[Westheim]

Raccoons (35-29) @ Blue Sox (30-33) – June 14-16, 2011

Nashville was surely scoring a lot, ranking in the top 3 in the Federal League with just over 300 runs plated (Coons: 255, 8th in CL), but they were conceding about as many, with a +6 run differential for them. Both their rotation and their bullpen were under the league average. The Raccoons were .530 all time against the Blue Sox, and had lost only one game in the last three series with them, but that came in 2010.

Projected matchups:
Jong-hoo Umberger (5-3, 2.68 ERA) vs. Toshiro Uenohara (4-4, 4.13 ERA)
Gil McDonald (4-5, 3.26 ERA) vs. Stanton Taylor (3-5, 3.06 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (5-5, 3.22 ERA) vs. Jim Pennington (5-4, 4.73 ERA)

That’s another series in which we get only right-handers, but we might see a lefty or two on the weekend in Boston. The Blue Sox had two significant pieces missing from their lineup, with outfielder Jose Gomez and 3B Antonio Esquivel on the DL.

The draft will fall on Wednesday and the middle game of this set.

Game 1
POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Pruitt – LF Morales – RF Taylor – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger
NAS: CF Matthews – C Walston – 1B J. Diaz – RF Potter – LF T. Austin – SS M. Garza – 3B Rodgers – 2B Correa – P Uenohara

Logan Taylor almost killed the first inning when he grounded hard to Marcos Garza with the bases full and one out. But Garza was just a bit too slow to turn it for two, Taylor was safe at first, and Merritt scored with the first run of the game. Yoshi would then double in the remaining runners to send Umberger out with a 3-0 lead. That was it for offense, for a long time, and for both teams. First, both pitchers sabotaged efforts with their inability to get a bunt down. Their first time up, both had their #8 batter on first base, and both got them forced with bunts bounced right back to the opposing pitcher. There was no run scored other than the 3-spot at the start of the game through six, although the Blue Sox at least got mighty close in the bottom of the sixth. Jeffrey Matthews led off with a double, stole second, and Jong-hoo walked Pat Walston. After Juan Diaz’ fly out to Morales in center (more on that soon), on which Matthews went to third, Ken Potter hit a room service grounder to Yoshi Nomura, who started a 4-6-3 to keep Umberger’s line clean.

Both teams put the leadoff man on in the seventh, neither scored, and only the Coons’ Adrian Quebell even moved to second base. Bottom 8th, Umberger started to come apart, with Matthews hitting a 1-out single. Walston flew out, but when Diaz singled, the runners were on the corners, and the tying run was at the plate in switch-hitter Ken Potter. Ron Thrasher replaced Umberger, uncorked a wild pitch to score Matthews, then walked Potter. Enough bull****. Angel Casas appeared in a double switch (the #9 slot was up first in the top of the ninth) and got the third out from Tim Austin. The Coons got Quebell on with a 1-out double after Howell made a ****ty out to start the ninth. Pruitt would walk eventually, giving Morales an at-bat with two on, two outs, and a pop right over home plate that was no challenge for Walston to play at all. The completely **** offense on this team – outrageous. When Marcos Garza led off the bottom of the ninth with a double up the rightfield line, Angel Casas was in more than just nominal trouble, but then Ken Rodgers struck out and Jose Correa flew out to center. And yet, the Raccoons lost. The Blue Sox offense was decidedly less braindead after all: Greg Andrews doubled one to right in the path cleared by Garza’s line earlier, getting them to 3-2. Matthews drew a walk in an 11-pitch at-bat, and when Walston singled to right, the game was tied. Angel was unwinding right here and right now, Juan Diaz singled, and the Blue Sox walked off. 4-3 Blue Sox. Quebell 2-3, 2B; Merritt 2-5, 2B; Bowen 2-3, BB; Umberger 7.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K;

This team. Useless collection of inept mooks.

There was one mook less around now, though. About two hours before the Raccoons logged this game unexpectedly, but wholly deservedly in the loss column, they had already put Tomas Castro in the loss column, who had gotten hurt on a throw and was diagnosed with an oblique strain. He was most likely out for only two weeks, but was sent to the DL anyway. Jason Seeley was called up, batting with a .931 OPS in AAA. And Seeley would most likely not amount to an at least league average centerfielder, but I wanted to see just how bad it was first-hand now.

