[Westheim]

Raccoons (3-10) vs. Titans (8-4) – April 19-21, 2050

Fifth in runs scored, seventh in runs allowed, and 1.5 games behind in the division, the Titans came to Portland to probably also take all the wins from the Critters, who had yet to win a series this year. The Coons had won the season series from the Titans eight years in a row, with a 10-8 mark in ’49, but those times were now surely over.

Projected matchups:
Elijah Powell (1-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Victor Scott (1-0, 5.14 ERA)
Victor Merino (0-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. Jim Cushing (1-1, 4.97 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (0-2, 5.68 ERA) vs. Kyle Turay (0-0, 5.66 ERA)

The series opened with a southpaw in Scott, and my crystal ball told me that the Titans might skip righty Tim Steinbach (0-1, 6.00 ERA) utilizing the common off day on Monday. Steinbach would pitch Wednesday if they went in order.

Game 1
BOS: SS Ale. Silva – 3B Massey – 2B C. Jimenez – RF T. Lopez – C Youngquist – CF Monson – 1B J. Rodriguez – LF Mangual – P V. Scott
POR: SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – C Gonzalez – 3B Crispin – LF Lamotta – RF Glodowski – P Powell

Alejandro Silva opened the game with a double to right and eventually scored on a 2-out passed ball, so Ruben Gonzalez kept living up to that seven-figure salary like only he could. The Coons opened the bottom 1st with three singles in order, and Matt Waters drawing a walk, which amounted to no runs so far, since Lonzo had been caught stealing right away. The bags were thus full for Gonzalez, who found that 6-4-3 double play with utmost precision and kept living up to that seven-figure salary like only he could. Ed Crispin instead tied the game with a solo homer in the bottom 2nd. Ricky Lamotta singled his way on and was also caught stealing, and when Lonzo opened the bottom 3rd with another single, he got the “move and you get slapped” sign. Armando Herrera stuffed a liner into the right-center gap instead for an RBI double, giving the Coons a 2-1 lead. Maldo and Waters both grounded out… except that Silva threw away Waters’ grounder for an error that brought in Herrera anyway.

Jason Monson took Powell deep in the fourth, 3-2, but the Coons kept taking Scott apart. Lamotta and Glodowski, the misery squad at the bottom of the pile, opened the bottom 4th with singles, were bunted into scoring position, and brought home by Lonzo with a 2-run single to center. By that point it was a terrible struggle for Powell, however, who had started to lose command as early as the second inning, and issued five hits and four walks through five laborious innings. He made it to the seventh anyway, but was finally whittled down there with three long counts run by the 1-2-3 guys, although only Chris Jimenez reached with a 2-out infield single. Danny Landeta struck out Tony Lopez to close Powell’s line, then got three more outs in the eighth, all on easy infield grounders. Willie Cruz closed out the game for only a single in the ninth. 5-2 Critters. Lavorano 4-4, 2 RBI; Herrera 2-4, 2B, RBI; Medina (PH) 1-1; Glodowski 2-4; Powell 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, W (2-1);

Game 2
BOS: 1B E. Rodriguez – 3B Massey – 2B C. Jimenez – RF T. Lopez – CF Monson – C Youngquist – SS Ale. Silva – LF J. Rodriguez – P Cushing
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 2B Waters – 1B Maldonado – RF Luna – 3B Crispin – C Gonzalez – P Merino

Matt Watt reached on an error in the bottom 1st, but was left stranded. He also singled to move Ruben Gonzalez to third base in the bottom 3rd, setting up Lonzo for a sac fly to center that brought in the game’s first run. Armando Herrera doubled to right, and Waters cashed both runners in scoring position with a 2-out, 2-run single to right. It had been a bleak start to the season for the Coons’ alleged best batter, but it appeared like he was to start to work his way out of it, now at .250 with a homer and seven runs batted in.

Merino held the Titans to not a whole lot for four innings, then did typical Merino things, like stumbling over the 8-9 batters. Back-to-back doubles by Jose Rodriguez and, y’know, the pitcher … brought in the Titans’ first run in the top 5th, and Nate Massey singled home Cushing to narrow the Coons’ lead to 3-2 before the inning ended with Chris Jimenez’ pop. The Coons stopped hitting, but Merino didn’t stop leaking. Both Rodriguezes, Jose and Elias, got on base in the top 7th, and Massey tied the game with a 2-out single. Failing to retire the two left-handed batters in the 1-2 slots got him yanked, and while Preston Porter retired Chris Jimenez and Tony Lopez orderly, Elias Rodriguez stole third base before coming in on Jimenez’ groundout to give the Titans a 4-3 lead. Jason Monson tacked on a run with a homer off Bob Ibold in the eighth. But, down 5-3, the Raccoons had the tying runs in scoring position after a Herrera single and a Waters double off Eddie Sotelo in the bottom 8th, and with nobody out…! Maldo grounded out poorly, Luna popped out, and Tony Ruiz struck out Ed Crispin to keep those tying runs in scoring position.

