[Westheim]

The Druid and Maud had a fight on Sunday night. I could hear them through the door. The Druid told Maud that he could not allow me to get on the plane for the road trip with my broken leg for (weird pause) medical reasons, and that I had to say here with the non-travel crew. Maud hissed that he was going to pay for that. I wonder what that was all about.

Anyway, this week would be about watching the games on TV with Maud, Slappy, Cristiano, Steve from Accounting, … and Chad, if he could get the head out of the jar with superglue.

Raccoons (40-42) @ Titans (40-42) – July 1-4, 2030

These two teams had both hoped for a bit more than being a notch below .500 going into July. They would have eight games against another in the next two weeks to try and ruin the other to get back onto the horse, as the Titans were our traditional four-and-four opponents for the All Star Game weeks. They had the highest batting average, but didn’t hit for much power and sat only fifth in runs scored, while their pitching, and the rotation especially, was quite leaky. They were ninth in runs allowed, and their run differential was actually negative at -9. The Coons’? +28. Despite all the shellacking… The season series was knotted at two.

Projected matchups:
Dave Martinez (8-4, 3.46 ERA) vs. Lorenzo Viamontes (6-6, 3.99 ERA)
Mark Roberts (8-4, 4.13 ERA) vs. Greg Gannon (8-6, 3.13 ERA)
Jose Menendez (8-4, 3.44 ERA) vs. Dustin Wingo (8-8, 4.33 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (3-6, 4.15 ERA) vs. Dave Dyer (3-5, 6.46 ERA)

Only one left-hander in that group, which would be Wingo, and also only one meaningful Titan on the DL right now, which would be outfielder Willie Vega, who had crumpled his ankle in April and would not return until August.

Game 1
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Nunley – LF Hereford – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – CF Allan – 2B Stalker – C Ivey – P Martinez
BOS: RF M. Avila – 1B Judkins – LF Acor – 2B R. West – CF Reichardt – C A. Gonzales – SS Knudson – 3B M. Matias – P Viamontes

Boston packed the bases right in the first on a leadoff double by Moises Avila, a Ramos error that put Dustin Acor on base, and then finally with two outs Martinez nicking eternal coonskinner Adrian Reichardt to load them up, but perhaps with Reichardt, who had about a thousand RBI against Portland in his career, this was the best strategy… Alfonso Gonzales grounded out to short, stranding all the runners. The Coons’ first runner would be Harenberg with a leadoff single in the second. Gomez also singled as his defrosting process seemed to continue. Tim Stalker walked to fill them up with one out for Shane Ivey, who was not only unlucky to hit a hard liner right into Avila’s mitten… the play also ended the inning thanks to Kevin Harenberg’s brains shortcircuiting. Kevin went on contact, “scored” and then was doubled off halfway to the dugout. If I hadn’t been confined to the wheelchair with the broken leg I would have kicked the TV through the window and down onto the field below. Martinez would pitch around Dan Knudson’s leadoff double in the bottom 2nd, but not around an infield single that Brett Judkins hit to begin the bottom 3rd. Judkins stole second off a sleeping Shane Ivey, advanced on Acor’s single, and then Rhett West brought in the run on a 5-4-3 double play. While Dave Martinez continued to maddeningly put each and every leadoff man on base, at least Viamontes was kind enough to throw the Coons a bone and plate Tim Stalker with a wild pitch in the fifth inning. Stalker had reached on a single, had reached second on a double steal attempt on which Allan (leadoff walk) was thrown out at third by Gonzales, had moved up to third base on Ivey’s groundout, and then the Titans battery couldn’t function in a way to retire Martinez with two outs before somehow lampooning the run across. Bottom 5th, Judkins hit a leadoff single to make Boston 5-for-5 as far as their first batters of an inning were concerned, but West would hit into another double play. Bottom 6th, for a change, Reichardt drew a leadoff walk, remaining characteristically unretired in the game. Reichardt stole second, advanced on Gonzales’ groundout, scored on a Knudson single, and another single by Mike Matias sent Knudson to third, from where Martinez balked him in to give Boston a 3-1 lead.

