[Westheim]

Raccoons (59-53) vs. Loggers (50-62) – August 8-10, 2033

Coming off the 10-game losing streak with a few splinters in the snout, the Raccoons had salvaged a split with the Elks and were now staring down the Loggers’ barrels. Not that there was a whole lot to said barrels; they were second from the bottom in the league in runs scored. They had however decent pitching, fourth overall in runs allowed, with a top notch rotation. The pen was horrendous, but the overall package had held the Critters to four runs per game this year, and the trend was for that number to be descending. The season series stood at 7-5 in our favor.

Projected matchups:
Mario Rosas (13-6, 2.12 ERA) vs. John Nelson (9-9, 3.41 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (3-11, 4.45 ERA) vs. Cody Chamberlin (5-6, 4.00 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (9-8, 3.21 ERA) vs. Philip Rogers (3-1, 2.66 ERA)

All right-handers in this pack.

Game 1
MIL: LF Will Ojeda – C Canas – RF Valenzuela – CF Creech – 1B O. Huerta – 3B Lockert – 2B Sessoms – SS R. Rios – P Nelson
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Zeltser – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – RF Jennings – CF M. Fernandez – 2B Marsingill – C Thompson – P Rosas

Rosas allowed two singles (one of which was followed by Matt Lockert being caught stealing) and struck out five in the first three innings, which looked like the game would have some promise. While a Marsingill error in the fourth made things a bit more complicated, Rosas remained unfazed and kept holding the Loggers dry. Unfortunately, the sad-sack home team was just as bad. Both teams amounted to only three base hits in five innings, and neither team managed to put a runner on third base. Another Marsingill error placed Rodrigo Canas on base with one out in the sixth, Danny Valenzuela singled, but the next two Loggers, Gabe Creech and Omar Huerta, made soft outs to keep the scoreboard empty. The end for Rosas came in the bottom 7th with the faintest of chances to score, meaning there was Elliott Thompson on first base and there were two outs. The decision was made easier by the fact that Rosas had tossed just over 100 pitches through seven shutout innings. Juan Camps batted for him and grounded out to Lockert. In the eighth the total offense amounted to a walk issued by Nick Bates, three strikeouts on Milwaukee, and three poor outs by the Coons’ 1-2-3. Ed Blair outlasted three left-handed pinch-hitters without anybody reaching base in the ninth, which at least drained the Loggers’ bench, so maybe we’d have a tactical advantage by the 21st inning of this scoreless tedium of a game. The Loggers didn’t score in the 10th either, leaving Aaron Sessoms at THIRD base against Blair and Garavito. Canas reached on a Zeltser error to begin the 11th (and as soon as a Raccoon reaches base we’ll dutifully notify you…), but was caught stealing (so there was also desperation on that side of the infield). No Furball reached until Zitzner hit a leadoff single to right against Alex Banderas (6.23 ERA) in the bottom 12th. Rich Vickers ran for him, reached second on Jennings’ groundout, which was followed by an intentional walk to slumping Manny Fernandez, setting up two for Marsingill I’d wager. The keystone guard merely grounded out simply, moving the winning run to third base for Thompson, who flew out to Nick Baker to continue this charade for which words were hard to find. Vickers, who had no experience at first base, remained there for the 13th and promptly made an error behind Chris Wise in the closer’s only inning, which nevertheless remained scoreless. Bottom 13th: runners reached the corners when Berto forced out Sean Catella’s leadoff single-transpired winning run, but then dashed for third base on a soft Zeltser single. Wallace was long gone with Wise in the #3 hole, with Fernando Garcia pinch-hitting against Banderas. He fell to 1-2 before poking a ball up the middle. Banderas missed it, but Robbie Rios got to it – but there was no time to turn two anymore, he had to come home against Berto – late! 1-0 Bitter, Bitter Blighters… Wallace 2-3, BB; Rosas 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K; Blair 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Garavito 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

You know, the Titans lost, and we actually gained ground, but this game robbed me of all the remaining confidence I might have had in this thoroughly dead lineup. What the **** happened??

