[Westheim]

Raccoons (42-34) @ Aces (38-37) – June 25-27, 2012

While second in the South, the Aces were nevertheless a healthy 15 1/2 games out of the Thunder, who were thundering their way through everybody and everything. Granted, the third-worst offense in the Continental League shouldn’t necessarily be a qualifying point for the playoffs, especially when the pitching was about average at best. The Coons had taken two of three from the Aces earlier in the season.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (7-3, 3.26 ERA) vs. Ian Rutter (4-4, 3.97 ERA)
Scott Spears (3-3, 2.76 ERA) vs. Juan Valdevez (10-2, 2.12 ERA)
Rich Hood (3-3, 3.51 ERA) vs. Jaquan Wagoner (5-6, 3.11 ERA)

Those were three entirely decent right-handers. We had the bad luck to miss their two 5+ ERA guys, lefty Anthony Bryant and righty William Hinkley.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF J. Alexander – 3B Merritt – CF Seeley – C D. Alexander – P Brown
LVA: 2B H. Jones – LF Zackery – CF Shearing – RF Bednarski – C Durango – SS Dahlke – 1B R. Avila – 3B F. Soto – P Rutter

This one could well go either way for Nick Brown, who struck out three of the first four Aces, then issued 2-out walks in the bottom 2nd to Tom Dahlke and Ricky Avila before Francisco Soto also went down flailing. Rutter struck out to open the third before Howard Jones walked, and Rusty Zackery reached on an infield single, but Conor Shearing hit into a double play to dissolve this tight spot as well, but Brown was already well over 50 pitches. Shearing was also the eyesore for the Raccoons’ offense, picking three high flies to the deeper centerfield regions that were hit by Quebell, J-Alex, and Jon Merritt consecutively between the first and second innings. Palmer, who had singled in the first, singled again in the fourth, with Pruitt hitting a single past the reach of Soto to give Quebell two on and nobody out, and Quebell did what he did best and grounded into a 4-6-3 double play before Alexander flew out to Shearing, and whom else? Mike Bednarski would put the Aces up 1-0 with his 12th homer of the year in the bottom 4th, and Brown was more swimming than anything else by then, with the Aces being retired on three sharp grounders to Merritt in the bottom 5th, and he didn’t bobble a single one.

Top 6th, the Coons were in action, somehow, some slow-motion action at least. Michael Palmer hit his third single of the game before Quebell and John Alexander were added to the bases with Rutter’s first two walks. Bases loaded, two outs for Merritt, who quickly became Rutter’s sixth strikeout victim. Brown ended up going seven innings after all when the Aces suddenly stopped letting his blood for balls and walks and started hacking, generating four more strikeouts in the sixth and seventh. Rutter was also gone after seven, with Zack Entwistle taking over, a right-hander, for the eighth inning, and Nomura led off, but Yoshi grounded out. Palmer singled AGAIN, and Quebell had a hit with two outs, but Alexander struck out to strand another two runners. Now, Entwistle had entered in a double switch with Sean McDermott coming in at first base, and he was a left-hander, and when he led off the bottom 8th, Brown did get another batter after all. Now remember, he entered 10 strikeouts behind Juan Correa for 22nd place on the all time strikeout table, and he had nine so far. If he could - … the count ran full, pitch number eight of the at-bat was low and McDermott hacked over it anyway – it’s a strikeout! It’s a share of 22nd place! That was all very well, but it didn’t save him from another pathetic defeat. The Coons couldn’t score a run for their sorry lives, and between Josh Gibson and Manobu Sugano even surrendered another run in the bottom of the eighth after Brown had left. 2-0 Aces. Palmer 4-4; Brown 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, L (7-4);

What a sad bunch… Michael Palmer had more hits than the rest of the flock combined. Maybe I should reintroduce scheduled whippings…

Nick Brown has now lost his last three decisions, and has won only one of his last eight games, which is more concern to me right now than some career strikeout things. And this was not a bad start. It was actually his first good start of the month!

