[Westheim]

Raccoons (34-30) @ Blue Sox (32-31) – June 15-17, 2060

The Raccoons came up against the league’s top team in runs scored, putting out 5.2 runs per game while giving up … nearly as many, third-most in the FL, but it was still enough for a +34 run differential that made you wonder why they weren’t further above .500 and instead sat ten games out in the FL East. These teams had last played in 2059, with the Critters taking home two of three wins.

Projected matchups:
Tyler Riddle (5-2, 2.53 ERA) vs. Juan Sanchez (9-3, 3.76 ERA)
Zach Stewart (6-3, 3.45 ERA) vs. Travis Baker (3-5, 4.52 ERA)
Chance Fox (7-5, 5.73 ERA) vs. Jason Fick (2-4, 5.46 ERA)

The series, which started on Tuesday and the day of the annual amateur draft, so I wasn’t in town for the opener, would see the Raccoons up against two southpaws, then a struggling rookie righty with more walks than strikeouts to his season.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nye – SS Lavorano – C Perez – 1B Starr – CF Caballero – LF Kozak – 3B Gonzales – RF Christopher – P Riddle
NAS: 3B Lundberg – SS R. Cox – C D. Johnson – CF Roman – 1B N. Dingman – RF Gordon – LF Sheridan – 2B Bratlien – P Ju. Sanchez

The Blue Sox loaded the bases in the bottom 1st on an error by Nick Nye that put Tyler Lundberg on base, then walks to Robby Cox and Tony Roman, but got nothing out of it. Instead of dingering, Nick Dingman bounced merrily into a 6-4-3 double play and that ended the inning. While Jack Kozak put the Raccoons in the lead with a second-inning solo home run, Riddle never quite found the groove in this outing. He issued another walk in the second, escaped there, too, and then somehow wobbled from frame to frame, but through five innings had only one strikeout, many long counts, and needed 77 pitches to make it even that far. Held a 2-0 lead, though; the second run came about in the fifth inning from David Gonzales’ leadoff single that saw him forced out on a Joe-Chris grounder, a bunt, and Nye’s 2-out RBI single to left-center. It went all away at once, though, in the bottom 6th, when Tony Roman drew another walk, and then Dingerman remembered that he was supposed to ding the pitcher, and deposited a game-tying 2-piece behind the leftfield fence. Riddle left after that inning, but still got a posthumous lead because the Raccoons put another run together in the seventh just like they had in the fifth. Gonzales got on base, was forced out by Christopher, and Nye was available for another 2-out RBI knock. Stingy relief by Ryan Sullivan for four outs and Elijah LaBat for two more outs carried the skinny 3-2 lead through eight innings, before the Coons faced right-hander Jimmy Dingman in the ninth inning – not related to catcher slash first baseman Nick Dingman! It was all very confusing. Also confusing, how Joe-Chris and Lonzo could hit singles and Roman could bungle the pickup of the latter in center for an extra base for the runners, and the Raccoons still stranded a pair in scoring position without scoring, as Angel Perez’ groundout to short ended the inning. Also two singles in the ninth inning: the Blue Sox. Malik Crumble hit one off Matt Walters with one out, a looper behind Nye, but Kevin Schwarz struck out. Elmer Maldonado, the third pinch-hitter in a row, added a 2-out single to center, and now Crumble made it over to third base with the tying run. That was as much as they got, though, as Tyler Lundberg went down on strikes to end the game. 3-2 Coons. Nye 3-5, 2 RBI; Lavorano 2-4; Morris (PH) 1-1; Gonzales 2-4;

Game 2
POR: 2B Nye – SS Lavorano – C Perez – 1B Starr – CF Caballero – LF Kozak – 3B Gonzales – RF Oley – P Stewart
NAS: 3B Lundberg – SS R. Cox – C D. Johnson – CF Roman – 1B N. Dingman – RF Gordon – LF Crumble – 2B Bratlien – P T. Baker

