[Westheim]

Bill Baker had a torn labrum, his season was over and he landed on the 60 day disabled list. He ended his season with an ERA of 8.31 … not something you want in your record books. His overall ERA was still a solid 3.58 though. Frank O’Rearden was recalled for the second Titans game.

We started our road trip in Boston against former Indian Du Tong. Ned Ray outlasted him in a tight duel and went seven innings with one run allowed. Hatfield and Gaston held the Titans down and the Raccoons won 3-1 on a 2-run Zuniga home run in the seventh. Game 2 had Morris in, who walked five, but also fanned seven, which was something new. He only allowed one run over six, which made for back-to-back solid starts, which was new for him with the Raccoons. O’Rearden blew a tender 2-1 lead in the eighth, but a 6-run ninth by the Raccoons made for an 8-2 win. This was the first time the Raccoons won consecutive games since May 31 and June 1 against the Aces and Loggers.

Game 3 posed a problem. Berrios was able to start, but was still laboring a hamstring that had forced him in the first inning against the Crusaders in his last start. I was toying with the thought to play a reliever again in a scratch start, but discarded that. After game 3 came the last off day before the All Star break – we would skip Berrios and play Powell on short rest. He would have to take that one and if he made it five innings without racking up four or five or nine runs, it was not too bad. Ben Cox blasted a leadoff homer, but Powell only managed four innings and then left, with the Raccoons up 3-2. O’Rearden blew that lead. Johnston scored Cox in the seventh for a 4-3 lead that Jenkins, Hatfield, and Gaston kept together for the sweep of the Titans who had now lost eight in a row. Ben Cox was 4-5 with the home run and nine total bases.

Next were two series against CL South opponents, the Thunder and Knights. The former led the division, so this was a tough task, but every team was a tough task for those Raccoons. Just look at what the Gold Sox did to us.

Ralph Hoyles mowed down ten Raccoons in an eight innings performance for his 14th win of the season, but it was close. Ray gave up four early, but Zuniga bashed a long shot for three runs in the fifth. To no avail, Hoyles kept it down from there and the Thunder won 4-3. Rob Pickett had gone cold subbing for Sánz in RF and I decided to try Flores in there, who was struggling to bat over .200 this year and was degraded to pinch hit.

Game 2 brought Morris. He again(!) only allowed one run and won the game as the Raccoons turned the 1-0 deficit around to win 4-1. Maloney was 3-4, while Sullivan got the key hit that plated two in the sixth. Now, with three sharp starts by Morris (apart from a few walks), I finally called up the talks with the Scorpions for Jeff Thompson. Maybe, just maybe, Morris had had an exceptionally long exceptionally horrible streak, and maybe it was over. His ERA was 5.49 now, already down a run in the last three or four starts. Maybe he could actually be a worthy member of the team.

The Oklahoma City series ended with a 3-hit shutout pitched by their Morton Jennings. Berrios was sharp through five, then was socked for two homers and three runs in the sixth, which was already all the damage done in the 3-0 loss. It was the first shutout of the Raccoons in 26 days (and they had played on most of those).

The Knights series started with Ben Simon shooting a home run in the top 1st, but Powell then managed to surrender a 2-run home run to pitcher Dave Larson. But it was the second game in a row where the Raccoons starter had that one horrible inning and Powell went eight frames. A 4-run burst by the Raccoons offense in the third inning was enough for the 5-3 win. Simon was 2-4 with two RBI, while Zuniga was dismissed at the plate four times in as many at bats. He still contributed with a few good catches in CF. Game 2 was one to forget, with Ned Ray battered around for seven runs in the second inning. Raccoons lost 10-3. This gave me three starters with an ERA over five. No wonder the team sucked so much. The offense was so much better this year, but the starting pitching was god damn awful. Of course much had to do with the injuries to Romero and Evans. Ironically, Powell, who had not been in the rotation to start the season, now had the best ERA at 4.44 – or should I say “least awful ERA”?

Morris was up in the rubber game. He was shaky again and relied on the guys behind him a lot. A 3-run bottom 7th put the Raccoons into a 4-2 hole, but they tied it with two down in the top 9th on a Ben Simon single. Felt like his first clutch hit in years. The Knights walked off in the 12th, 5-4, on two hits through the infield seams and a crash into home plate called safe. Hatfield was saddled with the loss after pitching two good innings before. The offense had hanged him to dry out there.


In other news:
June 19 – Joe Ellis pitches a 1-hitter as his Falcons down the Aces 5-0. It’s been almost two years since the last no-hitter in ABL baseball.
June 22 – Vincent Sauvage, catcher for the Bayhawks, has hit in 20 straight games, crowning the milestone with a 2-run homer in an 8-3 win over the Canadiens.
June 25 – New York SS Ralph Nixon is put out of action by a sprained ankle sustained in an on base collision. Nixon missed the triple crown last year by a single home run, and while his numbers are down a little this year with the Crusaders struggling as a whole, he will surely be missed a ton.
June 25 – 2B Mike White hits six singles in an 11-10 win of his Bayhawks at the Indians’. This is the second 6-hit performance against the Indians in a year. The Loggers’ Ethan Michael did it last July.
June 25 – Less than a week removed from his 1-hit shutout of the Aces, Joe Ellis leaves a game with back pain and will be out at least for a week. Ellis is 8-6 with a 2.14 ERA in 1979.
June 26 – The Indians stop Sauvage’s streak at 23.
June 28 – The Miners lose their slugging catcher Sam Murphy for the rest of the season to a ruptured achilles tendon. He was .315 with six homers so far this season.

Raccoons still below .333 – not that .333 would be a desirable percentage for wins. That’s about 110 losses for a season. Dreading. High note: since May 22, we are 16-18. At that pace we’d end up somewhere around a less horrible 65-97 record. Well, of course 65-97 is still horrible.

During July I will also look out for offers from other teams. I’m willing to sell one or two pieces for prospects and/or starting pitching.

11 games remain until the All Star break. The last bit of the road trip will be the Indians for four games, then at home four against the Canadiens and three against the Loggers. Four more at Vancouver after the break. If we want to make a move towards .400 or at least above .383 (100 losses), then we better get going in the first two weeks of July. We should also have Sánz have back by the break. I miss him a lot…