Quote:
Originally Posted by DD Martin
Sadly the way the club is going it seems like #5 pick in the draft is a lock with a solid shot at #4.
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(rummages around in bag of chips, whiskers hanging, and staring absent-mindedly into the distance)
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The Chumps were off on Monday, but Fidel Carrera played and hit his 27th homer to die the disabled Rich Monck for the CL home run lead.
Oh what coulda been
Raccoons (66-84) vs. Aces (74-75) September 20-22, 2067
In to open the final homestand were the Aces, who had a 4-2 lead in the season series and were thus virtually guaranteed to bag it despite their league-worst bullpen and average offense and -40 run differential. Because have you *seen* us play recently?? They were still down a few starters on the DL, including Dan Garicia and Matthew May. Infielder Koji Hatakeyama was also not present, but have you *seen* our lineup recently??
Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (9-14, 3.82 ERA) vs. Tim Henderson (8-11, 4.65 ERA)
Shoma Nakayama (11-12, 3.89 ERA) vs. Josh Jackson (7-15, 5.13 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (9-13, 4.17 ERA) vs. Preston Young (12-9, 3.90 ERA)
Those three were right-handers, but with the off day on Monday the Aces had the opportunity to bring southpaw Ignazio Flores (12-13, 3.84 ERA) into he series.
Game 1
LVA: SS Marazzo RF Rosado LF Lorenzo C Haynes 3B Vic. Morales 1B L. Jimenez CF Caceres 2B D. Sanchez P T. Henderson
POR: CF Wilson 2B Gutierrez LF Dowsey 1B Starr RF Colter C Flowe SS Novelo 3B J. Davis P Gaytan
Gaytan disappeared in the nearest hole right away in the first inning, allowing a leadoff single on an 0-2 pitch to Nate Marazzo, followed by a walk to Alfredo Rosado, and then by another FOUR straight singles and a sac fly for four total runs. The real surprise was that the Coons answered with a pair as Gutierrez walked, stole second base, and a Dowsey double and a Starr single each brought in a run in the bottom 1st, and from there through the end of the fifth inning there was only one more base hit to be counted between the two teams, a Jamie Colter single in the fourth inning that of course went up in flames once Pablo Novelo hit into another double play.
Gaytan went in the bin after the sixth, offering a leadoff walk to Chris Haynes, a wild pitch, an RBI single to ex-Coon Vic Morales, and then ANOTHER wild pitch, but Morales remained on base in the now 5-2 game. Portland gave up another run in the seventh between dispiriting tossery by Barton, Thomas, and Yamauchi, then got Flowe on base with a walk. Novelo forced him out, Jacob Davis singled, and Milian hit for Yamauchi and straight into an inning-ending double play. Cameron Bridges offered two scoreless innings at the end, but the Coons disappeared meekly into the night on only four base hits. 6-2 Aces. Colter 1-2, BB; Bridges 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;
Game 2
LVA: CF A. Warner SS Marazzo LF Lorenzo C Haynes 3B Vic. Morales 1B L. Jimenez RF Caceres 2B D. Sanchez P Jo. Jackson
POR: CF Wilson 2B Gutierrez LF Dowsey 1B Starr RF Matas SS Novelo 3B Arredondo C Aguilar P Nakayama
The Coons loaded the bases in the bottom 1st on Wednesday as Gutierrez drew another walk and then Dowsey and Starr filled the bags with singles. Carlos Matas then bounced the first pitch to Vic Morales, who spun a 5-4-3 doub- no! The umpire called Matas safe! It was a real bang-bang play, but the Coons got a break and a 1-0 lead, so what am I gonna complain about from under my pillow fortress?? Novelo of course flew out to Aaron Warner, uselessly, ending the inning for good.
Bottom 2nd, and the bases were loaded again, this time on Aguilars single, Nakayamas bunt being misfielded by Jackson, and a walk drawn by Jaden Wilson, all with one out. Carlos Gutierrez grounded out to Danny Sanchez, which brought in another run, and another Dowsey double over the head of Warner brought in two! Starr grounded out, and it was 4-0 after two innings. We were then waiting or Nakayama to step on a rake, which he reliably did in the fourth inning, putting Nate Marazzo and the CL stolen base leader Victor Lorenzo on base. He got around Haynes, but then was conquered for a 3-run homer by Vic Morales. Jorge Caceres hit a 2-out double in the inning, but Sanchez groundout to Starr left the tying run on base. Starr then also tried to answer the blast with a solo home run of his own in the bottom 5th, 5-3, but the Coons then got a leadoff triple from Novelo in the sixth and managed to pop out twice and have Nakayama ground out to short to keep that extra run on base, somehow.
