[Westheim]

Raccoons (44-38) @ Canadiens (41-42) – July 2-5, 2029

Raccoons fans everywhere approached this series with much foreboding given the team’s track record for spectacularly collapsing whenever they ventured north of the border in anything other than perfect condition… and they were far from perfect… and even in perfect condition, grim things had happened in the past. The Elks had the worst batting average (something that could be helped out quickly) in the Continental League, but still somehow had the third-most runs scored (there ya go), while their pitching was adequate at best and crummy at worst and conceded the fourth-most runs, giving them a +4 run differential. The season series was tied at two.

Projected matchups:
Dan Delgadillo (9-5, 3.99 ERA) vs. Joe Martin (4-7, 3.70 ERA)
Rin Nomura (3-5, 4.70 ERA) vs. Leon Hernandez (3-4, 3.86 ERA)
Mark Roberts (9-6, 3.62 ERA) vs. Victor Govea (2-4, 3.78 ERA)
Trevor Draper (3-1, 4.58 ERA) vs. Estevan Delgado (6-5, 5.08 ERA)

Three righties and a left-hander on offer here. With Chris Sinkhorn, John Byrd, and Brian Wojnarowski, the Elks continued to have significant assets on the DL, but tell me about that…

As always, I would not be able to attend the games in person, courtesy of my longstanding travel ban (occasionally coyly circumvented, but usually always detained after some unclever move) to the Land of Moose. I had not even gotten out of Boston by game time on Monday, having trudged into the nearest bar after being carried out of the burning hotel by a fireman. There I sat at the counter, and with the Titans game on the East Coast already over, the TV above the bar showed the Raccoons game from Elkland. Oh great, you can’t get away from those stinkers for even five minutes …! Next to be sat a toothless guy everybody called August, in his stained underwear, and talking intelligibly to his empty bottle, but that did irk me considerably less than the Raccoons game being on TV.

Game 1
POR: SS Stalker – 3B Nunley – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – C Tovias – RF Gomez – 2B Baldwin – P Delgadillo
VAN: C F. Garcia – SS N. Millan – CF Coca – 1B D. Fisher – LF A. Torres – 3B Anton – RF N. Day – 2B Gura – P J. Martin

Said game’s first out was Tim Stalker getting caught astray of first base after a leadoff single, so there ya go, boys, that’s the spirit! Talking about spirit … (squints to decipher the blue stitches on the bartender’s stained white shirt) *Lou*… how, about some more spirits in my glass right here? Doubles by Nunley in the first and Tovias in the second disappeared into the void, while Delgadillo got charged with 2-out runs in the bottom 2nd, when disgusting ****head Ted Gura doubled in Alex Torres and Norman Day from the corners, and another 2-out run in the third inning when Nelson Millan hit a 1-out triple into the gap between Gomez and Mora, Delgadillo battled down Tony Coca for a K – no mean feat at all – and then still surrendered a leaky single to David Fisher. Two more in the fifth, Torres and Matt Anton getting back-to-back RBI singles past Tim Stalker to run the lead to 5-0 after a 1-out single by Nelson Millan and a borderline 3-2 pitch being called ball four on Coca.

The Coons had no base hits from the Tovias double in the top 2nd all the way to the sixth, when just as I was considering trying some of that brown crack stuff the news were warning about from a street vendor, Harenberg, Mora, and Gomez dropped in three hits for a token run. The Coons got another one in the seventh, which Delgadillo opened with a leadoff double off reliever Luis Vasquez, Jamieson plating him with two down. That slow-poke rally continued in slightly more force in the eighth inning, with Vasquez allowing Tovias on board, and then Rafael Gomez to hit one outta there, at which point August looked up and said to me that those damn Skunks better not let those other damn Skunks steal the skunking game. I advised him to bite me and/or lay by his mother. His concerns turned out unmerited. Matt Nunley drew a leadoff walk from Raul de la Rosa in the ninth, which was as far as the Coons would come towards tying the game. Jamieson hit into a double play for some great disservice, and Harenberg struck out when there was no more double play left to hit into. 5-4 Canadiens. Tovias 2-4, 2B; Gomez 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

Delgadillo struck out eight … and still got pummeled. Not that eight is plenty, but he sure hasn’t put up high K values for a long time.

