[Westheim]

Raccoons (39-60) vs. Condors (52-47) – July 29-31, 1997

Here was another team suffering from a horrid (10th in CL) rotation, but the Condors had sufficient offense to stay atop the CL South at this junction. They also possessed the best bullpen with a 2.71 ERA to those arms. Since being traded a bit over a month ago, Ben O’Morrissey had hit five home runs for them. Of course he had.

Projected matchups:
Scott Wade (4-5, 5.30 ERA) vs. Jose Maldonado (2-5, 4.13 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (7-6, 3.67 ERA) vs. Woody Roberts (10-6, 2.41 ERA)
Hector Lara (2-4, 4.18 ERA) vs. Juan Lara (10-7, 4.31 ERA)

We were starting a string of 17 games without an off day with this series. These three guys were all right-handers, but we will be looking for opportunities to rest Brewer and Wedemeyer against left-handers, and Reece against right-handers starting on the weekend. These three are the only two players that really play every game at the moment.

Game 1
TIJ: 2B Boyle – 1B C. Guzmán – RF Wales – LF Horn – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Gorden – SS Solís – C F. Ramirez – P Maldonado
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B Crowe – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – LF Kinnear – C Aycock – SS Caddock – P Wade

Once again, Wade was just too easily hittable. O’Morrissey had his 100th hit of the year with a leadoff single in the second, which was soon followed by Rory Gorden’s 12th homer of the season, and the Condors were 2-0 ahead. While Wade recovered from that hiccup, although he wasn’t pitching his usual game, striking out seven while surrendering tons of hard contact, the Raccoons hit into double plays in the second, third, and fourth innings, and then stopped getting on base at all. Wade completed eight innings, and then was hit for with two runners on base and one out in the bottom 8th. Buell grounded out, and so did Brewer, and so they went down once more, but not without leaving the tying runs on base in the ninth as well. 2-0 Condors. Wade 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, L (4-6);

So, by now we can safely assume that Scott Wade will not continue his 11-year run of winning double digit games. Thanks for some ****ty offense for the most part.

Game 2
TIJ: 2B Boyle – SS Gorden – RF Wales – LF Horn – 1B O’Morrissey – C Lozano – CF Spinelli – 3B Liang – P Roberts
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B Ingall – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Buell – LF Kinnear – SS Guerin – C Vinson – P M. Lopez

The Raccoons mauled Woody Roberts in the second inning. Weeds led off with a single, stole second, and went to third on Buell’s single. Kinnear popped out, but Guerin singled home Weeds. Buell and Guerin then pulled off a double steal, and Vinson struck out. Two down, Lopez came through with a bouncing single into right, plating one run, and then Brewer hit a line drive double to center, getting the score to 4-0. Reece would bring home Brewer before the inning ended with Weeds whiffing. 5-0, now it was on Lopez. After four strong innings, the world turned on Lopez in the fifth, with the Condors having runners on the corners with one out and the pitcher’s spot up. The Condors did not hit for Roberts, who instead bunted the runner from first to second. Lopez then hit Boyle and surrendered a 2-run single to Gorden, walked Wales to reload the plates, and then was lucky to escape when Martin Horn fouled out. Up 5-2, the Raccoons’ offense was a-snooze, and Lopez was thumped from the game when Chun-mei Liang led off the seventh with a homer, and he walked PH Carlos Guzmán. Zuniga came in to retire Bruce Boyle, and then Miller got the final two outs of the frame with two pitches, and also pitched a quick eighth. Royce Green hit for him in the bottom 8th with the sacks full and one out, and while he grounded out sharply, Buell scored from third and De La Rosa had to defend a 3-run lead in the ninth. Spinelli, Liang, and Raúl Solís were all sat down in order. 6-3 Raccoons. Reece 2-4, RBI; Wedemeyer 2-4; Buell 2-3, BB, 2B; Miller 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

That puts Lopez at 8-6 with two months to go. Should we still get a 10-game winner this season? That would be so exciting!

