[Westheim]

Raccoons (37-26) @ Stars (33-28) – June 14-16, 2004

While the Raccoons were on the way down, the Stars were on the way up, being 9-2 in June. Combined with their most runs scored in the Federal League, the Raccoons were probably in for another pelting, having lost their last four games. But hey, we’re gonna have Brownie! All we ever need is Brownie!

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (8-2, 2.96 ERA) vs. Juan Santana (2-3, 4.89 ERA)
Randy Farley (5-5, 4.30 ERA) vs. Elwood Spurrell (4-7, 5.74 ERA)
Ralph Ford (4-4, 3.89 ERA) vs. Veit Koell (4-6, 3.10 ERA)

That’s three right-handed pitchers. Whether that is a good or a bad thing with Torrez out (and not diagnosed) will have to be found out. All we know is that Martin and Brady aren’t hitting either…

Game 1
POR: RF Brady – 3B Sharp – LF Reece – 1B Martin – C Ledesma – CF Beairsto – 2B Nomura – SS Sheehan – P Brown
DAL: SS K. Sato – 2B H. Garcia – RF T. Austin – 1B R. Perez – 3B Cavalleri – C P. Fernandez – LF M. Smith – CF Cowan – P Santana

Turns out, we didn’t even had Brownie. All we ever needed, was just not there. While he struck out four in a row between the first two innings, and got three runs of support in the top 2nd when Brady tripled in a pair and scored on Sharp’s single, Brown was whacked in the bottom 3rd, in which the Stars took all the pretty runs right back and tied the score at three. He didn’t walk batters, but he was whacked. The Stars would continue to hit him quite good, as it seemed they adopted a strategy of rip-and-hope-for-contact. They also struck out nine times in seven innings, after which Brown was in the lead by the slimmest of margins, 4-3, with the run driven in by Beairsto in the fifth. We did get some major breathing space however in the eighth. Nomura singled off ex-Coon Gabby De La Rosa, and Miguel Ramirez hit for Brown, and assaulted Gabby with a cannon shot out of right center. Bottom 8th, Martinez and Williams each allowed a single that put runners on the corners, which Marcos Bruno was tasked with removing early to get a 4-out save. Now, before the bottom 8th we had removed Martin, moving Sharp to first and Ramirez stayed in at third. Martin’s spot was due up first in the ninth, however. When Bruno came in, another double switch removed Reece and put Beairsto in left. That probably saved the game, because Beairsto made a strong play on a howling line drive by Ramiro Gonzalez, who had much earlier replaced Vitantonio Cavalleri, who had blamed striking out against Brown on the umpire, and had done so for everyone to hear. Bruno’s ninth was uneventful and saved Brown’s ninth. 6-3 Raccoons. Sharp 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Reece 2-5; Ramirez (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Brown 7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, W (9-2) and 1-3; Bruno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (12);

After hardly anything went right the last four games, this time at least the most important things went right.

Game 2
POR: RF Brady – 3B Sharp – LF Reece – 1B Martin – C Ledesma – CF Beairsto – 2B Nomura – SS Sheehan – P Farley
DAL: SS K. Sato – 2B H. Garcia – C R. Garza – LF R. Perez – 1B Barnes – RF A. Solís – 3B Cavalleri – CF Cowan – P Spurrell

Vitantonio Cavalleri had been ejected the previous day, but was not denied this time, hitting a solo home run off Farley in his first plate appearance. Beairsto matched his output in the fifth, and that was all the scoring through five, although the Stars left plenty of men on against Mr. Singles. Mr. Singles then surrendered a double to Angel Solís, the one-time Elk, and walked Cavalleri to start the bottom 6th, and that quickly spiraled out of control. Moreno replaced Farley, but the Stars put up a 4-spot and that was enough to sink the team with Spurrell not being magnificient, but good enough to master what was left of our lineup, and he ended up whiffing nine. 6-1 Stars. Martin 2-4;

We had nothing the entire day, and this is something that could be a more frequent occurrence down the road. Never mind all the injuries, Al Martin hasn’t hit a homer in weeks, no outfielder is producing, no catcher is producing. Danny Sharp is trotting along, and that is about it.