After Merino, Brett Lillis jr. also failed to retire the lefty 1-2 batters in the top 9th, got yanked for Hitchcock, and the righty got a double play from Jimenez and exited the inning without allowing a run. Ex-Coon Adam Bates responded with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. 5-3 Titans. Herrera 3-4, 2B; Waters 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 2-4;

Sigh.

Only 147 to go, though.

Game 3
BOS: 1B E. Rodriguez – 3B Massey – 2B C. Jimenez – RF T. Lopez – C Youngquist – CF Monson – SS Ale. Silva – LF Mangual – P Steinbach
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 2B Waters – RF Maldonado – 3B Luna – 1B Van Hoy – C J. Jimenez – P Wheatley

Tim Steinbach showed up after all, but second-half form for Wheatley was a long way from it. He walked three batters the first time through, allowed a single to Ruben Mangual, and somehow stranded pairs in both of the first two innings, including with a full-count K to Elias Rodriguez in the top 2nd after getting a good ol’ talking-to by the pitching coach. Took him just 40 pitches to get through two… He was spotted a 2-0 lead in the bottom 2nd, which was partially unearned, since Matt Waters reached base on a throwing error. Maldo, Luna, and Juan Jimenez then all hit singles off Steinbach, the latter two each driving in a run.

The only other K for Wheats through five was one he hung on Steinbach, but he held the Titans to two actual hits while retooling himself to give up serial grounders instead, which was an adaptions the really good pitchers were still able to do on “nope!” days. Wheats reached on an uncaught third strike in the bottom 5th, but was then forced out by Matt Watt, and nothing came out of the act at all. Wheats got another five outs, without much fanfare, although he left with Ruben Mangual at second – having reached on an infield single after all – and two outs. Ponce and Glodowski replaced him and Maldo in a double switch, but Ponce had nothing better to do than to give up Wheats’ run on an Elias Rodriguez single. Bums, them all…! Massey was at least out on a grounder, preserving a skinny 2-1 lead. Preston Porter had a 1-2-3 eighth, but Steinbach continued to hold the Coons to their four hits and two runs through eight, thus sending Willie Cruz out with no cushion in the ninth, facing the 6-7-8 batters. He struck out Monson, then got groundouts from Silva and Mangual, and the Raccoons actually won a series in 2050…! 2-1 Furballs. Wheatley 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (1-2);

Raccoons (5-11) vs. Bayhawks (7-9) – April 22-24, 2050

Here was another team that hadn’t started well, but for whom there was still hope (other than the Critters). The Baybirds had just swept the Falcons to start a dig out of an early-April hole, but had already lost Craig Czyszczon, Todd Dau, and Mike Roberts on the DL. They were seventh in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed, but led the CL in bombs and had four .328+ hitters in Sergio Quiroz, Ken Crum, Sean Suggs, and Ramon Sifuentes. The Coons had lost six of nine to the Bayhawks two years in a row.

Projected matchups:
Bubba Wolinsky (0-1, 5.12 ERA) vs. Israel Mendoza (0-1, 1.04 ERA)
Victor Salcido (1-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Milt Cantrell (1-0, 3.98 ERA)
Elijah Powell (2-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. Jesse Bulas (1-2, 5.82 ERA)

Only right-handers to see here.

Game 1
SFB: SS Quiroz – 1B Copeland – C S. Suggs – LF Crum – 3B R. Sifuentes – RF Ritchey – CF G. Pena – 2B McCutcheon – P I. Mendoza
POR: CF Watt – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – 3B Crispin – C Gonzalez – LF Medina – RF Lamotta – P Wolinsky

There was loud contact from the start against Bubba Wolinsky, who walked Sergio Quiroz, gave up a double to Sebastian Copeland, and somehow buggered out for nothing more than a Sean Suggs sac fly. While Wheats had busied the infielders, Bubba kept the outfielders awake, but in the fourth had the bases full with no outs after walking Sifuentes to follow up earlier singles by Ken Crum and Sean Suggs, which sugged. Joe Ritchey shoved a 2-run double to right, Wolinsky walked Gustavo Pena to restock the bags, and Lee McCutcheon hit another RBI single, with Ritchey thrown out trying to score as well, which was at least a ******* out. Mendoza whiffed, and Quiroz grounded out to Lonzo to end the miserable inning with a 4-0 score. Roberto Medina singled home Ed Crispin in the bottom 4th to at least get Portland on the board.

