[Westheim]

Glenn Johnston was DTD with back pain, continuing the early trend of Raccoons being sidelined with more or less nagging injuries.

Raccoons (11-7) @ Falcons (7-12)

The Falcons were a team of Raccoons castoffs, like Billy Mitchell, Luis Herrera, and Joe Jackson. Herrera started game 1 on the mound.

Things were starting off as usual. The Coons put runners on the corners with nobody out in the top 1st and managed to double play themselves out of it, while Djordje Nedic would hit a 2-out, 2-run double in a full count against Scott Wade in the bottom 1st. That early setback would be corrected with a second-inning 2-out RBI single by Vinson and a leadoff jack off the bat of Neil Reece in the third. We took a 3-2 lead on Higgins’ 2-out RBI infield single the same inning. The score remained 3-2 through seven. The Coons didn’t mount a lot of offense, and Wade kept the Falcons where they were. Bottom 8th, Matthews got one Falcon, Nelson got the next and then remained in to face switch-hitter Jose Madrid. In a 2-2 count, Madrid launched a shot way over the left field fence, and the bullpen had blown another lead. After a scoreless top 9th, Nedic doubled against Nelson to start the bottom 9th, and advanced to third when Lagarde got Jackson to ground out to Salazar. With two out, Lagarde faced Emmanuele Bedeschi, went to 2-2, then surrendered the walkoff single. 4-3 Falcons. Reece 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; O’Morrissey 2-4, BB; Wade 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K;

Bobby Quinn was activated from the DL in time for game 2. Matt Brown was demoted to AAA, so we carried five infielders and six outfielders now. Also, Matt Higgins has now a 12-game hitting streak going.

The Coons took an early lead in the second game with an O’Morrissey home run in the first, 1-0. Salazar made it 2-0 with a sac fly in the third, and they went up 3-0 in the fourth on an error by SS Adam Kent, and they had then two out with nobody on, but so far had not cashed in big in these situations. Osanai now came up with an RBI double, and the Falcons didn’t pitch to Vinson, putting him on to load the bases with nobody out. Raimundo Beato came to bat and killed the inning with a double play, home-and-first. After five strong innings, Beato was also torn up on the mound for three runs in the bottom 6th, with the Falcons closing back to 5-3. The pen took over, and the Falcons took command. Martinez put a man on with one out in the seventh, Burnett allowed him to score. Burnett put the obnoxious Nedic on to start the bottom 8th, which was the tying run. Nedic was bunted to second by Jackson, before heroic plays by Hall and Higgins kept the lead together. Reece provided some much needed insurance with a solo home run in the ninth. West closed it out. 6-4 Raccoons. Reece 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; O’Morrissey 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI;

Odd fact: in his 415th career game, David Vinson stole his first base when Beato fanned on a hit-and-run which was intended to catch the Falcons by surprise in the sixth. They were indeed so surprised they didn’t get Vinson out. (He is scouted with 3 speed and 1 stealing, so … yeah) Vinson would come around to score in the inning.

Kisho Saito had one of those starts not to remember in game 3. He put the first two Falcons on, then allowed Jose Madrid to triple, and Madrid was scored as well, and the Falcons led 3-0 in an instant. Saito loaded the bags in the second, and only a double play saved him. Meanwhile the Raccoons did not find a way to hurt Orlando Blanco, who came in with a 5.59 ERA, but struck out eight, while Saito didn’t strike out anybody on a horrible, horrible day. 4-1 Falcons. Carrillo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Higgins has a 14-game hitting streak. With this team obviously not going anywhere but fourth place, we better start cheering for personal achievements.

Raccoons (12-9) vs. Loggers (7-14)

The Loggers lacked basically everything, which made them such pushovers. They still were a game ahead of the Crusaders, but from a good team you’d expect to wipe the floor with them in a 3-game sweep. The Raccoons were not such a team, while I continued to juggle the lineup. In an effort to maximize left-handed bats (if nothing else), Johnston and Kinnear were playing along with Hall in the outfield for the opener, sitting Reece and Quinn.

