[Westheim]

Raccoons (0-0) vs. Canadiens (0-0) – April 2-3, 2058

Opening Day was here, even though without much fanfare for what was going to be a nothing season, and then it began with a two-game set against the ABL’s worst smell, the damn Elks, who had finished last in the South in 2057 and had gone down to the Raccoons in the season series, 12-6. We opened the year 728-730 all-time against them, so it was unreasonable to expect any wins against them before August.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (0-0) vs. Bruce Mark jr. (0-0)
Zach Stewart (0-0) vs. Ernie Gomes (0-0)

Both Elks starters were right-handers.

Game 1
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 2B K. Hawkins – RF Magnussen – C Waker – CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – 3B Lundberg – 1B V. Cruz – P Mark jr.
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – LF Puckeridge – RF Martinez – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – P B. Herrera

It was gonna be a long season, I figured by the second inning. The Coons took a 1-0 lead in the first when Labonte reached on Kyle Hawkins’ error, was forced out by Lonzo, but Bruce Mark jr. balked the runner into scoring position and allowed Lonzo to score on Noah Caswell’s RBI double. Herrera was then back out again, and after going 1-2-3 in the first inning walked Tristan Waker in a full count, allowed a single to Damian Moreno, and then was taken deep twice in three pitches by Rick Price and Tyler Lundberg, 4-1.

Mark jr. left the game with an apparent injury in the third inning after Labonte hit a double to right, with that run also driven home by Caswell on an RBI single against Rafael Flores. The other big-dosh position player addition of the winter, Cuban Jesus Martinez, hit a single in the fourth inning to get something onto his brand sparkling new ABL ledger, but was quickly forced out by Brobeck.

Herrera pitched six innings without allowing any more runs, walking four and whiffing five in a rotten debut, and then was chased by both pitch count and the usual April rain on a generally gray Opening Day. The rain delay lasted an hour, after which Neal Hamann pitched a scoreless top 7th. Kyle Brobeck then opened the bottom 7th with a jack off Luis Arroyo, shortening the score to 4-3, and Marcos Chavez singled before being bunted to second base by Hamann. Paul Labonte raked in the tying run with a gap triple in right center, but was then stranded when Jesse Lausch got a grounder to third base from Lonzo, walked Caswell, and got Brass to ground out to Price. Hamann got one more out from Adam Magnussen before Tristan Waker and Damian Moreno singled their way to the corners in the top 8th. When Kevin Weese pinch-hit for Price, Mike Siwik was brought in from the pen, popped up the pinch-hitter, and struck out Lundberg to keep the score level. The Raccoons stranded runners on the corners as well when Martinez singled and Brobeck walked in the bottom 8th, but Chavez and Royer both flew out against Lausch. The damn Elks pushed the go-ahead run across against Eloy Sencion in the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Manny Saunders singled to left from the right side, then scored on Danny Garcia’s single from the left side, two batters later. In response, Bernardino Risso retired the Coons’ 1-2-3 in order in the bottom of the ninth inning. 5-4 Canadiens. Labonte 2-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Caswell 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Martinez 2-4;

The good news is, we have 161 games left to get better.

Game 2
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 1B Saunders – CF D. Moreno – C Weese – 2B K. Hawkins – RF Magnussen – 3B Lundberg – SS R. Price – P E. Gomes
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – LF Puckeridge – RF Martinez – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – P Stewart

The weather promised to be equally awful to Tuesday’s on Wednesday, and Zach Stewart picked a horrendous first inning for his Coons debut, as horrendous as it could get without actually giving up a run, walking Garcia before getting a double play grounder from Saunders. Moreno and Weese then hit a pair of singles, Hawkins walked on four pitches, and Magnussen grounded out to Labonte on 20 pitches of pain. Lonzo meanwhile went hitless in the opener, but was hit by Gomes in the bottom 1st and stole his first base of the season and #512 for his career – only 58 to go for 6th all-time, whee! He was also left on base by Cas and Brass, boooo.

