[Westheim]

Raccoons (13-11) @ Canadiens (9-15) – May 3-5, 2021

With a paltry .214 team batting average and only 75 runs scored the Canadiens solidly ranked last in offense in the Continental League, and it wasn’t entirely like their pitching was going to help them to get anywhere; with the second-worst rotation by ERA and the second-most runs allowed they should actually be much worse than just .375 … Somehow the Raccoons had managed to lose the season series against the last-place Canadiens in 2020, going 8-10. This was something that cried out for revenge.

Projected matchups:
Jonathan Toner (3-1, 3.19 ERA) vs. Bryant Roberts (0-2, 5.21 ERA)
Ricky Martinez (0-0) vs. Kyle Lamb (2-2, 3.86 ERA)
Hector Santos (3-0, 2.79 ERA) vs. Josh Riley (0-2, 4.09 ERA)

Handedness would match for all games in the series, so we faced another left-hander on Tuesday, Lamb matching our debutee Ricky Martinez.

Matt Hamilton was finally 100% again and was moved back into the cleanup role. He had missed enough time with that naggy rib cage injury that right now he wouldn’t even be eligible in the batting title race (not that he featured near the front).

Game 1
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Nomura – RF Mendoza – 1B Hamilton – 3B Nunley – SS McKnight – C Margolis – CF Metts – P Toner
VAN: RF Kim – SS Roundtree – 1B Rocha – C Holliman – LF Bellows – 2B Downing – 3B Grooms – CF Houghtaling – P B. Roberts

On paper, the Elks looked like a prime recovery opponent for Jonny Toner, but paper can be torn, just like hamstrings. It looked like a hamstring injury at least for centerfielder Jeremy Houghtaling when he pulled up lame at third base after his 2-out, 2-run triple in the bottom of the second inning that gave the Elks a 2-1 lead. Margolis had driven in Nunley in the top of the inning, and the Coons had hit into double plays in both the first and the second to kill their offensive attempts against Bryant Roberts, who had issued twice as many walks as strikeouts in April. The Elks upped their lead by one in the third, Man-su Kim leading off with a double to left and coming home on Ryan Holliman’s scorched single to center with two outs. The Coons had another double play in the fourth; Hamilton had led off with a single, but got doubled off when Mario Rocha caught Nunley’s liner right at him, with Hamilton for reasons unknown about 30 feet off the base.

The Coons made up a run in the fifth inning, getting back to 3-2 with Dwayne Metts stealing a base (ending a base-stealing drought that had gone to 0-for-7 with McKnight getting caught stealing earlier in the game) and coming home on Cookie’s 2-out single shallow right center. It was Cookie’s second single on the day and moved him to a .400 clip. Jonny Toner managed to look like arse despite striking out eight in five innings, which was an achievement in its own right. Top 6th, leadoff walk by Mendoza, only the second base on balls drawn off Roberts, who had previously walked more than TEN batters per nine innings. Hamilton hit into a fielder’s choice, Nunley walked, and the Elks decided that was enough Roberts for one day. Right-hander Colin Peay replaced him, McKnight grounded the first pitch to short, and Josh Downing and Matt Nunley collided, with Nunley getting the worst of it, taking a nasty hit to the shoulder. He had to leave the game and was replaced by Brian Petracek, the former Elk. Nothing good at all came out of the inning, Margolis striking out to end it, and Cookie hit into an inning-ending double play in the seventh. The eighth saw Yoshi hit a leadoff single to center, representing the tying run once more against right-hander Cory Dew, who had allowed only one run in 16.1 innings. Mendoza grounded to third base, Chris Grooms started a double play, the fifth in the game, and it was time to go to bed and cry furiously at that point. I flicked off the TV back home in Portland. Enough misery for one day. That also meant I missed both a defensive cluster**** in the bottom 8th that saw an insurance run scoring for the Elks on Yoshi Nomura’s error as well as the Coons’ comeback in the ninth inning. McKnight singled to lead off against Mike Tharp. Margolis struck out, but Stevenson walked, hitting for Metts against the left-hander. Jackson batted for Seung-mo Chun, hit a high pop near the left foul line, Justin Bellows missed it, and Jackson had an RBI double for cheap. Cookie’s RBI single to left tied it up, but that was as much as the Raccoons managed to poke Tharp for, who struck out Yoshi and Mendoza to end the inning with runners on the corners. And never mind anyway, because Jeff Boynton found ways to lose his fourth game of the season with a leadoff single by Grooms in the bottom 9th and then a pinch-hit walkoff triple with two outs by left-handed Moises Berrones. 5-4 Canadiens. Carmona 3-5, 2 RBI; Nomura 2-5; Hamilton 2-4; Nunley 1-2, BB; McKnight 2-4; Jackson (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

