[Westheim]

Raccoons (67-57) @ Indians (55-69) – August 24-26, 2021

The Indians miserable pitching had them playing to a somber .444 record in 2021, with the team allowing the second-most runs in the Continental League between the second-worst rotation and the outright worst bullpen. Being fourth in offense was nothing that could possibly rescue them. Despite their struggles, the Raccoons had only gone 6-6 against them so far, tying right in with their very much mixed results against Indy in recent years.

Projected matchups:
Ricky Martinez (2-1, 2.18 ERA) vs. Tristan Broun (8-9, 4.60 ERA)
Jonathan Toner (14-6, 3.60 ERA) vs. Killian Savoie (5-5, 4.31 ERA)
Travis Garrett (7-5, 4.26 ERA) vs. Shane Baker (5-13, 5.02 ERA)

The Arrowheads would lob two left-handers at us to begin this series. Savoie had been in their bullpen for the last year and a half, but had recently been moved to the rotation; this would be his fifth career start after 75 relief appearances. The 24-year old Quebecois had a rather soft fastball barely over 90mph, but a good changeup and forkball and there were clearly worse choices for a starting pitcher.

Like f.e. Travis Garrett.

Game 1
POR: LF Spencer – 2B Nomura – RF Jackson – 1B Mendoza – 3B Nunley – C Olivares – SS Bullock – CF Stevenson – P R. Martinez
IND: CF D. Morales – 2B B. Reyes – C J. White – RF C. Martinez – 1B M. Rucker – LF Genge – SS Matias – 3B Correia – P Broun

A leadoff walk to Nunley and then a single hit by Olivares were bad enough, but when Tristan Broun balked those runners into scoring position with no outs it sure looked like the Raccoons would deal major damage to him with nobody out in the second inning. Looks are deceiving, though, and after Bullock’s hapless strikeout the Coons got two absolutely pathetic rollers in front of the plate by Stevenson and Martinez for the last two outs, plating nobody. The Indians were less picky in the bottom 2nd. Martinez walked his namesake Cesar as well as Mike Rucker to begin the inning, and it was swiftly downhill from there. Lowell Genge doubled into the corner for the first run, Raul Matias hit an RBI single, and Josh Correia hit a sac fly to center for three runs, and it could have been more, if after Danny Morales’ 2-out single Matt Nunley hadn’t spoiled a hairy bouncer by Bob Reyes and had thrown that to first in time to end the miserable 3-run inning. While Martinez’ control was gone, never to return, the Coons had their opportunities. The top of the fourth began with a way too cautious walk to Mendoza, after which Nunley singled to right. The tying run was at the plate in Olivares, who struck out. The badly struggling Bullock finally met a ball, hitting it into the left-center gap, but not quite past Lowell Genge, for an RBI double. An intentional walk to Josh Stevenson pulled up Ricky Martinez, who hit a 3-1 pitch into a double play to end the inning. You didn’t just – … !!

