[Westheim]

Raccoons (15-14) vs. Rebels (6-24) – May 9-11, 2028

Richmond, April 1865 – it was not quite as bad, but pretty bad. Last in runs scored, last in runs allowed, a crippling -68 run differential in early May. There was nothing going well for them. Not one thing. Nothing at all. They also had not won a season series against Portland since 2018, losing the last four. This had all the ingredients for a colossal upset…

Projected matchups:
Rin Nomura (2-3, 3.15 ERA) vs. Andy Palomares (1-5, 6.69 ERA)
George James (1-2, 6.51 ERA) vs. Fernando Estrada (0-4, 9.00 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (2-0, 1.35 ERA) vs. Rich Guerrero (1-3, 6.49 ERA)

Guerrero and Jaden Baldwin (2-2, 3.52 ERA) had both pitched in a double-header on Saturday, so we could get either one on Thursday. At the end of the day, all their starters were right-handers.

Adding injury to insult, the Rebels had been flogged even harder by broken bones and other maladies than the Raccoons in the early going, losing Dan Dalton (for the season), Joaquin Serrano, Seth Odum, Raimondo Odescalchi, and what they perceived to be their shortstop of the future, Evan Donahue, who had batted .130 before his back had come apart and he had required surgery for a ruptured disc, also putting him out for all of 2028.

Game 1
RIC: CF Olmos – 3B Hansen – LF M. Owen – C Dehne – 2B Hernandes – 1B D. Brown – RF Damron – SS Zamora - Palomares
POR: LF Millan – SS Stalker – CF Mora – 3B Hereford – RF Gomez – 1B Harenberg – C Tovias – 2B Spencer – P Nomura

To nobody's surprise at all, the Rebels would score first thanks to Matt Dehne's leadoff jack in the second inning. Nomura proceeded to yield singles to Marco Hernandes and Dan Brown before a Keith Damron grounder ended up with Rich Hereford for a 5-3 double play that helped the Coons extangle themselves from a sticky inning. Damron made it up to his team the next time around, hitting a 2-out RBI double to plate Dehne to extend the Rebels lead to 2-0 in the fourth. The Raccoons? They were sure physically present; they always were, making sure nobody got too close to the lunchbox with their name on top. That was about it for the early innings before Tim Stalker hit a gapper for a leadoff double in the bottom 4th. Even then they made two dispiriting outs before Rafael Gomez got a ball past Hernandes for a 2-out RBI single – that was also his first RBI that was not himself as the runner … ON THE SEASON.

Nomura was all done after six turbulent innings with over 110 pitches on his ledger; also another run, Hernandes scoring on a Damron groundout in the sixth inning, extending the Rebels lead to 3-1. It almost got worse in the next inning, clueless Jonathan Fleischer stacking the bases with singles by John Hansen and Matt Owen, then walking Matt Dehne. Three on, one out, Ricky Ohl had to come in and strike out a pair to leave the Raccoons any chance at all to come back against the woefully dominant .200 team in the house. Maybe this game was about signs of life – the Rebels sending one for sure, but after Gomez maybe we could also get another "slugger" back on the horse (sort of). Gomez drew a leadoff walk against Palomares in the bottom 7th and in better times I would have hoped for Harenberg to tie the game with a whoopee. Right now, all I hoped for was no double play. We got the whoopee, a blast to right that was Harenberg's first homer this year (…), tied the game, and in quick succession Tovias hit a double on the very next pitch before Spencer got nicked. At this point, the desperate Raccoons sent German Sanchez to pinch-run for Tovias (the go-ahead run) *in the seventh*, while Armando Leal batted for Ricky Ohl – straight into a double play, 4-6-3. Millan flew out to Franklin Olmos, stranding Sanchez at third base. The eighth was uneventful (unless you counted Harenberg grounding out to strand Hereford and Gomez as event, in which case your standards were rather low), but the ninth saw Matt Owen hit a blast off Dan McLin to centerfield to break the 3-3 tie. The Raccoons arrived in the bottom 9th to face Kaleb Babcock, once a paper Coon that had been in the organization for eight weeks a few winters ago. Jaden Booker led off pinch-hitting for McLin in the #7 hole and singled up the middle. Spencer singled to left where Owen overran the ball for an error, allowing the tying run to third base and the winning run to second base … with nobody out! Oh goddamnit, you HAVE to seize on that stupid error!! COME ON LEAL!! Leal struck out, no surprise there, and then Millan grounded out to the mound. There were still two on, and Tim Stalker's grounder near the third base line didn't look likely to change that… but Hansen had trouble handling it, Booker crossed home plate, and the throw to first… LATE! Stalker was safe, and the Coons had staved off deserved defeat! And then Mora grounded out to Hernandes, and we got to play extras…

