[Westheim]

Raccoons (56-56) vs. Loggers (53-59) – August 9-11, 2004

The Loggers were as average as you could be in scoring and allowing runs, with a rotation that clearly didn’t hold up as well as it had done a few years ago. The bullpen was basically spotless however, so you had to get them early.

Projected matchups:
Randy Farley (5-11, 4.86 ERA) vs. Ramiro Gonzalez (11-9, 3.42 ERA)
Ralph Ford (6-12, 4.26 ERA) vs. Martin Garcia (5-2, 2.67 ERA)
Carlos Sackett (3-2, 5.27 ERA) vs. William Lloyd (4-3, 4.91 ERA)

An oddity, we will face three left-handed pitchers in the same series, which is an issue since Chris Beairsto has heated up in AAA and I am looking for an opening to bring him back, but not when Neil Reece would probably start anyway.

Game 1
MIL: 3B M. Brown – 2B Tolwith – RF Hiwalani – SS T. Johnson – 1B A. Aguilar – CF J.J. Villa – LF C. Ramirez – C Benitez – P R. Gonzalez
POR: 1B Sharp – SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – RF M. Ramirez – LF Reece – CF King – 3B Sheehan – C Thomas – P Farley

Danny Sharp’s leadoff jack in the bottom 1st gave Farley a lead, which he went about with rather irresponsibly. After Tom Johnson drew a leadoff walk, the Loggers would score three runs on consecutive 2-out extra-base hits by Cristo Ramirez, Pedro Benitez, and, yes, of course, Ramiro Gonzalez. Farley’s value crashing, his case for a win was still not dead yet, for the Raccoons mounted a rally in the third, with Miguel Ramirez hitting a 3-run homer to flip the score back in the Coons’ favor. Ramirez also had a hand in a tally in the fifth, hitting a 2-out single, advancing on a wild pitch, and scoring on Neil Reece’s single to make it 5-3. Farley found something in the middle innings, racking up a few strikeouts, but the soon as we thought, he might go seven or even eight, he loaded the bases with a single and two 2-out walks in the top 7th. Manuel Martinez faced Bakile Hiwalani with the bases loaded and got a fly pop to Ramirez in right to end the inning. From there, Nordahl got two outs, Moreno got two outs, and that already put us into the ninth, with only two outs left to grab for Marcos Bruno, who got a soft liner from Benitez to Ingall, and Dave Graham rolled out to third. 5-3 Coons. Ramirez 3-4, HR, 3 RBI; Reece 2-4, RBI;

Farley ends his winless streak after merely two months and a few days. And we already thought it might last forever!

Ramirez has to play more often. LUCKILY, we face two more lefties. Clyde Brady should not go unemployed, though. Hummm…

Game 2
MIL: 2B B. Hernandez – CF Fletcher – LF Hiwalani – SS T. Johnson – 1B A. Aguilar – 3B Tolwith – RF Graham – C Melendez – P M. Garcia
POR: 3B Sharp – 2B Ingall – RF M. Ramirez – 1B Martin – LF Reece – SS Guerin – CF King – C Rosa – P Ford

Again a #1 hitter drove in the first run with a homer, but this time it was Bartolo Hernandez with a 1-out shot in the third inning. There would be another home run against Ford, by Ruben Melendez, 20th in homers all time in the ABL, in the fifth inning, and the Loggers added sac flies in that inning and the next as Ford lacked about everything a good pitcher needed and did not get past the sixth, which he ended with a strikeout to Garcia with two men on base. The Raccoons barely managed to encroach second base, but not third, in this game against him. The Loggers set fire to Bill Corkum in the seventh inning, adding three runs there, before they were mowed down by Dan Nordahl over two innings. And Garcia? He was awesome. The only reason he didn’t pitch a shutout was Tom Johnson throwing away the perfect double play grounder from Sheehan that would have ended the game. Instead, Freddy Rosa got an at-bat with two on and two out and singled through the old hero “Sheriff” Aguilar to break up the shutout bid. 7-2 Loggers. Sharp 4-4, 2B; Martin 2-4; King 2-3; Nordahl 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

I don’t know what is wrong with Corkum. He doesn’t get anybody out anymore. I’ll tell you something, with so many quality relief arms pushing up, we have no room for slackers.