Oh yeah, injuries. Eddie Torrez was finally diagnosed with a knee sprain. He will miss about ten more days, and that is enough to put him on the DL. One or two days extra aren’t gonna kill us twice over. We called up 22-year old Darwin Tyler, our 1999 first round pick, who was slugging .505 in AAA. The main issue is who will play center. Neither Beairsto nor Tyler have a lot of range, Reece doesn’t have any anymore, so Matt King might play regularly. But when Tyler is up, we want to play him…

Ah, decisions.

Game 3
POR: RF Brady – 3B Sharp – C Ledesma – 1B Martin – CF Beairsto – 2B Nomura – LF Tyler – SS Sheehan – P Ford
DAL: SS K. Sato – 2B H. Garcia – RF T. Austin – 1B R. Perez – 3B Cavalleri – C P. Fernandez – LF M. Smith – CF Cowan – P Koell

The Coons stormed out of the gate with a Brady single, Sharp hitting one up the left field line, Ledesma hitting one up the right field line – and then stopped at 2-0. For that inning at least. Sheehan got on in the second, stole second base, and then scored on a Brady single and subsequent Austin error. Sharp doubled in Brady, 4-0. In the top 3rd, Tim Austin robbed Martin of a homer, but couldn’t rob Beairsto of a single, and quickly the bases were loaded for Sheehan, who managed a sac fly, 5-0, and now it was Ford’s to blow, something that he instantly set out to do. Smith and Cowan singled to get the bottom 3rd started, Ford unraveled, walked Koell and Sato on eight pitches, and surrendered four runs in a gruesome, soul-killing inning. Another one of those was coming up right away. While Koell was removed after three, Ford was yanked in the fifth after short-time Coon Pablo Fernandez rocketed a go-ahead 3-run homer off him. The Raccoons weren’t even close to mounting a comeback rally, lacking any bite. 8-5 Stars. Brady 4-5, 2B, RBI; Sharp 2-5, 2 2B, RBI; Sheehan 1-2, BB, RBI;

Raccoons (38-28) vs. Titans (50-16) – June 18-20, 2004

We’re gonna get killed. That’s the shorthand version of the Titans, who led the league in every conceivable, and most inconceivable categories, except home runs (but they still tied the Coons for fifth in that category). No way the Raccoons will not get disemboweled.

Projected matchups:
Edgar Amador (5-4, 3.96 ERA) vs. Joe Mann (9-0, 2.67 ERA)
Felipe Garcia (4-6, 5.47 ERA) vs. Francisco Garza (7-2, 4.29 ERA)
Nick Brown (9-2, 3.02 ERA) vs. Bryce Hildred (10-3, 3.39 ERA)

It’s right-hander week! All right-handers 30% off! Get your own!

Game 1
BOS: LF Elizondo – 3B V. Flores – RF G. Munoz – C L. Lopez – 2B M. Austin – RF Greenman – 1B Brewer – SS D. Silva – P Mann
POR: RF Brady – 3B Sharp – LF Reece – 1B Martin – CF Beairsto – C Thomas – 2B Nomura – SS Sheehan – P Amador