Amazingly, the condition was not fatal. Viamontes leaked a leadoff walk to Harenberg in the seventh, Allan doubled down the line, and then Tim Stalker hit a ball to center that Reichardt did NOT spoil! Had to be the first hit to center for the Coons in Boston since about ****ing 2009! Both runs scored, tying the score at three, and Stalker advanced to second on the throw home. Abel Mora batted for the useless Ivey and grounded out, moving Stalker to third… and anybody remember the wild pitch in the fifth inning? That happened AGAIN. This time Stalker scored with the go-ahead run, 4-3! We had however already removed Martinez for PH Mike Pizzo, who ended up popping out to end the inning, and now had to scramble to protect a 4-3 lead with what little remained of the bullpen. The proceedings were scary; Surginer put Acor and West on the corners in the seventh before Reichardt(!) and Gonzales popped out over the infield to waste away the opportunity. Chris Wise and Mauricio Garavito pieced together the eighth around a leadoff walk to Knudson (and on four pitches no less…). The Raccoons found enough time for a comedy bit in the ninth; first they pushed Jonathan Snyder (0.90 ERA) to the ropes with leadoff knocks by Harenberg and Gomez, who went to the corners with nobody out, then they had Harenberg doubled off from third base for the second time in the game when Matt Jamieson pinch-hit, flew out to Dave O’Rourke in rightfield, and Harenberg was minced meat at the plate on a perfect throw. Nobody scored, leaving Ricky Ohl with no cushion, but the Titans did not progress past Rhett West’s 2-out single, and Reichardt grounded out to Ramos to end the game. 4-3 Critters. Harenberg 2-3, BB, 2B; Gomez 2-4; Allan 1-2, BB, 2B; Stalker 2-3, BB, 2 RBI;

You know, all the screaming early on aside, this was a cozy game. Maud served drinks to me, Cristiano, Slappy, and Steve from Accounting all huddled up on the couch, and that cocktail *really* relaxed me. I mean … *really* … I’m so calm …! (rests head on Slappy’s shoulder and falls asleep)

The Coons sent Shane Ivey (0-for-6) back to St. Pete between games, with Elias Tovias having overcome his near-fatal injuries from the plunking last week. Chris Baldwin was brought back.

Game 2
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Nunley – CF Mora – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – 2B Stalker – LF Jamieson – C Pizzo – P Roberts
BOS: RF M. Avila – C Henley – 3B M. Matias – LF Acor – SS Spataro – CF Reichardt – 2B Knudson – 1B Judkins – P Gannon

Nunley knocked a double in the first and was stranded, but that was his final base hit that would *not* have him as the franchise hits leader. One more to tie Cookie, two to dump him. His spot came up again in the second inning; Ramos had just driven in Stalker and Pizzo with a 2-out single to left, and would proceed to give Matt a runner in scoring position by swiping second, and “Hopalong” Henley’s throwing error even allowed him to third base. Nunley knocked a liner over the head of Keith Spataro, the ball fell in, and this was the Cookie matcher – a 2-out RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0. The Titans didn’t know what was going on, but the Coons’ dugout feverishly waved with white towels and banged enthusiastically on the dugout railing while Nunley stood parked up on first base and doffed his helmet in appreciation. Back home in Portland, I shed a little tear.

Knudson put Boston on the board with a solo shot in the bottom 2nd, but the Coons pulled the run back in the third, Gomez scoring on a Jamieson groundout. The next time Ramos was on first and Nunley batted, in the fourth, they blindly dashed into a strike-em-out-throw-em-out, but eh, minor setbacks! Same for the 2-out run Knudson drove in come the bottom 4th. The Raccoons were up 4-2, but at least Roberts was dealing and struck out eight through six innings against an entirely right-handed lineup, and maybe he had some gas left. Nunley struck out against Pat Selby in the seventh, delaying sole ownership of the Portland hits crown, and the balls hit off Roberts grew longer in the bottom 7th. West hit a 1-out single from the #9 hole after which Avila flew out to the warning track on Roberts’ 106th pitch, indicating a pitching change would not be an unwise thing to orchestrate. Fleischer replaced Roberts and got Henley to ground out on a single pitch. And then everything came crashing down in the eighth. With force!

