[Westheim]

Raccoons (7-12) vs. Knights (7-11) – April 23-25, 2001

Marvin Ingall was batting .338/.402/.446 for the Knights, so hurray on the Palacios trade. Apart from that the Knights were thoroughly below average in every imaginable category, but they were hitting home runs, so here come six more dingers over three games.

Projected matchups:
Randy Farley (0-2, 6.46 ERA) vs. Greg Grams (2-2, 3.33 ERA)
Carl Bean (1-2, 6.56 ERA) vs. Ed Wallace (0-1, 6.23 ERA)
Ralph Ford (2-1, 2.08 ERA) vs. Larry Cutts (2-1, 3.54 ERA)

Except for a 37-year old Manuel Movonda (0-3, 6.45 ERA) the Knights had a very young rotation, with Grams at 28 already the second-most senior hurler in there. Unfortunately for them, it was not a very good rotation… But here come the Coons.

Game 1
ATL: RF A. Rodriguez – C Fabián – LF Ware – CF G. Rios – 1B Tinker – 2B J. Miller – SS Luján – 3B Pena – P Grams
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – RF Brady – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – C Mata – 2B Palacios – P Farley

Something was wrong with Farley, so much we could testify to by now. In the first inning, he walked three in addition to two hits, and surrendered two runs. While a Guerin triple and a Brady home run did get the Raccoons back even in the bottom of the first, Farley continued to pitch like **** and was bowled over for good in a 3-run fourth. Things did not get better by any stretch of the imagination in the fifth, when Martinez and Diaz issued three 4-pitch walks combined, and managed to get another two runs over for the Knights. The Raccoons were never particularly close to tying the score again, except in the bottom 8th, when Parker came out to hit with two on and two out. Well, Parker was 0-for as a pinch-hitter, and he remained 0-for. For good measure, the Knights punched Elliott Meeks in the ninth for some insurance runs, three in total, including that long awaited hostile home run, hit by Pedro Fabián. Screw the cosmetic two runs the Raccoons scored (one donated by Brock Tyler with a wild pitch) in the bottom ninth. 10-6 Knights. Guerin 2-5, 3B, 2B; Cavazos 3-5, 2B, RBI; Brady 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; Martin 2-5, 2B, RBI; Wade 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

I was in the mood – after eight straight losses – to see some heads roll.

As such, we beheaded pitching coach Scotty Flynn. With the Raccoons on pace to allow a slick 1,000 runs this year, we’d start with the booger telling the other boogers how to throw the ball.

We also demoted Manny Gabriel (batting a slick .077) and gave a callup to George Morris, who had batted a slightly slicker .111 for the 1999 Raccoons.

Game 2
ATL: RF A. Rodriguez – SS Ingall – LF Ware – CF G. Rios – 1B Tinker – 2B J. Miller – C Alvarez – 3B Pena – P E. Wallace
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – RF Brady – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – C Thomas – 2B Palacios – P Bean

Ed Wallace left the game in the second inning with some form of injury, when he was just about to load the bags. An infield single by Sharp got that done, and with no outs in a scoreless game. Colby Kirk struck out Mark Thomas, but Palacios managed a single. Carl Bean hit a sac fly, 2-0, and then Kirk couldn’t get Guerin’s grounder played properly and the bases were loaded again, just in time for a scorching hot Ramiro Cavazos, batting .371, to hit a bases-clearing double to deep right. With a 5-0 lead there would be no excuses for Carl Bean if he didn’t win this game. Bean struck out to end the bottom 3rd with the bases loaded, but that wasn’t as bad as immediately going to 3-ball counts to the next three batters he faced in the top 4th. Two reached, but Guerin started a double play to keep up the zero in the Knights’ R column. Pretty much the same things happened two frames later. Bean whiffed and left three men on, and then walked two right away. Guerin again bailed him out. Although the Raccoons drew walks like crazy (loading the bags twice…), they couldn’t get a hit after Cavazos’ 3-run double clean through to the eighth, when Guerin hit a 2-out single that didn’t really turned into anything big. Bean held the Knights dry through the eight, came back out for the ninth with the shortest of leashes, and had to removed with two out because the Knights hit two bloops that fell in front of Cavazos. Juan Diaz struck out Vern Kinnear to end the game. 5-0 Raccoons. Cavazos 1-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Brady 0-1, 3 BB; Bean 8.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K, W (2-2);

James Miller made the final out that Bean registered, fouling back a 2-2 pitch that Thomas hauled in. We never saw a happier player: Miller had been 0-7 with 7 K in this series up to that point.

