[Westheim]

Raccoons (36-25) @ Buffaloes (38-24) – June 12-14, 2028

The Buffaloes were doing it all on pitching, conceding the second-fewest runs in the Federal League, scarcely 4.1 runs per game against them. Their offense was only average (but that the FL level). These teams had last met in 2026, when the Raccoons had swept the 3-game series.

Projected matchups:
Rico Gutierrez (6-1, 1.78 ERA) vs. Nick Danieley (5-6, 3.87 ERA)
Kyle Anderson (3-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. Joe Jones (5-4, 3.20 ERA)
Mark Roberts (5-3, 3.35 ERA) vs. Joao Joo (4-5, 5.35 ERA)

The Raccoons would see a right-hander followed by two southpaws, but would miss longtime Critter Tadasu Abe (7-3, 2.51 ERA), who had pitched on Sunday.

The Raccoons were going without Alberto Ramos into this series, and were hoping their .404 bat back into the lineup as soon as feasible.

Game 1
POR: 2B Stalker – CF Mora – 3B Hereford – RF Gomez – C Tovias – 1B Harenberg – SS Gerster – LF Millan – P Gutierrez
TOP: LF Raynor – CF Coleman – SS Majano – 3B P. Green – RF Benson – 1B Wittner – 2B Pelles – C Tarlton – P Danieley

The Raccoons got a triple from Abel Mora in the first inning, then two soft outs by Hereford and Gomez that didn't get the run across. Rich Hereford in particular had a rotten first inning. First the shallow fly to Travis Benson, then he threw away an Alex Majano grounder in the bottom part of the frame to allow Ian Coleman, the old Loggers foe, to score from second base while the ball caromed around in the visitors' dugout, panicked Critters spilling out everywhere. Just to keep everybody alert, Elias Tovias allowed former Raccoon (well, briefly) Ruben Pelles to reach first base on an uncaught third strike the following inning. Neither team managed a third hit through five innings, with the Raccoons looking as crummy as ever in recent times.

The Raccoons were still on two hits and the Buffaloes still on their one run when Rico jammed in the eighth inning. Ron Raynor and Ian Coleman hit back-to-back singles to begin the inning and went to the corners, and with more right-handed bats up, it was time to visit the good ol' pen. Surginer came in, threw two pitches, enough to unravel the game for good. Majano reached on an infield single to load the bases, and then Surginer nailed Devin Hibbard, an injury replacement for Pat Green. That one did finally push in the run. Billy Brotman replaced him, walked in another run against Benson, then conceded a third on a double play grounder hit by Matt Wittner. With that, the Coons were down by a slam when they couldn't even get near four hits. Nick Danieley held them down until the end, conceding only two hits and whiffing nine. 4-0 Buffaloes. Gutierrez 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, L (6-2);

The Raccoons took another blow into the stomach region when the Druid diagnosed Ramos with a sprained ankle that would keep him out until the All Star Game. While I repetitively slammed my forehead against the doorframe in my hotel room, the Coons placed Ramos on the DL (again!) and recalled Jarod Spencer from a short holdover rehab assignment that ultimately did nothing more than that it spared Butch Gerster a roundtrip to St. Pete and back. Spencer had sprained a wrist about a month ago.

Game 2
POR: 2B Spencer – SS Stalker – 3B Hereford – 1B Gomez – CF Mora – C Leal – LF Morales – RF Booker – P Anderson
TOP: LF Hess – 1B Wittner – RF Benson – SS Majano – C Gio. James – 3B P. Green – CF Raynor – 2B Pelles – P J. Jones

Good news – the Raccoons had three hits by the third inning! They also made sure to hit a single in every inning and never reaching even third base. At least Kyle Anderson kept holding up while I was secretly expecting a big explosion any second now, but he had a 1-hitter in a scoreless game through three. In the fourth, the Furballs loaded the bases; Rafael Gomez hit a leadoff single up the middle, Mora grounded out, but Leal got nailed to put another runner on, and when Danny Morales singled to left, Jaden Booker had all the chances to do damage. Too bad he was batting .198 … That was not going to get better here and now, and probably also wouldn't down the road, but at least he put Portland on the board with a sac fly to Ron Raynor. Better yet, Anderson beat Pelles' limited range, especially on a sore ankle, for an RBI single into rightfield. Spencer's groundout kept it at 2-0, but at least he turned a double play for Anderson after a leadoff single by Benson the bottom of the inning. On to the fifth, where Hereford doubled to center, and the Buffaloes went on to intentionally walk Gomez, only to run into unexpected 2-out, 3-run homer by Armando Leal that exited over the head of a dejected Ken Hess in leftfield and jumped the score to 5-0. Well, a 5-0 lead was CERTAINLY unexpected with this team…!