The Loggers quickly nixed all planning by hitting Turner for two runs in the top 1st. Higgins left the bases loaded in the bottom 1st, and the Loggers led 4-0 by the third. Down 5-0, Turner was pinch-hit for in the bottom 4th with Reece, who flew out to leave two Raccoons on. The game was long over by then. Rafael Garcia, who had come in with an ERA over six, obliterated the Raccoons over 8.2 innings before running out of steam in the ninth. Not that the Raccoons would do damage. 6-1 Loggers. Six hits for the Raccoons. Higgins 2-4; Quinn (PH) 1-1; Burnett 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

22-year old Lorenzo Martinez made his big league debut in the middle game, facing off with Robert Vazquez. Martinez instantly was given a 2-0 lead, when Vazquez allowed four straight 2-out base runners in the top 1st. His problem was, that he wasn’t holding on to it, as Hall and Higgins drove in three runs with a pair of singles in the bottom 1st. When Vazquez then hit a home run in the second, the Loggers should have been getting second thoughts about their new starter, who was pinch hit for after four innings with five hits, four walks, a hit batter, and five runs against him (four runs were earned). The Raccoons would hold another feast in the sixth, with four runs on an overwhelmed bullpen, and ran away with this one. 9-2 Coons. Juarez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Hall 2-4, BB, 3 RBI; Higgins 2-4, 2 RBI; Vazquez 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (3-1) and 2-3, HR, RBI; Martinez 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Higgins’ streak reached 16 games here, third longest in the majors this season, and that included Bobby Quinn’s 21-game hitting streak that lived for only a day in 1992.

Scott Wade and Scott Murphy entered with identical ERA’s (2.67), identical given names, but not identical records. With his ERA, Murphy had gone 4-1, while Wade was 1-1. Hah. Go figure about offenses. The Loggers offense again came out to play first, with a Gates Golunski double and a Raul Rodriguez RBI single. Nobody out. Hah. As usual, the Raccoons pitcher had to get his own offense going, which he did with a 1-out single in the bottom 3rd. Salazar also singled, and Reece then drove both in with a triple, turning the game around. Reece was scored by O’Morrissey with a sac fly. From there, neither offense gained traction until the eighth. Wade got one out in the top half, then put on Rodriguez with a single. Two lefties up, Nelson got the call, and retired both. West entered in the ninth, hit Jesus Jimenez, but regained control with a double play grounder, and the Coons won 3-1. Reece 2-3, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-4, 2B; Kinnear (PH) 1-1; Wade 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2-1) and 1-3;

Higgins had a bloop single and extended his streak to 17 games.

Raccoons (14-10) vs. Canadiens (14-10)

Series against the Canaries always tended to get ugly, especially if things were close in the standings, like now, as we tied for third in the CL North, 1.5 games off the pace (this is some sort of Pacific Northwest Yankees-Red Sox feud after all!). They had gone largely the same path as we had so far: good pitching, little offense, although their pitching was probably not on the same level as ours. We just had to get things in sync finally.

We tried something new in game 1, batting Kinnear third against right-hander Vicente Torres, behind Salazar and Reece and ahead of Hall and O-Mo. Also, Vinson was rested here. The shuffle worked instant wonders, with Reece singling his way on, Kinnear following with an RBI double, and Hall banging a bomb to make it 3-0. Unfortunately, Beato gave two runs right back in the top 2nd. The Canadiens were on the verge of tying it in the third, but Hall threw out Carlos Quintela at the plate before David Brewer, who came in batting .402, popped out to Reece in short center. After Beato walked the edge above the bottomless pit for a few innings, the Raccoons managed another crooked-number inning in the fifth, where they knocked out Torres with four runs. While we added a few more in a bloop-hit-laden bottom 7th for a 10-2 lead, the Canadiens actually sniffed upwind in the eighth. Beato got an out, then put a man on and we went to Nelson to face left-hander “Itchy” Ishizaki, who singled his way on. Lagarde came in, but couldn’t keep both runs from scoring and loaded the bags with two walks. Burnett entered to face lefty Carlos Guzman and finally ended the inning with a punchout. The Canadiens did not threaten again in the ninth, and the Coons won crushingly, 11-4. Salazar 2-4, BB, RBI; Reece 2-3, BB, RBI; Kinnear 3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI; Hall 3-5, HR, 4 RBI; Quinn (PH) 1-1; Beato 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (3-0);

With both the Indians and Titans losing to the cellar dwellers (MIL 5, IND 4 (13) and NYC 5, BOS 2), we were now a half game out and in striking distance for the first time since mid-April. Also, Dan The Man was Dan of the May – errr, Man of the Day with his 3-5, HR, 4 RBI performance. Unfortunately, Higgins came up dry in this game and had his hitting streak snapped a series worth short of the books at 17 games.