Game 2
POR: 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P McDonald
NAS: CF Matthews – C Walston – 1B J. Diaz – RF Potter – LF T. Austin – SS M. Garza – 3B Rodgers – 2B Correa – P Pennington

Late heartbreak was unlikely in the middle game on draft day, as the Blue Sox hit the ball hard from the start and whacked McDonald for two early runs, while the Raccoons didn’t even get a hit until the fourth. That included the top of the third, where they got Palmer to second base on a Ken Rodgers throwing error, and McNeela was drilled. Two ENTIRELY FREE BASE RUNNERS to start the inning, and none of them would score. Morales hit a double in the fourth and was plated by Nomura with a single to left, but the Coons continued to trail 2-1. Jon Merritt would then represent the tying run in the fifth, reaching on another throwing error by Jose Correa, and also to lead off the inning. Quebell picked up the runner and lined a ball hard down the rightfield line for the game-tying RBI double, but then brain farts took over again, and Quebell was stranded, despite two highly touted (even if not highly paid) outfielders and their not quite as highly touted (although he was the only hope we had in our system) outfield colleague all countering pitcher Jim Pennington, who threw right-handed. Nope, not gonna happen.

Neither was that 2-2 tie going to live forever. The Blue Sox swung hard the entire game, and while they whiffed eight times against McDonald, they also made enough hard contact. They took a 3-2 lead and chased him in the sixth with two out and runners on the corners, with Ward tasked with the removal of Matthews. Like Thrasher the day before, Ward failed, and on a line drive single to right another run scored for a 4-2 Sox lead. The Coons had the tying runs in scoring position with nobody out in the top 7th after a Merritt single and a Quebell double. Pennington was still in the game, and four more left-handers were coming up. But heaven forbid a hit with a runner in scoring position. Pruitt grounded out, scoring Merritt, Morales grounded out, not scoring Quebell, and Seeley never made contact with anything, leaving Quebell at third. AND WHY WOULD THEY BRING A LEFT-HANDER?? WHY??

Bottom 7th, Huerta pitched, but not for long. Diaz doubled, Potter homered, and Austin hit a hard single. Gibson would give up four singles for just one run in the bottom of the eighth. The Raccoons had nothing, except perhaps sleepy eyes and overweight. 7-3 Blue Sox. Quebell 2-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Morales 2-5, 2B; Ayers (PH) 1-1;

Juan Diaz had five hits in this game. The entire collection of outcasts on the visiting team amounted to seven hits.

Game 3
POR: 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Baldwin
NAS: CF Matthews – 2B Correa – 1B J. Diaz – LF T. Austin – RF Potter – 3B Rodgers – SS Richter – C Fisk – P S. Taylor

The full-of-**** Raccoons had runners in scoring position in the top 1st after Quebell walked and Pruitt doubled, only for Morales and Seeley to both strike out miserably, and when the Blue Sox insisted to give the Coons a chance in the third inning and Baldwin reached second base on a throwing error by Correa, he never was moved off that base as Merritt, Quebell, and Pruitt made embarrassing outs in order. Baldwin did a very good job on the mound, allowing a few scattered singles only through the inning, and the Blue Sox reached scoring position only once under their own power through seven innings, and once more after a Merritt error. The game was scoreless after seven innings, and to be correct and precise, the Raccoons had not had a hit since Pruitt’s double in the first. They had drawn two walks in two hours, one of them dubious. And while Baldwin hadn’t been as flashy as Stanton Taylor, who had 9 strikeouts to Baldwin’s handful, Colin Baldwin chipped a single to rightfield when he led off the top of the eighth. Whoah, a hit!! Taylor was knocked out when Merritt hit another single. Left-hander Juan Sanchez took over, and Keith Ayers was sent to bat for Quebell to prevent a double play from happening and ruining everything. When Ayers hit the first pitch from Sanchez to left, he had a clean single, and the bases were full with nobody out. Pruitt was down 0-2 when he shoveled a pitch off the top of the dirt and hauled it into shallow right, scoring the first run of the game. Morales fouled out, Seeley grounded out, scoring the second run. Howell hit for Nomura and whiffed. Baldwin was removed when he walked Correa with two outs in the bottom 8th, but Huerta got the third out from Diaz.