That was Tony Coca’s last game as an Elk; they traded him (.294, 18 HR, 57 RBI) to the Crusaders overnight for a package of MR Jared Stone (0-3, 5.23 ERA, 1 SV) and #83 prospect OF/2B Eric Morrow, which was ONE way to bow out of a tight race in early July… I did not hear about this until I was on a bullet train somewhere in Pennsylvania where some obnoxious 12-year-old kid with glasses and hearing aids in my compartment watched a simulcast of the Coons-Elks game, the Aces-Bayhawks game, the Indians-Loggers game, and the Gold Sox-Scorpions game, with all four sound tracks live, on his transparent laptophone. Yeah, if I did that, my hearing would be damaged, too!

In addition to the usual misery, this was a Nomura start – and he was dead to me – and I saw this from opposite the kid, so Nomura in my top-left of the screen was throwing right-handed as far as I was concerned.

No wonder kids are all messed up these days!

Game 2
POR: SS Stalker – 3B Nunley – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – C Tovias – RF Gomez – 2B Baldwin – P Nomura
VAN: CF Tessmann – RF N. Day – LF A. Torres – 1B D. Fisher – SS N. Millan – C F. Garcia – 3B Light – 2B Gura – P L. Hernandez

The hellbound-on-losing Raccoons managed no hits in their first 15 attempts against Hernandez before Gomez landed a 2-out single in the fifth that led absolutely nowhere, while the Elks had five hits in the first three innings against Nomura, but jacked into two double plays with Norman Day in the first and Nelson Millan in the second. When they did score in the bottom 4th, the run was unearned thanks to an error by Harenberg that put the leadoff man Torres on base in the inning. Thanks for enabling the Elks, Kevin. Thanks a bunch – I cursed that out loud and in less rosy words, causing the kid to look at me and to hold his index finger in front of his mouth to kindly request that I shut the **** up.

Nomura hit the absolutely detestable Ted Gura to begin the bottom 5th; most detestable was actually that he did hit him to lead off an inning and that he didn’t blow his brains out while doing so, but I drew pleasure from Tovias throwing out Gura trying to nip second, Elias’ second runner caught stealing in the game. Nomura was done after six innings, during which he bled nine hits but never allowed an earned run, and even led off the top 6th with a single to rightfield that the top of the order could not possibly have cared less about. The Coons sucked the covers off the baseballs as always, and were still held to two hits through eight innings. Mauricio Garavito was out in the bottom 8th, walked Torres leading off, then hung a 1-2 breaking ball to David Fisher that probably landed in Raccoons Ballpark, putting this game out of even theoretical reach even before Kevin Surginer replaced the left-hander, allowed singles to Millan and Sean Light, threw a wild pitch, and then cocked up a 3-piece to the ****ing miscarriage Ted Gura. 6-0 Canadiens. Nomura 6.0 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, L (3-6) and 1-2;

Somehow, the Raccoons game was on in the terminal at the Chicago airport where I waited on a delayed flight on Wednesday. I did not know why Chicago cared about baseball at all anymore, having been snubbed by the ABL for decades on end. Oh well, the horrors of the brown-clad fools on the field distracted me from the horrors of having the hair of a woman, that had fallen asleep next to me with her head sinking onto my shoulder afterwards, crawling up my left nostril. Her hair smelled like unwashed hair smelled after three days. Also, Matt Nunley was batting leadoff for the Raccoons, which was not the worst thing that had happened to the 2029 Coons, but was coming pretty close.

Game 3
POR: 3B Nunley – CF Mora – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – 2B Baldwin – C Ivey – SS Sanchez – P Roberts
VAN: CF Tessmann – C F. Garcia – LF A. Torres – 1B D. Fisher – SS N. Millan – 3B Anton – RF L. Gross – 2B Gura – P Govea

Two broken lineups on two broken teams produced one hit apiece through the first five innings in a game that would have seemed to breeze by if I wouldn’t have had that lady’s unkempt mop in my face. German Sanchez opened the top 6th with a single to right, stole second, then was stranded right there as Roberts popped out, Nunley popped out, and Mora… grounded out. Good work, boys, always work in something unexpected! I totally expected A ****ING RUN. Govea struck out nobody (!) through six innings as the Raccoons kept futilely poking for no greater good, THEN came back and struck out the heart of the order IN order in the seventh inning. There was no rationalizing and no reasoning with this team. Much like with a 320-pound cellmate with little choice, there was just bending forward and taking it.