Game 2
MIL: LF Will Ojeda – C Canas – 2B W. Morris – CF Creech – 1B O. Huerta – 3B Lockert – RF N. Baker – SS R. Rios – P Chamberlin
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Zeltser – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – CF Jennings – 2B Marsingill – RF Camps – C Garcia – P Gutierrez

At least Rico Gutierrez and his 9-game losing streak promised a quickie on Tuesday. Rico hadn’t won since MAY, and he hadn’t escaped the loss in a start for over a month. No serious offense occurred before Will Ojeda came out of the game in the second inning with a strained oblique, contracted when he shagged a Juan Camps fly. In what had to count as success already, Gutierrez didn’t implode on contact despite facing mostly right-handed batters. He held the Loggers not only scoreless through four, but also allowed only one hit. The Coons did even more than that in the early innings, but still couldn’t score. The bottom 4th started with Zitzner whiffing in a full count, but Jennings reached second base on a throwing error by Lockert. Marsingill singled him around, giving the Coons an unearned run. Despite Camps’ fly out after that, it didn’t remain the only one. With two outs, the Critters took Chamberlin apart on a Garcia walk, Rico Gutierrez hitting an RBI double down the leftfield line (!), a 2-run single by Ramos, who reached second base on he throw to home plate, and an RBI single knocked by Zeltser. Wallace grounded out, keeping it at 5-0, all runs unearned on Chamberlin.

The Critters even added an earned run in the sixth, Camps tripling and Garcia landing a sac fly against Alexis Zamora. That ran the tally to 6-0 through six. Rico was still around, with his losing streak probably over at this point, and maybe we could even nurse him to a sweet W. The Loggers didn’t do much in the seventh, and we remembered that in better days, about a decade ago, Gutierrez had displayed a knack for pitching shutouts against the Loggers. That star was dimming though when Matt Lockert buried a 1-0 pitch in the gap to begin the top 8th. Lockert rushed around for third base and a leadoff triple well before Zeltser received the ball and dejectedly tossed it over to Berto. Lockert thumbed up to the dugout, then stepped off the base to get the dirt out of his belt – which was when Zeltser slapped him with the glove still containing the ball, and the ump punched Lockert out. Yup, the old hidden ball trick, still churning in ’33. Not that it saved the shutout. Gutierrez melted down, walked Baker and Steve Wilson, Sessoms reached on an infield single, and with two outs Canas punched a 2-run double to knock Gutierrez from the game. Anaya replaced him and got a groundout from Wayne Morris. The pitcher was inserted into the #6 hole here (Vickers manning second base) to try and finish the game with him. A resolve intensified by a 2-out rally for two runs in the bottom 8th. Vickers, Ramos, and Zeltser all got on and the latter two raked RBI’s. Anaya got the save with four outs… barely. Creech and Huerta reached base on a single and a walk in the top 9th before Lockert hit into a double play. 8-2 Coons. Ramos 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Zeltser 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Garcia 1-2, BB, 2B, RBI; Gutierrez 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (4-11) and 1-3, 2B, RB;

Game 3
MIL: SS Lockert – C J. Young – 2B W. Morris – RF Valenzuela – LF S. Wilson – 1B O. Huerta – 3B R. Rios – CF Creech – P Rogers
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Zeltser – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – RF Jennings – CF M. Fernandez – 2B Hawkins – C Thompson – P Sabre

As the Critters tried to lock up the season series against Milwaukee for the first time in three years on getaway day, Jimmy Wallace became the second Critter with double-digit homer hitter in ’33, knocking a solo shot in the bottom 1st. It could have been two after a Ramos walk to begin the frame, but Zeltser had already claimed two on a grounder previously… In a perfect world, that double play wouldn’t have happened, or Sabre wouldn’t have loaded the bags in the second. He actually put four straight on base, but Wilson was caught stealing before Huerta (single), Rios, and Creech (walks) all reached with two down, and Rogers flew out to center, stranding everybody. Bottom 2nd, Manny Fernandez drew a 1-out walk, Hawkins singled to left, and Rogers walked Thompson on four pitches. Three on, one out brought up Sabre, who grounded to right, but Morris had to go back a little and that cost the Loggers the double play. Sabre was out at first, but a run scored, and two more scored when Ramos cracked a single to right-center, 4-0!

