[Westheim]

Raccoons (35-20) vs. Crusaders (24-31) – June 5-8, 1995

The Crusaders had the two leading home run hitters in the Continental League on their roster, with Ruben Melendez and Pat Jenkins having hit 11 each after two months. Yet, that was about all they had, scoring in the bottom half of the league, and their rotation was an utter mess, ranking last in the CL with a 5.10 ERA.

Projected matchups:
Kisho Saito (8-0, 2.67 ERA) vs. Danny Ramirez (2-5, 5.18 ERA)
Jason Turner (6-1, 2.81 ERA) vs. Jose Ramos (2-4, 6.00 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (3-1, 3.25 ERA) vs. Hector Lara (5-6, 5.05 ERA)
Robert Vázquez (4-2, 3.57 ERA) vs. Cipriano Miranda (4-5, 5.09 ERA)

So, you may think about a sweep, but just how things are always going… our starters were best advised to go eight and don’t allow a lot of runs. Don’t give the pen chances to blow up.

Saito was up 1-0 in the top 4th of the opener, with one out and a runner on second base. On a single to left, the Crusaders sent their runner, and Royce Green’s through home was goddamn awful and went past Rodriguez. Another single scored another unearned run, setting Saito 2-1 behind, but then Saito was in the middle of a string of five consecutive batters who reached base safely with two out in the bottom 4th: Rodriguez, Quinn, Saito, Brewer, and Higgins all got on in succession, getting the two runs back in, before Reece flew out to deep left. While Green tried to get even with a 2-run homer in the bottom 5th, Saito was taken deep by CF Armando Diéguez in the sixth. Still up 5-3, we had two out and a runner on first in the top 7th against Alfonso Rojas, who was to be – hopefully – Saito’s last batter. Rojas grounded to Saito, and Saito couldn’t convert it in time. Two on, two out, and Jenkins up next. Saito was over 110 pitches, but the tying runs were on. Do you want to get in your well-shaken bullpen into this? Jenkins was a left-hander, and so was Saito. And Saito was the ace ‘round here. Jenkins took Saito's first pitch into left, for an RBI single, and on Green throwing home, the runners advanced into scoring position. Uh-oh. Next was Victor Martinez, a right-hander, and Saito was definitely done. Tony Vela was thrown in. Martinez drilled his first pitch into deep right. Quinn after it, launched – GOT THAT THING!! Vela remained in the game after an uneventful bottom 7th (uh-oh) to protect a 5-4 lead. Diéguez was up next, and went into the right center gap, and Quinn made the play AGAIN. However, this time he came up lame and had to leave for Kinnear, who had not started against the lefty Ramirez. We got a much needed insurance run in the bottom 8th driven in by Matt Higgins – who was then picked off first by John Hatt to end the inning. Uh, well. De La Rosa to the rescue! Didn’t help much. He hit a batter and then walked two. With one out, Jenkins was up. Okay, we lose. Jenkins hit a run-scoring infield single, and that killed the game. Martinez’ sac fly tied us up, and Saito would leave empty-handed. For him it was little consolation that Royce Green walked off the Coons in the bottom 11th, scoring Neil Reece with a 2-out single. The run was unearned, by the way. 7-6 Raccoons. Brewer 2-5, BB, RBI; Higgins 2-5, BB, 2 RBI; Green 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Kinnear 2-2, 2B;

Okay, De La Rosa is done closing, and it was a ****ty idea to start with. And who’s closing now? Ha.

This is NOT, where our new reliever comes in. We welcomed Ramón Campoy to the fold for game 2. And we didn’t remove a pitcher from the roster, either. Marvin Ingall was sent down. With this much sucking, I wanted an extra arm, and Ingall wasn’t even playing a lot. More about Campoy in the last section.

Also, Bobby Quinn went down to an intercostal strain and there was a good chance he would not play again this week, so we were now on a very short bench, but the bullpen is wrecking everything …

Down to a closer-by-committee, the best hope I had was for Jason Turner to go nine, successfully. Against Ramos, the Coons broke out quickly, putting up 3-spots in the first and third innings for a 6-1 lead for Turner. But Turner was crumbling, surrendering line drive doubles, and gave up single runs the next two innings, and only a great grab by Brewer that ended the sixth spared him at least one, maybe two runs in that inning, and with his pitch count over 100 by then, we were looking at the pen early again. A Steve Cobb homer off Grant West made it 6-4 in the seventh. Cobb, Rojas, and Jenkins were up in the top 9th, all left-handers, so attempting to close this one fell to Ken Burnett by default. Burnett sat them down in order! 6-4 Coons. Salazar 2-3, 2B; O’Morrissey 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

We were actually out-hit 11-7 in this game.

