[Westheim]

Raccoons (34-34) @ Crusaders (29-40) – June 21-23, 2049

The Raccoons were already going to nowhere, but the Crusaders were still worse. Eighth in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed somehow worked out to a -19 run differential and 11 games under .500, and they were 2-4 against the Raccoons this year. New York was without SP Carlos Malla, CL Jeff Frank, and infielder Randolph Nash. The Critters still had Mike Preble and Bob Ibold on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Victor Salcido (1-2, 2.93 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (4-7, 3.79 ERA)
Victor Merino (5-5, 4.77 ERA) vs. Taylor Stabile (5-1, 2.10 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (4-6, 3.83 ERA) vs. Sal Chavez (6-6, 3.88 ERA)

Three more right-handers coming up in this series.

Game 1
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Gurney – 2B Waters – 3B Luna – SS Adame – C Gardner – P Salcido
NYC: 1B Haertling – 2B R. Martinez – SS Gates – C O. Ramirez – CF D. Hernandez – LF Garris – 3B Haney – RF Foss – P J. Johnson

The week started out really great. Salcido struck out the first two he faced, then allowed a single to Prince Gates and a homer to Omar Ramirez, and when Matt Waters led off the top 2nd, he got beaned out of the game. Tim Rogers replaced him, Eddy Luna walked, but the bottom of the order croaked and nobody scored. The team didn’t get a hit the first time through the order, while the Crusaders got another two singles off Salcido in the bottom 2nd, but stranded those. The Coons’ entry into the H column was a gap triple by Luna with one out in the fourth. Alex Adame hit an RBI double to left to cut the deficit in half, but then Wade Gardner grounded out and Salcido whiffed to end the inning.

Through four innings, young Salcido was on six strikeouts… but also three homers, giving up solo shots to both Josh Garris and Aaron Foss in the bottom 4th, falling behind 4-1 in the process. He got bopped around some more in the fifth, giving up a run on an RBI double by Garris, then allowed a single to Mark Haney, too, and was yanked for Ponce with two outs and two aboard. Ponce struck out Foss to close the book on Salcido at 4.2 innings, five earned runs, and all deserved…

Top 6th, Johnson plunked the #5 hitter again, which was about the only way to get Tim Rogers on base, then gave up duck snort singles to shallow center to both Luna and Adame, filling the bags with one gone and bringing up Gardner as the tying run. He lined out to Haney, but Johnson walked in a run against PH Brian Nigro. Watt ran a full count, then flew out to Dave Hernandez to leave the tying runs on base. Nate Norris pitched the next two innings, giving up a run on a Prince Gates double in the sixth, which proved the final run in a listless loss for the Critters, in which they had to use Nelson Moreno in the bottom 8th to continue to make ends meet at all in the pen. 6-2 Crusaders. Luna 2-3, BB, 3B; Adame 2-4, 2B, RBI; Nigro (PH) 0-0, BB, RBI;

Matt Waters hit the DL by Tuesday morning with a bad bruise on his elbow, but fortunately no structural damage. Of course, an already watery Coons lineup only got worse with that… 22-year-old Rich Seymour had played nine games with Portland earlier this year, hitting .167, and was brought back from St. Pete. He was hitting .262/.347/.369 with the Alley Cats.

With both Preble and Waters on the DL, the team home run lead among active players devolved onto Pat Gurney and Bryce Toohey with five each.

Oh, wait…

Game 2
POR: CF Watt – 3B Luna – 1B Maldonado – LF Gurney – C Gonzalez – RF Nigro – SS Adame – 2B Seymour – P Merino
NYC: 1B Haertling – LF Garris – SS Gates – CF D. Hernandez – 2B R. Martinez – 3B Haney – C Brewer – RF Foss – P Stabile

The Coons had four hits in the first inning, barely scoring a run, since there was also a 9-2 double play weaved into that inning when Maldo came up with runners on the corners, flew out to Foss, and Watt was thrown out at home plate in the same go-around. Ruben Gonzalez eventually singled home Luna, and that was that. Ed Haertling tied up the score on the first pitch by Merino, homering mighty deep to right. Haertling would also have a hand in taking the lead in the third inning, hitting a leadoff single to left that Gurney overran for an extra base, which allowed Haertling to score on two groundouts afterwards, which then made it 2-1 New York.

