[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Trebro

Whatever that tech did to your laptop should have been done sooner, apparently, as it seems to have excised some demons from the Furballs, too.

He hasn't lost since, so I think we have proof that some evil spirits messed with him this season.

Yeah, he hasn't lost since, but he will have two starts this week - will he get through? (cue dramatic music)

Originally Posted by Orcin

Well deserved! This dynasty always makes me smile, and makes me think too.

I admire your stamina. You take breaks but you always return with renewed "enthusiasm". I use quotes because sometimes it is vengeance on your own team. (Ok, you people want to play like this, then you WILL suffer through this season.)

Key is to know when you're really, really fed up, and then stop for as long as it takes. If you start a week, and the Coons go down 1-2-3 in the first, and then Saito allows a leadoff single, and your instantly enraged, you know it's time for a week off.

Acting in fury is arguably one of my many flaws, and it's clearly apparent in this dynasty, too.

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The waiver deal with the Buffaloes fell through, because apparently the scrub was claimed. Is that even possible? Bloody hell. Now Tamburrino has to be put back on the roster or released by Thursday… right now it seems like Ralph Ford’s debut will have been a one-off, and he will only return in September.

Raccoons (50-69) vs. Capitals (64-55) – August 16-18, 1999

While not scoring many runs, the Capitals did allow the least runs in the Federal League. Their rotation was top with a 3.57 ERA, and their pen was second with a 3.62 ERA. Their lineup was all about getting on base: they only had 53 home runs, second-fewest in their league.

Projected matchups:
Kisho Saito (4-12, 4.24 ERA) vs. Takeru Sato (11-5, 3.03 ERA)
Randy Farley (9-12, 3.26 ERA) vs. Vernon Robertson (11-9, 3.35 ERA)
Paco Martinez (2-2, 4.88 ERA) vs. Steve Rogers (10-13, 3.48 ERA)

That’s three left-handers, and we will give Stephen Buell more playing time again. Parker has supplanted him last week, and Buell is really not getting it done for an extended period of time now.

On an odd note, the Capitals currently carry TWO players named Jesus Rivera on their roster, a 26-year old backup catcher, and a 23-year old rookie corner outfielder.

Game 1
WAS: 3B J. Lopez – 2B McFarland – CF V. Sanchez – LF J. Rivera – RF Hooper – C J. Rivera – 1B C. Solís – SS Torres – P Sato
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – CF Reece – 1B Gonzalez – LF Buell – C Mata – RF Brady – 3B Crowe – P Saito

Two doubles in the first, and then shoddy fielding and a little luck plated three early runs for the Raccoons in support of Saito, who didn’t allow anything but two walks that far. Bottom 4th, and to get it going Crowe reached with a single just shy of ex-Canadien McFarland. Saito twice failed to bunt, then battled back to work a walk. Guerin reached on an error before Ingall struck out raking. That brought up Reece with one out. Y’know, a little bit more support for Saito wouldn’t be a mistake. Sato tried to make him fish, but remained up, and Reece was not denied. To left, deep, GRAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!! That ended Sato’s day. The Capitals got their first hit in the fifth inning, and put their first two men on in the sixth, but failed to score. Instead, they lost McFarland in a collision with Guerin at second base. Saito allowed another two hits in the seventh, but at 39 he was still the agile cat, and started a double play to get out of the inning. He dodged another bullet in the eighth, but the shutout fell apart with two out in the ninth when Tony Torres blasted to left for two runs. Jackie Lagarde then relieved Saito and retired Werner Turner. 7-2 Saito’s Minions!! Ingall 2-5, RBI; Reece 1-3, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Crowe 2-3, BB; Saito 8.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (5-12);

SAITOOOOOO!!!

Game 2
WAS: SS J. Lopez – 3B C. Solís – CF V. Sanchez – LF J. Rivera – RF Calzado – 1B Hooper – C J. Rivera – 2B Torres – P Robertson
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – CF Reece – 1B Gonzalez – LF Buell – C Mata – 3B Crowe – RF Newton – P Farley

Randyboy had a first inning from hell, in which the Capitals issued two walks, an infield hit, a Reece error, and general cruelness of the universe for two runs before Farley whiffed Torres to escape with the bags full. Farley made an error himself in the top 2nd that did however not lead to another run, then came up with runners on the corners in the bottom 2nd, and two down after a leadoff triple by Buell, who was still waiting on third base. Farley came through with a soft lob just over Torres and into shallow right. Guerin then drove in two runs to take the lead, 3-2. Neither team did much offensively for the next three innings until Cesar Gonzalez ended a power drought with a huge 2-run homer to right center, 5-2. Farley went seven, Collins pitched the eighth, and Miller ended the ninth with a K to Turner, and our winning streak extended to eight! 5-2 Furballs! Guerin 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Farley 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (10-12) and 1-2, RBI;

Farley is in all likelihood the only Furball to reach double-digit wins this year, and also drove in his first RBI this year, despite a sterling average for a pitcher: .268; Also, Daniel Miller reached ten saves. Didn’t think THAT would happen this year, either. (sour look) Actually, Wade had 13 before moving into the rotation.