Kevin Surginer was in again to look after the Titans in the bottom 8th, but allowed an infield single to Mike Matias to begin the inning. Acor grounded out, but Spataro walked, making Reichardt the go-ahead run. Surginer couldn’t play his comebacker which resulted in another infield single, and with three on and one out Surginer was yanked when left-handed batter Justin Quinn was announced as pinch-hitter. Brotman came on, walked Quinn on four pitches to push home a run, then nailed Brett Judkins to tie the game at four. While Rhett West struck out, Brotman gave the Titans the lead on a wild pitch that moved Reichardt across home plate while pitching to PH Dave O’Rourke, who ended up striking out. So that was three runs on two infield singles, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch. That was how the really ****ty teams lost games! Top 9th, Jonathan Snyder retired Ramos, Nunley, and Mora not only in order, but also on three pitches. 5-4 Titans. Ramos 2-5, 2 RBI; Nunley 2-5, 2B, RBI; Mora 3-5; Jamieson 2-4, RBI; Roberts 6.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K;

I love Maud’s cocktail. When Surginer and Brotman farted the game away in the eighth, I calmly kept patting Honeypaws while giggling away at the bad jokes Steve from Accounting told.

Tee-heeh! Fun times!

Game 3
POR: SS Ramos – CF Magallanes – 2B Stalker – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – 3B Hereford – LF Jamieson – C Tovias – P Menendez
BOS: 1B Judkins – C Henley – SS Spataro – CF Reichardt – RF Quinn – LF O’Rourke – 2B Knudson – 3B M. Matias – P Wingo

Three singles, including an RBI knock to plate Judkins off Reichardt’s bat, put Boston up 1-0 in the first, but the Coons would tie the score in the third in an unlikely way. Tovias hit a leadoff double (!) to right, Menendez singled, and while Ramos popped out and broke his bat when he slammed it into the ground in frustration, Juan Magallanes zinged a soft single to center to allow Tovias across home plate. Stalker popped out, Harenberg grounded out to short, because where’d we be going if he suddenly started to plate go-ahead runs now…? Yes, Maud, I will have a cocktail again today.

The Coons stopped putting runners on base more or less immediately, while the Titans tickled Menendez to death with two runs on four soft singles in the fifth inning. Henley and Spataro had the RBIs in that inning as Boston zoomed out to a 3-1 lead. Harenberg (who was soon forced by Gomez) and Hereford reached base in the sixth, but Jamieson knocked into an inning-ending double play on a 3-1 pitch. The tying runs would be on again in the eighth then, but under unearned conditions and with two outs. Jeremy Waite would have ended the top 8th with a Harenberg fly to left (and on a 3-0 pitch…), but O’Rourke dropped the ball to put Harenberg on base after all. Waite walked Gomez, and that pulled up Hereford, which would have been exciting even one year ago. Then we would have been dismayed by a simple RBI single. Now the same result was exhilarating as it cut the gap to 3-2 and brought up Matt Nunley hitting for Jamieson to counter the righty Waite. He walked to load the bases, bringing about another pinch-hitter fro the .192 menace Tovias, Ryan Allan. The count ran full, Allan didn’t bite when Waite tired to lure him outside, and the walk tied the game at three. Pizzo batted for Menendez and of course grounded out to Judkins on the first pitch, stranding three. Recent misery meant Surginer was unavailable now, and the Coons had to go to Sean Rigg, who wasted no time putting the go-ahead run on base, walking Reichardt to begin the bottom 8th. Justin Quinn jammed a double-play grounder at Stalker, and O’Rourke grounded out to Ramos, so that was a bullet dodged…