(grumpy face)

Game 3
TIJ: 2B Boyle – 1B C Guzmán – RF Wales – LF Horn – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Gorden – SS Solís – C F. Ramirez – P J. Lara
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Ingall – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Buell – LF Kinnear – 3B Crowe – C Vinson – P H. Lara

In the battle of the Laras, which took place under dark skies, the Raccoons did not get a hit off Juan Lara through three innings, but scored an earned run in the bottom 3rd regardless when Vinson walked, Juan Lara went to second on Hector Lara’s bunt, but didn’t get anybody out, and Vinson scored on the next two outs. We didn’t get a hit until the fifth, when Neil Reece came through with a 2-out RBI single, then *ironically* an unearned run, as Hector Lara, who scored the run, had initially reached on an error by O’Morrissey. The ex-Coon would make three errors in this game, 75% of his team’s total. Weeds was then plunked and Buell worked a bases-loaded walk. For those counting, that’s a 3-0 lead on a single hit, and two runs unearned. Such a flurry of dumb luck was certainly making me await punishment, but our Lara made it through seven shutout innings in this game. The skies had opened shortly once in the fifth inning, but then opened for determinately in the bottom 7th, which ended Hector’s day after a 44-minute game delay. But the bullpen held up, and the Raccoons also busted through the highly praised Condors pen in the bottom 8th, including a 3-run homer by Marvin Ingall, to run away with this one. 7-0 Raccoons. Ingall 1-5, HR, 4 RBI; Lara 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (3-4) and 1-2;

Can’t say I was not grinning at Mr. Too-Good-For-This having a true Cam Green Day in the field here. Suck it up princess, your bitching allotment for this year is already used up!

As the calendar flipped over to August, we pulled MR Andres Otero (anyone remember him!?) from the disabled list and sent him to a rehab assignment in St. Pete.

Raccoons (41-61) vs. Falcons (49-51) – August 1-3, 1997

In came the worst offensive team in the league (although I found the Raccoons’ offense at times VERY offensive) scoring 408 runs in 100 games. Their pitching was good, ranking mostly in the top 3 or 4 in the league, except for their bullpen, which was below average, 8th. And they had so far wiped the floor with the Raccoons this season, winning all six games. The Raccoons have not gone 0-for against a Continental League team since 1985 (Knights), and the Knights are now the other team we are 0-6 against this year.

Projected matchups:
Jose Ramos (4-3, 4.18 ERA) vs. Terry Wilson (8-10, 4.08 ERA)
Kisho Saito (7-8, 3.00 ERA) vs. Larry Davis (2-4, 5.47 ERA)
Scott Wade (4-6, 5.10 ERA) vs. Luis Guzmán (3-5, 3.36 ERA)

“Loudmouth” Wilson was the only left-hander we could expect until Wednesday, with a left-hander likely up in the last game of the Knights series. (Yeah we will probably lose six straight now) So Brewer got his rest in the opener, to have him up against all the right-handers later.

Game 1
CHA: 3B Combes – 1B S. Vargas – 2B H. Green – SS M. Hall – LF Encarnación – CF Cleveland – RF Young – C D. Smith – P Wilson
POR: 2B Ingall – LF Buell – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – 3B Crowe – C Aycock – SS Guerin – P Ramos

Javier Encarnación set out to sink the Raccoons all by himself, homering off Ramos in the second, and plating another run in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. At that point, Wilson was still perfect, but the Raccoons got two singles by Buell and Reece in the bottom 4th, yet didn’t score. The bottom 6th saw the Raccoons load the bags with no outs with the top of their lineup. Wedemeyer came up, struck out, and Green came up, struck out, and Crowe fouled out, and I started to clean my blunderbuss. The Raccoons were held to five hits and shut out for the second time this week, and to add rage to annoyance, I didn’t hit any one of the suckers as they fled the park. 2-0 Falcons. Buell 2-4; Reece 2-4; Ramos 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, L (4-4);

Game 2
CHA: 2B J. Barrón – RF S. Vargas – SS H. Green – 3B M. Hall – CF Cleveland – 1B Jackson – LF Young – C P. Barrón – P L. Davis
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Ingall – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – LF Kinnear – C Aycock – 3B Crowe – P Saito

