[Westheim]

I was going through the ancient history of the Raccoons, looking to fill up empty cells in my Excel sheet of achievements, when I found something completely different. In 1977, the Raccoons were tormented by the closing un-abilities of Ben Green, whom we non-tendered after the season. In May, I shopped him and got one offer back, from the Wolves. That offer was Bob “Butcher” Haines, then a prospect. I passed, since I looked for instant improvement (would take five years to improve in the end…). While Green dorked everywhere he played, Haines would go on to enjoy a very respectable career in all pitching roles there are, including tossing a no-hitter as a spot starter for the Pacifics in 1984. Haines went to the mound 603 times in his career (220 starts), went 108-73 and saved 90 games with a 2.70 ERA.

The trades I do, and sometimes don’t.

By the way, that no-hitter was his only complete game ever.

Raccoons (90-69) vs. Titans (71-88) – October 1-3, 1993

Just get it over with, without suffering additional casualties. Pleeeease.

Game 1 was started by De La Rosa, who no-hit the Titans through four before they landed two scratch hits in the fifth. He got no love from the offense, even after he doubled in the bottom 3rd and was left on third base, as Quinn lined out and Alejandro Lopez whiffed against Francisco Vidrio. Lopez finally came through in the sixth with a solo shot just a few feet inside the foul pole in right, his 18th of the year. That was all De La Rosa got, and he stalled in the seventh, putting two on, but Burnett came in to dig him out. The Titans would strike back in the ninth, where Grant West blew another save opportunity. The Titans drew a walk, a hit batter, and two line drive singles to score two runs. The Raccoons were wholly unable to recover from that blow and West took the loss. 2-1 Titans. A. Lopez 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Kinnear 2-3, 2B; De La Rosa 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K and 1-2, 2B;

Grant West’s reign is about to end, that much is sure. The closer question will be raised in earnest for the first time in over a decade this offseason.

Kisho Saito was preserved for game 1 in Tijuana, and “Pooky” Beato was sent to start game 2. Baldivía singled in a run in the bottom 1st and it appeared once more that that was all support the pitcher would get. That pitcher loaded the bags with no outs in the top 4th, but Jack Burbidge grounded into a double play, home and first, and Alejandro Espinoza grounded out – a terrific feat normally only achieved by the furriest of teams! The furriest of the furriest teams left the bags full in the bottom 4th when Beato made the final out, and Lopez and O’Morrissey left another runner in scoring position in the fifth. It HAD to come back to bite us, and it DID. Hjalmar Flygt extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a game-tying RBI single in the top 6th, where the Titans took a 2-1 lead on Beato, who was pinch-hit for in the bottom 6th, but Higgins made the final out to deep right, leaving two on. Moreno got on in the bottom 7th, and went to third when catcher Luis Lopez threw the ball too wide of second base on his steal attempt. With one out, Alejandro Lopez struck out, and O’Morrissey grounded out on a 3-0 pitch. Tim Mallandain gave up another run, but it didn’t matter. The Raccoons had nothing going. 3-1 Titans. Moreno 3-4, 2B; Baldivía 3-4, 2B, RBI;

Remember that the Titans have a pitching staff about as bad as you can have.

Mark Allen was activated from the DL in time for the final game. He had to get warm one way or another so he was to start at second base. A slumping Salazar sat with the recently strangely hot Moreno manning short.

The Titans sent a 5.38 ERA pitcher to victimize in game 3, Chris O’Keefe. The first three innings, the Raccoons had one hit and trailed 1-0 after Flygt drove in a run in the second inning off Jason Turner. In the bottom 4th, however, Lopez got on, and then O’Morrissey crushed his 20th home run of the year to give Turner a lead. Glenn Johnston drove in two runs in his next two plate appearances while making outs both times, and the 4-1 lead was handled with care by Turner. O’Keefe however was not knocked out until the seventh when Kinnear upped to 6-1 with a 2-out, 2-run double. All important parts of the team that could still walk were removed for protection after that. In the top 8th, Turner put a man on, and Proctor came in with the easy task to collect the final out without allowing that runner to score, but instead put two on. Martinez ended the inning then. The ninth inning, the meltdown. Up 7-2, Matthews got one out, then put two on. Burnett came in and allowed three hits, scoring Matthews’ runners. The bags were full with the tying runs, and we called on the walky Lagarde. Note that there was no trust in Grant West at this point. Lagarde promptly forced in a run with a walk to Gary Lang, but then struck out Burbidge, bringing up Joey Tucker. Lagarde made Tucker flail helplessly to end the regular season. 7-5 Raccoons. O’Morrissey 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Kinnear 3-4, 3 2B, 2 RBI; Turner 7.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (10-13);

In other news

October 1 – DEN LF Dale Wales (.333, 6 HR, 58 RBI) extends his hitting streak to 20 games in a 2-1 loss to the Stars, which further narrows down the FL West. The Warriors blow an 11-4 lead in a ninth-inning meltdown of epic proportions, allowing the Scorpions to send the game to extra innings, where they walk off in the tenth, 12-11. The Warriors are eliminated.
October 2 – The Stars not only beat the Gold Sox, 6-1, to move into a tie for first in the FL West, they also chill Wales’ hitting streak at 20 games. The Warriors beat the Scorpions, 4-2, leaving both teams one game behind, and eliminating the Scorpions from contention. The winner of the Denver-Dallas matchup tomorrow will carry the division.
October 2 – IND SP Neil Stewart (18-9, 2.86 ERA) tears his meniscus in his final start of the season, but there should be no issues for him to be ready for Opening Day in 1994.
October 3 – Not one, but two players reach the 2,000 hits plateau on the final day of the season. Richmond’s Gabriel Cruz (.244, 14 HR, 63 RBI) lands the hit, a first-inning single against Juan Arroyo, in a 1-0 loss to the Buffaloes. SAL 2B/SS Eddy Bailey (.254, 6 HR, 57 RBI) gets his hit in a 2-1 win over the Pacifics, a second-inning single off John Hall.
October 3 – The Stars complete a stunning upset of the Gold Sox with a 6-3 win, clinching the FL West on the final day of the season. For Dallas, this will be the sixth time they make the playoffs, and the first time since 1990. The Gold Sox, who have not been to the postseason since 1985, are left to writhe in agony.

Complaints and stuff

Ken Burnett signed that 3-yr, $750k contract I had pitched him a few weeks ago. Took some time. Say, Kenny, ain’t your heart in Portland? He’s from New Jersey, so chances are he rooted for the Capitals as a teen (born in ’63), which makes him unreliable in the World Series.

But then again, who rooted for those early Capitals, who were on the verge of leaving town every year?

Current relocation talks are going on in Sioux Falls and Charlotte, by the way. And the Loggers are looking for a bigger market, too.