Govea, who had gone on short rest with a suspension to the Elks’

throwing things into disarray, lasted only seven innings, and Roberts could not get through the bottom 8th either. 2-out walk to PHs Ricky Ortíz and Sean Light created some urgency, especially with another right-handed batter, Adam Albrecht, hitting for Danny Tessmann in that spot. Ricky Ohl was called on, walked the bags full, then looked spooked when Fernando Garcia hit a fly into the right-center gap. Rafael Gomez managed to race over there, taking the ball to strand a full set for a team still on two base hits through eight. Top 9th, de la Rosa retired Nunley, then Mora, then lost Jamieson on a soft single up the middle, the ball just barely shying past the glove of replacement shortstop Curtis Hargraves. Blimey – Kevin Harenberg turned on a 1-2 pitch and blasted it out of the park of horrors! The Coons had the lead after all, then turned to Josh Boles to put things right. Boles walked Torres to begin the bottom 9th, almost got taken deep by Fisher (caught by Mora in vicinity of the fence), shed a single to Millan, and that brought up the winning run. Matt Anton ran a full count before grounding back to Boles, but Boles’ defensive shortcomings prevented the game from ending 1-6-3. Only Millan was retired, and Luke Gross would bat with two outs and runners still on the corners, popping up the first pitch he saw. If the question you asked at the top of the show was why the **** Chris Baldwin was batting sixth for a team that hoped to get anywhere this season, it was catching a harmless pop from a fellow fringe player that could have done major damage if handled by a millionaire. 2-0 Blighters. Jamieson 2-4; Harenberg 1-4, HR, 2 RBI; Roberts 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K;

My flight left Chicago at midnight, then was diverted from Portland to the nearby pleasant place of … Reno, Nevada, which meant that Thursday would see me travelling the backwoods roads between the desert and our lush corner of the world via ride service. My driver would be a nice Bangladeshi fella who had not been in the country for very long, and who – imagine – listened to baseball radio broadcasts while driving at more or less full volume. You will never guess what game was on during our drive up Route 97. “RANJIT RISTEN BASEBARR FOR REARN RANGUAGE” he would yell at me about 28 times during the drive, each time patiently staring at me with a bright grin until I acknowledged his endeavors with a nod. Mind that I was in the back seat and he would turn back to me while he did that, while doing about 75. Probably more, but I think the speedometer was broken, judging by the amount of police cars chasing us out of Klamath Falls.

Game 4
POR: SS Stalker – CF Magallanes – LF Jamieson – C Tovias – 1B Gomez – RF Rodriguez – 3B Gerster – 2B Baldwin – P Draper
VAN: CF Tessmann – RF N. Day – 1B D. Fisher – 3B Anton – SS Hargraves – LF Campbell – C R. Ortíz – 2B Light – P E. Delgado

Norman Day, the fool, struck out to strand a full set of runners that Trevor Draper had mostly walked, including a 2-out free pass to Estevan Delgado for good measure, although the Elks were up 1-0 by then thanks to an RBI double by Ricky Ortíz plating Tim Campbell, who had – well… – walked. Delgado would walk three in the fourth inning, but that would not amount to as much as the tying run for the Raccoons, especially with Juan Magallanes having been caught stealing by then… While Portland was doing absolutely nothing otherwise, the Elks would add a few comfort runs in the fifth on straight base hits by Fisher (double), Anton, and Hargraves (pair o’ singles), plus Campbell’s run-scoring groundout to make it 3-0. The bottom 7th saw a Gomez error and a Fisher single on Draper’s watch. The starter left with nobody out, and Kevin Surginer did nothing to kill the flames, walking Anton to put three on with no outs, and when the damn Elks got a pop and a force at home from the next two batters, Ricky Ortíz still managed to blast a bases-clearing double with two outs and in a full count. While Ranjit was powersliding through the Terwilliger Curves, Abel Mora hit a meaningless pinch-hit homer that knocked out Delgado, but would not matter in the final score. Nothing mattered here in Portland. 6-2 Canadiens. Mora (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (45-41) vs. Indians (46-40) – July 6-8, 2029

Like anything else, the Indians had passed the Coons by, and the two teams would vie for second place on the final weekend before the All Star Game… like there was going to be *competition* …! Ridiculous proposition. Indy came in fourth in runs scored, third in runs allowed, and had all the tools needed to knock the Critters far off first place just before three long days to think about the meaning of life. The Arrowheads also led the season series, 5-4.

Projected matchups:
Jamie O’Leary (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Mark Matthews (4-8, 5.78 ERA)
Dan Delgadillo (9-6, 4.17 ERA) vs. John McInerney (9-5, 2.79 ERA)
Rin Nomura (3-6, 4.21 ERA) vs. Sal Bedoya (4-1, 3.16 ERA)

Right-left-right, and probably also aggravating loss – crystal clear loss – I can’t believe I put on pants for this loss.