Royce Green got a day off for game 3, and Neil Reece was scheduled for game 4, with O-Mo looking at the bench in Friday’s game against Sacramento, potentially. Unless someone breaks a leg in the meantime.

David Vinson got the scoring going in the game – with a passed ball that plated a run for New York in the second inning. But the Raccoons got back-to-back homers from O-Mo and Vinson in a 4-run third inning, and upped to 6-1 in the fourth, knocking out the Crusaders’ starter early again. But Miguel Lopez was merely human. In the fifth, a 3-run homer by Ruben Melendez with two out made it an open game again, 6-4 Coons. While Lopez got through seven, the Raccoons left eight men on between the fourth and seventh innings. They were begging for it. But Vela got us through the eighth and we tagged on two runs in the bottom of that inning to lead 8-4. Bring in that new kid, that one that is 35. Ramón Campoy thus made his first appearance as a Coon, trying to sit down Benjamin Butler (Mr. Obnoxious), Steve Cobb, and Ramón Diaz. He got the first two, and then the Crusaders hit two singles, and these were very soft. Melendez was due next, leading the league in homers with 12 (including one in this series), and we made another move here to Juan Martinez, who duly walked Melendez to load the bags and bring up the tying run in soft-hitting SS Raúl Rodriguez. Well, he probably won’t homer. Martinez pitched to him. Martinez walked him. BRING ME BURNETT!!! Jenkins was next in line, who had made the final out against Burnett in the last game. Not this time, he singled to left. OH COME ON!! Still up by two, I was to stick with Burnett now, even though the righty Victor Martinez came up. He hurled a 2-2 pitch to right, but more or less right to Chih-tui Jin. Game over. 8-6 Raccoons. Brewer 2-3, 2 BB; Salazar 4-5; O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Vinson 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Baldivía 2-5;

The night after this game, the Crusaders traded Alfonso Rojas to Pittsburgh for basically nothing in return to my amazement.

Jorge Salazar topped the CL batting title race after this game with a .353 clip, one point up over the competition.

Another game left to play against New York, with Vázquez getting the call against Cipriano Miranda. Neither starter was any good. After the Coons took a 1-0 lead through two innings, Vázquez was shredded for three runs in the top 3rd, and surrendered nine hits in the first three innings. To the bottom of the inning, Miranda failed to retire men, too, and a 3-run homer by Matt Higgins turned the game around again. Miranda was done after three, giving up five runs, which stunningly made Danny Ramirez in the series opener the longest-lasting Crusaders starter in this series, as he actually got through five innings. This time, the Furball was also shaven clean, as Vázquez was battered for 11 hits and four runs in just five innings of work. We led by one then, and the Crusaders were on the verge of tying it in the sixth, where Miller struck out Jenkins, starving two men on, and when Lagarde walked two in the seventh, we brought in Grant West, who lucked himself into a double play to end that inning. Green and O-Mo got us an extra run in the seventh. Getting to the ninth, we had used up a lot of our 8-man pen already, and De La Rosa was brought in to get back onto the darling list I was keeping. Ge got two out (including Jenkins) before Victor Martinez doubled. Not again. The Crusaders brought in their just acquired new outfielder Jean-Claude Monnier as pinch-hitter, and Monnier doubled in Martinez. 6-5, new lefty pinch-hitter Ramón Corona to the plate. No, I had no trust in De La Rosa anymore. I dug out Burnett again. He threw only one pitch, which Corona grounded to Higgins at first for the final out. 6-5 Coons. O’Morrissey 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Higgins 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; West 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Out-hit 14-10 in this one. The staff is crumbling from whatever side you approach it, with terribly few exceptions.

You know, for a 4-game sweep this was one miserable series. One stat is enough: we out-scored the Crusaders, 27-21.

