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Westheim · 10-25-2013, 12:10 AM

Raccoons (49-27) @ Indians (42-36)

A 4-game struggle for the division lead was upon us. Well, we held the lead anyway, but the Indians would be able to half our 8-game lead by sweeping us. That had to be avoided. A split series would not be that bad. We would have the Canadiens and Loggers after this before the All Star break, the former series obviously bearing more weight. We would however not have another day off before the break, so we would try to give everybody some rest along the way.

The Indians basically maintained a one-man offense at this point, with Raúl Vázquez hitting .368 with 19 homers just short of the half-way point.

Robert Vázquez pitched in the opener and soon was burned by his namesake and former team mate Raúl Vázquez with a solo homer in the bottom 3rd that broke a scoreless tie. Our Vázquez was shaken so badly, he gave up another homer to C Victor Cornett right away. Cornett’s next at-bat sent both Robert Vázquez and the game to bed, a 2-run homer in the fifth to make it 4-0. The Raccoons had nothing going, not even Daniel Hall, who along with Neil Reece had pushed the team the last two weeks. Hall was hitless when facing Raúl Perez with one out in the eighth and walked, ending his 22-game hitting streak. Osanai forced out Hall with his grounder, before Rodriguez doubled to center. Down 5-1, the Coons brought the tying run to the on-deck circle, while the Indians brought Jim Durden, and we brought Salazar to pinch-hit for Morales – which worked with a 2-out, 2-run double to left. Quinn came up and grounded past 3B Pedro Fierros for an RBI single. The Indians tried to get Salazar at home, failed, and Quinn moved to second. Kinnear made the final out, pinch-hitting for Carrillo. Still 5-4 down to start the ninth, one Coons had to get on to give Hall another plate appearance, but Andres Ramirez, the all-time saves leader, sat them down in order with two K’s. 5-4 Indians. O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, 2B; Rodriguez 2-4, 2B; Salazar (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Quinn 2-4, RBI;

Daniel Miller was returned to AAA after the game. He faced two batters, didn’t retire anyone, surrendered a double, a wild pitch, and a walk, and was loaded with a run bloating his ERA to 7.02. We did not call up Albert Matthews, who was not so well at this point, but rather the well-known Pedro Vázquez, who had a 1.66 ERA. Vázquez had no options left, so he had to make this one count.

We sent Scott Wade into game 2, and it would be interesting to see his 2.26 ERA compete with Raúl Vázquez’ 20 home runs. Reece and Kinnear hit RBI doubles in the top 1st, so Wade had the lead he needed, 2-0, but a leadoff triple by Tomas Maguey led to a run in the bottom 1st soon enough. The Raccoons had runners on the corners with no outs in the top 4th, but didn’t score when Higgins lined out and Rodriguez hit into a double play. Wade faced Raúl Vázquez to lead off the bottom 6th in the 2-1 game, but why pull him this early, he was solid on the mound. Vázquez singled to left, but was then caught stealing by Rodriguez. Wade completed seven, before we gambled and pinch-hit for him leading off the top 8th. Johnston grounded out for him, but Salazar doubled off starter Larry Davis. Kinnear’s 2-out single got Hall up, hitless in the series, but he drilled a double to deep right now, scoring Salazar. O-Mo popped out to end the inning, and the Coons again left two in scoring position –without scoring – in the ninth. West came in for the bottom 9th and was taken deep by Raúl Vázquez. Uh-oh. But West sat down the next three Indians and still saved the game, 3-2 Raccoons. Salazar 2-5, 2B; Kinnear 2-4, 2B, RBI; Wade 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (6-3);

Our 50th win of the year also moved the Titans into second place in the division, but they were still 7 1/2 back. Scott Wade meanwhile moved into the league lead in ERA with a 2.20 mark, ahead of Las Vegas’ Carlos Guillén (2.28). Fourth: Kisho Saito, who was due in game 4.

But before game 4 the baseball Gods dictated that game 3 had to be played, which meant Beato, which in turn meant things could well go either way. Daniel Hall’s 2-out RBI double gave Beato a 1-0 lead in the first, and Beato held on well. Neil Reece upped to 3-0 with a 2-run jack in the fifth. Bottom 6th, Vázquez subdued another Coons hurler with an RBI double. Nobody out, the tying run came up for the Indians, but Beato held on and stalled Vázquez on third base. Nelson put a man on in the seventh that Pedro Vázquez (big family, it seems…) allowed to score. The first batter he faced in the majors this season was Tomas Maguey, and he hit an RBI double. Great. The Coons got a run in the top 8th, 4-2, and Burnett entered to face Raúl Vázquez, who led off the bottom 8th – with a homer. Oh, goodness. Somehow, Lagarde got out of the inning, and we again got a run in the top 9th. West in, and Raúl Vázquez was only due up in the bottom 9th if things would go really wrong. They didn’t, West went 1-2-3. 5-3 Coons! Salazar 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Morales 1-1, 2B; Beato 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (7-5);

Bob Armstrong was catching Beato here and had his first big league hit in the fourth, a 2-out single from which nothing came about.