Two uneventful innings later, Hawkins dinked a leadoff single and Magnussen went well deep to right to give the Elks a 2-0 lead. The Raccoons fumbled around for half a game before singles put Chavez and Labonte on the corners with one out in the bottom 5th. Lonzo popped out to short and Caswell flew out to left in a successful bid to stay off the board. Stewart got only one out in the sixth inning while walking Weese before the skies finally opened. Ivan Ornelas got the ball after the customary hour-long rain delay, then logged five outs to keep it a 2-0 score. Ricky Herrera got the ball in the eighth and failed the bases full with a walk to Weese and Hawkins and Shane Larsen singles, and Tristan Waker hit a sac fly against Tanizaki. Rick Price walked, but Joshua Shaw grounded out to leave the bases loaded. Another run scored in the ninth with Hamann walking Danny Garcia, who stole second, Moreno singled, and Weese hit a sac fly. Bottom 9th, the Coons were still being shut out in a 4-0 game, but Risso was brought back in after Bryan McDuffie allowed leadoff singles to Martinez and Brobeck. Chavez flew out, Bribiesca popped out. The pitcher was in the #1 spot, and the only non-left-handed batter to combat Risso now was Steve Royer, who struck out. 4-0 Canadiens. Martinez 3-4; Chavez 2-4;

Yeah, we got swept, but we have yet to deploy our secret weapons: Reynaldo Bravo, three young and finicky starting pitchers, and those two Rule 5 picks that will strike fear into the very heart of baseball. Soon™!

Raccoons (0-2) vs. Bayhawks (2-1) – April 5-7, 2058

The Bayhawks had won their opening set against the Condors, two games to one, and now expected to feast on the young, tender, and probably underdone part of our rotation. Last year’s series was a 5-4 win for the Baybirds.

Projected matchups:
Ramon Carreno (0-0) vs. Brian Jackson (0-0)
Justin DeRose (0-0) vs. Julio Nunez (0-0)
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-0) vs. Bob Ruggiero (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Jackson was the first left-handed opponent this year, and the only one we’d see this week.

Game 1
SFB: SS X. Reyes – C Mittleider – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 1B P. Fowler – 3B Peltier – RF Ogawa – CF Lindauer – P B. Jackson
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 1B Royer – P Carreno

San Francisco went up 1-0 almost immediately as Xavier Reyes singled, stole his fourth base of the year – batting 10-for-15 helped (looks at Lonzo), as did a bad throw by Chavez that allowed him to third base – and scored on Grant Anker’s groundout. Lonzo did get his first hit, a single, in the bottom 1st, but was doubled up by Brass, and Brobeck doubled up Martinez in the bottom 2nd while the Raccoons endeavored to go down for the minimum the first time through. Lonzo singled again in the fourth, but couldn’t get a jump and was stranded by Brassfield and Caswell. Coonskinner Adam Peltier in the fourth and Jackson in the fifth also hit into double plays for the Bayhawks, so there wasn’t much in terms of clutch hitting on either side. Carreno held the game close at least until the seventh inning, when a soft single by Pat Fowler and Ikuo Ogawa’s homer to left extended the score to 3-0. He then chose implosion in filling the bases with the 9-1-2 batters with two outs, Eloy Sencion came in to face Grant Anker, the young and rising star, but the Bayhawks pulled the Shuta Yamamoto card, and Sencion gave up a very predictable 2-run single before retiring Armando Montoya instead…

Bottom 8th, and in what looked like a done game, Brian Jackson suddenly stumbled over Peltier’s error that put Royer on base with one out in the inning. Labonte pinch-hit and singled, but Bribiesca popped out. Lonzo drew a walk (!) to fill the bases for Brassfield, who was 0-for-9 for the year, had a whack on the first pitch of the at-bat, and bashed a ball over Lindauer for a bases-clearing triple. Jackson, dismayed, struck out Caswell to end the inning. Martinez grounded out against right-hander Oscar Juarez to begin the bottom 9th then, but Brobeck walked, and that brought the tying run to the plate. Here he comes! Toushi Imai to make his Coons debut as pinch-hitter! He singled to right, the Coons were on the corners, and for five seconds I felt like I had done everything right. Pucks batted for Royer and popped out, while Morgan Lathers batted for Siwik and walked the bags full. And then the game ended with Bribiesca looking at strike three on pitch three. 5-3 Bayhawks. Lavorano 2-3, BB; Imai (PH) 1-1; Labonte (PH) 1-1;

On Friday night, only the Coons (0-3) and Falcons (0-5!?) were winless in the ABL.

