[Westheim]

Raccoons (93-62) vs. Crusaders (88-67) – September 27-30, 2010

The Crusaders’ best defense and +129 run differential, and their three consecutive championships, they were going to run out of air. The Raccoons had beaten them 8-6 in this season, and the Crusaders would start the series without slugger Stanton Martin, who could be activated from the DL any day however.

Projected matchups:
Colin Baldwin (8-7, 4.00 ERA) vs. Manuel Hernandez (11-10, 4.49 ERA)
Javier Cruz (14-9, 3.36 ERA) vs. Mike Collins (8-10, 4.56 ERA)
Nick Brown (20-5, 2.65 ERA) vs. Kelvin Yates (15-12, 3.44 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (18-7, 3.18 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (15-9, 4.03 ERA)

Hernandez is the only left-hander we get in this series. Watch out for game 3 and a direct match between our 2007 co-aces (2008 not so much). The last time the Raccoons locked down a playoff spot, in 1996, they did it against the … Crusaders! Alonso Santana picked up the win pitching two scoreless innings in relief after Jose Rivera got ruffled early. Luke Newton and Liam Wedemeyer hit home runs in the 7-6 effort.

For the Raccoons to clinch the division, they have to EITHER at least split the series with the Crusaders OR win one against the Crusaders and one against the Indians OR sweep the Indians.

Alonso who?

Game 1
NYC: CF R. Pena – C G. Ortíz – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – 2B Caraballo – 3B Bond – RF B. Speed – SS Brantley – P M. Hernandez
POR: 1B Quebell – CF White – RF Ayers – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – SS Canning – 3B R. Martinez – 2B Nomura – P Baldwin

Nobody seemingly wanted to score although the Crusaders had the leadoff man on base about every inning except the first, and the Raccoons also stranded at least one batter every frame through four, until a critical error by Adrian Quebell in the fifth, dropping Gabriel Ortíz’ soft line for an error. That loaded the bases with one out for Martin Ortíz and B.J. Manfull, both weighing 29 homers apiece and 235 RBI in total, but both were left-handers, so maybe the Raccoons could wiggle out if Baldw- nah, whom’ I kidding? Ortíz even popped out, but Manfull drove in two, and Francisco Caraballo hit an RBI double too to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead. The Coons would get a bases loaded chance in the bottom of the sixth after a Canning single, Martinez walking, and Nomura getting plainly plunked by Manuel Hernandez. Baldwin was hit for with Alston, who had managed ONE extra base hit since missing some time with the abdominal injury – ONE!! – and had batted scarcely .200 since then. COME ON ALSTON!! Alston hit the ****tiest bobbler, and it was so ****ty that the Crusaders failed to make a play, and it went into the books as an RBI single, although it died less than 40 feet from home plate. Quebell grounded out, a run scored, and White flew out to left, and the Raccoons were stuck behind, 3-2.

George Youngblood not even issued a leadoff walk to Roberto Pena in the top 7th, no he also balked him over part of the way as the Crusaders got him in to score. Hernandez was still pitching in the bottom half, but started to give up hard hits. Pruitt hit a 1-out double, and Bowen singled with a line over Ron Brantley. Canning hit a ball into the gap in right center, good for an RBI double and two men in scoring position with a 4-3 deficit. Ricardo Martinez took a BIG rip at the first pitch he saw, clearly missed, and then calmly watched as the second pitch almost hit home plate and Gabriel Ortíz was unable to control it and even kicked it further away when he scurried after it, enabling Craig Bowen to amble home with the tying run! Martinez singled on the next pitch, knocking out Hernandez as the Coons took the lead, and Nomura and Alston also hit singles to raise the tally to 6-4. Ray Kelley held the fort in the eighth, and Angel opened the ninth with a strikeout on Ron Brantley before Jose Flores popped out and Roberto Pena rolled out to Yoshi – ballgame! 6-4 Coons! Quebell 2-4, RBI; Canning 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Martinez 3-3, BB, RBI; Alston (PH) 2-2, 2 RBI;

This was not only the first career W for George Youngblood, while Angel Casas tied the single season saves mark set by DAL Derek Wolfe in 1986.

The Indians were choked by Juichi Fujita and lost 5-1 to the Elks, eliminating them from playoff contention.