Now: Kisho time. He faced Albert Villa (3-6, 5.77 ERA). Saito was not sharp, throwing a wild pitch early and then plunked Fierros to start the bottom 3rd. Scoreless game, runners on the corners, two out, he faced Vázquez, who singled up the middle. Higgins got to it, but had no play. The Indians led 1-0, Saito nicked Cornett and then barely escaped the inning with a grounder from Paul Connolly to Salazar. The Coons so far had crowded, but not hurt Villa, hitting into two double plays and leaving a throng of runners on base. Top 5th, Osanai led off with a single and Rodriguez doubled. Nobody out, but Saito up, and he struck out. Salazar did K as well, and Reece had to get things done. He squeezed a single past Connolly at short – tied game. Things then came apart in the bottom 6th. Saito walked Mario Haider, before Carlos Sanchez reached on an error by Saito. Jose Rodriguez’ passed ball moved them up, before Saito hit Fierros – three HBP’s in one game. Villa came to bat, and Saito threw a wild pitch – all things were blowing up, and Saito was chased after allowing three unearned runs. Saito took the loss, and this time he deserved it. 4-1 Indians. Reece 2-4, RBI; O’Morrissey 2-4; Quinn 1-2, 2B, 2 BB; Carrillo 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

We got a split series, but why am I tasting such a bitter sting in my mouth?

Raccoons (51-29) vs. Canadiens (43-38)

Everybody’s favourite team was in town again, and they would play the Canadiens, who deserved every bit of hostility one could muster. They were running a lot, so our catchers would be tested, and their rotation had been beleaguered recently, ranking second-to-last in the Continental League. We’d play four.

Hall-le-lujah! resounded in the park in the second inning of the opener, when Daniel Hall opened the scoring with a solo jack off Vernon Robertson. The third inning was not Jason Turner’s. A leadoff walk led to a run in the top half, tying the game back up, and then he hit a double to lead off the bottom 3rd, but was too greedy and thrown out at third base, which cost another run, this time offensively, when Ben O’Morrissey’s following double remained meaningless. Both teams flailed helplessly throughout the middle innings, until O-Mo tattooed Robertson with two out in the seventh and homered to give Turner a 2-1 lead. The Canadiens put runners on the corners in the top 8th with one out. Turner struck out Carlos Quintela, but then the Canadiens brought Yoshinobu Ishizaki to pinch-hit and we brought Ken Burnett to match him. Itchy singled through Mauro Morales and the game was tied again. Bottom 9th. Kinnear pinch-hit for Rodriguez, but grounded out. Higgins pinch-hit for the agonizing Morales (0-3, 3 K) and would have grounded out, hadn’t 1B Salvador Mendez committed his 12th error of the year, a throw into the stands. Higgins on second, a single does. With righty Jamel Teissier pitching, lefty Glenn Johnston pinch-hit for Juan Martinez. He flew far, but out, to LF Luis Arroyo. Higgins moved to third. O-Mo fell behind 1-2 against Teissier, before he made contact, a lobber over SS Raúl Solís – it fell in!! Higgins came home, and the Coons mobbed O-Mo at first base after his walkoff hit. 3-2 Coons! O’Morrissey 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Quinn 2-2, 2 BB, 2B; Turner 7.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K and 1-3, 2B;

David Vinson was declared healthy the next day, which meant he could start game 2 and Bob Armstrong’s presence was no longer required. He was sent back to St. Petersburg and we got us Matt Brown back, who was hitting .373 with 15 dingers in AAA.

The Canadiens didn’t run out .400 batting David Brewer in the second game against Robert Vázquez, which could only be good. Vázquez – after Turner’s failure the day before – tried to become the first Coon to ten wins this year, and got early support from Hall with a crackling 3-run homer in the first inning. DAN THE MAN!!! Vázquez almost choked on the Canadiens in more innings than he had clean ones and was worked up by the sixth – but the Canadiens remained shutout, stranding runners left and right. A 1-out walk to C Phil Hill in the sixth ended his day. The Canadiens got on the board against Carrillo, 3-1 after the top 6th. Higgins hit an RBI triple in the bottom 6th, but was left on with one out when both Brown and Salazar lined into outs. Nelson put two on in the top 7th, but Lagarde bailed the team out, and also pitched the eighth. Grant West notched another save, 4-1 Coons. Kinnear 1-2, 2 BB; Hall 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Lagarde 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

The Coons were out-hit 11-7 here, but still somehow held on. Vázquez notched W #10.