Next bid for a losing record coming in the Wednesday game, which will be started by Carlos Sackett, which makes betting on the Loggers a pretty good financial investment.

Unless you have a duty to perform, of course.

Game 3
MIL: 2B B. Hernandez – 3B M. Brown – RF Hiwalani – LF Graham – SS T. Johnson – 1B A. Aguilar – CF C. Ramirez – C Benitez – P Lloyd
POR: SS Guerin – RF Brady – 3B M. Ramirez – 1B Martin – LF Reece – 2B Sheehan – CF King – C Rosa – P Sackett

The Coons stripped Billyboy Lloyd naked in due time, plating four runs in the first inning on lots of singles and a few walks, then added one with a Sheehan single in the second. With Sackett now having gotten five early the question was how long he would be able to hang on. We did not get a definite answer since he was pulled while still in the lead, but by then the Loggers, on a 2-run homer by Hiwalani and some other hard contact, had made up four runs and were trailing by only one, since the Raccoons had run into that fabled bullpen and didn’t see the light of day. Dave Williams started the seventh with a walk to Cristo Ramirez and was immediately removed for Angel Casas. Ramirez was thrown out stealing third base right before pinch-hitter Clint Phillip hit a triple off Casas, but Phillip ended up stranded and the Loggers kept trailing. And then a crimp did get put into that bullpen after all. Reece led off the seventh with a single, then stole second successfully, and an RBI triple by Matt King opened the score a bit. King scored driven in by Rosa, and the Coons ended up 8-4 ahead before long. Casas pitched into the ninth and looked like a sure bet to finish the game for his first save, until Martin made a critical error on Aguilar’s grounder. Ramirez singled, and Bruno was called up to collect two outs again. Pedro Benitez singled, 8-5. Jerry Fletcher singled, 8-6, and Reece completely lost that ball, 8-7. Bruno walked Hernandez, then ran a full count against Matt Brown before striking him out, which brought up Hiwalani, and Hiwalani KNEW he had a game-winner coming for him, since Bruno was all over the place. And exactly that saved the Coons, because Hiwalani hacked himself out. 8-7 Critters. Guerin 2-5; Brady 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Ramirez 2-4, RBI; Reece 2-4, RBI; Sheehan 2-5, 3 RBI; King 3-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Rosa 1-2, 2 BB, RBI;

Well, I sure hope you didn’t put your house on Sackett losing this one. Or had a duty to perform in it.

I tried to get rid of Bill Corkum to keep Angel Casas on the roster, but it just would not work. No team wants any piece of Corkum, under no circumstances. So either we release him and eat the salary, or we cry ourselves to sleep while dumping Casas to AAA for another three weeks. Or both.

Beairsto was called up. Not that he will do anything productive.

Raccoons (58-57) @ Wolves (62-52) – August 13-15, 2004

The Wolves were playing a bit above their talent level, with a just-above-average rotation dragging a just-below-average offense with them. They were 7th in runs scored, and 5th in runs allowed in the Federal League. The Raccoons have won the last two Oregon Brawls, and five of the last six going back to 1995.

Projected matchups:
Felipe Garcia (5-9, 5.28 ERA) vs. Brad Osborne (7-9, 3.93 ERA)
Nick Brown (15-5, 3.14 ERA) vs. Alfredo Rios (8-9, 4.57 ERA)
Randy Farley (6-11, 4.82 ERA) vs. Dan Moriarty (13-9, 3.87 ERA)

Two righties followed by the left-hander Moriarty, which will get Neil Reece, who is chopping singles on a good day, onto the bench for Chris Beairsto, who on a good day strikes out only three times and hits a 3-run homer.