Game 2
NYC: CF R. Pena – C G. Ortíz – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – 2B Caraballo – RF Talamante – 3B Burns – SS J. Ortega – P Collins
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Alston – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – 3B Canning – 2B Nomura – SS Guerin – P Cruz

In the first, Martin Ortíz hit his 30th shot off Javier Cruz, a solo job, before the Raccoons got Quebell on with a walk, plus Castro with a single, Alston hit into a double play, and nobody scored. The Raccoons got back in the bottom 2nd because they had the pitcher up with two men on base, two out, and two strikes on Cruz, and he managed to hit the game-tying single. Quebell doubled, 2-1, and Collins melted, walking Castro to load them up, and then Alston held still and took ball four as well, which was about the best he could do. Yet while Cruz was a threat at the plate, he was oddly clubbable on the mound. Caraballo homered in the fourth to get the Crusaders back to 3-2, and they scored two more runs in the fifth when he just altogether stopped retiring batters and they had the bases loaded with nobody out. What did the Raccoons have once Cruz was gone after 6 1/3 spotty innings? Well, Manuel Gutierrez and Adrian Quebell drove balls to deep center back-to-back in the bottom of the seventh, yet both were sucked up Roberto Pena before they could reach the grass. That was largely it for them. Ricardo Huerta and Scott Hood suffocated them in the last two innings, and the party had to be postponed to Wednesday at least. 4-3 Crusaders. Quebell 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Youngblood 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if Nick Brown could pitch a division-clinching shutout and whiff eleven? Probably reaching a bit far here.

Game 3
NYC: CF R. Pena – C G. Ortíz – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – 2B Caraballo – 3B Bond – RF Talamante – SS Brantley – P Yates
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Alston – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – 2B Nomura – SS Canning – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Brown

There was rain in the forecast, Roberto Pena almost homered on the first pitch of the game (but flew out to Alston), and the Raccoons had Quebell single, Castro single, and Alston found his way into another double play in the first inning. Kevin Bond’s 2-out walk in the second was followed by a Carlos Talamante home run and the Crusaders were up 2-0 early on. The Crusaders were taking big swings all along, which resulted in five strikeouts in the first three innings, but also lots of drives as Nick Brown didn’t quite get it where he wanted it, and that had gone on for a few months now. In the bottom 3rd, however, he led off the inning with a single to right, and Quebell also singled. Yates balked before throwing a pitch to Castro, putting the tying runs in scoring position for three nominally big left-handers. Castro walked onto the open base in a full count, Alston struck out, Pruitt popped out to shallow right, but Bowen drove a ball to deep left, and that was – into Martin Ortíz’ glove.

It yet got worse. Alston made an error in the fourth that almost would have led somewhere ugly, but the Crusaders balked out of an obvious RISP spot, before Yoshi led off the bottom 4th with a double off the centerfield wall, only to pull up lame and pulling on his leg at second base. He left the game, with Gutierrez going to second and Martinez entering in the #6 hole. Nick Brown hit a sac fly in the inning, then also had to witness the tarp coming onto the field as a rain shower doused the field. The tarp stayed on for almost an hour, likely limiting what Brown could do from here on. Bottom 5th, still down 2-1, we had Pruitt on base when Martinez hit a blooper to shallow center. Pena made a low grab at his knees on the run, kept running, tumbled, and fell on his face, with the ball bouncing away into centerfield. Pruitt and Martinez reached scoring position with two out for Walt Canning, who walked, but Gutierrez struck out – and we had no spare second baseman anymore, so he had to bat. Kevin Bond homered off Brown in the sixth, 3-1, and the team was really going to hang this on him in an all-out effort. Beltran didn’t retire anybody in the top of the seventh, with a run scoring and Ted Reese digging him out, but he was charged a run in the eighth instead. The Raccoons had nothing in the last four innings outside of a sorry single by Gutierrez. 5-1 Crusaders. Quebell 2-4, BB; Castro 2-4. BB; Nomura 1-2, 2B;

Not panicking. Yet. Maybe after they crush Umberger. Yoshi’s injury was not serious, a very mild groin strain. He was DTD for a day or two and we would leave him out of the fourth game in the series.

Please, Jong-hoo, I’m really beggin’ you.