Game 3 was a day of rest for Daniel Hall, whose 37-year old bones couldn’t go 20 days in a row. Bobby Quinn, who was coming alive, happily filled in. In Hall’s absence, Vern Kinnear also filled in as far as first-inning home run duties were concerned, raking Randy Rakes for a 2-run homer. Home runs by Art Garrett and Neil Reece made it 3-1 in the third. Bottom 4th: Higgins singled his way on with one out. He had stolen a base in the second, and did so again against Rakes and Hill. Vinson walked, bringing up Wade. I called a hit-and-run to shake things up and see if the Canadiens would crumble. They crumbled. Wade swung through Rakes’ pitch, but Hill threw wildly past third base trying to get Higgins instead of the slow Vinson. Higgins scored, and Vinson went to third. Wade then scored Vinson with a sac fly, 5-1. Scott Wade went well until he slammed into a wall in the seventh. The Canadiens tagged him for two runs and had two on, and Brewer up. Burnett replaced Wade and got to 0-2 on Brewer, before the young star lined into center. Reece came on – HE’S GOT IT!!! The Canadiens closed to 5-4 in the eighth against Lagarde, and things became even more tense. West was called upon in the ninth, but blew it when Carlos Gonsales homered off the foul pole to start the inning. Ugh. There was a happy end, just not for Scott Wade: Matt Higgins sent the fans home smiling with a walkoff home run in the tenth inning. 6-5 Raccoons. Salazar 2-4, BB; Kinnear 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Higgins 3-4, BB, HR, RBI;

Neil Reece was rested in game 4. Hall was back in the game, as Beato went after Arnold McCray, who already had 99 K’s (and K’ed Salazar as first Coon up to make it a hundred), but was 7-9. Those two shut down the offense. Through seven innings, Beato allowed five hits, and McCray only three, and no runs were scored. Beato also went 1-2-3 in the eighth, reaching 100 pitches. Vinson and Johnston drew 1-out walks off McCray in the bottom 8th, and Beato was hit for by Reece, but Reece popped out and Salazar flew out. Still scoreless. Nelson pitched a scoreless ninth – one knock to walk off, and McCray was still in there. Higgins led off and drilled a ball to deep left – but no back-to-back walkoff homers for him, Arroyo caught it just short of the fence. Hall got on, but that was it, extra innings again. The Canadiens had two hits to right off Martinez to start the top 10th and one run scored after Burnett came in. Too bad. 6-7-8 up against Teissier in the bottom half. Osanai singled, Vinson to deep left – PAST ARROYO, A DOUBLE!! The winning runs moved into scoring position with nobody out! Johnston had to at least ground out to right now. He instead grounded to left – BETWEEN THE FIELDERS, THROUGH INTO LEFT!!! The slow Vinson had to be held at third, but the winning run was mere 90 feet away now. Quinn hit for Burnett, and any long ball would do. 1-0 pitch, contact, high to left – Arroyo got it, but Vinson tagged and could jog home, but still made a dash, arms spread wide, and screaming – WALKOFF WIN!!! 2-1 Coons! Hall 2-4; Quinn (PH) 0-0, RBI; Beato 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K;

SWEPT THOSE CANADIENS!!!!

Raccoons (55-29) @ Loggers (31-55)

So far, we hadn’t clicked against the Loggers this year. We were 5-3, true, but we were *only* 5-3. This rugged collection of wannabes had to be taken care of more properly.

O’Morrissey needed some rest and sat game 1, which was started by Kisho Saito, so it was always a close call who would be taken care of. The Loggers sent Tim Butler, who was 2-7 with a 7.12 ERA. They really did not have anybody better. In the second inning, Tetsu Osanai and Emilio Román exchanged solo home runs for a 1-1 score, but Butler was overcome soon with a 3-run homer by Dan The Man in the third, and Osanai drove in another runner, Morales, who had replaced Higgins. Matt Higgins had hit a double behind Hall, but on turning second and stopping abruptly had somehow gotten his foot misaligned. While this was worrying, nothing could be done about it now, and we could watch Saito pitch. He still was not the dominant Kisho everybody loved (except opposing teams) but he was not as terrible as in his last start, and held the Loggers to the Román homer over seven innings. The Loggers never threatened past the second inning. 7-1 Furballs. Reece 2-5; Osanai 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Saito 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-7) and 1-2, BB;

Good news on Matt Higgins’ foot: the hoof turned out to be merely sore, and amputation was not necessary. He was held out of game 2, though. By the way, Jerry Fletcher, who by here sported a 30-game hitting streak, did not appear in the opener, but batted leadoff in game 2.

Through five, the Raccoons looked more than just lost against Davis Sims, who struck out eight during those five innings. Jason Turner fell 3-0 behind in the third and fourth. Fortunes began to reverse in the top 6th. Salazar got one, Reece got on, Kinnear came up with an RBI single. Still nobody out, go-ahead run at the plate in Daniel Hall, but this time he blew it with a double play. Reece remained on third with two down, and O’Morrissey replaced him there after a searing line drive triple. Osanai grounded out then. Turner remained on the hook as he left in the seventh, and remained there when Neil Reece was thrown out at the plate after a 2-out single by Hall. Following that, Burnett and Lagarde were shredded for four runs in the bottom 8th. 7-2 Loggers. Reece 2-4, 2B; O’Morrissey 2-4, 3B, RBI;

Like I said, we look very bad against the Loggers.