Game 1
POR: 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Martin – 2B Ingall – LF Beairsto – C Rosa – CF Tyler – P F. Garcia
SAL: LF Guerra – 1B Catalo – SS Hutchinson – RF J. Flores – 2B Metting – CF Gentil – C Ledesma – 3B O. Rios – P Osborne

Raccoons players had a total of 8 AB against Osborne, and no Wolf had ever faced Garcia. While Osborne used the fog of war to his advantage and held the Raccoons completely off third base through seven innings of 3-hit ball, Garcia was stuffed with three markers incredibly quickly, two in first with a Jesus Flores single, and another one in the third by German wunderkind Kurt Metting, another single. The three hits that the Raccoons got off Osborne they threw away with double plays, and they didn’t fare any better against the bullpen. While Sharp singled to start the top 9th, Guerin hit into the team’s fourth double play of the night, and after merely two hours and ten minutes, this particular depressing loss was in the books. 3-0 Wolves. Sharp 2-4;

Yeah, that was swift. You know what’s worse than “just” losing this game? We made ONE out to an outfielder. Infield ground balls galore!

Game 2
POR: 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Martin – 2B M. Ramirez – LF Beairsto – CF King – C Rosa – P Brown
SAL: C McClendon – 1B Catalo – SS Hutchinson – RF J. Flores – 2B Metting – CF Gentil – LF E. Fernandez – 3B M. Hall – P A. Rios

Sharp singled, Guerin singled, Brady grounded to second base and Metting nipped two. What a way to start a game! Martin singled in Sharp then, still, but after Ramirez singled, Beairsto made a poor out. Then came Brown and threw balls, and lots of them. The Wolves didn’t score the first two innings, but then had singles from their 1-2-3 hitters to start the bottom 3rd, which already tied the game. Brown’s fourth pitch to Jesus Flores was wild, which didn’t matter since he walked him anyway. Bases loaded, no outs, and Brown had absolutely nothing. Kurt Metting – somehow – struck out before the Wolves were robbed on hard hit balls by Bryan Gentil and Edgardo Fernandez, with the former at least managing a sac fly, and Martin making a strong play on the latter’s liner. With Ramirez on first and two down in the top 4th, King grounded out to short on a 3-0 pitch. Yeah, well, that’s gonna help us! In the sixth a leadoff walk by Brady evaporated into nothing when Martin converted a 3-1 pitch into pop fly out to shallow right, and Ramirez hit into ANOTHER DOUBLE PLAY. Six innings was also all for Brown, who sucked balls with seven hits and three walks against three strikeouts, and had the leadoff man reach in five of his six frames. He left trailing 2-1 still. Nordahl put two runners on base in the bottom 7th that Moreno and Martinez had to clean up, before a throwing error by Mitch Hall put Danny Sharp on second base at the start of the top 8th. Prime chance to spare your starter a loss, boys! Guerin, Brady, Martin – all three came up to bat and were sent down by Alfredo Rios and lefty Aurelio Garcia, and none of them advanced Sharp. The Wolves loaded them up in the bottom 8th on a hapless Williams, before King caught Catalo’s vicious drive to deep center to end the inning without a score. Top 9th, Ramirez hit a leadoff single. Beairsto lined out softly to first (and Ramirez just barely didn’t get doubled up). Ingall hit for King and drilled a fly into the left center gap that was nevertheless caught by Fernandez. Darwin Tyler hit for Freddy Rosa, because why not, and closer Javier Navarro was right-handed. Tyler took the 1-1 pitch to right, high, deep, gone!! That got Bruno stirring, but it was not to the team’s best advantage. Bruno hit Flores with one out, Tom Fleming doubled, Flores scored, and the save was blown, his fifth on the year. Then he walked Gentil. Somehow the Wolves didn’t devour him outright, but when Corkum faced Pablo Ledesma in the bottom 10th, the result could ONLY EVER BE a walkoff homer. 4-3 Wolves. Sharp 2-5; Sheehan (PH) 1-1; Ramirez 2-4, BB; Tyler (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Thomas (PH) 1-1;

The eighth… don’t they know it is highly impolite to refuse to accept presents??

