[Westheim]

We entered the Titans series by posting a lineup with five players batting under .230, and four under .200 (and the pitcher Berrios was not included in the latter figure). Of course it didn’t work out. No key hits, no luck, nothing. Berrios gave up runs at a consistent pace for a 4-2 loss.

Ben Cox had started batting well, but had hit the .200 mark now coming from above. Well, then we can just play Dolder at #8 and we rather safe in defense. Cox had looked promising in the trade when we got him, but he was one of those 80% busts by now. I wish I could say something else against Daniel Hall. Dolder in turn immediately committed an error in the first game he was in the lineup. Sean Critch was sharp, the Titans were hitting, Christopher Powell sucked, as did the rest of the team, in a 7-1 loss. Sánz tripled in Sullivan already down to the final out in the top 9th. Two hits in total in the final game for the Raccoons went a 2-0 loss – and the next series sweep.

What to do with that miserable bunch of losers? There was no free agent on the market that could be even remotely useful. I could not trade for anybody since I had only suckers to offer. The AAA team was filled with the outcasts of the majors team. And we had a 9-27 record. (Pyth. Record was 12-24 by the way, so the team did actually suck and was not just unlucky. 12-24 was worst for the CL, and only the Pacifics were worse.)

The Crusaders were next, with the worst start they had put up so far, and 5th in the division. The Raccoons led twice in game 1 and Jerry Morris blew it both times. He was saddled with seven earned runs in four plus innings in the 7-4 loss. In both the third and fourth innings he loaded the bases with nobody out. His ERA was at 6.75 now. What a moron. And I had nobody to replace him in the rotation. Robby Davis in LF seemed to come around, going 2-4 with two RBI. Game 2 was a 7-1 loss on Berrios, who surrendered three homers and six earned runs. Total number of hits for the Raccoons: two. That was enough for Sánz to plate one, so there was at least one player on the team that was not completely worthless. Powell was one of those worthless slacks and lost another one, 5-2, to complete that sweep.

They have now lost ten in a row and 22 of 24 or something like that. I can’t count that far. Albert Salgado was waived and designated for assignment (but was claimed by the Gold Sox, I don’t care, he was batting .130-something, have fun with him, fits your last place team). Daniel Hall was batting .359 at AAA, and was hitting a home run every 8.0 at bats. Was he warmed up now? We’d see soon enough as he was called up again.

The Knights were next for us, and they were 20-20 and solid throughout. If I looked at the starters that were waiting for them, Ray, Morris, and Berrios, I was ready to admit defeat before the first pitch.

Yet it took them 12 innings to lose the opener of the series. Ray was fitted with a 4-1 lead which did not survive (of course). Gaston blew a new 5-4 lead in the top 9th, that guy is nowhere near his class from 1977/78. The Raccoons had runners in scoring position ready to walk off in both the 10th and 11th, but made embarassing outs, and the Knights slapped O’Rearden for three in the 12th to win 8-5. Hall had a hit, pinch hitting for the hapless .171 Robby Davis in the eighth and scored what was then the go-ahead run. 12 innings was also the distance the next day. We led 4-1 in the seventh with Morris in trouble. Justice was tasked with getting out two lefties. A hit and a homer later the game was tied. Jenkins lost it in the 12th, when we had Sullivan at SS and Cook at 2B because of some I-don’t-give-a-crap pinch hitting by me, however these two weren’t the problem. Cook even made a nice play in the 11th. Raccoons lost 6-5. Johnston was 4-5 with a walk. Hall was 1-6 without a walk.

Game 3 was one of those encounters of another kind. The Knights plated two early on a throwing error and led 2-0 in the fifth, where Berrios issued a leadoff walk. The next batter bunted and Lawson tried to get the out at second – fail. Next batter, next bunt, this time out to Berrios, who tried to make an out at third – fail. One run scored before Armando Delgado grouned into a double play that ended it for this turn. Top 6th. Two out, two on (first and second). A lame chopper down in front of Lawson who slings it to first – fail. I missed the rest of the game screaming into my cuddly pillow, but the Raccoons lost 5-3. I was also told that Daniel Hall hit a homer with two out in the ninth and that he was 2-5 with two RBI and about the least horrible of the bunch in this game.

The bunch had lost 13 in a row now and 25 of 27. And I am hurting.

The Bayhawks were next. Gustavo Zuniga was back and was immediately put in centerfield for Dolder. Ben Cox went back to AAA. The Bayhawks were 23-22 with the best offense and worst pitching in the CL .