But the Coons came back, in rather bizarre fashion. Merino whacked a gap double to lead off the fifth inning, then scored on a 2-base throwing error by Ricardo Martinez, who peppered a Matt Watt grounder into the first base dugout. That got us even at two with the go-ahead run in scoring position. Luna singled to make it corners for Maldo again, and Maldo found another double play, a more conventional 6-4-3 this time, but that got Watt home to grab that 3-2 lead. Maldo had another chance for a double play with Watt and Luna on second and first, respectively, in the seventh, but this time only flew out to Foss again. Gurney then grounded out against Ryan Fentress to bring about the stretch. Merino pitched still in the bottom 7th, faced four lefty hitters, and gave up straight 1-out singles to the latter three of them, Tom Labedz, Haertling, and Garris. That tied the game and got Merino sent for the showers. Hitchcock replaced him, got a double play from Prince Gates, and Merino ended up with a no-decision.

The Coons wasted Gonzalez and Adame singles in the eighth, while the Crusaders left the go-ahead run on third base in the bottom of that inning, where Martinez arrived on a 2-base throwing error by Rich Seymour and a wild pitch by Nate Norris. Nobody even reached scoring position in the ninth, giving the Coons’ beleaguered pen extra innings to contend with. The Coons’ best bet in the tenth was a Gurney fly to deep center that was nevertheless caught, while the Crusaders got a 1-out double by Ron Arens to left against Orlando Altreche in the bottom 10th. Martinez grounded out, but Randy Anton (who?) pinch-hit for pitcher Sean Yates with two outs and made Yates a winner with a walkoff homer to right. 5-3 Crusaders. Luna 3-4, BB; Gurney 2-5, 2B; Gonzalez 2-5, RBI;

The Crusaders sent SP Mike Zeigler (5-7, 5.77 ERA) to Tijuana between games, receiving two prospects.

Maybe related, maybe not, their guy for Wednesday became right-hander Jerry Felix (0-1, 4.89 ERA).

Game 3
POR: 3B Luna – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – LF Gurney – C Gonzalez – RF Avila – SS Adame – 2B Seymour – P Wheatley
NYC: 1B Haertling – 2B R. Martinez – SS Gates – C O. Ramirez – CF D. Hernandez – LF Garris – 3B Haney – RF Foss – P Felix

Gurney and Gonzalez went to the corners with a walk and a single to begin the top 2nd, and Eduardo Avila hit a sac fly to center to get the first run on the board. Felix drilled Adame, then gave up an RBI double to Rich Seymour that went into the gap in right-center, 2-0. Even better, Wheats drove a double down the rightfield line to snatch his first two RBI of the season…! That was the end of that inning, but on the mound Wheats was flawless the first time through, allowing nobody on base while whiffing a pair.

The bottom of the order tore deeper into Felix in the fourth inning. Avila reached on a soft leadoff single before Adame and Seymour ripped back-to-back RBI doubles. Wheats even chipped a single to center, putting runners on the corners in a 6-0 game. Felix brought in Seymour with a wild pitch, then gave up yet another RBI double to Luna, then was graciously removed for euthanasia. Maldo grabbed an RBI for a pair of productive groundouts by Herrera and him off Jonathan Ramsey, 9-0, but apart from that the top of the order was eerily silent in that early drubbing.