Raccoons (39-20) vs. Scorpions (36-24) – June 9-11, 1995

I doubt that we will be able to sweep the Scorpions with a pitching performance like against the Crusaders. They have scored 288 runs so far, 21 less than the Coons, but they have a top 3 rotation in the FL and a good bullpen. In fact, the only areas this team was really weak in, were home run power (9th in FL with 25), and drawing walks (second-worst).

Projected matchups:
Scott Wade (3-5, 4.30 ERA) vs. Steve Rogers (8-1, 1.58 ERA)
Kisho Saito (8-0, 2.67 ERA) vs. Randy Travis (1-7, 4.61 ERA)
Jason Turner (7-1, 2.94 ERA) vs. Joe Mann (4-7, 4.72 ERA)

Scott Wade was reportedly accepting a 3-6 fate. Rogers was 22, the second overall pick from the 1990 draft, and 21-15 in his young career, which was the sophomore season stadium at this point. He went 13-14 last year with a decent 3.33 ERA. Bad command is an issue for him. About his only issue. Oh, right. For good measure, his nickname was “Hercules”.

I wanted O-Mo in this game to even the odds a bit, so he would sit in the middle game.

Boy, was “Hercules” wild in the game. After blazing away the Coons in the first, a wild pitch by him helped Baldivía to hit a sac fly for the first run of the game in the bottom 2nd. He added up walks quickly, while O-Mo rocked a 2-run homer into the second-to-last row of the left field bleachers. By the fifth, O-Mo was a triple shy of the cycle, and Rogers’ seventh walk loaded the bags with one out for Vern Kinnear, who batted ahead of Wade. Rogers refused to go down, however, punched out Kinnear, and punched out Wade, too. We would leave the bases loaded in the sixth, too, but added a run on a 2-out RBI single by Vinson. The score was 5-0. Wade had 1-hit the opposition through six. But the Scorpions began to figure him out. They put two on in the seventh, bringing up former Indian R.J. Stinton, who batted .401(!!), with two out. Stinton drilled a shot to deep left, but Kinnear made the play to end the frame. The eighth also ended with a great defensive play, a leaping grab by Brewer, again with two out. The shutout was still alive, now up 7-0 after a Higgins homer in the seventh. But Wade would face the all-lefty heart of the lineup for a fourth time in the ninth. Scotty, if you can do that, you’re the hero of the week! A leadoff homer by Joey Humphrey denied him those honors. Wade ran out of tricks, walked Jared O’Molony with one out and was removed for West, who walked Stinton, which evoked Miller from the pen. Miller walked Art Garrett, and a 2-run single by Sidney Aycock brought the house of cards down once again, as the tying run appeared in the on-deck circle. Alejandro Roldán took Miller deep to center, which brought the tying run to the plate. Tony Vela entered. Martin Horn doubled, Jim Stein singled. Winning runs are on for Sacramento, and Humphrey was back up. In a full count (Vela without a doubt would have walked him, given enough time) Humphrey grounded to second, forcing out Stein, but Humphrey was safe. That was the first out after seven batters had reached base safely. Up came Sam Green, the only guy Wade had retired in the inning. The game could not have ended less anticlimactic: Green fouled out to O-Mo on the first pitch from Vela. 7-6 Coons. Brewer 2-4, BB; O’Morrissey 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Green 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Vinson 2-4, BB, RBI; Wade 8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (4-5);

This bullpen. THIS BULLPEN!! GAAAH!! (tears scorecard into pieces)

We obviously need help outside of Ramón Campoy, whose ERA after a few days was 18.

Middle game, Saito up again. By now, everybody came to the park just to witness a blowup of epic proportions, something to tell their grandchildren about. O-Mo played again, but Brewer was rested against the lefty Travis. Of course, everything went wrong from the get go. CF Marcos Rodriguez got his first AB of the year against Saito. It became a 3-run homer in the second inning. In the fourth, a Bill Mosley home run made it 4-0 Scorpions. Those four runs represented all runners Saito allowed through four. Meanwhile, the Raccoons hit into three double plays in the first four innings, scoring only one run. Bottom 5th: Higgins walked to start the frame, and Salazar hit a bloop double that eluded LF Martin Horn’s grab. Two in scoring position, no out, Reece lined out hard to Horn and Higgins held. Higgins scored on a wild pitch then, 4-2, and that was all we got in the inning with two groundouts following. That was it. The Raccoons failed to ever put another man on base. Saito was left with a 7.2 IP, 5 ER outing in the end, and took his first loss of the year. Of course, Jackie Lagarde managed to give up another run. 6-2 Scorpions. Green 2-4; Jin 2-4, RBI;

Saito allowed seven runners, five of which scored. It was only the second of ten games this month where the offense failed to put up five or more runs, which would have picked him up. Of course, they blew his lead against the Crusaders. There are higher forces messing with him, obviously.

