[Westheim]

Raccoons (21-21) vs. Condors (20-20) – May 20-22, 1994

As the season was going down the drain, one more team came into town to presumably stampede right over the Raccoons. The Condors probably would also pick and nib at their intestines after finishing them off, so quite a lot of pain was coming our way as we were going to Sub-500 Land at full speed.

The Condors weren’t scoring a lot, ranking just below the 8th place Raccoons in runs scored, but had a premium staff that outclassed the recently-roughed up furry hurlers.

The first play of the series saw Cesar Báez shoving a 2-2 pitch from Scott Wade into the grass just in front of the plate. Vinson failed to make a play on him entirely and Báez reached on an infield single, and the Condors then added a trickler through the infielders before Wade somehow escaped unscathed. That was about as far as unschathedness went for him. The Condors took him to town for 11 hits and five runs in the first four frames, and we trailed 5-1. With two out in the bottom 4th, Kinnear on second base, Condors starter Charles Bywaters suddenly failed to retire the Coons. Duncan and Vinson walked, and then Royce Green uncorked a game-tying GRAND SLAM!! Scott Wade reached and went home on a single by Chih-tui Jin two batters later, removing Bywaters from the game. All in all, six runs scored as 11 Raccoons came to the plate. 7-5 ahead, can you trust Wade? Not bloody quite, but in this event, he completed the fifth inning in six pitches, and retired two more in the top 6th before putting on Tadanobu Sakaguchi, which was the end for him. Miller got out of there. The Raccoons tacked on two runs on productive outs in the last innings, while the Condors didn’t get another hit until with two outs in the top 9th, but where sniffed out by Vela. 9-5 Raccoons. Jin 2-4, RBI; Vinson 2-3, BB, HR, 2B, RBI; Green 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Miller 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The biggest question before game 2 was whether Kisho Saito would get out of the third inning this time. Yes, he did, but trailed 3-0, following a pair of 2-out XBH in the first, and two walks and a 2-run double – also with two outs – in the third. He was off, and he was it by a mile. Saito went six, was booked for four runs, and didn’t impress a bit. The Raccoons in turn were very impressed by Woody Roberts, who was also struggling to a 4+ ERA this season, but kept the Furballs in check. The Condors pummeled Jackie Lagarde in the ninth and won handily, 7-1 Condors. Higgins 2-4;

I tend to mention David Vinson’s defensive hiccups as accurate as possible, so it shall not go unmentioned that he held the Condors 0/2 in steals in this game. In turn, the Raccoons lined into two double plays, so we gave about as much as we took again. Fitting for a 22-22 team that only scored in this game because of an uncaught third strike enabling Matt Higgins to score from third base in the bottom 9th.

We actually scored first in the rubber game, a single run in the third inning, but Jason Turner gave the 1-0 lead right back in the top 4th. The Coons bounced back still, somewhat, with Daniel Hall getting his first extra base hit in the bottom 4th, a 2-out double. Rodriguez was walked intentionally, Turner scratched out a single, and then pitcher Robbie Dadswell scored Hall with a wild pitch, before Salazar could make the third out. Turner went back out in the fifth, this time gave up two runs, and the Condors ended up scoring runs in five consecutive innings, while the Raccoons almost managed to ground into double plays in as many consecutive innings. The game went out of hand. 7-3 Condors. Salazar 2-5; Baldivía 2-4, 2B, RBI; Kinnear 3-4, RBI;

Raccoons (22-23) @ Bayhawks (22-23) – May 24-26, 1994

The Bayhawks’ offense was above average (5th in CL), but they had bled 216 runs already, third-worst in the CL. The Raccoons (201 runs allowed) however were on the fast track to overtake them by Thursday. We would have Vinson batting cleanup, which could go nothing but wrong, but Kinnear wasn’t doing any damage. The Bayhawks had claimed Sixto Moreno in April, but he was only batting .200 in a utility role for them. Sounds like his 1993 season, but the Bayhawks might not make it to October.