Wheats walked Gates in the fourth after retiring 11 straight, then found actual trouble in the fifth, all with two outs. He nicked Mark Haney, Foss singled to right, and Arens drew a walk in the pitcher’s spot. Wheats ran a full count against Haertling, but got squeezed on a ball outside to walk in a run, but Martinez grounded out to end the inning before it could get really, really ugly. The middle of the Coons’ order then woke up with a Maldo homer and a Gurney double off Leborio Valdevesso in the sixth. That made it double digits, while Wheats made it seven innings of 3-hit ball, even though the last three were not nearly as neat as the first four. A botched double play grounder blamed on Luna in the sixth also didn’t help and drove up his pitch count even more. Top 8th, Matt Fries walked Gurney and gave up a longball to Avila to further escalate the score, and while the Crusaders got a run off Hitchcock in the ninth, this one went into the books as a rout. 12-2 Raccoons! Avila 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Seymour 4-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Nigro (PH) 1-1; Wheatley 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (5-6) and 3-3, 2B, 2 RBI;

Wheeeeeats!

It will break my heart when we turn him into snot-nosed 20-year-olds…

Raccoons (35-36) vs. Bayhawks (40-32) – June 25-27, 2049

The Baybirds came into Portland for another CLCS rematch, and like the Coons were not in first place at this point. But while the Coons were ten games out and fourth in the North, the Bayhawks were only three games back and in third place in the South. They were fifth in runs scored and runs allowed in the CL, and overall a far cry from their stomping team last year. And the Coons were even up 2-1 in the season series…!

Projected matchups:
Dave Hils (6-3, 4.70 ERA) vs. Kevin Nolte (5-6, 3.08 ERA)
Bubba Wolinsky (6-4, 4.37 ERA) vs. Chih Ke (7-3, 3.36 ERA)
Victor Salcido (1-3, 3.82 ERA) vs. Jesse Bulas (4-3, 3.33 ERA)

Only right-handers in their rotation!

Game 1
SFB: CF M. Roberts – SS Quiroz – C S. Suggs – LF Crum – 3B Copeland – 1B D. Riley – RF Fink – 2B McCutcheon – P Nolte
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Gurney – C Gonzalez – 3B Luna – SS Adame – 2B Seymour – P Hils

Hils got whacked around from the get-go, with a single by Mike Roberts and a Sergio Quiroz homer putting the Bayhawks on top 2-0 immediately. While the Coons left the tying runs on in the first, and Adame on third base in the second, the Baybirds put the game away in the top 3rd; Quiroz and Sean Suggs got on, Ken Crum raked Hils for a triple, and then scored on a wild pitch, 5-0, e.g. ballgame. Whacking here, whacking there, Hils remained in there to eat innings, since the Raccoons had no vested interest on burning out their pen right from the start of seven games in six days. It was entirely on Hils whether he wanted to eat just the innings, or also the fire…

Meanwhile, the Coons hit into two double plays from the time they were down five to the point where they were through five, and I largely resigned myself to a batting helmet’s worth of ice cream – a full-size helmet, mind – that had been doused in plenty of Capt’n Coma. It didn’t make for *much* easier watching, and Hils departed in the seventh after giving up another run on a Sebastian Copeland double, driving home Crum with two outs. Orlando Altreche got the garbage innings after Ponce retrieved Hils from the seventh, and gave up three more runs, two of them on a Roberts homer in the eighth, and the other one in the ninth. It didn’t matter, it just hurt. 9-0 Bayhawks. Gurney 2-4; Rogers (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
SFB: CF M. Roberts – 3B Copeland – C S. Suggs – RF Ritchey – SS Quiroz – 1B A. Marquez – LF Fink – 2B McCutcheon – P Ke
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Gurney – SS Luna – RF Nigro – C Gardner – 2B Seymour – P Wolinsky