Daniel Hall’s 2-out RBI single in the top 1st of the rubber game was mitigated quickly by Gates Golunski’s leadoff home run off Robert Vázquez in the bottom 1st. The Raccoons were unable to mount offense and the Loggers took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Ill control by starter Rafael Garcia with two 1-out walks that filled the bases gave the Furballs a chance in the seventh, but .202 batter David Vinson had to get it done. He didn’t, grounding out, but at least 3B Bob Grant’s only play was to first and the tying run scored. PH Vern Kinnear walked in place of Vázquez, and Salazar also came up with three runners on, but lined out. The Loggers left runners in scoring position in both the seventh and ninth and we went into overtime. Hall and Johnston left Reece on third in the top 10th – inadequate offense was really dragging things out. Jackie Lagarde pitched three innings of relief in extra innings only to see Vinson strike out to end the top 13th with the bags full. Kinnear was on third with one out in the 14th and was left there, and the Loggers walked off against Grant West in the bottom of the inning. 3-2 Loggers. Salazar 2-6, BB, 2B; Hall 2-6, BB, 2B, RBI; Brown (PH) 1-2, BB; Lagarde 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

I see. They used up all their offense in the first week of the month. Of course. Why can’t be brush aside those pesky Loggers!?

All Star Game

The Raccoons placed four players on the Continental League’s All Star roster (number of appearances, previous seasons): Kisho Saito (6; 1982-84, 1989, 1991), Scott Wade (2; 1989), Ben O’Morrissey (1), and Daniel Hall (3; 1982, 1984). Where the hell was Neil Reece??

The Bayhawks were the only other team sending four representatives. The Capitals and Wolves loaded the FL roster with five players each.

The Continental League beats the Federal League, 3-2. Wade pitches a scoreless inning, while Saito is laden with an unearned run (he knows that from someplace). Hall starts in right, going 1-3, and O’Morrissey starts at second(!), plays the whole game, and is on base four times, 2-3 with two walks, but never scores.

In other news

July 2 – The Loggers give up once more and trade INF Jesus Jimenez (.240, 2 HR, 18 RBI, but normally good for 20 HR and 90 RBI) to the Condors for MR Raúl Ramirez and middling prospect 1B Luis Barrios.
July 2 – The Crusaders end VAN David Brewer’s 26-game hitting streak the same day Daniel Hall’s streak ends.
July 4 – While the hitting streak of Milwaukee hotshot Jerry Fletcher soars to 25 games with a 1-4 day against the Titans, the Gold Sox’ OF/1B Erwin Hooper (.288, 4 HR, 23 RBI) also goes 1-4, in a 7-2 loss to the Warriors, completing a 20-game hitting streak.
July 5 – LVA INF/RF Michael McFarland (.331, 2 HR, 38 RBI) is out for a month with a torn meniscus.
July 5 – The Gold Sox get back at the Warriors, beating them 4-1, but Hooper is defeated, 0-4, and has his 20-game hitting streak end.
July 6 – The Scorpions beat the Gold Sox, 6-0. Attention is centered on 37-year old SAC SP Billy Robinson (6-7, 3.04 ERA), who pitches eight innings of 4-hit ball to claim his 200th career win. Incredibly, he is only the second pitcher ever to reach the mark, after – of course – the great Juan “Mauler” Correa, who notched 272 W’s.
July 6 – The Loggers and Condors deal again, with the Loggers sending CL James Jenkins (0-7, 4.05 ERA, 15 SV) for two prospects. What exactly the Condors want to do with Jenkins, is mysterious.
July 9 – Are the Indians giving up!? SS/2B Paul Connolly (.259, 5 HR, 44 RBI) is traded to Salem for SP Neil Stewart 8-10, 4.39 ERA) and two prospects, including 21-yr old CL Brian Morris.
July 9 – The Loggers’ Jerry Fletcher (.389, 0 HR, 19 RBI) continues to stun with a 2-hit day in a 6-4 defeat of his team to the Indians. This brings his hitting streak to 30 games.
July 10 – SFB SP Pepe Martinez (7-4, 4.40 ERA) is out for the year with shoulder soreness.
July 11 – Jerry Fletcher goes 0-3 against the Raccoons, ending his 30-game hitting streak. The same day, SFB SS/3B Mike Powys (.288, 9 HR, 51 RBI) hits three singles in a 6-4 Bayhawks win over the Condors, bringing his own hitting streak to 20 games.
July 12 – Powys’ streak is quickly extinguished by the Condors, who hold him 0-4.

Complaints and stuff

Fun fact: Kisho Saito, Jason Turner, and Scott Wade are the only pitchers to toss multiple shutouts this season – in all of the ABL!

Because I have pawned him big time the last one and a half years, I feel obliged to mention this: David Vinson has gotten back into controlling the running game! He is now 16 for 49 in nailing runners, which is much more respectable than what he has done last year.

We started the year 52 below .500 all time, record-wise. Before snoozing off against the Loggers, we had already cut that deficit in half, but now are 27 below again. We’ll be in Vancouver after the break and will face the Titans at home after that. That lead looks fine now, but if the offense regresses again after a nice stretch recently, then we will find ourselves in trouble by the end of the month.