Game 1
IND: SS Pizano – 1B Jon Gonzalez – CF Suhay – RF Plunkett – C Dear – LF Aleman – 3B T. Johnson – 2B Schneller – P Matthews
POR: 2B Stalker – 3B Nunley – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF Gomez – C Tovias – SS Gerster – P O’Leary

The Indians stranded runners at second base in the first two innings, while the Coons left Harenberg and Tovias on the corners when Butch Gerster struck out in the bottom 2nd. Mario Pizano opened the top 3rd with a single, stole second – his 32nd base of the year – and then came home on Ben Suhay’s double in the gap for the first run of the game. Now, down 1-0 Portland was not dead yet, although all their runs in the bottom of the same inning would be unearned after an error by ROTY contender Dan Schneller, a tender 21 years old, that added Matt Nunley to the base paths in addition to Tim Stalker with one out. Kevin Harenberg then brawled an 0-1 pitch over the rightfield fence for a score-flipping 3-piece.

With Nunley on first, Harenberg hit a 1-out single his next time up, and Mark Matthews then walked Abel Mora on five pitches to load them up for Rafael Gomez, who you might remember was a pretty impressive hitter as little as two years ago, but now had a .620 OPS. If there had been anything of value on the bench, the Coons might have sent a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning, but there was not, and so Gomez was allowed to bat; grounder at Todd Johnson, to second base, to first – but not in time. Nunley scored when the Indians could not turn the double play, but Tovias then grounded out to short to end the inning. O’Leary’s decent effort ended up completely hosed when the top 6th began with a Nunley error, then a walk that put on Matt Dear, too. Alex Aleman, Schneller, and PH Brad Rolph all knocked in a run to tie he game – all runs were unearned – and Pizano also singled up the middle to put the go-ahead run at third base. Kevin Surginer replaced O’Leary, walked Jon Gonzalez on four pitches, then had Ben Suhay, the notorious strikeout candidate, at 0-2 with two outs before he surrendered a liner into the corner for a bases-clearing double.

The desolate Raccoons got a leadoff single off Jim Kretzmann off Butch Gerster’s bat in the bottom 6th, then a Wilson Rodriguez double, and then barely managed to get those two runs across with a sac fly by Stalker and a Jamieson single that Pizano really should have had, yet still trailed 7-6. Stonecipher pitched two scoreless for the Coons, but could not spark a comeback. When leadoff man Mora reached base in the bottom 7th, and even swiped second, the inept Raccoons still stranded him at third base, and they got nobody on in the eighth. Harenberg led off the ninth against righty Ben Darr, but grounded out to short in a full count. Mora struck out. Magallanes grounded out to Schneller. 7-6 Indians. Harenberg 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Mora 2-4, BB; Rodriguez (PH) 1-2, 2B;

Game 2
IND: SS Pizano – 1B Jon Gonzalez – CF Suhay – RF Plunkett – C Dear – 2B Schneller – LF Siebuhr – 3B T. Johnson – P McInerney
POR: SS Stalker – CF Magallanes – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – RF Rodriguez – C Tovias – 3B Gerster – 2B Baldwin – P Delgadillo

Bottom 1st – Stalker single, Magallanes single, Jamieson double … aaaand, as of yet, no runs … Stalker had been caught stealing. In an obvious clutch spot, Harenberg obviously popped out before Wilson Rodriguez, the scrub not on any prospect list, turned a 3-1 pitch into a 2-out, 2-run gapper in right-center. Those were his first career RBI’s, and then he was left stranded when Elias Tovias popped out. The Indians did not get a base knock the first time through, but Pizano singled and stole second with two outs in the top 3rd. Delgadillo balked him to third base even, but Jon Gonzalez, also far from the Master of Clutch, popped out to Baldwin. Remember, those two first-sackers were BOTH active in the Coons’ successful 2026 postseason, although you would not guess why…

Suhay’s leadoff single and a four-pitch walk to Mike Plunkett with nobody out in the top 4th would allow the Arrowheads to score a run on two productive outs, but Yusneldan was still ahead through five innings, although he needed nearly 80 pitches to get there. The remainder of his workload for the day plainly sucked; a leadoff walk to Jon Gonzalez, then a Suhay triple to knot the score in the top 6th. Plunkett popped out, Dear walked, and Schneller lined out to Stalker. With two outs and the game still tied, Brotman replaced Delgadillo to see after Jon Siebuhr, a terrifying left-hander batting all of .130, and in a full count allowed an RBI single up the middle, then walked Johnson to fill them up for McInerney, who popped out to left, but had a probably unrelinquishable 3-2 lead now. Rodriguez hit another 2-out double in the bottom 6th, but this time with nobody on, and did you really expect anything from Elias Tovias here? You really should adjust your expectations.