Lonzo walked (!) and scored on a Perez double into right-center for a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and there was a chance to tack on in the second with hits for Gonzales, Todd Oley, and a walk drawn by Stewart, which brought up Nick Nye with three aboard and one out. Nye denied to wait around, shoved the first pitch up the middle and narrowly past Jacob Bratlien into centerfield. Gonzales scored, Oley scored, but Stewart ended up in a confused rundown between second and third and was slapped out for the second retirement of the inning. Lonzo reached on an error by Robby Cox, but Perez grounded out to end the inning, Portland up 3-0, although the Blue Sox got a run back in the home half of the inning. They had stranded two runners in the first against Stewart, who struck out three in the bottom 2nd… but in between Bratlien hit a double to left and scored on a Travis Baker single to center, all with two outs…

Stewart didn’t get a clean inning; Roman singled in the third, and in the fourth he put a guy on with an error of his own, which somehow also caused commotion, but neither runner scored. Instead, the Raccoons tacked on with a leadoff single by Lonzo and Angel Perez’ homer to left, going up 5-1 in the fifth, but the inning continued. Oscar Caballero had doubled his last time up, but did so again with one out in the top 5th, then scored on a Kozak single to center. Gonzales popped out, but Oley drew a 2-out walk before Stewart got a ball through Nick Dingman for a 2-out RBI double…! Reliever Josh Rivera fanned Nye to end the inning at 7-1. Stewart responded to that excitement by walking leadoff man Lundberg in the bottom 5th. Cox singled, but was removed in a fielder’s choice by David Johnson. Roman popped out and Dingman grounded out to third base to strand runners on the corners. Making it this far had taken Zach Stewart 82 pitches.

The Raccoons then added more offense. Caballero’s third double on the day plated Perez with one out in the top 6th, with Joel Starr going first-to-third. Kozak and Gonzales made poor outs then, leaving a pair in scoring position, while Stewart couldn’t get through the bottom 6th. Austin Gordon drew a leadoff walk, was forced out by Malik Crumble, and Bratlien singled. Kevin Schwarz hit a fly ball to the warning track in right, caught by Oley, but that was enough for Stewart … and also Kozak. Bravo and Christopher entered in a double switch, and a K to Lundberg ended the inning with another pair left on the corners. Nye’s homer off Eddie Blenkhorn extended the lead to 9-1 in the seventh, and after Bravo finished the Blue Sox 1-2-3 in the bottom 7th the Raccoons hoped to get six more outs from Bobby – (tries to hold it) … (still tries to hold it) … Sneeze!! … Thank you, thank you (nods to surrounding well-wishers); anyway, Sneeze got six outs – three strikeouts in the ninth, but three *loud* fly outs in the preceding eighth. There was also a single in either inning. 9-1 Critters. Nye 2-6, HR, 3 RBI; Perez 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Caballero 3-5, 3 2B, RBI; Sneeze 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

The Sox changed rookies for the Thursday game then, sending Marshall Ward, one day shy of his 26th birthday, for his fifth major league start. He had yet to win one, going 0-2 with a 4.30 ERA in the first four.

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – 2B Nye – 3B Fowler – C Maresh – LF Caballero – CF Morris – P Fox
NAS: LF E. Maldonado – SS R. Cox – C D. Johnson – CF Roman – 1B N. Dingman – RF Gordon – 3B Schwarz – 2B Bratlien – P M. Ward

Oh boy did Chance Fox need a good game… It just wasn’t gonna happen (again). While the Raccoons had mild chances in the first two innings and found two double plays from Starr and Caballero, the Blue Sox made solid contact from the beginning, but consistently found the defense the first time through until they took a lead on David Johnson’s solo home run in the bottom 3rd.