10-25-2013, 12:10 AM	#640
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,840	Raccoons (49-27) @ Indians (42-36) A 4-game struggle for the division lead was upon us. Well, we held the lead anyway, but the Indians would be able to half our 8-game lead by sweeping us. That had to be avoided. A split series would not be that bad. We would have the Canadiens and Loggers after this before the All Star break, the former series obviously bearing more weight. We would however not have another day off before the break, so we would try to give everybody some rest along the way. The Indians basically maintained a one-man offense at this point, with Raúl Vázquez hitting .368 with 19 homers just short of the half-way point. Robert Vázquez pitched in the opener and soon was burned by his namesake and former team mate Raúl Vázquez with a solo homer in the bottom 3rd that broke a scoreless tie. Our Vázquez was shaken so badly, he gave up another homer to C Victor Cornett right away. Cornett’s next at-bat sent both Robert Vázquez and the game to bed, a 2-run homer in the fifth to make it 4-0. The Raccoons had nothing going, not even Daniel Hall, who along with Neil Reece had pushed the team the last two weeks. Hall was hitless when facing Raúl Perez with one out in the eighth and walked, ending his 22-game hitting streak. Osanai forced out Hall with his grounder, before Rodriguez doubled to center. Down 5-1, the Coons brought the tying run to the on-deck circle, while the Indians brought Jim Durden, and we brought Salazar to pinch-hit for Morales – which worked with a 2-out, 2-run double to left. Quinn came up and grounded past 3B Pedro Fierros for an RBI single. The Indians tried to get Salazar at home, failed, and Quinn moved to second. Kinnear made the final out, pinch-hitting for Carrillo. Still 5-4 down to start the ninth, one Coons had to get on to give Hall another plate appearance, but Andres Ramirez, the all-time saves leader, sat them down in order with two K’s. 5-4 Indians. O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, 2B; Rodriguez 2-4, 2B; Salazar (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Quinn 2-4, RBI; Daniel Miller was returned to AAA after the game. He faced two batters, didn’t retire anyone, surrendered a double, a wild pitch, and a walk, and was loaded with a run bloating his ERA to 7.02. We did not call up Albert Matthews, who was not so well at this point, but rather the well-known Pedro Vázquez, who had a 1.66 ERA. Vázquez had no options left, so he had to make this one count. We sent Scott Wade into game 2, and it would be interesting to see his 2.26 ERA compete with Raúl Vázquez’ 20 home runs. Reece and Kinnear hit RBI doubles in the top 1st, so Wade had the lead he needed, 2-0, but a leadoff triple by Tomas Maguey led to a run in the bottom 1st soon enough. The Raccoons had runners on the corners with no outs in the top 4th, but didn’t score when Higgins lined out and Rodriguez hit into a double play. Wade faced Raúl Vázquez to lead off the bottom 6th in the 2-1 game, but why pull him this early, he was solid on the mound. Vázquez singled to left, but was then caught stealing by Rodriguez. Wade completed seven, before we gambled and pinch-hit for him leading off the top 8th. Johnston grounded out for him, but Salazar doubled off starter Larry Davis. Kinnear’s 2-out single got Hall up, hitless in the series, but he drilled a double to deep right now, scoring Salazar. O-Mo popped out to end the inning, and the Coons again left two in scoring position –without scoring – in the ninth. West came in for the bottom 9th and was taken deep by Raúl Vázquez. Uh-oh. But West sat down the next three Indians and still saved the game, 3-2 Raccoons. Salazar 2-5, 2B; Kinnear 2-4, 2B, RBI; Wade 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (6-3); Our 50th win of the year also moved the Titans into second place in the division, but they were still 7 1/2 back. Scott Wade meanwhile moved into the league lead in ERA with a 2.20 mark, ahead of Las Vegas’ Carlos Guillén (2.28). Fourth: Kisho Saito, who was due in game 4. But before game 4 the baseball Gods dictated that game 3 had to be played, which meant Beato, which in turn meant things could well go either way. Daniel Hall’s 2-out RBI double gave Beato a 1-0 lead in the first, and Beato held on well. Neil Reece upped to 3-0 with a 2-run jack in the fifth. Bottom 6th, Vázquez subdued another Coons hurler with an RBI double. Nobody out, the tying run came up for the Indians, but Beato held on and stalled Vázquez on third base. Nelson put a man on in the seventh that Pedro Vázquez (big family, it seems…) allowed to score. The first batter he faced in the majors this season was Tomas Maguey, and he hit an RBI double. Great. The Coons got a run in the top 8th, 4-2, and Burnett entered to face Raúl Vázquez, who led off the bottom 8th – with a homer. Oh, goodness. Somehow, Lagarde got out of the inning, and we again got a run in the top 9th. West in, and Raúl Vázquez was only due up in the bottom 9th if things would go really wrong. They didn’t, West went 1-2-3. 