There were two innings of Josh Boles in which he struck out four and only had to contend with a bunt single by Franklin Olmos, after which Surginer pitched a quick 12th. The Coons had been entirely passive in the 10th and 11th, but Stalker opened the 12th with a fast bouncer through John Hansen for a leadoff double against right-hander Ismael Gutierrez. And if they would not get this run in, I would spit into every single lunchbox for the rest of the week! Abel Mora singled, moving Stalker to third base with nobody out, and up came Rich Hereford, the only guy I still had confidence in, although his torrid early April had long ended. He grounded out, because confidence was for suckers, and Stalker remained at third base. The Rebels wanted no part of Gomez, who was walked intentionally to load the bases and brought up Harenberg, a prime double play chance…. But not this time. Harenberg poked a 1-2 pitch over Marco Hernandes, and the Coons walked off, very, very late. 5-4 Blighters. Stalker 4-6, 2 2B, RBI; Gomez 2-4, 2 BB, RBI; Harenberg 3-6, HR, 3 RBI; Spencer 2-4; Boles 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

That was not even the latest win on the day. The Titans beat the Cyclones in *17* after initially falling 3-2 behind in the top 17th, scoring twice in the bottom 17th then. Cincy's Ricardo Rangel (.388, 0 HR, 10 RBI) had five hits, to no avail.

Next up was George James, who would have been the next pitcher in the extra-inning drama to prevent complete bullpen burnout right after an off day.

Game 2
RIC: CF Olmos – 2B Hernandes – C Pizzo – LF M. Owen – 1B Godown – RF Damron – 3B Hansen – SS Zamora – P F. Estrada
POR: LF Millan – SS Stalker – CF Mora – 3B Hereford – RF Gomez – 1B Harenberg – C Tovias – 2B Spencer – P James

These starters had 48.2 innings and 41 earned runs between them for this season, so I braced for another one of what I would generously call "pitching duel". You know, either that, or James getting sucked up in the draft of a particularly peppered home run and being carried over any which fence, leaving us going to the pen early… The former happened; James was messy, but somehow scratched out a 3-hit shutout on 73 pitches through five innings, which was miles of progress even against the worst offense in the Federal League, while the Coons did little, but at least led 2-0 after the second inning, courtesy of an Elias Tovias home run. The Coons would have Millan and Stalker on base to start the bottom 5th thanks to a pair of singles, but the middle of the order amounted to a grounder and two strikeouts against Estrada, who was clearly wavering but not falling. Millan stranded another pair in the sixth when he flew out to Owen on a 3-1 pitch. The Rebels scratched out a run in the seventh that was charged to James thanks to a leadoff walk issued to Keith Damron, although the run actually scored against Ricky Ohl on Dehne's pinch-hit single, erasing half the Critters' 2-0 lead, but they hissed hard enough to get the run back in the bottom 7th, thanks to Abel Mora landing a 1-out triple in the right-center gap. Hereford was walked intentionally by right-hander Kevin DuCharme, but Jorge Zamora failed to reach Rafael Gomez' grounder that escaped for an RBI single, 3-1. And so far in the series, Franklin Olmos had shagged virtually every fly hit even remotely in his direction, but he would miss two in a row as this inning developed. Harenberg got a fly behind him for an RBI double, 4-1, and after the Rebels walked Tovias intentionally and went to new righty Sean Bastone, Jarod Spencer got a liner past Olmos in sideways fashion for a 2-run double. Bastone then secured outs from Booker and Millan to keep the Coons to a 5-run edge, but that edge would not stay at five runs. Bastone got scorched in the eighth, bleeding singles to Mora, Hereford, and Gomez before Tovias hit a blast to left. GRAAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!! 10-1 Raccoons! Stalker 3-5; Mora 2-5, 3B; Gomez 2-5, RBI; Harenberg 2-5, 2B, RBI; Tovias 2-3, 2 BB, 2 HR, 6 RBI; Spencer 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; James 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, W (2-2);

As a special surprise, ownership snowed into the house unannounced for the Thursday tilt where Rico Gutierrez would face an all-right-handed lineup. He couldn't have come a day earlier…??