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Seeley – CF Castro – 3B Merritt – C Bowen – P Spears
LVA: 3B Downing – 2B H. Jones – CF Shearing – RF Bednarski – C Durango – 1B McDermott – LF Richards – SS Dahlke – P Valdevez

Spears was speared for two runs on three hits (and a run-scoring wild pitch…) in the first inning, but the Raccoons had singles by Quebell, Seeley, and Castro to load the bases with nobody out in the top 2nd. That brought up Jon Merritt, who hadn’t been particularly useful in promising spots in Brown’s start on Monday, whipped an 0-1 to deep left, high and well gone! GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

Merritt, after procuring a 4-2 lead in the top half of the second, preserved it in the bottom half. After Tom Dahlke hit a 1-out triple off Spears, Valdevez lined a 1-2 pitch to left, and Merritt made a lightning-quick swipe before it could get over his head, and Spears got out of the inning with a K to Josh Downing. Meanwhile Valdevez, who came in with 85 K and nine walks in 98.2 innings, was oddly hittable, didn’t strike out anybody in the early innings, and conceded another run in the top 3rd on singles by Palmer and Pruitt and Quebell’s sac fly. Valdevez was out of the game after only four innings, being hit for in the bottom 4th, but the Raccoons had their own issue on the mound, and Spears was readily hittable. The Aces came back to 5-3 in the third, and had the tying runs on in the fourth but Howard Jones lifted out to Seeley to end that inning. The Coons would better keep adding runs, and did so in the fifth off Ignacio Garcia, with Palmer hitting a single before we got back-to-back RBI doubles from Pruitt and Quebell. Spears didn’t get through six in a 7-3 game, allowing nine hits in 5 2/3 innings and left with a man on that Law Rockburn took care of.

The Coons then emptied a bucket full of misery over the Aces’ pen. After not getting anything done the previous day for Nick Brown, the Coons added a run in the seventh, then romped for a 4-run eighth in which Castro and Merritt both homered. One day after a game in which teams combined for 12 hits between them, in this one the Coons out-hit the Aces 17-11, and creamed them even clearer in the final score. 12-3 Critters. Nomura 2-5, 2B; Palmer 4-5, RBI; Pruitt 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Quebell 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Castro 2-5, HR, RBI; Merritt 3-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI; Slayton 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Two homers by Merritt in ONE game! There were years where he didn’t hit two all season! And even more amazing: Palmer, with back-to-back 4-hit efforts!

However, there’s no sunshine without rain. Yoshi Nomura tweaked his back on a swing in the eighth and was listed as DTD. We would leave him out of the lineup for the rubber game, and possibly he would need another one or two games of rest, but he should be good again after that.

Game 3
POR: 2B Palmer – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF J. Alexander – CF Castro – C Bowen – SS M. Gutierrez – P Hood
LVA: 1B McDermott – LF Zackery – CF Shearing – RF Bednarski – C Durango – SS Dahlke – 2B Downing – 3B F. Soto – P Wagoner

The rubber game was kinda a pitcher’s duel, but really wasn’t. The Coons didn’t get a hit until Pruitt singled in the fourth, which led to nothing in particular, but the Aces were only held back between stingy defense because Rich Hood wasn’t fooling anybody and wasn’t getting anything past any hitter, and was rescued by double plays in the second and third innings. The game was scoreless through four, but the Aces finally bowled over Hood in the fifth. Downing led off with a double and Hood couldn’t help but to allow an RBI single in a full count to Jaquan Wagoner, the opposing pitcher. McDermott singled, then Hood threw a wild pitch. Conor Shearing cashed in the runners with a 2-run triple, putting the Coons in a 3-0 hole, which grew bigger at frightening speed. Hood issued a leadoff walk to Eduardo Durango in the bottom 6th, and two base hits later was down 4-0 with runners in scoring position and one out, and Wagoner batting again, and Wagoner AGAIN beat Hood with a 2-run single. That was well enough suckage for one game, and the Raccoons couldn’t get relief for their pains, either. Josh Gibson came in and was burned for another two runs, as this one turned into a feverish rout. The Aces were up by nine with Wagoner maintaining a 1-hit shutout with 7 K into the ninth, but Palmer singled with two outs there. The Aces immediately removed Wagoner for Chris Spindler, who allowed a single to Merritt, but Pruitt grounded out to end the game. 9-0 Aces.