Lonzo tried to steal his 600th career base in the fourth inning after hitting a single off Ward, but was caught stealing, which also didn’t help with overturning the 1-0 deficit. The defense held Fox and the rest of the team in the game in the middle innings, and Fox came to bat in the top of the sixth just after Ben Morris had stuck a leadoff triple into the rightfield corner to put his furry tush on third base as the tying run. Ward tried to fool Fox into fanning, but was out-Foxed and lost him on balls. Christopher laid off more trash and drew another walk, which loaded the bags with nobody out. This was reason for getting dizzy, and Lonzo fell to 1-2, but then flicked a single over the head of Bratlien to advance everybody a base and tie the game – with the bags full, though, there was no chance for another run at #600 here… at least unless the traffic cleared. Starr’s pop to short did not help, but Nye hit a sac fly to right for a 2-1 lead. The Coons’ remaining pair didn’t go, though, but Christopher went for home on a 2-out, 2-strike single to left hit by Fowler… but was thrown out by Elmer Maldonado, which ended the inning, and Fox couldn’t hold the 2-1 lead and was dinged for singles by Roman and Schwarz, and the tying run, in the bottom of the same inning…

We then thought he’d get a free out from Marshall Ward, who was not pinch-hit for to begin the bottom 7th. Instead, he walked him. The hook was quick at that point, and Ruben Mendez got three outs in order to keep the game tied. Ward didn’t get the first career W, either, while the Raccoons tried to force taking the lead in the ninth inning by pitching Ricky Herrera in the bottom 8th. He retired the Sox’ 4-5-6 in order, after which Jimmy Dingman came in to face the Portland 3-4-5 in the top 9th. Starr and Fowler hit singles to go to the corners with one out, but Maresh fanned and Caballero grounded out, and the ploy failed.

Sullivan delivered a scoreless ninth to send the game to extra innings. Morris led off overtime with a single, but was never moved off first base. Bravo gave the Raccoons two quick innings in the 10th and 11th for 22 pitches, but the Raccoons could not get the offense going and the game continued deeper into extras, by then with both teams having the pitcher in the #2 slot after both Cox and Lonzo were removed in double switches. Nick Nye hit a double off ex-Coon Kevin Hitchcock in the top 13th, but with nobody on, two outs, and no help from Nick Fowler, and that was the furthest advance by the brown team in extras, and after 13 innings we were really out of relievers outside of Matt Walters and Bobby Sneeze (gesundheit!), who was in there for the second game in a row, and for a second inning for the second day in a row, as the Raccoons were begging to lose in 14 innings rather than 21. Austin Gordon’s leadoff double to right in the bottom 14th was a nice start to that end, and while Lundberg and Bratlien made outs, Nick Kelly in the #9 spot slapped a single to center to end the game. 3-2 Blue Sox. Lavorano 2-3, BB, RBI; Nye 2-5, 2B, RBI; Fowler 2-6; Maresh 2-6; Morris 2-6, 3B; Bravo 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

With that, the team headed off to Elk City, so I really was only with them for two games this week.

Raccoons (36-31) @ Canadiens (24-42) – June 18-20, 2060

The Elks were horrendous, but had somehow swept the Stars in Dallas during their interleague half of the week. They were still bottoms in the North, by a lot, and ranked second from the bottom in runs scored and bottoms in runs allowed, their run differential being a ghastly -93, well short of the halfway point of the season. The only department in which they were not horrendous was stealing bases, where they ranked third in the league. The Raccoons had swept a four-game set from the Elks so far this year.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (3-8, 3.90 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (2-6, 7.51 ERA)
Justin DeRose (5-6, 4.18 ERA) vs. Andy Overy (3-9, 4.50 ERA)
Tyler Riddle (6-2, 2.56 ERA) vs. Anton Jesus (5-6, 4.65 ERA)

Overy would be the third southpaw of the week, and also the last one.