The Raccoons added a sixth run in the sixth inning on straight singles by Spencer, Stalker, and Hereford, while Anderson kept motoring. Reliever Jimmy Jackson balked in Jaden Booker to extend the lead to seven in the eighth inning. Anderson lasted seven and a third, but was brought in after a Raynor double when left-handed batter D.J. Fullerton appeared as pinch-hitter. Jeff Kearney came in, balked, walked Fullerton, then somehow got out of the inning with catlike lunges at the grounders of Hibbard and Wittner. Both teams would put a crooked number in the ninth inning; the Raccoons singled Joey Hopkins to death for three runs, while the Buffaloes shredded Jonathan Fleischer for four, princely responsible being a 3-run homer by Giovanni James. 10-4 Raccoons. Stalker 2-4, BB; Hereford 3-5, 2B, RBI; Gomez 2-4, BB; Leal 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Morales 2-4; Booker 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Millan (PH) 1-1, RBI; Anderson 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (4-1) and 2-3, RBI;

What was more remarkable? That the Raccoons plated ten runs? Or that they plated ten runs while their leadoff batter went 0-for-6?

Game 3
POR: 2B Spencer – SS Stalker – 3B Hereford – RF Gomez – C Tovias – 1B Harenberg – LF Morales – CF Magallanes – P Roberts
TOP: LF Raynor – CF Coleman – SS Majano – RF Benson – 1B Wittner – 2B Pelles – 3B Hibbard – C Tarlton – P Joo

Spencer came back with a game-opening triple into the corner, then scored on a Hereford grounder, which was the best the princely part of the lineup could do in this situation. Hereford made an error in the bottom 1st that added Benson to the bases in addition to Majano (single), but at least Juan Magallanes caught Matt Wittner's drive to center to end that inning. Roberts lacked edge, nailed Pelles in the bottom 2nd, but stranded another pair without blowing the lead. Mark Roberts kept having an exciting day; he hit a double in the third inning that didn't lead to a run, then found two on and nobody out in the fifth and bunted into a terrible force at third base. That also didn't lead to a run… What did lead to a run in the sixth inning was a Spencer that put Majano on base. Majano stole two bases, then scored on Matt Wittner's sac fly to deep center to tie up the game at one.

Majano then came up with a throwing error under Wittner's glove to begin the seventh inning that put Harenberg on second base with nobody out. The Raccoons hoped for Morales, but he was intentionally walked, and so Millan batted for Magallanes, but lined out to Raynor. Roberts got the bunt down this time, but Spencer fouled out to waste another splendid opportunity. Roberts got through eight innings, but that would be all for him. You couldn't blame the starting pitcher, once more, for Roberts had ultimately held the Buffaloes to three hits and an unearned run. Top 9th, another ex-Coon got involved, as we were reacquainted with Vince D – D for Devereaux – who was immediately greeted by Elias Tovias' gapper for a leadoff double. The bases filled up with an intentional walk to Harenberg, then a soft single by Danny Morales. Three on, no outs for Omar Millan, and please, can we for once not choke this one into another episode of mindless madness? Millan struck out. Mora batted for Roberts … and struck out. Oh for crying out loud! Spencer ran a 3-1 count. I dare you, Jarod – move and you're dead! He didn't move, Vince D missed, and the tie-breaking run was walked across home plate. Stalker grounded out, stranding a full set, and that turned it over to Josh Boles, who continued to increase the spin rate in my head with a leadoff walk to Matt Wittner, who would advance 90 feet on the next two plays to look on from third base when Nate Tarlton swung over strike three to end the game. 2-1 Blighters. Morales 2-2, 2 BB; Roberts 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-3) and 1-2;

Raccoons (38-26) @ Indians (34-32) – June 16-18, 2028

The Indians were in second place, five games back, so the Raccoons were sure to hold onto first place until next week in any case. This was one of those traditional Indians teams – all pitching and defense, no hitting whatsoever. They were on the runless end of the rankings in both runs scored and runs allowed in the Continental League. Best rotation. Best bullpen. A team lead of four homers and only one batter remotely close to the .300 mark… and that was Jon Gonzalez. These two teams had already split a 4-game set this season.