Nothing good has happened in Vancouver – EVER. The Raccoons had 13 hits to the Elks’ nine, they also walked four times and issued only one free pass. But they hit into five double plays (Elks: one) and left TEN on base (Elks: one).

I say we’ve been framed.

The Druid messaged me that he was sending Nunley home. There was no structural damage to the shoulder, but he had to wear the arm in a sling (a brown one, because we have STYLE) for a week and would need to spend two to three weeks on the DL. Yay, more at-bats to Petracek. We called up Guillermo Aponte for backup infield duties.

No my eyes are fine. The red is - … I cried through the night.

Game 2
POR: LF Carmona – CF Stevenson – 1B Hamilton – RF Jackson – C Margolis – 2B Nomura – SS McKnight – 3B Zuhlke – P Martinez
VAN: LF A. Torres – RF Kim – C Holliman – 1B Rocha – 2B Downing – SS Roundtree – 3B Grooms – CF J. Harris – P Lamb

Ricky Martinez’ major league career started with the bases loaded and no outs after singles by Alex Torres and Man-su Kim plus a full-count walk to Ryan Holliman. He would somehow escape without conceding a run when Rocha and Downing both hit pops over the infield and Roundtree grounded out to short. The same base scenario repeated itself in the third inning with the same protagonists. While the Elks’ bounty was still small, this time they at least scored one run on Rocha’s double play grounder to short. Downing popped out again. There was no point in joy, though: the Coons had already hit into a double play earlier. In the top of the second, Jackson had walked, Margolis had singled, and Yoshi had found the shortstop with utmost precision.

The Critters would get a bases-loaded situation of their own in the fourth inning, courtesy of a single and two walks. McKnight was to bat with two outs, but first fell to 0-2 and then surrendered on a silly grounder to short. Steve Roundtree upped the score to 2-0 in the fourth with a leadoff home run off Martinez, who surrendered his third leadoff single to Alex Torres in the fifth inning. This time Torres would stand alone, got forced on Kim’s grounder, and Kim was stranded on second base. If the Raccoons now could get the ****ing offense going… and they actually did in the sixth, Jackson singling past Rocha just in time for Danny Margolis to wing a 2-piece outta left center, tying the score at two. McKnight came close to hitting another one to the other side, but was denied, as was Roundtree in the bottom of the inning.