While Martinez raced up his pitch count engaging mostly in 3-ball counts, the Raccoons got next to nothing from their top of the order. It usually started with Nunley, and it did so again in the sixth inning, in which both Nunley and Olivares hit singles to start the frame. Bullock tried to do good things, but got whacked with a fastball, filling the bags for Stevenson, who grounded a ball back to the mound. Broun had no trouble throwing out Nunley at home, and when Zach Graves hit for Martinez, he struck out. That brought up Jarod Spencer, who hit a ball to left near the line, Genge couldn’t get over in time, and also couldn’t cut it off – the ball went to the corner, and Spencer had a bases-clearing double, which also flipped the score to 4-3 in the Critters’ favor. Yoshi’s groundout ended the inning, and the Raccoons’ lead was soon eliminated by A.J. Faulk’s seventh-inning home run off Cory Dew. Faulk was batting ninth after Broun’s removal, and Jalen Parks was batting ninth for the Raccoons after a double switch following the home run. His turn was up with Bullock (single) and Stevenson (walk) on base and nobody out in the top of the eighth against mediocre right-hander Jerry Counts. Parks flew out to center, Spencer grounded to short, but the Indians only got Stevenson at second, and again Yoshi came up with two outs, and soon hung in an 0-2 at-bat. Counts gave him something to hit though, Yoshi singled to left, and the Raccoons were back ahead, 5-4, as Daniel Bullock scampered home from third base. Jackson’s single to center plated Spencer, 6-4, before Mendoza continued a completely unhelpful day with a flyout to left. Dumbo was the next guy double-switched out of the game, being removed in the bottom 8th when the Indians sent right-hander Tony Delgado to pinch-hit against Manobu Sugano and his ridiculous splits. Noah Bricker entered the game with the clear task to give us a 4-out save; he was rested, Lillis wasn’t really, and there were now eight right-handers in the Indians’ lineup. There was trouble with that undertaking right from the start. Delgado singled, with only Matias’ strikeout ending the inning. The bottom 9th started badly, with Correia and PH Leo Otero singling. Danny Morales grounded slowly to the left side, with a perfect play by Nunley being everything that prevented the winning run from reaching, but the tying runs were in scoring position with only one out. “Bloody” Bricker was going to bloody blow it, but the only right-hander we still had available was Evan Carrell, and he wasn’t going to get out of this jam. Neither was Bricker, who allowed two hard singles to left to Bob Reyes and Jamal White, which tied the score. NOW Carrell came in – and hit Cesar Martinez. Bases loaded for Rucker, who grounded to Yoshi, who had to go home so as to not lose the game, collision between Parks and Reyes – and Reyes was called out! PH Jaylen Rolland grounded out, and the game went into extra innings.

Against Tony Lino in the 10th, the Raccoons loaded the bases with two outs on Spencer and Nomura singles, plus a Jackson walk. That brought up the pitcher’s spot, with Danny Ochoa batting for Carrell – never mind us not having any other right-handed pitcher in the bullpen. Otero caught Ochoa’s poor fly to left, and the Raccoons continued to be in the doldrums. The Coons picked two innings from Jason Kaiser’s dead and bluely shimmering arm, but were unable to arrive at a conclusion to this game yet, which sent “Tragic” Garrett to the bullpen to warm up. We weren’t going to waste Jonny Toner in his game, but we could take a shortcut to losing nevertheless. Stevenson drew a leadoff walk in the top 12th, then was caught stealing, which was the second consecutive inning that Jamal White threw out a base runner after nipping Brian Petracek in the 11th. Bitterness grew when Parks and Spencer singled, which may easily have scored Stevenson, but now we had them on second and first with one out, and Parks was barely able to score on a double, but never on Yoshi’s single to center, which merely loaded the bases for Eddie Jackson, who shot a 2-2 pitch up the middle and into centerfield. Parks scored, Spencer scored, Yoshi was thrown out at third base, with Jackson to second. That changed a lot of things. Garrett sat down instantly, and Brett Lillis got warm – our last reliever, and the one who probably should have been in the game three innings earlier. Also, Alex Duarte batted for Kaiser – the last man off the bench. He lined out to Correia, ending the inning, then replaced Jackson in right for defense. In the newest edition of “It’s All For Nothing”, the fantastic game show in which nobody ever wins, Lillis got raked for a Jeremie Ventura single, Raul Matias’ RBI double, and then Leo Otero’s 2-out RBI single to re-tie the score. Get Garrett going again, and I also need more bullets. Petracek doubled in the 13th, was stranded, and Lillis started the bottom of the inning with a leadoff walk to Manny Ortega – a ****ing relief pitcher!! While I was moaning in agony after collapsing from my stool at the bar, another walk to Jamal White created more traffic. Lillis balked the runners into scoring position, and then lost the game on Mike Rucker’s sac fly. 9-8 Indians. Spencer 4-7, 2B, 3 RBI; Nomura 4-7, RBI; Jackson 2-6, BB, 3 RBI; Nunley 2-5, 2 BB; Olivares 2-4; Petracek 2-3, 2B; Bullock 2-6, 2B, RBI; Kaiser 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K;

That one … was special.

