[Westheim]

As indicated, we started the week by sending Justin Waltz right back to AAA and activated Stephon Nettles from the DL.

Raccoons (48-44) @ Loggers (50-43) – July 20-22, 2043

First in runs scored, the Loggers fought their own pitching as much as they did other teams’, and they were third from the bottom in the runs conceded category. Their run differential was +41 (Critter: -10), which wasn’t all bad. They led the league in average and OBP, but were only middling in both power and speed. Their rotation was third-worst by ERA, their bullpen was the worst outright. Milwaukee led the season series, 5-4.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (6-8, 4.99 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (9-2, 2.69 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (6-8, 3.09 ERA) vs. Bobby Freels (6-4, 5.12 ERA)
Corey Mathers (13-5, 2.85 ERA) vs. Chris Lulay (8-4, 4.11 ERA)

Another series that would end with left-hander; Lulay was the only southpaw they had.

Game 1
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Ayala – SS Maldonado – C Kilmer – CF Nettles – RF Casas – LF Gonzalez – P Jackson
MIL: CF Reeves – RF Cannizzard – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – 3B Paul – SS Del Vecchio – C Sicco – 2B J. Cruz – P M. Peterson

With rain on the horizon, neither team did much in the early innings, with two hits aside, and no runner reaching third base. Ayala walked to begin the fourth inning and only made it into scoring position on a wild pitch, but he made it there just in time for a Nettles single to right that allowed him to score the game’s first run. That was the only run on the board through five innings and a rain delay in the fifth that lasted about 45 minutes and was certain to cut into the starters’ stamina in all unpleasant ways imaginable.

They made it through six though, somewhat aided by the lack of serious offense. Maldonado singled with two outs in the sixth, stole second base, but Kilmer struck out and the score remained 1-0. Peterson sat down Nettles and Casas to begin the seventh before Jordan Gonzalez singled. The Raccoons hit for Jackson, sending Synder, who flew out to Tim Cannizzard. We then pieced the next two innings together between Craig and Kelly, but the score was still 1-0 through eight. Maldonado walked against lefty Marvin Verduzco to begin the ninth inning, and then Kilmer was hit on a 2-2 pitch. The ump sent him to first base, but the Loggers vigorously protested that he swung at the pitch. No luck – the Coons got their second runner of the inning. Sieber batted for Nettles in the spot and cracked a single to right on the first pitch against the southpaw, with Maldonado racing around third base to score an insurance run. Casas hit a duck snort on 2-2 for a single to stuff the bases … with nobody out. Jordan Gonzalez popped out. Jay de Wit hit for Kelly, and bounced into a double play… LIKE ******* CLOCKWORK. One way or another … Josh Rella completed the shutout, and I’d settle for the W. 2-0 Critters. Nettles 2-3, RBI; Sieber (PH) 1-1, RBI; Gonzalez 2-4; Jackson 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, W (7-8);

Game 2
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Ayala – SS Maldonado – C Sieber – CF Nettles – LF de Wit – RF Casas – P Wheatley
MIL: CF Reeves – RF Cannizzard – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – 3B Paul – SS Del Vecchio – C Sicco – 2B J. Cruz – P Freels

Wheatley gave up a double to Valentino Sicco the first time through, and hit a double his first time up in the middle game – and neither occurrence led to a run. Wheatley’s offensive heroics even came leading off the third inning, but still … no luck. The Coons had all of two hits in five innings, while the Loggers had some more; three through three innings, and then singles by Jared Paul and Jose Cruz around a walk drawn by Sicco in the bottom 4th. Freels struck out for a crucial second out in the inning, but Wheatley got bombed by Bill Reeves with a grand slam to center. That wasn’t even all… Cannizzard walked, and singles by Aaron Brayboy and Daniel Hertenstein got a fifth run across before Paul struck out.

That was more or less the ballgame, and Wheatley had found another stinker after two decent starts. The Raccoons remained duds, and he was hit for in the fifth inning to no great effect. It was not until the sixth that the Raccoons got on the board; Jimenez hit a leadoff double to left, Ayala singled to right, and Maldonado hit a sac fly that was less helpful than it seemed. Sieber found a double play after that, ending the inning. The bases got loaded without a hit at all in the seventh as de Wit reached on a Cruz error and Freels walked Gutierrez and Carreno, but Jimenez grounded out to strand everybody.