Game 3
RIC: CF Olmos – 3B Hansen – LF M. Owen – C Dehne – 2B Hernandes – 1B D. Brown – RF Damron – SS Zamora – P Baldwin
POR: LF Millan – SS Stalker – CF Mora – 3B Hereford – RF Gomez – 1B Harenberg – C Tovias – 2B Spencer – P Gutierrez

The Coons at least picked two early runs from their fur when Jaden Baldwin stumbled and allowed four hits and a walk in the opening inning. While Magallanes grounded out to strand a full set, Harenberg and Spencer had at least driven in somebody with RBI singles. Rico Gutierrez held the Rebels hitless the first time through, but allowed a 1-out single to Owen in the fourth inning, then quickly added another runner when he misfielded Dehne's grounder for an error. Dan Brown snuck in a 2-out RBI single sandwiched between pop outs on the infield, giving Richmond an unearned run to cut the gap to 2-1. Standing next to me in my hallowed offices, Nick Valdes dryly remarked that Rico needed a proper glove, to which I had no response.

The Coons didn't get another base hit until Rafael Gomez led off the sixth with a clean single to center, while Valdes made cryptic notes in a small notebook of his. I tried to peak; he gave me the sort of look parents would give to a naughty child trying to reach the cookie jar. To make things worse, Harenberg grounded into a double play, which was also duly noted. Even worse, the Rebels tied the game in the seventh on Dan Brown's leadoff single and Damron's double before Rico put away the bottom of the order, somehow. Rico ended up with a no-decision despite Spencer's leadoff single in the bottom 7th because nobody in a brown shirt could find a clutch hit when it was most urgently needed AGAIN. But Rich Hereford came through – he hit a solo homer off Baldwin in the eighth that broke the 2-2 tie and also kept him in first place for power slugs in the Continental League! Portland went on to amp up the hurt with Gomez (single) Harenberg (RBI double), Tovias (intentional walk), and Magallanes (infield single) before Leal pinch-hit for McLin with one out and struck out. Millan squeezed in an RBI single before Zamora retired Stalker on a sharp yet futile grounder. It would be enough… barely. Josh Boles issued a leadoff walk to Damron in the ninth, then a 2-out single to Olmos and another walk to John Hansen before Matt Owen struck out with the tying runs aboard… 5-2 Critters. Hereford 2-4, HR, RBI; Gomez 2-4; Harenberg 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Tovias 0-1, 3 BB; Gutierrez 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K;

A sweep! And I won't be fired! – Yes, Nick. For now.

Raccoons (18-14) vs. Crusaders (16-19) – May 12-14, 2028

Now back to actual baseball teams. The Crusaders were fifth in the North, but only 3 1/2 games behind the leaders … hey, that's us! The Titans lost on Thursday to allow us to squeak through into the prime spot. New York ranked second from the bottom with only 121 runs scored, and they were middling with their pitching, conceding the fifth-fewest runs. In the latter mark they actually tied the Coons coming in, while we sat ninth in runs scored with 132 markers… not exactly a wealth of them… The Raccoons had won two of three from the Crusaders in the first series between the two teams in '28.

Projected matchups:
Dan Delgadillo (2-2, 5.79 ERA) vs. Jesse Wright (1-2, 4.61 ERA)
Mark Roberts (3-2, 3.22 ERA) vs. Eddie Cannon (2-4, 5.17 ERA)
Rin Nomura (2-3, 3.33 ERA) vs. Carlos Marron (3-2, 3.00 ERA)

Three more right-handed pitchers here; also a bunch of position players on the DL for New York, foremost Jamie Wilson, Ivan Vega, Felipe Delgado, and Nick Hatley.

Maud, why is Nick Valdes still here? – Oh well, at least make sure that they get proper food, not the crap we leave around in the clubhouse. Wait, what do you mean with - … is he even allowed to bring in "business partners" to make deals in the ballpark? – They already have their own food? – Is that why everything smells of oysters in here?