It also saddens my heart that the terminal K that Kinnear swung for was only his ninth AB on the year. The Knights aren’t playing him at all. :-(

We had eight walks to our five hits.

Also of note, the Titans claimed MR Orlando Blanco. May they try to lower his 15.88 ERA…

Game 3
ATL: CF L. Alonso – SS Ingall – 1B Tinker – RF W. Taylor – 2B J. Miller – C Fabián – LF Kinnear – 3B Pena – P Cutts
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – RF Brady – 3B Sharp – 1B Martin – 2B Heart – C Mata – P Ford

The Raccoons took a 2-0 lead in the bottom 1st only for Ford to fail completely in the top 2nd, as he walked Miller, and then was taken deep in succession by Fabián and Kinnear. The Knights scored a fourth run, too, and our so far best pitcher was quickly torn wide open. Ford gave up five runs in total in five innings, which put him on a 2-run hook due to Clyde Brady driving home his team-leading (and by far) 15th RBI in the bottom 5th with a 2-out single. James Miller was slowly getting his revenge in this series finale, driving in a run off Meeks in the seventh, but the Coons got the tying run up after an RBI single by Cavazos in the bottom 7th. Reece and Brady with one out, you were hardly going to get a better chance. Reece’s soft single to right put the tying runs on base and knocked out Larry Cutts. Jose Perez, a right-hander, faced Brady, who grounded out, and Sharp struck out to end the inning. Marcos Bruno loaded the bags in the top 9th, but wasn’t scored on when Kinnear grounded out to Guerin. Bottom 9th, Thomas led off with a walk drawn from – whom? – Manuel Reyes. Unfortunately, he didn’t give up anything else, striking out Guerin, grounding out Palacios, and admittedly getting help from Alonso in retiring Neil Reece on fly to deep center. 6-4 Knights. Guerin 2-5, 3B; Cavazos 2-5, RBI; Reece 2-5; Brady 2-4, RBI;

Concie has a 10-game hitting streak going on.

We had Thursday off, and on this Thursday – after losing Orlando Blanco on waivers earlier – we claimed right-hander Pancho Gutierrez off waivers by the Crusaders. Gutierrez was a 34-year old journeyman who had pitched to a 6.40 ERA in 2000 with the Crusaders, but was actually good this year with a 1.23 ERA in 7.1 innings, walking none and striking out eight. Let’s watch him burn together.

Raccoons (8-14) vs. Crusaders (6-15) – April 27-29, 2001

Since the 3-game sweep over the Crusaders at the start of the year, we had gone 5-14, and they 6-12, so we were probably both horrible teams. They ranked last in runs scored, with 55 anemic crossing over home plate in 21 games, and their pitching was about average, but average pitching was never going to soften the fall you take from a team batting .222 as a whole.

Projected matchups:
Cipriano Miranda (0-3, 4.66 ERA) vs. Greg Connor (0-2, 6.86 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (0-2, 11.57 ERA) vs. Mike Nelson (0-2, 5.23 ERA)
Randy Farley (0-3, 7.48 ERA) vs. Anibal Sandoval (2-2, 3.46 ERA)

But notice how the Raccoons send in three guys with an combined 0-8 record… Oh, this is going to go so well.