Bob Ibold, promoted on Sunday, then actually got into his first major league game. He also got booked for his first run, walking miserable Ted Del Vecchio and giving up an RBI single to Cruz in the bottom 7th. Nobody did anything in the eighth, while Van Anderson hit a single of Ron Purcell to begin the ninth, appearing for Casas in the #8 hole. Gutierrez and Kilmer made unhelpful outs, but Jimenez ripped a longball to left, reducing the gap to three runs… but the Raccoons didn’t get another runner, with Ayala striking out against Cesar Perez. 6-3 Loggers. Carreno 0-1, 3 BB; Jimenez 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Ayala 2-5; Anderson (PH) 1-1; Montano 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Will the Raccoons ever find another ace, anywhere?

Probably not.

Mathers, stop polishing your 13-5 record and get your lame bum out there.

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF de Wit – C Kilmer – SS Gutierrez – RF Snyder – P Mathers
MIL: C Sicco – RF Cannizzard – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – 3B Paul – SS Del Vecchio – CF Serad – 2B J. Cruz – P Lulay

The Raccoons had another bases loaded spot with less than two outs right at the start of the rubber game when Carreno and Jimenez singled and Maldonado walked, but de Wit popped out to shallow left and Kilmer grounded out to short and another chance was dropped and smashed for nothing but a silent tear. Similarly, nothing good happened with Carreno’s leadoff double to left in the third inning. Popout, strikeout, groundout, and if I had the blunderbuss with me, brains out.

Mathers allowed a hit to Cruz and nothing else through four innings, then finally got in line for a W when Jimenez hit a solo homer to left-center, his 11th of the year and career, in the fifth. That one of course came with nobody on base. Mathers took it and ran with it, continuing to 1-hit the Loggers through six before giving up a 1-out double to center in the seventh to Brayboy. Jonathan Fleming grounded out, Jared Paul popped out to Jimenez, and the tying run was stranded on third base. Top 8th, de Wit’s 2-out single knocked out Lulay, with new lefty Marvin Verduzco allowing another single to Kilmer. In another obvious move, Sean Sieber hit for an 0-for-3 Jose Gutierrez for the platoon advantage, and it worked again when Sieber crammed a 2-0 pitch into the rightfield corner for a 2-run double…! Casas batted for Snyder, also 0-for-3, but grounded out, giving the ball back to the 2-hitting Mathers, who was on 96 pitches. Certified ******** Ted Del Vecchio floated a leadoff single into no man’s land, then advanced on T.J. Serad’s grounder. Cruz’ triple to center, into and out of the glove of Stephon Nettles at the fence, ended Mathers’ day, especially with left-handed PH Brad Simon appearing in he #9 hole. Chuck Jones entered in the #7 hole, making Stephon Nettles’ appearance in the game, a defensive replacement for Maldonado, who zoomed in to play shortstop after the top 8th, a brief one, removed in a double switch for Gonzalez. Simon grounded out to first for a big second out that kept the runner pinned, and even though Jones nicked Sicco, he got through the inning with a foul pop to strand the tiny runs on the corners. He remained in the game to begin the bottom 9th then, still up by two, with two more lefty bats coming up. He struck out Brayboy, then got a pop from Fleming. Jared Paul was hitting .334, but Jones would remain in to get one (but only one) shot at the save – and he got him on a grounder to third base! 3-1 Raccoons. Carreno 2-5, 2B; Jimenez 2-5, HR, RBI; Sieber (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Mathers 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (14-5) Jones 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (3);

I should buy a pack of playing cards on the way to the airport, just so I can look at an ace once again…

Raccoons (50-45) @ Thunder (50-44) – July 24-26, 2043

The Thunder were more games than runs over .500, sitting on a +5 run differential, but within sneezing distance of first plcae in the South anyway. Half a game out, they were fourth in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed. They had the second-most homers in the CL. Up 2-1 in the season series, they lacked a few regulars that were stuck on the DL, Al Martell and Ethan Moore.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (7-7, 4.12 ERA) vs. Alan Fleming (7-4, 3.96 ERA)
Jake Jackson (7-8, 4.71 ERA) vs. Lachlan Clarke (11-5, 4.31 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (6-9, 3.37 ERA) vs. Ruben Guzman (6-4, 4.07 ERA)

All right-handers in Oklahoma.