Game 1
NYC: RF Torruellas – 1B Elder – 3B Schmit – C Asay – CF Ugolino – SS M. Fletcher – LF Olszewski – 2B Cameron – P J. Wright
POR: LF Millan – SS Stalker – 3B Hereford – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – CF Mora – 2B Spencer – C Leal – P Delgadillo

Yusneldan got ripped a new one right at the start of the game as Rafael Torruellas led off with a single, Jay Elder doubled into the leftfield corner, and Andy Schmit rocked a 3-run homer to right-center. Ah, yes, must be a proper baseball team! And not only Dan Delgadillo did not get much of a punch in this game – the rest of the team amounted to no on-base presence whatsoever and two strikeouts against Jesse Wright the first time through. The Crusaders had added a run in the third inning, but at least Tim Stalker's homer in the bottom 4th banished the perfect game that I already began to see materializing. After that, Hereford singled and Harenberg doubled, suddenly bringing up the tying run in Gomez, who ran a full count before he cracked a ball through between Schmit and Mike Fletcher for a 2-run single, 4-3. Mora singled to right, putting runners on the corners, and Spencer hit another ball past Schmit for the game-tying base hit. Drew Olszewski struggled to make the cut-off on the ball in leftfield and played it into an RBI double that moved the go-ahead runs into scoring position for Armando Leal, who didn't get a turn. With one out, Delgadillo batted, hitting a fly to right that Torruellas caught and used to throw out Abel Mora at home plate to end the inning, now in a 4-4 tie.

Harenberg drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom 5th, pressing an RBI through Jay Elder that scored Omar Millan (leadoff single) from second base, while Rich Hereford moved from first to second on the play. The Crusaders pulled the emergency rope on Wright and went for Chris Klein (who remained in the pen for unknown reasons; perhaps there was some sort of punishment, emotional or otherwise, involved), who secured a double play from Rafael Gomez to end the inning. Abel Mora protected the 5-4 lead in the sixth as the Crusaders' bottom of the order hit real rockets off Delgadillo, but couldn't get them to fall into centerfield. Millan was the hero in the seventh, racing to catch a Jason Asay line drive that could have at least tied the game with runners belonging to Kearney and Surginer on base, but ended the inning instead. The Coons also left a pair stranded in the bottom 7th when Harenberg popped out against Jarod Stone, but Stone served up a pinch-hit homer to Elias Tovias in the bottom 8th. Tovias had batted in place of Billy Brotman with two outs and nobody on. Leal made the last out in the eighth, so now we only needed someone to close this one out. Everybody was tired; with right-handers up we went to Ricky Ohl in deference of Josh Boles having thrown 57 pitches in the last three days, not all good. Ohl one-upped him; leadoff single to Joe Cameron, then another single by Rafael Torruellas. Jay Elder tied the score with a double, and then Schmit reached when Ohl dropped Harenberg's feed at first base. After a 4-pitch walk to Asay, Ohl was yanked … for Boles. Perfect disaster – until Boles struck out Fabien Ugolino and Mike Fletcher, stranding three in a 6-6 game. Bottom 9th, Steve Casey allowed a leadoff single to German Sanchez in the #9 hole, which was weird enough, and then Sanchez swiped second base, too! He further advanced on Millan groundout, but now we needed Stalker to come through – but the Crusaders wouldn't let him, extending the intentional walk to him in hopes for a double play grounder from Rich Hereford. But Rich didn't hit it on the ground. He hit it up! Up, up, up, up … AAAAAAND GOOOOOONNNNNNE!!! 9-6 Furballs!! Stalker 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; Hereford 3-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Harenberg 2-4, 2B, RBI; Tovias (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI;

There is a lot of things that doesn't work with this team… but they have a knack for dramatic last-ditch comebacks for sure…!

Oh well, Nick Valdes was happy, so by extension I was happy, too. At least for some 20 hours, because a new game was always around the corner.

Game 2
NYC: LF I. Vega – 1B Elder – 3B Schmit – C Asay – SS M. Fletcher – CF Shaffer – 2B Cameron – RF Olszewski – P E. Cannon
POR: LF Millan – SS Stalker – 3B Hereford – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – C Tovias – CF Mora – 2B Spencer – P Roberts

