Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

2044 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS

Everything comes back eventually, including the Bruce Marks and Brett Lillises. I will probably have to explain that one.

Bruce Mark was a career Pacifics starter, while Brett Lillis was a mostly-CL journeyman lefty reliever that was on the Raccoons twice, in 2019 as a deadline acquisition and then from 2021-24 as part of the establishment. Both laid an egg when they were 37, and the hatchlings were not cropping up in the draft class of 2044, and at least as far as Mark’s boy was concerned, they were a main attraction. By the way, Mark also had a connection to Portland – he was our new single-A pitching coach. But I didn’t expect any peer pressure for us to take Mark jr. with the #17 pick. He’d be gone before that. Lillis was an option, but was only throwing two and a half pitches at this stage. Like his father, he was a southpaw.

There were a few other interesting pitchers on offer, like closer Steve Arrowsmith, who was into classic rock, but got the name of every single band wrong, and genuine power prodigy Jamie Harmon, who had no defensive skills whatsoever.

There were 115 players on the shortlist, and then there was of course also the hotlist with the best boys available (*denotes high school player):

SP Bruce Mark jr. (13/15/12) – BNN#7
SP Jim Cushing (10/16/9)* – BNN#4
SP Andy Overy (12/14/8)*
SP Ben Lehman (11/13/14) – BNN#3
SP Brett Lillis jr. (11/12/13)*

CL Steve Arrowsmith (16/12/11)
CL George Youngblood (12/14/11)

C/1B Kevin Weese (13/8/12)
C/1B Michael Lefebvre (9/12/8)*

3B/CF/1B Randy Wilken (12/14/12) – BNN#10
2B John Abrams (12/13/8)*
3B Tyler Lundberg (9/13/11)*

LF/RF Jamie Harmon (12/18/14)*
OF/1B Mike Allegood (15/9/10) – BNN#8
LF/RF Mike Bednarz (10/13/11)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (24-18) @ Bayhawks (29-16) – May 24-26, 2044

The Baybirds held the best record in baseball as the Raccoons came in to start a 3-game set on Tuesday. They did it on pitching, conceding the second-fewest runs in the CL, while the offense was only average, seventh amongst CL teams. San Francisco had a +27 run differential, while the Raccoons, despite being only half as far away from .500 by winning percentage, had a +38 run differential. We were also tied for first in runs scored, with a crisp 200 markers on the board, which didn’t really sound like a Raccoons team, but until I could find my actual players, I’d hang with the team that could actually score (from time to time). We would put a 9-year winning streak against the Bayhakws on the line, having taken the season series that often in a row. It was a 5-4 mark last season.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (5-3, 2.30 ERA) vs. Rafael Pedraza (6-2, 2.60 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-1, 4.58 ERA) vs. Mike Mihalik (7-1, 3.28 ERA)
Corey Mathers (5-2, 3.32 ERA) vs. Garrett Sutherland (3-2, 2.39 ERA)

These would all be right-handed. Their only southpaw starter was Noe Candeloro (4-4, 3.05 ERA), whom they could skip into the series by employing the common off day on Monday.

Neither of these teams had a player on the DL at this point. Additional notes? Sal Ayala began the week with a 13-game hitting streak.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 2B K. Saito – RF Platero – 3B Sifuentes – LF S. Martin – 1B J. Wilson – C J. Hill – CF M. Castillo – P Pedraza

The Baybirds stuffed the lineup with every right-handed bat able to stand on two legs, which worked out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning for them, all runs accounted for on Kenichi Saito’s home run to left in the bottom 3rd. Pedraza had singled and Jorge Gonzalez had walked to provide scoring material on the bases. The Raccoons had a Carreno single and a Jimenez double play at this point, but saw Sal Ayala reaching on a throwing error by Gonzalez and Maldonado eeking out a walk put two on base for the Raccoons in the fourth, which Manny Fernandez was kind enough to cash in with a 3-piece to right-center, his fifth of the year, good enough for the team lead. The bases would even fill up after that with a Toohey single and walks offered to Carreno and Jimenez, but Okuda was up with two outs and rolled out to third base, then immediately fell behind again in the bottom 4th, allowing a run on ex-Coon Jeff Wilson’s single up the middle and Mel Castillo’s triple into the corner in right. Pedraza popped out to strand Castillo.

Bryce Toohey struck for a Raccoons lead, 5-4, in the fifth inning, singing a double into the corner in left. That brought in Ayala (double) and Maldonado (nicked), all with two outs. This didn’t turn into a W for Okuda, who surrendered the lead at once on doubles by Saito to center and Ramon Sifuentes with two outs and to left, then walked Scott Martin on his way to the showers. Nelson Moreno entered with Jonathan Dustal in a double switch that exited Toohey, too, and got Wilson to pop out on the first pitch to end the inning. All even through five, five and five.

Pedraza was still hanging on though, even when he gave up a leadoff double to Carreno in the sixth. Dustal cracked an RBI single in the #9 hole, giving Portland the 6-5 lead. Pedraza conceded a single to right to Waters, Dustal went for third base, Jose Platero threw the ball away, and Dustal was waved around to score. That was the end for Pedraza, down 7-5, replaced with right-hander Kevin Nolte. He walked Ayala, but Maldonado found a double play to end the inning. That lead, too, was not meant to last – Nate Norris imploded in the seventh, giving up leadoff extra-base hits to both Jorge Gonzalez (double) and PH Enrique Trevino (triple), who I thought I had seen somewhere before. Sifuentes singled in the tying run eventually. All even through seven, seven and seven.

Norris and Ramirez conspired to load the bases in the bottom 8th, but PH Bobby Hennessy hit into a double play to kill the effort. Maldonado, Fernandez, and Baskins went down in order in the ninth inning before the Raccoons had to resort to a left-hander against the still-all-righty lineup. Zack Kelly got Platero out, then gave up a walkoff homer to Sifuentes. 8-7 Bayhawks. Toohey 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Carreno 2-3, BB, 2B; Dustal 1-1, BB, RBI;

Game 2
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – SS Gutierrez – P Wheatley
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 1B K. Saito – 2B Quiroz – 3B Sifuentes – RF Platero – CF C. Caldwell – LF M. Castillo – C J. Wilson – P Mihalik

The Raccoons drew blanks against Mihalik for two innings before he walked the bags full with Jimenez, Gutierrez, and Ayala in the third inning. That meant we still didn’t have a base hit, but Maldo was kind enough to take care of that, hitting a ball off the base of the wall in rightfield for a 2-run double, the first markers on the board and the first base hit in the game. Manny popped out to strand two more in a full count. Wheats retired eight in a row until – of all people – the former dastardly Elks pitcher Mihalik reached base. In Wheats’ defense – it was on a Gutierrez error. He got Gonzalez out to get through the inning. While the Raccoons appeared to intend to live off Maldo’s double alone, Wheats put two men on in the bottom 5th, walking Corey Caldwell while Wilson reached on *another* Omar Gutierrez error. Mihalik struck out to end the fifth.

The no-hitter fell apart in the bottom 6th then, with Saito and Quiroz hitting soft liners that both fell behind reaching infielders, putting the tying runs on the corners with one down. This was a spot where the delicate flower Wheatley needed careful handling, so the pitching coach went out to do some threatening that there would be no ice cream if he blew that ******* lead. Wheats teared up at once, then gave up consecutive doubles to Sifuentes and Platero, threw a wild pitch, and left the game behind 3-2. Chuck Jones cleaned up behind him, but the Raccoons still couldn’t get another ******* base hit until the eighth inning, when Omar Gutierrez hit a leadoff single to left-center, having some making-up to do after two errors. Jose Cruz, inserted in a double switch, drew a walk to move the tying run into scoring position. Gutierrez was forced out on Carreno’s bouncer to Sifuentes, but Sal Ayala lobbed a 1-2 pitch to left, near the line, for a single. Cruz was sent around and scored to tie the game, taking Wheats off a most-undeserved hook, but that was also all the Critters got, with Maldo and Manny making meager outs to strand a pair. The Bayhawks answered as usual with a pile of extra-base hits off Jon Craig in the eighth, getting two runs across on a Sifuentes triple and Platero’s sac fly.

Top 9th, right-hander Andy Hyden with a 1.21 ERA put the tying runs aboard right away. He walked Toohey, then allowed a single to PH Matt Waters. Derek Baskins pinch-hit for the pitcher. He singled to center, loading the bases with no outs. Ugh. Defeat, snatched from the jaws of … defeat! Sending Kilmer for Gutierrez sounded like a defensible move, except Gutierrez was a lefty hitter, and so stayed in. He also struck out. The curse of three on, no outs then fulfilled itself with Jose Cruz’ double play grounder, 6-4-3, to end the damn game. 5-3 Bayhawks. Waters (PH) 1-1; Baskins (PH) 1-1;

(glances at the Bay, which looked just perfect to accept an agonized GM to drown himself)

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – SS Waters – CF Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Kilmer – LF Baskins – 3B Jimenez – RF Dustal – P Mathers
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – LF S. Martin – 2B Quiroz – 3B Sifuentes – CF C. Caldwell – 1B K. Saito – RF M. Castillo – C J. Wilson – P Candeloro

Waters tripled in the first inning and the Raccoons didn’t score, so that was a great start to Thursday. Another arm body was put on third base with one out in the top 2nd, when Baskins singled to right and Jimenez doubled to left. Dustal struck out – but that was after a wild pitch had already scored Derek Baskins for the game’s first run. Mathers then chipped a 2-out RBI single for a 2-0 lead, followed by a Carreno single to left, and another hit to left by Matt Waters – a 3-run homer!

After that 5-run outburst there would be no excuses for Mathers, who had piled up three base runners in the first inning, but Gonzalez had been caught stealing and Sifuentes had chucked one into a double play to keep San Fran off the board. Bryce Toohey added to the lead before Mathers could blow up, hitting a leadoff jack off Candeloro in the top 3rd, 6-0. Sifuentes hit a homer the next time around, also a solo job, but that was everything of actual substance Mathers gave up through five innings. Quiroz and Sifuentes reached to begin the sixth though, Mathers’ counts were mighty long at this point, and he reached 100 pitches by the time Saito hit a sac fly, 6-2. Castillo went down on strikes, stranding a runner on third base, and that was Mathers’ day; five strikeouts, four walks and various misfortunes.

Ramirez nicked Bobby Hennessey in the bottom 7th. Gonzalez grounded into a force, then was caught stealing by Kilmer. More trouble developed in the eighth; Scott Martin reached against Ramirez, Quiroz hit a single off Zack Kelly, and with two outs and those two clowns in scoring position, the Raccoons divined to go to Josh Rella, who was kinda bored in the pen and was building disturbing figures out of baseballs and ice cream sticks. For a start, he got a grounder from Saito to end the bottom 8th, keeping the Baybirds four runs distant. Rella had come in by the double switch, Manny Fernandez’ mid-slump day off ending when he got put in the #9 hole. He hit a triple in the ninth inning against righty Jose Colon, which did not lead to a run, as there was nobody on base, and nobody to score him. Oh well. At least Rella retired the Baybirds in order in the bottom 9th, staving off the threat of a sweep. 6-2 Coons. Waters 3-3, BB, HR, 3B, 3 RBI; Baskins 2-3, BB; Fernandez 1-1, 3B; Rella 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (10);

Still in first place – but the Titans were only half a game behind on Thursday night.

Raccoons (25-20) vs. Aces (26-21) – May 27-29, 2044

After a crappy showing against the Baybirds, here was a CL South team that had swept the Critters in the first meeting of the year. They had the highest batting average in the CL, but had no power and sat only fifth in runs scored. They had the best defense and a tight bullpen, but their starters were sixth by ERA. They were fifth in runs allowed.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (1-6, 5.83 ERA) vs. Josh Henneberry (4-3, 3.88 ERA)
Jake Jackson (3-2, 3.44 ERA) vs. Oscar Valdes (4-6, 3.26 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (5-3, 2.88 ERA) vs. Josh Brown (5-3, 4.20 ERA)

That looked like a Southpaw Sunday with former Raccoon Josh Brown up against Okuda. The Aces had put two pitchers on the DL for the remainder of the year; Raymond Pearce (3-2, 3.73 ERA) being out with a torn rotator cuff, and ex-Coon Jake White, employed in relief for a 1.69 ERA, suffering from a stretched elbow ligament.

Game 1
LVA: 2B B. Owen – SS Montes de Oca – CF Kinder – 3B D. Richardson – RF Gurney – LF Beaudoin – 1B J. Byrd – C Lunde – P Henneberry
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 3B Cruz – 2B Gutierrez – P Clark

Clark fell behind right away with hits by Brandon Owen and Matt Kinder in the first inning amounting to an Aces run. Ayala, who had not played on Thursday, extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a first-inning single, but nothing came of that for Portland. – Maud, my whole paw is only fours and sevens and threes! How are we supposed to beat the Aces??

Maldonado singled in the tying run, scoring Clark with two outs in the bottom 3rd. Clark was already over 50 pitches at that point, engaging in a multitude of long counts with two walks and four homers in three innings, but he also drew a walk himself from Henneberry, as did Ayala. Manny flew out to left to end the inning. The fourth brought a little May shower and accompanying rain delay, then a Toohey single, walk to Kilmer, and two fielder’s choices at second base to somehow shake Toohey around the bases to score the go-ahead run, 2-1. Hits remained hard to come by for Portland, but they put two more on in the bottom 5th, Henneberry issuing a leadoff walk to Waters, while Maldonado reached when his blooper clanked off Pat Gurney’s glove in right. Runners on second and first, Gurney contained Manny’s liner, a much more difficult play, and Toohey struck out.

Clark kept himself together through six, never allowing a base hit after the first pair of singles that cost him a run, and was probably done with his spot drawing up in the bottom 6th, that began with Kilmer and Cruz taking up the corners to begin the frame. Gutierrez grounded to Owen, who flubbed the ball once, twice, fifteen times, barfing away a perfect double play grounder for an error and a run scoring on top of that. Derek Baskins had been ready to hit for Clark, but was called back. Clark bunted instead, with one extra run already on the board, but Waters whiffed and Ayala walked, none of which got another run across. Neither did Maldonado, who also struck out, stranding three in a 3-1 game.

Clark got Gurney – the only batter facing him left-handed – on a grounder to begin the seventh, then left for Nate Norris, who completed a 1-2-3 inning, and also got John Lunde to begin the eighth, all on strikeouts. Chuck Jones then whiffed Mike Roberts and Brandon Owen to make it five in a row. Rella though was less lucky, offering a leadoff walk to Angel Montes de Oca in the ninth. Kinder and Richardson went down, but Pat Gurney hit an RBI single to keep the Aces alive and put himself on base as the tying run. That was as close as they got, though – PH Tim Speth struck out. 3-2 Critters. Baskins (PH) 1-1; Clark 6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (2-6);

The Titans lost to the Falcons, giving the Raccoons a little bit of breathing space, now up by a game and a half.

Now we just had to keep winning!

But first, a scheduling change, with 28-year-old right-handed rookie swingman Jayden Woods (1-0, 4.22 ERA) inserted for the Saturday game, which could interfere with Southpaw Sunday, so I did not necessarily approve.

Game 2
LVA: 2B B. Owen – SS Montes de Oca – CF Kinder – RF Gurney – 3B D. Richardson – C Prow – 1B Speth – LF Beaudoin – P J. Woods
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – CF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – P Jackson

After a fine outing by Clark, Jackson did the sucky, imploding bit after that. He nicked Gurney, walked Richardson and Kevin Prow in the second, with nobody out, and gave up two runs while the defense scrambled on balls they actually could work with, with a Speth single to right, and a run-scoring groundout by Justin Beaudoin. Woods grounded out poorly, holding Prow at third base, and so did Manny snatching Owen’s liner to left. Jackson issued a leadoff walk to Montes in the third, but somehow got around that, while Ayala doubled home Carreno in the bottom 3rd to both extend his hitting streak to 17 games and get *something* into the H column. – Maud, I feel queasy. Get the oven cleaner. – Because Capt’n Coma alone doesn’t make the Critters watchable…

The Aces, who had also only one hit through three, then saw Manny reach on a leadoff double in the bottom 4th that Beaudoin played into as much by meandering aimlessly in left. Toohey singled, putting the tying run on third base. Kilmer got to a 3-1 count, but feared the three on, no outs curse, and instead poked into a double play. Well, that at least ******* scored Fernandez and we were even again… Jackson then walked two more in the fifth, getting yanked with Montes and Matt Kinder aboard and two outs. Zack Kelly entered in a double switch that exited Waters, with Jimenez in and Maldo shifting to short. Gurney grounded out, keeping the game tied, at least until Baskins and Ayala hit 2-out doubles up either line in the bottom 5th to take a 3-2 lead. Maldonado lined out hard to Beaudoin.

But the game refused to fall to the Coons. The Aces got singles by Montes and Kinder off Ramirez in the seventh, and another one, of the infield variety, by Gurney off Chuck Jones. Nelson Moreno was next, with three on and one out. Richardson grounded slowly to short, Maldonado made a bad throw to first, and Ayala barely kept it in front of him, keeping the damage to one run rather than two. Tied game. Prow struck out, while Speth mashed a 2-out ball to deep center – but Manny caught up with it, stranding three in a 3-3 game.

In a game tight enough for me almost squeeze Honeypaws into my chest, Moreno got through the eighth unharmed, while Miguel Mauricio, righty with an elevated ERA, gave Maldo a welt with one out in the bottom 8th. Manny came through with the free runner on first, dishing a liner up the rightfield line for an RBI double…! Coons in the lead! – Now, the #5 hole by now housed the pitcher rather than Toohey after two double switches. Jose Cruz hit for Moreno and walked, and Kilmer grounded into a double play… That left no cushion, and there was also no Josh Rella in the ninth, who had thrown well over 30 pitches combined the last two days. The Raccoons went to Jon Craig instead – with Norris being the only other option even left in the pen. Kinder flew out to Dustal in right. Gurney grounded out to first. Richardson flew to center – but Manny remained on his post and made the catch. 4-3 Critters. Ayala 2-3, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Moreno 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2-1);

We had six hits, five of them doubles. Toohey had the only single.

Game 3
LVA: 2B B. Owen – SS Montes de Oca – CF Kinder – 3B D. Richardson – LF Beaudoin – 1B J. Byrd – RF M. Roberts – C Lunde – P O. Valdes
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Okuda

Come on, boys, we can go for the countersweep! …but they’d have to win it from behind, with Mike Roberts doubling home Justin Beaudoin in the second inning for the first run of the Sunday game in which the Raccoons’ hurler was the only southpaw in sight. Ayala reached 18 games in a row with a base hit in the bottom 3rd, singling with Baskins aboard and two outs, Baskins moving first to second on the sharp single to left. Toohey flew out to left, stranding everybody, while the Aces kept battering Okuda, who gave up a homer to Beaudoin to begin the fourth, 2-0, then three more hits that conceded another run to Roberts, Lunde, and Owen. The next ****** spot arrived in the bottom 4th, when the Raccoons filled the bases with their 6-7-8 batters and two outs, only to arrive at Okuda. The bullpen was already stretched, and despite Maldonado itching to hit from the bench, Okuda was sent in there. He barely coaxed a bases-loaded walk in a full count to get the Critters on the board, then saw Baskins mash in two with a liner to right to tie the game – and he also managed to get himself thrown out trying to reach third base in a flush of enthusiasm. That ended the inning, but at least we were even.