At least the string of losses ended here. Game 1 starter Kinji Kan started sharp and K’ed seven Raccoons, but the Raccoons ultimately got the better of the Bayhawks and landed 20 hits in a 12-2 win. Every Raccoon with an at bat got at least one hit, Hall was 3-5, Simon 4-6, and Johnston also 3-5. On May 22, this was Powell’s first win of the season. He allowed both runs over six frames. He also was 2-3 at the plate.

Game 2. The Raccoons batted through the lineup before the Bayhawks ever recorded an out. They led 8-0 after the top 1st and eventually won 14-5. The Bayhawks had really *major* issues with their pitchers. As did the Raccoons, Ned Ray hardly got through five innings. Jerry Morris also had issues in game 3. He blew a 5-1 lead and the Bayhawks walked off 6-5 in the tenth.

Next were the Condors, the unfortunate victims of a sweep by the hands of the Raccoons in April. How they had managed to do that was still uncertain.

Berrios went against them first. He no-hit the Condors through four innings, then crumbled and blew a 3-0 and 4-1 lead to a tie in the seventh. The Raccoons squeezed in another run to win 5-4 with Gaston just barely saving it. He was still totally off this season, but got another save the next day in a 5-2 win. Bill Craig had entered the top 9th with a 4-run lead, but a triple and a grounder scored a run and enabled Gaston to earn a 2-out save. The Raccoons were getting some W’s lately. They completed the sweep over the Condors with a 3-1 win, Gaston got his third save in the series, Ed Sullivan homered for the go-ahead run in the third, and Zuniga hit a 2-run homer. The last win was over Alex Miranda, former Raccoon.

This left a series against the Aces to finish the month of May. The Aces were bottom of the CL South, but they weren’t particularly bad in any specific category. They also led the season series against the Raccoons 2-1. They also had luck on their side, and were fortunate to pitch against Morris, whom they mishandled for three runs in the top 1st. The Raccoons turned this into a 6-3 lead quickly, but Morris failed to bail out of the fifth. Lopez blew a 6-5 lead in the ninth and the Raccoons lost 8-6. That was it for Morris. I was sick of his 6.69 ERA. Gimme a prospect, an average one, and he’s yours. I would rather stitch together my fourth starter for the rest of the year than go with that moron.

Berrios was slapped next in a 7-0 loss where the Raccoons got just five hits in. The last game saw the Raccoons with an early 8-1 lead after a 6-run fourth inning. Christopher Powell pitched and allowed four more before being yanked after six. The pen somehow stitched it together allowing one more run on Craig for a 8-6 win to end May (a day early, we had May 31 off).



In other news:
May 12 – As the Thunder thump San Francisco 12-2, LF Jonah Frank hits for a cycle with a 4-6, 2 RBI night. This was the first cycle in 1979 and the fifth overall. It was also the first cycle for a Continental League batter.
May 13 – A torn labrum puts Miguel Sanchez, the ace of the Indians out of order for four months at least. Sanchez was 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA in ’79, and is 25-9 for his career.
May 16 – Warriors CF George Lynch busts his ankle and is out for the season. His .320 batting will surely be missed by the Warriors.
May 25 – Loggers 3B Alex Garcia has built up a streak of 20 consecutive games with a hit.
May 30 – Falcons 2B Cordell Atkins is a home run short of the cycle in a 7-6 loss to the Loggers. In the same game Alex Garcia goes 1-5 and extends his streak to 25 games.

Two months down, the team has been horrible. Romero and Evans out until September (at least), and Morris, Powell, Berrios, and Ray all do not perform. The bullpen is great – they compete for the lowest ERA of all ABL pens. The starters are awful. Notice Lopez slotted into the #4 spot. I don’t know whether I really want to do that. It was a nightmare last year.

Daniel Hall has moved his average to .223 with two homers and 20 RBI now. Sullivan, Simon, Sánz, Johnston were all more or less on the same level as before, but the power wasn’t there. Sullivan led the team with six homers. Five players have played every game so far, although Johnston has not started them all, but has pinch hit every time. We had frequent off days so far – should change later in the season.

At the moment we're playing a lineup with Hall - Sullivan - Sánz - Johnston - Simon - and then varying combos of Costa, Zuniga, and the catcher. Maybe I should try Zuniga in leadoff and bump Sullivan to #4 and Johnston to #6?

Loggers and Indians on the road to start June, then interleague: Blue Sox and Gold Sox. Of course, the season is long lost, only goal is to stay below 100 losses by now. Too bad we are 89 points below that mark at the moment.

Sad.