Martinez ended up making it through six and two thirds before walking Torres on four pitches. The Coons made a move and brought Noah Bricker, with the Elks swiftly sending Monday’s hero Moises Berrones to hit for Kim and counter “Bloody” Bricker. Torres stole second, but Berrones struck out, ending the seventh. The Coons clambered into the lead in the eighth inning on Matt Hamilton taking John Watson deep. Margolis and Nomura hit 2-out singles, but somehow hitting Mendoza for McKnight sounded utterly wrong. McKnight hit a fly to left, but Torres was all over that one, and two Coons were left on base once more. Bricker continued in the bottom 8th, conceding a leadoff single that Holliman hit sharply to center, then lost Rocha to a walk. Two on, no outs, but the trigger-happy Downing struck out voluntarily before Roundtree hit another ball hard, yet this time on the ground and right at Yoshi, who started a relieving double play. Mendoza ended up batting for Bricker in the ninth with one out and nobody on base and singled past Grooms. Cookie found a hole in right center for another single, sending runners to the corners. The Elks still thought Watson had this. Ezequiel Olivares batter for an 0-for-4 Stevenson, struck out, but Hamilton flew deep to left, deep to left – and into Torres’ glove. Brett Lillis had no cushion, and didn’t know it yet but would face three switch-hitters in the bottom of the ninth, starting with Grooms. He would also get to two strikes on all of them, but strike out none. Grooms hit a soft fly to right that Jackson had to hustle to contain, but made it in time. John Harris grounded out to Yoshi. Chris Tanzillo hit for the pitcher and ran a full count before singling to center. What’s that? He goes for second! Dwayne Metts with the throw to McKnight, tag – OUT!!! 3-2 Raccoons. Carmona 2-5; Hamilton 2-5, HR, RBI; Jackson 1-2, 2 BB; Margolis 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Mendoza (PH) 1-1; Martinez 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Bricker 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-0);

Cookie batting .402 right now, which isn’t even good enough for first in the CL, which is held by MIL Ian Coleman at .407. Matt Nunley is still third with a .349 clip (mind the gap), but will drop off for eligibility reasons before he can come off the DL.

Ricky Martinez was sent back to AAA after the game, his services no longer being required. The Coons would have two off days after this and the next series and could stretch their other assets until Tadasu Abe came off the DL. Frequent traveler Will West (this year in AAA: 7.2 IP, 0 ER) was added as additional reliever. His career ERA in the majors was 5.22 in 89 games and 89.2 innings.

Game 3
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Nomura – RF Mendoza – 1B Hamilton – SS McKnight – C Margolis – CF Stevenson – 3B Petracek – P Santos
VAN: LF A. Torres – RF Kim – C Holliman – 1B Rocha – SS Roundtree – 3B Grooms – 2B Otis – CF J. Harris – P Riley

The amounts of hate I had for the nuclear-waste-contaminated, asbestos-riddled, gypsy-cursed and also butt-ugly park the Elks had built on an Indian cemetery were hard to put into words, but the Raccoons kept coming and kept dying in it, figuratively and literally. Santos was charged with two in the second inning after a leadoff walk to Rocha, a single by Roundtree that sent the runner to third, and Roundtree soon enough to second with a stolen base, and both scoring on productive outs. The environment then claimed Josh Stevenson’s body on a diving catch in the third inning. Metts replaced the fallen comrade, who had pain in the shoulder. Offensively the Raccoons were almost bad enough to laugh about it, while Santos didn’t really find his stuff for the entire outing and coughed up another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Otis opened with a bloop single, John Harris hit an RBI triple, and while Riley struck out, Torres brought home the runner with a sac fly to right.

Faint hope then appeared on the horizon in the sixth inning. Starting with Cookie, the Raccoons hit three soft singles to load the bases with no outs for Hamilton, who was the tying run. The alleged slugger hit into a pretty damn fat double play to Matt Otis, one run scored, but **** that run. Also **** Hamilton, and **** hope the most. Santos struck out eight over six innings and still trundled towards a hapless loss, his first since 2018. The Raccoons were entirely silent until the ninth, which Hamilton led off with a single to left. McKnight was a firm believer of the double play grounder to advance his team, sending one Otis’ way, and while the Coons managed to get a pinch-hit single from Guillermo Aponte off Cory Dew after that, Metts struck out to put this series away as a loss. 4-1 Canadiens. Carmona 2-4; Aponte (PH) 1-1;

Not wanting to brag, but this series went EXACTLY like I imagined it would.