Game 4
NYC: CF R. Pena – C G. Ortíz – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – 2B Caraballo – 3B Bond – RF B. Speed – SS Brantley – P P. Trevino
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – LF Pruitt – C Owens – 3B R. Martinez – SS Canning – 2B M. Gutierrez – P Umberger

Umberger had nothing, started the game with a walk to Pena, a hard single to Gabriel Ortíz and before you could even blink, there were four runs on the board, and none of them the Coons’. An ugly game had just begun, and it would see another shocker in the fourth inning. Brantley had singled and was on first with one out, when Trevino bunted to the left side, where Martinez overran the ball for another particularly stupid error. Umberger then went ahead and drilled Pena, with the Crusaders eventually held to one run with Ayers throwing out Trevino at the plate. Umberger was limited to five mucky innings, allowing five runs (four earned), with the Raccoons trailing by a world and four runs. Martinez’ second and third at-bat took place with two men on base, and he twice killed the inning with a pop and a strikeout, respectively, then couldn’t handle another easy grounder by Gabriel Ortíz in the seventh. Even the scorer was sorry for him and gave Ortíz a single, but that could hardly mask what Martinez was: a ****ty caricature of a ballplayer, wholly inept in every which way.

Josh Gibson was pitching the sixth and also started the seventh before stopping after feeling pain in his side, and Sergio Vega replaced him. In the bottom 7th the Raccoons got a leadoff double from Canning, and Gutierrez also got on base. When Quebell singled, the score was 5-2, runners were on the corners, and Ayers was batting, and he had already conquered Trevino in the first inning. Here, he struck out. The tying run was on base again in the eighth after Pruitt hit a single to start the frame, and Martinez did the best he could and stuck his fat butt into a Trevino pitch to reach first base, his only means of doing so. Mainly because it was somewhere in the unwritten rules, page 22, Ron Alston had to bat for Walt Canning in this spot, and of course struck out, and the Coons lost again. 5-2 Crusaders. Ayers 2-4, HR, RBI; Pruitt 1-2, 2 BB; Gutierrez 2-4; Gibson 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Oh my…

Gibson was listed as DTD and might be able to even pitch on the weekend. And even if not…

Raccoons (94-65) vs. Indians (89-70) – September 27-30, 2010

Good pitching, pathetic offense, blah. Listen, Arrowheads. This ain’t your business. You’re outta this. Okay, you can have two, but at least let us win once. Okay? Can we do that? No? Bastards.

Projected matchups:
Gil McDonald (7-3, 3.07 ERA) vs. Tom Weise (14-14, 3.22 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (8-7, 3.83 ERA) vs. Jimmy Sjogren (8-16, 5.45 ERA)
Javier Cruz (14-10, 3.44 ERA) vs. Román Escobedo (6-3, 3.39 ERA)

Right-left-left. Don’t these left-hander look squishy? Well, Escobedo is career-squishy for sure (4.63 ERA).

Game 1
IND: 2B Mathews – 3B Sharp – C Paraz – 1B Tsung – CF Cavazos – LF Luxton – RF Graves – SS R. Miller – P Weise
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Alston – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – 3B Canning – 2B Nomura – SS Howell – P McDonald

Joey Mathews doubled on the first pitch by Gil McDonald and would go on to score, while the Raccoons put three men on and scored nobody in the first inning. McDonald wasn’t fooling anybody, and Tomas Castro was injured on a defensive play, and the Coons were down 2-0 in the bottom of the third when Ron Alston ripped a 433-footer, 2-run home run, tying the score. One inning later, Craig Bowen went well deep off Tom Weise to put the Brownshirts up 3-2. Walt Canning was at the plate with two men on and two outs in the fifth and snipped a grounder up the middle that eluded Mathews and Miller and plated two runners. The Raccoons were up 5-2, but McDonald kept giving up hard stuff, with the outfielders, including the replacement White, shaking the legs quite a bit out there. McDonald was done after six, and the bullpen had to patch up three innings to lock down the postseason without allowing three runs. SOUNDS DOABLE. Thrasher struck out a pair in the seventh to turn away the Indians, before Rockburn came out for the eighth, retired Jerry Fletcher on a bouncer, but then gave up a double into the gap to Mathews. Jose Paraz’ 2-out single plated the runner, and with the tying run at the plate in Mun-wah Tsung (31 homers!), enough with the fudging! If Tsung has to hit one deep, he has to do it off Angel Casas rather than the nervous wreck Beltran. And Angel had history to make! Get that wide-eyed first baseman out of his view! Three pitches, three strikes, Tsung strolled back to the dugout.

The Critters had nothing in the bottom 8th. Angel started the ninth with Ramiro Cavazos, and whiffed him. César Aguilar laid off some borderline stuff and got the balls called, then grounded a 3-1 pitch up the middle. Manuel Gutierrez had replaced Yoshi after he had been hit for by Ayers in the bottom 8th, and made a sparkling play, zinging the ball over to first, where Aguilar was defeated on a bang-bang play, which brought up Al Graves to climb over for Angel, who hit his spots and hit his edges, and on five pitches had Graves struck out. 5-3 Raccoons! Alston 4-4, HR, 2 RBI; Nomura 2-3; Casas 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, SV (54);

Ken Maddox pitched a splendid game for the Crusaders as they beat the Titans, 5-1, in trying to do their part, and doing it very well, but … guys … too late! (casually lights a cigar, leans back in his chair, exhales … then topples over and out of the chair)

Worth it.