Oh, yeah. When Lagarde cocked up another run in the ninth, a flower pot came crashing through a window in the office building next to the park. I swear I did not have my hands in this one. (picks potting soil from beneath his finger nails)

One more game at home. O-Mo DID sit this time with us having three more games in Richmond before an off day. Turner pitched, and suddenly he with his laughable K/BB of 1.15 could match Saito in wins. Tells you something.

Turner sucked a ton, allowing nine hits and four walks in five plus innings, and miraculously gave up just five runs, although he had begged for more, while the offense failed to score against a knocked up pitcher for the second time in as many days. When we brought in Campoy to generate some length from his spot, he proceeded to walk Scorpions until they scored another run. Joe Mann easily went eight innings against the Raccoons. In a 6-2 game in the bottom 8th, we had two on with one out. Baldivía was up – double play. Shawn Reed appeared in relief in the bottom 9th in a 4-run game. Vinson and Jin went down in silence as pinch-hitters before Brewer blooped into left. Salazar singled into center, which got closer Joaquin Bastos to pop up on the mound. He struck out Neil Reece. 6-2 Scorpions. Brewer 3-5; Salazar 3-5, RBI; Green 2-3, BB; Martinez 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

In other news

June 8 – The Titans trade 26-yr old SS/3B George Waller (.270, 1 HR, 16 RBI) to the Aces for 26-yr old LF/RF Ramón Reyes (.391, 3 HR, 12 RBI in only 64 AB) and a third rate prospect.
June 8 – The Crusaders also deal, sending 25-yr old OF Alfonso Rojas (.274, 2 HR, 22 RBI) to Pittsburgh for 31-yr old LF/RF Jean-Claude Monnier (.336, 4 HR, 25 RBI) and a non-prospect.
June 9 – The Condors acquire 26-yr old SP Sergio Gonzalez (5-6, 3.98 ERA) from the Wolves for 25-yr old SS/2B Kuang Liu (.181, 2 HR, 7 RBI).
June 11 – NAS LF/RF Tommy Norton (.312, 2 HR, 24 RBI) may miss more than a month with a fractured thumb.

Complaints and stuff

Vomit-inducing week. Never mind five wins, but the pitching sucks outright. Plus when you go 5-2 a week, and concede more runs than your team scores (38-39), something is wrong. Wrong is that we have conceded four or more runs in every game this month. The last week of May was entirely fine as far as allowing runs went. And then we go to June and a bomb goes off.

I do NOT blame the offense. The offense, although a few guys are struggling in June (see further down), is scoring over 5.1 R/G for the year and 4.55 R/G in June. It is the pitching. If I had ANY replacements, I would have demoted or fired half the bullpen already. But the AAA bullpen gets lit up just as well and that Campoy signing has done ZERO to improve the situation.

Ramón Campoy is a 35-year old right-hander, who signed for $150k for the year. He was a 3rd-round pick by the Crusaders in the 1981 draft, and pitched a no-hitter in his first start in A ball. He was, however, converted to a reliever still as a minor leaguer, and has never made a major league start. After making his debut for the Crusaders in 1984, he would bounce to a new team about every other year and in some years pitched mainly in AAA. We like his makeup, and he was the last guy alive on the free agent market that fit the description “usable right-handed reliever”. He spent last season with the Condors.

Positive notes: O-Mo is in the top 5 in all major offensive categories, including leading the batting title race ahead of Salazar. He also leads in OPS (1.035), although Royce Green’s OPS is higher, but he doesn’t qualify yet. O-Mo also leads all CL players with 3.6 WAR.

That’s it for positives. Baldivía, Reece, and Vinson are struggling at this point. Time for Rodriguez is running out now. As is it for Martinez, Vela, West, … and Jackie Lagarde.