Game 1
POR: RF Christopher – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – 2B Nye – 3B Fowler – C Perez – LF Caballero – CF Morris – P B. Herrera
VAN: CF D. Garcia – C A. Maldonado – 1B J. Campos – RF D. Moreno – LF Cardenas – SS Younce – 3B Corpus – 2B Roldan – P Kozloski

The Coons were up 3-0 in the Friday opener while I was still lugging snacks from the kitchen to the couch at home; Kozloski walked Christopher and Starr, and the Nicks drove in three runs with a pair of singles, one for Nye, with runners getting an extra base on a poor throw to home plate from Chad Cardenas, and two for Fowler. Angel Perez then hit into a double play, and the Elks made up two runs on a routinely shoddy Bobby Herrera in the bottom 1st, as he gave up just as many runners, two hits, and two walks, but got off on one run less, despite sucking no lighter than Kozloski, including walking in a run against Cardenas with the bags stuffed. Mark Younce’s groundout brought in the second Elks run. Alex Corpus grounded out to second to leave a pair in scoring position.

Lonzo then stole #600 on the most hostile turf out there in the third inning after hitting a leadoff single off Kozloski. There was *no* acknowledgement of the feat on the Elks scoreboard, and I was frothing from the mouth. There was also no run scored in the inning because the 3-4-5 batters all made meek outs, but I was madder at the first one…

From there through six there was then nary a base runner for either side as the Raccoons crept forwards with their 3-2 lead and both pitchers approaching a pitch count of 100 through six innings, neither being especially efficient. Ben Morris then opened the seventh inning with another leadoff triple, as if that would do him any good. The Raccoons did not hit for Tipsy Bobby yet – we had gone 14 the day before and every out was precious. Herrera whiffed, Christopher walked, and Lonzo’s groundout at least FINALLY brought home Morris and extended the lead to 4-2. Starr, silent in the last few weeks, really, then fell to 1-2 before sloshing an RBI single past a diving Rafael Roldan into rightfield, 5-2. The inning escalated from there against righty Carlos Torres, with two more singles for the Nicks, and then an RBI double for Perez, which ran the score to 7-2 before Caballero grounded out. Tipsy Bobby delivered one more inning before sitting down after 107 pitches, while the Coons tacked on two more runs in the top 8th against Jim Woods, but those were unearned after a 2-out error by Jose Campos that put on Lonzo in addition to Christopher. A wild pitch and Starr’s single then plated the runs. LaBat got into the bottom 8th, but put Danny Garcia and Jose Campos on base before being lifted for Mendez, who got a K on Chad Cardenas to finish the inning. Matt Walters then got the ninth with a 7-run lead because we didn’t want any more relievers at best sorta-available after two straight days of work. The Elks went in order. 9-2 Furballs! Starr 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Nye 2-4, RBI; Fowler 3-5, 3 RBI; Perez 2-5, 2B, RBI; Kozak (PH) 1-1; Morris 3-5, 3B, 2B; B. Herrera 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, W (4-8);

Tipsy Bobby did not allow a base hit after that rough first inning, and only two more walks.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nye – SS Lavorano – C Perez – 1B Starr – CF Caballero – LF Kozak – 3B Gonzales – RF Christopher – P DeRose
VAN: CF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – RF D. Moreno – LF Cardenas – SS Younce – C A. Maldonado – 2B Corpus – P Overy

Things fell apart quickly on Saturday, as DeRose, who had gotten on the snout his last few times out, tried to get on the snout again, but only put them on the corners with nobody out in the bottom 2nd before leaving the game with a calf strain, which was guaranteed to destroy the Coons pen just trying to get through nine innings. Or eight. Probably eight, because Reynaldo Bravo was torn up for three runs in the same inning, giving up a double to Alex Maldonado and a triple to Danny Garcia; two runs were on DeRose, of course. Bobby Sneeze was next, on only one day off after back-to-back two-inning outings, which was guaranteed to punch him a ticket to St. Petersburg. A Campos single and Moreno’s homer to right extended the score to 5-0 on Sneeze’s watch in the third, and Alex Corpus led off the fourth with a triple and was brought in by Overy.