Game 1
NYC: LF M. Ortíz – 2B Brantley – RF A. Johnson – 1B M. Berry – CF Latham – C Olson – 3B Rigg – SS J. Martinez – P Connor
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – RF Brady – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – 2B Palacios – C Mata – P Miranda

Miranda walked Martin Ortíz at the start of the game, and immediately I sensed impending doom. True to my feelings, Ortíz stole second unopposed and scored on a Brantley single. No outs, 1-0 Crusaders, and yes, that’s the team that never scores any runs. By contrast, Greg Connor needed five pitches for the bottom 1st. Meanwhile, production did kick in for the Coons, and from the unlikeliest spots, as they had runners on the corners with two down in the bottom 2nd, and Mata batting. Not only did Mata hit an RBI single, but so did Miranda, taking a 2-1 lead. We loaded them up, but Cavazos struck out. And after that arousing experience, Martin Ortíz led off the top 3rd with a blast – bam! – tied. The Crusaders would later in the sixth utilize a 4-pitch walk to Brian Latham to generate another run, taking a 3-2 lead, while the Raccoons were toothless opposing Connor. Pancho Gutierrez made his first appearance as a Raccoon in the ninth, against his former team, and sure as hell gave up his first walk of the season. The Crusaders didn’t tack on, though, and the Raccoons came into the ninth behind by a run and not having gotten the ball out of the infield in three innings. Neither did they in the bottom 9th. Leonardo Sosa hit Sharp, who was removed on Palacios’ grounder. Palacios stole second, but never progressed any further. 3-2 Crusaders. Guerin 2-4;

-.-

Game 2
NYC: LF M. Ortíz – 2B Brantley – CF Gonzales – 3B Rush – C Olson – SS J. Martinez – RF Latham – 1B T. Mullins – P Nelson
POR: SS Guerin – CF Cavazos – 1B Martin – RF Brady – 3B Sharp – 2B Palacios – LF Parker – C Mata – P M. Lopez

Lopez got obliterated instantly, walking Brantley and then surrendering four singles for three runs in the first inning. While the Raccoons would tie that score in the bottom 2nd on a Palacios 2-piece and a sac fly by Lopez himself, that didn’t make Lopez a better pitcher. He continued to be battered relentlessly, but the defense made some very good plays behind him, with Sharp, Cavazos, and Parker all standing out and taking away a double. The score remained tied into the bottom 6th, when Parker was on first with two down and Lopez’ turn was up. Well, maybe our defense would hold up another inning. Lopez doubled through Rush, and we had runners in scoring position, which was a situation the team had failed to cash in on in the bottom 3rd with Palacios and Parker then failing. This time, Guerin singled up the middle for the go-ahead run and a 12-game hitting streak, while Mike Nelson scored Lopez on a wild pitch, and then Cavazos doubled home Guerin. A Brantley single with one out in the seventh got Lopez removed instantly, and Marcos Bruno ended the inning by retiring Gonzales and Rush. Clyde Brady was the center of attention in the bottom of the inning. After a leadoff walk, he stole second base (2 SB for him on the season – matching his 2000 loot), and was on third after a Sharp single, when Palacios flew out to center. Brady tagged on his own to test Jorge Gonzales’ arm. The ball arrived a good second ahead of Brady and Olson blocked the plate, but Brady was already sliding at high speed, raised his left leg and took Olson out. Olson lost the ball and Brady was ruled safe, much to the fury of the Crusaders, with Bob Rush and Ted Mullins yelling at Brady as he hurried into the dugout. Olson was fine after shaking off that kick to the chest, and the Coons were up 7-3, but not for much longer. Gutierrez came in for the eighth, failed and allowed three singles. Dan Nordahl failed to contain the fire and a 3-run homer by pinch-hitter Avery Johnson tied the score at seven. Bloody…….. Nordahl was sent to bat to pitch the ninth, but plans changed when he walked and Cavazos hit a 2-run homer, giving the Raccoons new life. One Dan replaced the other as Daniel Miller entered the fray, served up a leadoff homer to Jorge Gonzales, and then walked Mark Berry. Speechlessness. Scott Wade was jumping up and down in the pen, trying to get the manager’s attention. Olson struck out against Miller, but Martinez singled. Enter Scott Wade, because does it really matter who gets blown up? Wade got Latham on a grounder, but Berry advanced to third with two out. This brought up Ted Mullins, a lefty, batting .071 on the year. Wade fell behind, 1-0, 2-1 … then threw a wild ball three, and Berry came home. Mullins struck out then.

Feel the darkness. Feel the black. The cold. The agony. No hope. Never.