Raccoons (14-13) @ Wolves (11-17) – May 7-9, 2021

The Wolves sat in their usual lair in the FL West, which was last place. Eighth in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed in the Federal League, the package was as usual not enough, but any package that starts with a league-worst rotation (5.36 ERA) is usually a bad package. We had not played the Wolves in three years, but had taken two out of three the last time these teams opposed another for a good old Oregon Brawl. Overall the Coons had a .560 winning percentage over their Northwest rivals, not including playoff games…

Projected matchups:
Michael Foreman (2-2, 1.78 ERA) vs. Mike Lemmons (1-5, 5.90 ERA)
Travis Garrett (2-1, 4.35 ERA) vs. Brian Tombs (1-4, 6.55 ERA)
Jonathan Toner (3-1, 3.32 ERA) vs. Carlos Barron (1-3, 3.60 ERA)

We will get to see three right-handers in this series. And if you lot don’t take this ****ing series, I can promise you there will be blood.

Before we can throw ourselves into the opener, there is another roster move to dissect. Josh Stevenson was placed on the DL, the Druid having put his left arm into a sling as opposed to Nunley’s right. The one-armed bunch tried to knot their shoes together in the clubhouse before the Friday game, but actually managed to knot them *together*. No serious injuries resulted from the inevitable fall, but they were ordered to wear flip-flops after that. Stevenson should miss about two weeks, and we called up Kevin DeWald, who batted a hearty .170 in St. Petersburg.

Game 1
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Nomura – RF Mendoza – 1B Hamilton – SS McKnight – C Margolis – CF Metts – 3B Aponte – P Foreman
SAL: CF Mora – LF Vigil – RF Ellis – 1B Harenberg – 2B Jankowski – C Galan – SS Getchell – 3B Lindsey – P Lemmons

A throwing error by Matt Lindsey allowed the Critters to score an unearned run in the first inning. Yoshi reached second on the terrible throw, advanced on Mendoza’s single and scored on Hamilton’s groundout. The Wolves got a leadoff double by Abel Mora – which sent Mendoza crashing into the fence in rightfield – but would strand the runner when Ignacio Vigil, Nate Ellis, and Kevin Harenberg struck out in succession against Foreman. There wasn’t another offensive threat until the fourth, if you can call a leadoff single by McKnight that much. In any case, Margolis cleaned the bases with another double play just before Dwayne Metts doubled to right. The Wolves walked Aponte intentionally for whatever reason, but Lemmons then brushed Foreman ever so slightly with a 3-2 pitch, sending Foreman to first and bringing up an 0-2 Cookie with the bases loaded. Lemmons was now a bid out of sync with himself and forced in a run with a hapless walk to Carmona, 2-0. Nomura struck out, though. Foreman also seemed to have been scared a bit by the hit-by-pitch, walking the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning. Yoshi redeemed himself, cutting off a vicious grounder by Mike Getchell to turn it into the third out before the Wolves could get on the board.

While Lemmons remained an annoyingly tough chew for the Raccoons, who usually loved to chew ANYTHING, Foreman’s middle innings were not something to be watched by those faint of heart. He hit Vigil to start the sixth, just before Ellis hit a ball damn hard to right. Mendoza made the catch on the track. Harenberg singled, and Foreman was about to come out when Todd Jankowski hit into a double play, protecting the fragile 2-0 advantage. Top 7th, Yoshi led off with a double to the rightfield corner, but Mendoza immediately began to take out steam, grounding out to short and keeping Yoshi at second base. Here the Wolves tried to be clever and provoke a double play by walking Hamilton intentionally to get to McKnight, who grounded to first, but Harenberg completely butchered the play and had the ball run up his arm and drop behind him. All hands were safe on the error, bringing Margolis to the plate with the bags full and one out. First pitch, hard grounder to second, double play. OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