Down 1-0 in the top 3rd, Vinson whiffed with runners on the corners and one out. Expecting us to raise our LOB for the day to five, I went for some ice cream and thus missed the 3-piece that Ben O’Morrissey hit off Jose Ramos. After that, CF Rich Tracy twice ended innings with great catches, stranding a total of four runners. When things unraveled in the bottom 6th for Miguel Lopez, nobody stepped in to protect the 3-2 lead. Lopez was blown up, leaving down 4-3. Martinez punched out Steve Adams to end the inning, stranding two more runners of Lopez’ responsibility. The Raccoons left five more on in the last three innings. 5-3 Bayhawks. Salazar 2-5; Jin 2-4, 2B;

Individual LOB: 28; Team LOB: 13; how on earth is this misery going on and on and on …

The Raccoons scored first in the middle game on a 1-out Baldivía double past “Itchy” in deep right. Yoshinobu Ishizaki was 37 by now and could barely run without screaming – right field was not the place for him to be. There were two men in scoring position for Kinnear and Vinson. Both went down flailing. It had to come back to us, and did so in time, when Raimundo Beato was shoved around for two runs in the bottom 5th, and the Bayhawks led 2-1. Kinnear and Vinson hit doubles to Itchyland in the top 6th to tie the game, but the Furballs left the bags full. Beato fouled out to end the inning. Bottom 6th: Beato put two on with one out, Phil Rice and Jim Thompson. Both pulled off a double steal against a harmless Vinson. Mike Powys grounded to third, holding them, two outs, and then Adams popped out to second. Game still tied, now can we PLEASE score? Yes: Baldivía homered to right center, 3-2. Beato again put two on with one out in the bottom 7th, and this time had to be dumped. Burnett got a double play from “Itchy”, then loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom 8th. Jackie Lagarde not only couldn’t save it (chances for which were slim anyway), but his first pitch was wild, tying the game. It was the more bitter, since the Bayhawks ended the frame with a pop up and line drive double play. The game dragged into overtime (great with a dying pen), where the Raccoons took the lead in the 11th, when Duncan singled to left with Alejandro Lopez on second base, and Adams’ throw back in was so terrible, Lopez could score. With Burnett and Lagarde both used, West came out to save the game, and just so managed to stall the tying run on third base. 4-3 Coons. Salazar 2-5, BB; Baldivía 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; O’Morrissey 2-4, BB; A. Lopez 2-4, BB, 2B; Duncan 1-2, RBI; Beato 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K;

Would pinch-hitting for Beato in the sixth have yielded positive results? Not for the bullpen, which is extremely strained after pitching more than three innings each and every day.

The rubber game saw Wilson Moreno (3-3, 5.43 ERA) shredded to pieces in the first inning, when the Coons scored five runs on five hits and a balk. And despite leading 6-0 through two innings, Scott Wade would not get the win. He surrendered two runs in the third, then left with discomfort in his arm. More bullpen strain! Tony Vela came in for the fifth inning, but was projectile vomited out of the park by the Bayhawks, who loaded the bases in no time, and nibbled off another two runs. 6-4, and we’re bound to lose it. Juan Martinez collected a total of nine outs while conceding two of Vela’s runs, but gave us some length through the middle game, while the bottom fell out of the Bayhawks’ pen in the eighth, where the Raccoons tacked on three runs. All the scoring runners had reached base on walks. We added another 3-spot in the ninth, this time including two bases-loaded walks to Salazar and Grant West (!), as this time the Coons romped – at least on paper. 12-4 Coons! Baldivía 1-2, 3 BB, RBI; Vinson 3-6, 2B, RBI; O’Morrissey 2-5, RBI; Jin 3-5, RBI; A. Lopez 2-5, 2B; Martinez 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K; West 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K and 0-0, BB, RBI;

Scott Wade was diagnosed with forearm tendinitis, which is bad for forcing him onto the DL, but good because he should be back in three weeks at most. As a replacement, I selected 21-year old Jose Rivera (5-2, 3.76 ERA in AAA), originally an international discovery of the Condors, whom we had acquired in a trade in 1989. He would make his first big league start at home and not in Atlanta, where we were heading next.

Raccoons (24-24) @ Knights (22-24) – May 27-29, 1994

The Knights had serious issues, most of them concerning their pitchers. Their bullpen was by far the worst in the league for example, with a 5.45 ERA, and they ranked 10th in runs allowed.

Kisho Saito also was on a good way to make it into the bullpen. Michael Root took him deep in the first inning (his 11th of the year) and we trailed yet again. The Knights’ Jesse Carver (3-3, 3.71 ERA) was not the Jesse Carver of hold, either. In the third, Salazar and Baldivía led off with hits, and Kinnear hit a big 2-run double to get us into the lead. A similar recipe worked also in the fifth, although Baldivía’s hit was an RBI triple and Kinnear hit a sac fly. That made for a 5-1 lead, with Saito’s worst offense after the Root homer being a throwing error in the sixth inning. Saito went seven innings on 100 pitches, and the bullpen never allowed a runner past first base, for a stroke-free win for Saito. 6-1 Coons. Salazar 3-5; Baldivía 4-5, 3B, RBI; Kinnear 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Saito 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W (3-3); Burnett 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Yay! When did we have our last 3-game winning streak? April 15-17. Now, can we please get Jason Turner straightened out as well?