Leaving Nakayama in then immediately backfired even harder when he gave up straight doubles to the 7-8 batters to begin the seventh inning. Alex Alfaro popped out, but Alfredo Rosado singled to put the tying and go-ahead runs on the corners with one out. McMahan came in to face PH Mike Davis, who hit an RBI single anyway and sent Rosado to third base, from where Vic Lorenzo plated him with a sac fly. Soriano replaced McMahan, tried to give up a homer to Haynes, but Dowsey made the pick at the fence to end the ******* inning.
Bottom 7th, and Randy Birnbaum loaded the bases with a Wilson single and walks to Gutierrez and Dowsey and nobody out. The Aces left him in even as he obviously had nothing, and Starr tied the game with a sac fly, and Matas gave the Coons the lead back with an RBI single. Birnbaum STILL remained in, throwing a wild pitch before Novelo was walked intentionally, and another wild pitch that scored Dowsey before Manny Arredondo hit an RBI single, and only in a 9-6 game he was then replaced with Gabe Molina, who gave up another RBI single to Justin Aguilar before the inning fizzled out with Early grounding out, Wilson walking, and Gutierrez grounding out to leave the bases loaded. Dover was then put into the eighth inning in an attempt to get him pieced back together after a string of bad outings. He gave up two singles, but no runs, and lets just not talk about how loud those hits were
Chance Fox then got the ball for the ninth and gave up singles to left-handed batters Rosado and Mike Boyce. Lorenzo grounded out, and then Josh C replaced Fox with runners in scoring position and one out. He ended the game with a Haynes sac fly and Morales flying out to Wilson. 10-7 Aces. Starr 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Arredondo 2-4, 2B, RBI; Aguilar 2-4, RBI;
Flores was indeed up on Wednesday in a duel of left-handers.
Game 3
LVA: CF Marazzo RF Rosado LF Lorenzo C Haynes 3B Vic. Morales 1B L. Jimenez SS D. Sanchez 2B Medford P I. Flores
POR: CF Wilson SS Novelo RF Dowsey LF Early 1B Starr C Aguilar 2B Bonner 3B Gates P Rios
Dowsey went deep to right in the first inning for a 1-0 lead in this rubber game before both teams would put the 8-9-1 batters on base with two outs in the second inning. Only the Coons scored, getting three straight single and an RBI from Wilson, bringing in Gary Gates, while two of the Aces batters reached on walks issued by Rios and all three were stranded, yay. Rios wasnt making it far into the game. He was constantly behind in the count to the Aces, and issued five walks in as many innings, and needed 105 pitches to make it that far. Somehow, the Aces didnt score against him, and the score was still 2-0.
Holzmeister held the line in the sixth before the Coons put out three runs in the bottom 6th, starting with a Starr homer. Aguilar singled, but was forced out by Bonner, who then stole second base and scored on a 2-base throwing error by Danny Sanchez. Flores balked Gates to third base, and he scored on a sac fly by PH Jacob Davis, who got his first career RBI by extending the score to 5-0. The Aces came back with two runs against Yamauchi and Soriano in the seventh, who gave up a walk and three singles between them, and Soriano ****** another run with Medfords leadoff double, a wild pitch, and Marazzos sac fly in the eighth, getting the Aces back to 5-3. McMahan then came in to face Rosado, struck him out, and held the fort for the last three outs in the ninth as well for a save. 5-3 Coons. Wilson 2-4, RBI; Early 2-4; Starr 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;
Raccoons (68-85) vs. Titans (91-61) September 23-25, 2067
Seven-and-a-half games behind the Loggers, the Titans were on the brink of getting eliminated from October considerations on the weekend, and they had not done all that well against the Raccoons to begin with, leading the season series only 8-7. They needed the wins, bringing the best pitching in the league and the #6 offense. They had a +135 run differential. What they also had was a long list of injuries, with Bryce Wallace, Cody Kleidon, Andy Lee, Ivan Berrios, and several replacements all on the DL. But tell me about that
Projected matchups:
Cody Childress (0-1, 8.79 ERA) vs. Tyler Riddle (14-11, 3.72 ERA)
Nick Walla (10-9, 3.25 ERA) vs. Ricardo Montoya (9-9, 3.76 ERA)
Ryan Musgrave (9-12, 4.64 ERA) vs. Mike Bell (18-6, 3.08 ERA)
The opener would see the Coons face off against their second consecutive left-handed opponent, but the rest of the Titans starters were right-handers.