With Saito pitching, no offense was about guaranteed – for the Coons. Crowe was thrown out at the plate by Salvador Vargas in the third inning, but the Raccoons would still somehow score first with a solo home run by Wedemeyer in the fourth. After Brewer left Mike Crowe on third base the next inning, Ingall led off the sixth by turning hard into a 3-0 pitch by Larry Davis, and drilled it approximately to Wyoming, 2-0. Additional support from the power department came the same inning with Royce Green’s first homer of the year, a 2-job collecting Wedemeyer. Allowing one hit through six innings, Saito was then clobbered hard in the top 7th. Two on, one out, Dale Cleveland got the Falcons aboard with a 1-out double. Former Raccoon and very recent callup Joe Jackson brought the two runners in scoring position home with a single. Grady Young flew out to Reece, and that was also a hard shot, and Saito was removed. Tamburrino got the final out from Pedro Barrón. The significantly reduced 4-3 lead had a good chance of re-enlargement in the bottom 7th. With one out Brewer singled, Ingall was hit by Ray Hoskins (Ingall’s second HBP in the game!), and Reece walked. Bases loaded, one out for Weeds, Hoskins was out of control and walked Liam on four straight. He threw another ball to Green before the pitching coach for the Falcons jumped out and barked at him. 5-3, bases loaded, one out in the bottom 7th. Exit the pitching coach, bring the 1-0 to Green, and while it hit the zone, it also hit into Green’s sledgehammer, and that ball was never seen again: GRAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMM!!!! And that inning wasn’t over, as the Raccoons skinned another Falcon in Lorenzo Ángel, who was blown away with a 2-out, 3-run double by Brewer that ramped the score to 12-3. Zuniga and Miller shut the Falcons down the rest of the way, and brought the game home. 12-3 Raccoons!! Brewer 3-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Green 2-4, BB, 2 HR, 6 RBI; Crowe 2-3, BB; Newton 1-2; Saito 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (8-8); Miller 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Saito back to .500, and three games won in a row! Now let’s bring him over the hump!

Game 3
CHA: RF A. Lopez – 1B S. Vargas – 2B H. Green – LF Encarnación – CF Cleveland – 3B Combes – SS J. Barrón – C D. Smith – P Guzmán
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Ingall – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – LF Kinnear – C Aycock – 3B Crowe – P Wade

While Wade had his control game ready this time out and started to line up zeroes in the Falcons’ part of the line score, the Raccoons clobbered Guzmán for eight hits in the first four innings – but only scored once. They only had two hits the next four innings, and no runs in those. Meanwhile Wade was pitching a 2-hitter, but with a flimsy 1-0 lead, do you send him out for the ninth inning? Well, I have to conserve my reputation of doing dumb stuff all the time. Of course you send him out! And with his first pitch of the ninth, he gave up the game-tying home run to Mark Hall.

(slams head against the wall)

Donis took the loss in the 11th. 2-1 Falcons. Reece 2-5; Kinnear 3-4, 2B; Wade 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K;

(slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall)

In other news

July 29 – The Titans are forced to trade OF Jose Martinez (.303, 0 HR, 38 RBI) to the Rebels to acquire SP Henry Selph (13-4, 3.08 ERA). Many question whether the Titans shouldn’t have traded a pitcher for offense instead…
July 29 – WAS RF/LF Vonne Calzado (.351, 8 HR, 59 RBI) is set to miss a month of action with a shoulder strain.
July 30 – The Capitals add OF Tomas Maguey (.244, 1 HR, 26 RBI) back to the fold through a trade with the Indians. SP Rafael Serrano (12-5, 4.67 ERA) is sent over to Indy in exchange for the 32-year old Maguey, who was a part of the Capitals’ two championships teams in 1990 and 1991.
July 30 – The Bayhawks deal 1B Bill Dean (.291, 5 HR, 29 RBI) to the Buffaloes for former Raccoon MR Tony Vela (1-1, 3.77 ERA, 2 SV).
August 2 – 37 but not done: ATL SP Carlos Asquabal (8-5, 2.92 ERA) pummels the Loggers, allowing only three hits in a 4-0 shutout win.

Complaints and stuff

This went unnoticed initially, because there was no news item, which is a shame. Last week, Kisho Saito beat the Crusaders, striking out only two, with the latter K to Jose Ramirez. It was Kisho’s 2,500th career strikeout.

I won’t go into detail as far as the offensive achievements of the Excruciaticoons this week. I might use bad words. Bad, bad words.