Fleischer and Ohl held the Indians close in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Raccoons getting Gerster on in the bottom 7th before he was caught stealing by Dear. Stalker drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, then was forced out on a frankly horrendous bunt by Magallanes. Awesome. Matt Jamieson ran into one and hit it for 370 feet to left then, a score-flipping homer, and if you wonder why I am completely devoid of any excitement here, it may well be because I was already dead inside. Boles sat down the Indians in order in the ninth, ending it with a K to Gonzalez. I still felt nothing. 4-3 Coons. Stalker 2-3, BB; Jamieson 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Rodriguez 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI;

Chad, you can stop dancing and poking me, I don’t think I can be happy tonight. – No, seriously, stop dancing. – Stop the dancing. – Chad, I must w-… great, now he danced into the showcase with the trophies and the mascot head has some old award stuck in the eye…

Game 3
IND: SS Pizano – 1B Jon Gonzalez – CF Suhay – RF Plunkett – C Dear – LF Aleman – 3B T. Johnson – 2B Schneller – P Bedoya
POR: 2B Stalker – 3B Nunley – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF Rodriguez – C Ivey – SS Sanchez – P Nomura

A Todd Johnson error that put Stalker on base to begin the bottom 1st allowed the Raccoons to score an unearned run when Harenberg’s 2-out grounder escaped out of Schneller’s reach. No other damn Raccoon reached base while Dan Schneller tied the game with a homer in the third, and the Indians put up three against an inefficient Nomura in the fourth inning, rapping out three base hits in addition to a walk and a costly Jamieson error in leftfield that added Plunkett to the base paths in addition to Suhay with one out, a scenario from which the rubbish Nomura proved unable to recover. Nor could the Coons come back from a 4-1 deficit, despite having the leadoff man on base in the fourth (Jamieson walk), fifth (Sanchez single!), AND sixth innings (Jamieson double). They scored two in the bottom 6th on a Harenberg double and a Rodriguez single, but that still kept them short at 4-3. Nomura was gone in the seventh after a leadoff walk (…) to Schneller, then a 1-out Pizano single. Stonecipher got Gonzalez to fly out to center and whiffed Suhay, which should be an easy task for any right-hander you’d be forgiven to think, right, KEVIN?? Ohl and Brotman continued to allow nothing, but the Coons could not get as much as on base in the seventh and eighth, then faced Darr again in the bottom of the ninth, still looking under every rug and pillow for the tying run. On the first pitch of the ninth, Wilson “Take Two” Rodriguez hit a double to left-center. There was the tying run. Now we just needed some fool to get another lucky bounce. It was not Shane Ivey, who popped out, and it should not have been Elias Tovias, who batted for Gerster and rolled a ball near the third base line, but Johnson had played deep and could not make it in time, and Darr had fallen the wrong way, too … Elias Matias Tovias Diaz actually legged out a ****ing infield single, and now the winning run was on base for PH Rafael Gomez, who struck out on three pitches, and then with two down the leadoff batter Tim Stalker. Tim ran it to 2-1 before looping a ball over Jon Gonzalez. It bounced fair behind Gonzalez, who leapt in vain and fell down to remove one defender from the play, so the game was tied in any case, but what about Tovias, who had gone on contact and was flinging the paws like there was a buffet at home plate. The ball also ran away from Plunkett and into foul ground, giving Tovias additional time to chug around third base where the coach had been windmilling for a couple of minutes with his arm. By the time Plunkett fired to home plate, Tovias was halfway, the throw was not very good, bounced inconveniently for Dear, and he had throw himself at Tovias at an angle… and missed him – the Coons walked off! 5-4 Critters. Harenberg 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Rodriguez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Tovias (PH) 1-1;

No, Maud, I am not smirking! And don’t you ever dare calling me a smirker again!