If it was any consolation – AND IT WAS HARDLY ANY – the Wolves were just as inept. (The question was whether you ever wanted to be ‘just as inept as the Wolves’…) The Wolves had two on in the bottom 7th after singles by Armando Galan (off Foreman, who quickly vanished) and Lindsey (off Boynton). Jeff Kaiser ran a 3-1 count on Tom Grahl, hitting for Lemmons, who then grounded to Yoshi for a double play. With left-hander Beau Barnaby in the game in the eighth inning and Zuhlke working a leadoff walk in Metts’ spot the Coons tried to be clever and told Aponte to bunt. Bunting he did, right into a force at second. Eddie Jackson hit for Kaiser and sent a fly to left that became a double between Vigil and Mora, but Aponte had to hold at third base. THAT COULDA BEEN A RUN!! Cookie was up, 0-for-3 and struggling to extend a 10-game hitting streak, and popping out on a 2-1 pitch. GAAAAHHH!!! Which was where ineptness became a factor. 1-2 on Yoshi with two down, Barnaby balked Aponte across home plate when he suddenly had to sneeze with his foot on the rubber. Yoshi flew out to center eventually. I was about to run out of heart medication when the Raccoons at least quickly closed out the game. Sugano got four outs, Bricker got two, the Wolves remained shut out. 3-0 Raccoons. Mendoza 2-4, BB; Jackson (PH) 1-1, 2B; Foreman 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, W (3-2);

Woe the sorry Wolves fans, who have to watch THAT team every night…

Game 2
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Nomura – RF Mendoza – 1B Hamilton – SS McKnight – 3B Zuhlke – CF DeWald – C Olivares – P Garrett
SAL: CF Mora – LF Vigil – RF Ellis – 1B Harenberg – 2B Jankowski – C Galan – SS Getchell – 3B Lindsey – P Tombs

Cookie singled and was caught stealing in the first inning, which eventually cost Ronnie McKnight a grand slam. Tombs walked two before McKnight clobbered a hanging slider into the upper regions of the rightfield stands, giving Garrett an instant 3-0 lead. Could have been 4-0, though. Hamilton would make it 4-0 in the third, plating Cookie Carmona from second base with a single. Cookie had singled again himself and had been moved to second by a Mendoza walk. While Garrett had a solid foundation here and only allowed two base runners and no runs in the first three innings, the Oregon weather soon began to impede proceedings. It had rained earlier in the morning, and rain returned by the third inning. The middle of the fourth inning ended up lasting over 30 minutes, as the tarp came on just as the Coons were to take the field. Play resumed after the delay, Garrett back out on the mound. It was immediately obvious that he had lost it all during the delay. Nate Ellis hit the hardest ball yet off him, a leadoff single to right, and Kevin Harenberg ran a 3-1 count before legging out an infield single against Olivares. Zuhlke started a double play on a sharp grounder by Jankowski to help Garrett out of the inning, but this 4-0 lead was far from secure…

The Wolves failed to take advantage of two walks in the fifth inning, and that was the last chance they got against Garrett. Eddie Jackson hit for him (and grounded out) with two outs and runners on the corners in the sixth inning. While the Raccoons’ offensive attempts in the late innings were properly described as the clumsy stirring of three-year olds for the W in their letter soup, at least the bullpen managed to get through the Wolves with minimal turbulences. Sugano put a man on and got one out. Chun got four outs for one runner, and Kaiser got four more outs and allowed nobody to get on base. Will West pitched quick and painless ninth. 4-0 Furballs. Carmona 4-5; McKnight 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Kaiser 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

In the Portland Edition of Believe it or Not, despite barely managing to put their pants on the right way the Raccoons had staggered back into the lead in the CL North thanks to the Loggers losing consecutive games to the Capitals…

Game 3
POR: LF Carmona – 2B Nomura – RF Mendoza – 1B Hamilton – SS McKnight – C Margolis – CF Metts – 3B Petracek – P Toner
SAL: CF Mora – LF Vigil – RF Ellis – 1B Harenberg – 2B Jankowski – C Galan – SS Getchell – 3B Lindsey – P Barron

The Critters still had not been involved in any series sweep this year, and if there was a game crying out for it, it was going to be this one. Toner had shown an upwards trend in his Monday start, and the Wolves had yet to score in the series, so what could even go wrong?