Game 2
SFB: SS X. Reyes – C Mittleider – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 1B P. Fowler – 3B Peltier – RF A. Walker – CF Lindauer – P Ju. Nunez
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – LF Puckeridge – RF Martinez – C Lathers – 3B Sheilds – P DeRose

DeRose had a quick first, and a not so quick second inning, walking leadoff man Armando Montoya before giving up singles to Peltier and Aaron Walker. Pucks’ throwing error on Peltier’s single allowed Montoya to score and for Lindauer to hit a sac fly to plate Peltier eventually, and the Raccoons did what the Raccoons did best, trailing – just not for long. Nunez walked Martinez and Tyrese Sheilds in the bottom 2nd, which didn’t seem like a big deal until DeRose chopped a 2-out RBI double, and the rest of the team took the hint. Labonte’s RBI single tied the game, and then Lonzo tripled home a pair for a 4-2 lead, the Raccoons’ first lead since the first inning on Opening Day. Caswell popped out to end the inning.

DeRose showed up then – through the middle innings he was very stingy with base runners (though not necessarily flashy with the stuff), even though there was a genuinely hard to explain 2-out walk to reliever Chris Cornelius at one point. He even whacked another double in the sixth inning, then was singled in by Labonte, all with two outs! Pat Fowler did get him for a solo home run in the seventh, though, narrowing the score to 5-3 again, and then didn’t retire anybody in the eighth as Randy Wilken doubled from the #9 spot and Xavier Reyes and Jon Mittleider whacked back-to-back RBI knocks to tie the game… Ricky Herrera stopped the bleeding and Tanizaki held the game tied in the ninth inning against the Baybirds, but the Raccoons’ offense in the late regular innings amounted to Noah Caswell getting hit by Dave Lister with one out in the bottom 9th and Brassfield then immediately finding the 6-4-3 double play. Tanizaki returned for the 10th inning and was immediately and utterly singled to death – four singles, all by right-handed batters Reyes, Mittleider, Yamamoto, and Montoya, in order, plated two runs, and Ivan Ornelas had to come in and ache out of the inning. Bottom 10th, though; Oscar Juarez allowed leadoff singles to Pucks and Martinez, then an RBI double to Chavez. That put the winning run in scoring position with nobody out. Sheilds was haphazardly walked to fill the bases and coax the Coons into croaking, but Toushi Imai pinch-hit for Ornelas, split Lindauer and Walker in right-center, and the Raccoons walked off on a dazzling 2-run double…! 8-7 Critters. Labonte 4-5, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 3-5, 2B; Martinez 1-2, 3 BB; Imai (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI;

I think Toushi Imai needs to make it into the lineup for the rubber game…!

Game 3
SFB: SS X. Reyes – C Mittleider – LF Anker – 1B P. Fowler – 2B A. Montoya – 3B Peltier – RF A. Walker – CF Lindauer – P Ruggiero
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 1B Imai – C Chavez – P Sensabaugh

The only runs through five innings on Sunday came on a pair of homers, a 2-piece hit by Aaron Walker a Montoya single in the second inning, and Caswell’s solo shot in the fourth. The Raccoons only had three hits through five, while Sensabaugh struck out five and walked nobody, which sure wasn’t on my bingo card. Montoya got him for a solo homer in the sixth, and he then walked Walker (duh.), so there remained room for improvement.

The Raccoons took the advice and tied the game, ironically starting their rally in the bottom 6th with a walk Ruggiero offered to Sensabaugh in the leadoff spot. Labonte then hit a bloop triple that was charitably assisted by Grant Anker’s headlong dive-and-miss in shallow left, and Lonzo’s single evened the score at three. Caswell walked, there was a double steal, Martinez whiffed and Pucks walked, and then Brobeck finally brought on the 4-3 lead with a sac fly to center. Southpaw Travis Davis then came in and rung up Toushi Imai to end the inning. Sensabaugh got two more outs in the seventh, then was replaced with Hamann to get a K on Anker. Siwik followed up with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and the Baybirds’ bottom of the order was up for the ninth inning. Tanizaki had thrown a lot of pitches without success the day before, and the first two batters were right-handers (and the third was the pitcher), so staggeringly the first save chance of the year went to Ivan Ornelas – which also wasn’t on my bingo card. Walker struck out, Lindauer grounded out to third, and Ogawa popped out to end the game…! 4-3 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-4, RBI; Brobeck 1-2, RBI; Sensabaugh 6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (1-0)

Raccoons (2-3) vs. Falcons (1-6) – April 8-10, 2058

To recap, in case you forgot, the Falcons had won the South two years in a row and while they had seen little success in the CLCS against the Crusaders, nobody was quite prepared to see them start the season 0-5, then 1-6, with 16 runs scored to a league-worst 41 runs allowed. The Coons’ rotation from August 2057 looked calm in comparison. No homers for Charlotte so far, either, and the defense was best described as “who are these clowns?”. Nevertheless, we had lost the season series three years running, 4-5 in ’57.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. Josh Clem (0-0, 15.00 ERA)
Zach Stewart (0-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. Aaron Sciuto (0-1, 12.27 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (0-1, 6.75 ERA) vs. Josh Doyle (0-0, 7.20 ERA)

Right, left, right; Scuito was a former #12 pick and top 30 prospect that had made his debut late last year and even then had thrown for a 6.31 ERA in 25.2 innings.