Projected matchups:
Rin Nomura (6-3, 2.70 ERA) vs. David Elliott (4-4, 3.45 ERA)
George James (5-5, 4.48 ERA) vs. Mo Robinson (2-2, 3.16 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (6-2, 1.86 ERA) vs. David Saccoccio (5-5, 3.22 ERA)

One left, two right, and hopefully any runs at all for Portland…!

Game 1
POR: 2B Spencer – SS Stalker – 3B Hereford – 1B Gomez – C Tovias – CF Mora – LF Morales – RF Booker – P Nomura
IND: SS Pizano – 3B Roesler – CF Suhay – C Kennett – RF Ryder – 1B Aleman – LF Jamieson – 2B M. Mendoza – P D. Elliott

Sometimes I wondered whether we could get more of our pitchers into the lineup – when Elliott issued 2-out walks to Morales and Booker, Nomura came through with an RBI single for the first run of the game, after which Jarod Spencer made a petty 6-3 out to end the inning. Elliott also walked a pair in the third inning, right before an Elias Tovias special, a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. In between, Jaden Booker had caught a mighty Matt Jamieson drive at the fence, making me even more frustrated that we hadn't gotten him back during the winter. Thanks to that bit of defense Rin Nomura didn't allow a base hit until the fourth inning when Elliott Kennett singled to right with two down, but nothing came of that for Indy once Zachary Ryder flew out to Booker. Even an Alex Aleman double off the leftfield wall to begin the bottom 5th didn't get the Indians onto the scoreboard, even when Nomura hit Jamieson with a 1-2 pitch to put two on with nobody out. Manny Mendoza popped out, Elliott bunted, and one shortstop grounded out to the next.

There was another hit batter in the sixth inning, this one Rafael Gomez being struck in the knee by the consistently missing Elliott. Well, this time he missed all the way into Gomez' knee cap, forcing one of the last sort-of batters the Coons had out of the game, to be replaced by Harenberg, which wasn't going to help the Raccoons in the short or long run. At least Nomura kept holding up, spilling only four base hits on 92 pitches through eight innings. Still, the offensive situation was dire; after Omar Millan pinch-hit for Booker to begin the ninth inning and made a soft out, Leal batted for Nomura and doubled to right. From second base, Butch Gerster would take over for him as we hoped for anything from the top of the order. David Galmore got Spencer to poke a terrible comebacker for the second out, but Tim Stalker hit a ball to center, and that one finally fell the **** in. Stalker had a single, Gerster was quick enough to score, and we had an insurance run. Hereford struck out (and if he hadn't, Harenberg would have…). And then Josh Boles created a mess AGAIN. Ben Suhay hit a leadoff jack in the bottom 9th, followed by a 2-out walk issued to Aleman, who was the tying run and pinch-run for by Alex Zanches, then surrendered a single to Jamieson. Mike Plunkett pinch-hit for Mendoza, grounded to left, Hereford lunged, knocked it down, somehow grabbed it while staggering back on his hindpaws, and fired a throw to first just in time to retire Plunkett and end the game. 2-1 Coons. Stalker 2-4, BB, RBI; Leal (PH) 1-1, 2B; Nomura 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (7-3) and 1-3, RBI;

Oh boy. That was once more too close for comfort.

I liked the 2027 Josh Boles much better…

Also, Rafael Gomez went onto the DL with a knee contusion. Maybe he'd be fine in two weeks. Maybe he'd have an amputation. For now, the Raccoons had some Wilson Rodriguez, a versatile outfielder and right-handed batter with a .240 clip and seven homers in St. Petersburg. He was already 26 years old and in the organization for nine years and 11 months without popping up on a radar once. Welcome to the ****ing big leagues, I guess.

Saturday brought rain, more rain, and ever more rain, and no game took place. Instead, we had a double header scheduled for Sunday.