For starters, the game got off a bit like the opener, with a wild throw by Lindsey costing the Wolves an unearned run in the first inning. Mendoza got to second base on a ball deposited into the stands and scored from there on Hamilton’s single up the middle. Toner retired the Wolves in order in the first inning, whiffing two, but drilled Harenberg to give them a runner right away in the second. With one out, Galan and Getchell both singled to left to load the bases, but Lindsey struck out and after that Barron, a career .129 batter, was readily victimized at Toner’s leisure. The Wolves remained shut out in the third game of the set, but they wouldn’t remain forever. In fact, they turned Toner inside out in the third. Mora led off with a single, Toner drilled Vigil, and Harenberg tied the game with an RBI double. Jankowski’s run-scoring groundout and Galan’s RBI single gave the Wolves a 3-1 lead over the routinely hapless Raccoons.

Breaking out of routines in the fourth, the Raccoons roared right back past the Wolves with a crooked number of their own. Hamilton led off with a double to center in an 0-2 count and was singled in by Margolis. Metts walked, bringing up Petracek, with Barron’s first pitch hanging in the fat zone of the plate and getting tattooed to deep center and past the otherwise pesky Mora. The long double scored both runners and flipped the score back in the Coons’ favor, 4-3. Toner grounded out, and Cookie was beaten by Jankowski’s throw on a bang-bang play to end the inning. Three singles in the fifth scored an add-on run driven in by Margolis. Toner soldiered through the middle innings on a rocky path, but managed to keep Getchell on base after the latter’s leadoff double in the bottom 6th.

Mendoza hit a leadoff double of his own in the seventh, with Barron then being told to put on Hamilton intentionally. McKnight fouled out, Margolis hit into a double play, and Toner departed after he hit his third batter, and Vigil for the second time, to start the bottom 7th. The pen couldn’t cope, and the run scored on two singles, getting the Wolves back to 5-4. There was another double play in the top 8th, but I can’t go into the details anymore… Top 9th, the Raccoons faced right-hander Jorge Beltran as they brought up the top of the order. Cookie walked, Yoshi flew out to left. Mendoza found the gap for a double, but it was a close call and Cookie had to hold at second for a while for the ball to fall in and couldn’t score. Hamilton got four wide ones *again*, pulling up McKnight, who grounded an 0-2 to second base, where Quinn Jewell picked the ball and fired home to kill off Cookie. Margolis had been removed in a double switch, and Jackson batted for Bricker, but struck out, leaving three BLOODY runners on base. This 5-4 was all Lillis’ to run and have fun with now, facing the Wolves’ own backup catcher in the #9 hole to begin the bottom 9th. Bobby Farnell struck out, but Abel Mora reached when Yoshi bungled his grounder for an error. One pitch was enough to pop up Vigil for the second out to be made in foul ground, and Lillis really wasn’t into any more games here, and struck out Ellis on three pitches with the mean stuff. 5-4 Blighters. Mendoza 2-5, 2 2B; Hamilton 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Margolis 2-4, 2 RBI; Metts 2-4;

In other news

May 4 – New York’s Hwa-pyung Choe (1-2, 2.95 ERA) throws a 2-hit shutout against their division rivals, the Titans. Choe strikes out four in the 6-0 Crusaders win.
May 4 – All of the Loggers’ starting position players have multiple hits as they strangle the Indians in a 14-0 shredding, but only 1B Ron Tadlock (.234, 0 HR, 8 RBI) has more than two, hitting safely three times with a double and 2 RBI.
May 5 – Down 11-6 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Rebels rally back past the Capitals with a double, an error, an intentional walk, and five singles to claim a 12-11 walkoff win on the 2-out single by LF/CF Danny Flores (.265, 2 HR, 14 RBI).
May 6 – Between their six games on Wednesday, the Federal League sees two rainouts and two 1-0 road wins by the Gold Sox over the Wolves and by the Warriors over the Pacifics. SFW C Jerrod Luckert (.224, 5 HR, 17 RBI) hits a 420-footer for the only offense in the latter game.
May 8 – Condors and Scorpions play a wild one in Sacramento that the defending champions from the Inland Empire win 15-8. The best individual performance of the day is however delivered by a Condor, with 2B/SS Howard Read (.358, 3 HR, 16 RBI) connecting for five base hits, including a double, and drives in two runs.
May 8 – The Falcons put the hurt on the Cyclones in a 14-2 rout. They score in all but two innings, with 4-hit contributions by 3B Tom Thomas (.257, 0 HR, 10 RBI) and LF/RF Ryan Feldmann (.307, 5 HR, 19 RBI) while RF/LF Travis Benson (.314, 7 HR, 27 RBI) drives in five with three hits, including a homer and a double.