Another day, another Raccoons starter that got the living **** beaten out of him early on. Mark Roberts saw the minimum in the first two innings, then saw balls with rapid exit velocity escape screaming over his head by the third. Joe Cameron led off with a double, Olszewski singled, Cannon bunted him over, and the runners scored on a Vega sac fly (fresh off the DL and already annoying!), then an Jay Elder double, and finally Schmit also chipped in an RBI single to put the New Yorkers ahead 3-0. Somehow Asay popped out to end the barrage. The Raccoons didn't even get a base hit through three, and lonely singles by Harenberg in the fourth and Spencer in the fifth also weren't going to get them anywhere. Roberts got deconstructed for good by the sixth inning. Jay Elder had already hit a 2-out solo blast in the fifth, and in the sixth Roberts lost Asay on a leadoff walk, then gave up another hideously long homer to Mike Fletcher. That made it 6-0, and also bedtime for the former ace that couldn't keep balls remotely in the park anymore… Fleischer pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless ball then… at least until he got completely stuck with a pair of 2-out runners in the eighth. Kearney came on against Olszewski, allowed an RBI single, then another single to PH Torruellas, before walking in a run facing Vega. Elder grounded out to strand three more. In short, one of those awful games. Somewhere in the late innings Cannon served up a pity homer to Rafael Gomez, but that one didn't really matter in the final box score. 8-1 Crusaders. Harenberg 2-4; Spencer 2-3;

Game 3
NYC: LF I. Vega – 1B Elder – 3B Schmit – C Asay – SS M. Fletcher – CF Shaffer – 2B Cameron – RF Torruellas – P Marron
POR: SS Stalker – 2B Spencer – 3B Hereford – 1B Harenberg – LF Gomez – C Tovias – CF Mora – RF Booker – P Nomura

The Coons made an error before they made anything else, Gomez dropping Vega's fly to begin the game, but at least Nomura wasn't rolled up for a 4-spot right away. The contrary; Stalker and Spencer opened the bottom 1st with singles, and while the middle of the order was disappointing to say the least, Marron plated the first run of the game with a wild pitch. Whatever works…! Top 2nd, Stalker's throwing error put Fletcher on base to begin that inning, but again Nomura wiggled out of the situation and in turn Abel Mora upped to 2-0 with a solo shot to center in the bottom of the inning.

But this was clearly a weird-ass game in the making, and it got weirder promptly. Stalker popped out to begin the third, but Spencer hit a single past Fletcher, then stole second. Hereford flew out to left, and Harenberg grounded to the mound, which would have ended the inning, except that now Marron threw a ball away, all the way into the stands. The 2-base error awarded Spencer home plate, 3-0, and then Nick Shaffer prevented even worse developments with an egregious hustling catch on a Gomez drive in deepest centerfield. The next error in the game was Gomez' again, dropping a line drive by Fletcher with one out in the fourth. Nomura, slightly annoyed, then had one slip into Nick Shaffer who limped to first base with a welt surely developing on his bum. The tying run was up, but Cameron and Torruellas both struck out to end the inning. At this point, both teams had as many errors as hits; one each for New York, and three each for Portland. Weird-ass game.

What was still missing? A passed ball and uncaught third strike! Elias Tovias took care, allowing Marron to fan, yet still chug to first base to begin the top 5th while Tovias went after the escaping strike three and presumably was distracted by a piece of cake on the way to the backstop… And that free runner, too, was stranded by Nomura despite Vega's single. Elder hit into a double play, while Schmit went down on strikes. Tovias hung on this time… This was also the final inning for Marron in the game. The Coons took him apart for five hits and four runs in the bottom 5th, starting with Stalker and Spencer singles, and leading to 2-run base knocks, back-to-back, by Gomez and Tovias. Sadly, Nomura lasted only 6 1/3 innings, owed to all the extra runners as well as eluding control in the seventh inning in which he left with runners on the corners but the 7-0 shutout still intact. McLin surrendered a sac fly against Elder, but that was all fine… the philosophy with a routinely overworked bullpen was always the same: get outs, no matter how. If necessary, catch singed line drives with your crotch.