That one … goes on the mantelpiece.

That one … will be on rerun in my brains for the next few years.

Game 2
POR: LF Spencer – 2B Nomura – RF Jackson – 3B Nunley – C Parks – SS Bullock – 1B Petracek – CF Duarte – P Toner
IND: CF D. Morales – 2B B. Reyes – RF C. Martinez – 1B M. Rucker – C J. White – LF Genge – SS Matias – 3B Correia – P Savoie

Nunley gave the Coons a 1-0 lead with something other than a home run, singling in Eddie Jackson after the latter had hit a 2-out double over Morales’ head in the first inning. Like all Raccoons leads, this one was made for breaking, though. Jonny Toner faced five batters in the first inning – and all whacked the ball ferociously. Duarte made two catches in center that were worth mentioning, but couldn’t catch up with Cesar Martinez’ 1-out RBI triple in between that scored Bob Reyes after Reyes’ double to left. Rucker ramming a ball into Petracek’s glove and then Duarte’s second catch kept Martinez at third for the duration of the inning. After that certified horror show, Toner struck out the next four before smacking Morales with an 0-2 pitch in the third. Reyes grounded into a force, but Martinez walked on four pitches. A wild pitch advanced the runners to scoring position before Rucker aimed for the fence but merely slapped the air on Toner’s 2-2, stranding a pair. This preserved the Coons’ 2-1 lead, which they had grabbed with a run in the top of the inning in which Toner had led off with a single, one of three for the Critters in that inning. The score was still the same when Rucker was in the box again in the fifth, again with two outs, but this time with the bases loaded after a leadoff single by Correia and a pair of 2-out walks to Reyes and Martinez. This time Rucker didn’t surrender and knocked an RBI single to left, tying the game for Indy before Jamal White went down in flames, Toner’s eighth strikeout against way too many base runners and over 90 pitches in a five-inning, 2-2 tie.

There was nothing good happening to Portland in this game, at least not for long. Eddie Jackson drew a leadoff walk in the sixth and was immediately picked off, even before Nunley could walk as well. Nunley would end up stranded, and the offense remained barely visible. Toner had a quick bottom 6th, then pitched into the seventh, only to get hurt again by singles falling in front of outfielders. Morales and Reyes hit two of those in the seventh, and Morales scored because Toner had thrown a wild pitch in between. Martinez struck out, but Sugano replaced Toner afterwards against Rucker, who grounded a 1-2 pitch to second, and Yoshi blew it, as simple as that. Error on the second baseman, runners on the corners. Sugano walked White semi-intentionally to get to the left-hander Genge, but the Indians sent Tony Delgado with the bases loaded. Chun replaced Sugano, threw a meatball to Delgado, who lined a real cannonball to left, where Spencer made a flying catch with total disregard for life or death, ending the inning. On to the ninth, where Tony Lino allowed line drives to both Nunley and Parks that were caught by pesky infielders. Only a 2-out walk to Bullock put the tying run on base, with Dumbo Mendoza batting for Petracek in that obvious go-ahead slot. And then he bounced a grounder to Reyes not dissimilar to a tiny kitten bouncing around a ball of yarn. Somewhat cute, but utterly futile. Reyes had no problems to end the game. 3-2 Indians. Jackson 2-3, BB, 2B;

Bringing back Alex Duarte was a bad idea to begin with. He was batting .182 and he brought no other tangible advantages as a Raccoon. He was waived and designated for assignment after this game, and Dwayne Metts was brought back from St. Petersburg. It’s not like Metts had shown any signs of improvement. But at least Dwayne still lets me pretend that we have something of a youth movement going on.

Never mind that Metts is Duarte’s junior by less than three years. If times are rough, sometimes it’s required to confidently lie to yourself in the mirror in the morning, and claim that it all will be fine after exchanging a .213 batter for a .204 batter.