Top 9th, Pat Selby in for Boston. Ramos lined out to Reichardt, which was something we were just used to. Magallanes dropped in a single though, and he also started early when Stalker hit a liner to left, over Mike Matias, past O’Rourke, and all the way to the corner. Magallanes flew around the bases and scored, giving the Coons the lead, and Harenberg and Gomez also piled onto the bases, bringing up Hereford with three on and one out. That became two on and one out following a wild pitch, and then nothing when the Titans turned the 2-1 count into an intentional walk, pulling up Nunley with three on and one out in a 5-3 game. C’mon Matt, blow it wide open! Nunley, facing new pitcher Ken Gautney, poked at the first pitch, rolled a grounder past Matias, and that was it – Matt Nunley was now in sole possession of the franchise mark in base hits with this RBI single! Gautney rung up Mora, batting for Rigg, but allowed an RBI single to Pizzo, 7-3, then a 2-run single to Ramos, 9-3! Magallanes was rung up to end the inning with a 6-spot. Chris Wise did away with the Titans in the bottom 9th. 9-3 Furballs! Magallanes 3-6, RBI; Hereford 2-4, BB, RBI; Nunley (PH) 1-1, BB, RBI; Allan (PH) 0-0, BB, RBI;

Game 4
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Nunley – CF Mora – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – 2B Hereford – LF Jamieson – C Pizzo – P Gutierrez
BOS: RF M. Avila – C Henley – LF Acor – SS Spataro – 2B R. West – CF Reichardt – 3B Knudson – 1B Judkins – P Dyer

Portland started the game with straight hits by Ramos (single to center), Nunley (ditto), and Mora (RBI double), then even managed productive run-scoring outs from Harenberg and Gomez to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Moises Avila, the #2 prospect in the game, opened with a first-pitch single against Rico Gutierrez, but was caught stealing and the Titans did not immediately retaliate. Ramos walking, stealing, going to third on another Nunley single, and then a double play grounder by Abel Mora led to a fourth run in the third inning. Meanwhile Rico mirrored one of the great achievements we had already seen in this series – he put EVERY SINGLE ****ING LEADOFF BATTER ON BASE… and none of them scored. After Avila’s single in the first, West walked in the second, Dyer (…) doubled in the third, Spataro walked in the fourth, and Judkins singled in the fifth – none of them came around. The streak ended only in the sixth inning when Dustin Acor struck out to begin the frame, Spataro hit a single with one down, but was stranded nonetheless. Rico “cruised” into the eighth, then was taken apart with three quick hits, the last one being a 1-out RBI single by Rhett West chasing home Henley. Kevin Surginer inherited runners on the corners and one out as well as Reichardt at the plate, held the constant menace to a sac fly, and then bailed out on a Dan Knudson single where West was slapped out by Nunley at third base after a perfect throw by Rafael Gomez. Ricky Ohl axed the Titans 1-2-3 with two ring-ups in the ninth to put the series in the books as a Critters win. 4-2 Critters. Ramos 1-2, 2 BB; Nunley 2-4; Gutierrez 7.1 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (4-6);

Whee, back at .500 …! – Wait, wait, Cristiano, what are you doing? – Aw, I want to do a wheelie with my wheelchair, too! – What do you mean it takes skill? I pulled silly stunts before your parents were even born, young man! And I didn’t have any skill back then, either! – (starts to balance on his rear wheels and immediately topples over in a fantastic crash)

I think I hit my head…

Interlude: Trade

The Raccoons trade for the Buffaloes’ 23-year-old AAA RF/LF Jimmy Wallace, parting with 36-year-old SP Jose Menendez (8-4, 3.47 ERA) and two failed prospects, SP Izzy Chavez and INF Joe McFarlin.

Chavez cost us a royal $640k in the IFA period six years ago and it’s pretty clear (to us) that he will not amount to a star on any level. McFarlin was our 2027 third-rounder and was pushing .200 in AAA for the second straight year, which was not a good status for an almost 25-year-old middle infielder with none-too-great defense.

So we REALLY get a legit corner outfield prospect batting for an .855 OPS in AAA at this point while parting with a 1-year rental veteran starting pitcher that showed signs of breaking up recently.

I think this is a good trade… but then again I just hit my head…

Cristiano, stop doing wheelies, or I will chew off your arms.

