[Westheim]

We called up a few players as the calendar hit September. SP Antonio Donis (13-7, 3.08 ERA) would finally make his major league debut. We would go to a 6-man rotation for at least two cycles, and then see whether anybody would be dropped into the pen. Probably not Turner. MR Tim Mallandain (0-4, 3.82 ERA, 20 SV) was re-added just for the extra left-handed option, although I would let Grandma pitch before him in an important spot. MR Day Grandridge (2-0, 1.82 ERA) was also added again.

Apart from that, we added only two position players, C Jose Rodriguez (.216, 4 HR, 22 RBI), who did not get any better by getting a tan down there in Florida most of the year, and INF Matt Duncan (.291, 12 HR, 58 RBI), to have extra options when pinch-hitting. Duncan was not even on the 40-man roster, and we waived AA SP Esteban Flores to get him on. Scouting on Flores, 22, has become more and more unfavorable recently. Duncan is of course a semi-regular up here.

Donis was slotted behind Lopez in the rotation, and Vázquez dropped behind Wade to #6, so we would not throw three consecutive left-handers up there, and so Donis would not pitch on seven days’ rest in his debut.

Entering the hot zone! And with seven left against the Loggers, we face them right away. We are two ahead, the Titans are only one more game behind. And we will play them right after the Loggers.

Raccoons (79-54) vs. Loggers (77-56) – September 1-3, 1995

The key to beating the Loggers was to get their starters out of the game. They had the second-best rotation around the CL, but their bullpen had recently plunged to 11th. We have outscored them by 27 runs this season, but that doesn’t mean a lot if your team scored either ten or one each and every day.

Projected matchups:
Jason Turner (17-5, 2.78 ERA) vs. Martin Garcia (15-6, 2.36 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (13-5, 3.23 ERA) vs. Davis Sims (13-5, 3.16 ERA)
Antonio Donis (0-0, no ERA) vs. Jorge Casas (13-8, 3.62 ERA)

The anticipated pitching duel in the opener did not really materialize. While it was true that Martin Garcia was dominating the Raccoons almost unchallenged by the lineup, Jason Turner did not have his stuff, and was taken deep by Drake Evans in the second, and then surrendered pairs of runs in the fifth and sixth innings, each time with a flurry of singles, plus a double in the sixth. At that point, Garcia was tossing a 3-hitter, with a solo shot by Baldivía the only blemish on his line. Loading the bases on him in the bottom 7th did not yield any runs when Vinson and PH Ingall both struck out. We double-played ourselves out of the last two innings, respectively. 6-1 Loggers. Brewer 2-4; Baldivía 2-4, HR, RBI; Grandridge 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

What a stinker of a game.

Game 2 was Lopez’ start. We got it going early, with kind support from 1B Shoji Murakami, who dropped a grounder from Brewer after picking it up, which was enough of a spark for us to score two unearned runs after Salazar and Reece singles. Salazar would score on a groundout. Murakami would drive in a run with two out in the top 2nd, though. The Loggers tied the game in the fourth in depressing fashion. Bob Grant singled up the middle to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on a passed ball. Vinson failed to make a play on Jose Perez’ infield grounder, moving Grant to third with no outs. From there, Lopez balked him home. Perez would score as well and we trailed 3-2. Davis Sims came apart in the fifth inning then. Salazar led off with a single and Reece walked. O-Mo hit a shot into the gap in right to tie the game, and Green walked to load them up for Vinson with nobody out. Vinson struck out in his second RISP situation on the day, but Baldy singled to left to score a pair, which was also the goodnight call for Sims. Lopez cruised into the ninth with the 5-3 lead, where he got one out before an error by Brewer (his second in the series) put Cristo Ramirez on base. Grant doubled to left and Ramirez scored, and Lopez was out with the tying run in scoring position. De La Rosa and Burnett were rolled in in succession and managed to starve Lopez at third. But we got support from the heart of our lineup. Against Roberto Martinez, Reece and O-Mo got on with two outs, bringing up Green, who connected big time for a 3-run homer to left center. Lagarde came in to pitch the ninth. Of his first nine pitches, eight were balls, and Martinez replaced him. He loaded the bags with one out, prompting Mike Dye to emerge as the fifth reliever of the night. He yielded a sac fly, but held on. 8-5 Raccoons. Salazar 2-5; Reece 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; O’Morrissey 3-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Lopez 7.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W (14-5) and 1-4, 2B;

Five relievers to get five outs. Waaay to go.

Rubber game. You know, it wouldn’t be so bad to win this one. The Titans had split two with the Indians while we were dealing here, so no ground lost or gained for us at this point. Was it a good idea to have a rookie pitch this game, his DEBUT? Ah, he won’t have it any easier with the Titans either. Go Donis!