Game 3
POR: LF Spencer – 2B Nomura – 1B Mendoza – 3B Nunley – RF Graves – C Parks – SS Bullock – CF Metts – P Garrett
IND: CF D. Morales – 2B B. Reyes – RF C. Martinez – 1B M. Rucker – C J. White – LF Genge – SS Matias – 3B Rolland – P S. Baker

Neither team reached third base before Rucker’s 1-out double and White’s subsequent single in the fourth inning. The Indians had gotten a single an inning before, but never to lead off, and as far as the visiting team’s lineup was concerned, they could just as well be in street clothes at the bus stop or in some dark forest, obnoxiously whistling after passing females. With runners on the corners, one out, and doom just around the corner, Garrett struck out Genge in a full count, and then hung another K on Matias, his fifth in the game. What’s new? Garrett’s not an auto-loss anymore, apparently. When he did allow a run in the fifth inning, it was unearned thanks to an error by Jarod Spencer that allowed Jaylen Rolland to reach second base on his leadoff single. The Raccoons were blending in that well with the ballpark surroundings, when Matt Nunley hit a leadoff single in the seventh inning it was only their third base hit in the game. Baker leaked another single to Parks, and then a gaffe by Rucker on Bullock’s grounder loaded the bases, and that was very generously scored as a single for the Coons’ rookie shortstop. Despite Metts countering Baker, he was also countering any hope for offense with his .201 batting average. Eddie Jackson batted for him – just leave it to Eddie! Behind on two strikes, Jackson rushed a bouncer up the middle and into centerfield, two scored, and the score was flipped. Garrett now batted, grounded out poorly, and so did Spencer, so the score remained 2-1. Garrett turned the game over to Bricker after seven scoreless, and Bricker got the lead undamaged to Lillis, who put the tying run in scoring position RIGHT AWAY with a double by Cesar Martinez in the bottom 9th. Rucker struck out, but Jamal White’s single to center, moved the tying run to third base. Delgado pinch-hit and popped out, but Matias, a certified coonskinner, ripped a liner to left – that somehow Matt Nunley managed to fall into for a valid catch, which meant game over for the Arrowheads. 2-1 Critters. Nunley 2-4; Jackson (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Garrett 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (8-5);

EDDIIIEE!!

So sad that he’ll be no longer with us after this season. Too old, too expensive, too many holes opening in the outfield.

Raccoons (68-59) @ Condors (76-52) – August 27-29, 2021

Here was a team that hoped reaching for the stars this fall. The Condors had allowed the fewest runs thanks to the CL’s premier rotation, and their bullpen was at least ranked in the top 3. Their offense could use a hug, though, plating only the eighth-most runs in the league, and that lack of offensive prowess was mostly all that kept them from zooming away from the Knights, who were currently three games out in the South. Three was also the name of the game in the season series, as it being the number of wins so far gobbled up by either team. The Raccoons had a 4-year string of holding the Condors short on the line here.

Projected matchups:
Hector Santos (10-5, 4.13 ERA) vs. Jim Bryant (10-10, 3.23 ERA)
Dave Dyer (1-3, 5.51 ERA) vs. Lorenzo Cedillo (0-0, 3.10 ERA)
Ricky Martinez (2-1, 2.50 ERA) vs. Sam Lowery (2-3, 7.36 ERA)

There was a cinch however with the Condors rotation. Andrew Gudeman (7-7, 2.61 ERA) was on the DL, and they had also lost Jose Menendez (4-4, 3.23 ERA) a long time ago. Lowery was a right-hander that would be half of a shootout between 26-year old rookies on Sunday, and Cedillo, a left-handed swingman from Panama, would make his third career start at age 30. That ‘best rotation in the CL’ moniker was not something hewn in stone yet for the Condors!