It became 5-0 in a messy bottom 3rd, where Jimmy Wallace walked, Jennings reached on an error by Morris, and Wallace eventually scored on a wild pitch. But Sabre didn’t look great, either, and neither did the weather. It started to rain in the fourth, further unravelling an already wonky Sabre. Valenzuela reached base before a 40-minute rain delay, and Rios singled him in with two outs. Sabre walked Lockert in the fifth, but Lockert was thrown out again by Thompson, who had a warm arm at this point and had killed off three wannabe-stealers for the Loggers in the series. Thompson also shone in the bottom 5th, hitting a 2-run double to score Jennings and Hawkins with two gone. Sabre was retained against new pitcher Alexis Zamora, hit an RBI single to put the Coons up 8-1, and we’d see whether he’d be good for a few more outs. He allowed a single to Morris to begin the top 6th, but got Valenzuela to pop out and Wilson to hit into a double play, completing six frames. His day ended with a Huerta single and a Rios walk in the seventh, with nobody out. Bates replaced him, walked the bags full, then cocked up a 2-run double to PH Aaron Sessoms and a 2-run single to Jim Young, which all of a sudden made the tack-on run that Hawkins drove home in the bottom 6th all the more important, keeping the Loggers at slam range rather than closer than that, 9-5. Jimmy Wallace’s 2-out double plated Marsingill in the bottom 7th to move out further again. Ramos and Wallace came out after that half-inning since neither was likely to bat again and there was no point in risking injury (or doubles, in the latter’s case). Danny Fernandez and Victor Anaya didn’t allow any base runners in the last two innings, completing the sweep and taking the season series. 10-5 Critters. Ramos 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Wallace 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Hawkins 1-2, 3 BB, RBI;

Winning streak?

This roller coaster keeps rolling and roasting …

Raccoons (62-53) @ Stars (65-50) – August 12-14, 2033

The Stars were three games better than Portland, but only in third place, three games out in the FL West. They were second in offense in the Federal League (not surprising with their shoebox of a park). They were sixth in runs allowed. But they weren’t only hitting homers but were also very good at getting on base in the first place. Two key players in Aaron Botzet and Rafael Padilla were on the DL though. We had last played each other last year, when we lost two of three to Dallas.

Projected matchups:
Bernie Chavez (11-6, 3.68 ERA) vs. Chris Pyles (3-2, 4.95 ERA)
Ignacio del Rio (10-8, 3.58 ERA) vs. Nate Ward (7-2, 3.73 ERA)
Mario Rosas (13-6, 2.04 ERA) vs. Eric Weitz (9-8, 2.82 ERA)

Three right-handers again!

Game 1
POR: SS A. Ramos – 3B Zeltser – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – RF Jennings – CF M. Fernandez – 2B Hawkins – C Thompson – P Chavez
DAL: SS J. Ramos – LF Beard – CF Murray – RF Chavira – 1B Sears – 2B J. Green – 3B Roesler – C Tovias – P Pyles

In a splendid move, right in the first inning, Chavez walked Kyle Beard and Ryan Murray before giving up a bomb to Vinny Chavira and a pair of doubles to Andy Sears and Jay Green. That was an instant 4-0 hole and none that I expected the Coons to emerge from. Chavez never stopped being utter dog ****, with the Stars hitting relentless rockets around everybody’s heads. They filled the bags on two hits and a walk in the bottom 3rd, and Chavez dared to walk Elias Matias Tovias Diaz with one out on four pitches, forcing home a run. Chris Pyles hit a drive to right that Jennings caught, and with which he threw out Jay Green at home plate to end the dismal inning. It was now 5-1, the sole Coons run unearned in the second inning, and with Tovias already having thrown out Alberto Ramos trying to steal in the third. Jon Ramos on the Stars, who came in with 41 stolen bases, or nine more than Berto, got a base off Thompson, though.

Somehow, and with Chavez long discarded, the tying run came to the plate in the sixth after a bunch of innings of precious little offense on display for Portland. Wallace led off with a double and reached third base on Zitzner’s groundout. Jennings hit an infield single near the third base line, which kept Wallace pinned. Manny Fernandez beat Kyle Beard, a Jimmy Wallace type of defender, for an RBI double, 5-2, and Hawkins was the tying run now, but popped out. Thompson poked the 2-1 pitch in play with two outs, got it through Andy Sears, and two runs scored, 5-4…! Juan Camps hit for David Fernandez, but struck out. Both teams put a pair of runners on base in the eighth; but while the Coons’ Elliott Thompson popped out and the by now thoroughly forgettable Rich Vickers whiffed, the Stars, who had seen a Sears single and Jay Green getting nicked by Garavito, got an RBI single by Mike Roesler past Zitzner, and ultimately a sac fly from PH Daniel Leeder. The top of the order was up against the former New Yorker Casey Moore in the ninth. Ramos walked, but Zeltser punched out, both in a full count. Jimmy Wallace grounded to Green for a fielder’s choice at second base, but Zitzner singled. So with two outs, the tying run was up again in Billy Jennings, like Fernandez behind him in an enduring slump, but with two hits in this game...! He struck out. 7-4 Stars. Jennings 2-5; Thompson 2-4, 3 RBI; Marsingill (PH) 1-1;