In other news

July 2 – PIT 1B Danny Santillano (.311, 12 HR, 43 RBI) not only hits safely five times in the Miners’ 3-1 win over the Cyclones, but also legs it out for a double four times, but somehow drives in nobody and scores only once.
July 2 – WAS OF Danny Serrano (.263, 0 HR, 14 RBI) is traded from the Aces to the Capitals in exchange for MR Arturo Arellano (0-1, .7.08 ERA, 2 SV) and a meager prospect.
July 3 – BOS CL Ryan Corkum (1-1, 2.35 ERA, 18 SV) is out for the year with a torn labrum.
July 3 – Indians and Loggers poke away at each other indecisively for 16 innings before the Indians break through with five runs in the top of the 17th to claim a 10-5 victory.
July 4 – The Warriors amount only to INF Ricky Tello (.281, 2 HR, 20 RBI) single in an 8-0 shutout for the Wolves’ combo of SP Phil Harrington (11-4, 2.66 ERA) and MR Jorge Farinas (1-2, 2.51 ERA, 1 SV).
July 4 – IND INF Nick Herman (.316, 1 HR, 11 RBI) will miss at least a month with a broken hand.
July 4 – A broken thumb puts CIN LF/RF Kelvin Winborn (.327, 4 HR, 35 RBI) out of action for the next month or more.
July 4 – The Gold Sox send SP Danny Arguello (8-6, 4.11 ERA) to the Blue Sox for a minor leaguer and an unranked prospect.
July 4 – The Rebels trade INF Evan Donahue (.264, 3 HR, 24 RBI) to the Aces for OF David Allard (.148, 1 HR, 8 RBI).
July 5 – Solo homers by SFW OF Mark Walker (.293, 11 HR, 34 RBI) and the pinch-hitting SFW 1B/SS Edgar Gonzalez (.282, 10 HR, 45 RBI) mark all the scoring in the Warriors’ 2-0 win over the Wolves.
July 6 – The Falcons score 11 unanswered runs in the last four frames against the Thunder and still come up short in a 14-13 scorefest. OCT 3B/CF Dave Garcia (.303, 11 HR, 57 RBI) drives in six runs on three hits, including a homer.
July 6 – Back soreness might keep PIT 3B Omar Lastrade (.294, 4 HR, 17 RBI) out for two weeks.
July 7 – The Loggers trade SP Philip Rogers (7-7, 3.83 ERA) to the Cyclones in exchange for two prospects.
July 7 – The Blue Sox trade SP Dan Jerge (8-8, 3.59 ERA) to the Gold Sox for a prospect in the second deal of the week between these two teams.
July 7 – For a prospect, the Knights acquire CHA SP Jesse Schiebout (2-3, 4.11 ERA).
July 8 – LAP OF Justin Fowler (.265, 17 HR, 59 RBI) will miss a month with a separated shoulder.

Complaints and stuff

The North is a riot. It would have been so easy to run away from this mess… but that was before the baseball gods smothered most any good player we had.

You might have read the Agitator as well recently. They are clamoring for reinforcements to get the team to the playoffs when they should be aware of the fact that we have nothing to trade, especially no prospects. There is absolutely nothing I can do besides hoping that the Titans waive Lorenzo Viamontes and 21 other teams snooze through the opportunity…

Well, I *do* scour the waiver wire diligently. Daniel Bullock is on waivers right now after batting .259 with no RBI in 31 games for the Aces and … - Cristiano, stop tugging on my shirt!

Somehow the Coons managed five All Stars, two of which were on the DL anyway: Shumway and Ramos. Also going: Ricky Ohl, Josh Boles, and Tim Stalker. It is the sixth All Star Game for Shumway, the fourth for Ohl, the second for Stalker and Boles, and the first(!) for Ramos. Well, no wonder if someone is always on the DL…!

The Raccoons have so far signed three international free agent teen kiddos, but we have also spent less than $60k total on those three, a left-handed pitcher named Julian Ponce as well as two right-handed infielders, Christian Castro and Vincent Zesati. All are 16-year-old Dominicans.

The Druid read in the bar code on the back of his comic book that Rico Gutierrez and Rich Hereford would be able to resume baseball activities in the second half of August. Of course, that also means rehab after a 3-month absence, so they would not be able to help the crashing Raccoons even remotely in time. Alberto Ramos might be back in the second half of this month, which was good news, because then there was still enough season left for him to reach his customary three annual DL stints.

Oh well, we’ll always have 2030, right?

Right?

Fun Fact: No team has ever won three championships, each two years apart.

The Titans have come close at times, with their four in a row this decade, and once they also won three in four years, but still, nobody has ever gone ring-meh-ring-meh-ring, even when allowing for the mehs to be additional rings. Well, only seven teams have even won three-plus rings at all in ABL history…

In case you lost track, it is Titans (8), Crusaders (7), Pacifics and Critters (4 each), and Stars, Capitals, and Scorpions (3 each).