Game 1
POR: LF Spencer – 2B Nomura – 1B Mendoza – 3B Nunley – RF Graves – CF Stevenson – SS Bullock – C Olivares – P Santos
TIJ: SS B. Rojas – 2B Read – 1B Saenz – RF Boggs – CF Jamieson – LF K. Evans – C E. Stephenson – 3B Umpierre – P Bryant

Bryant was in a world of trouble in the first inning as the first four Raccoons all reached on a sequence of double, single, hit in the butt, and walk. That gave them one run on Yoshi’s single, and the bases loaded for Graves, whose lack of power was a concern right now (1 HR in 93 AB) and wouldn’t change right now. Both him and Josh Stevenson brought in another run with a well-placed groundout, but that was it. Bullock walked, but Olivares popped out to Omar Saenz, keeping the score at 3-0. The early rush was not followed up by anything worth mentioning, while Santos allowed an alarming number of hard balls in 2-strike counts. The Condors however regularly found defenders at the end of their drives, except in the second inning, when they scored a run on Kurt Evans’ double and Eric Stephenson’s RBI single. It was no smooth sailing for Santos, though, who hit batters, walked batters, and allowed leadoff singles to the opposing pitcher…

When Yoshi hit a leadoff single in the fifth it was a vague sign that the Raccoons were still present in the game. Dumbo Mendoza immediately grounded into a double play because THERE MUST BE NO HOPE. Nunley hit another single, and then Graves drove a ball to the warning track, but neither did it go further than that, nor did it get past Robby Boggs. The catch was made, the inning was over. In the bottom of the same inning, Bob Rojas hit a leadoff single, then stole two bases (giving him 26 for the year) before scoring on Saenz’ sac fly, with diminished the Coons’ lead to a single run. Top 6th, Bullock got on, stole second, Olivares was smacked, but Santos couldn’t get a bunt down with one out and ultimately grounded to Howard Read for a double play, the Coons’ third in the game.

Santos was done after six nerve-wrecking innings and 100 pitches, handing the ball to Kaiser in the seventh, who held the ground despite a 1-out walk to Rojas. Bricker did a quick bottom 8th after Stevenson had singled and been picked off first by reliever Mike Peterson in the top of the inning. Peterson was still going in the ninth, but this time was tagged. Jackson hit a 1-out double in Bricker’s place, a ball that narrowly escaped between Boggs and Matt Jamieson in right center. Spencer in turn lined up the leftfield line for another double, chasing home Eddie with an insurance run. Yoshi reached first on a wrong safe call that gave him an infield single, putting men on the corners for Mendoza, who was hitless in five consecutive games and 0-for-17 overall, but finally managed to break into the H column for the week, also the RBI column, and, well, the HR column with a 3-piece romped to right. Carrell ended the game rather than Lillis. 7-2 Raccoons. Spencer 2-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Nomura 4-5, RBI; Jackson (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Game 2
POR: LF Spencer – CF Stevenson – 1B Mendoza – RF Jackson – 3B Nunley – C Parks – SS Bullock – 2B Petracek – P Dyer
TIJ: SS B. Rojas – 2B Read – LF Larios – C Sanford – RF Boggs – CF Jamieson – 1B Avalos – 3B Umpierre – P Cedillo

These two starters combined for one major league win so far (Dyer’s in New York last Sunday). There was hardly a ball hit softly against Dyer, who allowed sharp base knocks to Rojas and Read to begin the game, with Omar Larios’ sac fly bringing in the first run of the contest rather quickly. The Condors stranded Read, though, and Dyer managed to dance into and out of danger for a little bit, while the Raccoons variably threatened with leadoff singles, and then hit into a double play anyway like Stevenson in the third and Nunley in the fourth. Bullock hit a 1-out single in the fifth, stole second base, Petracek walked, and Dyer bunted into a force at third base. Larios caught Spencer’s easy fly to left, completing five innings of nothingness for the Raccoons.