The top 9th was another traumatic display of comatose offense. Craig Bowen finally livened up yet another 0-for-3 day with a single, only to get picked off first base just before Logan Taylor singled. Nothing came together. In the bottom of the inning, Angel Casas’ sudden and violent inability to remove batters struck again. The Blue Sox opened the frame with an Austin single and a Potter double, merely giving them the tying runs in scoring position with nobody out. Pat Walston flew out to plate the first run before Zachary Richter struck out, but it still wasn’t all well and over. Alvin Fisk’s single put runners on the corners, and the left-handed batter Dave Cash was approaching, as well as Ron Thrasher being thrown over the bullpen gate. Lefty please! That was the same left-hander that had plated a run with a wild pitch en route to walking his only batter on Tuesday, and here the tying run was on third base – but Cash struck out. 2-1 Blighters. Ayers (PH) 1-1; Pruitt 2-4, 2B, RBI; Taylor (PH) 1-1; Baldwin 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (6-5) and 1-3;

(cluelessly shakes his head)

Raccoons (36-31) @ Titans (27-39) – June 17-19, 2011

The Titans were a burning ammonium train right now, with virtually all problems, including “Dodo” Iwase’s allegedly smelly feet being discussed at length in the Northeast tabloids. The Raccoons had their own issues (mostly obesity and narcolepsy), and weren’t in town to judge. A series win would be neat against the second-worst pitching staff and the fourth-worst offense. We wouldn’t escape the fangs of death that were Tony Hamlyn this time, though.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (5-4, 3.18 ERA) vs. Tony Hamlyn (3-6, 2.95 ERA)
Nick Brown (6-3, 3.08 ERA) vs. Jesus Cabrera (4-6, 3.56 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (5-3, 2.55 ERA) vs. Ron Carter (4-6, 6.17 ERA)

Keith Ayers surely likes to start, but how excited is he about facing Hamlyn? He’s the only lefty we get in this series, and it looks like his run support is close to minus three runs per game.

Game 1
POR: 3B Merritt – 2B Palmer – CF Morales – RF Ayers – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – SS Howell – P Conway
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B B. Hernandez – RF R. Garcia – C Suda – LF G. Rios – CF Hayashi – 1B Legendre – 3B E. Salazar – P Hamlyn

The Raccoons faced perhaps the beefiest pitcher in baseball, and most certainly in the division (with the way Brown was going at least…), and they held a 4-0 lead after the top of the second inning. There was a caveat however: all runs were unearned. The Coons had nobody on in the top 2nd, when Hideaki Suda threw away Bowen’s 2-out bouncer in front of the plate. Howell got four wide ones for no particular reason with first base open, and then Conway beat the range of Mike Rivera with an RBI single to left. Jon Merritt opened the score a good bit with a triple into the gap, then scored on Palmer’s single for the 4-0 score. For poor Hamlyn, it even got worse. Alexis Legendre made a truly baffling error on a simple roller in the third inning, putting Pruitt on base in the top 3rd. Quebell singled, as did Bowen. After a Howell strikeout, Conway hit a ball through Edgar Salazar at third for yet another RBI single, and when Merritt added another run with another single, Hamlyn was removed without even having allowed an earned run. The Coons were up 7-0 in the middle of the third, all runs unearned! Aided by the seven unearned runs, Conway comfortably went seven innings, allowing only one run, which was earned, on a walk to Suda and full count singles hit by Tokimune Hayashi and Alexis Legendre in the sixth inning. Josh Gibson, who had so far struck out three and had allowed 17 hits in nine innings this year, struck out the side (against one walk) in a scoreless eighth, and actually finished the game without the Titans storming past the Coons, who never scored an earned run in the game to nobody’s surprise at all, at the 11th hour. 7-1 Raccoons. Merritt 2-5, 3B, 3 RBI; Palmer 2-5, RBI; Morales 2-5; Bowen 2-5, RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (6-4) and 2-4, 2 RBI; Gibson 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than any good at all. Now to somebody who hasn’t had much luck since… um… Nick Brown has the least innings pitched of all our starters with 14 starts (so, all except for Gil McDonald)…

Game 2
POR: 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Brown
BOS: 3B E. Salazar – 2B B. Hernandez – RF R. Garcia – C Suda – LF G. Rios – CF Hayashi – SS Brantley – 1B Legendre – P Cabrera

Nick Brown started out behind in the count to almost anybody, and this didn’t come as much of a surprise by now. Once Nomura dug him out of a mess in the bottom 1st with a nifty grab on Gerardo Rios, he was spotted a lead. Jason Seeley had gone 0-for-9 since being recalled, but whacked a leadoff jack in the top 2nd to put the Raccoons ahead 1-0. Brown blew it in the same inning, drilling Ron Brantley, followed by a wild pitch and a 2-out RBI single by Jesus Cabrera.

