[Westheim]

The Loggers were swept by the Canadiens while the Raccoons played the Crusaders (all 1-run games in the series in Vancouver) and dropped back behind the Raccoons in the most-horrible-team competition. Raccoons were 180-279, Loggers were 180-280 for the ages now. I wouldn’t mind avoiding the -100 for a while.

The Loggers series started like the Crusaders series three days ago, with a scoreless pitchers duel, although the participants were not usual suspects: Greg O’Brien and Jerry Morris, with ERAs over four and five, respectively. The Raccoons walked off in the bottom 9th with a leadoff home run by Ben Simon, his 21st this season, for the 1-0 win. This gave Frank O’Rearden his first ABL win after pitching the top 9th against a string of lefties. Raccoons also out-hit the Loggers a paltry 4-2, so there really was little offense.

Game 2 was Jorge Romero’s return for his first ABL start since tearing his labrum on April 25. He gave up a run in the top 1st and struggled with command early on, but settled in nicely after three or four frames. Ben Simon again provided a big shot, tying the game in the bottom 4th with a solo home run (#22, chasing the CL lead here), and it was a tied game when Romero was lifted for Ben Cox to pinch hit in the bottom 7th. Cox drove in two and the Raccoons scored five in that inning, winning the game 6-1, giving Romero his first W of the season on September 4.

We faced John Douglas in game 3. Drafted in ’78, the Loggers threw the 19 year old into the big leagues, skipping AAA entirely. So far, it hadn’t worked out and he sported an ERA of 8.87 with an 0-4 record. His stuff and movement were great, but his command was crippled. He was hard to hit, but he walked them in scores. Still, the Raccoons didn’t really get to him initially. He fanned seven over six innings, but then the Raccoons had managed a 4-2 lead. Powell was lifted for pinch hitter Hall in the bottom sixth (Hall was one of the seven K’s). We went on to win 7-2, which was just the fourth time this year the Raccoons won more than two in a row, and also made this the first series victory since July (as bitterly stated before more than once). But they didn’t get the sweep done, as the Loggers rebounded for a 7-1 win in game 4, three on Evans and then a horrible 4-run eighth over the pen.

Still, a series win was long due and the Raccoons were almost decent in the Loggers series. One issue at the moment was the left field position. Four different players started there in the four Loggers games (Hall, Flores, Pickett, and Cox, in that order), and none of them convinced in any way. Flores was batting below .190 and was out come November for the first decent deal. Pickett was the one hope I had over the youngsters. Hall’s new slump was especially worrying. He wasn’t getting anything done and didn’t even get steals executed if he walked.

The Indians atop the CL North were in full collapse since August and thus the Canadiens were now only 4 1/2 games back and in contention. They were also mildly hot and no easy task for the Raccoons, who still won the opener 4-2. Ben Simon homered twice for three RBI. Hatfield saved it, but not before loading the bags with two walks and a single. With 24 HR, Simon was now leading the Continental League in roundtrippers. He added #25 the next day, tying the game in the bottom 4th, 1-1. Jorge Romero had surrendered a solo shot to Eddy Bailey just in the top of the inning. Romero left after seven with the game tied before the pen busted it and the Raccoons lost 5-3. O’Rearden was again guilty of walking a pair and Gaston didn’t get out of there, also throwing two wild ones.

The rubber game saw Powell surrender six runs in five innings – he was just erratic again, being slapped every which way by the Canadiens. The Raccoons rallied to tie it 6-6 by the seventh. The game went to extra innings, Pedro Sánz twice failed to convert with the bags full, in the eighth and the tenth. The Raccoons again loaded the bases with one out in the bottom 11th. Third catcher R.J. Sanderson, a good bunter that had found his way into the game pinch hitting for Powell, was told to squeeze for Sullivan to score, but he missed the bunt and Sullivan was tagged out. Sanderson then grounded out to right – which would have scored Sullivan and won the game hadn’t I ordered the squeeze … (facepalm) … still at 6-6, Daniel Hall led off the bottom 12th with a double that just missed the fence. Zuniga advanced him to third on a groundout. The Canadiens waved Simon through and chose to go after Sánz. I really didn’t want him in this situation for a third time, but the bench was empty except for Costa, Dolder and Lawson by now, so in case of a bad PH appearance, I was stuck with Dolder. I pulled the trigger and sent Kieran Lawson, who had had a few good at bats as of late. He walked on a full count and Wyatt Johnston found the bases loaded with one out. A long ball wins the game – Johnston struck out, and Ed Sullivan popped out. The 14th presented another chance dropped by Johnston, and the Raccoons (especially O’Rearden) lost 7-6 in the 16th inning. And I was mentally wrecked. Raccoons out-hit the Canadiens 20-12. Out-walked them 12-5. They individually left 47 runners on base (compared to 23 for the Canadiens), which was the main issue: NO clutch hitting.

We entered the Crusaders series with a depleted (despite extended) bullpen, and didn’t get the long outing from Logan Evans we would have needed. He jammed in the sixth, but Bill Craig got out of there. Johnston provided two RBI hits early on for a 2-2 tie that was broken in the bottom 7th by Ben Simon, who continued his home run barrage with a launch to deepest center, #26 of the year. Of course, Craig now busted it and the Crusaders scored two in the eighth. Trailing 4-3, the Raccoons sent Ben Cox to pinch hit, resulting in a K, to start the bottom 9th. Hall flew out to right, leaving Zuniga. He had apparently watched Simon bash it before, because he also sent a dinger to center that tied the game at the last out. Extra innings, exactly what I wanted here. I turned to Tony Lopez, who had gone four frames just the day before. He balked in a run in the tenth and the Raccoons lost 5-4. Of course.

This was followed by a 10-2 thumping by the hands of the Crusaders, seven runs on Morris, three on Hatfield, and this in turn was followed by cleaning house. Cameron Green was sent back to AAA after batting .143, Daniel Hall followed him closely, Hatfield (3-6, 3.51 ERA) was removed from the closer role for Jenkins(!), and what else? Oh, yeah. Jerry Morris (10-12, 5.04) was released the next day. I was sick of him. Either fire him or chop him into pieces and bury him in some basement. Roman Ocasio was recalled to make the last three or four starts from that position. What did I care about four more losses from that bozo? I don’t give a forking fork.

The series ended with losses of 5-3 (three POR errors, three defensive misplays hurting an otherwise solid Romero, who nevertheless bunted into a double play…) and 12-7 (after leading 5-0 after three, and 7-4 after seven).

In other news:
September 9 – Buffaloes LF Ross Bradbury is out for the season with a biceps injury. His .294 batting clip didn’t help the team either in the battle with the 1977 champions Cyclones, who have a M# of 4.
September 11 – The Knights’ slugger Armando Delgado is out for about four weeks with a fractured rib, suffered while slamming into the fence in pursuit of a flyball in a game against the Aces.
September 12 – The Sacramento Scorpions will be in the playoffs for the second time after 1977 after a 6-0 shutout over last year’s champions, the Sioux Falls Warriors.
September 12 – The Cincinnati Cyclones clinch the Federal League East despite a 4-2 loss to the Richmond Rebels. Since the Topeka Buffaloes lose 6-5 against the Washington Capitals, the magic number still drops to zero.
September 12 – Cyclones 3B Claudio Rojas has a 20-game hitting streak going.
September 13 – A strained oblique ends the season of William Williams of the Falcons, leaving a 20-8, 2.61 ERA mark.
September 13 – An on base collision sidelines Cyclone Salvador Valle for at least four weeks.

I hate this team and I hate this game.