The Raccoons only scored in the fifth inning; it took not one, but two two-base throwing errors by the Elks on this woeful day, first by Thomas Whittington to put Gonzales on base, and after Christopher drew a walk from Overy, another throwing error by Maldonado on Sneeze’s bunt. Somehow, this turned into an entirely unearned 5-spot for the Raccoons, nearly erasing the 6-0 deficit, when Nye lobbed an RBI single to left, Lonzo hit a sac fly, and Starr socked a 2-out homer to center. Caballero finally struck out to end the inning. But the respite was brief; Sneeze retired nobody in the bottom 5th, gave up a single to Moreno, a walk to Cardenas, and an RBI single to Younce, and then was removed, all snotty in the face. Ricky Herrera got out of the inning for the cost of one more run against the bottom of the order, the score 8-5 after five.

Two calmer innings followed while we just tried to piece the pen together. Ricky Herrera got six outs and Ryan Sullivan got the seventh in… but we reeeeally also needed him to pitch the eighth or burn Walters for the entire weekend just pitching garbage innings. Then the eighth rolled around and Josh Costello got the ball for the Elks, who had not gotten Overy through the sixth inning. Before long, the bags were full with Starr, Caballero, Kozak, and nobody out. Oh, and agony on the couch at home, because we could ill afford batting for Sullivan, who was three spots away. Gonzales popped out, new pitcher Patrick Jones caught a comeback liner by Joe-Chris for the second out, and now we *had* to bat for Sullivan. Nick Fowler ******* flew out to left. From three on and nobody out, once again nobody ******* scored. LaBat was then burned pitching for a third straight day in the bottom 8th, where the Elks eagerly made contact, but only got a double and no runs, while in the top 9th Erik Swain gave up a single to Nye to begin the inning and then Corpus butchered Lonzo’s grounder for an error, and the tying run was at the dish with nobody out. Perez struck out. Starr popped out. Maresh struck out. ******* *****. 8-5 Canadiens. Nye 2-5, RBI; Starr 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; R. Herrera 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Raccoons then axed a quarter of their pitching staff by necessity. DeRose (5-7, 4.38 ERA) went to the DL with the calf strain, which would cost him a month, probably. Our next off day was on Thursday, so we would not need a fifth starter next week, which was the only good news after this clonker of a game. Sneeze (0-1, 8.38 ERA) and LaBat (0-1, 3.63 ERA) were both used up and optioned back to St. Pete just to get some fresh blood on the roster: whoever was on the 40-man and had a pulse was grabbed from the Alley Cats for Sunday and perhaps the next series against Boston as well as we added Brad Loveless, Bryan Erickson, and does anybody remember that young talent Colby Bowen?

Me neither.

The Elks moved Anton Jesus aside and instead pitched right-hander Tan Brink (7-4, 3.68 ERA) in the rubber game on Sunday.

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – SS Fowler – 2B Nye – 1B Starr – C Perez – LF Caballero – CF Morris – 3B Benitez – P Riddle
VAN: LF D. Garcia – SS Corpus – 1B J. Campos – RF Cardenas – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – 3B Whittington – C A. Maldonado – P Brink

Brink brought barely a benefit to the Elks on Sunday. He lasted two batters before leaving with back pain and leaving Alex Lodes and the rest of the pen to the remaining 25 outs they needed from the Critters. Lodes kept the game scoreless into the third inning, but a leadoff single by Benitez, a bunt bungled by Whittington, and an infield single for Joe-Chris loaded the bases with one out. Fowler popped out and Nye grounded out to drive me ever more insane.

Joel Starr’s leadoff jack in the fourth gave the Coons a 1-0 lead against Lodes, with Riddle having whiffed four in three scoreless innings, but getting close to 50 pitches with a number of long counts. Perez and Morris then hit singles to get on base, but Benitez and Riddle both struck out to leave them on, and Riddle got plonked for three straight 2-out hits in the bottom 4th to give the newly-found lead right away again. Alex Maldonado’s leadoff double and Corpus’ 2-out RBI single then gave the Elks a 2-1 lead in the fifth.