My feelings are not only hurt – their foundations are shattered. Let’s get outta here!

Raccoons (43-36) vs. Loggers (30-48) – June 28-July 1, 2012

Seven losses in a row had thrown the Loggers into the for them all too familiar last place in the North. Their offense was average, with the sixth-most runs scored in the league, but their pitching was falling apart left and right, with the second-most runs conceded. Their rotation and bullpen were equally embarrassing with ERA’s roughly around 4.50. The Coons had an edge in the season series, 5-3.

Projected matchups:
Hector Santos (5-6, 4.04 ERA) vs. Ramón Jimenez (6-6, 4.80 ERA)
Shunyo Yano (3-6, 4.95 ERA) vs. Gabriel Caro (8-6, 3.53 ERA)
Nick Brown (7-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Roy Thomas (2-6, 6.52 ERA)
Scott Spears (4-3, 2.94 ERA) vs. Gil McDonald (3-10, 4.53 ERA)

We miss the Loggers’ only lefty, Fernando Cruz (4-9, 4.84 ERA), but with the way things are going that is not necessarily a bad thing…

Yoshi looks much better already, and might be back by Friday.

Game 1
MIL: SS Luján – 1B Roncero – RF Dally – CF Locke – LF P. Estrada – C R. Hernandez – 3B F. Cuevas – 2B O. Sandoval – P R. Jimenez
POR: 2B Palmer – 3B Merritt – RF J. Alexander – 1B Quebell – CF Seeley – LF Castro – C D. Alexander – SS M. Gutierrez – P Santos

Bottom 2nd, the Coons had the bases loaded with nobody out after Jimenez issued walks to Quebell and Castro sandwiching a Jason Seeley single up the middle. A struggling Jimenez walked in a run to D-Alex, but then rescued himself with strikeouts to Gutierrez and Santos before Palmer grounded out to short. Another lackluster loot in a 3-on, no-outs spot. And after that, Santos allowed a single to Jimenez in the third, Antonio Luján tripled, and Santos – for good measure – threw a wild pitch to give Milwaukee the lead.

Bottom 3rd, Merritt with a leadoff single, and Jimenez then ran full counts against J-Alex and Quebell and walked them both. AGAIN … three on, no outs! Seeley hit into a run-scoring double play, and Castro flew out to left. Okay. The next Furball to **** out of a 3-on, no-out spot like that will go without cake and candy for a week! AND I MEAN IT!! ONLY BREAD CRUMBS FOR YOU!!

Palmer drove in Dylan Alexander with a single in the fourth inning, giving the Raccoons a 3-2 lead, and the next best thing that Hector Santos could come up was a leadoff single allowed to Jimenez. JIMENEZ!! GODDAMNIT!! Of course the Loggers tied the game in the inning, and the Loggers had Fernando Cuevas on base with one out in the sixth and that was well enough bollocks for one pitcher in one game and Santos was yanked after allowing nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Rockburn cleaned up behind Santos, with Daniel Sharp hitting for Jimenez and stranding the runner with a groundout to Palmer at second base, so both starters were out combining for 10 1/3 innings. After Jimenez, Richard Williams, a right-hander, was sent into the game and wasn’t particularly challenged by the Coons’ order until the bottom 8th when Seeley and D-Alex singled. With two outs, Matt Pruitt came out to pinch-hit, and the Loggers stuck with Williams, who extinguished the Raccoons with a strikeout to Pruitt. Tim Poe was in for Milwaukee in the bottom 9th, and he also had a walk issue, giving out 18 freebies in 34 innings, and after Palmer grounded out he put on Merritt with a 1-out walk. That was the winning run, and there were left-handers coming up against the righty Poe, with J-Alex grounding out to first and Quebell going down glaring.