While the assumed ace continued to scuffle (and get scuffed), the Raccoons actually did something offensively. Morales led off the fourth with a single, then stole second, his third sack of the year. Seeley made another poor out, but then Nomura hit a fly to left that at first didn’t look like much more than an F7, but somehow it continued to go and go and go until it was gone, over the fence by a snout’s width, and fair by three and a half coontails. That sent the Critters up 3-1, and although Brown shuffled two onto the bases in the bottom of the inning, Cabrera struck out to end the inning. Brown singled to lead off the fifth, then was caught stealing, but Merritt and Quebell struck out anyway… to the bottom of the inning, where Brown walked Bartolo Hernandez, then allowed a double to Ricardo Garcia, which merely put the tying runs in scoring position with one out. Yet, both Suda and Rios hit really poor grounders that were dealt with by the battery, first Bowen, then Brown, and the Titans couldn’t score.

The sixth started with Pruitt singling, Morales walking, and Seeley singling as well. Bases loaded, no outs, Yoshi batted, poked for a strike twice, then grounded slowly to second base, but between Hernandez and Brantley it went, and a run scored. Palmer continued to bat with the bases loaded and got a pretty fat thing down the middle. Right off the bat, that was never not going to be anything but a … GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

That was by no means the end of that inning. The Coons tore through two relievers after Cabrera left in shame, loading Dusty Balzer for three runs, including a 2-run double by Quebell, and one more on Dan Parker. 13 Coons came to the plate in total, and they scored nine runs for a 12-1 lead. But a crimp was still put in the affair by Brown in the bottom 6th. Toki Hayashi singled, and he walked two, only getting Legendre out on a pop. With the sacks full and one out, Slayton took over, struck out Salazar, but OF COURSE allowed a bases-clearing double to Bartolo Hernandez. That didn’t help Brown’s suffering ERA or ego, but the Raccoons restored a double-digit lead in the top 7th … well, their two runs were unearned after a Salazar error. Some of our regulars went showering by the eighth, this beauty here wasn’t going anywhere anymore. 14-4 Brownies. Merritt 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Morales 2-4, BB, RBI; Seeley 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Nomura 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Palmer 2-5, HR, 4 RBI;

Game 3
POR: 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Morales – CF Seeley – RF Taylor – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Umberger
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B B. Hernandez – RF R. Garcia – C Suda – LF G. Rios – CF Hayashi – 1B Legendre – 3B E. Salazar – P Carter

The Coons jumped out early, scoring three runs in the top 1st. Seeley plated the first run of the game for consecutive days, singling home Quebell with two outs. Logan Taylor then tripled, 2-0, and Nomura singled, 3-0. Umberger loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning. Hernandez and Garcia singled, he walked Suda, but Gerardo Rios served one perfectly to Michael Palmer, who started a double play to turn the Titans away. Logan Taylor hit another triple his next time up, this one leading off the third inning, and scored on Yoshi’s double to right. The bases would be loaded for Umberger, who whiffed, yet Carter had already walked four in the game, and added two more to Merritt and Quebell, not only running his walk count to six, but also the runs the Critters had put up. When Morales hit a sac fly to bring the score to 7-0, Ron Carter was yanked. Bill Dean replaced him, got a grounder from Seeley and threw it away for a 2-base error, bringing in another run, and the Coons were up 8-0.