Since we had no day off this week, everybody in the rotation would take a seat at some point (minus Brass, perhaps, assuming he’d shake off his 1-for-16 start). Jesus Martinez got the day off on Monday to see some more of Toushi Imai, who on Sunday went 0-for-3 with 2 K.

Game 1
CHA: LF K. Fisher – 2B Woodrome – RF D. Ceballos – 3B B. Anderson – C L. Miranda – SS T. Edwards – 1B Fish – CF J. Ward – P Clem
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – RF Brassfield – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 1B Imai – C Lathers – P B. Herrera

Both the skies and Bobby Herrera looked just as miserable as on Opening Day, with two hits, two walks, and two runs against the $36M import from Cuba in the first inning. Danny Ceballos hit an RBI single, and Travis Edwards hit a sac fly with the bags stacked before Rich Fish grounded out to first base to strand runners on the corners. Portland made it on the board in the bottom 2nd with a Brobeck triple and Toushi’s run-scoring groundout.

Herrera lasted four innings this time before the rain came and washed him into the Willamette, then with the Raccoons still down 2-1. The Coons frittered away Morgan Lathers’ leadoff double lathered down the rightfield line in the fifth inning, then shrugged and sent Brobeck to the hill, with Tyrese Sheilds inheriting third base. Brobeck gave up two runs on a triple and a double, back-to-back, by Rich Fish and Jayden Ward in the sixth inning, then together with Bravo completely exploded for six runs in the seventh inning. In total, Brobeck got four outs for four walks and four hits. Seven runs, all earned.

Toushi doubled and scored on Labonte’s single in the bottom 7th as if anyone cared at this point. Pucks singled home a run in the eighth, and Ricky Herrera gave it right back on three singles in the ninth. Morgan Lathers then hit a leadoff jack against Franklin Mendoza in the bottom 9th, but the park was mostly populated by people that got paid to be there at that point. 11-4 Falcons. Labonte 2-5, RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, RBI; Lathers 3-4, HR, 2 2B, RBI;

Arf.

Four teams gave up 11 runs or more in the CL on that Monday. The Elks got 11 from the Knights, the Aces surrendered 13 to the Loggers, and the Titans rushed the Thunder for 14.

At least we had a conveniently placed left-hander coming up to dole out a score of off days.

Game 2
CHA: 2B Woodrome – LF K. Fisher – RF D. Ceballos – C L. Miranda – 1B Schaack – 3B B. Anderson – CF Conner – SS T. Edwards – P Sciuto
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – RF Martinez – LF Brassfield – C Chavez – 1B Puckeridge – CF Royer – 3B Sheilds – P Stewart

Kyle Fisher walked, Luis Miranda doubled, and there was another first-inning deficit, 1-0 only this time against Stewart. The Raccoons had the bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom 1st however, without the benefit of a base hit. Two walks and an error by Edwards did the trick. Sciuto also walked Brass to force in the tying run, then whiffed Chavez. Pucks landed an ACTUAL RBI single, 2-1, and Royer rolled a little snort on the infield that was not played for much of anything and became an RBI single of the infield variety. Sheilds’ RBI single was his first base hit as a Critter, and upped the score to 4-1. Stewart’s groundout plated the fifth and final run of the inning before Bribiesca grounded out to shortstop Travis Edwards, whose error on Lonzo’s grounder had immolated the entire inning although even two of the runs were unearned.

The 5-1 lead didn’t feel great because Stewart didn’t look great. Endless long counts, and in the fourth inning – in which he reached 84 pitches – two walks to Bobby Anderson and Edwards, and then an RBI double by PH Joe Hullander. Ian Woodrome grounded out to Bribiesca to end the inning after that, but smooth sailing this was not. Fisher drew another leadoff walk in the fifth, and Doug Conner singled in the sixth, which Stewart didn’t finish; 109 pitches for 5.2 innings was all we could get from him, but at least Bravo then ended the inning without conceding another run.