Game 2
IND: CF L. Martinez – 3B Sharp – C Paraz – 1B Tsung – RF Luxton – LF Graves – SS M. Clark – 2B J. Gutierrez – P Sjogren
POR: CF White – SS Canning – LF Alston – RF Ayers – 1B Pruitt – C Bowen – 3B R. Martinez – 2B Nomura – P Baldwin

Baldwin struck out five in the first three innings but conceded a run in the third inning to the ex-Coons. Daniel Sharp got on, and Mun-wah Tsung drove him in. The Coons went down in order the first time through against the much ravaged Sjogren. While Walt Canning would hit a single to stave off early thoughts of humiliation, Ron Alston promptly hit into a double play, in which he also formally announced that a 4-hit day in game 1 shouldn’t mean that he was back from the dead, and especially not with meaningful games beginning on Tuesday. Daniel Sharp hit his ninth homer of the year, a solo job in the fifth, off Baldwin to move Indians out 2-0. For the Raccoons, Baldwin had to create something in the bottom 6th, hitting a leadoff single into centerfield. Canning also singled, sending Baldwin to third base, which brought up Alston with the tying runs aboard and one out. Of course nothing was coming forth from Alston or Pruitt in the important spot, with Alston popping out over the infield to make damn sure nobody scored. Instead, Sjogren had his own leadoff hit off Baldwin in the seventh and easily scored.

It was slightly outrageous that the Raccoons couldn’t get to Sjogren, who was still pitching in the eighth inning despite allowing a run on a Martinez triple in the seventh. Pat White worked a leadoff walk in the eighth, bringing up the tying run again. Canning hit right into a double play. With nobody on, Alston walked, and Ayers reached on a Sharp error. Pruitt singled, bases loaded for Bowen, and Sjogren still in, they were BEGGING for it! Nope, Bowen popped out to shallow right. Bottom 9th, Salvadaro Soure pitching. Martinez was an easy out before Nomura singled and Quebell hit for Ted Reese as the tying run. The 1-1 pitch was cracked hard to right, a real drive, to deep right, OUTTA HERE!!!

Extra innings, and Quebell stayed in the game, with Pruitt moving to left, and Alston moving to the showers. Ron Thrasher had a clean 10th, with Ralph Myers pinch-hitting to get the bottom of the inning started, but Soure was angry now and erased Myers and Ayers on strikeouts before Pruitt bobbled out. Quebell batted again in the bottom 11th with Nomura on first base once more, but this time Quebell didn’t get it all and flew out to Leon Martinez. This game turned into a drag. Kelley pitched two scoreless, Youngblood pitched two scoreless, yet by the 15th inning (…) we were at Angel Casas, with Marcos Bruno twice allowing a runner to reach second base, but there he stood and told them that they shall not pass. Bottom 15th, Bruno still in for the third inning, 2-out double but Bowen, but Martinez was next, and ugh… In the 16th, Angel Casas struck out Fletcher and Bruno, then walked Clint Philip and was tattooed with a Juan Gutierrez drive that left Matt Pruitt in leftfield to sadly look after. Bruno was quite easily gassed by now and Nomura hit a hard single to lead off the bottom 16th, only for Quebell and White to pop up. Walt Canning drove a ball to deep center where it banged off the wall for a 2-out RBI double, with Manuel Gutierrez hitting for Angel Casas and flying out to Philip. 5-4 Indians. Canning 3-8, 2B, RBI; Bowen 2-5, BB, 2B; Nomura 2-6, BB; Quebell (PH) 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Kelley 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K; Youngblood 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Bloody ****.

Game 3
IND: RF Graves – 2B M. Clark – C Paraz – 1B Tsung – CF Cavazos – LF Luxton – 3B Kilters – SS R. Miller – P Escobedo
POR: CF White – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – 3B Canning – 2B Nomura – SS Guerin – P Cruz

Two singles and a dinked batter loaded the bases for the Indians before Javier Cruz ever got anybody out, and while he left them all on with two pops and a whiff – oh my lords, they suck! Especially Pat White. Pat White was the worst. Pat White made TWO outs in the bottom of the first inning. To be precise, White and Quebell started the first inning with outs before Escobedo put on the next seven Raccoons on five singles and two walks, plating five runs, before White made his second out. Top 2nd, Cruz put the first two men on again before going bunt, pop, pop, and nobody scored again, and in the third Jose Paraz doubled to get going and moved to third on a Cavazos single. Cavazos was promptly caught stealing and Robbie Luxton grounded out to Concie to again deny the Indians.