Master Kisho faced Randy Rakes and his 7.20 ERA in 10 IP in the middle game. Odds were in our favor, but that doesn’t always translate into a W. Things went wrong quickly in the top 2nd. Quintela had a leadoff single, and then O-Mo made an error. Luis Arroyo walked, bases loaded, nobody out. Art Garrett singled up the middle, and the Canadiens were up 1-0. Catcher Javier Salcido then sunk hopes with a grand slam. Saito looked as clueless as everybody else. The Canadiens would add a run, six in total, three earned, against Saito in the inning. The Coons would have to rake Rakes now if Saito was not to drop to 1-3. They loaded the bags with nobody out in the bottom 2nd. Vinson was up and lined out to 3B Raul Solis. Saito was left in to bat here and hit a 2-run double, two in scoring position with one out, but only one run scored on Salazar’s groundout. Saito went four innings, not allowing more runs, but he didn’t look good at all. The Canadiens took to Roberto Carrillo in the fifth and sixth, loading him with four more runs, and moving the game far out of reach. Lagarde shut them down over the last innings, but the Coons didn’t get the bats up again. 10-3 Canadiens. Higgins (PH) 1-1; Lagarde 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

So, now both teams have dished out a drubbing. Maybe the rubber game will go 17 innings and end with a 2-1 score, the winning run scoring on a balk?

Hall got game 3 off, mainly because I wanted to give Martin a start somewhere. We needed to trim to five outfielders again, since Ismael Juarez was not helping us in the infield. I wanted to call up Elmer Hawley, who was hitting .291 in AAA.

Game 3 was started by Turner, who like Saito was nowhere near where he was supposed to be at this point. Before anybody got a hit, the Coons took a 1-0 lead in the bottom 2nd. Higgins walked, then stole two bags and scored on Martin’s groundout. Up 2-0, Kinnear found two men on in the bottom 3rd and drilled Manny Ramos’ offering for a 3-run homer, 5-0. Turner was perfect through 11 batters before Brewer grounded past Osanai, but was then cut down stealing. There would not be a no-hit bid, but a shutout bid, which was not threatened until Martin made an error in right in the eighth. Nice way to fight for a roster spot. Turner still got out untouched and with the Furballs extending their lead to 7-0 in the eighth, went back out there. He got two quick outs before Salvador Mendez and David Brewer hit singles, but Turner remained in there and got the final out for a 4-hitter. 7-0 Coons. Kinnear 1-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Turner 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W (2-3) and 1-3, 2B;

Jason Turner pitched his seventh career shutout, first this year. He also shaved more than a full run off his ERA with the gem.

Let’s see, we had eight hits, one by each man in the lineup, sans Martin. Martin made an error that almost broke up the shutout.

We took up second place in the division, 1.5 behind the Indians now. With interleague play upon us, things could develop one way or the other. How good I am at talking a lot, but not saying anything.

Raccoons (16-11) @ Buffaloes (12-16)

The Buffos struggled with their pitching, having already conceded 133 runs in the Federal League. The Coons were still a hair below triple digits at 94 runs allowed, which led the Continental League. The offenses were about evenly matched between both teams.

We were unfortunate enough to start the series against the Buffaloes’ ace Fernando Chavez (3-1, 1.80 ERA), sending in Vazquez, and giving a recently struggling Salazar a game off with Juarez in. However, Chavez didn’t really start the game in ace mode. The Coons loaded the bags in the top 1st with one out, and while Osanai was at the plate, Chavez didn’t throw one, but TWO wild pitches for two runs. Vazquez let it get away in the second, but the Coons put up another 2-spot in the top 3rd, this time doing the dirty work themselves. That lead was not safe with Vazquez either, and the Buffos had two in scoring position in the bottom 4th with two down. Manny Mora singled into left and we only stayed ahead because they held the back runner at third and Reece made a sparkling catch to retire the next batter. O-Mo was thrown out at the plate to end the top 5th. Reece upped it to 5-3 in the sixth with a solo jack. Osanai then found Hall on second base with two out in the seventh. What hadn’t we seen yet this year? A Tetsu homer! Well, we got one here, 7-3 Raccoons! Vazquez collected two lefties in the bottom 7th, then was relieved by Matthews and Burnett, who ended the game. 7-3 Furballs. Reece 2-5, HR, RBI; Osanai 3-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Matthews 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Since the Indians had started their series against the Miners while the Coons had enjoyed an off day, and had lost twice already, we moved into a virtual tie for first place here!