The Coons still had fewer hits than runs through seven innings, while the Knights soon had more hits than the Coons had runs when Tanizaki came out for the eighth inning and got ********* for another 4-hit inning. Two runs were across with Woodrome and Fisher in scoring position and two outs when Sencion entered in a double switch with Caswell to face Danny Ceballos and got a fly to left to end the inning with a skinny 5-4 lead left over. The Raccoons couldn’t tack on anything in the bottom 8th, and Sencion was on his own with no bullpen to speak of behind him for the ninth inning. Miranda led off with a single, and Anderson singled with one out. Conner struck out, while Edwards was down 1-2 before sending a ball to deep right. Steve Royer scurried back to the warning track, and within paw’s reach of the fence reached up and picked the ball to end the game. 5-4 Raccoons.

10-4 in terms of hits. For the Falcons in case you weren’t sure.

Game 3
CHA: LF K. Fisher – 2B Woodrome – RF D. Ceballos – 1B Schaack – 3B B. Anderson – C L. Miranda – SS T. Edwards – CF J. Ward – P Doyle
POR: 2B Labonte – RF Martinez – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Lathers – SS Sheilds – P Carreno

The weather wrecked Carreno’s start before he could on Wednesday, with a 90-minute rain delay knocking him out after just three shutout innings, which of course would only completely derail whatever was left of the bullpen. Ivan Ornelas got the baseball and pitched two scoreless innings before we arrived at one of those moments that just made you want to give up and go home. Bottom 5th, scoreless game, both teams in their pen, and the Raccoons loaded the bases with one out as Brobeck walked, Lathers reached on an error by reliever Andres Lopez, and Sheilds singled softly to right. Next was Ornelas, but the Raccoons didn’t have enough stuff left in that bullpen to throw another four innings even if they got the lead. Ornelas was whiffed, and Labonte flew out to center to strand all the runners. We stranded Brass and Pucks singles in the sixth when Brobeck flew out to Fisher, but Ornelas put up four shutout innings on 56 pitches before being relieved himself.

Bottom 7th, Lathers singled against Lopez, who was removed for left-hander Yoshi Kuroiwa then. Sheilds grounded out, and Lonzo was walked intentionally when he hit for Ornelas. Labonte walked unintentionally to fill the bases with one out for Martinez. The count ran full, and then Martinez cracked a 3-2 pitch over the shortstop and into shallow left-center for a 2-run single, the first runs in the game. The Falcons brought another lefty, Matt Malone, who walked Caswell, then gave up another 2-run double to Brassfield. Royer walked batting for Pucks, and Brobeck walked in a run. Chavez then batted for Lathers against the southpaw and hit a clonker to left – GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!

These nine runs were the only ones the Raccoons scored on the day, but not the only runs in the game. Ricky Herrera had a scoreless eighth, while Neal Hamann got the ball for the ninth. Bobby Anderson singled, which wasn’t so shocking, but the home run hit by none other than former Critter Rafael de la Cruz pitching in garbage relief sure was. It was Raffy’s second career homer in 208 at-bats. 9-2 Coons. Labonte 2-5; Brassfield 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Chavez (PH) 1-1, HR, 4 RBI; Carreno 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; Ornelas 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2-0);

Raccoons (4-4) vs. Indians (4-5) – April 11-14, 2058

The Indians had beaten us 10-8 last season, although we had still finished ahead of them. They had started the season with a baffling .201 batting average, and ranked 10th in runs scored in the CL. They had also allowed the third-fewest runs, though, so this might yet turn into another drag of a series.

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (0-0, 6.43 ERA) vs. Bill Lawrence (0-1, 2.57 ERA)
J.J. Sensabaugh (1-0, 4.05 ERA) vs. Shane Fitzgibbon (1-1, 3.68 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Josh Barbieri (0-1, 7.59 ERA)
Zach Stewart (1-1, 3.27 ERA) vs. Roberto Oyola (2-0, 1.69 ERA)

Fitzgibbon was the only left-handed starter on offer here. The Indians had also thrown a bullpen game the day before coming to Portland when starter Chris Kaye (0-0, 3.38 ERA) threw all of one pitch before leaving their eventual 5-1 loss against the Bayhawks with a tight forearm.