Of Donis’ first 15 pitches, 11 were balls, and the Loggers loaded the bags with no outs. Bob Grant singled in the first run, and with one out Bob Rush made sure Donis would never forget his debut, neither would anybody else. He grand slammed the Loggers 5-0 ahead. That Donis struck out five batters after that did little to lessen the grief. Jorge Casas however proved hittable, as the Coons got back to 5-4 by the fourth inning. O-Mo was on third base in the fifth inning, but Higgins popped out to leave him on, and Jin was left on third base in the sixth by Brewer, who lined out to right. While our bullpen put up zeroes, the tying run was also left on (this time on first) in the seventh. Higgins led off the bottom 8th with a single, then stole second immediately. Jin came up, and Jin came through, slapping a triple off the wall and FINALLY the game was tied. Jin scored on a Newton sac fly, and Dye entered to pitch the ninth with a surprising 6-5 lead. He struck out Alex Gonzalez, then survived a bunt attempt by Jerry Fletcher, who was out at first on a bang-bang play, and then got backup Logan Lee to fly out softly to right. 6-5 Furballs!! Reece 2-4; O’Morrissey 2-4, 2B; Green 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Higgins 2-3, RBI; Jin 2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Miller 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

We will chalk that one up to the bullpen, slap Donis repeatedly with a picture of a strike zone (also Lagarde, who walked three in 1.2 innings), and hope for a better second start for him. Also, with 26 games to play, we have matched our wins total from last season.

Raccoons (81-55) vs. Titans (79-59) – September 4-6, 1995

We were three games up on both of our chasers, so unless the Titans would sweep us, we would stay ahead of the race through this series. The Titans had four more runs scored than the Raccoons, in two more games, which made for two of the three most productive offensive forces in the league. Their pitching remained average.

Projected matchups:
Scott Wade (9-9, 3.29 ERA) vs. Jesus Bautista (1-1, 5.13 ERA)
Kisho Saito (10-9, 3.38 ERA) vs. Francisco Vidrio (8-9, 4.60 ERA)
Robert Vázquez (12-6, 3.44 ERA) vs. Jason O’Halloran (11-9, 3.89 ERA)

Royce Green came down with the flu on Sunday night, and while he would be able to play, he had slimy glibber dangling from the nose when standing in the batter’s box and he generally looked like a corpse. So Bobby Quinn would probably play the entire series in right field, and Vinson possibly bat fifth the whole time.

Brewer made another error right in the first inning of the opener, which turned out to turn into an unearned run against Wade. Matt Higgins, playing first, mashed a 2-run homer in the bottom 2nd to get us ahead, and both teams scored single runs in the fifth, with the Titan’s (tying) run batted in by Bautista, the pitcher, with two down in the inning. Wade shook his head in disbelief for good reason – I did too. Bautista shuffled the bags full with no outs in the bottom 6th then. Time to score, boys. Higgins got Reece forced out at home, and Quinn grounded into a double play. The agony. Wade went through the seventh and was then pinch-hit for with Jin, who was on first after a leadoff single, in the bottom of that inning. Ingall singled for him, and both runners would come in to score in the inning to make it 5-2. That score remained true through eight. West had pitched the top 8th and remained in with a lefty and a switch-hitter up, but he put one on and was removed for a right-hander instead of trying to get him out. So Martinez (with Dye somewhat tired) came in to face Cipriano León. Martinez got a poor grounder from him, and also from Dave Dixon, the last batter in the game. 5-2 Critters. Reece 2-4, RBI; O’Morrissey 2-3, BB, 3B; Jin 2-3, BB; Ingall (PH) 1-1; Wade 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, W (10-9); West 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

And that is 10 or more wins for Scott Wade for 10 consecutive seasons! Hooray!! Not shabby for a 2-pitch guy, and great first-round draft pick. I really do have to congratulate myself on this one!

Back to the job at hand now, before everybody slips on my slimy self-promotion.

We faced left-handers the last two games in the series. Brewer, not batting much this week and with three errors on his hands already, sat for the middle game, so Higgins, ahead of Ingall, got to bat leadoff. Saito tried to stay above .500 in the middle game. [I managed to get him and Vázquez mixed up…]