Okuda grinded his way into the sixth with the tie before the annoying Aces loaded the bases with three 2-out singles by Owen, Montes, and Kinder – all of them soft, and the last one dying halfway between home plate and Jimenez. Nate Norris replaced him after 12 hits surrendered and got a grounder to Waters to strand everybody, then loaded the bases himself in the seventh. Chuck Jones came on against PH Pat Gurney in the #9 hole, but gave up a sac fly to score Brian Fox from third base. Owen grounded out, stranding two, but we were now of course behind, 4-3.

Derek Baskins took care of that with a homer off Matt Fogel in the bottom of the inning, re-knotting the score at four. Ayala grounded out, Toohey singled up the middle. Manny was up with two outs and Toohey went on contact, but oh, what contact it was! High! Deep!! GONE!! Go-ahead homer by Manny Fernandez!! At this stage, the Raccoons had a 6-4 lead despite being out-hit 13-8, which sort of explained why I had been fearing of having to throw up for three hours. Ramirez retired three in a row in the eighth, getting the Coons closer to that desired countersweep. Waters’ leadoff single to left off Mike Nett and subsequent stolen base might also potentially help. Jimenez walked, and Carreno hit a screamer, high to deep right-center, where it caromed off the wall for a 2-run triple! That upped the score to 8-4, but Dustal popped out when he pinch-hit for Ramirez. Baskins hit a sac fly to right, 9-4. Maldonado hit for Toohey and singled off new pitcher Josh Winther. The right-hander then got bombed by Toohey for a 2-piece as the game spiraled into a rout for Portland. Two outs, Manny singled, and Zarate walked for Kilmer as the Critters batted through the order. The 5-run inning ended with Waters’ grounder to second. Zack Kelly put the game away in the ninth. 11-4 Furballs! Baskins 2-3, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Maldonado (PH) 1-1; Toohey 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Fernandez 3-5, HR, 2 RBI;

Chuck Jones snatched the win and you could be of divided opinion whether he deserved it.

In other news

May 26 – PIT 1B Danny Santillano (.379, 5 HR, 21 RBI) isn’t letting up in old age – the 38-year-old lands two hits in a 9-5 win over the Wolves, stretching a hitting streak to 20 games.
May 27 – Another 20-game hitting streak is now owned by IND 3B Dan Hutson (.315, 8 HR, 23 RBI), landing one hit in a 4-2 defeat to the Knights.
May 28 – Condors OF/1B Marty Reidinger (.243, 4 HR, 21 RBI) hits for the cycle in a 14-8 shootout over the Canadiens. Reidinger collects one hit of every kind in five attempts, and drives in two runs. This is the eighth cycle for the Condors, with Alvin Zuazo (2038) having had the most recent one. This cycle also comes on the first anniversary of a cycle hit by WAS Kenny Elder. Nobody had hit a cycle against the Canadiens in over 30 years (ATL Gil Rockwell, 2013).
May 28 – RIC SP Omar Lara (4-4, 3.62 ERA) 2-hits the Wolves in a 6-0 shutout.
May 28 – Both hitting streaks of 20+ games end; PIT 1B Danny Santillano (.368, 5 HR, 21 RBI) is held dry by the Gold Sox in a 4-3 Miners loss, finishing on 21 games, while the Indians lose 3-2 to the Knights behind a hitless showing by 3B Dan Hutson (.313, 8 HR, 23 RBI), killing his streak on 20 games.
May 28 – SAC OF/1B Rikuto Ito (.299, 6 HR, 23 RBI) has four hits and five RBI in a 19-6 slamming of the Capitals.
May 29 – CIN SP Willie Gallardo (5-3, 2.93 ERA) pitches a 4-hit shutout against the Warriors, while the Cyclones run away with the game, 10-0. Gallardo had already 5-hit the Scorpions in a shutout on Tuesday.

FL Player of the Week: CIN SP Willie Gallardo (5-3, 2.93 ERA), 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 11 K
CL Player of the Week: SFB 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.357, 8 HR, 28 RBI), hitting .636 (14-22) with 4 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Man, do I get the kicks out of guys that tear down the Raccoons and then get Player of the Week for it. Sifuentes landed seven hits each against the Coons and Loggers, but got six RBI against us.

On the brink of demotion – either to the pen or the Alley Cats, no fixed plan had been in place – Brent Clark delivered two wins with two runs on 11.2 innings, which rain interfering with him, too. Maybe he’s turned the corner – and I sure hope so.

First in runs scored with May almost over (and with 4.88 runs per game), which still doesn’t sound like a Raccoons thing. We are also having the problem of neither Waters nor Carreno getting it together. Derek Baskins led off the last two days, but that of course means that you have to make room in the outfield, and putting Maldonado at short takes a bit of defense away on the infield.

Baskins also isn’t the ideal leadoff hitter, but Waters has one of the worst OBP on the team, barely scraping above .300 (Manny actually has the worst, wickedly). Carreno’s no better. Cruz has a .429 in reduced time, while Ayala, he of the 18-game hitting streak, is reaching base at a .452 rate. Cristiano is begging me to put him in the #1 hole, but I hate listening to Cristiano and his colorful charts just as much as I hate putting a slow runner in the leadoff spot. – Come on, Cristiano, we’re first in runs scored even WITH Waters hitting leadoff! How bad can it be!? – (is shown a chart) – *So* bad? – (groans and falls onto brown couch with a bottle of booze)

Only three Raccoons teams have ever been this productive with the sticks, scoring 4.9 runs (rounded up) or more. All of them came in the 1989-1996 dynasty. The 1989 and 1992 teams both scored 789 runs, or 4.87 per game. The 1996 teams that won 108 games – the only Coons team to ever win 100+ – is far ahead of even that, with 840 runs scored, 5.19 per game.

Those were not speedy teams – none of them stole more than 62 bases, and this year’s team already has 42. They were power teams, hitting 109 (1992), 134 (1996), and 153 home runs (1989). The 153 homer mark is still a franchise record.

Quo vadis? From here we’ll host the Falcons, then travel to Milwaukee and Boston. That latter series will be especially interesting, given that nothing good ever happens to this team in Boston. Same as San Fran.

Fun Fact: On Wednesday, every CL game went to extra innings – except the Raccoons’ in San Francisco.

We lost in due time when Jon Craig came apart again, while every other team filed for overtime pay. The next-quickest winners were the Indians (4-3 against the Falcons) and Aces (same score against Loggers), taking 10 innings. The Condors beat the Crusaders, 5-4, in 12 innings. The other two games went 13 innings. The Thunder walked off against the damn Elks, 5-4, and the Knights did the same against the Titans, 6-5.

The latter walkoff kept the Raccoons in first place when we were half a game ahead.

The overtime marathon on Wednesday followed two extra-inning games on Tuesday (Crusaders winning in 11, and the damn Elks in 13)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (28-20) vs. Falcons (24-24) – May 30-June 1, 2044

While the Raccoons were at the top of the runs chart in the CL (still sounded like somebody had mixed something up), Charlotte sat nearly at the bottom, 11th in the Continental League. They were absolute bottoms in bullpen ERA, which ruined absolutely everything the halfway decent rotation put together. It worked out to the Falcons being seventh in runs allowed, with a -19 run differential overall (Critters: +48). We were up 2-1 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (3-1, 4.63 ERA) vs. Adam Messer (1-6, 3.63 ERA)
Corey Mathers (6-2, 3.29 ERA) vs. Jerry Felix (6-2, 2.82 ERA)
Brent Clark (2-6, 5.25 ERA) vs. Oscar Flores (3-5, 3.44 ERA)

The Falcons had only right-handed starters available (and not that many left-handed bats either). They did not have longtime regular Jose Farfan (.317, 2 HR, 15 RBI) available, either, the 30-year-old being out with a tear in his groin, which sounded unpleasant. Almost as unpleasant as an Opening Day starter with an ERA closer to five than four…

Game 1
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 1B Haertling – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – C Kokoszka – CF D. Vasquez – 3B E. Sandoval – P Messer
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley

…and Wheatley didn’t retire anybody either. Miguel Martinez led off with a single, there was an Ed Haertling single, a walk to Jose Besaw, and an RBI single by Tony Aparicio before I had Maud dial up the Knights to take him back. Archie Turley’s slam made it a 5-0 game, the Knights told me nah, and I resorted to Capt’n Coma. The Falcons had Wheatley out of the game by the second inning, and all that was left to do after that was to applaud some pointless heroism by Nelson Moreno in long relief, not allowing a ******* base runner through the end of the sixth, after Wheatley had put everything on that had looked even remotely human (looks unsure at Esteban Sandoval’s picture in Cristiano’s baseball card binder). More scoreless relief by Craig and Rella followed after that – all for the furry tush. The Raccoons only ever amounted to three base hits, one of which accidentally being a 2-run homer by Matt Waters in the fourth inning. That was it. 5-2 Falcons. Moreno 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; Craig 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Sal Ayala went 0-for-3, ending his 18-game streak of finding an H for the box score, too.

Where your after-game vanilla pudding is, Jason? – (spoons vanilla pudding) – Have a guess. – Yeah? WHERE’S MY WINNING STREAK??

Game 2
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 1B Haertling – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – CF D. Vasquez – C T. Morales – 3B E. Sandoval – P Felix
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Cruz – 2B Gutierrez – P Mathers

Mathers didn’t pout, turn over, and take it in the first inning, which already made him the frontrunner for this week’s internal Starter of the Week competition. The Raccoons instead got a leadoff triple wedged into the corner in right by Derek Baskins, who scored on Sal Ayala’s groundout. Maldo singled, Kilmer reached on an error, and Waters did what he could to get out of the cobweb section of the lineup, slapping an RBI single to right. Mathers gave back a run immediately on three hits in the second inning, looked wonky after that as well, and Matt Waters’ double in the fourth was the only thing vaguely resembling offense the Raccoons put out any time soon. Mathers held on, also supported by defense, Baskins shagging a few in center, and Kilmer throwing out Joe Besaw trying to swipe a bag in the third inning.

The score remained 2-1 through six, with the Raccoons anxiously eyeing Mathers on the mound, and whether he’d hold it together. He retired 6-7-8 in order in the seventh on a pop to shallow left, a grounder to short, and a strikeout. So far so good, but the Raccoons also brought up 7-8-9 in their half of the seventh on the other end of the stretch. Cruz and Gutierrez made outs. The Raccoons sent Mathers to bat, choosing to wait out who the Falcons would send as pinch-hitter in the eighth. He struck out – and nobody batted for Felix, either, at the start of the eighth. He flew out to left, young and shiny Miguel Martinez, just coming back from his broken leg, grounded out to short, and then the Raccoons sent Chuck Jones to face Ed Haertling. The count ran full, Haertling singled through Cruz, and now we were in the ****. Exit Jones, enter Norris, an Besaw grounded out to short, ending the eighth anyway.

At this point the Raccoons were on all of four hits, but Baskins drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 8th. Maldonado singled with one out, putting runners on the corners. The Falcons hung with Felix still, who got Manny Fernandez to pop out in a full count. Bryce Toohey batted for an 0-for-3 Kilmer, walked, and now the Falcons went to Marcus Goode, who struck out Waters, stranding a full pond of ducks. The bases were loaded in the ninth too … for the Falcons. Rella allowed a leadoff single to Aparicio, walked Turley, and former Raccoon Tony Morales also singled with one out after David Vasquez popped out. Rella wiped his wet black mask, then walked in the tying run against Sandoval. And THEN threw a wild pitch. Ruben Esperanza struck out, and Miguel Martinez grounded out to Gutierrez. Bottom 9th, Coons now down by one. Jose Zarate led off in the #7 hole after Cruz was removed for defense, and reached on an error by second baseman Adam Shay against right-hander Kyle Conner and his 4.50 ERA. Gutierrez singled, moving Zarate, who could not be run for, to second base. Dustal singled to right as well, filling the bags from the #9 hole. I screamed in agony and threw a pillow across the office. Three on, nobody out – the Raccoons had just lost the game. Here came Derek Baskins. Grounder to first, throw home, Zarate out. – See, Maud, that is what I mean. This is not normal. … Here was Ayala, 0-for-7 on the week. He went to 1-1 on Conner before hitting a ball to the left side. Aparicio missed it, the ball eluded to left-center, and Gutierrez scored, and here came Jonathan Dustal, and also scored …! 4-3 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4; Waters 2-4, 2B, RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1; Mathers 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K;

Okay, Maud, the curse doesn’t ALWAYS work …!

Game 3
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – C Kokoszka – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – 1B Haertling – CF Case – 3B E. Sandoval – P O. Flores
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Clark

The curse had a chance to be back in the bottom 2nd of the rubber game, when the Raccoons put the 6-7-8 batters board with two singles and Aparicio farting on a double play grounder by Carreno, but got smashed with sticks by Brent Clark, who hit a sac fly to Seth Case for the game’s first run, and then Baskins, who raked a 2-run triple into the gap in right-center. Ayala’s groundout scored Baskins, giving Portland a 4-0 edge. On the mound, Clark struck out six against two base hits in the first three innings, then got another run of support from a Carreno sac fly, scoring Manny Fernandez, who clobbered into Chris Kokoszka with great noise, but neither of the two players had any harm done to their bodies; and another run in the fourth, Baskins doubling and scoring on a Toohey single through the seam on the right side.

All was more or less dandy through six, with the Raccoons up by as many, except that Brent Clark had both struck out nine batters and had run many long counts even besides that, and was on 102 pitches through six. He came back out for the seventh, but walked the leadoff man Haertling, and then allowed two hits to Case and Sandoval, retiring nobody. Norris replaced him, got out of the inning, but two runs scored. With the lead down to four, the Raccoons loaded the bases again in the bottom 7th. Toohey was nicked, Kilmer singled, and Waters reached on an error, bringing up .192 threat Ricky Jimenez with one out and a warehouse full of runners. He hit a deep fly to left off Luke Moses that was caught on the warning track by Besaw, but was good for sac fly on the Falcon’s mediocre arm. Carreno, slumping without end, popped out to end the inning. The Falcons pulled the run back against Alex Ramirez, who issued a walk and two hits in the eighth and didn’t look like he knew what the heck he was doing. Slappy, is he having his pants on backwards?? – … Oh well, it was still a slam-sized lead… and Jon Craig let nobody aboard in the ninth. 7-3 Raccoons. Baskins 2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Toohey 1-2, BB, RBI; Waters 2-4; Jimenez 1-2, BB, RBI; Clark 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W (3-6) and 1-2, RBI;

Thus ended the newest brief homestand; the Raccoons gained a game on the Titans, who lost two of three to the Thunder, but loomed very near on the schedule, just on the other side of the upcoming Loggers set.

Raccoons (30-21) @ Loggers (22-31) – June 3-5, 2044

The Raccoons led the season series against the last-place Loggers, 3-2. They had lost four in a row, were ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed, but in recent years had shown a knack to pull the Critters’ pants down mid-pitch, so I wasn’t convinced this trip would end well for us. The main saboteur, Ted Del Vecchio, was out with a pretty bad concussion though, so that took one of their teeth out, and only Aaron Brayboy (.283, 10 HR, 30 RBI) remained among the more prominent spoilers.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (3-2, 3.48 ERA) vs. Ruben Guzman (4-4, 3.93 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (5-3, 3.05 ERA) vs. Jose de Lucio (4-7, 4.16 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-2, 5.31 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (1-4, 5.26 ERA)

No left-handers in sight, although maybe they’d skip Chris Lulay (1-2, 3.72 ERA) into the series, which was possible with the common off day on Thursday.

Game 1
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Jackson
MIL: LF Serad – 2B S. Pena – CF Reeves – 1B Brayboy – RF Hertenstein – 3B Paul – C Payne – SS M. Aguirre – P R. Guzman

The Raccoons burst out for three runs in the opening inning, with Baskins singling, Maldonado reaching by getting nicked, and Manny walking to fill the bases. Kilmer’s sac fly and Waters’ double plated the runners then, while Jimenez grounded out. Then came the Loggers and put the first three batters on base against Jackson, depressingly. Aaron Brayboy grounded to second base for a double play, with T.J. Serad scoring from third base, but Daniel Hertenstein struck out, stranding Sergio Pena on third. After a calm second, the third began with Toohey reaching on a Jared Paul error. Kilmer and Waters added themselves to the mix, bringing the foundering Jimenez to the plate again in another thick spot. This time Guzman struck him with a wayward slider, pushing home a run, and serving Jimenez some embarrassment, which was picked up by Carreno with a K. Jackson grounded out, keeping it 4-1.

Then Guzman drilled Baskins to begin the fourth, and Baskins went down in a heap. Dr. Padilla took him out of the game, with Baskins looking simultaneously dazed and in pain. Ayala replaced him in the #1 hole, with Maldo moving out to centerfield. I was not amused, to say the least. The free runner disappeared on a Toohey 6-4-3, and the Raccoons did not put anybody else on base any time soon. Brayboy though drove home another run against Jackson in the bottom 6th, narrowing the score to 4-2. Jackson would log two more outs before departing when Jonathan Fleming batted for Guzman, the ******* ****, in the #9 hole; he departed with Ricky Payne on second base thanks to a 1-out double. Chuck Jones replaced him and got out of the inning with a 3-2 grounder to Ayala, then had to bat in the eighth when the Raccoons rolled up right-hander Bobby Freels for four hits and two runs by the time he was up, fifth in the inning. Carreno stole second base (Jimenez being on third), and then Jones slapped a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a ******* 2-run single …! That one put the game away, with Jones pitching another scoreless inning in the bottom 8th. Portland added another run with hits by Waters and Jimenez off Ron Purcell in the ninth; an error by Payne, the Loggers’ fourth in the game, also helped. 9-2 Critters! Baskins 1-2; Kilmer 2-4, 3B, RBI; Waters 4-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Jimenez 2-4, 2 RBI; Carreno 2-5, 2B, RBI; Jackson 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (4-2); Jones 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K and 1-1, 2 RBI;

Fourth career base hit for Jones, and RBI’s #2 and #3. He already had an RBI last year. Guy’s a career .333 hitter – no wonder he cost more than a million bucks to re-sign!

Dr. Padilla had a hard time checking in on Derek Baskins who kept crying for mommy, so he was dead weight on the roster on Saturday at least.

About that Matt Waters kid…

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Okuda
MIL: SS M. Aguirre – 2B S. Pena – LF Reeves – RF Hertenstein – 1B Brayboy – C F. Gomez – 3B T. Ruiz – CF Serad – P de Lucio

Zarate doubled home Carreno for a 1-0 lead in the second that didn’t live to the third inning when Okuda gave up hits to Hertenstein and Brayboy to begin the bottom 2nd. Felipe Gomez’ grounder and Tomas Ruiz’ sac fly tied the game, but at least T.J. Serad struck out to keep Brayboy on third base. Zarate’s double was the only Raccoons hit in the first three frames, but Toohey and Carreno both clipped singles that narrowly eluded infielders in the fourth to create a threat, and Zarate was up again. He came through once more – and he came through all the way over the fence in centerfield for a MASSIVE 3-run homer!!