5-3 Coons! Salazar 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Morales 1-1, 2B; Beato 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (7-5); Bob Armstrong was catching Beato here and had his first big league hit in the fourth, a 2-out single from which nothing came about. Now: Kisho time. He faced Albert Villa (3-6, 5.77 ERA). Saito was not sharp, throwing a wild pitch early and then plunked Fierros to start the bottom 3rd. Scoreless game, runners on the corners, two out, he faced Vázquez, who singled up the middle. Higgins got to it, but had no play. The Indians led 1-0, Saito nicked Cornett and then barely escaped the inning with a grounder from Paul Connolly to Salazar. The Coons so far had crowded, but not hurt Villa, hitting into two double plays and leaving a throng of runners on base. Top 5th, Osanai led off with a single and Rodriguez doubled. Nobody out, but Saito up, and he struck out. Salazar did K as well, and Reece had to get things done. He squeezed a single past Connolly at short – tied game. Things then came apart in the bottom 6th. Saito walked Mario Haider, before Carlos Sanchez reached on an error by Saito. Jose Rodriguez’ passed ball moved them up, before Saito hit Fierros – three HBP’s in one game. Villa came to bat, and Saito threw a wild pitch – all things were blowing up, and Saito was chased after allowing three unearned runs. Saito took the loss, and this time he deserved it. 4-1 Indians. Reece 2-4, RBI; O’Morrissey 2-4; Quinn 1-2, 2B, 2 BB; Carrillo 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; We got a split series, but why am I tasting such a bitter sting in my mouth? Raccoons (51-29) vs. Canadiens (43-38) Everybody’s favourite team was in town again, and they would play the Canadiens, who deserved every bit of hostility one could muster. They were running a lot, so our catchers would be tested, and their rotation had been beleaguered recently, ranking second-to-last in the Continental League. We’d play four. Hall-le-lujah! resounded in the park in the second inning of the opener, when Daniel Hall opened the scoring with a solo jack off Vernon Robertson. The third inning was not Jason Turner’s. A leadoff walk led to a run in the top half, tying the game back up, and then he hit a double to lead off the bottom 3rd, but was too greedy and thrown out at third base, which cost another run, this time offensively, when Ben O’Morrissey’s following double remained meaningless. Both teams flailed helplessly throughout the middle innings, until O-Mo tattooed Robertson with two out in the seventh and homered to give Turner a 2-1 lead. The Canadiens put runners on the corners in the top 8th with one out. Turner struck out Carlos Quintela, but then the Canadiens brought Yoshinobu Ishizaki to pinch-hit and we brought Ken Burnett to match him. Itchy singled through Mauro Morales and the game was tied again. Bottom 9th. Kinnear pinch-hit for Rodriguez, but grounded out. Higgins pinch-hit for the agonizing Morales (0-3, 3 K) and would have grounded out, hadn’t 1B Salvador Mendez committed his 12th error of the year, a throw into the stands. Higgins on second, a single does. With righty Jamel Teissier pitching, lefty Glenn Johnston pinch-hit for Juan Martinez. He flew far, but out, to LF Luis Arroyo. Higgins moved to third. O-Mo fell behind 1-2 against Teissier, before he made contact, a lobber over SS Raúl Solís – it fell in!! Higgins came home, and the Coons mobbed O-Mo at first base after his walkoff hit. 3-2 Coons! O’Morrissey 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Quinn 2-2, 2 BB, 2B; Turner 7.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K and 1-3, 2B; David Vinson was declared healthy the next day, which meant he could start game 2 and Bob Armstrong’s presence was no longer required. He was sent back to St. Petersburg and we got us Matt Brown back, who was hitting .373 with 15 dingers in AAA. The Canadiens didn’t run out .400 batting David Brewer in the second game against Robert Vázquez, which could only be good. Vázquez – after Turner’s failure the day before – tried to become the first Coon to ten wins this year, and got early support from Hall with a crackling 3-run homer in the first inning. DAN THE MAN!!! Vázquez almost choked on the Canadiens in more innings than he had clean ones and was worked up by the sixth – but the Canadiens remained shutout, stranding runners left and right. A 1-out walk to C Phil Hill in the sixth ended his day. The Canadiens got on the board against Carrillo, 3-1 after the top 6th. Higgins hit an RBI triple in the bottom 6th, but was left on with one out when both Brown and Salazar lined into outs. Nelson put two on in the top 7th, but Lagarde bailed the team out, and also pitched the eighth. Grant West notched another save, 4-1 Coons. Kinnear 1-2, 2 BB; Hall 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Lagarde 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; The Coons were out-hit 11-7 here, but still somehow held on. Vázquez notched W #10. Game 3 was a day of rest for Daniel Hall, whose 37-year old bones couldn’t go 20 days in a row. Bobby Quinn, who was coming alive, happily filled in. In Hall’s absence, Vern Kinnear also filled in as far as first-inning home run duties were concerned, raking Randy Rakes for a 2-run homer. Home runs by Art Garrett and Neil Reece made it 3-1 in the