Game 1
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – C Sieber – LF de Wit – SS Gutierrez – RF Snyder – P Clark
OCT: 2B C. Vega – CF C. Greer – C Adames – SS Rowell – 1B A. Zacarias – RF Peck – LF Abel – 3B Kalinowski – P Fleming

No scoring continued for the Raccoons, with three hits scattered in the first five innings and nobody reaching third base. The Thunder weren’t much better, only getting an unearned runner to third base in the opening frame. Chad Greer reached when Snyder botched his fly to right, stole second base, and got to third base on Jesus Adames’ groundout, but was then stranded by Rick Rowell. The Thunder weren’t much better, held to two hits by Brent Clark, but also drew three walks off the left-hander, who struck out as many through five innings. Ayala hit a 2-out single in the sixth, Maldonado struck out, and Sieber opened the seventh with a single, but was forced out by Gutierrez and then Snyder stranded the runner altogether with a groundout. Clark maintained a 2-hitter through seven innings, but failed to maintain a double-digit pitch count and thus was pinch-hit when his spot led off the eighth inning. Nettles flew out for him before Carreno and Ayala hit singles to reach the corners – hey, third base! Now Maldonado just had to – no, he flew out to Angelo Zurita in right. Bob Ibold gave up a pair of 2-out singles in the bottom of the inning, but those led nowhere once Rowell struck out, and the game remained scoreless. Top 9th, another two singles for the Critters, both with two outs. Gutierrez hit the first one, and then the hopeless Snyder was hit for with Jose Casas against a right-hander, Brad Blankenship. He singled, Gutierrez went for third base, reached safely, and Casas snuck into second base behind him. However, all the Coons had to hit for Ibold was Van Anderson, who ran a 3-1 count before poking up the middle … and Rowell missed it, 2-run single …! Carreno grounded out, giving the ball to Josh Rella for the Thunder ninth. Rick Webb hit a double off him with one out, Rella moved the runner to third with a wild pitch, then surrendered it on Josh Kalinowski’s 2-out single to center. Can we please not…? Jimmy Kuhn was pinch-hitting in the #9 hole, who had some coonskinning history – but not this time, he grounded out to short. 2-1 Blighters. Ayala 2-4; Gutierrez 2-4; Casas (PH) 1-1; Anderson (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K;

Hitting .115, Brian Snyder was sent back to AAA. The Raccoons shrugged, then called up 29-year-old Steve Nickas, one of their many symbols of years of futility. Nickas was hitting .219 in AAA. He was a .213 hitter for his career in the majors, including .207 (6-for-29) last year. This would be his eighth season of some sort of cup of coffee for the perpetually mediocre Raccoons.

Game 2
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Ayala – SS Maldonado – C Kilmer – CF Nettles – RF Casas – LF Gonzalez – P Jackson
OCT: RF Zurita – CF C. Vega – C Adames – SS Rowell – 1B A. Zacarias – LF C. Greer – 2B R. Webb – 3B Kuhn – P Clarke

Portland scored in the first with a Carreno double and a Jimenez single, and Carlos Vega injured himself on a sliding catch to retire Maldonado, requiring a substitution by Adrian Ringel. Maldo wouldn’t be denied his second time at the plate, with two outs in the third inning. With Carreno and Jimenez on base, Maldo cracked a 3-run homer to left to extend the Coons’ lead to a dizzying 4-0. Jackson brought back some comfort in a convoluted bottom of the inning, allowing three singles before walking in the Thunder’s first run against Alex Zacarias with two outs. Chad Greer thankfully grounded out before the Coons tacked on ANOTHER 3-spot … in THE SAME GAME! …and the NEXT INNING!! Casas and Gonzalez both hit singles and pulled off a double steal. Jackson hit a sac fly, and Carreno and Jimenez both landed 2-out RBI singles to get up to 7-1.

Now it was about whether the wobbly Jackson could get through an appreciable number of innings. A single and a Gonzalez error put two on base to begin the bottom 5th, but he wound his way around there in three long at-bats with the 2-3-4 hitters, keeping the Thunder six runs distant. His pitch count was getting up there, though. Nevertheless, the Raccoons moved into blowout territory in the sixth against right-hander Mike Carnes, who issued a leadoff walk to Jackson, and thus deserved all the pain that befell him thereafter. Carreno singled, Jimenez whacked a 2-run double, Ayala walked, and Maldonado hit his second 3-run homer of the game, this one to right-center…!

The 5-spot made it a 12-1 game. Jimenez and Maldonado were removed for some extra rest after the top 7th. Jackson also was gone after seven, throwing 104 pitches for a W. Rick Rowell homered off Angelo Montano in the bottom 8th, which barely made a scratch in our massive lead, and Portland countered with three runs off Jimmy Driver in the ninth inning. de Wit hit a sac fly, and Kilmer drove in a pair. The Thunder answered with a 4-spot on Bob Ibold in the bottom of the ninth, with Rick Rowell banging a 3-run homer off the apparently overwhelmed right-hander. 15-6 Raccoons. Carreno 4-5, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Jimenez 4-4, 2B, 4 RBI; Maldonado 2-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI; Nettles 2-5, BB, 2B; Casas 3-6, 2B; Gonzalez 2-5; Jackson 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (8-8);

The late meltdown notwithstanding, the Raccoons now again had more runs scored than runs allowed, with a lofty +1 run differential.