Unfortunately, Okuda kept struggling. The left-handed Brayboy singled in the bottom 4th, and Felipe Gomez whacked a double. Ruiz grounded to short, getting his second RBI in the game, and Serad popped out to strand another guy on third, but it didn’t look like a comfy 4-2 lead at all after four… de Lucio promptly led off the fifth with a single, which was awesome, and while Mike Aguirre forced him out, Sergio Pena also singled. Bill Reeves struck out, and Hertenstein was out to short, retiring the two switch-hitters in the middle of that order (neither of them batting more than .233 though). Zarate’s leadoff single in the sixth put him a triple short of the cycle (career triples: 1), but Okuda popped out bunting and Zarate was stranded on first base before Okuda again tried to get walloped by the bottom half of the lineup. Gomez singled this time, but Ruiz popped out. Serad got nicked, and de Lucio stunned the Critters with a gapper that became a game-tying triple also because Maldonado and Toohey had played shallow. Aguirre grounded out, keeping everything even at four after six innings…….

Top 7th, de Lucio offered leadoff walks to Maldo and Manny, then allowed a single to Toohey before the Loggers scrambled for relief when the Raccoons were stuck in the bear trap with three on and nobody out. In a full count, Jimenez struck out, causing me to groan and hit my head against the nearest wooden post until kindly asked by an attendant to not do that. Carreno also ran a full count, then drew ball four from Bobby Freels, pushing home the go-ahead run. Zarate, needing that triple, only got a double … play. Inning over. Carreno was then rewarded with the showers when a parade of relievers kept putting Loggers on base in the bottom 7th. Norris put on Hertenstein. Kelly nailed PH Jared Paul. Ramirez then entered in a double switch, walked Gomez on four pitches, then got an easy fly to Manny from Ruiz on the first pitch, the Loggers leaving the full set on. Ramirez put two more on (Serad single, Aguirre walk) in the bottom 8th before Jones came in and struck out Pena and Reeves to get out of that quagmire. No insurance run came about in the ninth, either, but at least Rella put the game away. Never mind the 2-out double Gomez crashed off the top of the fence in left that missed being a game-tying homer by about a broadaxe’s width. Ruiz popped out. 5-4 Coons. Toohey 2-5; Carreno 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Zarate 3-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI;

Nothing for four, with a walk. I think it’s psychic with Waters. He just CAN’T hit in the leadoff spot.

By Sunday, the Raccoons had a diagnosis on Baskins, who had suffered a broken thumb. Since Guzman hit him in the shoulder, with a carom in the helmet, I have to assume that he fell on the thumb somehow or jammed it under the bat, which he also fell on.

Sigh. Desolation.

Baskins was off to the DL. Since Van Anderson was also on the minor league version of the DL, the Raccoons had to dig deeper and promoted Jordan Gonzalez again.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Cruz – RF Dustal – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley
MIL: LF Serad – 2B S. Pena – CF Reeves – 1B Brayboy – RF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – 3B Paul – SS M. Aguirre – P M. Peterson

Improving on Monday’s disaster shouldn’t be too hard for Wheatley, who achieved this noble goal by giving up a 2-run homer to Brayboy in the bottom 1st, but nothing else. Good job, son. Portland’s proud of you. The Raccoons came back with Kilmer reaching base and Jose Cruz homering to right in the second inning, tying the game. Carreno hit a 1-out triple into rightfield after that, and Wheats drove him in with a groundout for a 3-2 lead. Not that leading made his pitching much better; Serad and Pena hit back-to-back singles in the bottom 3rd. Serad had stolen second base in between, and now went for home plate, where he was met with Kilmer’s glove containing a baseball, right to the face, hammered out by Manny Fernandez to preserve the lead.

The Coons then shed another outfielder, with Dustal tearing some thing or other on a double in the fourth inning. Jordan Gonzalez replaced him, playing designated bystander while the Loggers walked Carreno intentionally and then struck out Wheats to end the inning. Then Wheats fell for a Hertenstein single, Gomez walk, and Aguirre single in the bottom half of the inning, getting the game tied again, and another 2-run homer by Brayboy in the fifth, falling behind, 5-3…

While begging for one, Wheatley didn’t get the loss, thanks to a seventh-inning homer by Maldonado tying the game at five. Zack Kelly also applied for the loss, loading the bases with Pena, Reeves, Brayboy, and one out in the bottom 7th, but got Hertenstein to pop out for no greater gain. Moreno, unused since taking out Wheatley’s trash on Monday, now was tasked with taking out Kelly’s trash, and rung up Gomez to strand everybody, and Gomez then gifted the lead to the Coons again in the eighth, fumbling a Freels pitch for a passed ball with two outs, Jose Cruz scoring from third base after a leadoff single and two productive outs. Jose Zarate, having come in with Moreno in a double switch, grounded out.

Moreno did a fine eighth, and the Raccoons got Ayala on base against Cesar Perez, then cashed the run on a 2-out double to left-center that Manny whacked, going up 7-5. Jimenez hit for Moreno and walked, Pena fumbled Cruz’ grounder for an error, and the Raccoons had three on with two outs, and could not bat for Jordan Gonzalez, because they were literally down to Omar Gutierrez and nothing else on the bench. He struck out. Rella, though, faced the 1-2-3 in the order in the bottom 9th… but also retired them 1-2-3, completing the sweep! 7-5 Furballs! Ayala 2-3, 2 BB; Cruz 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Dustal 1-2, 2B; Carreno 1-2, 2 BB, 3B; Moreno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (3-1);

In other news

May 30 – Cyclones CF/LF Dan Mathes (.338, 12 HR, 43 RBI) rakes three home runs and drives in four in an 11-2 rout of the Pacifics. It is the second time a Cyclones player goes yard three times in one game, and those two instances have been the most recent ones, Danny Santillano hitting three home runs off the Buffaloes on October 2, 2042.
May 30 – Pittsburgh RF Troy Greenway (.260, 5 HR, 23 RBI) might miss most of June with knee tendinitis.
May 31 – Richmond’s 1B Manny Liberos (.228, 4 HR, 26 RBI) and LF/RF Pablo Gonzalez (.394, 11 HR, 48 RBI) both have four hits and five RBI apiece in a 17-8 slugfest win over the Warriors.
May 31 – The Indians and Condors play 15 innings before the former prevail, 4-3. Both teams had previously scored two runs in the ninth. The Indians’ catching corps of Sean Ebner (.255, 3 HR, 11 RBI) and Jason Rose (.254, 0 HR, 12 RBI) goes a combined 5-for-7 with one RBI on an Ebner homer.
June 1 – DAL INF/CF Jose Rivas (.365, 0 HR, 22 RBI) will miss a month with an oblique strain.
June 1 – VAN RF/LF/1B Arnout van der Zanden (.265, 2 HR, 20 RBI) drives in six runs from the leadoff spot on three hits in a 15-3 rush of the Bayhawks.
June 5 – Warriors and Scorpions grind it out for 17 innings before SFW C Amari Thompson (.229, 3 HR, 13 RBI) whacks a 3-run homer to walk off Sioux Falls, 6-3.

FL Player of the Week: CIN CF/LF Dan Mathes (.344, 12 HR, 46 RBI), mashing .455 (10-22) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: BOS 3B Ivan Lugo (.322, 1 HR, 38 RBI), batting .500 (13-26) with 10 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: TOP INF/LF Tony Batista (.310, 9 HR, 41 RBI), batting .366 with 5 HR, 25 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: OCT C Jesus Adames (.302, 11 HR, 31 RBI), swatting .343 with 10 HR, 24 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: CIN SP Melvin Lucero (8-2, 1.92 ERA), sparkling for a 5-1 record with 1.19 ERA, 25 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: CHA SP Emmanuel Lizarraga (4-2, 3.97 ERA), pitching for a 4-0 mark with 2.55 ERA, 30 K
FL Rookie of the Month: CIN INF/LF Chris Delgado (.308, 7 HR, 32 RBI), batting .231 with 3 HR, 15 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: TIJ OF/1B Marty Reidinger (.228, 4 HR, 21 RBI), poking .244 with 3 HR, 17 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Uh. That Melvin Lucero? Yeah, he was ours. Traded him in the Greenway deal seven years ago. Man, if only we had him rather than Wheats now.

The Opening Day starter’s curse, huh?

Meanwhile Matt Waters is hitting leadoff again, but we would have stuck longer to Derek Baskins. Unfortunately, he can’t hold a bat with a broken thumb, and only a select few people in the league have ever been any threat without a bat at all, like Isto Grönholm or Ray ******* Gilbert.

No news on Dustal yet, but from what I heard from the trainer’s room down there his knee has swollen to balloon size, and that can’t be good. We don’t have pants that wide.

Monday will be off, and then it will be 16 straight games, with three road series separated by trips to Portland for single series there. This makes no sense. When I’m back in Portland on the weekend, I’ll have Maud write a letter to the league office with some harsh words. The Coons will be in Boston by Tuesday, then host the Buffos on the weekend. Grueling 4-city, 3-country road trip coming up starting on the 20th, so that’s something to look forward to.

Fun Fact: The Opening Day starter’s curse is alive and well.

First, we have no consistency in the position. None.

2044 – Jason Wheatley – 5.60
2043 – Jake Jackson – 4.10
2042 – Rich Willett – 3.13 but traded to the Aces midseason, so how was that for a career move
2041 – Bernie Chavez – 3.85
2040 – Ryan Bedrosian – 2.06 but traded to the Knights midseason, where he won nothing
2039 – Bryce Sparkes – 3.48
2038 – Bernie Chavez – 4.57
2037 – Bernie Chavez – 3.38
2036 – Gilberto Rendon – 3.97

With the exception of 2041 Bernie, they all added about one third of a run to their ERA in the season in which they were the Opening Day starter compared to the one before. For Willett it’s even half a run. For Rendon and 2038 Bernie, a full run.

For Wheatley, it’s two and a half.

[Westheim]

While I travelled with the team to Boston on the off day that was Monday, Dr. Padilla and Jonathan Dustal stayed behind. Dr. Padilla eventually called me in the evening and told me to find a new outfielder, because this one was out of order for a while. Scans had found a tiny fracture in Dustal’s knee joint, but bad enough to require major surgery. The doctors in Milwaukee would take care of that, then send him to Portland for further processing and packaging – but he was definitely out for the season.

The Raccoons summoned #97 prospect OF Gene Pellicano to Boston, not because he had merited the promotion to the majors at age 25, but because there was hardly anybody else to take the spot. Pellicano had been acquired with Bob Ibold in 2042 for Tony Hunter and Wyatt Hamill and had been Buffaloes property until then.

Raccoons (33-21) @ Boston (31-26) – June 7-9, 2044

The Boston Titans were third in runs scored and seventh in runs allowed. They had a low batting average of .254, but were masters of walking and led the league in that regard at .347. They hit few home runs; stealing bases was alien to them as a concept. Their defense was “eh”. The Raccoons had swept them in a 4-game set so far this year.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (6-2, 3.06 ERA) vs. Chris Turner (5-5, 3.96 ERA)
Brent Clark (3-6, 5.00 ERA) vs. Emanuel Caceiro (1-4, 5.34 ERA)
Jake Jackson (4-2, 3.39 ERA) vs. Nick Myers (5-4, 3.52 ERA)

Maybe they’d skip Caceiro, but if they didn’t, we’d see two left-handers to begin this series.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Mathers
BOS: LF Liceaga – CF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – 2B O. Aguirre – 3B I. Lugo – RF Bottino – SS J. Rodriguez – P C. Turner

Nothing much happened offensively with either team the first time through; the Titans had a hit in every inning to begin the game, but even when Joe Ritchey hit a 2-out double to left in the bottom 3rd it wasn’t a sign of trouble. No, the trouble was Mathers walking the bases loaded with Dan Whitley and Carlos Cortes, then barely getting out Oscar Aguirre on the fourth 2-strike pitch he offered when Aguirre popped out behind home plate, stranding everybody. Mathers never regained cohesion after that and his pitch count exploded to 104 after five innings, with four more Titans reaching base and being stranded in a scoreless game. Chuck Jones did a scoreless sixth, but Nate Norris tumbled into trouble right away in the seventh, walking PH Sandy Casaus (now, doesn’t that ring a bell…) before giving up a first-pitch bomb to Ritchey that flew out well over Manny Fernandez’ head. The Raccoons? Physically present in the ballpark, but that was it. They scattered four hits through seven, but with the Titans in the lead, Cruz, Waters, and Ayala went down in order against “Tuba” Turner in the eighth. The 3-4-5 went down in order against Danny Tirado in the ninth. 2-0 Titans.

I ******* hate this place.

Game 2
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – SS Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Cruz – LF Pellicano – CF Gonzalez – P Clark
BOS: SS O. Aguirre – RF Ritchey – LF Casaus – C Whitley – CF M. Avila – 3B I. Lugo – 1B Zuazo – 2B J. Rodriguez – P Caceiro

For a starter, the Raccoons actually scored; Carreno drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and came in productive outs, Maldonado plating him with a sac fly. Gene Pellicano had his first time at the dish in the majors in the second inning, getting nailed by Caceiro, who then nevertheless got a double play grounder from the sad figure that was Jordan Gonzalez. Besides Caceiro, the Titans had nobody batting left-handed in the lineup, which was why I expected major explosions out of Brent Clark. In reality, he allowed no hits through three innings, but walked three Titans. None of those scored, but neither did the Critters, even when Zarate (double) and Cruz (walk) opened the fourth by getting on base. Pellicano, Gonzalez, Clark couldn’t even get a runner to third, let alone score somebody…

Clark nailed Whitley to begin the bottom 4th, but that runner was left on first base, but I had a bad vibe about the game and the Raccoons’ continued refusal to do ugly things to Caceiro. Two went down in the fifth before Maldo doubled to center. Toohey walked and Zarate singled to right. Maldonado was waved around an barely beat Ritchey’s throw to score, 2-0. Jose Cruz grounded out to Oscar Aguirre, and that was that. Clark remained shaky, walking Juan Rodriguez and Ritchey in the bottom 5th, but the Raccoons still couldn’t buy a base hit, being H-less through five. Clark though was on 80 pitches already, thanks to five walks. Pellicano walked to begin the sixth, but was also caught stealing, while Boston broke into the H column before this could become a topic, Whitley hitting a leadoff jack to left in the bottom of the inning. Maldo hit another 2-out double in the seventh, but Toohey popped out to short this time, while Clark gave up a leadoff single to left to Rodriguez in the inning and was yanked right away. Jon Craig came out when Devin Phillips batted for Caceiro, and retired the Titans on a fly, whiff, and another fly, both flies to center and quite harmless. Nelson Moreno handled the eighth, if you ignored nailing Whitley *again* even competently. The top 9th was as sad as the last few innings, so here was Josh Rella, facing the bottom of the order. He struck out Alvin Zuazo, but Rodriguez singled to left and was speedy, too. Liceaga pinch-hit for the pitcher and flew out to Pellicano. Rodriguez never went – and Oscar Aguirre struck out. 2-1 Blighters. Maldonado 2-3, BB, 2 2B; Zarate 3-4, 2B, RBI;

Not pretty, but at least we made it to a rubber game. I still hate this ******* place. It’s where hopes go die.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Jackson
BOS: LF Liceaga – CF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – 2B O. Aguirre – 3B I. Lugo – RF Bottino – SS J. Rodriguez – P N. Myers

No Raccoon reached until Ricky Jimenez singled to begin the third inning. Carreno walked, Jackson bunted, and then we barely amounted to a Waters sac fly for the first run in the game. Nick Myers got revenge with a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, Liceaga walked, and Ritchey hit an RBI single. A Jimenez error contributed to another run, and Carlos Cortes drove in one more before getting hurt in a collision with Matt Waters at second base. The Titans went up 3-1, two runs unearned. Devin Phillips took over at first base, but struck out with two on and one out in the bottom 5th. Aguirre singled home Liceaga, though, and the Titans were up 4-1.

The Raccoons had no hits but Jimenez’ single through five, and I contemplated major arson to get rid of this cursed ballpark. Not that it got better from there; Maldonado reached on an error in the sixth, but the inning ended with Manny’s groundout. Toohey drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, but was doubled up by Kilmer. Nobody stood on base, not even briefly, in the eighth, as the team continued to go absolutely ******* nowhere. Top 9th, Danny Tirado back in, who had also completed Tuesday’s suffocation job. Ayala reached base – on Tirado’s throwing error, putting a runner on second base with nobody out. Maldo fell behind 1-2, then cracked a homer to left that came out of nowhere. The Titans were so shocked they suspected something was wrong with Tirado and collected him for a medical check. Righty John Landrum took over. Manny singled to right. Toohey doubled to left – tying and go-ahead run in scoring position with nobody out! …and Kilmer popped out. Noo…! Boyys…! You gotta…! (makes despaired clumsy batting motion with his paws, one of them still holding an alcoholic beverage) Jimenez did – (makes the same motion again), hitting a single to center that tied the ballgame indeed! Carreno chipped in a sac fly to take the lead, and now the Titans went over to the third right-hander of the inning, Aaron Durham. Jose Cruz popped out against him, after which Josh Rella grabbed the ball. Rob Bottino, Juan Rodriguez, Moises Avila – all went down in order to ******* steal the rubber game…! 5-4 Raccoons! Jimenez 2-4, RBI; Jackson 7.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K;

A series win, but far from convincing.

Raccoons (35-22) vs. Buffaloes (29-30) – June 10-12, 2044

Sitting sixth in runs scored and runs allowed in the Federal League, the Buffaloes had a -1 run differential. The team was rather mediocre, not ranking in the top or bottom two in any category worth bringing up, and in the bottom three only in stolen bases (10th). They had half a bullpen on the DL, so maybe that would help us snailing our way past the opposition here? We had swept them in a meeting last year, when they had lost 94 games and had played like it. This was a much more competent team thanks to some fresh pitching and the odd batting addition. That technically included Shuta Yamamoto, but he was batting .249 with 3 homers…

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (6-3, 3.28 ERA) vs. Bill Herrmann (5-5, 5.35 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-2, 5.60 ERA) vs. Aaron Bryant (5-5, 3.02 ERA)
Corey Mathers (6-2, 2.85 ERA) vs. Kuniyoshi Nagai (3-5, 5.40 ERA)

That could be the second series in a row with two left-handers in the first two games. But they came in from an off day, so there was room for shuffling.