Wolinsky was gone after five shoddy innings, not that things got better with that. Bob Ibold allowed a run on two hits in the sixth, while the seventh was even worse. Lillis got the ball, and didn’t have the least clue where he was throwing it to, walking Quiroz, who advanced on a wild pitch at one point, but he struck out Suggs, who was too eager to get a knock rather than just hold off, and almost stranded the runner at third base until throwing one right down the middle to Crum that was ticked for an RBI single. Landeta replaced him and got out of the inning with a pop from Sifuentes. Matt Watt singled home Medina with two outs in the bottom of that inning, and Landeta had a scoreless eighth before the Coons, down 6-2, somehow got the tying run to the plate in the bottom 8th. Maldo and waters opened the inning with singles, and Mendoza walked Gonzalez with one out. Expecting a slam from Roberto Medina was perhaps a bit much, but he was also 2-for-3 in the game, so why not? He popped out unhelpfully, but Lamotta killed Mendoza’s day with a 2-run single through the left side, while Jeremy Mayhall gave up an RBI single to Eddy Luna in the #9 hole, and Matt Watt ticked one up the middle that narrowly eluded Lee McCutcheon for a game-tying RBI single, all even at six…! Lonzo then hit a spanker, but right at Copeland, ending the inning.

Willie Cruz got around a Waters error that put Mark Cahill on base to begin the ninth. Quiroz forced him out with a grounder, but then stole second base, and reached third on Copeland’s groundout to Waters that would have been two without the steal. The count to Suggs ran full, but ended with a swing and a miss, while the bottom 9th began with Mayhall plunking Maldo, who represented the winning run and was swiftly replaced with pinch-runner Evan Van Hoy. Waters struck out, but Glodowski singled to move Van Hoy to second. Four balls to Gonzalez loaded the bases for, well, Medina. Only Juan Jimenez was left on the bench, and the pitcher was in the #1 slot, which needed to be hit for in an eventual 10th. Besides, Medina was just as qualified to hit into an extra-inning-birthing double play as Jimenez. McCutcheon went home though on the first-pitch grounder he got, which removed Van Hoy, but there was no double play and Ricky Lamotta got another chance, also poked at the first pitch, and sailed a ball over a reaching Sifuentes to end the ballgame. 7-6 Raccoons. Watt 3-5, 2 RBI; Waters 3-5; Medina 2-5, RBI; Lamotta 2-5, 3 RBI;

We had 15 hits – all singles.

Game 2
SFB: SS Quiroz – 1B Copeland – C S. Suggs – LF Crum – RF Ritchey – 3B R. Sifuentes – CF Fink – 2B McCutcheon – P Cantrell
POR: SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – 3B Crispin – RF Luna – C Gonzalez – LF Lamotta – P Salcido

Salcido was battered around for seven hits and three runs in the first three innings, also walking a pair. Sifuentes in the second and Suggs in the third took him deep, which sugged, and then they also loaded the bases before getting nothing more than an RBI single by McCutcheon before Milt Cantrell grounded out (sharply) to Lonzo to strand a full set, but Salcido got waffled for another three hits and two runs in the fourth as the meltdown continued. Salcido had hit a double in the bottom 3rd, ironically, but had gotten no help from his ho-hum team and had been stranded at second base. He was then yanked when he gave up a 2-out double to Cantrell in the fifth. Ricky Lamotta hit a homer in the bottom 5th for one run, but Joe Ritchey touched Kevin Hitchcock for two with a blast of his own in the top 6th, Ken Crum scoring after drawing a 2-out walk, following Suggs’ double play grounder erasing Copeland’s leadoff walk. Those were the last runs for San Francisco, while the Raccoons remained harmless enough for Cantrell to pitch into the ninth inning. Matt Watt batted for Herrera and hit a leadoff double, but was thrown out trying to score on Waters’ single to center. A strikeout to Crispin ended the game. 7-1 Bayhawks. Watt (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Game 3
SFB: SS Quiroz – 1B Copeland – C S. Suggs – LF Crum – RF Ritchey – 3B R. Sifuentes – CF Fink – 2B McCutcheon – P Bulas
POR: LF Watt – SS Lavorano – CF Herrera – 2B Waters – 3B Luna – RF Lamotta – C Jimenez – 1B Van Hoy – P Powell

Elijah Powell began the game with two walks, and Ken Crum dutifully singled home Quiroz for the early 1-0 lead before Ritchey spanked a comebacker for a 1-6-3 double play to get the Coons out of the inning. Powell started another double play to bow out of the second inning, which began with singles by Sifuentes and John Fink, but gave up a solo jack to Quiroz in the third, 2-0. Jesse Bulas, meanwhile, retired the Critters in order the first time through, whiffing three. Finally by the fourth, three singles (including one by Bulas), two errors (Waters, Lamotta), and a wild pitch conceded another three runs to the Baybirds, putting the game well out of the range of the newest version of the Inepticoons.