Game 3
WAS: 3B J. Lopez – C J. Rivera – CF V. Sanchez – LF J. Rivera – 1B Mosley – 2B Kan – RF C. Solís – SS Torres – P Rogers
POR: SS Guerin – RF Newton – CF Reece – 1B Gonzalez – LF Buell – 3B Crowe – C Fifield – 2B McLaughlin – P P. Martinez

In a before rarely seen spectacle, Steve Rogers, the borderline genius, walked SIX Raccoons – in the FIRST inning! Unfortunately, we didn’t manage a hit, but was donated three runs anyway. Newton doubled home Guerin in the fourth before Torres brought out some long ball pain again with a solo shot off Paco Martinez in the top 5th. Rogers meanwhile recovered from his early blunders and by the sixth inning had not walked anybody else, but had struck out six instead. The Coons however put the leadoff man on in the seventh, which knocked out Rogers, and Crowe singled the run home with two down. Paco went eight, and Donis pitched the ninth. 5-1 Coons! Newton 2-5, 2B, RBI; Crowe 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; Ingall (PH) 1-1; P. Martinez 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (3-2);

NINE! Now for bad news. The final out Martinez got was caught by Neil Reece, but he tweaked his ankle in the process. It is not serious, but bad enough that he won’t be able to play for the rest of the month. Although 15 days is longer than he is expected to come back, we need the roster spot, and we have to put him on the DL. What a shame, just now, as he had crossed the .300 mark …

As replacement we called up Jesus Taramillo, who is an excellent defensive centerfielder, also well able to man the corner outfield spots. His bat is probably not that much, but Taramillo is just here to hold the fort until Reece comes back and will probably split duties with Luke Newton. Both are switch hitters.

We also had to demote Ralph Ford to put Tamburrino back onto the roster. Kelly Fairchild will take over the spot in the rotation while I am steaming mad.

Raccoons (53-69) @ Indians (53-67) – August 20-22, 1999

Scoring runs was a terrible pain for the Indians, who barely managed to scratch against the 3.6 R/G mark – not that the Raccoons were that much better overall. In the last nine games however… their pitching was thoroughly average, and with a win in the opener we would actually leave the bottom of the division!

Projected matchups:
Scott Wade (2-7, 3.82 ERA) vs. Steve Holcomb (6-13, 5.34 ERA)
Kelly Fairchild (5-4, 5.13 ERA) vs. Anthony Mosher (3-4, 5.75 ERA)
Kisho Saito (5-12, 4.12 ERA) vs. Manuel Alba (9-11, 3.81 ERA)

Game 1
POR: SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Granados – 3B Gonzalez – LF Parker – C Mata – 2B Ingall – CF Newton – P Wade
IND: C Cicalina – SS Matthews – 1B M. Brown – LF D. Lopez – RF Paredes – 3B Whaley – CF Hardy – 2B Burgos – P Holcomb

Both teams had a scoring chance in the second inning, but failed. Wade was lucky the Indians left the bases full on Holcomb’s groundout after he had filled them up with a single and two walks. Newton then drove home Mata in the fifth inning for the first run in the game, and in the seventh the Coons put Parker and Mata in scoring position with no outs. David Lopez’ awesome catch on Ingall’s liner denied him of a single, but Parker scored regardless. Kevin Rhodes then replaced Holcomb, struck out Newton – but Cicalina never caught the ball and bobbled the first pickup enabling Newton to dash it out to first base. Mata moved to third and then Wade ripped a single to shallow left, scoring the youngster! A seemingly frustrated Rhodes got to 0-2 on Guerin before getting too far inside and brushed him, loading the bags in the process. The 1-0 to Brady went through Cicalina’s legs for another run. Wade scored on Brady’s groundout to make it 5-0. The Indians nicked Wade for a run, but Cicalina became the loser of the game when he bounced out to Gonzalez with two men in scoring position. Both bullpens crumbled some in the last two innings, but while Nordahl was only booked for one run, the Indians blew up for another four runs between the eighth and ninth: 9-2 Coons!! Taramillo (PH) 1-1; Mata 3-4, BB, 2 2B; Newton 2-5, 2 RBI; Wade 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, W (3-7) and 1-3, RBI;

Taramillo made his debut as a pinch-hitter for Parker in the ninth and whacked a single to center. Also: TEN wins in a row!! Fifth place!! Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Odd note: we haven’t scored an even number of runs in a game in two weeks. Actually, our winning streak consists entirely of games in which we have scored either 5, 7, or 9 runs. Puzzling!