Extra innings, with two innings by Angel Casas (9th and 10th) going to waste opposite Poe. By the 11th, Slayton was in and struck out the side, with Roudabush, who had entered with Slayton in a double switch and replaced a hitless Gutierrez at short, hopping a grounder up the middle for a leadoff single. Palmer bunted him to second base, with the Loggers walking Merritt intentionally, so their lefty Kevin Cummings could face five consecutive left-handed batters. For the Coons, this went about as well as it sounded. Five up, five down, except for Castro in the 12th, who was nicked and caught stealing… The next base runner for the Raccoons would be … Castro, with a 1-out single in the 15th, with Cummings STILL in there, and Josh Gibson next in the lineup after pitching two clean innings.

There was nobody left other than the ailing Yoshi on the bench, who was a hero about it and grabbed a stick, but EVERYBODY knew that Castro would run again. He was thrown out AGAIN by Raúl Hernandez, who came in with a CS% under a quarter! And THEN YOSHI DOUBLED TO LEFT. IT WAS OUTRAGEOUS!! Bowen grounded out, and we threw in Sugano, our last reliever, into the 16th. And the most reliable guy just imploded, walked Justin Dally to get started, then allowed a soft single to Amari Brissett, an infield single to Pedro Estrada, and another soft single to Raúl Hernandez that scored two. CUMMINGS would single in a run, Sugano walked in another run against Luján… ****ing hell. ****ing hell, ****ing hell, ****ing hell.

Bottom 16th. Roudabush singled. Palmer walked, which finally got the ****ing Cummings chased, with Jose Rivera taking over and walking Merritt. BASES LOADED, NO OUTS. John Alexander came up having an 0-6 day. He struck out… Quebell flew out to left for no good, either, with the Loggers switching pitchers once more with Rivera getting hurt. Melvin Alvarado got a ****ty fly to center from Seeley, and that was it. 7-3 Loggers. D. Alexander 3-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Nomura (PH) 1-1, 2B; Roudabush 2-3; Casas 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Slayton 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; Gibson 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

16 runners stranded. What to say other than I hate the whole bunch?

Oh yeah, and John Alexander is on a diet. And Quebell, too. And **** it, Sugano as well.

I hate all of them.

While the pen wasn’t completely blown, and outside of Gibson and Slayton everybody was available theoretically, we had Yano up next, and that was probably going to push out pen over the cliff for good.

Game 2
MIL: SS Luján – 1B Roncero – RF Dally – CF Locke – LF P. Estrada – 3B Sharp – C R. Hernandez – 2B O. Sandoval – P Caro
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – CF Seeley – C Bowen – RF Ayers – P Yano

We really needed plenty of new players, but right now we didn’t have anybody, and Silvestro Roncero’s solo home run in the first inning definitely sent the mood southwards right away. Because where you find one with Yano, another five are not far removed. Yano struck out the side in the second, but he wasn’t going to fool this poor, tethered soul. For now, Yoshi tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom 3rd, scoring Ayers, who had drawn a leadoff walk. Ayers singled his next time up in the fifth inning, then was caught stealing, sending the Coons to 0/3 against Hernandez in this series. A single by Oscar Sandoval to start the sixth was their first hit since Roncero’s homer, but after Caro’s bunt was poor and taken to second to force Sandoval by Yano, Luján hit into a double play. The bottom of the inning saw a 1-out single to left hit by Michael Palmer, after which Pruitt bounced the ball back to Caro, but Caro bobbled the ball at first, then threw hastily to second, and wildly, too, right into centerfield. Two on, one out for Quebell, who grounded out, and Merritt whiffed. Of course Yano then blew up in the seventh, walked Roncero to get started, and was dismantled for three singles and two runs. The Raccoons’ answer to that was to strike out three times in the bottom 7th, but then generated an actual rally in the eighth. Castro led off with a walk, before Caro was chopped up with singles by Palmer, Pruitt, Quebell, and John Alexander, as the Raccoons scored three out of the blue to take a 4-3 lead for Angel Casas, who had thrown two innings on Thursday, but had only expended 19 pitches doing so. Pedro Estrada drew a 1-out walk, but other than that Henry McClendon, Daniel Sharp, and Raúl Hernandez all struck out. 4-3 Blighters. Merritt 2-4, RBI; J. Alexander (PH) 1-1, RBI; Ayers 1-2, BB;

And what now, J-Alex? You think you’re getting back onto the dessert list for one game-winning RBI? How many have you fudged up already!?