While Matt Watt’s leadoff walk was followed by a Lonzo grounder and Herrera’s RBI single to left-center to shorten the gap to 5-1, I had no comeback confidence and preferred to eat little chocolates by the pawful in between gulps of Capt’n Coma. Regardless, the tying run was at the plate in Matt Watt in the bottom 5th. Jimenez and Van Hoy hit 1-out singles, and Copeland misfielded Powell’s bunt to load the bases. Watt hit a deep fly to left, but it was caught by Ken Crum, who held the Coons to a sac fly. Lonzo grounded out, stranding two. Bottom 6th, Armando Herrera went deep to left to shorten the gap to 5-3.

So Powell immediately gave up three leadoff singles to the 1-2-3 batters in the top 7th, although Quiroz was caught stealing. Porter inherited runners on first and second, and got Crum to ground out to Waters for a 4-6-3 double play to dissolve the inning. Crum was the only batter Porter faced in the game, with Maldo hitting for him after Van Hoy got on base to begin the bottom 7th, but he grounded out. Watt got on, Lonzo hit a sac fly to get to 5-4, but Herrera grounded out. While I was waiting for another 6-run blowup, Landeta retired the Birds in order in the eighth, but while Lamotta got on in the bottom 8th, the tying run remained on first base when Jimenez grounded out.

The meltdown apparently came in the ninth instead. Landeta was still up there, gave up a leadoff single to McCutcheon, who stole a base, was singled home by Quiroz, and Waters added another error to put Copeland on base. Ponce replaced Landeta, threw a single pitch for a double play comebacker, and the Coons entered the bottom 9th against long-long-ago Coon Josh Livingston (age 39) down by two. Crispin batted for Ponce, but grounded out, as did Maldo. Watt struck out. 6-4 Bayhawks. Herrera 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Van Hoy 2-3, 2B;

Quiroz was unretired in the game, drove in three, and missed the cycle by the triple. The Coons made enough errors so that only two of the runs allowed in this game were earned.

In other news

April 19 – Hitting from the #8 hole, Canadiens INF/CF Nick DeMarco (.370, 2 HR, 12 RBI) drives in seven runs on three hits and a walk in the Canadiens’ 13-2 destruction of the Loggers.
April 21 – SAC OF/1B Pedro Leal (.349, 2 HR, 12 RBI) slaps five hits and is a triple shy of the cycle as early as the eighth inning, but even as the Scorpions take 17 innings to lose 9-8 to the Wolves, can’t find that elusive triple and has to settle for a 5-hit, 5-RBI day.
April 22 – SAC SP C.J. Harney (1-2, 4.21 ERA) nips the Rebels in a 3-hit shutout, taking his first W of the year in a 2-0 game.
April 22 – SFW LF Mario Villa (.404, 6 HR, 19 RBI) will miss six weeks with a strained ACL.
April 23 – The Gold Sox’ OF Tylor Cecil (.286, 2 HR, 11 RBI) will miss at least another week with a shoulder subluxation suffered on Tuesday.

FL Player of the Week: DAL LF/CF Juan del Toro (.479, 8 HR, 18 RBI), raking .542 (13-24) with 3 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB C Sean Suggs (.338, 5 HR, 15 RBI), slapping .462 (12-26) with 3 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

I am *really* struggling to come up with upsides right now. We’re tied, but not worse than the Loggers? Maybe? Nah. We suck.

Few things have worked out so far. The only regular to beat the 100 OPS+ mark is Herrera, which is a nice start to describe the offense. The pitching has been … let’s remain polite and say “rough”. Most homers allowed, second-worst ERA, and despite the error clown show on Sunday, the defense is actually the most presentable stat in the run prevention department.

Oh, Sean Suggs didn’t win that Player of the Week award on trampling the Coons (Quiroz and Crum did most of that). He was .357 with 1 HR, 2 RBI in Portland, but he stuffed the Falcons earlier in the week, .583 with 2 HR, 5 RBI. His OPS actually went down by 24 points in the Raccoons series.

How about some actually interesting bits? Alan Puckeridge is hitting over .400 to start the AAA season. I’d say it won’t be very long before we’ll give this 22-year-old Aussie boy a look. Corner guy (first, left, right), but the arm isn’t the greatest. Speed *and* power potential. Cost less than a new sedan in the 2044 July IFA round. Rich Seymour’s around .300, so he might grab a look eventually as well. And Ricky de la Cruz, a crispy 19 years old, had a trying year in Ham Lake last year with a 4.58 ERA, but that’s down to 1.47 in the first few starts of 2050.

Also, Knights and Indians to complete the homestand next week.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons are above .500 in one-run games!

2-1 to be precise, both wins coming back-to-back this week. It’s also a metric of a team usually losing by lots.