[Westheim]

The Falcons were clawing and hacking hard for a playoff spot, and they clawed and hacked through Jorge Romero in the first game for five runs in 4.2 innings. The Raccoons staged a late rally with a rare homer for three runs by Rob Pickett, but for nought, the game was lost 7-5.

Pete Hall issued two walks to the Raccoons, who paired them with two errors in the bottom 1st to take a 2-run lead in game 2. But Powell was pitching for us and gave it right back again. I removed Powell in the fourth for pinch hitter Hoyt Cook. The score was 2-2 and we had runners in scoring position with two outs. Cook worked a walk, but Pickett grounded out. Jose Flores provided a 2-run double in the bottom 7th to win the game for the Raccoons, 4-3. Hatfield saved this one after I toyed with the thought of keeping Gaston it, who had gotten the final out in the top 8th. The series ended with an 8-0 Falcons win, six runs off makeshift starter Tony Lopez and two more off Brett Justice. The Raccoons settled for three hits in that game.

Playoff races at September 21: Crusaders and Indians tied, Knights three ahead of the Falcons, Warriors nine ahead of the Scorpions (M# is 2 here), and in the FL East the Cyclones couldn’t rally and had even fallen to third behind the Blue Sox. Rebels led those two teams by six and six and a half, respectively. So, of the four playoff teams from 1977, only the Crusaders still have a realistic chance to make it. The Bayhawks were already eliminated. The Raccoons were last in their division, still 1 ½ games back of the Loggers.

With series against our playoff contenders Indians and Crusaders back-to-back now, I had few hope for an improvement in the standings.

Going against the Indians’ Salah Brunet was a futile undertaking. He held the Raccoons down and the Indians won game 1 with a score of 4-1. The next day in the third inning Jorge Romero threw two wild pitches and Sánz added an error for a 3-run inning out of thin air. We also lost Rob Pickett to a strained oblique in the first inning, his season was over. Hatfield was put into the game in the top 9th. Down 3-1, he wasn’t going to get any safe opportunities anyway the next few days against that opposition. He was shelled for three runs and I let him take the damage and succumb out there. He had been a terrible choice as closer in the first place. I didn’t have any closer at hand, that much was true. Raccoons lost 6-1. But they stole at least one from the Indians with a tight 3-2 win to close the series. Christopher Powell had actually left with a lead, but Jenkins blew it. Bill Baker earned the win with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball. Gaston successfully saved the game on one hit allowed.

With the Crusaders sweeping the Loggers, they were now 1.0 ahead of the Indians. The Cyclones had collapsed for good and the Rebels led the Blue Sox by six in the the FL East (M# 2), and the Knights had also added one on the Falcons, leading by four now.

Tony Lopez was roughed up once more. He was just a terrible miscast as a starter, giving up seven runs this time around. Crusaders won 8-5. Lopez’ spot would come up once more, then we’d play Bruce Wright. But first, there were still three more games against the Crusaders. Game 2, Ray held a 3-1 lead in the sixth, then plunked two Crusaders to create a bags full-no outs mess that Hatfield blew to allow two runs. Crusaders won 4-3, while outhit by the weak Raccoons. Game 3 was scoreless through ten. Hatfield lost it on two walks and a hit in the 11th. Wright came in to salvage it, but surrendered a hit to score the winning run in the 1-0 loss. This was Jose Gonzales’ maiden majors hit. A 5-0 loss later the pain was over, at least for this short road stint.

The Raccoons were 66-93 now. That’s still one win less than in 1977. I see it coming, we’ll be swept by the Titans and end up WORSE than last year after that stellar beginning. From May to September, the Raccoons have played at 51-84.

The Crusaders clinched the division with their 4-game sweep of my tiny fur balls, after the Indians dropped three of four to the Canadiens. The Blue Sox had swept the Rebels in four to get from six back to two back with one series remaining, and the Knights also led the Falcons by two. The latter two would get head to head now, and the Falcons needed a sweep to get through.

Bruce Wright made a scratch start and was hit for a few runs. The Raccoons were down 4-0 down after the top 6th, then twisted it around to lead 6-4 heading into the top 9th with Gaston on the mound. He blew it, Daniel hall dropped a ball that scored the winning run and the Raccoons lost 7-6, then followed this up with a 6-run bashing in the top 9th in game two to lose that one 8-2. Lopez, Justice, and Vazquez had been the culprits there.

Romero went 8.2 innings in the season finale, holding the Titans scoreless, but couldn’t make it through the ninth. Gaston got the final out as the Raccoons won 4-0, all scored in the sixth on homers by Flores (solo) and Johnston (for three). The Raccoons thus finished 67-95 – just like last year, but this time in last place (not fifth ahead of the terrible Loggers like in ’77).

In other news:
September 22 – Sergio Salazar pitches a 2-hit shutout as his Falcons beat the Bayhawks 1-0.
September 23 – 1B Irwin Webster, one of the Rebels’ key pieces, is injured in a base collision and will be out for two weeks.
September 23 – The Warriors beat the Stars 2-1 and clinch the FL West when the Pacifics turn around their game against the Scorpions to win it 3-2.
September 30 – The Rebels clinch the FL East with a 3-0 win over the Buffaloes in a game that was scoreless through nine.
October 1 – The Falcons bash through the Knights 8-0 to complete the sweep and break past the Knights to win the CL South.

Note to pictures: look at that kid Daniel Hall. If he is that good at 23, how good will he be at 24? Well, at least he was the best slugger on a terrible team – the Raccoons ranked last in almost every offensive category but homers and walks. Also note that the numbers on Angel Costa are inflated. He played most games for the Miners. His Raccoons sample size only encompasses 17 games, so his .426 average for us could be misleading just a tad.

Next: playoffs.