The Raccoons’ already ramshackle pitching plans leading into the upcoming Monday double header were thrown under the bus for good in the third inning of the middle game when Bubba Wolinsky first served up a homer to Mike Roberts, then drilled – and I mean *drilled* – Copeland, who objected, and sought to crush Wolinsky’s jaw through the back of his head for getting nailed. A mild brawl ensued, at the end of which Wolinsky and Copeland were both tossed, the former after logging only eight outs. Josh Jackson replaced Copeland, while the Coons shrugged and put Nate Norris in the game and told him to go as far as possible. He struck out Sean Suggs to end the top 3rd, then opened the bottom 3rd with a single, but that ultimately went nowhere. Joe Ritchey then took him deep to open the fourth, and he nailed Quiroz. The Bayhawks were barking harshly, the Coons shrugged as if to say “sorry, ran out of talent”, and no second brawl occurred. Norris then ran into another Roberts homer in the fifth, and then also three 2-out base hits to give up another two runs, 5-0… and not that it mattered, but when Adame opened the bottom 5th as pinch-hitter in the #9 hole, ran a 3-0 count, and then poked and grounded out, I tuned out from the game on the field and TV, and instead played a game where I’d try to make reasonable deals for the entire roster to each team in the league, one player at a time. We’d only keep Maldo and Hils, by happenstance.

The Bayhawks got Ke to third base in the sixth inning in one of the weirder sequences ever. Julian Ponce nicked Lee McCutcheon, who was forced out on a bad bunt, then advanced on a balk and a passed ball before being stranded by Roberts. Hitchcock drilled Johnson in the seventh, which was the fourth Baybird hit by pitch in the game, which was hardly short of the Coons’ total number of base runners in the entire game. We did score a run in the eighth, an inning which began with a Watt triple and a Herrera RBI double, then went on with a lame groundout by Maldo and by Gurney lining into a double play to McCutcheon. The Bayhawks replied with a 2-run homer by Ritchey off Mike Lynn in the ninth, to which the Coons’ reply was to get Luna and Medina on base to begin the ninth, which actually chased Chih Ke, but then Gardner slapped one into a double play against Bobby Nelson. Seymour snuck an RBI single to right, Avila walked, and Watt singled up the middle … and suddenly it was a save situation. Brad Barnes appeared accordingly, Herrera grounded out, and that was that. 7-2 Bayhawks. Watt 2-4, BB, 3B; Medina (PH) 1-1; Hitchcock 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

League HQ slapped Bubba Wolinsky with a 6-game suspension to cause additional havoc to our rotation. He was thus banned from participation through the first game of the Titans series next weekend.

Salcido meanwhile had not completed six innings in any of his last three starts, and had lost all of them. We needed him to keep the bullpen in one piece for the double-header, though.

Game 3
SFB: CF M. Roberts – 3B Jo. Jackson – C S. Suggs – LF Crum – SS Quiroz – RF Fink – 1B P. Colon – 2B McCutcheon – P Bulas
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Gurney – C Gonzalez – 3B Luna – SS Adame – 2B Seymour – P Salcido

A pitching duel broke out, Salcido allowing only one hit the first time through, with two for Portland, but no runs on either side. Things looked promising until all the **** hit the fan at once in the fifth inning. Leadoff walk to Sergio Quiroz, then a single by John Fink right on the next pitch; Pedro Colon sacrificed the runners into scoring position, McCutcheon clipped an RBI single to right, and then Bulas’ bunt was thrown away by Luna for a run-scoring error. How Roberts did not smash a 17th homer in this series, is beyond me, but him and Jackson both flew out to Watt to end the inning. Down 2-0, the Raccoons remained calm, got a leadoff single from Adame in the bottom 5th, and then Adame got himself caught stealing, which sucked doubly hard, given that Seymour then singled, was bunted over, and Watt singled him home for a run with two outs, which would have been a tied ballgame if Adame had stayed the **** on base. Herrera flew out, and the Coons remained 2-1 behind. Salcido completed seven, but not without giving up a 2-out, 2-run single to Josh Jackson that drove home McCutcheon and Dan Riley in the top 7th, 4-1. The dazzling McCutcheon would take Preston Porter deep in the ninth inning to add additional agony to the tally. The Coons had no answers. 5-1 Bayhawks. Watt 3-4, RBI; Gurney 1-2, 2 BB; Rogers (PH) 1-1;

