[Westheim]

For uplifting and depressing numbers, both at the same time, BNN presented the active pitchers leading the ABL in shutouts. Behind SFW Neil Stewart (27) and LAP Bastyao Caixinha (21), Kisho Saito was ranking in third place with 18 SHO’s in his career. He will soon be removed from the list.

Raccoons (63-93) vs. Titans (92-64) – September 29-October 1, 1997

While we were hoping (against hope) to soil the Titans’ first playoff appearance for the second time in three years, the Canadiens and Indians would hold fourth place playoffs in Vancouver. Our last stop of the season would also be in Vancouver, so the Canadiens had their fortunes pretty much in hand going into the final week of the season.

Projected matchups:
Jose Ramos (5-7, 4.59 ERA) vs. Glenn Ryan (11-10, 3.09 ERA)
Kisho Saito (11-13, 2.99 ERA) vs. Albert Villa (1-1, 4.59 ERA)
Esteban Flores (0-7, 5.04 ERA) vs. Jesus Bautista (17-9, 2.16 ERA)

Game 1
BOS: SS D. Silva – LF Walls – C L. Lopez – 1B G. Douglas – RF Thomas – 2B Henry – CF Alonso – 3B Elliott – P Ryan
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Newton – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – 3B Ingall – RF Miranda – SS Guerin – C McDonald – P Ramos

Once Miranda left the bags full by striking out in the first inning, we were on the road to losing. A Tom Walls double over Newton in left scored Daniel Silva in the third, 1-0 Titans, and that remained the score for a little while. Jose Ramos held the Titans to four hits over seven innings, which didn’t help him all that much, since the Raccoons were doing absolutely nothing at the plate. Two down and runners on the corners in the fifth, Marvin Ingall lined hard to the left side – but right into Pat Elliott’s glove. It was still 1-0 Titans in the bottom 8th, which Weeds led off with a bloop single. On a hit-and-run, desperate measures here, Ingall lined into right for a single, and we had them on the corners with no outs. Green hit for Miranda, and tied the game with a double. Guerin was put on intentionally, McDonald was removed for Jason Kent, and the youngster who had skipped AAA because we had had a hole on the roster a few weeks earlier, slapped a single into left that scored a pair. Brewer would get another run in with a groundout. Wade came out and saved the day. 4-1 Raccoons. Brewer 2-5, RBI; Ingall 2-4; Green (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Kent (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Michel (PH) 1-1; Ramos 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K;

Game 2
BOS: CF Alonso – LF Walls – SS D. Silva – C L. Lopez – 1B G. Douglas – RF Thomas – 3B Henry – 2B Chavez – P Bautista
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – SS Ingall – RF Newton – C Vinson – 3B G. Rodriguez – P Saito

Bad news for Kisho: the Titans moved Bautista up to this game, so the Raccoons were likely to score minus two runs.

Saito’s little world came crashing down by the third inning with a 2-run homer by Luis Alonso and a few more hissing line drives that scored two more runs. Kinnear drove in a run in the bottom of the inning, but that was all the effort the offense put up early. Maybe we could come back without actual effort? Bottom 6th, still three runs down, Ingall reached leading off the inning, when Manuel Chavez dropped his grounder on the transfer from the glove. Newton then hit the ball behind first and raced it out for an actual infield single. Vinson singled, and the bags were full. Bautista walked Rodriguez, 4-2, and the bags were still full. Saito was sent to bat, hit into a run-scoring double play, but Bautista’s day ended with a walk to Brewer. Go-ahead runs on the corners with two down for Kinnear, Ramon Morales came in to relief Bautista, and walked Kinnear to load the bags for Reece. In a long at-bat, Morales and Reece battled to a full count, and then Reece looked at a ball a hair below his knees. The umpire didn’t move, and after a second of uncertainty, Reece ambled to first and Vinson trotted home with the tying run. Weeds’ 2-run single gave the Raccoons an unlikely 6-4 lead. Saito pitched another inning before leaving this contest. While the Raccoons left pairs of men on in the seventh and eighth, Zuniga and Otero pitched the eighth before Wade came out in the ninth. The first two Titans – Henry and Chavez – popped out, and RF Luis Gonzalez bounced out to Guerin, who was by now playing at short. 6-4 Titans. Kinnear 2-4, 2B, RBI; Newton 3-5; Vinson 2-3, BB;

The Canadiens had dropped their first two to the Indians (and fired their GM in between) to start the week, which now had us up in fifth place. The Loggers lost two to the Crusaders, meaning the Titans were still only half a game out as September was over. Nobody had clinched yet (perhaps a novelty in the ABL), but the Capitals and Warriors were as little as one day away from moving into the postseason.