The Titans, while being somehow prone to disaster, also could not get a break for the dear lives of a basket full of kittens. Ricardo Garcia hit a leadoff single in the bottom 4th. They put up the hit-and-run, Suda lined hard to left, Merritt leapt and snagged it, then got himself aligned to double off the runner quicker than Garcia could brake and paddle back to first. Reliever Bill Dean hit a 2-out single in the bottom 5th that put him on along with Salazar, only for Rivera to ground out hard to Nomura. The Coons would get additional runs on the way through the innings, one driven in by McNeela in the sixth, and another one by Seeley in the seventh. Jong-hoo allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Titans scored that on a wild pitch and not under their own power (sounds like Friday, when it was the other way round seven times). There was a very brief rain delay in the eighth inning. Umberger was just under 100 pitches after eight, and with the lead not an easy one to blow, he got the assignment for the ninth with a few regular batters out of the game again. (The replacements Howell and Ayers actually had hits and scored in the top 9th). Umberger had struck out only two in eight innings, but struck out as many in the ninth to finish the complete game effort, ringing up Toki Hayashi to finish the series sweep! 12-1 Critters. Howell 1-1, 2B; Quebell 3-5, BB, RBI; Ayers 1-1, RBI; Seeley 4-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Taylor 2-5, 2 3B, 2 RBI; Nomura 2-5, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Umberger 9.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-3) and 1-5, 2B;

What do you say? That was ACTUALLY the Raccoons? Not the Crusaders?

A true mystery!

In other news

June 13 – NYC SP Kelvin Yates (7-5, 3.29 ERA) sparkles with a 1-hit shutout, striking out 11, in a 4-0 win over the Buffaloes. Fernando Ibarra breaks up the no-hitter with a single with two outs in the ninth inning!
June 18 – Big day for L.A.’s 1B Stanley Murphy (.352, 6 HR, 23 RBI)! The 31-year old right-handed batter has three hits in the Pacifics’ 12-1 rout of the Stars, all three homers off three different pitchers, and plates six runs. Three home runs in one game are hit for the 23rd time in ABL history, and the second time by a Pacific. Yohan Bonneau did the honors in 2006, also to the Stars.
June 18 – LAP 3B/2B Jens Carroll (.339, 1 HR, 36 RBI) will miss one week with a sore knee that needs rest.

Complaints and stuff

Injury report: Tomas Castro might be back at the very end of June, Travis Owens by the break. Law Rockburn might start rehab in mid-July. Also progressing well from Tommy John surgery by now: Hector Santos, who might start rehab (and will get a full 30-day slate before we even decide what to do with him, I think) around the same time or a week later than Law.

Below is Jason Seeley’s profile. I think he’s underscouted. Perhaps not by a lot, but perhaps around 11/13/11 instead of 9/11/11. We WILL have an opening for a starting job in 2012 with Morales certainly asking for many millions in free agency. I recently called him the only hope in our system, which is a bit unfair to SP Rich Hood, who is 5-3 with a 4.21 ERA in St. Pete. The BABIP is a bit above average, but he also allowed ten dingers and 31 walks against 73 strikeouts in 87 innings. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. He’s 24, he can still become useful.

The Titans, who CLEARLY stink, cleaned house on Tuesday, firing their manager and general manager. I must say, the fact that they are in last place is utmost baffling. Everybody and their mother had them at least in the top 3 in the division.

I had Steve, the accountant, calculate what it would cost us to fire hitting coach Glenn “Martini” Williams from his contract that runs through 2013. The sobering answer would be “a lot”, but maybe we could replenish our funds with a trade of Nick Brown for a last-round pick from 2003 cleaning toilets for a single-A team.

Nick Brown is one hot mess. He walked five and struck out four in his short outing on Saturday, and while he has technically only lost one game of his last nine, he still sucks balls. He has gotten an out in the seventh inning only FIVE times this season, and not in over a month (last time: May 17 vs. Titans). If he maintains his current pace, he won’t pitch 200 innings this season, and not for injuries…

In terms of former starting pitchers, a 37-year old Randy Farley spun a 4-hit shutout for the Capitals on Sunday. Randy, who was with Portland from ’98 through ’04 (poor kit), was never amazing, but actually yet has to come apart, and his career W-L record is actually not bad at all, especially considering that he pitched on some clearly godforsaken teams: 171-143. This year he has a 3.51 ERA, 38 points under his career average, and he was better than 3.51 only three times in his career, including his rookie and sophomore year. That euphoria around 2000, when we thought that we’d ride Farley and Ford to the Sacred Land of Winning Seasons. What fools we were!