Bernie Chavez’ sudden implosions are not a thing I am happy to witness time and again…

Game 2
POR: SS A. Ramos – 3B Zeltser – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – CF Jennings – RF Camps – C Thompson – 2B Vickers – P del Rio
DAL: SS J. Ramos – LF Beard – CF Murray – RF Chavira – 1B Sears – 2B J. Green – 3B Roesler – C Tovias – P Ward

Vickers had landed only three RBI since concussing opposing pitchers for TEN in the first two games of his career, and none since July 27, so when he landed a 2-out, 2-run double to left in the top 2nd, scoring Zitzner and Thompson, it was a bit of a breakthrough. The third inning got even better – after Berto led off with a single, Bob Zeltser slugged a bomb to center, extending the score to 4-0, and Jimmy Wallace would also go deep a bit further to rightfield. There came Zitzner – another homer, this one much to rightfield! Back-to-back-to-back, 6-0! Now we only needed del Rio to pitch like seven in decent fashion and all would be well.

Tovias hit a 1-out double in the bottom 3rd after del Rio had retired the first seven batters. Ward popped out (rather than being hit for altogether in a 6-run romp), but Jon Ramos landed an RBI single. Ryan Murray hit a 2-out double, 6-2, but Vinny Chavira popped out, ending the inning before it could get really bad. It got really bad in the fourth, and without del Rio giving up a run. He got two more outs, then left with an apparent injury. That was double-plus ungood. Anaya would be tapped to take over the 6-2 lead. He got Roesler to pop out to get the fourth over with and pitched a scoreless fifth, too. His spot came up in the sixth inning against Paul Williams, with Thompson (single) and Vickers (another double) in scoring position and no outs. The Coons would like those tack-on runs, but they would also like a few more outs from Anaya after using five relievers on Friday. Anaya batted – and struck out. Berto hit a sac fly, 7-2, but that was it, with Roesler handing Zeltser’s groundout. That run was grabbed back by the Stars with a Beard single and Murray double in the bottom 6th, but Anaya stranded Murray at third base to keep them at slam’s length. And the teams kept going at each other relentlessly: Jennings drew a 2-out walk in the seventh, scooped second on a high throw by Tovias, then scored on Juan Camps’ single to center, 8-3. Camps stole second on a wild swing by Thompson that the Stars claimed interfered with Tovias, but the umps weren’t buying it. That, too, turned into a run on another single up the middle.

Anaya lasted three innings and 49 pitches before being knocked out by Sergio Riquenes’ 2-out, pinch-hit double in the bottom of the seventh inning. With that, the lefty-laden top of the order was back up and the Critters sought out a southpaw, all of which had tossed on Friday. Hennessy came on in a double switch with Marsingill replacing Vickers (the #9 spot would lead off the top 8th), and had Jon Ramos at 1-2 before allowing a drive to Wallace in left. Wallace squealed, threw himself at the missile – and somehow came up with the ball to end the inning. That turned out to be the first of seven straight outs recorded by Hennessy, who needed just over 20 pitches to end the game. 9-3 Coons! Ramos 2-3, BB, RBI; Wallace 2-4, HR, RBI; Zitzner 2-5, HR, RBI; Thompson 2-3, RBI; Vickers 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Anaya 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (3-4); Hennessy 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Dr. Chung, any good news on del Rio? – Well, any NEWS on del Rio? – What do you mean, you can only dissect him once he stops curling into a ball, whimpering?