Game 1
TOP: RF M. Hall – SS Greer – C J. Davis – 1B Yamamoto – CF Angeletti – 2B T. Batista – LF D. Lee – 3B Lorensen – P Herrmann
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Cruz – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Toohey – C Kilmer – SS Waters – RF Pellicano – P Okuda

Did the Portland crowd get a new favorite in the Friday opener? It was Gene Pellicano’s first at-bat in Portland, and he hit a homer to left on it, putting the team up 1-0 in the bottom 3rd after Okuda had scattered and stranded six runners in three innings, somehow. Okuda would turn this into five shutout innings – but then rain interfered and got us an hour-long rain delay, after which he wasn’t seen again. However, the Raccoons were up 3-0 by then, with Bryce Toohey cashing Manny Fernandez’ fourth-inning single with a homer of his own to left-center. The Raccoons patched with Zack Kelly, who got four outs, and Jon Craig, who got two, and Jeff Kilmer had a 2-out, 2-run single in the sixth for some additional gap between the two teams, 5-0. All looked well until Alex Ramirez shuffled the bags full in the eighth inning. With two outs and Josh Davis, J.P. Angeletti, and Tony Batista aboard, Chuck Jones came in to face Dave Lee, but gave up a single on 1-2 to the lefty hitter. One run scored, Pellicano fumbled the ball slightly, another run scored, but Batista had misread the play and would later say he thought it had gotten past Pellicano, which it hadn’t – and was struck down in a rundown between second and third to end the inning. Jose Cruz countered with a leadoff jack in the bottom 8th off Lorenzo Campos, and with the save chance off and Rella on two straight outings anyway, the Raccoons hung with Jones for the ninth inning. He walked Mike Hall with two outs, but otherwise put the game away without panic. 6-2 Critters. Toohey 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Okuda 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, W (7-3) and 1-1; Jones 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, SV (3);

Game 2
TOP: RF M. Hall – LF D. Lee – 1B Yamamoto – CF Angeletti – SS Greer – C J. Davis – 3B Lorensen – 2B T. Batista – P A. Bryant
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – SS Waters – LF Pellicano – P Wheatley

Anxiety ran high with Wheats coming off two horrendous outings, and it didn’t look like it would get better any time soon, with Shuta Yamamoto taking him deep to left in the first inning for a solo home run, an event that I loathed from the bottom of my pitch black soul. The Coons loaded the bases in their half of the first inning, Carreno and Ayala hitting singled, Toohey walking, and after Zarate whiffed, Ricky Jimenez beating Angeletti in center for a 2-run double. That flipped the score, but Angeletti made a sliding grab on Pellicano after Waters walked to refill the bags. More loaded bases the following inning: Carreno, Ayala, and Maldonado were on, the latter getting plunked with one out. Toohey struck out, Zarate grounded out, and nobody scored.

Wheats wasn’t economic with his pitches even before he issued consecutive full-count walks to Ryan Lorensen and Tony Batista with two outs in the fifth, then needed another five pitches to bury Bryant, but at least didn’t allow any runs and kept the 2-1 lead together. He struck out five, including Bryant to close the fifth, but reached 79 pitches. The Raccoons stranded nine runners in total through five, so I was totally sure of a comeback win for the Buffos. I whined bitterly while mixing a few sleeping pills into my Capt’n Coma, then added a bit of lime for that special touch.

Wheatley then did the sixth inning on six pitches, again proving that baseball made no sense and was unnecessarily cruel at times. Through seven innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball, he issued 98 pitches, which we deemed enough and banked that strong result. Moreno got the bottom of the order in the eighth, but two runners on base, and when Jones took over he walked Lee on four pitches, and fell to a 2-run single by … (sigh) … Yamamoto. Angeletti struck out, but the damage was of course done.

Bottom 8th, Waters and Manny made outs, but Cruz and Carreno took to the corners with 2-out singles. Jose Arias was the third pitcher of the inning, the left-hander appearing for Ayala. The Raccoons sent Kilmer, but he grounded out to short… Ramirez held the Buffos down in the ninth, with Arias continuing for Topeka in the ninth. Maldo ripped a leadoff single to right on the first pitch. Toohey struck out. Zarate flew out. Jimenez ran a 3-0 count… then poked and grounded out. 3-2 Buffaloes. Carreno 4-5; Cruz (PH) 1-1; Wheatley 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K;

(wrestles Maud for the blunderbuss) But I WANT to shoot the little idiot!! – Hnngghh!! – Maud, let go! – Okay, stop. Stop. (puts down the blunderbuss) Okay, give me at least your crossbow. – Only in his fat, stupid bum!!

…

Game 3
TOP: RF M. Hall – LF D. Lee – CF Angeletti – SS Greer – C J. Davis – 3B Lorensen – 1B J. Casas – 2B T. Batista – P Nagai
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – SS Waters – CF Gonzalez – P Mathers

Portland scored first, and in the first; Carreno had his furry nipple tickled by a wayward curveball by Nagai, stole his 22nd base, and then was doubled in by Sal Ayala without much fuzz. Nagai, unhappy with himself, struck out Maldo and Manny and got Toohey on a grounder. He also hit a game-tying double in the second inning, driving in Josh Davis with two outs. Batista and Nagai were stranded when Mike Hall hit a comebacker.

The Great Nothing broke out after that until Jordan Gonzalez flicked a leadoff single in the bottom 5th. A new lead budded from that tiniest of seeds, Gonzalez getting bunted to second and scoring on an Ayala single to right-center, making it 2-1 Portland. Maldo hit a loud one to center – but Angeletti reached it at the fence, ending the inning. Toohey and Waters hit singles, but amounted to nothing, not even third base, in the sixth. Mathers was still in there, completing seven innings of 4-hit ball with the 2-1 lead until he was then batted for, his spot leading off the bottom 7th. Cruz flew out to left, but Carreno walked. Ayala flew out, and then Carreno was thrown out trying to force his way into scoring position for Maldonado.

Zack Kelly boogied through the eighth then, striking out Angeletti to strand Hall and his 1-out single on first base, which set up Rella for the ninth, now rested again. But first the bottom 8th; Maldo walked and Manny singled off left-hander Chris Myers, who remained in even when things got sticky and no lefty bat was going to come up any time soon. Toohey singled to load the bases, but with nobody out, and I tried to mark an L in my pocket schedule, but Maud had hidden away the pencil. One strike to Kilmer. Two strikes to Kilmer. Oh look he actually met a ball. And hit to left. High. Deep. Long. GRAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!

Josh Rella did not come into the game to begin the ninth then. The Coons also got Gonzalez on with a single, but Ricky Jimenez hit into a double play, after which Nate Norris got the ball in the 6-1 game. He walked Marshall Greer to start the ninth, but got a 6-4-3 from John Davis. Ryan Lorensen lined out to Waters, and that was another rubber game in the bank. 6-1 Raccoons. Ayala 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Maldonado 2-4, 2B; Toohey 2-4; Kilmer 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Gonzalez 3-4; Mathers 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (7-2);

In other news

June 6 – VAN OF Jerry Outram (.350, 7 HR, 34 RBI) hits for the cycle in an 8-6 win over the Loggers. He goes 4-for-5, hitting a grand slam for the required home run, and driving in six runs in total. The second-ever cycle for the Vancouver franchise comes nine days after Tijuana’s Marty Reidinger hit for the cycle against the Canadiens.
June 7 – The Thunder lose force majeure C Jesus Adames (.301, 11 HR, 33 RBI) for a month due to shoulder soreness.
June 7 – The Bayhawks acquire RF/LF/1B Nick Duncan (.250, 1 HR, 3 RBI) from the Miners for reliever Bryan Carmichael (1-1, 3.94 ERA, 3 SV) and left-hander and #85 prospect Bernardino Risso.
June 8 – CHA OF Archie Turley (.292, 9 HR, 39 RBI) has sprained an elbow and will be out until the All Star Game.
June 11 – The Cyclones acquire SP Bill McMichael (4-7, 4.84 ERA) from the Miners, who receive SS Doug Clevidence (.270, 1 HR, 13 RBI).
June 12 – Denver SP Bill Quintero (6-6, 3.84 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the Indians.
June 12 – Boston RF/1B/LF Carlos Cortes (.291, 4 HR, 30 RBI) is out for the rest of the month with a bruised wrist.

FL Player of the Week: NAS 1B Chris Delagrange (.301, 10 HR, 39 RBI), hitting .455 (10-22) with 3 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: LVA RF/LF/1B Pat Gurney (.261, 10 HR, 39 RBI), batting .429 (12-28) with 3 HR, 10 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Rebels were kind enough to sweep the Titans on the weekend, which extended the Raccoons’ lead in the division to six and a half. Because the damn Elks swept the Loggers for four during the week and posted a 6-1 week, I hesitate to call us the odds-on favorite yet. The division is very much still up for grabs, especially with offensive heroics being mostly absent this week. We even slipped to third place in runs scored. The damn Elks furiously stormed into first place, mauling the Loggers and Warriors for a total of 53 runs. We scored 21.

So, six and a half can easily fumbled away. We will need some sort of outfielder to replace Dustal, but all the trading block offers involve defensively challenged / not well-aged corner outfielders with bloated contracts, and while the contract thing wouldn’t be so bad, we need somebody nimble that can help cover centerfield.

It’s off to L.A. by Monday. I’ll skip to New York on Wednesday for the draft, accompanied by Josh Busing, and we might actually fly back to Portland with the Crusaders after the act, as they will begin a 4-game set with us on Thursday.

Fun Fact: In 2007, the Raccoons blew a 10 1/2 game lead they held on June 26.

That second-half collapse still makes me shiver.

+++

Service announcement: no update tomorrow due to the split week with the draft; then on the 17th, Humankind is suppose to come out. If that is so (it’s been delayed before…), I’ll probably disappear for three days …unless it’s released as a complete broken mess, which wouldn’t be anything new for games either…

[Westheim]

Raccoons (37-23) @ Pacifics (31-30) – June 13-15, 2044

Three sweeps in a row, including last year, and not a series lost in the last six meetings with the Pacifics, which didn’t even include the 2026 World Series. They were fifth in the FL West, but had a winning record, yet also a -10 run differential. They sat ninth in runs scored, fifth in runs allowed; on offense, they had the third-highest OBP in the Federal League, but could not hit for either power or stolen bases, which dropped them so far behind in terms of run production.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (4-6, 4.65 ERA) vs. Kevin Clendenen (2-6, 5.62 ERA)
Jake Jackson (4-2, 3.31 ERA) vs. Joe Feltman (6-6, 5.30 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (7-3, 3.07 ERA) vs. Mike LeMasters (7-4, 3.12 ERA)

The first two were right-handers and the black spots in the L.A. rotation; LeMasters was one of their two southpaws, the other being Al Scott (5-2, 3.59 ERA), still remembered for the fruitless pursuit the Raccoons engaged in for his services a few years ago. He was 21-12 for the Caps and Pacifics since then, with a 3.33 ERA. Was that worth the $4M and small change a year? We would not find out in person at this point.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ayala – 3B Cruz – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 2B Gutierrez – P Clark
LAP: LF Foss – C Alvardo – RF Benavides – 2B Bowman – 1B Cahill – 3B K. Leon – CF T. Romero – SS T. Hunter – P Clendenen

Teams exchanged zeroes for three innings, with Clark whiffing four on two hits in a bid to attempt his string of winning four straight decisions after starting the season 0-6 and one wrong move away from flying to Florida on business. The Raccoons had Ayala on base to begin the game in a wicked experiment of using a high-OBP bat in the #1 spot, but he was doubled up by Jose Cruz. In the fourth, Manny and Toohey reached base with one out before Kilmer singled to right-center. Manny sped around third base and scored just ahead of Juan Benavides’ throw. The remaining runners advanced into scoring position, but Matt Waters grounded out to first baseman Mark Cahill, keeping the runners steady. Omar Gutierrez was walked intentionally, only for Brent Clark to burn the Pacifics with a 2-out, 2-run single to left. Clendenen, slightly confused, walked Ayala on four pitches, but then struck out Cruz, his first K in the game after walking five (four through clumsiness). Benavides opened the bottom 4th with a double to center that raised his average to .389 with 4 HR and 15 RBI (this was only his 22nd game of the year), but was stranded on three poor outs. The Tony Brigade that was briefly teammates on the 2042 Raccoons and had now reunited in L.A., Hunter having reached here directly while Romero had been forced to go through Vegas, stirred a bit in the bottom 5th. Romero drew a leadoff walk, and Hunter bid for the fence in left, but Manny made the catch right against the wall. After Clendenen struck out bunting, Aaron Foss, a former Elks plague, singled, and then Clark still managed to walk in a run with free passes to David Alvardo and Benavides. Brian Bowman flew out to right, parking three runners in a 3-1 game.

Not much else happened in the sixth and seventh, while the Critters had Waters on first base with two outs in the eighth and Clark batting. Batting him for him would not be the most stupid decision ever, but Benavides was a left-hander and leading off the bottom 8th. Clark popped out to end the inning, then returned to face Benavides, got to 0-2, then a grounder to the right side… and then dropped Ayala’s feed at the bag, putting Benavides on and the tying run in the box on his own error. It was also the exit for him. Nelson Moreno replaced him, got a grounder to short from Bowman, and Waters threw that into Gutierrez’ kneecaps for the second straight error… Now the tying runs were aboard, but Cahill grounded to Gutierrez and this time the Fumblecoons got not only one, but two, in a 4-6-3 double play. Moreno then carved up unremarkable Kenny Leon to strand Benavides at third base and complete eight. The Raccoons had nothing in the ninth, but Rella retired the Tony Brigade to begin the bottom of the inning before Matt Wilton doubled in the #9 hole. Aaron Foss popped out, and the Raccoons took the opener anyway. 3-1 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-5; Kilmer 2-4, RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, W (5-6) and 1-4, 2 RBI;

Game 2
POR: 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson
LAP: LF Foss – C Alvardo – RF Benavides – 1B Cahill – 2B Bowman – 3B K. Leon – CF T. Romero – SS J. Rodriguez – P Feltman

Jackson had one of his patented brainfart starts, getting romped for four runs in the first inning, three on a Benavides homer after Foss had singled and Alvardo had been brushed gently by a pitch inside. Not that it got better after that, with a walk, two singles, and another run across. While Jackson lined up five scoreless, hitless innings after that, plenty of damage had already been done, especially with the Raccoons being once more entirely inept at the plate. They had a man in scoring position – second base, not third, don’t get cocky – only ONCE … in SIX innings. No runs, thanks for asking. They did score a pity run in the seventh, Carreno getting on, stealing a base, and scoring on a Waters single. Then Jimenez hit into a ******* double play, the team’s fourth on the day. Jackson put leadoff man Jon Rodriguez on base in the seventh inning before being replaced with Kelly, who surrendered the run on singles by Foss and Benavides, both lefty hitters.

Somehow the tying run was at the plate in the 5-1 game in the eighth, everybody reaching with two outs against Feltman; Toohey and Maldo singled, while Manny drew walk at 3-2. Jose Cruz hit for Jose Zarate to get something other than a righty stick in the box, and grounded out to Cahill to strand absolutely ******* everybody. And that was their chance. They didn’t even deserve as much, but they sure didn’t pounce like a good team would, maybe. Feltman almost finished the game, only getting yanked after Waters’ 1-out single in the ninth. That single did not spark a rally, or much of anything. 5-1 Pacifics. Maldonado 2-4; Waters 2-4, RBI; Jimenez 1-2, BB;

That made for a southpaw duel in the rubber game, of which I missed the first few innings, because I was engaged in New York with Josh Busing, drafting the next generation of Raccoons winn- … of Raccoons. The game was a late afternoon start, not commencing until 7pm in New York, when we were still picking through the remainders in the late rounds.

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – SS Waters – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – LF Pellicano – CF Gonzalez – P Okuda
LAP: LF Foss – C Alvardo – RF Benavides – 2B Bowman – 1B Cahill – 3B K. Leon – CF T. Romero – SS T. Hunter – P LeMasters

I joined a 4-3 Pacifics game in the fourth inning, both teams scoring one in the second, two in the third, and the Pacifics an extra one in the bottom 1st. I was informed by the hostile LA Sports broadcast that Josh Busing managed to pick up on his hyperpad (the NWSN cast didn’t work, like all things Portland) that all runs had scored with two outs, and that Okuda had bled nine hits through three innings and if only the Pacifics could have gotten a home run as big as Toohey’s 2-piece in the top of the third, this could be a wholly different ballgame.

The Raccoons did nothing in the top 5th, which Okuda led off despite having been whipped around, and it didn’t get better in the bottom 5th, either. He walked and nailed the bases loaded – but Bowman struck out to begin the inning and was ejected for ferocious complaining, to be replaced by Jon Rodriguez. Hunter struck out with the bases loaded, bringing up the lefty-hitting pitcher. The inning dragged on while I was waiting in the lobby at the airport while Busing was getting our bags checked in – we’d indeed fly to Portland with the Crusaders! – but when he came back to collect me he found me writhing on the ground in utter agony after LeMasters had singled to right on a 2-2 pitch, driving in two. Chuck Jones replaced the ghastly Okuda, but gave up Hunter’s run on a Foss single before Alvardo whiffed. It was a 7-3 game, and pretty much lost, even before Jones allowed ANOTHER two singles to left-handers in the bottom 6th, conceding a run to Cahill.

While the plane took off, Maldonado hit into a double play that killed the eighth inning with two aboard, which was merely the fourth Coons double play in the game, and the tenth in the series. The Pacifics didn’t stop scoring; Nate Norris walked two in the bottom 8th, threw a wild pitch, and then was taken deep with two outs by Kenny Leon. LeMasters went the distance for a complete-game 9-hitter, somehow… 11-3 Pacifics. Maldonado 2-4; Toohey 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Ayala (PH) 1-1;

Raccoons (38-25) vs. Crusaders (28-37) – June 16-19, 2044

After the sheer excitement of Draft Day, the Raccoons and their tortured old GM returned home to Portland, only to find a square, 80 by 80 feet, marked off with traffic cones squat in the middle of centerfield, and Nick Valdes consulting him some important looking guy wearing a hard hat and holding up plans on the field. I learned from Maud that the city was offering a tax break for businesses producing green energy on their premises, and that Valdes had immediately begun planning for the construction of a wind turbine in centerfield.

Also there, the Crusaders, looking confused as to why no trip to Portland could ever just be a normal set of games. They were 11 games out in the North, fifth in the standings, eighth in runs scored, and ninth in runs allowed, with a -32 run differential (Coons: +58). The Crusaders were bottoms in home runs, but third in OBP (now where had I heard that recently…?), while their pitching and defense were a matching mess. We led the season series, 2-1.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (3-2, 5.17 ERA) vs. Ernie Quintero (5-7, 4.39 ERA)
Corey Mathers (7-2, 2.72 ERA) vs. Rich Willett (4-7, 4.03 ERA)
Brent Clark (5-6, 4.30 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (3-4, 3.61 ERA)
Jake Jackson (4-3, 3.63 ERA) vs. Aaron Hickey (3-6, 4.73 ERA)

Only right-handers coming up here. The Crusaders had a few regulars on the DL with Danny Cruz, Rich Salek, and Joe Graf all ailing and out. The 38-year-old Cruz had hit .318 before his early demise, which had seen the acquisition of Dan Riley from Dallas, and Riley already led the team in homers with seven, which was also the Raccoons’ top mark, set by Bryce Toohey.

We’d weave in off days for all the right-handed regulars in this set, given that the last series before the next day off as scheduled would be against the damn Elks and we needed all our juices combined for that 3-game set.

Game 1
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – CF Rico – LF Montes – 2B Nash – C E. Thompson – RF D. Martinez – 3B Riario – P E. Quintero
POR: 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – S Waters – 3B Jimenez – 2B Gutierrez – P Wheatley

Jason Wheatley had a scoreless first, then batted before he could get back on the mound, which hinted at good things taking place. Ayala and Toohey hit singles for the Raccoons, then advanced on a balk. Maldo and Manny both whacked doubles for three runs in total, and Matt Waters launched a Mars probe to right-center for another two, a quick 5-0 Raccoons lead that led Nick Valdes to applaud and nod and congratulate himself on making all this possible. Three scoreless innings dropped Wheatley’s ERA back into the fours, which was progress, but also didn’t last. Randolph Nash hit a single and stole second in the fifth inning, and Wheatley walked Elliott Thompson. Dave Martinez struck out, but with two outs, Vittorio Riario snuck a single through the left side that allowed both runners to score and shorten the gap to three.