Riddle struck out nobody in the middle innings, then was hit for with Morris, the tying run, on second base and one out in the top 7th. Oley batted for the pitcher, grounded up the middle, but the ball was intercepted by Mark Younce. And then it was thrown away by Mark Younce, another 2-base error that waved home Morris, tied the game at two, and the go-ahead run was now in scoring position. Christopher walked, but the Nicks failed to nick home Oley, and the game remained tied… at least until Alex Maldonado homered to right-center against Loveless in the bottom 7th. The Elks tacked on one against Sullivan in the eighth, Younce driving in the insurance run with a 2-out single to plate Campos. The Raccoons never reached base in the last two innings… 4-2 Canadiens. Starr 2-4, HR, RBI; Morris 2-4;

In other news

June 15 – Falcons RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.326, 7 HR, 34 RBI) puts out his 2,000th base hit at the tender age of 29 in a 3-1 win against the Warriors in which he contributes an RBI single in the eighth inning against SFW MR Matt Stephens (5-2, 6.31 ERA, SV). Ceballos, a career Falcon that debuted at age 18, is batting .332 with 98 HR and 744 RBI for his career, plus 495 stolen bases, and has won three batting titles and a Player of the Year award in his career.
June 15 – Crusaders 1B/RF/LF Aubrey Austin (.302, 6 HR, 53 RBI) could miss six weeks with a torn abdominal muscle.
June 15 – The only score in the Wolves’ 1-0 win against the Knights is a ninth-inning walkoff home run by SAL UT Jeff Buss (.277, 3 HR, 27 RBI).
June 18 – SAC INF Victor Corrales (.266, 5 HR, 38 RBI) hits for the cycle and then some in a 5-hit day with a cherry double atop the cycle and 4 RBI in a 14-11 tussle win over the Gold Sox. He joins Pablo Sanchez (2021), Mike Crenshaw (2050), and Nate Culp (2052) as players to hit for the cycle with the Scorpions.
June 18 – Cyclones closer Willie Cruz (3-4, 3.41 ERA, 11 SV) puts away the Capitals in an 8-5 win for his 300th career save. The 34-year-old has been a closer for five different teams in his career, and is 48-61 with a 3.28 ERA in 691 appearances. He got a World Series ring as a cup-of-coffee rookie with the Gold Sox in ’49.
June 18 – The Crusaders trade INF/LF Roger Zucal (.247, 0 HR, 9 RBI) to the Indians for lefty reliever Michael McLaughlin (4-1, 1.88 ERA, 1 SV) and #184 prospect CL Kody Mello.
June 20 – Crusaders 2B/SS Ryan Spehar (.306, 2 HR, 15 RBI) has been diagnosed with a broken rib and will miss a month.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Matt McInnis (.346, 10 HR, 46 RBI), hitting .600 (9-15) with 3 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: IND C/1B Alex Gomez (.228, 8 HR, 32 RBI), batting .440 (11-25) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Lonzo got his 600th stolen base! (and #601 too!) …and that was about the best thing about this week.

The DeRose injury tears a bit of a hole into the rotation and I can’t wait to find out how we’ll fill that. For now, the bullpen is also stuffed with all sorts of lint. The good news is that we don’t need a fifth starter next week while playing the Titans and Falcons, but that off day on Thursday is the last one before the All Star Game.

Trent Brassfield might start a rehab assignment next weekend, but even then he’s not returning before July. Besides, the Raccoons are already 11 games out in the division and aren’t gonna pose a threat anymore this year. Maybe we can still sort some things out. Like what to do with Nick Fowler. And no, that will not involve sitting down Lonzo.

Fun Fact: Willie Cruz saved 50 games as a Raccoon in 2050-51.

He came over from the Gold Sox in a 6-player trade that notably also gave us Eloy Sencion in the winter of 2049-50, and then had two tumultuous years at the sharp end of our bullpen before being wrapped up with Bubba Wolinsky and Juan Mercado for the Stars’ Juan del Toro.

Oof.

Del Toro lasted half a season in Portland – batting .275 with 6 homers after hitting .360 with 23 homers for the Stars the year before and pretty much like that for four straight years – before being flicked on to the Cyclones. At least that trade wasn’t for nothing. It was for Trent Brassfield.