third. Bottom 4th: Higgins singled his way on with one out. He had stolen a base in the second, and did so again against Rakes and Hill. Vinson walked, bringing up Wade. I called a hit-and-run to shake things up and see if the Canadiens would crumble. They crumbled. Wade swung through Rakes’ pitch, but Hill threw wildly past third base trying to get Higgins instead of the slow Vinson. Higgins scored, and Vinson went to third. Wade then scored Vinson with a sac fly, 5-1. Scott Wade went well until he slammed into a wall in the seventh. The Canadiens tagged him for two runs and had two on, and Brewer up. Burnett replaced Wade and got to 0-2 on Brewer, before the young star lined into center. Reece came on – HE’S GOT IT!!! The Canadiens closed to 5-4 in the eighth against Lagarde, and things became even more tense. West was called upon in the ninth, but blew it when Carlos Gonsales homered off the foul pole to start the inning. Ugh. There was a happy end, just not for Scott Wade: Matt Higgins sent the fans home smiling with a walkoff home run in the tenth inning. 6-5 Raccoons. Salazar 2-4, BB; Kinnear 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Higgins 3-4, BB, HR, RBI; Neil Reece was rested in game 4. Hall was back in the game, as Beato went after Arnold McCray, who already had 99 K’s (and K’ed Salazar as first Coon up to make it a hundred), but was 7-9. Those two shut down the offense. Through seven innings, Beato allowed five hits, and McCray only three, and no runs were scored. Beato also went 1-2-3 in the eighth, reaching 100 pitches. Vinson and Johnston drew 1-out walks off McCray in the bottom 8th, and Beato was hit for by Reece, but Reece popped out and Salazar flew out. Still scoreless. Nelson pitched a scoreless ninth – one knock to walk off, and McCray was still in there. Higgins led off and drilled a ball to deep left – but no back-to-back walkoff homers for him, Arroyo caught it just short of the fence. Hall got on, but that was it, extra innings again. The Canadiens had two hits to right off Martinez to start the top 10th and one run scored after Burnett came in. Too bad. 6-7-8 up against Teissier in the bottom half. Osanai singled, Vinson to deep left – PAST ARROYO, A DOUBLE!! The winning runs moved into scoring position with nobody out! Johnston had to at least ground out to right now. He instead grounded to left – BETWEEN THE FIELDERS, THROUGH INTO LEFT!!! The slow Vinson had to be held at third, but the winning run was mere 90 feet away now. Quinn hit for Burnett, and any long ball would do. 1-0 pitch, contact, high to left – Arroyo got it, but Vinson tagged and could jog home, but still made a dash, arms spread wide, and screaming – WALKOFF WIN!!! 2-1 Coons! Hall 2-4; Quinn (PH) 0-0, RBI; Beato 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K; SWEPT THOSE CANADIENS!!!! Raccoons (55-29) @ Loggers (31-55) So far, we hadn’t clicked against the Loggers this year. We were 5-3, true, but we were only 5-3. This rugged collection of wannabes had to be taken care of more properly. O’Morrissey needed some rest and sat game 1, which was started by Kisho Saito, so it was always a close call who would be taken care of. The Loggers sent Tim Butler, who was 2-7 with a 7.12 ERA. They really did not have anybody better. In the second inning, Tetsu Osanai and Emilio Román exchanged solo home runs for a 1-1 score, but Butler was overcome soon with a 3-run homer by Dan The Man in the third, and Osanai drove in another runner, Morales, who had replaced Higgins. Matt Higgins had hit a double behind Hall, but on turning second and stopping abruptly had somehow gotten his foot misaligned. While this was worrying, nothing could be done about it now, and we could watch Saito pitch. He still was not the dominant Kisho everybody loved (except opposing teams) but he was not as terrible as in his last start, and held the Loggers to the Román homer over seven innings. The Loggers never threatened past the second inning. 7-1 Furballs. Reece 2-5; Osanai 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Saito 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-7) and 1-2, BB; Good news on Matt Higgins’ foot: the hoof turned out to be merely sore, and amputation was not necessary. He was held out of game 2, though. By the way, Jerry Fletcher, who by here sported a 30-game hitting streak, did not appear in the opener, but batted leadoff in game 2. Through five, the Raccoons looked more than just lost against Davis Sims, who struck out eight during those five innings. Jason Turner fell 3-0 behind in the third and fourth. Fortunes began to reverse in the top 6th. Salazar got one, Reece got on, Kinnear came up with an RBI single. Still nobody out, go-ahead run at the plate in Daniel Hall, but this time he blew it with a double play. Reece remained on third with two down, and O’Morrissey replaced him there after a searing line drive triple. Osanai grounded out then. Turner remained on the hook as he left in the seventh, and remained there when Neil Reece was thrown out at the plate after a 2-out single by Hall. Following that, Burnett and Lagarde were shredded for four runs in the bottom 8th. 7-2 Loggers. Reece 2-4, 2B; O’Morrissey 2-4, 3B, RBI; Like I said, we