…because *of course* the Raccoons hadn’t tacked on anything after slapping Quintero for five in the first inning. Facing righty reliever Jeff Frank in the bottom 5th they’d load the bases on a double by Maldo and walked drawn by Manny and Waters, but by now there were also two outs an Ricky Jimenez wasn’t getting anything done. Frank rung him up. It was also the last time they put a runner in scoring position. Wheatley went on to retire the Crusaders in order in the sixth inning, but his pitch count was now up there, *and* it began to rain, too. It began to rain pretty good, in fact, almost as soon as Nick Valdes made a phone call sitting between me and Slappy on the brown couch, talking to somebody named “Dr. Von Schmalz”, then intermittently called him again to “keep applying the powder”, all the way until the game was called after two hours in a rain delay, when he called Dr. Von Schmalz again to inform him that “the seal had been stranded”. It then stopped raining almost at once. The W, though, was as final as it was abbreviated. 5-2 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Fernandez 1-2, BB, 2B, RBI; Waters 1-2, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Wheatley 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (4-2);

That counted as a complete game for Wheatley, who threw 90 pitches, the first complete game of his career.

Also, Nick, I’m not gonna ask you about this weird rain thing, and I also ask you to not tell me in case there are any federal offenses being committed here.

In case you feared for an abundance of harmony in the office though, we were back in each other’s fur on Friday, when Valdes kept fighting us for the wind tower in centerfield. We dueled by proxy; I had Cristiano to make all the smart arguments, and Valdes had brought his own slightly disfigured nerd, a college smart-*** named Lorenzo who wore the thickest glasses I had ever seen, as well as the wettest pronunciation, who made the usually money-based arguments for him. It was not pretty to watch, and by game time the two were blue in the face.

Game 2
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – C Alba – CF Rico – RF J. Davis – 2B Nash – LF Rudd – 3B Riario – P Willett
POR: 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 3B Cruz – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – SS Gutierrez – P Mathers

The Crusaders got the instant lead on Friday with an Alex Adame double to right and Dan Riley’s homer to center, going up 2-0 right away. The Raccoons did not have an immediate response, then had an injury when Riley slid into Gutierrez on a double play attempt in the top 3rd. Gutierrez took a knock to the chest and left the game; Maldonado moved in to short, with Gene Pellicano taking over in centerfield, who made a weak out to begin the bottom 3rd. Ayala and Toohey went to the corners with two outs, but Maldonado’s fly to center was contained by Danny Rico. Instead, Randolph Nash hit a solo homer to left in the fourth, extending the New York lead to 3-0.

100 pitches got Mathers through seven innings of 6-hit, 3-run ball, but still on the hook for the loss. The Coons had only two hits and hadn’t been close to scoring, while Valdes moped that if his wind turbine was in centerfield, Riley’s homer might have hit it and wouldn’t have been a homer. It was tough to argue against that, and speaking of arguing, why was it so silent over at the desk? Looks like the two nerds had both fallen asleep, face down on the desk.

The former Raccoon Rich Willett would then concede to the pair of Joses, a leadoff single to Cruz in the bottom 7th, followed by Zarate’s third homer of the year, cutting the gap to 3-2. Carreno walked but was caught stealing, so that was that. The Coons also gave it all right back in the eighth. Chuck Jones got two outs from Riley and Fernando Alba before Danny Rico reached against Alex Ramirez and on an error by Cruz. PH Andy Montes cracked a blast to dead center, that, again, Nick Vales was sure would have hit the wind tower. Well, yes, Nick, but Toohey’s 2-run shot in the bottom 8th would also have been held up! Manny hit a 1-out double to left, but also reached for his calf at second base, where he represented the tying run, and was hauled in by Dr. Padilla after a brief discussion. Matt Waters would pinch-run for him, with the intent to keep him at short and push Maldo back to the outfield after the inning. Waters advanced on a Cruz groundout against Mike Lynn before Jeff Frank blew the Crusaders’ lead with a single to left served up to Zarate, evening the game at five…!

Ramirez held the Crusaders’ bottom of the order off the base paths in the ninth inning, giving the team a chance to walk off with … well, Pellicano leading off against Luis Villagomez‘ 4.30 ERA in the bottom 9th. Neither him, nor Kilmer or Ayala reached base, although Kilmer came reasonably near a pinch-hit walkoff homer. Top 10th, Adame singled and ex-Coon Dave Myers walked to put two on against Josh Rella before our closer buckled up and squeezed them out of the inning with pops on the infield. When the Coons wasted hits by Toohey and Waters in a Cruz double play grounder and the game stretched on, Rella nailed Riario in the 11th, but the runner was caught stealing to end the inning. Top 12th, Moreno was in. Mario Briones singled to left, Alex Adame singled to right, Briones went for third, and Toohey threw the ball away to allow him to score. At least Valdes was hard asleep by now, snoring while leaning against Slappy’s shoulder. Moreno got three outs without conceding the Adame run after that, but the damage was done, and the Raccoons had to come back now. They faced lefty Tony Galligher in his second inning of work in the bottom 12th, with Ayala leading off and nobody left on the bench. Three groundouts ended the game. 6-5 Crusaders. Toohey 3-6, HR, 2 RBI; Waters 1-1; Zarate 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Rella 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Gah.

Saturday. The nerds continued their discussions after both had their bowls of oatmeal, served by Cristiano’s meticulously oily roommate Gustaf, and their various medications, then came up with a workable solution for either side when they wondered out loud whether Valdes had ever considered solar panels on the roof of the stands, which, well, weren’t used for actually playing baseball!

Valdes was unsure and not biting yet. I hoped for Brent Clark to continue his winning streak to mellow him.

Game 3
NYC: 3B Riario – SS Adame – 1B Briones – CF Rico – RF J. Davis – LF D. Martinez – 2B Nash – C Alba – P J. Johnson
POR: SS Waters – 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – CF Pellicano – LF Gonzalez – P Clark

Another day, another 2-0 Crusaders lead in the first. This one came together on a 2-out Briones single, a screaming stupid Gonzalez error in left, a wild pitch, and Dave Martinez’ scratch single inches past Waters’ glove. I groaned in agony, and the more so in the bottom 1st when the tying runs were in scoring position with a walk drawn by Ayala and a Maldo double, but were also stranded when Kilmer popped out to Briones.

The tying runs were back on the corners in the bottom 3rd, but this time with nobody out. Waters led off with a double to center, and Carreno singled to left, barely beating Adame’s hustle back in an attempt to snag the soft liner, which in turn forced Waters to hold his horses to the point where scoring was not possible on the play. Ayala ran a full count against Johnson before walking, causing me groan in agony even more while Valdes asked Slappy whether three on and no out wasn’t good for the Critters, to which Maud, otherwise silent an knittingly responded that it wasn’t in he GM’s head. Johnson could no find the zone, and walked Maldo to push home a run, but then Kilmer, Jimenez, and Pellicano struck out in order, causing me to make even more tortured noises. All the effort for naught, too, Nash doubling home Martinez in the fourth to restore the 2-run gap… Bottom 4th, more bases loaded, but now with two outs after singles by Clark and Waters and a walk drawn by Ayala. Maldo was batting again, and again kept hardscrabbling away against the Crusaders’ threat of winning another game. This time he hit a long drive to center – and barely over the fence! GRAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!

Clark, up 5-3 now, allowed a leadoff single to Riario in the fifth, but also got a double play, 6-4-3, from Briones to end the inning. He then batted after Pellicano and Gonzalez had both drawn full-count, 1-out walks off a folding Johnson. Clark dropped a bunt, Alba threw it away for a 2-base error, and a run scored. Justin Salerno replaced Johnson, walked Waters to fill the bases, and gave up a sac fly to Carreno, 7-3. Ayala grounded out to the right side to end the inning, and Clark got through seven innings for only one earned run on his ledger before being hit for to begin the bottom 7th. Jon Craig had a 1-2-3 eighth, and since he did so eight pitches and his spot did not come up in the bottom 8th, was sent back out for the ninth with Zack Kelly in reserve should any of the 5-6-7 batters reach or be replaced by a lefty hitter, maybe. Of course, things did not work out. John Davis singled to center. Dave Martinez doubled to right, and it was a save situation with nobody out. Kelly came on anyway, but surrendered both runs on a sac fly and an Alba single. Tom Rudd flew out easily to Gonzalez in left. With Riario back up as the tying run, the Raccoons made one more switch to Nelson Moreno. A strikeout ended the game. 7-5 Critters. Waters 2-4, BB, 2B; Maldonado 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; Jimenez 2-5; Cruz (PH) 1-1; Clark 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (6-6) and 1-2;

Nick Valdes was very pleased with the outcome, commended us on the good work, and then collected his nerd Lorenzo and left town, the wind tower thing buried, apparently.

Commended? Good work? Was he ill or something?

Manny Fernandez declared himself fine on Sunday morning after sitting out Saturday with a sore calf, so at least there was that.

Game 4
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – C Alba – CF Rico – LF Montes – 2B Nash – RF Rudd – 3B Riario – P Hickey
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – CF Pellicano – P Jackson

Both team scratched out a run in the second inning, the Crusaders getting theirs on three singles, the last by Hickey with two outs, while the Coons matched their tally with a Carreno double, a groundout, and a wild pitch, but whatever works, boys, whatever works. New York went up 2-1 in the third, putting Adame (hit by pitch) and Riley (single) on the corners before Alba’s 4-6-3 brought in the go-ahead run. From here, a Waters homer tied the game in the same inning, and Zarate’s leadoff double and a walk drawn by Carreno allowed for the go-ahead run on a grounder and Pellicano’s sac fly in the fourth.

The thing with Jackson in this game were the hit-by-pitches. By the team he nailed Riley to begin the sixth, he had put three Crusaders by means of indecent assault, which was a lot of extra runners for a 3-2 ballgame… That was true even though Riley didn’t leave first base in the inning until three outs were made. Jackson somehow made it through seven even with his dangerous affection for dealing pain, and then even with the Crusaders still outdoing the Raccoons on actual base hits, 5-4 at the stretch. Maldonado batted for him in the bottom 7th, but grounded out, while Waters hit a single with two outs and was caught stealing. In return, Ramirez walked Adame to begin the eighth, and Adame was caught stealing under Chuck Jones’ close watch while he also retired the 2-3 hitters to protect the 3-2 edge. The Coons amounted to three outs and nothing else in the eighth, sending out Rella with no cushion in the ninth. He rung up Danny Rico, while Andy Montes grounded out to Ayala. Nash hit a bouncer to Jimenez, who zinged the ball to first – in time! 3-2 Critters! Waters 2-4, HR, RBI; Carreno 2-2, BB, 2 2B; Pellicano 0-1, BB, RBI; Jackson 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (5-3);

In other news

June 15 – Gold Sox closer Tim Thweatt (3-4, 2.67 ERA, 16 SV) puts away his 300th career game, a 4-1 win over the Knights. The 3-time All Star was 67-66 with 3.40 ERA and 735 K for his career.
June 15 – PIT 1B Danny Santillano (.368, 10 HR, 37 RBI) jumps the Indians for three home runs, all solo shots, in a 7-1 Miners win. It is the second career 3-homer game for Santillano, who did the goods to the Buffaloes during his brief Cyclones stint in 2042.
June 16 – Falcons OF Seth Case (.311, 8 HR, 36 RBI) ends their game with the Condors with a ninth-inning walkoff grand slam off Ricardo Marquez (3-2, 4.67 ERA, 1 SV). Case goes 3-for-5 with 6 RBI in the game, which the Falcons win by a score of 8-4.
June 17 – The Bayhawks manage to lose to the Knights, 10-3, despite outhitting them 13-9. The Knights hit three home runs, two of those by INF Paul Laughren (.286, 3 HR, 12 RBI), who drives in six runs on his own.

FL Player of the Week: SAL 2B/1B/RF/LF Bob Mancini (.302, 8 HR, 29 RBI), hitting .440 (11-25) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.336, 11 HR, 38 RBI), whacking .429 (9-21) with 3 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Brent Clark indeed went from 0-6 with a 7+ ERA to 6-6 with essentially a flat-4 ERA. That I guess is what they mean with “it all evens out in the end”. He has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last six starts, winning them all with a 1.67 ERA.

Baseball is a wicked game that knows no friends and rarely makes sense.

Meandering 2-week road trip coming up. Four cities, three countries, starting with the damn Elks, and continuing with the Thunder, Condors, and Titans. The team won’t be back home until July (although I will have to linger here while they’re in Elk City), and then only for a single set against our four-and-four foes for the year, the Indians. The next proper homestand will start on July 19 (!), then also against the damn Elks.

We continue to look for a Jonathan Dustal replacement and I am on the phone right now with a team that has little to look forward to and is also largely run by morons who don’t know how to manage an ABL team. And it’s- … – Hello? – Yes, hi, Justin. I… – Oh, that is … I’m sorry. Just a moment. – (puts down the receiver) Maud? Maud! That was not the mute button!

Fun Fact: The Miners have never had a player hit three home runs in a game against a Federal League team, and the only other Miners player to hit three home runs in a game was Carlos de la Riva.

That was in 2027 against the Raccoons. The Miners lost that game – the Raccoons uniquely winning games in which the opposition had a guy hit three bombs for *decades* was discussed in this spot rather recently.

[Westheim]

2044 AMATEUR DRAFT

Before the Raccoons could play a rubber game in Los Angeles, the League HQ mandated the attendance of some bum on the Portland Raccoons to draft a new set of players for them. “Some bum on the Portland Raccoons” was just a perfect description for me, so I went to New York with new head scout Josh Busing.

We didn’t expect a surefire Hall of Famer from drafting 15th in every round (Note: I said #17 before, several times, which was wrong, several times. I am very sorry, but if you’re a regular, you should know by now that I am vividly crap at nearly everything. (, but I can’t deny that I hoped Brett Lillis jr. would fall to us. Chances were slim though. Maybe this WAS the year to draft a closer in the first round?

There were 115 players on the shortlist, and then there was of course also the hotlist with the best boys available (*denotes high school player):

SP Bruce Mark jr. (13/15/12) – BNN#7
SP Jim Cushing (10/16/9)* – BNN#4
SP Andy Overy (12/14/8)*
SP Ben Lehman (11/13/14) – BNN#3
SP Brett Lillis jr. (11/12/13)*

CL Steve Arrowsmith (16/12/11)
CL George Youngblood (12/14/11)

C/1B Kevin Weese (13/8/12)
C/1B Michael Lefebvre (9/12/8)*

3B/CF/1B Randy Wilken (12/14/12) – BNN#10
2B John Abrams (12/13/8)*
3B Tyler Lundberg (9/13/11)*

LF/RF Jamie Harmon (12/18/14)*
OF/1B Mike Allegood (15/9/10) – BNN#8
LF/RF Mike Bednarz (10/13/11)

…and the first overall pick in the 2044 draft was … Randy Wilken, taken by the Warriors. After that the Caps quickly went into the pitching zone, selecting Bruce Mark jr. at #2, followed by Jim Cushing to the Titans at #3. The Condors took another pitcher, Ben Lehman, at #4, while the Buffaloes went with outfielder Dave Millikan, all the while I was nervously scooting around on my chair.

The Scorpions went with Jamie Harmon at #6, after which it was Mike Allegood to the Falcons. No more hotlist players were selected until the Knights took Mike Bednarz with the 11th pick. Two more shortlist picks later, the Thunder took Kevin Weese with the #14 selection, and I shot up and screamed out Brett Lillis the Younger’s name, technically before we were even on the clock.

No other hotlist player was taken thereafter until the Crusaders took Steve Arrowsmith with the #21 pick, which was sure to lead me to cause the odd embarrassing scene when we’d join them on their charter flight over to Portland for a 4-game series after this bonanza. George Youngblood went right after that, #22 to the Rebs. The Miners took John Abrams with the 31st selection, followed by Andy Overy to the Blue Sox at #33, which was suspiciously low for a hotlist-rated starting pitcher. The Miners *also* got Michael Lefebvre with the #36 pick. The plunge was even deeper for Tyler Lundberg, who was the last of the hotlist players to go, but fell all the way to the #45 pick and the Warriors.

And the Raccoons? They picked a catcher in the second round when we felt like having to pick between the catcher and a prototypical first baseman, the latter being the sort of player we were seemingly unable to develop into anything but toss-away trade fodder in another shambolic 3-for-1 deal.

+++

2044 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#15) – SP Brett Lillis jr., 19, from Benton, AR – left-handed groundballer that throws 92 with a nasty curve and complementary pitches that need development yet.
Round 2 (#51) – C Matt Hardy, 21, from Reston, VA – right-handed catcher with a touch of power, agile behind the plate, reasonably baseball-smart, and a good throwing arm. No speed, like catchers oughta be.
Round 3 (#75) – SP Jimmy Antonacci, 18, from Fairfield, IL – left-handed hurler that seems to give up lots of fly balls and throws only 87. Josh Busing likes his dominant high school stats despite the relative lack of velocity, and opines that with proper control he will be able to drive hitters insane with the slider and changeup.
Round 4 (#99) – 2B/SS Manny Paez, 19, from Moca, Puerto Rico – throwing arm limitations might keep him on the right side of the infield, but he has good range and quick paws, plus a good contact bat, albeit with no power.
Round 5 (#123) – INF Travis Futch, 18, from Wynne, AR – another right-handed batter and fairly competent infielder, this time with a throwing arm worth noting. Weak contact hitter, but a decent eye and patience. Somehow I can’t help but think we only drafted him because of fudge.
Round 6 (#147) – SP (LF/CF/3B/2B) Matt Gagnon, 21, from Sandwich, MA – drafted out of a pretty poor college, Broken Vulture Waste Management College to be precise, Gagnon presented as a weak-hitting super utility with not a whole lot of range to also limit his defensive value. Since Broken Vulture was strapped for players, he was also pitching, though, and this is what Busing had in mind for him, given a wealth of secondary pitches he was trying to throw in addition to a 91mph fastball.
Round 7 (#171) – INF/LF Shane Honig, 18, from Columbus, OH – agile defender with speed and a mixed bat who is said of that he’d kill to defend a teammate, and, given his vicious stare on the picture supplied by his agent, probably already has.
Round 8 (#195) – CL Eric Hermes, 20, from Sacramento, CA – left-hander throwing 90mph with a good curve; major control issues…
Round 9 (#219) – 3B/LF/1B Dustin Klein, 18, from Miami, FL – power-starved singles slapper, applying for playtime at a power position. Could be quite the decent defensive third baseman.
Round 10 (#243) – RF/LF/1B Johnny McDaniel, 20, from Anniston, AL – absolute murder arm in rightfield, and that is about as good as it gets here. Can’t really hit, or run, or field, or interrupt his afternoon nap for a fielding drill.
Round 11 (#267) – SP Nick Alix, 18, from Lynnwood, WA – this year’s Nick Brown Memorial Pick is a scrappy flyball pitcher lobbing it at 86 with a semi-decent curve. Not all of them can become Hall of Famers, I guess.
Round 12 (#291) – 2B/RF/SS/CF Oscar Jennings, 18, from Edmonton, Canada – fine enough defensively for a middle infielder, with a weak contact bat; a bit of speed.
Round 13 (#315) – RF/3B Randy Hancock, 19, from Opelika, AL – he is very fast; he literally has no other skill that related to baseball in any way.