At the end of the day, we were bound to have the fourth pick in next year’s draft at 65-93, ahead of the 64-93 Canadiens, Cyclones, and Wolves.

Game 3
BOS: SS D. Silva – CF Alonso – C L. Lopez – 1B G. Douglas – RF Thomas – 2B Henry – LF L. Gonzalez – 3B Durango – P Villa
POR: 2B Brewer – CF Newton – LF Kinnear – RF Green – SS Ingall – 1B Michel – C McDonald – 3B G. Rodriguez – P Flores

Flores fell behind 2-0 in the second inning on a moonshot by Glenn Douglas and another run that was unearned after a Samy Michel error. The Coons however struck back soon, and Royce Green’s 2-run homer in the bottom 3rd got them 4-2 ahead. Flores, 0-7 this season, pitched six innings, then handed the ball to Donis, who was 0-9, and allowed three batters on base in the seventh. 4-3, two on, one out, Tamburrino came in to strike out Alonso, which brought up dangerous switch-hitter Luis Lopez. In an 0-2 count, Tamburrino threw a wild pitch that moved up the runners, before Lopez grounded out to Michel on the next pitch. We still managed to blow out Flores’ first career win, and the blame was squarely on Daniel Miller, who walked three consecutive batters in the eighth, and the Titans plated a pair. We trailed 5-4 into the bottom 9th, but Bill Corkum allowed a single to Gabriel Rodriguez to start the inning. Reece struck out in the #9 spot, Brewer walked, and Newton grounded out, putting the winning runs in scoring position for Vern Kinnear. He popped out to left. 5-4 Titans. Brewer 4-4, BB, 3 2B; Kinnear 2-5, RBI; Rodriguez 2-4, RBI; Flores 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K;

In addition to Miller’s three walks, Padilla also walked three in the ninth, but De La Rosa got a double play and the Titans didn’t score. That’s six walks and two strikeouts (by Tamburrino and Zuniga) as the relief corps faced 17 batters. Oh, and two wild pitches, also by the relief corps.

Oh my.

No races were decided on this day, and we had Thursday off. That day, the Canadiens beat the Indians, 5-4, and the Loggers lost 1-0 to the Crusaders, mainly their pitcher Francisco Garza, who tossed a 10-inning 4-hit shutout! That left the Loggers even with the Titans, and the Raccoons even with the Canadiens going into the final weekend of the series, and both pairings were facing each other!

Raccoons (65-94) @ Canadiens (65-94) – October 3-5, 1997

Projected matchups:
Miguel Lopez (11-10, 3.50 ERA) vs. Jose Marquez (8-12, 4.16 ERA)
Hector Lara (8-7, 3.13 ERA) vs. Lucio Munoz (8-11, 4.71 ERA)
Jose Rivera (2-4, 4.15 ERA) vs. Manuel Chavez (7-4, 4.67 ERA)

Mike Crowe will not be able to play this year, neither will Stephen Buell, so no happy end for the two youngsters. We will play Brewer sparingly this final series, since the last thing I need is a 6-month injury to our trade chip.

Five teams are still in the race for the first draft pick next year (which would make a sweet consolation prize for getting swept here), going into the final weekend, as apart from the 65-94 Raccoons and Canadiens, there were also the 66-93 Wolves and Cyclones, and the 65-94 Buffaloes.

Game 1
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – LF Kent – C Vinson – 3B McLaughlin – P M. Lopez
VAN: CF Arroyo – 2B S. Mendez – LF Hartley – 1B Mosley – SS Carpenter – 3B Galindo – C J. Lopez – RF Hudson – P Marquez

Lopez started off shoddy, and surrendered two runs in the first inning. One of those was brought back by Vinson with a 2-out RBI single, but the Raccoons didn’t get any more. Lopez himself led off the fifth with a single, and an Ingall single had the go-ahead runs on base with no outs. Weeds got on with two out, but Forest Hartley caught Royce Green’s fly to deep left, and we kept trailing. Lopez left in the seventh, still on a 2-1 hook, and De La Rosa got the final out there. Royce Green launched a titanic 2-run homer in the eighth that put Gabby in line for the win. He also pitched the eighth before yielding for a pinch-hitter, leading off the ninth. Nothing came of Kinnear batting there, and Wade came out to protect the 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning. He struck out Drew Edwards, and got Lance Hudson and Juan Moreno to ground out. 3-2 Coons! Wedemeyer 2-3; Green 1-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Kent 2-4; Utting (PH) 1-1; Lopez 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K and 1-3; De La Rosa 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (4-7);