The Titans wasted no time. Amador lasted not even three innings, surrendering eight hits and four runs, with a man left on base. The heavily left-handed Titans lineup ripped him to pieces, hitting him hard in every at-bat. The Titans still took a blow when Luis Lopez got hurt on the bases. The Raccoons scored an unearned run in the first inning, but didn’t get an actual hit until the third. In the fourth, a few chips fell in and they loaded the bases once Sheehan drew a walk in a full count with two out, but Ramirez hitting for Moreno flew out to right. Nominally, the Raccoons stayed close, but what is a 4-1 deficit, 5-1 after the fifth, against an undefeated pitcher with an offense that can at any time explode for another six runs in his support, while your own lineup has been decimated by plague? Nevertheless, Yoshi Nomura hit his first major league home run in the bottom 6th, and it counted for two, getting us back to 5-3, and that wasn’t all quite yet. Al Martin hit his first jack in a long time to cut the gap to one run in the eighth, with Beairsto and Thomas coming up with 1-out singles after that, and Mann got knocked out on the latter. Ramiro Román relieved him, and the first thing he did was to balk the runners into scoring position. Then Nomura flew out to shallow left. Ledesma hit for Sheehan, but the Titans countered with lefty Roger Hahn, Ledesma grounded out, we fell short and played the ninth with Vito Mendez at short, and thankfully no ball was hit there. Bottom 9th, still one run to make up against the impenetrable John Bennett. Matt King led off with a pinch-hit double, and Clyde Brady singled up the middle, King scoring after running for his life. The game was tied – and once Daniel Sharp fired another grounder past the resented Daniel Silva, Brady stood at third base with no outs. Neil Reece had been robbed of an RBI double in the fourth, and was oh-for-a-million, but the bench had been used up, and surely he would manage a sac fly? No. No he didn’t. Martin was not pitched to, and the Raccoons left the bases loaded – extra innings. Dan Nordahl pitched three innings, and got sliced upon from top to bottom in the 12th. A man on with two out, we walked Gonzalo Munoz intentionally to face the right-handed Fernando Diegúez, who singled to score the Titans’ sixth run, and then Mark Austin emptied them with a 3-run homer. No Raccoon ever reached base in extra innings. 9-5 Titans. Nomura 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; King (PH) 1-2, 2B; Corkum 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

They had …

They had the winning run on third base. With. No. Outs.

But at least we had the bullpen pitch another 9.1 innings.

(gasps)

A roster move was necessary. The pitching sucked too bad, and we needed another arm. Nobody had any particular use for an 0-fer Vito Mendez, so he got removed and we added … (drum roll) … Angel Casas, with his 6 K/BB and apart from that one spill in May, where he surrendered four runs in a game, untarnished record.

Game 2
BOS: LF Elizondo – 1B Matsumoto – RF G. Munoz – C F. Diéguez – 2B M. Austin – CF Garrison – 3B V. Flores – SS D. Silva – P F. Garza
POR: RF Brady – 3B Sharp – CF Beairsto – 1B Martin – C Ledesma – 2B Nomura – LF Tyler – SS Sheehan – P F. Garcia

Titans scored in the first inning, only one run, but … well. Garcia knew that he had to give us at least five innings or his bacon was in jeopardy. Said bacon was saved from ending up on my sandwich twice in the early innings by Nomura starting a double play, and the Raccoons even tied the game in unearned fashion when Munoz made another critical error, this time unleashing a throw to third, where Beairsto was headed after Martin’s 2-out single, that was thoroughly wild and got Beairsto all the way to home plate, 1-1. Top 4th, Garcia worked around a 1-out triple by Austin by getting a poor grounder from Rudy Garrison, then had Vic Flores 0-2 and knocked one right into him, but recovered by striking out Silva. The Coons then took the lead on scratch singles by Nomura and Sheehan, a balk by Garza, and Garcia grounding one right through Flores, but also left their third run on third base with one out. It didn’t last long, though. Garcia’s first walk issued of the entire game was a leadoff four-baller to Munoz in the sixth. Diéguez promptly went deep, 3-2 Titans. Garcia walked Elizondo to start the seventh, and Matsumoto reached on a perfect bunt, which got Garcia removed. Williams came in, got two outs and then a grounder from Austin right to Nomura – and now the young Japanese through it away, handing the Titans an extra run. Angel Casas debuted in the eighth, pitching a scoreless inning. Bottom 8th, Martin and Nomura hit singles. Reece hit for Tyler against Hahn, struck out, but Sheehan singled past Flores and Martin scored, with Nomura being safe at third as the tying run. King, hitting for Casas, popped out. With Bennett exhausted from all the saving, the Coons were sat down 1-2-3 in the ninth by the unknown Ray Conner. 4-3 Titans. Martin 2-4; Nomura 2-4; Sheehan 3-4, 2B, RBI;

I would prefer Garcia to strike out Garrison in the fourth, then take Silva’s head off with a pitch. But who’s asking me for my opinion?

Maud, Vince, Slappy, Chad, and Honeypaws just responded “Nobody” in unison.

Darwin Tyler chipped a single in this game for this first major league hit! And: Angel Casas’ first major league strikeout victim? Daniel Silva. Justice has been served.