Game 2
POR: SS Stalker – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 3B Hereford – LF Morales – 1B Harenberg – C Leal – RF Millan – P James
IND: CF Zanches – C Dear – SS Pizano – 1B Jon Gonzalez – LF Plunkett – 3B Roesler – RF Ryder – 2B M. Mendoza – P Saccoccio

Lo and behold, the Raccoons reached two whole runs in the first leg of the double header without bending over backwards thrice and a profuse apology when Armando Leal socked a 2-piece in the second inning against Saccoccio. At the same time, James allowed no hits the first time through the Indians order, same as Nomura on Friday, before an error by Kevin Harenberg – who couldn't be more useless if his cut-off head on pike would be put up at first base – allowed Matt Dear on base to begin the bottom 4th. Pizano singled to center, but Jon Gonzalez (what is it with Raccoons first basemen?) spanked into a double play, 4-6-3, and the Raccoons got out of the inning unscored upon. On the other hand, James absolutely couldn't get a bunt down, something that had been developing for a while as well, but was something like item #37 on our list of issues.

It was still 2-0 through six, with the Raccoons' best whiff at another run coming in the seventh with Millan's 1-out triple to right, then another choke with James grounding out poorly to the left side, Stalker getting four wide ones, and Spencer rolling over to Mike Roesler to sink them all. James' run would last eight shutout innings on one hit and six strikeouts, but by then his pitch count had blossomed to 113 and we weren't going to risk it. Instead, ever more Josh Boles trying to change a bulb in the light fixture while balancing on a chair with a missing leg! And oh look, they have Suhay pinch-hit in the #9 hole to begin the ninth! Suhay grounded to left, Rich Hereford was busy trying to hold back a fart and missed the ball because he couldn't bend down, and the error brought up the tying run in Elliott Kennett, who struck out. As did Matt Dear, but Pizano singled to left, and now runners were on the corners for Jon Gonzalez, and we knew what he was theoretically capable of… grounding out to third base to end the game. 2-0 Coons. Millan 2-3, BB, 3B; James 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (6-5);

And an economical pitching performance to open a double header to boot!

Boy, things are going to be so horrible with Rico around…

Game 3
POR: 2B Spencer – SS Gerster – CF Mora – 3B Hereford – LF Morales – C Tovias – 1B Harenberg – RF Rodriguez – P Gutierrez
IND: SS Pizano – 3B Roesler – 1B Jon Gonzalez – CF Suhay – C Kennett – RF Ryder – LF Plunkett – 2B M. Mendoza – P Mo Robinson

Not a left-handed bat in sight for Rico to breathe against – how true was that sub-2 ERA after all? The answer was probably tough to find out because it also didn't exist past the first inning, in which Jon Gonzalez already ripped an absolute moonshot homer to right, collecting Mike Roesler for a quick 2-0 Indians lead. Meanwhile Wilson Rodriguez took part in the game by the second inning, popped out batting and then mishandled his first chance for an error that put Rico in a crimp with runners on second and third and two outs against leadoff man Pizano, who thankfully flew out to Mora.

The Coons would put them in scoring position with one out in the top 3rd, owing it to Gerster drawing four walks and Mora finding the gap for a double. Rich Hereford hadn't hit a homer in weeks and weeks, but maybe a 2-run single was something we could politely ask for? Instead, Robinson walked him, bringing up Danny Morales with the bases loaded. Circumstances had propelled Morales from "pinch-hitter against southpaws" to "best #5 hitter we could find", but he flew out to Zachary Ryder for the second out. Gerster tagged and scored, but Tovias grounded out harmlessly to keep Portland 2-1 behind. That remained true until the following inning when .210 enigma Kevin Harenberg hit a leadoff jack to right on an 0-2 pitch. It barely coughed itself over the fence and was nowhere near Gonzalez' in terms of WOW, but it got the game tied alright…