Game 1
IND: 2B Kilday – 3B A. Rios – 1B B. Quinteros – RF Lovins – LF O. Ramos – CF S. Thompson – SS B. Andrews – C Lefebvre – P B. Lawrence
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Martinez – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – P DeRose

Labonte walked and stole second in the bottom 1st, but was stranded, and instead Orlando Ramos’ infield single, Steven Thompson’s double to left, and Brent Andrews’ sac fly gave Indy a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Ramos drew a walk his second time up and Thompson whacked another one to left, but Pucks made it there this time and retired the centerfielder. But after DeRose drilled Andrews, there was no catching Michael Lefebvre’s 2-out drive into the left-center gap that fell for a 2-run double… While Lawrence had yet to allow a base hit, DeRose also drilled Antonio Rios in the fifth, then gave up another double along the leftfield line to Bill Quinteros. Chris Lovins’ grounder and Ramos’ single each scored another run. Ya ya, 29 runs in nine games my ***.

Brobeck singled and Chavez homered to actually make a blip on the scoreboard, narrowing the tally to 5-2 in the bottom 5th, but DeRose was still hopeless, getting Lefebvre on a pop in the top 6th before nicking the opposing pitcher. Today’s garbage reliever was then Ricky Herrera, getting five outs from six batters to cover some ground, but even with a scoreless eighth from Bravo the Raccoons still wound up throwing Brobeck and his 47.25 ERA on the hill for the ninth inning. Down by three was not exactly a promising situation anyway. Brobeck gave up a run on three hits, which somehow still shaved more than 16 runs off that ghastly ERA. 6-2 Indians. Chavez 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Sheilds (PH) 1-1;

To put some numbers on the offensive misery, half the personnel that matters is hitting under .200: Caswell (.194), Brass (.194), Lonzo (.156); while Martinez and Pucks were just barely above it. Bribiesca was 0-for-11. Labonte and the catchers were the only ones making any noise.

Or in other words: Labonte’s OPS+ was 188, Chavez’ was 173, and the nearest regular to that would have been Caswell… with *73*.

Game 2
IND: 2B Kilday – 3B A. Rios – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Oldfield – RF Lovins – LF O. Ramos – SS R. Vargas – C Villafan – P Fitzgibbon
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – RF Martinez – LF Brassfield – C Chavez – 3B Brobeck – CF Caswell – 1B Royer – P Sensabaugh

Sensabaugh sensibly walked Kilday (lest the .024 batter do any damage to him!) and Quinteros, then gave up an RBI single to Lovins with two outs in the first inning to take on the traditional 1-0 deficit to begin the game. Portland made up that run in the bottom 1st with Bribiesca’s first single of the year, and while Lonzo lined out to left, Martinez walked and Chavez drove in the run with a 2-out single. Sensabaugh offered another walk and a passed ball in the second, but also hit a 2-out single in the same frame. Bribiesca walked and Lonzo hit an RBI single to score him for a 2-1 lead, and a wild pitch and a Martinez single upped the score to 4-1, with Brass’ RBI double completing the 4-run inning for a 5-1 edge over the Indians.

But Sensabaugh was struggling hard; the defense did a lot of heavy lifting to hold the Indians to two hits through five innings, even though Sensabaugh had walked four and had also thrown a wild pitch. He came back for the sixth, walked Quinteros, then struck out a pair, and then stumbled over an infield single by Ramos, of all things. Mike Siwik replaced him and got Ricardo Vargas to fly out to Brass in left to end the inning, with the 5-1 score still intact. Bottom 7th, the bags were loaded for Portland as Chavez singled, Brobeck doubled, and Jeff Caldwell hit Caswell to fill them up. Labonte batted for Siwik in the #8 spot and was nicked to force in a run, while Pucks then hit into a run-scoring double play. Toushi and Lonzo then hit singles off Ben Akman and another run scored on the former hit. The assault continued in the eighth: Brass walked against Akman, who conceded that run on Chavez and Brobeck hits, then another one on a sac fly by Caswell. Pucks bashed a 2-run homer with two outs. 12-1 Critters! Bribiesca 2-3, BB, 2B; Imai (PH) 2-2, RBI; Lavorano 2-6, RBI; Chavez 3-5, RBI; Brobeck 2-5, 2 2B, RBI; Caswell 2-3, RBI;

Game 3
IND: 2B Kilday – 3B A. Rios – 1B B. Quinteros – RF Lovins – LF O. Ramos – SS R. Vargas – CF Abel – C Lefebvre – P Barbieri
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – C Chavez – 3B Brobeck – LF Puckeridge – RF Royer – P B. Herrera

The skies looked murky for Bobby Herrera’s third career ABL start, but his pitching looked way worse as Rios singled, Quinteros tripled, and Lovins singled for a 2-0 Indians lead right after a K to Kilday to begin Saturday’s game. And all the long counts…! Without allowing a base runner in the next three innings, he needed 64 pitches just to get through four innings, with four full counts included. The Raccoons at least made up the deficit in the bottom 4th when Lonzo and Caswell got on and both scored on a double by Chucking Chavez.