Game 3
MIL: SS Luján – 1B Roncero – RF Dally – CF Locke – LF P. Estrada – C R. Hernandez – 3B Ito – 2B O. Sandoval – P R. Thomas
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – 1B Pruitt – RF J. Alexander – 3B Merritt – LF Castro – CF Seeley – C Bowen – P Brown

We were thin in the pen after all, so seven innings from Brownie would be a swell thing. To start the game he struck out Antonio Luján, severing his temporary ties with Hall of Famer Juan Correa for 22nd place on the all-time strikeout table. Brown struck out the first SIX Loggers in the game, Suketsune Ito grounded out on the first pitch in the third, Sandoval went up in flames for #7, and then Roy Thomas singled to right. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Brown then walked Luján and Roncero in full counts before Justin Dally grounded out hard to Pruitt at first base, and that gave Brown a pitch count WELL over 50 after three innings. Great…

To top that off, the Coons went down in order the first time through their lineup against the 6+ ERA hurler Thomas, and when Yoshi reached in the fourth inning that came on an error by Ito. Brownie had 11 strikeouts through five, as well as 91 pitches on the odometer, with Jon Merritt chipping in an error to further aggravate the situation. Thomas made it 4 2/3 innings before allowing a hit to Jason Seeley, a single to right, and nothing came of that either. Brown was toast after six, having struck out a dozen, and his sheet remained clean for Merritt starting a double play on Hernandez with the bases loaded this time. Regardless, six innings of 3-hit, 12 K, shutout ball, and his ****ing team wasn’t going to score one ****ing run for him – Brown was winless yet again. Then Slayton came in and was turned inside out for two runs in the seventh. ****ing hell! The Coons had runners on the corners with two out in the bottom 8th against Thomas (THOMAS!!!) when Matt Pruitt lined a ball to deep right, and Dally caught it. The Loggers had the guts to have Thomas bat in the ninth inning, but why not. Steele coughed up a homer to Luján, Thomas pitched a 4-hit shutout, and the Raccoons were sent spiraling into a pitch-black hole. 4-0 Loggers. Brown 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 12 K;

…

Who are the top prospects after all right now?

Game 4
MIL: C R. Hernandez – SS Luján – RF Locke – LF P. Estrada – 1B Roncero – 3B Sharp – CF Gilmor – 2B O. Sandoval – P McDonald
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF J. Alexander – 3B Merritt – CF Castro – C D. Alexander – P Spears

McDonald’s second pitch struck Yoshi Nomura in the hand, Yoshi went down and rolled around on the ground for a while before being dragged out. So, this was going really well! Manuel Gutierrez replaced him in time to be caught up in Palmer’s double play, the ball was jumping off the bats of the Loggers real well (without early effect on the scoreboard, everything right to the outfielders), but the Coons came through in the bottom 2nd. J-Alex and Merritt singled to get to the corners with nobody out. Castro’s bouncer undressed Silvestro Roncero for an RBI single, and then Dylan Alexander hit into the next double play, scoring Merritt from third for a 2-0 lead. But a 2-run lead would sooner or later be toppled with the way Spears was pitching…