Neither pitcher in the middle game had a day even close to being decent. Both surrendered plenty of contact, and if anything, the Raccoons had the advantage of better defense and that the Titans didn’t hit the balls into the jet stream that was going out to left. Ingall put the Raccoons up 1-0 in the first with a solo home run, and we would add single runs in the second and fourth innings. Meanwhile, Saito had loaded the bags in the top 1st before escaping unharmed, and was constantly surrendering line drives. Some fell in, some found a glove, regardless you were waiting for disaster to strike. He failed to miss bats, instead constantly missed the zone and struck out only a pair in seven innings of work, but the Titans failed to score on him. And then, once Saito was out and Burnett came in, a 1-out triple by Luis Lopez in the top 8th spelled trouble again. Jack Burbidge homered off Burnett and a 3-0 lead shrunk to 3-2. Everybody in attendance had a vague idea where this game was going. Miller ended the eighth. An insurance run would be nice. Nesto Martinez drilled Vinson to lead off the bottom 8th. Salazar ran for Vinson, and went to third when Quinn singled to left on a hit-and-run. No outs. Brewer hit for Miller and grounded out, Newton grounded out, and Duncan grounded out, and NONE OF THEM brought Salazar home. Dye appeared for the ninth, up 3-2. I have a feeling. Dye walked Julio Madrid, who was run for with Alejandro Espinoza, and Espinoza had no trouble to score on a line drive double by Daniel Silva. Tied ballgame. Dye did not retire anybody in the inning and was laden with four runs once Tim Mallandain surrendered a 3-run homer. 7-3 Titans. Ingall 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Reece 3-5; Quinn 2-5, 2B; Saito 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

And with this deflating loss I resigned myself to eating chocolate all night and through game 3. I don’t care how you lose. I just want chocolate.

Chocolate.

Vázquez pitched, but not for long. While Neil Reece got the Raccoons ahead with a solo homer in the bottom 1st, Vázquez allowed home runs to Luis Lopez and Daniel Silva, and was beaten to pulp for three more runs in the fourth. Down 5-2, the first three Raccoons all got on base in the bottom 4th, where Royce Green was inserted as pinch-hitter for Vázquez. He struck out while the Raccoons scored only on a passed ball and a Brewer sac fly. In fact, Brewer and Ingall made the final outs in the inning on consecutive hard line drive outs to Espinoza in right. We left the tying run on base in the next two innings. De La Rosa walked three and surrendered a run in the top 7th, after which Reece singled and O-Mo walked to lead off the bottom 7th, and the tying runs were on again. Vinson struck out. Quinn struck out. Jin singled to right, and Reece came home, and when Baldivía fell to two strikes, he knocked a ball into left and O-Mo scored, and FINALLY the game was tied. Salazar batted for De La Rosa with the go-ahead runs on, but fouled out on the first pitch. Bottom 8th, Brewer led off with a single to center. Then Brewer was thrown out stealing once again. This was the more bitter when Neil Reece hit his second homer of the night with two out in the inning. So, what would have been an 8-6 lead, was only 7-6, as Martinez was tasked with closing this one. Three long at-bats, three groundouts. 7-6 Coons. Reece 4-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, 2B; Jin 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Baldivía 2-4, RBI;

In other news

September 1 – TIJ CF/LF Xiao-wei Li (.293, 2 HR, 35 RBI) could miss most of September with a fractured rib.
September 2 – The Knights lose 6-5 to the Bayhawks, but it still is a big day for ATL INF Tom Nicks (.298, 7 HR, 63 RBI). Nicks goes 2-5 in the game, collecting his 2,000th big league hit along the way. The milestone hit is a leadoff single off Min-tae Kim in the fifth inning.
September 3 – Cincy’s Dan Morris has his hitting streak end at 23 games with an oh-for in a 9-7 Cyclones loss to the Rebels.
September 5 – Season over: DEN LF Dale Wales (.326, 9 HR, 52 RBI) suffers a torn meniscus and will not come back this season.
September 5 – LVA 1B/3B/CF Javier Vargas (.336, 16 HR, 86 RBI) hits two singles in a 5-1 loss to the Condors to bring his hitting streak to 20 games.

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons down by five and me sending in Grandridge to absorb the last two innings (in the best case, which it turned out to become) in the opener against the Loggers, it occurred to me: we will not win this. We will not win this division. They are not getting it done at the plate. They are just not getting it done. And we can not win this.

Then the suckers win some, and then the middle game against the Titans happens. I mean, I should have known beforehand that they would lose it. Somehow. It just gets better and better – in terms of cruelty, humiliation, bitter defeat. The sour stench of futility. Why even pitch Saito. Why even bother. Why even watch these games at all?

While the record this six games may have been satisfying, the way in which the results were reached on the field for the most part were not.

If nothing else I have been convinced that I want no piece of Mike Dye past this season. To be honest, he could walk right now. Since going 8/8 with no runs allowed in his first eight outings for us, he has gone 4/7 in eight appearances with a 14.29 ERA.

Don’t even get me started on the first start of Antonio Donis, which we anticipated for years, only to have anticipation dissipate in a puff of smoke.

All hopes. All dreams. Ah. Misery.