Kevin Abel singled in the fifth but was stranded; same for Herrera, with Labonte also getting on base behind him, but Lonzo hit into a fielder’s choice and Caswell flew out too easily. At least Herrera made it to the seventh, if only to give up a tie-breaking homer to Cory Oldfield… He finished the inning, while I tried to call the bank (on Saturday, as if) to re-claw that $1M advance we had wired him on his salary. He also didn’t take the loss, since Jesus Martinez doubled with two outs and nobody on when he pinch-hit for Herrera in the bottom 7th, then scored on Labonte’s single. Lonzo grounded out and Herrera was held to a no-decision.

The Raccoons went to Hamann in the eighth, who allowed a leadoff single to Barbieri and botched runners to the corners before departing when Willie Villafan pinch-hit for Lovins with two outs. Tanizaki came on, got a grounder to first, but failed to grasp Brassfield’s feed to the bag, and Villafan reached on the error, as well as Barbieri scoring the go-ahead run. Tanizaki then walked Ramos, gave up two unearned runs on Vargas’ single, and remained breathtakingly useless. Oldfield eventually grounded out.

Bottom 9th, the Raccoons tried to rally against Randy Slocum. Pucks reached base with a 1-out walk, but was forced out on Imai’s grounder. Lathers leathered a double, and Labonte walked to fill the bases with two outs and the .167 terror Lonzo up. The bench was however slim pickings by now. We rolled the dice and brought Sheilds as pinch-hitter, at least presenting a lefty stick. He grounded out to Quinteros. 6-3 Indians. Labonte 2-4, BB, RBI; Caswell 2-4; Martinez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Lathers (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI;

There’s a lot of rather generous use of the handbrake here…

Also if you needed another indicator that Lonzo REALLY wasn’t hitting, he wasn’t in the lineup *again* on Sunday, with an actual off day on Monday coming.

Game 4
IND: LF O. Ramos – 3B A. Rios – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Oldfield – SS R. Vargas – 2B Bahena – RF Abel – C Villafan – P Oyola
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Brobeck – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – RF Martinez – C Lathers – 1B Imai – SS Sheilds – P Stewart

A ***** homestand ended with another ***** weather day on Sunday, as Stewart threw three shutout innings and then was excluded from further proceedings of a scoreless game by more relentless flooding from above and a 90-minute rain delay.

Have you driven an Ivan Ornelas, lately? It was another four shutout innings from the garbage reliever du jour, this time not quite as neatly as against the Falcons, but he got the job done, despite walking three and giving up two hits to boot, but the defense helped out, the Indians were keen on running themselves out of innings, with Kevin Abel getting caught stealing, and what’s the score? Oh, still no score at the stretch. Boys! For ***** sake!!

Brass singled off Tim Jacoby to begin the bottom 7th and Lathers’ 1-out double put a pair in scoring position for Toushi. The Rule 5er grounded over to Brent Andrews at second base, who fumbled the ball for an error, but the go-ahead run would have scored anyway. Sheilds popped out, Pucks grounded out, and that was it for the time being. Bravo and Sencion sorted out the 2-3-4 batters in the eighth inning without issue, while Jacoby got two outs in the bottom 8th before Caswell singled and stole second. Brass walked, Martinez hit an RBI double to left for an insurance run. Dave Corrao walked Lathers, but Lonzo flew out to center when he pinch-hit for Toushi with the bases loaded, ending the inning. So, who’s getting the ball for the ninth with a 2-0 lead then? The Raccoons hung with Sencion for the switch-hitting Vargas, who flew out to right in a full count, and still didn’t move with right-handers up after that. The reason was simple, really. All the right-handers left in the pen (Siwik, Tanizaki) had been out two days in a row, and the fresh options were left-handed. Well, or Brobeck. (giggles) Andrews struck out, Abel grounded out, and Sencion grabbed a 5-out save. 2-0 Critters. Martinez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Lathers 1-1, 3 BB, 2B; Stewart 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K; Ornelas 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K, W (3-0); Sencion 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (2);