+++

This meant the dream also ended for some other minor leaguers, who were no longer quite cutting it. The Raccoons promoted five pitchers from Ham Lake to St. Pete, which led us to cutting some old paws there that had also played in the majors, some even recently. The headliner was probably SP Cory Lambert, 29, who had turned into a complete mess, and there was enough 23-year-old pitching that was a complete mess and needed figuring out. No time for right-hander with 55 games (33 starts) and an 8-17 record with 4.73 ERA in the majors. Also axed was Ryan Van Campenhout (17 relief appearances with a 9.53 ERA in 2040 and 2042), and former sixth-rounder Matt Balling, who never reached the majors. Both of those were 27 years old. Among other pitchers released was 2041 Nick Brown Memorial Pick Bill Goforth, along with his 6.14 ERA in Aumsville.

For position players, we cut – counting only players that were known at least to the most involved Raccoons followers – one catcher in 2041 10th-rounder Mark Curts; infielders with AAA 3B Eric Cox, hitting .119 for the Alley Cats after a 2042 cup of coffee with the Raccoons in which he hit .246, but he was 28 now and there was no point, and single-A infielder Zach LaCasse, a 10th-rounder from last year; and for outfielders *nobody* because we hadn’t drafted many of them and currently had a bit of a plague where injured outfielders were concerned up and down the system.

There were still 124 players in the system, so further cuts would be made going forwards.

[Westheim]

Over night, the Raccoons made a trade with the Thunder, acquiring LF/CF/1B Mal Phinazee (.262, 11 HR, 39 RBI) and $350k in cash for AAA SP Danny Vargas, a 25-year-old Nicaraguan that was so far down the depth chart he was barely relevant.

Now, this was a steal on paper. While Phinazee (who replaced Jordan Gonzalez on the roster), a lefty hitter, had a somewhat hostile scouting report, he usually hit above league-average, and the 11 homers were more than any Raccoon had put together so far. He also had tremendous speed, yet only eight stolen bases. Given that we were mostly looking for a backup replacement, trading for him was almost overkill, but then again he was a steal, right?

Kinda. The problem was the 6-year deal the Condors had signed him to before the 2042 season, of which we took on roughly $6.6M. How to deal with the three years remaining on that contract (all guaranteed) was something I’d gladly figure out after he’d help us win some rings.

Raccoons (41-26) @ Canadiens (35-35) – June 20-22, 2044

While the Raccoons were second in runs scored in the CL, the damn Elks were in first, the difference being a meaty 27 runs by now. However, the damn Elks were also conceding the most runs, an exact five per game, and had a -7 run differential, which didn’t sound too much like they were heading for the playoffs. For the Raccoons, who were up 4-2 in the season series, the main mantra was to not get swept in the 3-game set, but actually taking two out of three again wouldn’t be so bad.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (7-4, 3.33 ERA) vs. Alexander Lewis (4-5, 4.67 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (4-2, 5.00 ERA) vs. David Arias (5-4, 3.81 ERA)
Corey Mathers (7-2, 2.81 ERA) vs. Mario Godinez (4-4, 3.78 ERA)

The series would see matching handedness for the two starting pitchers in every game, with a southpaw duel on Monday only.

Mal Phinazee arrived in Elk City only an hour before game time an was barely put in uniform before the first pitch, so he was not in the lineup, and against the left-handed Lewis wouldn’t have been anyway in all likelihood. He was available off the bench though. Me, of course, I wasn’t in Elk City at all. I had a night out with Honeypaws, going down to the nearest sports bar to get boozed out in the company of strangers while watching the game blare on TV.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Okuda
VAN: 3B Malkus – C Clemente – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – RF C. Robinson – LF J. Becker – 1B M. Hernandez – SS Riquenes – P A. Lewis

Okuda walked a guy in both of the first two innings, but at least struck out Jerry Outram, that monster, and got Dan Schneller, little less the monster, on a pop, to strand Travis Malkus in scoring position. The Raccoons had nothing much the first time through, while I held on to a beer, preferring to glide into my daily alcoholism gently, while Honeypaws went straight for the hard liquors. The guy next to me, a ruffled looking gentleman with an eye patch and a broad-brimmed hat that seemed to be perpetually moist despite us being inside for hours, commended me on my very pretty stuffed toy raccoon, and was impressed how eagerly he was lapping up the “Major Thornton’s Throat Burner” he had been served. Seeking to be polite, I commended him on his nice, uh, hat. At that point, Matt Waters reached and was moved around on 2-out singles by Maldo and Manny, scoring for a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Toohey also singled up the middle and Maldo went around from second base, but was thrown out by Outram to end the inning. The Elks tied it up again right away, Okuda nailing Malkus, Waters dropping a pop by Timóteo Clemente, and then singles with two outs by Schneller and Chris Robinson. Bases choked, Justin Becker flew out to Maldo, keeping it 1-1 through three, but Okuda was already on 65 pitches, most of them useless. The run on him was unearned, which did console me not.

Five innings would be all we got from Okuda, who never got into a groove, despite only allowing three actual base hits and five walks, the last of those being intentional to Justin Becker to load the bases in the bottom 5th and get Mel Hernandez to the plate. He flew out easily to Toohey on Okuda’s 103rd pitch, which was well enough for one messy Monday in the frozen wastes of the North. He settled for a no-decision, no help coming forward in the sixth inning, and by now I also wanted some of that Throat Burner. Honeypaws recommended it, being on his fifth glass. Jon Craig had a clean sixth for Portland, while between Ramirez and Kelly the seventh was anything but. Outram doubled off the former with one out, and Schneller walked. Kelly came on with alternating bats at this stage, but left-hander Chris Robinson up next. He walked him, too, but then with three on and one out struck out both Becker and Johnny Lopez.

Manny hit a leadoff single in the eighth, but was doubled off by Toohey, a feat matched by Clemente in the bottom 8th, who hit into an inning-killing 6-4-3 with Victor Vazquez and Arnout van der Zanden having singled in the 9-1 holes, the latter off Nate Norris, who also got the double play. But to my dismay, the Raccoons continued to be unable to score. Carreno drew a walk off Sebastien Parham in the ninth, but was stranded by Kilmer and Waters. Norris then lost the game in the bottom of the ninth, walking Outram on four pitches to get going. Schneller struck out, but Outram rushed for third base on Robinson’s single, and slid home safe before Waters could fire home on Becker’s soft grounder to short. 2-1 Canadiens. Fernandez 2-4, RBI; Toohey 2-4; Jimenez 2-3;

Honeypaws paid the tab for both him, me, and our eye-patched friend, and then we tumbled home to cry ourselves to sleep.

Game 2
POR: 1B Ayala – CF Phinazee – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley
VAN: 1B van der Zanden – 3B Malkus – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – C Ju. Diaz – RF J. Becker – LF M. Hernandez – SS Price – P D. Arias

After spending half the day driving across town aimlessly to source some of Major Thornton’s Throat Burner, I eventually had them deliver to the ballpark and picked up a gallon of the sweet juice from there. It was not sold in stores, and they didn’t deliver to private persons, only to businesses. Well, the Raccoons were a business alright, albeit a weird one. They were also behind 1-0 in the first inning on an unearned run, although Wheatley had fumbled Ayala’s feed himself to allow Outram on base, and the monster scored on a Schneller double without troubles. Julio Diaz struck out before it could get really ugly.

The Raccoons had no hits the first time through. Arias walked Phinazee in his first start for the team – he had popped out as pinch-hitter late on Monday – but he was doubled up by Maldonado in the first inning. Phinazee drew a leadoff walk for another try in the fourth, and this time Maldo hit the bouncer past the middle infielders for a single. Manny forced him out with a grounder up the middle, but Toohey walked to load the bases with one out. Waters struck out on three pitches, which didn’t help, and Kilmer grounded to short for – a throwing error by Rick Price that was worth two bases and as many runs, flipping the score. Whatever ******* works. (pours himself and Honeypaws another shot of Throat Burner) Carreno was walked intentionally and Wheatley hit a liner – but right at Price to end the inning.

At least Wheats was doing fundamentally alright, defensive shortcomings aside. He allowed three hits and eight strikeouts, no walks, through five, and only took 65 pitches for it. A bit more offense would help, but was not an option. And when the dam broke, it broke damn quickly. Outram eeked out a 2-out walk in the bottom 6th. Schneller did the same. Diaz singled through the right side on 3-1, Outram dashed for home plate, and slid in safe, but also rammed his arm and leg into Jeff Kilmer’s stern knee and was replaced defensively by the following inning. Wheats struck out Becker after a stern talking-to on the mound, but the lead was gone, and he wouldn’t get another one, nothing getting together in the top of the seventh. The pen scrambled to maintain the 2-2 tie, with Jones and Moreno both moving around runners in scoring position in their innings in the seventh and eighth, respectively. Juan Dias pitched for Vancouver in the ninth. Waters and Kilmer were retired before Carreno got hold of a hanger and hit the baseball back to the States to break the tie! Jimenez grounded out in Moreno’s spot, which was taken over by Josh Rella anyway. Becker and Lopez grounded out against Rella to begin the ninth, and Price went down on strikes. 3-2 Blighters. Carreno 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Wheatley 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K;

Honeypaws, my head hurts. I’ll just go to sleep here on – (fades onto Honeypaws)

Game 3
POR: 1B Ayala – CF Phinazee – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Mathers
VAN: 1B van der Zanden – RF C. Robinson – CF Riquenes – 2B Schneller – C Ju. Diaz – LF V. Vazquez – 3B Malkus – SS Price – P Godinez

Godinez was in trouble in the second inning, hitting Toohey to begin the frame, walking Waters, and then bailed out by also drilling Kilmer, which gave the Critters three on and nobody out, and automatically made me open the next bottle of Throat Burner. Carreno got a grounder up the middle and past Schneller for an RBI single, and for a positive surprise another RBI single was looped into shallow center on the first pitch by Mathers, 2-0. Ayala ran a full count before whacking a 2-run wallbanger, and Phinazee plated Mathers with a groundout, his first RBI as a Raccoon (still looking for a hit, though). Maldo’s sac fly made it 6-0 and emptied the bases. Well, Honeypaws, that’s what I call a big one!

While Mathers shut the Elks down in the bottom of that inning, he ran into two scratch singles and a Robinson jack to right in the third, so that was half the lead gone in a 6-3 game. The Coons would compensate somewhat in the fifth with a solo homer by Toohey, his ninth of the year, and thus establishing slam distance in the rubber game, but Carreno was on base in the fourth and sixth, stole second both times, and never found a pick-me-up and was stranded both times. Mathers meanwhile settled down after the rude assault by Robinson in the third inning and held the Elks to five hits and three runs through seven innings, throwing 104 pitches, also known as – enough. Also, Honeypaws, I think I’ve had enough of this Throat Burner. – Because my throat burns.

The Elks scratched Zack Kelly for a run in the eighth, Julio Diaz driving in Robinson, who had drawn a walk, with two outs. Vazquez struck out, though. Rick Price hit a 1-out double against Rella in the ninth, but Clemente popped out and van der Zanden lined out softly to Maldonado to give the game away to the Raccoons…! 7-4 Critters. Carreno 2-3, BB, RBI; Pellicano (PH) 1-1; Mathers 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (8-2) and 1-3, RBI;

The Titans lost two of three to the Indians, so the Raccoons gained a game on both of their relatively close competitors during this set!

Raccoons (43-27) @ Thunder (34-37) – June 24-26, 2044

We were up 2-1 on the Thunder this year, which was also the place we had gotten Mal Phinazee from four days earlier. They were fifth in the South, out by double digits by now, and somehow still fourth in runs scored *and* runs allowed. Something didn’t add up here, given their +41 run differential (Coons: +66), which should not have them sitting three games under .500, so we had to be watchful here…!

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (6-6, 4.01 ERA) vs. Juan Ramos (5-6, 3.51 ERA)
Jake Jackson (5-3, 3.54 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (2-1, 2.09 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (7-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Natanael Abrao (4-3, 3.21 ERA)

Right, left, right. Marquez was a rookie that had been washed into the rotation by injuries, but who was doing really well, throwing four pitches, all good, and getting groundballs, too. He had a top 3 defense behind him, which helped out for sure. The Thunder were without a pile of players, including Lachlan Clarke, Jesus Adames, and Brad Simon. The Raccoons listed Alex Ramirez as day-to-day; the right-hander felt unwell upon arrival in Oklahoma City, but it wasn’t thought of as anything major, and were coming off an off day on Thursday, so should be able to go a day or two without him.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ayala – CF Phinazee – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Clark
OCT: RF Zurita – 3B Lusk – 1B Tortora – SS Ban – LF E. Moore – C Weese – CF J. Reyna – 2B Martell – P J. Ramos

The Coons scored first on a Matt Waters homer in the second inning, a solo job to left-center. Clark hit a double in the third, and was eventually joined on the bases by Phinazee (walk) and Maldo (nicked), with two outs, but Manny’s grounder to second base got the Thunder out of the jam. That was almost it for offense - neither team had more than two hits in the first five frames. Clark fumbled the lead in the sixth, walking Cullen Tortora an allowing a double to Jonathan Ban, all with one out. Ethan Moore’s sac fly got the Thunder level, but at least Kevin Weese grounded out to third base. Clark’s winning streak ended the inning after that, with a leadoff double by Jonathan Reyna, and a single by PH Dick Oshiita that gave the Thunder the lead. Oshiita was bunted to third, then scored on Angelo Zurita’s sac fly, 3-1 Thunder. Carreno singled in the eighth for only the third Coons hit on the day, but was forced out on Jose Cruz’ grounder, and Cruz was doubled up by Ayala. The Thunder added an eighth-inning run on Zack Kelly, who retired nobody and left with three on and nobody out. Craig got a double play grounder from Weese, which scored Tortora from third base. Not that it mattered – Jesse Allison struck out Phinazee, Maldonado, and Fernandez in order in the ninth. 4-1 Thunder.

So, does that mean Clark will lose six in a row again now?

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 2B Carreno – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – 3B Jimenez – LF Pellicano – P Jackson
OCT: RF Zurita – C E. Stedham – CF Tortora – 2B C. Vega – SS Ban – LF E. Moore – 1B Peck – 3B Lusk – P V. Marquez

Waters drew the leadoff walk, but doubled up by Carreno, and the Raccoons commenced the sucking from there, while the Thunder almost knocked out Jackson in the second inning. Carlos Vega hit an infield single. Ban hit a slightly more proper single. And Ethan Moore romped a 3-piece to left. And they loaded the bases with two outs even after that, until Cullen Tortora struck out hacking on a bad 2-2 pitch. Moore hit another homer in the bottom 3rd, this time a 2-piece with only Ban on base. So, that game was over then.

Toohey reached 10 homer with a solo piece to left in the fourth inning, and Kilmer doubled and scored on a Jimenez single after that, but I had no faith in the bunch. Besides, Jackson was knocked out in the bottom of the inning, giving up singles to Zurita and Tortora, which made for 10 hits in 3.1 innings, most of them loud. Chuck Jones struck out Vega and got a grounder from the switch-hitting Ban, gave up a double to righty Kyle Lusk in the bottom 5th, but struck out Marquez, so no harm was done. Then came the sixth and the middle of the order at least kept trying. Toohey led off with a double behind Tortora, then scored on Kilmer’s single in front of Tortora, 5-3. Kilmer advanced on Tortora’s throw home, then reached third when Phinazee, still hitless as a Raccoon, grounded out. The out that really hurt was Jimenez’ K, which Pellicano promptly imitated, stranding Kilmer at third base.

Jones got one more out in the sixth, with five outs by Moreno after that, all without allowing another run, but the offense couldn’t pick it up against Marquez again. The rookie lasted seven innings before replaced with right-hander Brad Blankenship after 115 pitches. Maldo grounded out to begin the eighth, but Toohey homered to right, narrowing the gap to a single run. Kilmer and Phinazee were retired, though. Norris’ scoreless eighth kept it tight, but the Raccoons brought the bottom of the order against righty Allison in the ninth inning. Cruz hit for Jimenez and singled past John Peck to put the tying run aboard. Manny hit for the pitcher in the #8 hole, whacked a ball to center, and it fell for a double, moving Cruz to third base. Tying and go-ahead runs on there, no outs, and I was really interested to find out how they’d scatter this one away. Ayala was already in the #9 slot, fell to 2-2, but then knocked a ball up the middle and past Carlos Vega…! Cruz in, Manny coming around, the throw by Tortora was late, and the Raccoons took the lead …! Waters then forced out Ayala with a grounder to second, was caught stealing, and Carreno whiffed, so that momentum dissipated in a hurry, getting in Josh Rella with no cushion against the 4-5-6 batters. Vega singled sharply to right, but Ban spanked one right at Carreno for two …! Jimmy Kuhn struck out, evening the series. 6-5 Critters. Toohey 3-4, 2 HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4, 2B, RBI; Jimenez 2-3, RBI; Cruz (PH) 1-1; Fernandez (PH) 1-1; Ayala 1-2, 2 RBI; Jones 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Norris got the W, Rella got his 20th save, and the Raccoons got away with a truly ****** start by Jackson…

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – CF Maldonado – 3B Cruz – C Kilmer – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda
OCT: RF Zurita – C E. Stedham – 1B Tortora – CF C. Vega – SS Ban – LF E. Moore – 3B Lusk – 2B Kuhn – P Abrao

Waters whacked a leadoff double off the wall in left and scored on two productive outs, while Okuda allowed no hits in three innings before a 30-minute rain delay was sure to miss him up as it began to get wet in this rubber game. By that time the Raccoons were even up 4-0, even though all the tack-on runs were unearned in the third inning. Jimmy Kuhn mishandled an Ayala roller with two outs an nobody on, after which the Critters broke out straight singles from Toohey, Manny, Maldo, and Cruz, the last three all driving home one run, before Kilmer struck out in a full count. When play resumed in the fourth, Omar Gutierrez led off with a single, stole second, and scored with two outs on an Ayala homer to right, 6-0.

But OF COURSE the rain had messed up Okuda. Two singles and a Cruz error gave the Thunder runners on the corners withw outs in the bottom 4th, since Vega had been caught stealing in between. Then the Thunder rapped off hits. Moore singled home a run, Lusk singled, Kuhn walked, Reyna singled, and a wild pitch to Zurita – three runs in total before Zurita grounded out. All runs were unearned, but Okuda continued to be adrift at sea in the fifth. Vega singled, Gutierrez’ error added Ban with two outs, and Moore hit a deep romp to left – and Manny snatched it at the fence to end the inning…!

Okuda somehow erred through the sixth without exploding, then was put away for the day, still up 6-3, somehow. We pieced it together with the pen from here, getting the seventh from Jon Craig, and the eighth between Ramirez and Kelly. Top 9th, Ray Thune walked Ayala with one out, then gave up a soft single to Toohey. Manny whipped a single to center, and Ayala got a great read and scored easily from second base. The remaining runners advanced into scoring position on Vega’s throw to home plate. Maldo was walked intentionally to get that double play set up. Zarate hit for Cruz and struck out, but Kilmer floated an RBI single into shallow right. Gutierrez grounded out, stranding three, but at least that kept Kelly in the game for the bottom 9th. He struck out Zurita, but Ed Stedham singled. Tortora got the catcher forced out with a comebacker, and Vela shambolically grounded out on a 3-0 pitch to end the game. 8-3 Raccoons! Toohey 2-5, RBI; Fernandez 3-5, 2 RBI; Cruz 2-4, RBI; Kilmer 2-5, RBI; Okuda 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, W (8-4); Kelly 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (1);

In other news

June 21 – The Pacifics lose OF Juan Benavides (.370, 5 HR, 21 RBI) for a month again, this time to a torn thumb ligament.
June 22 – The Blue Sox score in every inning they get a chance to in a 14-2 home win over the Buffaloes, but the riches are well spread out for them, with no Nashville player having more than three hits, three RBI, or three runs scored.
June 24 – Washington RF/LF Eduardo Avila (.307, 7 HR, 43 RBI) will miss a month with torn ankle ligaments.
June 25 – TIJ LF/RF Narciso Gouveia (.167, 0 HR, 1 RBI) goes 1-for-6 in his first game of the season for the Condors, but is the hero when he hits a fielder’s choice grounder to short that allows Jesus Matos (.266, 7 HR, 28 RBI) to score from third base and end an 18-inning marathon with the Loggers in a 4-3 walkoff win for Tijuana.