Game 1
BOS: SS I. Diaz LF S. Humphries CF Marcotte C Arviso 1B Joyner RF Joe Washington 2B Onelas 3B C. Pena P Riddle
POR: CF Wilson SS Novelo 1B Starr LF Early RF Milian C Aguilar 2B Bonner 3B Gates P Childress
While scheduled beatings for Cody Childress did not resume, like Rios on Thursday he was all over the ******* place, and ducked out of the first inning when Eddie Marcotte ran his team out of the inning with a blunder on the basepaths, trying to go first-to-third on Jorge Arvisos 2-out single to right, but was thrown out by Milian, who also scored the games first run in the bottom 2nd, doubling to center before being brought in on Ryan Bonners triple to right. That came with two outs, but not with a clutch hitter behind him, and Gary Gates just rolled over to Marcos Onelas to leave Bonner at third base.
The skies became increasingly gray in the middle innings and rain began to fall in the sixth inning, and the Titans tied up the game just in time before they could suffer a stupid rain-shortened loss to the Raccoons when Israel Diaz and Marcotte pooled together for two hits and a run in the top 6th. That was also the end for Childress, who had thrown 92 pitches to go five-and-a-third. Alvey came in to face left-handed bats, the first of which, Arviso, flew out to deep center. With two outs then, Bill Joyner singled, and Joe Washington banged a 3-run homer. Diaz tripled Alvey from the game in the seventh, but scored on a sac fly that Steve Humphries hit off Cameron Bridges, 5-1. Chance Fox pitched the last two innings without complaints, while the Coons hit into double plays with Gates and Novelo in both the seventh and eighth innings. Jake Flowe homered off Josh Carlisle in the bottom 9th, prompting an appearance from Tyler Gleason, who issued a 1-out walk to Bonner, and then Davis batted for Gates
and hit into another double play. 5-2 Titans. Wilson 3-4; Milian 2-4, 2B; Flowe (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; Bonner 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Fox 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;
The Loggers beat the Elks, 3-2, and thus stayed 7 1/2 in front. Mathematical elimination was still in the cards for the Titans as early as Saturday.
Game 2
BOS: SS I. Diaz LF S. Humphries CF Marcotte C Arviso 2B Jer. White 1B Joyner RF Joe Washington 3B C. Pena P R. Montoya
POR: CF Wilson 2B Gutierrez LF Dowsey 1B Starr RF Milian C Flowe 3B Colter SS Arredondo P Walla
Walla was very much hit around on Saturday, giving up two deep fly outs in the first, then three singles for a run in the second inning, followed by a Humphries single, a Marcotte double, and a 3-run homer by Jorge Arviso in the third, 4-0. He went on to issue lengthy full-count, 2-out walks to Joe Washington and Cesar Pena in that inning, and was then yanked after Montoya popped out, having thrown already over 80 pitches. Given how Montoya retired the Critters in order the first time through and Gary Gates batted for Walla, he never even held a stick. Game in the bin, the ball then went to Barton, who managed to give up another four runs in the fourth inning instead of actually gaining some ground on the scoreboard, allowing a 2-run homer to Marcotte and a 2-run double to Washington for the markers. Thankfully we were far from running out of tossers, and Schmieder then actually put three innings on the board, giving up one run to the Titans in the process. In between, Starr at one point doubled in a run and Gutierrez hit a solo homer off Montoya, not that it made a major dent on the scoreboard; as a whole the Coons had just four base hits in six innings. Starr then singled to begin the seventh. Novelo batted for Schmieder in the #5 spot, but hit into a fielders choice, and Flowe then hit a double, but the runners were left in scoring position on account of Colter grounding out to first, and Arredondo lining out to Cesar Pena at third
Sean Thomas in the eighth walked the bags full and gave up a 2-out, 2-run single to John Kaniewski, while the Coons opened the bottom 8th with straight singles by Matas, Wilson, and Gutierrez against Carlisle. Dowsey fanned, but Starr held off long enough to draw a bases-loaded walk, as did the pnch-hitting Marquise Early. Flowe then struck out and Colter grounded out to second to leave the bases loaded in a 7-run game. That remained the distance in the ninth inning, neither Dover nor Carlisle giving up any more runs. 11-4 Titans. Wilson 3-5, 2B; Gutierrez 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; Starr 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Early (PH) 0-0, BB, RBI; Matas 2-3;
The Loggers lost, so the Titans could stay relevant just by completing the sweep.