When the bases were loaded in the top of the sixth, it came as a bit of a surprise, and to be fair, the Coons just as easily could have not put on anybody in the inning. Mendoza’s single to center with one out fell just in front of the incoming Jamieson. Jackson walked on a generous call, and Nunley legged out an infield single after a clumsy misplay by Pat Sanford. Parks batted with the bags full, and so far had been an utter disappointment as a Raccoon (more on that in the complaints section). Anything but a double play would have been a surprise, but his lineout to Rojas allowed Bullock to strike out to strand the runners, so things shook out as expected anyway. Dyer lived through six, but couldn’t get a bunt down after Petracek’s leadoff single in the seventh inning. Down 0-2, he put the next pitch in play, grounder to short, bang-bang, 6-4-3. On the mound he would complete seven innings on 101 pitches, never allowing more than the initial first-inning run while also never getting the least little bit of support, although his line at the end looked much better than his actual performance was, live and in color. The Condors collected an insurance run against Sugano and Dew in the eighth inning, but nobody should have worried; the Raccoons failed to mount a comeback in the ninth despite a leadoff walk drawn by Parks. Only then did Cedillo get removed for closer Jayden Reed, who retired the next three Critters in order. 2-0 Condors. Jackson 1-2, 2 BB; Dyer 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, L (1-4) and 1-3;

Game 3
POR: SS Spencer – 2B Nomura – 1B Mendoza – 3B Nunley – RF Graves – CF Stevenson – C Parks – LF Ochoa – P Martinez
TIJ: SS B. Rojas – 2B Read – CF Jamieson – C Sanford – LF Larios – RF Boggs – 1B Saenz – 3B Umpierre – P Lowery

The Coons were hitless the first time through the order, and Martinez allowed only one single in the first two innings until Rey Umpierre hit a jack over the leftfield fence to begin the bottom of the third. The inning came close to a real nightmare, with Howard Read hitting an infield single with two outs, followed by Mendoza putting Jamieson on with an error. Sanford grounded out to Spencer, who was giving Daniel Bullock a day off at short. Mendoza would have the first hit for the Raccoons, popping a ball over the 437’ marker in centerfield like it was nothing. That tied the score, but we remained in a tightly-pitched game through five, with teams totaling just a handful of base hits, including the two dingers. Jarod Spencer lashed a leadoff double to right center leading off the sixth, but between Yoshi’s lineout to short, an intentional walk to Mendoza, and eventually a sliding catch by Robby Boggs in right center on Graves’ 2-out fly, the Raccoons got nobody across home plate.

Seventh inning, next change, again with a leadoff double, this one being hit to left center by Josh Stevenson. COME ON, YOU LITTLE ****S!! Daddy wants to get out of ****ing Mexico! While the Raccoons did grab the lead, they did so on a 2-out wild pitch by Lowery; on their own and between Ochoa’s poor pop, Martinez’ bunt, and Spencer’s grounder to third, they would not have scored. Martinez almost had a quick bottom 7th, at least until Spencer bungled Omar Saenz’ grounder for a 2-out error. This removed the ground from beneath Martinez’ feet, emotionally, and probably his feet, too, because from there on he failed to throw another strike, walking both Umpierre and LOWERY to fill the bases. Adrian Rojas, a switch-hitter, hit for Bob Rojas, a left-hander. Well, Martinez was outta here, anyway, and Noah Bricker replaced him, trying to get to Adrian Rojas from his weaker side, which worked decently well with an inning-ending strikeout.

But relief was something that was sometimes all too brief. Bricker was back in the bottom 8th, walked Read, then allowed a bloody, score-flipping homer to Matt Jamieson’s, the centerfielder’s 11th this year. Another two runs scored on Evan Carrell as the team rabidly collapsed. Jayden Reed had a 5-2 lead in the ninth, allowed a single to Parks, but after Metts’ pinch-hit pop out got a grounder from Eddie Jackson – and through it so poorly that it bounced off Tony Avalos’ foot at first base. That brought the tying run to the plate in Spencer, whose batting average was in freefall, and who lined out to Read to end the game. 5-2 Condors. Martinez 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K;

This was the first defeat for Noah Bricker as a Raccoon.