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Ayala – SS Maldonado – C Sieber – CF Nettles – RF Casas – LF de Wit – P Wheatley
OCT: RF Zurita – 3B Bennett – C Adames – SS Rowell – 1B A. Zacarias – LF Ringel – CF C. Greer – 2B Kuhn – P R. Guzman

Maldonado’s sac fly in the first inning gave the Raccoons the lead, but was also unearned – Ricky Jimenez had reached on an error by Ringel before Ayala had doubled. The Raccoons would then put a few runners on in the next three innings, stranding all five of them, while Wheatley was not dominating, but adequate… but then came apart in the fourth, as he was always doing, wasn’t he? Granted, the defense needed to be beaten with a stick just as badly, with Adames’ leadoff single being followed by a Jimenez error on Rowell’s grounder. Wheatley walked Zacarias, three on with no outs, then gave up a game-tying single to Ringel. Greer popped out, but Kuhn singled through Jimenez for two runs, and de Wit’s throw to home plate only invited the remaining runners into scoring position. With the pitcher at the plate, Wheatley gave up a 2-run single to left, and I kicked a chair into the drywall – and halfway through it – in the visiting team’s suite.

The visiting team continued to strand runners. One in the fifth, two in the sixth, and another one in the seventh, when Ayala drew a 2-out walk, but Maldonado’s long fly was not quite flying long enough away and was caught at the fence by Zurita. The score remained 5-1 into the ninth, when Tony Fuentes, ancient by all standards, got the ball, but retired only de Wit before Gutierrez and Carreno both singled. Blankenship was called to the rescue – and rescued dutifully, getting a double play grounder to short from Jimenez that was executed 6-4-3…. 5-1 Thunder. Nettles 2-4; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1;

In other news

July 21 – Gold Sox C/1B David Pinedo (.232, 9 HR, 50 RBI) contributes four hits and five runs knocked in as Denver drowns Sacramento, 16-2.
July 22 – LAP SP Mike LeMasters (13-3, 2.60 ERA) 3-this the Warriors in a 6-0 shutout.
July 23 – The Thunder trade LF/CF/1B Matt Kinder (.250, 9 HR, 62 RBI) and cash to the Aces for a minor leaguer and a prospect.
July 24 – DAL 2B Hugo Acosta (.384, 4 HR, 53 RBI) drives in six runs in a 13-4 rout of the Miners.
July 24 - The Loggers pick up SP Jose de Lucio (4-8, 3.74 ERA) from the Falcons, along with $1.2M in cash, for two prospects.
July 25 – The Rebels’ SP Justin Kaiser (10-3, 3.38 ERA) is out for the year with shoulder inflammation.
July 26 – Denver picks up SP John Kennedy (4-10, 4.55 ERA) from the Buffaloes for three prospects.

FL Player of the Week: DAL 2B Hugo Acosta (.387, 4 HR, 53 RBI), batting .455 (10-22) with 1 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: TIJ RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.328, 7 HR, 52 RBI), hitting .565 (13-23) with 1 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Well, we can’t score 15 every day, can we? Actually, the 15 on Saturday were more runs than we scored in the other five games this week, combined. Good old Portland baseball – never change.

Trade deadline coming up next Friday. Are the Raccoons still good for a deal? With Ayala already on board, I am hesitant to take on a non-expiring contract for a most whimsical and theoretical chance. There are a few outfielders on the trading block, and rightfield has been such a giant black hole this entire season that even Carreno keeps cautiously eyeing behind him that the hole doesn’t encroach on his heels.

Let’s be honest – there’s nothing that can be done for this team. The only trade we’d do was for an outfielder with expiring contract that also didn’t cost us any meaningful prospect.

Cory Lambert went unclaimed and was assigned to AAA again.

Fun Fact: Corey Mathers is third in ERA in the CL, and leads the league in wins.

Really, Maud? Who does he play for? – Us? – Can’t be. I know all our players. – What do you mean, he’s sitting on the table with us? – (Mathers interrupts his munching and rummaging in the food bowl and bangs his pitching paw on the desk, then flinches)