Game 3
BOS: SS I. Diaz LF S. Humphries CF Marcotte C Arviso 2B Jer. White 1B Joyner RF Joe Washington 3B C. Pena P M. Bell
POR: CF Wilson 2B Gutierrez RF Dowsey 1B Starr LF Early C Flowe SS Novelo 3B Arredondo P Musgrave
As Diaz walked and scored on an Arviso single with two outs in the first inning, the Titans got another early lead on the Portland Forgettables. Especially forgettable by now was the rotation, as the Raccoons got the fourth straight turd start from Musgrave, who already threw over 20 pitches in the first inning and broke into the 90s on his pitch count in the fourth, doing so in absolute style, too. While an Arredondo error put Jeremy White on base to begin with in that inning, it was then Musgrave to give up a 2-out RBI double and dios mio! a 2-run homer to the ******* opposing pitcher, 4-0. He would finish that bloody inning, and then be yanked, like all the others were: early.
Speaking of Early, Marquise blundered into a double play in the bottom 4th to erase a Starr single, and apart from that I had little reason to not frown either, as Starrs hit had only been the second base knock for the Raccoons in this game as we were TOTALLY getting swept by Bell, the old slugging monster.
The Coons were STILL on two hits after Holzmeister filed two decent innings, Josh C went out for an inning, and then Sean Thomas gave up a double to Joyner and a 2-run homer to Washington in the eighth. Bell made the bottom of the order disappear effortlessly in the eighth inning, then returned for the ninth still fresh and on 90 pitches. Wilson grounded out on #91, but Gutierrez singled to center on #92, the first actual flick of the tail and brownshirted runner on base in five innings. Dowsey then banged a homer, as if anyone was still there to watch it. Colter hit a pinch-hit double with two outs, but was left on base when Flowe popped out. 6-2 Titans. Starr 2-4; Colter (PH) 1-1, 2B; Holzmeister 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;
In other news
September 20 Blow for Dallas, as the Stars lose SP Ray Crabman Walker (9-3, 2.53 ERA), who was already held to 15 starts this season, for the rest of the year due to a case of forearm tendinitis.
September 22 The season of Pacifics closer Ryan De Jong (8-3, 3.13 ERA, 14 SV) ends with bone chips being removed from his elbow. He is expected to be ready for Opening Day in 2068.
September 23 SAL SP Ian Lowry (4-4, 2.67 ERA) walks five, but carries a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Sacramento, before giving up a 1-out single to infielder Mike Roberts (.174, 1 HR, 26 RBI), of all people. SAL MR Jesse Connors (2-4, 5.26 ERA, 1 SV) finished the combined 1-hitter for a 4-0 Wolves win after that.
September 23 The Thunder win the CL South with an 8-4 win against the Condors.
September 24 Blue Sox SP Ken McDonald (15-11, 4.35 ERA) is expected to miss nine months with radial nerve compression.
September 24 Rebels swingman Jay Perrin (9-7, 3.65 ERA) needs to have bone chips removed from his elbow and will be questionable for Opening Day in 2068.
FL Player of the Week: CIN OF Melvin Avila (.319, 14 HR, 64 RBI), batting .450 (9-20) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL OF Jonathan Merrill (.364, 4 HR, 77 RBI), clipping .542 (13-24) with 4 RBI
Complaints and stuff
That #3 pick was receding into the distance, partially because of the Buffos, but we were tied for last with the Indians again on Sunday night, and the Stingers were only a game and a half behind, which sounded trivial to suck up for the Coons in this final week of the season.
There had been the vague hope that Jose Corral might return for some more games in the last week of the season but he suffered a setback to his groin strain this week and was thus written off for the year. Only Randy Tallent was gonna come back on Monday now. Yaaay.
Loggers, Elks next week. Since the Loggers won on Sunday, they had a magic number of one for the division title.
Someone please kill me.
Fun Fact: Fun? Fun was traded to the Blue Sox years ago.
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