FL Player of the Week: RIC 1B Manny Liberos (.256, 6 HR, 43 RBI), hitting .429 (9-21) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.344, 15 HR, 49 RBI), mashing .440 (11-25) with 4 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

In an effort to create confusion, both teams used their Jon Craig relievers at the same time on Sunday. Due to the early onslaught and our Jon Craig holding up, we didn’t get to the point where both the winning and losing pitcher of the game would have been a Jon Craig. If such a thing should ever happen, I’d hope for a Raccoons rally though.

The other, cheaper but worse, option or another outfielder would have been Mike Aguirre, who was on waivers by the Loggers on Sunday, but was more of an infielder than an outfielder, even though he could be plugged into most positions. Up by six, we were sniffing an opening for the playoffs and went with Phinazee instead.

…and then Phinazee promptly went 0-for-15 (with four walks), which surprised absolutely nobody.

Everything is good.

Next week: more road games with the Condors and Titans, and then we’ll already be in July.

Fun Fact: Pablo Gonzalez of the Rebels has a triple crown in his sights.

He leads the FL in batting average (.356) and RBI (64), but lacks two homers on league leader Eddie Moreno’s 19.

The last triple crown winner in the FL was Phil Harrington, three times, but that was of course a pitching triple crown. The last batter to win a triple crown in the FL was Danny Santillano of the Miners, batting .360 with 34 HR and 105 RBI in 2030.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (45-28) @ Condors (29-45) – June 27-29, 2044

There was not much that was going right for the Condors, who were second from the bottom in both runs scored and runs allowed in the Continental League, with a -80 run differential, but they were up 2-1 in the season series, so there was that. Worst OBP, worst rotation, worst defense – it was a team that was tough to love, from the stands and from the front office.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (4-2, 4.75 ERA) vs. Aaron Howell (2-4, 4.43 ERA)
Corey Mathers (8-2, 2.79 ERA) vs. Ryan Porter (4-11, 5.09 ERA)
Brent Clark (6-7, 4.00 ERA) vs. Marc Hubbard (7-6, 3.80 ERA)

Not for the first time this season we’d manage to stalk our way around a team’s pair of southpaw starters. Whether that was good or bad was hard to tell, since we had only faced 14 left-handed starters so far this year, going 8-6, compared to 37-22 for righties.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – LF Phinazee – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley
TIJ: LF Rossi – 2B J. Matos – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Espinoza – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Reidinger – C Pasko – 3B Barcia – P Howell

Single, walk, walk – the Raccoons loaded the bases as soon as Aaron Howell finished his warm-up pitches. Toohey hit with the bases loaded, whacked the 1-1 pitch to left and it looked pretty promis- GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

After that nice start, Howell issued another two walks, a wild pitch, and a sac fly by Ricky Jimenez added a fifth run, Wheats grounding out to end the inning before ever throwing a pitch. Up 5-0 it was all on him, but the whacking began immediately, with the Condors banging him around for six hits in the first inning. Dumb luck made it five singles and a 3-run homer by Ricky Espinoza, with the three singles after that stranded when Howell struck out to end another full run through the lineup. Portland answered with the bases loaded in the top 2nd on straight singles by the 2-3-4 batters, but both Zarate and Phinazee struck out. Wheatley never finished a second run through the lineup, getting *********** for another four hits and as many runs in the bottom 2nd, ending his day with a go-ahead, 2-run double whacked by Mark Pasko.

For his efforts (1.2 IP, 7 ER), he won a no-decision after Howell put Carreno and Jimenez aboard in the top 3rd, Nate Norris, in to be burned on the long relief pyre, bunted them over, and Waters socked them in with a single to right-center. Maldonado’s 2-out single plate Waters, putting the Raccoons up 8-7 and also sending Howell to bed, finally. Right-hander Steve Bass replaced him, but also got thumped into the ground in the fifth inning. Ayala, Maldo, Toohey hit straight 1-out singles for a run, Zarate added an RBI double to go up 10-7, Phinazee was walked intentionally to load the bases, and then Carreno let one fly to right – GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!

That wasn’t even the last run in the fifth, another run scoring off Kevin Daley when Ayala hit a 2-out double with Jimenez and Norris on base. Jimenez scored, Norris became confused in unfamiliar territory, ran through the stop sign at third base, and was dead on arrival at home plate, ending the inning with a …… it was hard to count with just two paws, 15-7? The better achievement though was Norris pitching the Raccoons through the end of six, going 4.1 scoreless innings in long relief, ostensibly for the W, too. Also, the top 7th began with a Phinazee single, his first hit as a Critter. That runner on first was twice forced out on grounders before a Manny single and a walk drawn by Waters stuffed the bases for Ayala, who flew out to Nate Rossi in a full count. The Coons added one more run on a Kilmer sac fly in the ninth, while Alex Ramirez got scuffed for two Condors runs in the same inning, but at least didn’t get Josh Rella involved anymore… 16-9 Furballs. Waters 2-6, BB, 2 RBI; Ayala 3-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 4-5, BB, RBI; Toohey 3-5, HR, 5 RBI; Carreno 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 4 RBI; Jimenez 2-4, BB, 3B, RBI; Fernandez (PH) 1-1; Norris 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W (4-2);

Three stars for the offense. No stars for Wheatley.

Also no dessert for Wheatley! (slaps vanilla pudding out of Wheatley’s paws, sending Wheatley away sobbing)

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – 3B Cruz – 2B Gutierrez – P Mathers
TIJ: LF Rossi – 2B J. Matos – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Espinoza – C T. Black – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Reidinger – 3B Barcia – P R. Porter

To a degree, Tuesday’s game began like Monday’s, with three Coons on and nobody out, only this time they had done it without a base hit entirely and Toohey wasn’t gonna hit a slam, but was already on first base. Waters and Ayala walked (Waters had stolen second already), and Toohey was brushed with a pitch. A strikeout, a popout, and a flyout limited the Raccoons to zero runs in the inning, which was no surprise, given that they blasted out half their week’s allowance in runs on Monday. Cruz hit a single in the second, leading nowhere, and Porter opened the third with walks to Ayala and Toohey. Manny grounded out, advancing both, Kilmer brought in the game’s first run with a groundout, but Phinazee also grounded out, and remained a disappointment. A Toohey triple and Manny’s sac fly added a run in the fifth, 2-0, while Mathers was not dominant, but also stingy with base runners; through four he had two each of hits, walks, and strikeouts, and no runs allowed. Of course then Porter tore him up with a 2-out double in the bottom 5th. Confused, Mathers walked Rossi, then gave up an RBI single to Jesus Matos to give half the lead away. Willie Ojeda grounded out to Gutierrez to end the inning.

The Raccoons got Phinazee aboard with a leadoff single in the sixth, but also saw him caught stealing, then didn’t do much else until Mathers got his pat on the bum after seven innings. Unfortunately, he got that pat on the bum only after Sergio Barcia had tied the game with a homer in the bottom 7th. Moreno scuffled in the bottom 8th, allowing singles to Ojeda and Terry Black, with Chuck Jones coming on with two in scoring position, two outs, and Marty Reidinger up. Mark Pasko was sent to pinch-hit, switch-hitting to counter Jones, but struck out anyway to keep the game tied. Gutierrez (single) and Waters (walk) reached in the ninth for Portland, but Ayala lined out to Rossi to end the inning. Maldo stayed in for Ayala after that, with Jon Craig going into the #2 hole and almost giving up a walkoff homer in the bottom 9th, twice, both Barcia and Matos lifting balls to the warning track that were caught; only Chris Rose reached with a soft single, end the game went to extras.

The Coons got Jose Cruz into scoring position with a leadoff double off Ricardo Marquez in the 11th. Carreno hit for Gutierrez against the left-hander and hit a soft single in front of Rossi to put runners on the corners. Maldo whacked a single to center, giving Portland a 3-2 lead, and Carreno and Maldo then pulled off a double steal. Waters hit an infield roller, but legged it out – three on, nobody out! Oh, shoot. Zarate hit for Craig and struck out. Toohey struck out without being hit for. Manny flew out to Rossi in left. Un-be-(groans). At least Rella made the one run stand up… 3-2 Critters. Cruz 3-5, 2B; Gutierrez 2-4; Carreno (PH) 1-1; Craig 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2-2);

I don’t think the third game will be any easier on the nerves. Or the pen.

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – P Clark
TIJ: CF Cothern – LF Rossi – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Espinoza – C T. Black – 1B A. Zacarias – 2B J. Matos – 3B Barcia – P Hubbard

Rossi and Espinoza got Clark for base hits and a first-inning run, and three 2-out singles by Barcia, Hubbard (…), and Travis Cothern added one more in the second inning. Rossi struck out to strand two. They would ride that 2-0 lead for a long time, getting the occasional runner, but also hitting into two double plays. The Raccoons didn’t get anything against Hubbard; through six innings they had two measly hits, two lonely walks, there was an error, and never more than one base runner in an inning, and no Raccoon even reached third base. That included Zarate, who hit a double to left in the seventh inning, but was thrown out by Rossi trying to make it a triple. The game then got away for good in the bottom 7th, with Clark allowing a single to Barcia, who went unretired in the stupid game, Rossi reached, Ojeda hit an RBI single to right, an Espinoza ended the game with a 3-run homer to left. Barcia torched Craig with a 2-run homer to left in the eighth. The Raccoons scored a ****-off run in the ninth when Gene Pellicano hit a triple and scored on Manny’s sac fly, not that anybody cared. 8-1 Condors. Pellicano (PH) 1-1, 3B;

Last-place teams, huh?

Let’s try a second-place team.

Raccoons (47-29) @ Titans (40-38) – June 30-July 3, 2044

The Titans were remarkably mediocre for a second-place team, but their record also hinted at averageness. They sat fifth in runs scored, sixth in runs allowed, with a modest +25 run differential. Their pitching and defense was best described as fundamentally sound, while the offense was relying on constriction, leading the CL in OBP, but having a bottom three batting average, home runs, and stolen bases trifecta, none of which helped. They also had a pile of injuries, missing Carlos Cortes, Mark Vermillion, Rob Bottino, and reliever Guillermo Vinales to take even more teeth out of their lineup. The Raccoons were dominating the season series so far, being up 6-1. This was the final series in our grueling 13-game, 4-city, 3-country road trip.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (5-3, 3.93 ERA) vs. Emanuel Caceiro (2-6, 4.59 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (8-4, 2.93 ERA) vs. Nick Myers (7-4, 3.15 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (4-2, 5.40 ERA) vs. Ignacio del Rio (6-6, 4.28 ERA)
Corey Mathers (8-2, 2.78 ERA) vs. Jamal Barrow (5-8, 3.02 ERA)

No way to miss two lefty starters in this series, so we’d still miss one, “Tuba” Turner (8-7, 3.80 ERA). The other one, Caceiro, would open the set against Jackson.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 2B Carreno – CF Maldonado – 1B Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – RF Pellicano – P Jackson
BOS: LF Liceaga – RF Ritchey – 1B Zuazo – 2B O. Aguirre – 3B I. Lugo – CF M. Avila – C D. Phillips – SS J. Rodriguez – P Caceiro

The Titans had four base runners in the bottom 1st, with Danny Liceaga opening with a single, but was doubled up by Joe Ritchey. Then, an infield single by Alvin Zuazo, Oscar Aguirre walked, and Ivan Lugo dropped an RBI double in right-center. Moises Avila grounded out to Toohey before it could get Wheatley-sized ugly. The Raccoons put Fernandez and Kilmer aboard to begin the second, but Jimenez chopped into a double play and Pellicano fanned. Jackson scattered five hits in three innings, being on the brink of more damage all the time, but the Raccoons opened the fourth with singles from Toohey and Manny to center. Then Kilmer hit into a double play and Jimenez lined out to Lugo…

The Titans responded with a fourth-inning run, Liceaga legging out a 2-out infield grounder with Devin Phillips and Juan Rodriguez on the corners, which was the kind of stupid **** that would get a second-place teams eight games out at the end of June back into thick contention. Boston had the bases loaded on Aguirre and Lugo singles and a walk to Avila in the fifth, but Phillips now jammed into a double play, this one ending the inning. Manny hit a double in the sixth that led nowhere, while Zuazo also hit a double in the sixth inning, with two outs, and driving home two runs. I just hate Boston. I just hate the ******* **** place. ******* ******* ****** Boston! (nearby kids start to cry and an usher closes in for admonishment)

Top 7th, Jimenez opened with a single. Pellicano, useless as ever, flew out to left. Ayala hit for a hapless Jackson (11 hits in six innings) and walked. Waters then found the gap between Avila and Liceaga for an RBI double, which pulled up the tying run with two guys in scoring position. Carreno obliged, ramming a shot through Lugo for a 2-run single, then was caught stealing. The Raccoons went down 1-2-3 in the eighth, but the Titans added 1-2-3 in their half of the inning, getting hits by Ritchey and Zuazo off Kelly, then a home run mashed by Aguirre off Ramirez. That one sort of put the game away. 7-3 Titans. Carreno 2-4, 2 RBI; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 2B;

We’re totally getting swept here in this ******** **** town.

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – 2B Carreno – P Okuda
BOS: 2B O. Aguirre – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – LF Casaus – 1B Zuazo – CF M. Avila – 3B I. Lugo – SS Greeley – P N. Myers

Waters opened with a double on Friday and scored on a wild pitch before the inning was over when the three guys behind him made nothing but poor outs. Okuda meanwhile faced nothing but right-handed bats, so that one would be “interesting” to watch. The Titans put four aboard against him in the first two innings. Ritchey reached and was caught stealing in the first, while Zuazo, Lugo, and Thomas Greeley all reached in the second inning, but Myers stranded them with the third out, a pop to Maldo. The Coons had the bases loaded in their next time at-bat, the top 3rd. Carreno, Waters, and Toohey reached – in all seriousness – on a Lugo error, a walk, and catcher’s interference. Maldo batted with two outs, fell to 1-2, and then emptied the sacks with a gapper in right-center for a 3-run triple. WHATEVER ******* WORKS, BOYS!! Manny popped out to Sandy Casaus, former top 25 prospect turned situational dud to annoy the Critters specifically.

Okuda would not be in the game for long, that much was blatantly obvious. The Titans piled up runners, two more on sharp singles in the third that were stranded when Zuazo lined out to a hustling Toohey, and his pitch count was already over 60. With any luck, he’d manage five for a W. To that end, he singled home Carreno with two outs in the fourth inning, 5-0, but that came after Carreno’s double had seen Phinazee thrown out at home plate by Ritchey. Okuda took 95 pitches through five, which was accomplished when Ritchey hit into a 5-4-3 to Maldo to erase the 1-out walk Aguirre had drawn. He did come back out for the sixth inning, gnawed on Dan Whitley for a 6-pitch groundout, got Casaus to pop out on one pitch, then yielded a single to Zuazo, and while a reasonable manager would haul him in now, the Raccoons wanted to get that one more out and then pinch-hit for him in the seventh rather than double-switch him out. When Avila singled in a full count, we had to make the move anyway, now with Titans on the corners. Moreno replaced him in the #7 hole, Maldo going to center and Jimenez entering in the #9 hole, playing third. Lugo popped out, keeping Okuda’s sheet clean, albeit crumpled at the corners.

Jimenez opened the top 7th with a single, advanced on a grounder and a wild pitch, then scored on an Ayala single against left-hander Gabe Butler. The Titans only reached the board in the eighth against Norris, who allowed a leadoff triple to Ritchey, struck out Whitley, but Casaus (…) got him with a single, improving his average all the way to .188 … A lack of righty relievers put Josh Rella into the bottom 9th with a 5-run lead. He made it a save situation, surrendering bombs to Greeley and Aguirre, for whatever reason, but was also kind enough to get three outs… 6-3 Raccoons. Phinazee 2-3, 2B; Jimenez (PH) 1-2;

Maybe we won’t get swept.

But we’re sure trying!

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – 3B Jimenez – SS Gutierrez – P Wheatley
BOS: LF Liceaga – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B Zuazo – 2B O. Aguirre – 3B I. Lugo – CF M. Avila – SS J. Rodriguez – P del Rio

The pitching matchup alone for the Saturday game had great nastiness potential, with former Raccoon Ignacio del Rio, who left Portland on bad terms, up against Wheatley, who’s furry bum was still sore from Monday’s massacre. And it didn’t seem to get any better. Leadoff walk to Liceaga, Whitley single, and then his own error on Zuazo’s comebacker to load the bases. Aguirre hit an RBI single to center before Carreno turned two on Lugo’s grounder, ending the inning down only 1-0. For now. Liceaga doubled home Avila with two outs in the second, 2-0, and Aguirre very nearly went deep in the third inning.

It was entirely the defense that dragged Wheatley through six shoddy innings, more than one heroic catch being made in the outfield… per inning, more or less, it seemed. The Raccoons obviously got absolutely nothing off del Rio, who scattered three hits against five whiffs in six innings to maintain the 2-0 lead. Manny grounded out. Kilmer grounded out. Phinazee hit a home run to center that came sort of unexpected, but of course also only cut the gap in half. And Jimenez grounded out again. Zack Kelly held the Titans short in the bottom 7th, and Gutierrez and Carreno took up the corners with singles in the eighth, and only one out. The Titans seemed to have total confidence in del Rio against Ayala, but he fell behind 3-1, then threw a pretty hittable ball that Ayala lobbed into left for a game-tying single. Toohey scratched out a walk to load the bags, and Manny Fernandez also ran a 3-1 count, held off on a ball in the dirt, and pushed home the go-ahead run with the bases-loaded walk…! That was it for del Rio, but another run scored on Juan Rodriguez butchering Kilmer’s grounder for an error when it could have ended the inning. With Bobby Klopotek relieving, Phinazee struck out, but that was still only the second out, and the Raccoons sent Jose Cruz for an 0-for-3 Jimenez, which worked for a 3-run double into the rightfield corner, and thus maximum efficiency. That was a 6-run turnaround.

The Titans heavily leaning right in their lineup (much emphasized with the injuries) put a strain on the bullpen, especially in a 4-game set. Up by five once Gutierrez made the last out in the top 8th, the Raccoons brought in Chuck Jones for the bottom 8th. He would have Liceaga, the only lefty in sight, leading off, then nothing but righty bats, but we felt that cheating a bit here might give us a better chance on Sunday. Ritchey promptly reached on an infield single with one out, but Jones got soft outs from the next two hitters to get out unharmed. Ramirez would complete the game. 7-2 Coons. Carreno 2-5; Ayala 2-4, 2B, RBI; Cruz (PH) 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI;

A win on Sunday would give us a double-digit lead in the division, putting the Titans 10 out, with the damn Elks not in reach, either. If we lost, we at least left town with a split, which wasn’t horrendous when entering up by eight.