Game 3
POR: SS A. Ramos – 2B Marsingill – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – CF M. Fernandez – 3B Hawkins – RF Camps – C Garcia – P Rosas
DAL: SS J. Ramos – RF Beard – C Monge – CF Murray – 1B Sears – 3B Roesler – LF Riquenes – 2B J. Green – P Weitz

The Coons got three stolen bases and one run in the first – Berto reached with a single, stole one base, then a pair with Marsingill after the latter walked, but the Critters couldn’t get beyond Jimmy Wallace’s sac fly. The Stars erased the run with much less spectacle on Jon Ramos’ double and two groundouts. Jon Ramos would go on to homer his team in front in the bottom 3rd, which Rosas completed without getting any strikeouts. He’d get the third led of the cycle in the fifth inning with a 2-out single, but then was caught stealing by Garcia. Otherwise, the offense was slow; through five innings, a team of the two Ramoses would have out-hit the rest of both combined outfits, 5-3, and would have scored all the runs, too.

But the Coons had a chance in the sixth. Marsingill grounded out, but Wallace singled and Zitzner doubled, putting the tying run at third base and the go-ahead run in scoring position for the slumping Manny Fernandez, who managed to line a 1-2 pitch to center. Ryan Murray made the running catch against all odds, and both runners were caught off base. Zitzner was doubled up in 8-6 fashion, ending the inning, and I think things went dark around me for a moment there, because I only remember coming back to me with Zeltser pinch-hitting for Rosas in the eighth in what was still a 2-1 game. Weitz struck him out, Ramos singled, but Marsingill whiffed and Wallace grounded out. Bottom 8th, Garavito allowed a leadoff single to Jon Ramos, so the cycle remained incomplete. While Beard struck out, Danny Monge singled and Ryan Murray was nicked, filling the bags with one out. The Coons sent for Ed Blair, the Stars for Vinny Chavira, and the 2-2 sent Garcia back to the netting on a wild pitch. Blair then walked Chavira to refill the bags before Roesler hit into a double play. Casey Moore got the 3-1 lead in the ninth; Zitzner flew out to right in a full count, but Fernandez singled, bringing up Jennings, hitting for Hawkins, as the tying run. After he popped out, Rich Vickers hit for Camps, ran a full count, and singled. Fernandez reached third base and they were on the corners for Garcia. He flew out to right, and the Coons lost. 3-1 Stars. Ramos 3-4; Hawkins 2-3; Vickers (PH) 1-1; Rosas 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, L (13-7);

In other news

August 10 – SFB RF Ben Suhay (.232, 12 HR, 39 RBI) has only one hit but makes it count with a walkoff grand slam off ATL MR Arturo Arellano (1-5, 5.17 ERA, 3 SV) in the Bayhawks’ 11-7 win over the Knights.
August 13 – MIL C Jim Young (.325, 6 HR, 45 RBI) drives in six runs and misses the cycle by the triple in a 17-7 rout of the Gold Sox.
August 13 – PIT 2B/SS Jim McKenzie (.303, 14 HR, 50 RBI) will miss three weeks with a strained oblique.

Complaints and stuff

My pickups at the deadline were so great. Mario Rosas as a Coon? 1-3 with a 3.03 ERA. Camps? Batting .214 here. Zeltser? A fair .262, but without getting on via the walk and without extra base knocks. The team did get better only in name, not in results.

Results might dip anyway if del Rio misses any amount of time. We have yet to find out – Dr. Chung says he can’t diagnose screaming girls, because in Korea even girls can contain themselves when in excruciating pain.

The Titans are 33-39 since May 27. Is that their true color or will they break out of that eventually? And will that happen before or after the 4-way race in the North gets really hot?

Throughout July the Scorpions tried to send Eddie Krumm and his 5+ ERA to Portland. Krumm is now out with bone chips in his elbow. – (takes roll of $50 notes out of the cookie jar and hands it to masked, hooded figure clad entirely in black with an aluminum bat … and in a wheelchair that looks familiar) Nice job, Cris- … Sir.

There is another off day on Monday, so we could skip Rico Gutierrez entirely or just move him behind Sabre. Probably going to toss a few dice over this.

Fun Fact: Rico Gutierrez pitched 193.1 innings for a 12-7 record and league-leading 2.56 ERA in 2028.

That was also the last time he managed to scrabble together enough innings to theoretically qualify for the ERA ribbon. He went 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA in ’29 before taking out by injuries, and has been trash ever since. The 4.32 ERA he has now is by far his best in any season since.

And for as long as he’s been terrible, it’s worth pointing out that he’s still 111-106 for his career with a 3.73 ERA, a vague remnant of his time as an actual asset. Well, he’s made about $14.4M out of the Valdes clan’s coffers so far.

Bless him.