Raccoons (43-43) @ Indians (44-42) – July 5-7, 2030

Indy sat second, three games behind the damn Elks. They were sixth in runs scored, third in runs allowed, had a top three rotation, and a horrendously porous bullpen. They were also 7-2 against the Coons this season…

Projected matchups:
Tom Shumway (3-8, 3.55 ERA) vs. Mark Morrison (4-6, 4.17 ERA)
Dave Martinez (9-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Andy Bressner (11-5, 3.00 ERA)
Mark Roberts (8-4, 4.05 ERA) vs. Sal Bedoya (7-5, 2.83 ERA)

Among the Indians‘ three right-handers we’d get in this series, only Bedoya had not left his last start early. Morrison had been blown up, and Bressner had come out with a tender hammy and was still listed day-to-day, but the Arrowheads claimed he was good to go for Saturday. Injuries were a problem for Indy; another starter unvailable was David Saccoccio (shoulder), and they were also without Mario Pizano (ankle), Leo Otero (shoulder), and Andres Medina (ankle), ripping holes into their lineup left and right.

Since we didn’t need another starting pitcher until after the All Star Game, no starter was called up to take the spot of Menendez; and if we play our cards right and give a spot start to Sean Rigg, maybe we won’t need a fifth starter until almost the end of the month. Instead we brought up Edwin Alvarez, a 28-year-old corner outfielder / middle infielder that had been a waiver claim of these Indians last year, but had yet to suit up for the Raccoons. He was batting .216 in AAA.

Game 1
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Nunley – CF Mora – 1B Harenberg – RF Hereford – LF Allan – 2B Stalker – C Pizzo – P Shumway
IND: 2B Schneller – 1B Jon Gonzalez – RF Suhay – LF Plunkett – C J. Herrera – SS T. Johnson – 3B E. Sosa – CF Zanches – P Morrison

Ryan Allan took ball four on as many pitches by Morrison to draw the Coons’ third walk in the opening frame in addition to a Mora single, and Nunley was pushed around to score the first run in the game. Stalker then grounded out to short to strand three. Pizzo hit a leadoff jack in the second to run the tally to 2-0, but that was nothing that Tom Shumway couldn’t **** away in the bottom of the same inning. Leadoff walk to Juan Herrera, Todd Johnson tripled to the fence, then scored on Elias Sosa’s single. That was only a 2-2 tie, though, so Shumway also gave up back-to-back, 2-out RBI doubles to Dan Schneller and Jon Gonzalez in the same inning, falling behind 4-2. He also struck out with Allan, Stalker (walks) and Pizzo (single) on base and two down in the top 3rd, and normally I wouldn’t blame pitchers, but Shumway made it so easy to blame him… The Indians moved out to 5-2 in the third thanks to Mike Plunkett’s leadoff double and a Ramos error, and while Morrison would walk seven Raccoons over 5.2 innings, the Northwestern Village Idiots failed to topple him. He left the game with Pizzo and Nunley on the corners in the sixth, but Mora struck out against reliever Antonio Quintana to strand them. Shumway in turn lasted only five-plus, being yanked after Herrera’s leadoff jack in the bottom 6th. Mora also struck out to end the eighth with Jamieson on third base in a 6-3 game. A Pizzo single and Jamieson double had set up runners in scoring position with no outs in the inning against Dan Delgadillo, but the Raccoons were content with a Nunley RBI groundout against lefty replacement Juan Melendrez, and even that run fell right back out of Sean Rigg in the bottom 8th… 7-3 Indians. Nunley 2-4, BB, RBI; Allan 1-2, 3 BB, 2B, RBI; Pizzo 4-4, HR, RBI; Jamieson (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Game 2
POR: SS Ramos – CF Allan – 3B Hereford – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – LF Jamieson – C Pizzo – 2B Stalker – P Martinez
IND: 2B Schneller – 1B Jon Gonzalez – RF Suhay – LF Plunkett – C J. Herrera – CF Zanches – 3B E. Sosa – SS T. Johnson – P Bressner

Ramos doubled, moved up on Allan’s single, and then scored on Hereford’s fielder’s choice to short to put the Coons up in the first inning again – like that was any help at all for them. This lead would not stand either; the Coons did mostly nothing in the next few innings, while Martinez somehow sorted through the lineup once, but didn’t strike out anybody. He only whiffed Gonzalez to begin the fourth, but then immediately surrendered a game-tying homer to Ben Suhay, that incredible annoyance, batting .216 with 18 homers… Herrera and Alex Zanches reached base in the same inning, but were stranded when Elias Sosa grounded out to Ramos.