Top of the fourth. Luján – line drive single to left. Locke – line drive single to left and a 12-game hitting streak. Estrada – line drive single to right. Then Roncero struck out and Sharp hit into a pretty fat double play. The Raccoons also loaded the bases in the inning, but with two out and Spears coming up, and he was 1-for-21 on the season and wasn’t going to improve his track record here and now, flying out to shallow left to Estrada. The next inning saw John Alexander tack on a run with a 2-out RBI single, but those hard hit balls were falling in again for Spears. Hernandez and Locke both hit doubles in the sixth, getting the Loggers onto the board in what was now a 3-1 game, and Spears didn’t get anybody in the seventh. Sharp walked, Nick Gilmor singled, and that was that. With Amari Brissett out to hit for Sandoval, Ron Thrasher was given the assignment, got a grounder for a fielder’s choice at second base from Brissett and a double play turned by Merritt from Henry McClendon. Sugano was brought in after Steele walked Luján in the eighth, got the next two outs, and with another three left-handers up for the ninth, he remained in the game with a 2-run lead! Well, at least until Cuevas singled. With two outs and a man on first, Angel Casas came in, allowed a single to Ito, then allowed another single to Orlando Valdez – a relief pitcher!! – and Raúl Hernandez hit a 2-2 pitch to left center that was … hnnnnggghh – Pruitt got there. 3-2 Raccoons. J. Alexander 3-4, 2B, RBI; Merritt 1-2, 2 BB, 2B;

A number of people on this staff should be glad they’re not a horse…

In other news

June 30 – TOP OF/3B Joe Cowan (.216, 1 HR, 18 RBI) is out for the season, needing to have a torn labrum repaired.
July 1 – The Aces place 2B/3B Howard Jones (.279, 1 HR, 13 RBI) on the DL with a fractured tibia. He will miss at least six weeks.
July 1 – SFW 3B/SS Jamie Wilson (.294, 6 HR, 33 RBI) has suffered an oblique strain. He’s out for two weeks.

Complaints and stuff

First, the good news. No structural damage to Yoshi’s paw after getting slapped on it by Gil McDonald, but it’s glowing in all kinds of colors right now and it will be a few days before he can grab a bat. That’s all the good news.

Carlosito sent a message from the depths of hell that he was unhappy with the on-field performance of the team as well as with whatever he heard about how the front office was running. So people actually DID see how I chased yelling after Maud that one night when she ran onto the street in tears because of that mild T-shirt disaster and “Half Prize Beer Night” a few weeks back.

Slappy! There are still barf stains all over the park!

In terms of things that actually bother me (I still have the pictures of Big Carlos and … stuff, and it’s bad enough that even Carlosito can’t kick me outta here unless I actually start murdering people… although, with this pitching staff…), the Crusaders are rallying back and guess whom they will rally over for eight games in the next two weeks? Right. Your favorite woodland creatures. No, NOT THE ELKS!! How do you – Shame on you!!

Y’know who I feel bad for? Jose Rivera (2-3, 4.91 ERA), who tore his UCL in that 16th inning in THAT game and is headed for Tommy John surgery. We should make a pitching donation to the Loggers. And **** it, give them some of our pseudo-hitters, too. Yeah, it was one ****ed up week. Roy Thomas shaved a full run off his ERA in one start against the Raccoons. That’s how well things are going right now.

Just when I wanted to write something about how nobody talks about Hector Santos, who was quietly doing this and that, he delivers a real cucumber game and everything falls to **** in general. The international free agent period is open however, so why not plant some new false hopes? Money is not an issue, we’re more than a million in the green.

ABL CAREER STRIKEOUTS (excerpt, 10 guys ahead of Nick Brown, plus now with all active pitchers)

1st – Martin Garcia – 3,783
2nd – Tony Hamlyn – 3,392 (active)
…
6th – Javier Cruz – 3,108 (active)
…
8th – Chris York – 2,959 (active)
…
12th – Robbie Campbell – 2,763
13th – Leland Lewis – 2,664 (HOF)
14th – Manuel Movonda – 2,663
15th – Kiyohira Sasaki – 2,640
16th – Kelvin Yates – 2,618 (active)
17th – Craig Hansen – 2,578 (HOF)
t-18th – Dan George – 2,516
t-18th – Bill Smith – 2,516
20th – Angel Romero – 2,499
21st – Dennis Fried – 2,455
22nd – Nick Brown – 2,439 (active)

I’d say that’s two starts’ worth of strikeouts (which would be cocky, since he still doesn’t really “have” it), but both those starts will be against the Crusaders, and he’s historically bad against them.