Game 3
BOS: SS D. Silva – 1B Matsumoto – RF Greenman – 2B M. Austin – CF Garrison – 3B V. Flores – LF Bryant – C F. Diéguez – P Hildred
POR: 3B Sharp – 2B Nomura – RF Brady – 1B Martin – CF King – C Ledesma – LF Tyler – SS Sheehan – P Brown

Leadoff walk for Brown to Silva in the first, merely caused the fire alarm to go off in the dugout. Matsumoto hit into a double play and nothing happened in the top 1st, but we needed Brown to be top notch to snatch a win here. He didn’t get ahead of any batter in the first two innings, and with the way the Coons started out flailing against Hildred, we braced for the worst. Brown struck out two, including Silva, in the third, but the Titans then got lucky in the fourth, chopping four singles, at least two of which could be classified as cheap, and once Brown walked in a run to Diéguez were up 2-0, with Hildred still perfect. Clyde Brady took care of “perfect” with a single in the fourth, but they couldn’t do much with Hildred until King led off the fifth with a double to left. Ledesma walked, and then Darwin Tyler sent a grounder just past the diving Silva to avoid a double play, but rather score King for his first RBI in the Bigs. To anybody’s surprise, Hildred folded here, and served one down Broadway that even Brad Sheehan couldn’t miss and tattered it for a 3-run homer! 4-2, no outs, Brown singled, Sharp singled, but then Hildred seemed to remember how to pitch and sat down the next three Critters. Brady also left Sharp and Nomura on the corners in the seventh, and we hoped that this wouldn’t come back to bite as Brown – despite ill control and little bite – kept on trucking into the eighth, but after getting Matsumoto and Greenman then put the left-handers in Austin and Garrison on base with singles. Marcos Bruno was called to the rescue and in the first act got a grounder to Nomura from Flores for the third out. Two were left on in the bottom 8th when Tyler and Sheehan couldn’t solve Nick Lee in his second inning, but we would not get kicked in the furry balls for once, as Bruno sat the Titans down in order in the ninth. 4-2 Brownshirts! Sharp 2-4, 2B; Ledesma 1-2, 2 BB; Sheehan 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Brown 7.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (10-2) and 1-3; Bruno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (13);

In other news

June 15 – BOS INF/LF Mark Austin (.352, 8 HR, 39 RBI) knocks two singles in a 7-3 win over the Miners, bringing a hitting streak to 20 games.
June 16 – Washington’s SP Chris York (4-10, 4.60 ERA) unleashes his anger on the Crusaders, and strikes out a major-league record 18 batters in a 10-3 Capitals win.
June 16 – In the same game, WAS OF John Alexander (.356, 10 HR, 45 RBI) flips a single to extend a hitting streak to 20 games.
June 16 – Atlanta’s James Miller (.315, 4 HR, 35 RBI) extends his own hitting streak to 25 games with three singles in the Knights’ 4-2 win over the Pacifics.
June 16 – The Titans romp 10-0 over the Miners, with SP Jorge Chapa (8-3, 1.86 ERA) pitching a 3-hit shutout.
June 17 – TIJ INF Bruce Boyle (.263, 6 HR, 27 RBI) might miss a month with a sprained ankle sustained in an on-base collision.
June 17 – The hitting streaks of BOS INF/LF Mark Austin (.357, 8 HR, 41 RBI) and ATL 2B James Miller (.310, 4 HR, 35 RBI) end at 21 and 25 games respectively.
June 19 – WAS John Alexander (.354, 12 HR, 48 RBI) has his hitting streak end at 22 games at the hands of the Rebels.

Complaints and stuff

Since the Canadiens invaded and infested town, the Raccoons are 0-9 in games not started by Nick Brown. We are 3-0 with Nick Brown on the mound in this time frame.

May I confess right now that I am engulfed in Flames of Love for Nick?

Yeah, 15 over .500 was nice. Now let’s see how quickly we can end up 15 under. One factor in this will be our injuries. The ETA are one week for Torrez, two for Concie, and three for Marv. Let’s see who can bust up a knuckle, knee, or neck ‘til then.

Originally Posted by Questdog

All those draftees might suck, but they sure do have good names.....

At some point I decided to forego marginal talent, and draft guys with nickname potential.