And the ninth. And the tenth.

**** team.

Game 3
POR: 1B Sharp – SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – RF M. Ramirez – LF Reece – CF King – 3B Sheehan – C Rosa – P Farley
SAL: LF Guerra – 1B Catalo – SS Hutchinson – RF J. Flores – 2B Metting – C Ledesma – CF F. Jones – 3B O. Rios – P Moriarty

With a pair in scoring position, but first base open and two outs, the Wolves elected to pitch to Freddy Rosa, who chipped a blooper into shallow right. King scored, Sheehan scored, and the Coons were up 2-0 in the top 2nd. Doubles by Guerra and Catalo and a Metting homer off a hapless Farley who had been lucky for Ingall to make a strong play on Moriarty’s grounder to end the bottom 2nd with three Wolves stranded already, and the Raccoons were right on course for defeat again at 3-2 Wolves. Another run scored against Farley who allowed four total on nine hits in just four innings before being hit for with Beairsto in the fifth. Beairsto singled, which got a chain reaction of the dumbest luck going when both Sharp and Ingall reached on infield singles. Ramirez was up with two out and beat Freddie Jones – or rather Jones and a circuitous approach to Ramirez’ fly defeated himself. Ramirez’ fly fell in, plated all runners and the Coons were on top 5-4. Of course, the Raccoons never win on dumb luck, let alone dumbest. Somebody on the Raccoons was due to do something incredibly dumb soon, and it turned out to be Matt King, who let Freddie Jones’ leadoff single in the bottom 6th bounce through his useless legs for the extra base that blew up the lead in Ricardo Huerta’s face. Martinez with two out in the bottom 8th then inherited a pair of runners from Moreno and faced Leborio Catalo, who knocked his fourth base hit on the day to bring home the go-ahead run. We faced lefty Aurelio Garcia in the ninth, since we had exhausted their closer the last two days. Garcia walked Rosa. Martin hit for Martinez and singled, Rosa to second. Sharp struck out. Guerin hit a grounder sharply to third that Catalo gobbled up and tagged third to force Rosa, but didn’t get anybody else. Ingall struck out. 6-5 Wolves. Sharp 2-5, 2B; King 2-4; Beairsto (PH) 1-1; Martin (PH) 1-1;

In other news

August 9 – BOS CL John Bennett (1-3, 3.54 ERA, 25 SV) is out for up to a year with a partially torn UCL and will require Tommy John surgery.
August 12 – IND LF/RF Ron Alston (.303, 25 HR, 68 RBI) connects for the 20th straight game in an 8-7 Indians win over the Canadiens, missing the cycle by the double, and driving home four.
August 13 – Interleague play and the Gold Sox kill off Ron Alston’s streak at 20 games, as Alston goes 0-4 in a 5-4 Indians loss.
August 14 – A badly fractured ankle requiring plates and screws and lots of being laid up in bed sends ATL OF Stephen Ware (.305, 5 HR, 52 RBI) to the DL for the rest of the season.

Complaints and stuff

We had a waiver trade with the Titans lined up which would have sent Mark Thomas over for Christian Greenman, whom I despise, and who is at best their #4 outfielder, but would be a fantastic option for us, especially since he is under team control for another year. However, somebody (and you have to assume Greenman) was claimed and the deal was cancelled on Thursday.

Wednesday’s just-so win was the 2,222th regular season triumph for the franchise, against then 2,268 losses.

Pablo Ledesma with Raccoons: .249/.350/.353 (201 AB)
Pablo Ledesma with Wolves: .376/.460/.741 (85 AB)

Why not just step in front of a train?