
Raccoons lead by: 13
Magic number: 1
Wins for franchise record: 4

Quick view to the minor league playoffs: the Beagles (A) won their first two games against the Expos, then lost the next two. The deciding game 5 will be Tuesday, game 2 of our next series. The Alley Cats (AAA) won their opener against the Drummondville Beetles.

On personal achievements, see below.

Raccoons (92-57) vs. Bayhawks (87-62)

The Bayhawks were one behind the Condors, coming in. This series at this point now gave them a stellar chance to wing past the Condors before Thursday.

Kisho Saito was still on a quest for 20, and for this had to survive Wilbert Rodgers. Well, that didn’t work. In a 1-1 game, Rodgers hit a leadoff triple off Saito in the fifth. Like said before, nothing was working out anymore. Everything was going to hell. The Bayhawks scored two for a 3-1 lead. That was already more than enough. The Raccoons managed all of three hits in the entire game. 4-1 Bayhawks. Quinn 2-4, 2B, RBI;

The Condors defeated the Canadiens, 7-6, in their opener. This clinches the CL North for the Raccoons.

I have never ever been less enthusiastic after clinching a playoff spot with any of my teams.

The story of Jason Turner’s continued deconstruction was written forth with another ugly chapter in game 2. Turner surrendered four hits, three doubles, and three runs in the first inning, instantly setting the Raccoons’ course to losing. Twice in the game, the Raccoons had the bases loaded with two out, in the first and in the sixth. Quinn and Gonzalez were the respective batters. Both flew deep to right, deeeeep, both were caught by Steve Cobb. Things were just going like that and Turner ended up trailing 4-1. They had two on with one out in the seventh, which was ended by Osanai with a double play. Nothing was to come about. 5-2 Bayhawks. Quinn 2-4; Vinson 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Carrillo 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K;

In more stellar news, Robert Vazquez twisted his ankle that night, while doing nothing, basically. He is out for the rest of the regular season and whether he will be available in the CLCS is questionable. We had to scramble to find somebody to make his start THE NEXT DAY. OH THE JOY.

We hurriedly called up Roberto Gonzalez from AAA to make a scratch start. He had been demoted to the bullpen for the Alley Cats’ postseason. The 23-year old righty, a former 10th round pick(!) by the Stars, would make his big league debut.

Game 3. Gonzalez held the fort surprisingly well early on, allowing one hit through four innings. The Raccoons didn’t score either, of course. Gonzalez then became his own worst enemy in the fifth. He scored runs for the Bayhawks with a balk, a bases-loaded HBP, and a bases-loaded walk. In the sixth, P Pepe Martinez hit a 2-out RBI double off Gonzalez, who was obviously no major league material, walking five in addition to all the other junk he surrendered. The bullpen held the Bayhawks at bay once replacing Gonzalez and the Raccoons scratched off two runs in the sixth and seventh and entered the bottom 9th trailing 4-2 against lefty William Henderson. Arnold led off with a pinch-hit double in place of Salazar. Higgins singled and they were on the corners with no outs. Hall’s RBI fielder’s choice was not going to help things a lot then. Still, Osanai came to the plate as the winning run, and he struck out. Quinn grounded out to Henderson. 4-3 Bayhawks. Arnold (PH) 1-1, 2B; Higgins 2-5; Johnston 1-2, BB, 2B; Martin (PH) 1-1, 2B;

A 2-7 home stand will get your spirits up. Oh boy.

In other news

September 9 – SFW 2B Pat Graham logs his 2,000th career base hit in a 12-4 thumping over Sacramento with a third inning single against Miguel Rosado.
September 9 – DAL LF/RF Sakutaro Ine (.387, 12 HR, 72 RBI) is out for the season with a partially torn labrum, holding him to 362 AB this season.
September 11 – The Canadiens lose LF/RF Kevin Gilmore (.307, 5 HR, 49 RBI) to a broken elbow. He should be back in time for next season.
September 12 – The Blue Sox lose against the Miners at home, 3-2, and have to wait for the Capitals-Rebels game to conclude, which goes into extra innings scoreless. The Capitals put two up in the top 10th and win, 2-0, and thereby clinch the FL East for the second time, and in back-to-back years.
September 14 – SFB SP Chris O’Keefe (17-8, 2.63 ERA) turns in a 2-hitter in a 1-0 win over the Indians.
September 15 – The Pacifics live off a 7-run second inning in Washington, holding off the Capitals in a 7-5 win, which clinches the FL West for them. They will make their third playoff appearance after 1981 and 1982 after posting a losing record (80-82) last year.

Complaints and stuff

This one has to be repeated for emphasis: I have never ever been less enthusiastic after clinching a playoff spot with any of my teams. This week I wrote about how this was a .650 team after all and so on. Well, screw it. They’re massively tanking. Whoever will wait for us in the CLCS will walk over this collection of … I can’t come up with a proper noun here.

The collection has lost 16 of their last 23 games. What more to say?

It’s the fourth time my team will make the playoffs (three times with the Raccoons, once with a 2008 Mets game in PureSim) and the first time that the endeavor won’t end with a World Series loss. It will end earlier.

They’re also tanking themselves out of a new franchise best record. 100+ wins had been within most easy reach.

Glenn Johnston out of nothing won the CL Player of the Week award for the most recent week, batting 12-20 with no homers and 3 RBI. I didn’t even have him on the radar and he started only four games. Yay, Glenny!

Kisho Saito has now won 100 games with the Raccoons, and also lost his 100th game overall (combined with his time in Canadiens-land) for a nice 150-100, 3.04 ERA career.

The Beagles (A level) clawed through their LCS to face the Scorpions’ affiliate Farmington Cosmos for the title. The Alley Cats (AAA) have lost two of their first three against the Beetles and face elimination now.

Everything’s going to hell.