Atlanta’s Pat Cherry (1-5, 5.98 ERA) needed just as much straightener, apparently. The first three Coons reached base in the game, before the next three made poor outs and nobody scored. Both starters were a mess, in fact, but the hitters in the clutch were outright excruciating to watch. Through five innings, the score was 2-2, with both teams leaving them on in droves. Cherry would hit a 2-out RBI single off Turner in the sixth then, breaking that tie – which perhaps was a fitting deciding event in the game. The Coons continued to trail 3-2, leaving runners on the corners in the eighth, and faced closer Mike Dye in the ninth. Higgins got on leading off and stole second base, but Kinnear struck out on the same pitch. Vinson was clipped. O’Morrissey lined out to shallow center (one of those plays by CF Rory Gorden that you will make you smile for days if it had been turned for your team), and Green walked, leaving Alejandro Lopez to do or die. He did, a double off the wall in deep right, and two runs scored!! Then Lagarde came in to close it, nicked the first two batters, and surrendered the tying run again. He lost the game in the 10th on two doubles. 5-4 Knights. Salazar 3-5, BB; Higgins 3-6, RBI; A. Lopez 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Hall (PH) 1-1;

(slams head against the bullpen telephone repeatedly)

Plus, our individual LOB was 37 in this game, and 15 as a team. Ga-reat.

Jim Harrington was 35 and coming off a torn flexor tendon. He was 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA in his first two starts back in the majors. A throwing error by Salazar in the bottom 1st led to an unearned run, getting Harrington right back into the driver’s seat. The Coons didn’t get a proper chance to score until the fourth. Baldivía hit a scratch single, Kinnear’s uniform was grazed, and Vinson walked in a full count with one out. O-Mo flew out to shallow left. Alejandro Lopez flew out to slightly less shallow left. The agony was … agonizing. Miguel Lopez then loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom 4th. The Knights upped to 2-0 before SS Fred Adams grounded into an inning-ending double play. Miguel Lopez went seven, struck out eight, to no avail. To absolutely no avail. The bullpen was squished in the eighth inning, while the Raccoons were held to four hits. 7-1 Knights. Kinnear 2-3, HR, RBI; M. Lopez 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, L (5-4);

In other news

May 22 – VAN OF Luis Arroyo (.313, 6 HR, 23 RBI) becomes the eighth player in ABL history to hit three home runs in a single game. Arroyo uses the power to drive in five runs in a 4-4 game for him, as the Canadiens win 8-4 over the Aces. Arroyo is the first Canadien to achieve the feat. His achievement comes three years and three weeks after the last time a batter hit three homers in a single game. Back then, the Indians’ Victor Cornett did it to the Canadiens.
May 23 – SFW Ricardo Torres (6-3, 2.99 ERA) tosses a 1-hitter against the Rebels, as the Warriors win the duel of division leaders, 4-0. Pinch-hitter Robert Carney breaks up the bid for a no-hitter in the sixth with a single.
May 23 – Tijuana’s Jose Macias (4-6, 3.96 ERA) shines, too, in a 1-0 complete game shutout against the Crusaders, allowing merely three hits.
May 27 – A sprained ankle will put TIJ OF Preston O’Day (.342, 6 HR, 29 RBI) on the shelf until about the All Star Game.
May 29 – Jose Macias ups to 5-6 with a 3.53 ERA after 6-hitting the Titans in a 9-0 blowout. He has now shut out the opposition in back-to-back games.

Complaints and stuff

Nothing is working. Really, really, really, really nothing. Except for Esteban Baldivía winning Player of the Week. He went 12-25 with 1 HR and 5 RBI. Unfortunately, there are eight fools in the lineup that couldn’t hit the moon if it were thrown past them and thus production is more so-so.

We have dropped out of the first division in the power rankings for the first time in … years?

I heard the Willamette Bread Factory is looking for a manager for their beer league team. They have a massively overweight 44-year old first baseman who is eating hot dogs in the field, and who is a major attraction. I could have so much fun with the guys…