Top 5th, and a stunner – after Allan’s 1-out single and a walk drawn by Hereford, Kevin Harenberg ACTUALLY and REALLY had a productive at-bat with the go-ahead run in scoring position! Harenberg doubled to deep left, and that did not only allow Allan across, but also Hereford from first for a 3-1 lead. Mike Plunkett had a bit of a defensive black hole game in leftfield; he had earlier overrun a Jamieson single for an extra base … not that the misplay had caused any permanent or even temporary damage… After Gomez popped out here, Jamieson hit another single in the inning, but Pizzo grounded out to first to strand runners on the corners. Next time Jamieson was up it was the seventh inning, and the Coons had loaded them up on an Allan infield single, an intentional walk to Harenberg following Hereford’s grounder, and a walk drawn by Rafael Gomez. The Coons wanted the matchup, however, and sent Abel Mora to pinch-hit. Bressner killed Allan at home on the comebacker that Mora hit, and one day after a 4-for-4, Pizzo dropped to 0-for-4 with a ****ty soft fly to Zanches. Bottom 7th, before the Coons could get anybody up Martinez blew the lead on a Zanches double, a wild pitch, a walk to Sosa, and then Todd Johnson’s 2-run double into the leftfield corner. Martinez accepted Bressner’s bunt, then got the hook. Surginer had to strand the go-ahead run on third base, struck out Dan Schneller for the second out, and then served up back-to-back bombs over the leftfield fence to put the Raccoons into a 6-3 hole. When Hereford came to bat with runners on the corners and two down in the eighth, Bressner whiffed him, but the Indians added another 3-pack on hopeless Chris Wise and Billy Brotman in the bottom of the inning. 9-3 Indians. Allan 4-5; Jamieson 2-3;

Remarkable how much I don’t care. – Yes, Maud, I’ll take another cocktail tomorrow. – Make it two.

(merrily drives in circles in the offices, squeaking)

Game 3
POR: SS Ramos – LF Allan – 3B Nunley – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF Hereford – C Tovias – 2B Alvarez – P Roberts
IND: 2B Schneller – 1B Jon Gonzalez – RF Suhay – LF Plunkett – SS T. Johnson – 3B E. Sosa – C Paiz – CF Calfee – P Bedoya

Ramos walked and was caught stealing in the top 1st, and then the Critters had to bother the bullpen in the bottom of the inning. Mark Roberts struck out Schneller and Gonzalez to begin the game, then complained about a sore thumb and went to bed. Maud? Maud! – You may want to hurry with the cocktail! – Yeah, that, and Cristiano is teasing me by balancing on his rear wheels for ten minutes already! Say something!

While the finally provided cocktail began to sooth my drumming forehead, the Coons threw Sean Rigg into the fray of a scoreless game. Rigg logged four outs without blowing up before he was spotted a 3-0 lead in the third. Tovias hit a leadoff double, then scored on 2-out singles by Ramos and Allan. Nunley would drive in those two clowns with a liner up the rightfield line, and maybe we could finally not throw up the paws and die a gruesome death against the Arrowheads? Rigg held up long enough for Nunley to plate Ramos once more with a fifth-inning sac fly, and would end up throwing 59 pitches in getting the Critters through five. Next we squeezed the routinely abused Jonathan Fleischer for two perfect innings, and got the eighth from Garavito. Ricky Ohl would get the ninth inning in a non-save situation, facing the top of the order. Two grounders and a K to the resentworthy Suhay ended the game. 4-0 Coons. Ramos 2-4, BB, 3B; Nunley 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Harenberg 2-4, BB, 2B; Gomez (PH) 1-1; Rigg 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2-1); Fleischer 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Sore thumb, huh? Since when do Raccoons have thum- ah, you know what, Maud, I’ll take another one of these. – I know that Slappy is less maintenance than me, but he just keeps refilling his glass with cheap booze when you’re not looking!