Complaints and stuff

A rash of injuries – 20% of the Opening Day roster ain’t nothing – but we are still somewhat lucky that all the ailments are somewhat temporary. We should have everyone back by about the 20th to 25th. The injuries do not excuse the substandard play, though. They played substandardly even before the injuries…

Just look at that weak CL North. We should be better than this. Also, for giggles, there are FOUR teams in the CL South with a better record than the Coons.

Well, how bad is Jonny Toner, objectively? If you had told me before the season that by May him and Garrett would have roughly the same ERA I would have been excited for Tragic Travis. But as it is, Toner is just … well, he has struck out 59 in 44 innings, which is something all other pitchers would die for. His ERA is 3.68 which isn’t remotely close to his career numbers. But it is not the defense that is killing him; the BABIP is .292, which is higher than in previous years, but still favorable for a pitcher. The WHIP is 1.07, which again is higher than ever, but also something that most pitchers would die for. Walks are up *slightly*. He has allowed two home runs, so it’s not that, either.

Can we agree on one of those gypsy curses? Can we burn something in effigy to help it?

ABL CAREER STRIKEOUT LEADERS
75th – Manny Ramos – 1,846
76th – Neil Stewart – 1,842 – HOF
77th – Xavier Mayes – 1,833
78th – Anibal Sandoval – 1,832
79th – Eduardo Jimenez – 1,830
80th – Jonathan Toner – 1,829 – active
81st – Dan Moriarty – 1,828
82nd – Alfredo Collazo – 1,827
83rd – Dave Crawford – 1,816
[…]
90th – Lou Corbett – 1,733
91st – Daniel Dickerson – 1,730
92nd – Henry Becker – 1,729
93rd – Billy Robinson – 1,728 – HOF
94th – Larry Cutts – 1,714
95th – Hector Santos – 1,702 – active
96th – Carlos Guillén – 1,699
97th – Paul Kirkland – 1,698
98th – Samuel McMullen – 1,695 – active

Of the players newly appearing on Toner’s radar we have two not very memorable journeymen in Ramos, who spent some time with the Elks in the 90s, and Mayes, who split a 13-year career between four teams in the CL South, most prominently with the Knights. He finished 134-123 with a 4.06 ERA, but the only thing he ever led the league in was in home runs allowed, achieving that twice in ’82 and ’90.

Neil Stewart is one of the Loggers’ numerous Hall of Famers, although it was hard to assign a team for him, since he never really stayed anywhere for all that long. He eventually settled on the Loggers as to wear their insignia on his plaque, having made his debut with them in 1984, despite his biggest success coming with the Indians in the mid-90s when he led the Continental League in wins three years in a row from 1993 through 1995. He won the Pitcher of the Year award in the last of those seasons, going 24-4 with a 2.89 ERA. Overall he won 237 games and lost 183 with a 3.45 ERA. He was not much of a strikeout pitcher, never even reaching 150. He reached his season-high in his POTY season with 145 over a whopping 264.1 innings.

Two more losing teams are on the plate for the Coons next week as they will face the Cyclones and the Indians at the start of their 2-week homestand. Said homestand commences on Tuesday and opens a string of 16 games without an off day.