In other news

April 1 – The Titans win a 2-0 shutout against the Loggers on a rain-shortened Opening Day, with Will Glaude (1-0, 0.00 ERA) only pitching five-and-a-third innings for the win.
April 3 – Buffaloes SP Bill Hernandez (1-0, 3.00 ERA) was expected to miss a month after craning his neck in an awkward baserunning collision.
April 3 – SFB OF/2B/3B Jeremy Lindauer (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI) hits a walkoff single in the ninth inning for a 1-0 win against the Condors.
April 5 – Knights OF Jon Alade (0-for-2, 0 HR, 0 RBI) would be out for six weeks after breaking his hand back on Opening Day.
April 6 – ATL UT Nick Fox (.480, 0 HR, 3 RBI) pumps out six hits in a 17-8 smacking of the Titans, even though two of hi six hits, the only doubles among four singles, only come in the game’s 10th inning, a 9-run thrashing of the Titans’ pen. Fox drive in two of the team’s 17 runs.
April 6 – Season over for VAN SP Bruce Mark jr. (0-0, 7.71 ERA), who left his Opening Day start with what turned out to be a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.
April 7 – The Blue Sox beat the Pacifics, 2-0, with just two hits to their name – both home runs by NAS 1B Andy Metz (.438, 3 HR, 8 RBI).

April 10 – LVA 3B/1B/RF Alex Alfaro (.375, 1 HR, 6 RBI) slaps five hits, including three doubles, and drives in four runs in an 11-2 rout of the Loggers.
April 11 – Blue Sox INF Nick Nye (.333, 1 HR, 5 RBI) would miss the rest of the month at least with a strained calf.
April 11 – The Canadiens acquire OF/3B/SS Rich Kuchta (.233, 0 HR, 1 RBI) from the Wolves for left-hander SP/MR Gabriel Casanova (0-0, 2.57 ERA).
April 13 – New York outfielder Gunner Epperson (.462, 3 HR, 10 RBI) hits for the cycle in a 14-8 shootout against the Loggers, despite striking out in his first at-bat of the day. Epperson goes 4-for-5 with four RBI.
April 13 – Thunder OF Danny Guzman (.263, 2 HR, 6 RBI) could be out for a month with a herniated disc.
April 13 – Warriors CL Zack Stahl (0-1, 4.15 ERA, 3 SV) could miss three weeks with a strained hammy.
April 14 – After a bad start to the season the Falcons now also have to play three weeks without RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.429, 0 HR, 5 RBI), who was out with a strained rib cage muscle.

FL Player of the Week (1): RIC 1B Mario Delgadillo (.538, 3 HR, 7 RBI)
CL Player of the Week (1): SFB INF/LF Xavier Reyes (.500, 0 HR, 3 RBI)

FL Player of the Week (2): SAL C Ben Newman (.425, 3 HR, 12 RBI), mashing .579 (11-19) with 3 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week (2): ATL C Marco Nieto (.536, 0 HR, 9 RBI), being a terror at .700 (21-30) with 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Jesus H. Christ – the weather! What am I supposed to do? Build a boat or what?? Two weeks at home in April sounds like asking for trouble in any case but FOUR starters punked out early by rain across two weeks?? Seriously?

(angrily shakes fist at the baseball gods)

How bad has it really been? Ivan Ornelas is two outs shy of qualifying for the ERA title as of Sunday night. That bad. The real burner is that he’d be the only qualifying pitcher with a zero ERA in the entire league with those two outs.

The offense has been nothing short of atrocious with the exception of the catching pair and Labonte. Caswell and Martinez are barely close to a 100 OPS+, and the rest of the bunch is all drowning. Which isn’t that surprising given the weather.

Two-week road trip next, with stops in Milwaukee, Tijuana, Oklahoma City, and Elk City. If anybody can make it rain in Tijuana, it’s this bunch here…

Fun Fact: Tim Stalker remains the most recent player to hit two cycles for the same team.

Yours truly, in that case, in 2029 and 2033 against the Gold Sox and Titans, respectively. Every instance of a guy hitting two cycles since then has been for two different teams:

Danny Zarate: Condors (2031) and Gold Sox (2036)
Leo Villacorta: Stars (2042) and Knights (2054)
Jordan Marroguin: Falcons (2047) and Condors (2053)
Gunner Epperson: Aces (2055) and Crusaders (2058)

Marroguin’s first cycle was against the Condors, so at least in that case the same team was present twice.