There was another error to be made in the game, Joe Cameron dropping a Booker pop in the bottom 8th that put two on with nobody out for Portland. Both came around to score; Mora was plated by Danny Morales with a pinch-hit RBI double, while Tim Stalker's groundout brought in Booker. That was before the Raccoons put the crown on this definitely weird-ass game. Morales, who had batted for McLin, went to the mound for the ninth inning. It was a 9-1 game alright, but the Coons were *in the lead*. Torruellas led off with a single before Juan Espinosa hit into a fielder's choice. Vega singled. Elder singled to left, but Gomez murdered Espinosa at home plate for the second out. Why run here in the first pla- never mind, they're helping us out! Morales balked at the 1-0 to Andy Schmit, who would put the 2-1 in play, a fast bouncer to first… and Harenberg made the play…! 9-1 Furballs!! Stalker 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Spencer 3-4, BB, 2B; Mora 2-4, HR, RBI; Morales (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI and 1.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; McLin 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

In other news

May 8 – The Falcons have to put LF/RF Barend Kok (.342, 6 HR, 16 RBI) on the DL with a knee sprain that will keep him out of games until early June.
May 9 – Scorpions and Knights play 12 scoreless innings before Sacramento breaks through with four runs in the top of the 13th inning. The Knights remain dry and take a 4-0 loss.
May 10 – After three years of toiling in the minor leagues, 30-year-old SP Dave Dyer lands an injury replacement assignment with the ravaged Titans and tosses seven innings of no-hit ball against the Cyclones before C Tony Perez (.268, 2 HR, 11 RBI) hits a leadoff home run in the eighth inning. Dyer (1-0, 1.29 ERA) is removed thereafter, but still picks up his first win since 2024 in the 6-1 Titans triumph.
May 10 – CHA SP Jesus Chavez (1-3, 6.21 ERA) will miss three months with elbow inflammation.
May 12 – The Gold Sox score a 4-3 walkoff win against the Scorpions with two singles off SAC SP Jesse Koerner (1-3, 3.54 ERA), then a throwing error by SAC C David Drews (.242, 6 HR, 16 RBI) as he tried to get a double play on a poor grounder by 43-year-old DEN 1B Jose Gutierrez (.308, 0 HR, 2 RBI).
May 13 – PIT 1B Danny Santillano (.441, 5 HR, 22 RBI) is *almost* literally on fire, batting far over the .400 mark and also having chained together a 20-game hitting streak.
May 13 – SP Andy Palomares (1-5, 6.13 ERA) is traded back to the Thunder by the Rebels, along with cash, for two prospects.
May 14 – The 2028 season of SAL C Elijah Bean (.261, 4 HR, 15 RBI) might have come to an end with a snapped achilles tendon.
May 14 – CIN LF/RF Kelvin Winborn (.347, 3 HR, 24 RBI) sinks the Miners in the ninth inning with a come-from-behind, walkoff grand slam off PIT MR David Gerow (0-1, 8.18 ERA, 1 SV) to give Cincinnati a 6-4 win.

Complaints and stuff

About Sunday and the ninth inning? Yeah, we might be crazy, but admit it – we've always been that way!

We are leading the North right now, but our run differential is zip. 151 runs scored, 151 runs spilled. That's 4.3 per game, respectively, and right around average for the CL right now.

I literally yelled "Dave Dyer?? Where the **** did he come from??" when his name flashed up in the sports news. In case you don't remember him, you'll be forgiven. He was a rookie on the 2021 Coons and went 2-6 with a 4.94 ERA before he was packaged with Ruben Pelles and sent to Oklahoma City for Hector Morales in July of the following season. Yes, that is the Hector Morales that pitched one third of an inning here last season before his arm came apart.

Sweeping the Rebels moves them to .500 against us all time (36-36, not counting playoff games BECAUSE WE ARE NOT COUNTING THOSE), leaving only five teams against whom the Raccoons do not have at least an even all-time record: Gold Sox (.462), Warriors (.470), Cyclones (.483), Titans (.485), and the damn Elks (.499);

Kaleb Babcock was a rule 5 pick from the Titans before he was packaged up in the trade that brought Abel Mora to Portland. The other players going over four years ago were Cory Dew and Joe Moore. Hard to say who got the better end of the stick there; depends on how much value you put on right-handed relievers that are not exactly closer material.

Next week, the homestand continues with games against Indy and Oklahoma. I am not sure about whether we get any more surprise visits. Better not let the liquor stand around unattended.

Fun Fact: On July 2, 2027 the Thunder first traded Andy Palomares to the Rebels, then also along with cash, and for two prospects. In both Palomares trades, #42 prospect SP Kyle Dominy was one of the two minor leaguers exchanged.

The Rebels got outfielder Nick Weeden in this week's trade. They initially traded a different prospect to the Thunder in 2027, C Bettino Broccoli.

Yes. Broccoli.

No way he could be a Raccoon. Kid ain't got the guts.