Game 2
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – LF Buell – 1B Gonzalez – C Mata – RF Newton – 3B Crowe – CF Taramillo – P Fairchild
IND: C Cicalina – SS Matthews – 1B M. Brown – LF D. Lopez – RF Paredes – 3B Whaley – CF Hardy – 2B Burgos – P Mosher

Kelly Fairchild didn’t see daylight beyond the fourth inning as the Indians stomped him for seven runs, crowned by a 3-run homer off David Lopez’ bat. Neither did the Coons’ winning streak. Mosher, the useless piece of junk, puzzled them most horribly. After leaving the bags loaded in the first inning, the Critters never got close to threatening against him, as he scattered five hits through 7.1 innings. It wasn’t until the Indians foolishly replaced him with Cesar Salcido that the Coons got on the board, but it was way too little, way too late, even with a ringing 3-run homer by Ingall in the ninth. 9-4 Indians. Ingall 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Mata 2-3, BB, RBI; Brady (PH) 1-1;

While we’re mopey here, it was the odd runs. We gotta score an odd number of runs, then we win! Gotta work something out. Best idea I have is to wait for a 1-0 lead, then shotgun every other Brownshirt approaching home plate from the third base side.

Oh yeah, last place again.

Game 3
POR: SS Guerin – RF Brady – 2B Ingall – 1B Gonzalez – LF Parker – C Mata – 3B Crowe – CF Newton – P Saito
IND: LF G. Flores – 2B Burgos – C Cicalina – 1B D. Lopez – SS Matthews – 3B Whaley – CF J. Valdez – RF Alston – P Alba

In both the second and third innings, the Coons scored runs on groundouts just because Alberto Burgos couldn’t pivot quickly enough to first base to end the inning with a double play. Two early runs, but the bad news were that Saito was easily hittable on this day. Adrian Matthews took him deep to tie the score in the bottom 2nd, and Lopez didn’t miss the fence by much with Burgos on first in the bottom 4th. In a controversial move we did not hit for Saito with runners on the corners and two out in the top 6th. He grounded out and the score remained 2-1. In the bottom 6th, Alba, Flores, and Burgos all hit huge fly balls off Saito – and our outfielders caught them all, Brady, Parker, and Newton in order! His luck finally ran out in the bottom 7th, when the first pitch was taken behind the centerfield wall by Cicalina. The Raccoons just couldn’t get their bats up again. After Collins and Nordahl almost were beaten in the bottom 8th, Donis was put into a 2-2 game in the bottom 9th, but faced the strong right-handers right away. Everybody saw it not work out, so did I, but I still hoped he could get into extra innings. Nope. Lopez singled with one out, Matthews singled, and then Whaley sent Donis to the mines. 5-2 Indians. Parker 2-4, 2B, RBI; Mata 2-4, 2B; J. Martinez 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

How many years has it been that the Indians absolutely refuse to field Matt Brown against Kisho Saito? I can’t count them. Not that it helped him any in this game.

In other news

August 17 – NAS C Jose Rodriguez (.260, 4 HR, 27 RBI) has suffered a ruptured medial collateral ligament and will miss the rest of the season. Even a return for Opening Day is questionable.
August 18 – RIC RF/LF Raúl Vázquez (.283, 16 HR, 79 RBI) might miss up to a month with a hamstring strain.
August 21 – The flashy rookie season of 21-year old SFB OF Paco Javier (.228, 14 HR, 60 RBI) comes to an abrupt end as the hotshot as blown out his knee. A torn posterior cruciate ligament will mean a lengthy rehab process and at best a return for Opening Day.

Complaints and stuff

How about that Mata kid hitting .400?? I certainly didn’t see that coming… I’m not batting him higher because a slump is inevitable.

Yeah, so we sniffed fifth place for a day and now we’re in reverse again? Looks like it from the last two games. Neil Reece’s bat is lacking in that #3 hole. To be honest, there is nobody that can be plucked in there. Ingall is a singles hitter (INGALL SINGLE!!!) and Gonzalez isn’t driving anybody home already. Reece in #3 is the same as Daniel Hall was in #3 – pain for the opponents, all day long.

Gosh, I miss Daniel Hall …! (weeps)