Mike Collins began to pitch for the Crusaders, which wasn’t that much of a guaranteed disaster when he did it against a team of imbeciles, as it turned out, and the Coons stranded a pair in the ninth. In the tenth, Albert Martin led off with a double. Brady grounded out, but moved Martin to third with one out. Any hard contact from Daniel Sharp would do, but they weren’t letting him and put him on. Max Heart batted for Wade, struck out, and that brought up Reece, who had been inserted into the #7 hole earlier and was in a terrible slump. He grounded out to Mullins. In the top 11th, Meeks, that piece of poo, walked a pair, then gave an RBI single to Brian Latham. The Coons had two on with two out for Martin against closer Alex Byrd in the bottom of the inning. The lead runner was Guerin, a single would do. He grounded out. 10-9 Crusaders. Guerin 2-6, BB, RBI; Cavazos 3-7, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Martin 2-6, 2 2B; Sharp 3-5, 2B, RBI; Parker 2-4; Morris 1-1, BB;

15 men left on base.

I lay motionless on the floor for a good six hours after the second lead was blown up in the ninth. The cleaning ladies came in, cleaned around me, and went out again. They weren’t disturbed one bit. It was a sight they were used to see.

Game 3
NYC: 3B Rigg – 2B Brantley – RF A. Johnson – 1B M. Berry – CF Latham – LF Gonzales – C Preston – SS J. Martinez – P Sandoval
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – RF Brady – CF Reece – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – 2B Palacios – C Thomas – P Farley

The Raccoons had four singles in the first two innings, failed to score, and then the Crusaders led off the top 3rd with four straight singles, the first by Sandoval, and scored two runs. They would have two more 2-out singles in the fourth inning, sinking a Randy Farley who was entirely unable to strike out anybody, and mostly to throw strikes in the first place. The Crusaders put five runs on him in five innings, hitting 11 singles to all possible and impossible fields, and Farley would eventually be found in the clubhouse, lying on a bench and staring at the floor. The bullpen was wobbly but did not concede a run through regulation with Bruno, Nordahl, and Wade patching together four innings. Sandoval went all the way into the ninth holding on a 5-1 lead, but with one out, Thomas hit a single that glanced off Brantley’s glove, and then Flores hit a bloop single hitting for Wade. The Crusaders reacted and brought Leonardo Sosa in what was now a save opportunity. Three pitches later, Guerin hit into a double play. 5-1 Crusaders. Cavazos 2-3, BB, 2B; Sharp 2-4, 2B; Thomas 2-4; Morris (PH) 1-1, 2B; Flores (PH) 1-1; Bruno 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

In other news

April 24 – SAC 3B/2B Sonny Reece (.308, 0 HR, 9 RBI) suffered a mild shoulder strain and will miss one week.
April 29 – The Crusaders find out that CL Dane Sanders (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 SV) is out for the year with a fractured knee.

Complaints and stuff

We ACTUALLY have good news this week! Ramiro Cavazos was named Player of the Week, batting .419 (13-31) with 1 HR and 9 RBI!

And now, the newest edition of The Rueful Reports:

Chris Parker as pinch-hitter: 0-15.

Lopez is due $650k next year and about $525k are left of this year’s salary. That’s going to be about $25,000 for every loss he’s going to incur during the remainder of that deal, while holding a 14.29 ERA.

And Farley – who was so good the last three years – is utter dog **** this season. He has three options and I think it’s time to utilize one. We might be pressed hard to find a replacement at AAA, though:
RHP Felipe Garcia, 1-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
LHP Frank McGeraghty, 1-1, 4.94 ERA, 1.73 WHIP
RHP Dwight Williams, 1-2, 8.31 ERA, 1.94 WHIP
RHP Cesar Miranda, 3-1, 3.09 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
RHP Julio Romero, 1-1, 6.35 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, and of course:
RHP Bob Joly, 1-1, 4.15 ERA, 1.62 WHIP in relief

Pick your poison, huh?

You know. I … I really like the Raccoons. Not this particular incarnation of them, but the franchise … the franchise history as a whole. It has been good fun, mostly, sometimes, ehm … more often than our current franchise .499 win clip. But right now, picking between a week of Raccoons or spending the evening lying face down and naked in the about 5” of snow outside … tough choice.