The Wolves, Cyclones, and Buffaloes all won their respective games, leaving the Canadiens in sole possession of the worst record at this point. In Milwaukee, Jason O’Halloran outlasted Davis Sims as the Titans won 8-3 to take sole possession of first place.

Game 2
POR: 2B Brewer – CF Newton – LF Kinnear – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – SS Ingall – 3B Utting – C McDonald – P Lara
VAN: RF D. Edwards – SS S. Mendez – CF Arroyo – 1B Mosley – 3B Galindo – C J. Lopez – LF Hudson – 2B Weston – P Munoz

Hector Lara, still hoping to get a contract offer, was roughed up in the early going, blowing a 1-0 lead from the top 1st with a 2-run bottom 1st, and gave up 27-year old Albert Weston’s first career home run in the second. After two uneventful frames, Ingall got on in the fifth, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and was then doubled in by Jai Utting. McDonald singled, and Lara came up. Still no outs in the inning, Lara singled to left to tie the game. Newton singled to score McDonald for the go-ahead run, as Munoz was reeling. The Coons sent 11 men to the plate in the inning, scoring five runs for Lara. Old Hector made it into the seventh before Donis relieved him to face the lefty Edwards. Nothing happened in that inning. Top 8th, the Coons got on early and often. One run was already in after a Newton double, and then Weeds came up with the bags full and two down in a 7-3 game. Facing right-hander Juan Bello (a former #1 prospect), he nailed the Canadiens into last place for good. GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMMM!!! 12-3 Raccoons!! Newton 3-5, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Wedemeyer 2-4, HR, 6 RBI; Ingall 3-4, BB; Costa 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Ha-hah, Elks.

The Titans clinched the division with another win over the Loggers, their first ever playoff appearance, and the last team to make it to meaningful October baseball. While the Canadiens had the first pick next June secure now, the Coons are all tied with the Cyclones, Wolves, and Buffaloes.

Game 3
POR: 2B Ingall – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Green – SS Guerin – C Vinson – 3B McLaughlin – P Rivera
VAN: RF D. Edwards – SS S. Mendez – CF Arroyo – 1B Mosley – 3B Galindo – C J. Lopez – LF Moreno – 2B B. Butler – P Hollow

Joe Hollow (1-4, 8.36 ERA) pitched in place of Manuel Chavez, both were lefties. The Coons took a lead on Marvin Ingall’s leadoff home run in the first, but the joy didn’t last long. The first four Canadiens all reached on Rivera, including a 3-run bomb by Bill Mosley, plating four runs for the Canadiens in the first. Rivera wouldn’t last five, bringing in another run on his own throwing error, as the Raccoons left piles of runners on base and trailed 5-2 after five innings. In the top 6th then, Ingall came up with one out and two on, but hopped a ball to Jesus Galindo for a sure out – given a good throw. But Galindo dropped it, threw late, threw wide, and the Coons got to extra bases, scoring McLaughlin from second base and putting the tying runs in scoring position for Vern Kinnear, who popped out. Then came Reece and hurled a single into shallow left, scoring one run. Weeds shoved a single past Bob Butler to tie the game. Green gave us the lead with a single, and Hollow was still in there, walking Guerin to load the bags for Vinson. And then he walked Vinson and was finally removed to be shot. Claudio Duarte replaced him, and Brewer came out to bat for McLaughlin, drew a walk, and Jai Utting, who had hit for Tamburrino early in the inning, came up to bat a second time. Utting singled home one more run before Ingall made the final out. A 7-run sixth, just about humiliating enough to not be able to stop cackling. Day Grandridge faced only two batters in the bottom 7th, put both on with singles, but Zuniga cleaned up and held the score at 9-5. The Canadiens stopped giving an F after that, it seemed, as the bullpen collapsed for another five runs late. The Coons cracked them open, and smeared their own park with their Elkish blood in a fantastic double-romp to end the season. 14-6 Raccoons! Ingall 2-6, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Reece 2-6, RBI; Wedemeyer 2-6, RBI; Green 3-4, 2 BB, RBI; Guerin 4-5, BB, 2B; Aycock (PH) 1-1; McLaughlin 2-3, RBI; Kent (PH) 1-2, RBI; Utting (PH) 1-2, BB, 2 RBI;