Reece and Kinnear sat for Johnston and Quinn in game 2. So many guys that need AB’s! Scott Wade was tasked with ensuring that that virtual tie had a chance to become an actual lead. Neil Ford on the mound for Topeka struggled with control. After Osanai singled to start the top 2nd, he loaded the bags with two walks, then struck out Wade. The best the Coons managed was Higgins’ RBI groundout, and here a great chance was wasted. Bottom 2nd, Wade surrendered three straight singles – no outs. SS Luis Escamilla grounded back to the mound, and Wade got the out at home, and now faced Ford. A K would have been nice, but Ford hurled Wade’s first pitch into left and two runs scored. Bottom 4th. Scott Strong hit a leadoff double. Salazar couldn’t come up with Escamilla’s grounder, runners on the corners. Vinson then threw away Ford’s bunt and all gates opened, the Buffaloes scored five unearned runs in the inning. That slammed the door on the game for the Raccoons, who were unable to mount offense and were defeated soundly, 7-2. Salazar 2-5; Hall 2-2, 3 BB, 3B, 2B; Osanai 2-4, RBI; Carrillo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Indians won, virtual tie gone, this team was thoroughly unable to gain and keep any momentum.

We demoted Jeff Martin, batting .158, and called up INF/LF Elmer Hawley from AAA, where he had batted .283 with 4 HR and 15 RBI. Neither Duncan nor Brown were doing much there, so they had lost their chance now.

Rubber game. Hawley gave O’Morrissey a day off, and O-Mo got to watch the Buffaloes storm out to an early 3-0 lead against “Pooky”. 1B Edgardo Garza would make it 4-0 in the fifth, while Toru Fujita gave the Coons fits. They had three hits through eight innings, and of course no runs at all. Higgins and Kinnear got on to start the top 9th. Hall flew into the gap in left center, but was intercepted by Dave Reid, and that was basically the game. 4-0 Buffaloes. Higgins 2-4, 3B; Iwamoto 1-2, BB;

In other news

April 29 – IND OF R.J. Stinton (.267, 0 HR, 7 RBI) is out for four to five months with a torn back muscle, dealing a severe blow to the Indians’ chances.
May 1 – WAS OF Jeffery Brown (.330, 1 HR, 14 RBI) logs his 2,000th career hit, a ninth inning single off Christian Proctor, in the Capitals’ 6-3 win over Pittsburgh.
May 5 – TIJ MR Bob Haines, who only appeared in one game for the Condors this season, is most likely out for the year. The 37-year old veteran and no-hitter pitcher has bone chips in his elbow.

Complaints and stuff

The team refuses to leave their .500 morass. It is telling that they have not had a series sweep – either for good or bad – the entire season. One good game, then two bad ones, then a blowout or two, then they lose one in the ninth. Neither forwards, nor backwards. No streak whatsoever.

Tetsu appears to be recovering, at least as far as AVG and OBP are concerned. Power remains missing, and things are worse for Vinson and Quinn. We now have two sub-.200 catchers. Gotta check whether the 70s Raccoons backstops were that bad.

Juarez is a sucker, too. Since coming over from the Gold Sox, he’s 4-26. If I knew what botcher to call up next, I’d have sent him to the desert by now.

I have put an offer on the table for a journeyman infielder who is currently a free agent and would further raise the share Japanese players have around the diamond. He’s only played in the Federal League, so the name should never have come up: 32-year old Marihito Ohayashi, who’s a career .222 batter, but that would still eclipse Juarez. Ohayashi has speed and doubles power, though, and he bats right-handed, the main criteria we need at the moment – still too many left-handed bats around, and some of the right-handed ones don’t perform (I look at you, Bobby Quinn).

I actually like the NYY-BOS analogy to use on the POR-VAN relations. I hate them, they probably hate us. We’ve been dealing in the top half of the CL North for a decade now (also owing to the ailing rest of the division). Portland and Vancouver are about 300 miles apart, 100 miles more than New York and Boston. And it is a close rivalry, 140-130 in favor of the Canaries coming into this season.