In other news

August 24 – Three base hits, a home run, and four RBI make CIN RF Winston Jones (.336, 8 HR, 50 RBI) the player of the game in the Cyclones’ 12-2 rout of the Capitals.
August 25 – BOS CL Ron Thrasher (4-3, 1.11 ERA, 36 SV) blows a 10-9 lead and soaks the 11-10 loss of the Titans against the Canadiens by allowing a single and then walking four batters in the ninth inning. This ruins a concerted bullpen effort for the Titans, who at one point led the game by eight runs before imploding when their bullpen just can’t cover 8.2 innings following starter John Key’s (7-6, 4.88 ERA) departure after throwing only five pitches due to a sore wrist.
August 26 – SAL 3B Matt Lindsey (.226, 12 HR, 62 RBI) drives in five in the Wolves’ 13-4 win over the Stars despite landing only one base hit. He draws a bases-loaded walk and hits a grand slam, both against DAL SP Mario Alva (2-4, 10.46 ERA)
August 27 – The Buffaloes will have to move on without sophomore 2B Marco Hernandes (.302, 1 HR, 21 RBI), who strained a hamstring and will miss at least two weeks.
August 29 – LAP RF Marc Thompson (.258, 9 HR, 48 RBI) beats the Buffaloes, 7-3, with a walkoff grand slam off Bobby Dean (3-4, 3.04 ERA).
August 29 – CIN SP Josh Knupp (9-7, 3.67 ERA) is done for the next eight months with radial nerve compression.

Complaints and stuff

Jalen Parks wanted a contract extension this week, citing the enjoyable city of Portland and the positively rabid fan base. The bottom line for me was that there was no Jalen Parks in any of my 2022 plans and not even because he had axed 400 points off his OPS from New York to Portland, so I had to break this to him as diplomatically as I could. – HEY, PARKS! … GET OFF MY LAWN!!

Reluctantly I reassigned Alex Duarte to AAA after he cleared waivers. We should really just release him. He’s of the Luke Newton grain of outfielders: not appealing to any of the senses and actively working your team to the bottom of the division.

ABL CAREER STRIKEOUT LEADERS
60th – Parker Montgomery – 2,044 – HOF
61st – Alfredo Rios – 2,015
62nd – Manuel Hernandez – 1,997
63rd – Fernando Cruz – 1,993 – active
64th – Elwood Spurrell – 1,991
65th – Jonathan Toner – 1,985 – active
66th – Francisco Garza – 1,967
67th – Vernon Robertson – 1,961
68th – Ricardo Sanchez – 1,948
[…]
83rd – Dan Moriarty – 1,828
84th – Alfredo Collazo – 1,827
85th – Dave Crawford – 1,816
86th – Samuel McMullen – 1,803 – active
87th – Raimundo Beato – 1,791
88th – Hector Santos – 1,783 – active
89th – John Collins – 1,758
90th – Ramón Jimenez – 1,743
91st – Pedro Alvarado – 1,738 – active, free agent

Parker Montgomery was a right-handed pitcher that spent his entire career in the Federal League, hurling from the league’s inception in 1977 clean through 1994, and then with only two teams, the Scorpions until 1987 and the Capitals after that. He was arguably a better pitcher in his 30s than in his 20s, gaining better control after his move to Washington and getting the WHIP numbers down that had been consistently over 1.40 with Sacramento. While he never struck out more than 140 batters in a game, he compiled numbers consistently – in an 18-year career he was on the DL but once, for a sprained ankle. Leading the league in wins in ’90 with a 22-6 season in which he compiled a 3.27 ERA, Montgomery was also at his peak as the Capitals made four consecutive World Series from that year through ’93, winning two titles in addition to the ring he won with the 1980 Scorpions. He was an All Star four times and was inducted to the Hall of Fame by the Secret Ninja Committee in 1999.

Also, Jonny is gonna start twice next week, so the sky is the limit for him to become the 62nd or possibly 63rd pitcher – depending on what Cruz does – to the 2K K club. We will be on the last leg of our extended roadtrip in Oklahoma to begin the week, then return home to play the Loggers for three. Rosters expand on Wednesday, although there isn’t much Youth in America to promote anymore for us.

Maybe Damani Knight can pay a visit.