In other news

October 2 – The Capitals blow through Jorge Rosa and the Miners to a 13-6 win, which clinches the FL East for them. The Capitals make their sixth playoff appearance and their first since they won the division five straight years from 1990 to 1994, winning the title in 1990 and 1991.
October 2 – Season over for DEN 2B Pat Parker (.321, 13 HR, 76 RBI). The former Raccoon has suffered a sprained ankle.
October 2 – The Indians deal LF/RF/1B Jimmy Erickson (.214, 0 HR, 2 RBI) to the Pacifics for LF/RF Jim Thompson (.276, 15 HR, 63 RBI). Both are in their early 30s.
October 5 – The Warriors barely avoid humiliation. After seeing a 5-game lead evaporate to one game over the Scorpions in the last week of the season, they win #162 in Sacramento to close the FL West. It marks their third playoff appearance after 1978 and 1994. In the CL South, the Condors and Bayhawks have to play a tie breaker.
October 6 – SFB Pat Chandler singles home Leon Berrios to tie the CL South tie breaker in the top 9th against TIJ CL Jared Chaney. In the bottom of the inning, Ryosei Kato allows singles to Francisco Ramirez and Pedro Lozano, and has the eliminating run on third base with two out. Utility man Erwin Hooper singles through on the left side to send the Condors to their sixth postseason appearance, all since 1984, but the first since they were eliminated in the CLCS by the Raccoons in 1993.

Complaints and stuff

This is the first time we went 13-5 against the Canadiens. If nothing else, we will remember this season for THAT!! Also, Weeds won the home run title in the CL with 24 booms, but that number was pale in comparison to DAL Mac Woods’ 30. Since Weeds hit only five before the All Star Break, it’s easy to realize where he struggled: in the cold spring weather in Portland.

This season, Kisho Saito pitched 229.2 innings, the most since 1985, but struck out a career-low 133 batters. At 37, he is clearly slowly losing it. Interestingly, his 1.11 WHIP is his best since 1992, same for the ERA+. He still didn’t turn a winning record thanks to losing a few 1-0 and 2-1 games and having a few leads blown by the dumbpen. Unless he wins 24 next season (unlikely) he won’t get to 250 career wins.

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This Monday morning, I sat down with Vern Kinnear before batting practice to talk money with some coffee and these delicious cookies with chocolate chips in them. We were both thrilled by the cookies.

Vern Kinnear was ready to stay in Portland. I offered 5-yr, $3.625M as a starting point. In Kinnear’s mind however, he was entitled to 6-yr, $7.8M. We crumbled a few more cookies, then politely parted ways.

Forever.

This will be a rebuilding effort for at least two years. I know I said that in the aftermath of the 1988 collapse, and we were in the World Series the next year, but then we were able to take on a ton of young guys that were already tearing up AAA (Higgins, O’Morrissey, Lagarde …; with Reece a bit further behind then). This is not the case this year. The one huge blue chip we got, SP Ralph Ford, will make the move to AAA just next season. Our top draft picks of the last two years (1995-96) have crashed, one is already out of baseball, and one (Cory Stanford) looks like he will get the boot this winter. I have more confidence in our 1997 class, but they need more time and won’t help us before 1999 at the very earliest, but more likely 2000 (Mata, Nordahl, maybe Funck too).

And since we are rebuilding, there’s no point in giving out additional millions contracts past those that we already have, especially in Kinnear’s case, with a 22-year old hotshot begging to be played. I love Vern Kinnear with all my heart, but it doesn’t make any sense. The Australian Corps will be broken up as soon as it has completely formed. (Don’t expect Utting and Tamburrino to stick around for long…) There’s also no point in showering Royce Green with millions, although he is one of a group of players that will have talks with me early next week for future stuff. The others are Hector Lara and Jose Ramos. If Royce Green was willing to sign a contract in the 5-yr, $4.5M region ……. But he won’t, because he’s worth more (if healthy). Lara and Ramos will be offered 2-yr deals for cheap.

The early 90s dynasty players are breaking up for good.

Sad summers at the Willamette.