In other news

July 2 – PIT 3B Omar Lastrade (.312, 6 HR, 37 RBI) hits for the cycle in a 13-0 thumping of the Capitals. Lastrade drives in six of the Miners’ runs with a 4-for-5 performance. This is the 79th cycle in ABL history and the second for the Miners (Jesus Ramirez, 2020). It is also the most lopsided score for a cycle game since the Bayhawks ripped the Crusaders, 14-0, as Dave Garcia cycled in 2018.
July 3 – The Condors swap INF/LF Dave Bross (.289, 0 HR, 13 RBI) to the Rebels for 3B/SS Jorge Zamora (.276, 6 HR, 22 RBI).
July 3 – SAL SP Brandon Nickerson (9-4, 3.04 ERA) spins a 3-hit shutout over the Scorpions in a 4-0 Wolves win.
July 4 – The Knights trade RF/LF/1B Matt Hamilton (.240, 4 HR, 21 RBI) to the Rebels for 3B/2B Bob Rojas (.347, 0 HR, 10 RBI) and a prospect; in a second trade, the Knights send 1B Bob Lloyd (.268, 6 HR, 20 RBI) to the Gold Sox for 3B/SS Andy Walker (.288, 2 HR, 17 RBI) and a prospect.
July 4 – In a game for the ages, Atlanta’s Roy Pincus (.272, 12 HR, 54 RBI) goes 5-for-11 in a 3-2 loss to the Falcons that takes merely seven hours and 24 innings to complete. CHA 3B Greg Ortiz (.260, 8 HR, 38 RBI) hits a leadoff, walkoff jack off ATL MR Armando Zaragoza (2-1, 8.56 ERA) to end the game and a string of 15 scoreless innings.
July 5 – The Condors trade OF Joel Denzler (.290, 0 HR, 5 RBI) to the Knights for SS/2B Andy Hughes (.267, 0 HR, 20 RBI) and a prospect.
July 7 – The Wolves trade SS/2B Guillermo Obando (.240, 0 HR, 28 RBI) to the Crusaders for 37-year-old LF Josh Stevenson (.178, 0 HR, 2 RBI) and #68 prospect INF/RF Jose Castro.
July 7 – The Titans pick up SP Jeff Dykstra (7-7, 3.77 ERA) from the Thunder, parting with #69 prospect SP Joe Robinson.

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons have three All Stars (for whatever reason…) this season. Alberto Ramos and Kevin Harenberg might actually play, while Josh Boles is out for the season with the damn labrum. It is the fourth All Star nomination for Harenberg, but only the second for the always-injured Ramos. Boles got the nod for the third time.

Losing the weekend set to the Arrowheads means we will not extend our 7-year streak of taking the season series. We are now at 3-9 and unlikely to even get a tie.

Our offense is neat and regular ninth place in so many categories… they are between eighth and tenth in every category except walks (7th), strikeouts (6th), and steals (5th).

The International Free Agent signing period has begun and the Critters already signed a few players this week. For example, we shelled out $95k for 16-year-old Dominican (aren’t they all 16-year-old Dominicans?) catcher Tony Morales, who might have a power bat – and maybe we can teach him to actually crouch and stop balls from going to the backstop, too. We also spent a whopping $7k on a 16-year-old Venezuelan (a-HA!) outfielder, Jose Pena. Well, what can you get for $7k?

Currently we are offering a total of $469k, which is a tad over the soft cap, but not in the area where we’d run into penalties down the road. The cap is at $461k this season, so right now we’d only pay up $8k in tax.

We also cut a few late-round picks from recent years this week, including 2028 Nick Brown Memorial pick Danny Sanders.

After the break we’ll be at home against the Titans and Loggers, then finish the month against CL South teams, starting with a trip to Atlanta and San Fran.

Fun Fact: On July 7, 2001, Sacramento’s Aaron Jenkins chipped six hits in a 17-4 rout of the Wolves.

It was an undeniable career highlight for Jenkins, who played in the majors for 20 seasons, most of them with the Scorpions. He won a Gold Glove in leftfield the same year at age 32, and he was an All Star four times in the 1990s. In 1998, he led the FL in hits with 220, but didn’t win the batting title. He finished his career a .296 batter with 184 HR and 1,318 RBI and stole 209 bases. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014.