Madness wasn’t going to subside, a lunatic team giving it all on the final day of the regular season. While Cruz finally retired the leadoff man in the fourth inning, the Raccoons would have three on with one out before suffering a case of ****typops and not scoring. Top 5th, Mark Clark hit a leadoff single and went to third on Paraz’ following single, except that Keith Ayers had him gunned down, and THAT cost the Indians their scoring opportunity in the inning! Next inning: Cavazos singled, Luxton singled – RRRAAAHHH!!! Chris Kilters, batting .140 and sinking, hit into a double play and Miller hopped out to second, and Javier Cruz, despite putting a dozen men on in six innings, was still not scored upon! Funny side, he wasn’t even using a lot of pitches. Has anybody ever seen a 10-hit shutout? He issued a leadoff walk in the seventh. Ah the heck! Who cares! Pitch on! A 2-out single by Luxton in the eighth ran the Indians to 11 hits and no runs, and while the Raccoons were doing absolutely nothing remarkable the entire game after making Escobedo soil his underpants in the first inning, Cruz was back out for the ninth inning. Ryan Miller with a leadoff double, César Aguilar with a single. Runners on the corners, no outs. No, it’s fine, keep on pitching, this is so stupid it has to work! Al Graves promptly struck out. All we needed now was a double play from Mark Clark! He popped out on 0-2, very high, very shallow to right, Ayers called off Nomura and had it! Miller retreated to third base, and Jose Paraz was all that stood between Javier Cruz and the most stupid piece of history you could imagine. No, Paraz drilled a 2-1 pitch into the gap, Miller scored, and the runners went into scoring position. Ron Thrasher replaced Cruz and before he even threw a pitch, he balked in Aguilar… Stupidity finally ended when Tsung grounded out to Quebell. 5-2 Coons. Pruitt 2-3, 2 BB; Bowen 2-5, RBI; Guerin 2-3, BB;

In other news

September 28 – Tijuana’s Stanley Dougal (.335, 4 HR, 65 RBI) has his hitting streak killed off at 24 games by the Bayhawks, who hold him to 0-for-4.
September 29 – The Cyclones blow through the Buffaloes, 11-1, to lock up the FL East. This is their eighth playoff appearance, and their fifth straight!
September 30 – SFW INF Oliver Torres (.295, 3 HR, 45 RBI) ends his season with an injury, suffering an oblique strain.
October 1 – NAS RF/1B Juan Ortíz (.278, 21 HR, 98 RBI) has sprained his ankle and will also miss the last few games.
October 1 – DAL CL Kevin Wanless (3-5, 3.34 ERA, 41 SV) is also out a few days early with a strained hammy.
October 2 – The Pacifics lose INF Adriano Lulli (.285, 9 HR, 54 RBI) for the playoffs after the 30-year old strains an oblique.
October 2 – SFW SP Bruce Morrison (20-6, 3.30 ERA) finishes his year with a 3-hitter over the Scorpions as the Warriors win 7-0.

Complaints and stuff

THE RACCOONS GO TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! THE RACCOONS GO TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! THE RACCOONS GO TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!

They played ****, though. The Thunder are the only team that ever beat us in the CLCS, and that one was a sweep, and that’s in the cards again.

It gets worse. Tomas Castro was found out to have a ruptured tendon in his finger, and he was definitely out for the playoffs, so we will play without any speed on the base paths. I think that Trevino will take his roster spot to at least play late inning defense and Pat White might start most days in center.

Depending on how you count it, either Craig Bowen drove in the division-clinching run, because he gave the Coons the lead, or it was Walt Canning, because his 2-run single stood up, but either way, Canning is on the playoff roster. I’m through with Ricardo Martinez.

We are not through with Angel Casas, however, who signed a 3-yr, $4.05M contract on the final day of the regular season. This is a completely bollocks contract, since we both wanted a long-term deal, but he wanted more bucks than I was going to give him (or was able to give him). In the end we did a 3-year deal, and nobody’s happy.

Playoff tickets in the mail! We even barely avoided blowing home field advantage in the CLCS.