look very bad against the Loggers. Daniel Hall’s 2-out RBI single in the top 1st of the rubber game was mitigated quickly by Gates Golunski’s leadoff home run off Robert Vázquez in the bottom 1st. The Raccoons were unable to mount offense and the Loggers took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Ill control by starter Rafael Garcia with two 1-out walks that filled the bases gave the Furballs a chance in the seventh, but .202 batter David Vinson had to get it done. He didn’t, grounding out, but at least 3B Bob Grant’s only play was to first and the tying run scored. PH Vern Kinnear walked in place of Vázquez, and Salazar also came up with three runners on, but lined out. The Loggers left runners in scoring position in both the seventh and ninth and we went into overtime. Hall and Johnston left Reece on third in the top 10th – inadequate offense was really dragging things out. Jackie Lagarde pitched three innings of relief in extra innings only to see Vinson strike out to end the top 13th with the bags full. Kinnear was on third with one out in the 14th and was left there, and the Loggers walked off against Grant West in the bottom of the inning. 3-2 Loggers. Salazar 2-6, BB, 2B; Hall 2-6, BB, 2B, RBI; Brown (PH) 1-2, BB; Lagarde 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K; I see. They used up all their offense in the first week of the month. Of course. Why can’t be brush aside those pesky Loggers!? All Star Game The Raccoons placed four players on the Continental League’s All Star roster (number of appearances, previous seasons): Kisho Saito (6; 1982-84, 1989, 1991), Scott Wade (2; 1989), Ben O’Morrissey (1), and Daniel Hall (3; 1982, 1984). Where the hell was Neil Reece?? The Bayhawks were the only other team sending four representatives. The Capitals and Wolves loaded the FL roster with five players each. The Continental League beats the Federal League, 3-2. Wade pitches a scoreless inning, while Saito is laden with an unearned run (he knows that from someplace). Hall starts in right, going 1-3, and O’Morrissey starts at second(!), plays the whole game, and is on base four times, 2-3 with two walks, but never scores. In other news July 2 – The Loggers give up once more and trade INF Jesus Jimenez (.240, 2 HR, 18 RBI, but normally good for 20 HR and 90 RBI) to the Condors for MR Raúl Ramirez and middling prospect 1B Luis Barrios. July 2 – The Crusaders end VAN David Brewer’s 26-game hitting streak the same day Daniel Hall’s streak ends. July 4 – While the hitting streak of Milwaukee hotshot Jerry Fletcher soars to 25 games with a 1-4 day against the Titans, the Gold Sox’ OF/1B Erwin Hooper (.288, 4 HR, 23 RBI) also goes 1-4, in a 7-2 loss to the Warriors, completing a 20-game hitting streak. July 5 – LVA INF/RF Michael McFarland (.331, 2 HR, 38 RBI) is out for a month with a torn meniscus. July 5 – The Gold Sox get back at the Warriors, beating them 4-1, but Hooper is defeated, 0-4, and has his 20-game hitting streak end. July 6 – The Scorpions beat the Gold Sox, 6-0. Attention is centered on 37-year old SAC SP Billy Robinson (6-7, 3.04 ERA), who pitches eight innings of 4-hit ball to claim his 200th career win. Incredibly, he is only the second pitcher ever to reach the mark, after – of course – the great Juan “Mauler” Correa, who notched 272 W’s. July 6 – The Loggers and Condors deal again, with the Loggers sending CL James Jenkins (0-7, 4.05 ERA, 15 SV) for two prospects. What exactly the Condors want to do with Jenkins, is mysterious. July 9 – Are the Indians giving up!? SS/2B Paul Connolly (.259, 5 HR, 44 RBI) is traded to Salem for SP Neil Stewart 8-10, 4.39 ERA) and two prospects, including 21-yr old CL Brian Morris. July 9 – The Loggers’ Jerry Fletcher (.389, 0 HR, 19 RBI) continues to stun with a 2-hit day in a 6-4 defeat of his team to the Indians. This brings his hitting streak to 30 games. July 10 – SFB SP Pepe Martinez (7-4, 4.40 ERA) is out for the year with shoulder soreness. July 11 – Jerry Fletcher goes 0-3 against the Raccoons, ending his 30-game hitting streak. The same day, SFB SS/3B Mike Powys (.288, 9 HR, 51 RBI) hits three singles in a 6-4 Bayhawks win over the Condors, bringing his own hitting streak to 20 games. July 12 – Powys’ streak is quickly extinguished by the Condors, who hold him 0-4. Complaints and stuff Fun fact: Kisho Saito, Jason Turner, and Scott Wade are the only pitchers to toss multiple shutouts this season – in all of the ABL! Because I have pawned him big time the last one and a half years, I feel obliged to mention this: David Vinson has gotten back into controlling the running game! He is now 16 for 49 in nailing runners, which is much more respectable than what he has done last year. We started the year 52 below .500 all time, record-wise. Before snoozing off against the Loggers, we had already cut that deficit in half, but now are 27 below again. We’ll be in Vancouver after the break and will face the Titans at home after that. That lead looks fine now, but if the offense regresses again after a nice stretch recently, then we will find ourselves in trouble by the end of the month. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 92 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.