The tie didn't even last the inning. Zachary Ryder hit a double in the bottom of the inning, and with two outs and first base open the Coons put on Mendoza intentionally to get to the pitcher, who predictably hit a 2-out RBI single off Rico to send Ryder scampering home. Rich Hereford shrugged, went deep to right in the top 5th, and since Gerster was on after another walk, that one flipped the score in the Critters' favor, 4-3……… at least until Elliott Kennett knocked out Rico with a 3-run shot to dead center in the bottom 5th. That seemed to do the deal; the Coons did nothing in the sixth, wasted a Gerster double in the seventh, and then put Morales and Harenberg on in the eighth, but then came up with Rodriguez and one out. The debutee was replaced at this point (and at 0-3), with Tim Stalker coming off the bench to try and work some eighth-inning magic against new pitcher, right-hander Brandon Smith. He flew out to Alex Aleman in rightfield, bringing up Leal batting for Fleischer. He singled to left, which allowed Morales to score, 6-5, and put the sluggish Harenberg even at third base as the tying run, but it also brought up Jarod Spencer, who was 4-for-33 since coming off the DL (and still a viable leadoff man!!). The remaining bench options were Booker and Magallanes. So, Spencer batted. And grounded out to short. Ricky Ohl made short work of the Indians in the bottom 8th, offering one last gasp at a comeback in the ninth, starting with Gerster, who had been retired only once in the game and now faced David Galmore and his 2.60 ERA as well as, disturbingly, more walks than strikeouts. Caution, Coons! Something's up! Use double-think! Too late. Gerster grounded out to Mendoza. Mora dishearteningly had a liner to left shagged by Jamieson. And Hereford simply struck out. 6-5 Indians. Mora 2-5, 2B; Hereford 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Leal (PH) 1-1, RBI; Fleischer 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K;

In other news

June 12 – OCT LF/RF Luis Sagredo (.330, 7 HR, 28 RBI) will be out for a month with a broken foot.
June 14 – The Gold Sox prepare to be without SP Ian Prevost (5-4, 3.23 ERA) for the next year. The 32-year-old right-hander has torn the flexor tendon in his elbow and will be on the shelf for at least 12 months.
June 14 – LAP 1B/2B Chris Owen (.301, 4 HR, 29 RBI) could be out for a significant amount of time with a pretty serious concussion.
June 14 – CHA OF Juan Camps (.218, 3 HR, 17 RBI) will be out for a month with a strained medial collateral ligament.
June 14 – Knights and Warriors play 14 innings before the Warriors walk off on a run-scoring double by utility player Hiroaki Ryu (.286, 5 HR, 22 RBI) for the only run in the 1-0 affair.
June 16 – SAL INF Dan Cobb (.289, 4 HR, 31 RBI) shines with a 7-RBI game on three hits in a 17-6 drubbing of the Scorpions.
June 16 – CHA SP Alex Lopez (3-5, 3.91 ERA) 2-hits the Aces in an 8-0 Falcons win.
June 17 – SFB 1B Tomas Caraballo (.230, 5 HR, 26 RBI) chips in four base hits and 7 RBI in the Bayhawks' 12-9 bonanza over the Thunder, for whom OCT C Mike Burgess (.302, 7 HR, 35 RBI) goes unretired with four hits and two walks, but only one RBI while batting cleanup.
June 17 – TOP SP Nick Danieley (7-6, 3.22 ERA) hurls a 2-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over the Rebels.
June 18 – The Condors amount to only three base hits in their 1-0 win over the Knights, one of them a walkoff home run by OF Joel Denzler (.249, 1 HR, 30 RBI) off ATL MR Jose Fuentes (1-3, 5.68 ERA, 2 SV).
June 18 – WAS INF Dave Menth (.297, 12 HR, 48 RBI) is going to miss three weeks with a bruised wrist.

Complaints and stuff

All those sprains! And contusions! And broken legs! They don't make male bodies like they used to anymore!

How is it that we consistently seem to have three guys from the starting lineup on the DL, and that since April, and we are STILL hovering at the .600 mark with an absolutely crummy offense? 4.1 runs per game, and sinking…!

Next week, Crusaders in a brief home visit, then another series in Charlotte on the weekend. Who makes these schedules?

The Cyclones promoted Cookie to the big show this week, and so far he has one hit in three PH appearances. What a career trajectory. What is it with these words or word parts that they all indicate something is going to crash really, really hard in the next few seconds? "traject". "eject". "deject".

Fun Fact: Excluding this season and his rookie season, Cookie Carmona appeared in 129 games per season.

And he was the definition of "brittle" in the dictionary from about 2020 on… I hesitate to compare that to Ramos yet again…