In other news

June 21 – The Thunder erase not only the Knights’ attempt at decency in a 14-1 rout, but also the 37-game hitting streak of Atlanta’s Anton Venegas (.343, 2 HR, 22 RBI), who goes hitless in the dismantling.
June 21 – SFB INF Ted Del Vecchio (.283, 1 HR, 11 RBI) is out for the season after breaking his elbow.
June 22 – The still extant hitting streak of OCT 2B/SS Jonathan Ban (.336, 5 HR, 34 RBI) reaches 25 games with a seventh-inning single in a 9-5 loss to the Knights.
June 22 – SFW INF Julio Moriel (.402, 1 HR, 6 RBI) could miss the rest of the season; the 21-year-old is down with a partially torn labrum.
June 22 – TIJ 1B Shuta Yamamoto (.300, 4 HR, 41 RBI) homers to beat the Bayhawks, 1-0.
June 23 – Sacramento’s rookie catcher Henry Howie (.324, 4 HR, 12 RBI) has five hits with two doubles and two RBI in a 6-4 win over the Pacifics.
June 23 – The Falcons get C Tony Alvarez (.321, 0 HR, 19 RBI) from the Stars for MR Alex Mancilla (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 1 SV) and a prospect.
June 23 – A first-inning homer by CHA 3B Randy Wilken (.244, 7 HR, 34 RBI) remains the only scoring in a 1-0 win by the Falcons over the Aces.
June 25 – The hitting streak of OCT 2B/SS Jonathan Ban (.335, 5 HR, 35 RBI) ends at 26 games with a dry appearance in a 5-4 win over the Titans.
June 27 – Falcons OF/1B Mike Allegood (.304, 5 HR, 43 RBI) is going to miss a month with a sprained ankle.
June 27 – A sac fly by 2B/SS Jonathan Ban (.336, 5 HR, 37 RBI) hits a sac fly to walk off the Thunder against the Titans, 7-6 after 17 innings.

FL Player of the Week: RIC RF Chris Morris (.319, 9 HR, 32 RBI), hitting .440 (11-25) with 3 HR, 3 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL C Tyler Cass (.345, 2 HR, 51 RBI), slapping .571 (12-21) with 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

That was a terrible week. Wheats pitched a fine one; everything else was just leaving you aghast. They lost every game not started by Jason W. from Kinnelon, NJ. Maldo is in a slump. Gurney is in a slump. Waters *was* in a slump, but now is on the DL. The pitching staff is holding daily fireworks shows. Defense is atrocious. We’re playing a parade of guys that you wouldn’t have thought about before the season, and I’m not even talking about Brian Nigro now. Now add the Wolinsky suspension on top of all of that…

Then there’s the impending double header. We have Merino as scheduled for Monday. And then we have a rather bold plan to use Brett Lillis jr. for his major league debut. Clarke is not available, and no other true starters in AAA are on the 40-man roster. Lillis jr. has a 2.28 ERA – but only in relief. He has never started in AAA.

…and then you wonder, does it even matter? We’re going nowhere. One bad start won’t break the kid. He never learned a third pitch of value, so he’ll eventually be a sneaky lefty reliever like his father was, maybe even on this team. The baseball gods know we have a lot of time to try what will stick to the walls ‘round here in the next few years.

Wheats will then go as scheduled on Tuesday. He would be on regular rest on Monday, but then the rest of the series with the Condors doesn’t check out anymore. Thursday will be off, then a trip to Boston on the weekend.

The only other thing to look forward to now is the July IFA period, which will open on Thursday. The Coons have budget space (was $2M before the Toohey deal, is about $3.8M now), and no limitations on signing teen boys this year.

Fun Fact: Eight years ago today, Ernesto Lujan of the Crusaders pitched a no-hitter against the Titans.

Lujan, a 20-year veteran, was then 38 years old and in his final year as an effective starter, going 12-8 with a 3.43 ERA.

Lujan is remarkable in that he was in the majors for that long, and never won *anything*. No All Star, no Gold Glove, not even a wicked Platinum Stick or a random ring. The only distinction he has is leading the CL in games started twice, in both 2028 and 2029, that while getting traded from the Gold Sox to the Buffos mid-year in ’28.

He went 150-163 with a 3.92 ERA and 12 saves, striking out 1,592 in 2,789 innings.