Game 4
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Gutierrez – P Mathers
BOS: LF Liceaga – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B Zuazo – 2B O. Aguirre – 3B I. Lugo – CF M. Avila – SS J. Rodriguez – P Barrow

Barrow allowed only one meager hit the first time through, while Mathers was booked for three hits in three innings, and unfortunately a run on a leadoff single by Rodriguez and a 2-out RBI single by Ritchey in the bottom 3rd. At least the Raccoons woke up once down. Toohey and Maldo hit leadoff singles over the shortstop to begin the fourth inning, and Manny beat Moises Avila in center for an RBI double to tie the game. Runners were in scoring position with nobody out, with Zarate giving Portland a 2-1 lead with a grounder to second. Barrow walked Jimenez, but rung up Gutierrez in a full count, then fell to Mathers, giving up a sharp RBI single to center with two outs and ahead 0-2. Waters worked a 4-pitch walk to fill the bases, but Ayala struck out in a full count, keeping it 3-1 in the fourth, which became 3-2 in the fifth. Mathers walked Liceaga with two outs. The runner stole second, then came in when Ritchey singled to left-center. Whitley was robbed in center by Maldonado, making Mathers’ escape with a lead after five a lucky one.

Mathers completed seven on 105 pitches, with the score unchanged, although Barrow singled off him in the seventh. Barrow also retained the ball in the eighth, giving up a 2-out single to Gutierrez, but Phinazee flew out to right, hitting for Mathers. Moreno had a 1-2-3 eighth, followed by Barrow offering a leadoff walk to Waters in the ninth. Ayala doubled, and so did Toohey, driving in two insurance runs, which were still charged to Barrow while the bullpen now gave out. Maldo and Manny walked, and Zarate clipped an RBI single, and the same for Jimenez. Aaron Durham walked in a run against Gutierrez, then reconsidered his career choices and struck out Cruz, Waters, and Pellicano in order to strand three, but by now the damage had been done and the Raccoons had unfurled a 5-spot. Craig retired the Titans in order in the bottom of the inning. 8-2 Raccoons. Ayala 2-5, 2B; Toohey 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Malonado 2-3, 2 BB; Gutierrez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Mathers 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W (9-2) and 1-3, RBI;

In other news

June 27 – PIT LF/CF Kevin Burch (.323, 3 HR, 20 RBI) drives in five runs from the #8 hole in an 18-5 rout of the Pacifics.
June 28 – The Rebels beat the Stars, 3-2 in 10 innings, on a walkoff balk committed by DAL MR Matt Simmons (4-1, 3.62 ERA, 2 SV).
July 1 – Blue Sox 3B/SS Brad Critzer (.252, 6 HR, 38 RBI), batting leadoff, drives in five runs on four hits in a 15-11, 10-inning win over the Capitals.
July 3 – Indians mainstay 3B Dan Hutson (.270, 11 HR, 41 RBI) is shipped to Los Angeles for five prospects. The package includes #20 SP Barry Montgomery and #84 OF Gerardo Zafra.
July 3 – MIL 1B/RF/LF Aaron Brayboy (.320, 17 HR, 51 RBI) hits a home run for the only tally in the Loggers’ 1-0 win over the Canadiens.

FL Player of the Week: SAC LF/RF Mike Preble (.371, 12 HR, 40 RBI), batting .462 (12-26) with 2 HR, 10 RBI
CL Player of the Week: TIJ INF Sergio Barcia (.341, 5 HR, 17 RBI), flicking .464 (13-28) with 2 HR, 4 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: NAS 1B Chris Delagrange (.309, 12 HR, 54 RBI), hitting .370 with 5 HR, 20 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: IND OF Danny Rivera (.268, 10 HR, 39 RBI), batting .337 with 8 HR, 21 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: TOP SP Josh Bourgeois (9-5, 3.52 ERA), hurling for a 5-0 record with 2.11 ERA, 32 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: TIJ SP Marc Hubbard (8-6, 3.59 ERA), tossing to a 5-1 mark with 1.31 ERA, 24 K
FL Rookie of the Month: CIN INF/LF Chris Delgado (.300, 11 HR, 45 RBI), hitting .286 with 4 HR, 13 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: CHA OF David Vasquez (.313, 3 HR, 15 RBI), poking .360 with 2 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

50 wins before halftime …!? The Monday game against the Arrowheads would be the 81st game of the year. We were also 10 games ahead of the Titans now, who sat at .500 after losing three of four to the Critters on the weekend. Everybody else was 5+ games under .500.

So now we wait for the rush of crippling injuries?

We also reached first place in runs scored again this week, 386 runs (4.8/G) ahead of the damn Elks’ 381 (they played three more games already). They have a -33 run differential, too. Yours truly? +80. The wicked thing is that despite us having the most runs in the CL, we have no player on pace for more than 85 RBI. Toohey leads the team with 42, but on the other paw, Matt Waters is seventh on the team with *30* RBI. Everybody is a contributor, with Ayala, Maldo, Manny, Kilmer, and Carreno all in between. Jimenez and Cruz at least have 39 RBI between them, and Zarate has 27 despite having not having played a lot early on. Derek Baskins, who will go on rehab around the All Star break, even has 20 while welling on the DL.

And while the numbers are not pretty for both Jimenez and Manny Fernandez, both of them have been crushed by a .250-ish BABIP for half a season. Cruz and Toohey are the only two Raccoons with a BABIP that would make you suggest they were lucky. The third-highest BABIP on the team, Zarate’s, is a mere .302! This is also part of where all those soul-crushing three on, no outs, no runs come from.

We also do it in a terrible division, 31 games under .500 as a whole at the midway point. The Raccoons dawdled away a 10 1/2 game they held on June 26, 2007. Will they dawdle away a 10-game lead they hold on July 3, 2044? The Crusaders are probably not rallying from behind this time.

Arturo Carreno briefly led the CL with 27 stolen bases this week, but went 0-for-2 in Boston and dropped behind Andrew Russ again, who has 28 stolen bags now. None of them would be a threat to the Warriors’ Mario Villa, who has 38 bags in the Federal League. The 23-year-old is also hitting .369/.414/.530, about the lone bright spot on a last-place team. Apart from that, Okuda and Mathers have snuck into the top 3 in ERA, but trail Atlanta’s David Farris by almost half a run. The 30-year-old right-hander Farris is having a career year, 9-2 with a 2.34 ERA. He went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA last year.

The schedule will now give us 14 straight games against losing teams, all in division. After that, the Knights and Baybirds beckon in the second half of the month.

The July International Free Agent period has begun. We could not find a pitcher we liked this year, but we’re after four position players, one expensive outfielder and three value options that might sneak up on somebody in five years.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons have won 100 games only once, in 1996.

That was the 108-54 season we had. It wasn’t enough gas left in the tank to win eight more, though.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (50-30) vs. Indians (36-45) – July 4-7, 2044

Bottoms in the CL in runs scored with barely 3.5 runs per game, even solid pitching (tied for third-fewest runs allowed) couldn’t help the Indians, who were about to be selling everything not nailed down twice. The offense was at or near the bottom in many categories, but somehow not in stolen bases, of which they had 103, second in the CL (Coons: a distant 3rd). Andrew Russ had 28 SB, Danny Rivera 23, Bill Quinteros 13, and more sprinkled between the supporting cast. We had taken two of three the first time around against them this year, and would now play four and four with them around the All Star Game.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (6-8, 4.31 ERA) vs. Ayden Cobb (4-7, 3.69 ERA)
Jake Jackson (5-4, 4.07 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (2-2, 3.32 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (9-4, 2.76 ERA) vs. Chris Volk (0-6, 8.01 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (4-2, 5.24 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (9-5, 3.06 ERA)

The Indians’ rotation was in flux, as they had traded SP Sal Chavez (5-9, 4.75 ERA) to the Gold Sox on their way in. They received two prospects, including #79 SS/3B Chris Walley. Chavez’ turn would have been Monday. Cobb would go on short rest on Monday instead, and we figured we’d see four right-handers here.

Game 1
IND: 3B Russ – CF N. Galvan – LF D. Rivera – RF B. Quinteros – 2B E. Vargas – SS A. Avila – C Ebner – 1B Huber – P A. Cobb
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 3B Cruz – C Kilmer – SS Waters – P Clark

Brent Clark retired the first seven before nailing Adam Huber, which quickly became a third-inning run on a 2-out single by Andrew Russ, the CL stolen base leader, who immediately made it 29 bags with a swipe of second, but, carrying the tying run, was stranded with a K to Nelson Galvan. Jeff Kilmer had put the Raccoons on top with a 2-run homer in the bottom 2nd, plating Jose Cruz.

Then everything fell apart for the battery in the fifth inning. Huber singled and stole second, then third. PH Nick Crocker and Russ both hit singles off Clark, tying the game by means of Huber and themselves going to the corners, with Russ swiping #30. Galvan hit a go-ahead sac fly before Russ reached third base on a wild pitch. Danny Rivera bounced out to Carreno on a 3-1 pitch to strand Russ at third base. It didn’t get better for Clark afterwards, either, giving up singles to Bill Quinteros and Andres Avila, who drove in Quinteros from second thanks to an intermediate wild pitch to make it 4-2 in the sixth, and then departed with a walk to Sean Ebner. Jon Craig stranded the runners with a K and a groundout, but the Raccoons just couldn’t get on base – at all! – against a parade of relievers after Cobb had been hit for in the fifth, not getting the W. In fact, after a fifth-inning single by Clark, of all Furballs, nobody else in the brown shirt reached base in the sixth, or in the seventh, or in the eighth. Before they could choke their way to the loss, Alex Ramirez pitched in the top of the ninth inning and walked the bases full, prompting a wasteful appearance by Josh Rella to whiff up Avila, stranding all the runners. In the bottom 9th, the Coons were up against righty Willie Gonzales and his 1.74 ERA. Maldonado flew out to right. Manny Fernandez flew out to left. Cruz grounded out to short. 4-2 Indians.

There was a roster move on Tuesday. 35-year-old Alex Ramirez ha failed his way to 31 walks in 33 innings, and was only held together by an advantageous BABIP. At the same time, we had a whole number of young relievers in AAA pushing up. Bob Ibold and Sean Marucci had a case for promotion, but we picked Preston Porter over both of them. He had 4 walks in 22.1 innings in AAA, with a 3.63 ERA influenced by a bad BABIP well over .300; Porter had pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 10 games in ’43.

Game 2
IND: 2B A. Avila – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – RF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – SS Huber – 3B N. Hernandez – 1B S. Jennings – P A. Flores
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – SS Waters – P Jackson

Nelson Hernandez was thrown out at home plate by Manny in the second inning on a 2-out hit by Flores, which was the sort of thing we had to contend with, and while down by two runs again, thanks to an instant 2-run homer by Rivera in the first inning. Avila had singled to center. Maldo and Manny singled to begin the bottom 2nd, but when Kilmer took ball four in a full count I was sort of annoyed, given our legendary uselessness with three on and nobody out. Also, Mal Phinazee was hitting .147/.275/.265 as a Critter, and we should let Chad do all the trades now. He came through, though, in a shock move, hitting an RBI single to right to get the Coons on the board. Then Flores struck out Waters and Jackson, but couldn’t put away Carreno in a 1-2 count. He singled to left, plating Manny and Kilmer to flip the score, while Phinazee and Carreno were on second and first before embarking on a double steal. Sophomore Julian Diaz threw the ball past the reach of Hernandez, allowing Phinazee to scurry home and Carreno to third base, 4-2. Ayala grounded up the middle to Avila, who dropped the ball picking it from his glove, which amounted to a run-scoring error. Toohey singled, Maldo walked, and so did Manny, now with the bases full again, pushing home the inning’s sixth run. Kilmer flew out to center to end the marathon.

Jackson got the vaunted shutdown inning after that rally, only to have a piano fall on his head in the fifth. Cesar Suarez, relief pitcher by day, slapped a single, which was not the end… yet. With two outs, Rivera reached on an error by Carreno, and Nelson Galvan’s liner to right was lunged for by Toohey – and missed, becoming a 2-run triple. Quinteros flew out to Manny, but now it was only a 6-4 game…

That wasn’t the last run off Jackson, who gave up a seventh-inning homer to Enrique Vargas in the #9 hole before being ushered out of the shooting range, barely ahead in a skinny 6-5 game. Chuck Jones got out of the inning, while Orlando Altreche brittled with two outs in the bottom of the same frame. Waters doubled to center, Ricky Jimenez (who entered with Jones in a double switch that sat down Manny Fernandez) was walked intentionally, but Carreno clipped an RBI single to center. Ayala grounded hard to right, but Avila intercepted the ball and fired to first base blindly, beating Ayala in bang-bang fashion to end the inning. Against Ruben Vela in the bottom 8th, the Raccoons loaded the bases with Toohey, Gutierrez, and Phinazee, but also with two outs, bringing up a 3-for-4 Waters. He fell to 0-2 before hitting a hard liner – but right at Steven Jennings at first base, ending the inning, and then starting the next with a single to left off Rella from the #8 slot. Rella remained in control though, and got the next three on a strikeout and two pops on the infield. 7-5 Critters. Carreno 2-5, 3 RBI; Toohey 3-5; Maldonado 2-4, BB, 2B; Waters 3-5, 2B;

The Indians traded MR Ruben Vela (4-1, 0.89 ERA, 4 SV), who had given up the Raccoons’ insurance run in this game, to the damn Elks on Wednesday, getting back a meaty haul of four prospects, none of whom were ranked, even though right-hander Tim Moore looked interesting at least.

I had a bet with Maud and Slappy for the Wednesday game regarding Volk. I was convinced that the Raccoons would at most score two earned runs off the guy with an 8+ ERA. Slappy, the hopeless optimist, said they’d get at least four. Somehow, after a bit of back and forth and negotiating from Cristiano, the sneaky bugger, that turned into a bet that whoever was right, Maud would ride three laps around the office on the back of the other. Three runs – bad luck for Maud. Maybe Cristiano could give her a joyride on the wheelchair.

Game 3
IND: SS Russ – RF B. Quinteros – 3B Walley – C Julian Diaz – 2B E. Vargas – CF Crocker – LF D. Diaz – 1B Huber – P Volk
POR: 2B Carreno – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – SS Waters – 1B Phinazee – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda

Well, the Raccoons actually did score first – getting a run on a Waters single, wild pitch, and another single by Phinazee in the second inning. Phinazee was then caught stealing before, you know, in a 1-0 game, it could get ugly. Bottom 3rd, Carreno got on base, and Maldo got Maud off Slappy’s back with a 2-run homer to right-center, 3-0. Toohey, Manny, and Zarate then piled on base after that, all with two outs, and Waters batted with the bases stuffed, and singled in two up the middle despite falling behind 0-2. Cristiano and Maud had themselves a good giggle about it, while I hurried out of the office to find Dr. Padilla to write a medical waiver for me.

I missed two runs for the Indians in a messy fourth, and didn’t get the waiver either, Dr. Padilla advising me in the trainer’s room that I needed exercise anyway. Oh well, at least Jimenez tripled home Waters in the sixth to go up 6-2. – Yes, Yes, Maud. After the game!

The bags were full in the seventh with Maldo, Toohey, and Manny all drawing walks with nobody out against righty Luis Anzaldo. Maldo stole second before being joined on base, his eighth of the season. Zarate hit a single to center for a run, and Waters hit a sac fly to left, leading to Cesar Suarez to replace Anzaldo. Clutch ran out against Suarez, but the lead was six runs. Porter then made his season debut in the eighth inning, facing the top of the order. He retired the 1-2-3 hitters on two grounders sandwiching a pop to short. Portland tagged on a run with a Maldonado sac fly that brought home Carreno after a walk, stolen base, and error. Porter remained in and finished the game after that. 9-2 Raccoons. Zarate 2-4, RBI; Waters 3-3, 3 RBI; Jimenez 1-2, 2 BB, 3B, RBI; Okuda 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (10-4); Porter 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

(lies crushed under Maud, who is trying not to sob) Well, somebody needs to go on a diet!

Game 4
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – 1B S. Jennings – RF Crocker – 3B Huber – 2B A. Avila – P Drury
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – CF Phinazee – 3B Jimenez – 2B Gutierrez – P Wheatley

Wheatley threw 25 pitches in the first inning, and none of them good. He also didn’t retire any of the first four batters. Russ singled, stole second, scored on a Rivera single and then the bags got full on another single and a walk. Jennings hit a sac fly, and Crocker hit into a 6-4-3 deus-ex-machina resolution that didn’t see Wheats being stretchered off with gaping blunderbuss wounds – yet. The bottom three in the Critters’ order hit 2-out base hits in the bottom 2nd, driving in one run when Gutierrez plated Jimenez, but him an Wheatley were stranded on the corners when Waters flew out to Crocker. The game would be tied the inning after, which Ayala and Maldo began on base before the latter was forced out on Manny’s grounder to short. But the Indians didn’t get two, and on the next grounder up the middle by Zarate they got none, as Russ missed it, lunging, by inches, and the tying run came home on the single. Phinazee struck out, Jimenez grounded out, and two were stranded.

As abysmally terrible as the first inning was – I was inquiring in St. Pete which shoe size Victor Merino had again – somehow Wheats reined himself in after that. The Indians got next to nothing off him afterwards, and now we were waiting for an offensive breakthrough. Wheatley drew a walk himself in the bottom 4th, Waters singled, but Ayala hit into an inning-curtailing 6-4-3. In the sixth he singled with two outs, moving Jimenez from second to third, but Waters flew out easily to right now, and the game remained tied at two, and it remained as such for as long as Wheatley hung around, which turned out 7.2 innings, when he ran into Danny Rivera with Danny Diaz on first and already over 100 pitches. Chuck Jones came on and got a K to exit the inning, but here was yet another no-decision for Wheatley. Bottom 8th, the Indians’ Willie Gonzales put on Zarate (single) and Jimenez (walk), before a Russ error also added Gutierrez, all with one out. Toohey batted for Jones, but struck out, and Waters flew out to Galvan on the first pitch… Rella threw 20 pitches to keep the Indians squeezed out in the top of the ninth, with the go-ahead run reaching third base on account of two singles, but they didn’t break through – but neither did the Raccoons.

In the 10th it was Andrew Russ, the annoying bugger, to break the tie when he took Zack Kelly deep to left; only his second homer of the season, and a solo shot. The Raccoons annoyingly had the bottom of the order up against righty Tommy Gardner in the bottom 10th – but then again Gardner had a 6.95 ERA, so maybe… He nicked Phinazee on a 3-1 pitch, which was a painful, but encouraging start. Jimenez grounded out, advancing the tying run to second base. Here we sent Jose Cruz to hit for a 1-for-4 Omar Gutierrez, and he cracked a ball over the mound, through Gardner’s legs, and over the bag for an RBI single, staving off defeat in the 10th …! Carreno ran for Cruz, but Kilmer struck out in Kelly’s place, and while Waters walked, Ayala’s drive to left was caught by Rivera, and the game would go on yet. Norris had a 1-2-3 dispatch of the Arrowheads in the 11th, but the Raccoons made nothing out of Maldonado reaching on an error and Zarate singling in the bottom of the inning, ending it with two flies to center. Neither Carreno nor Pellicano reached in the bottom 12th, but Waters put his bum on base as the tying run with two outs, then stole second, too. Ayala rode an 0-for-5 that needed upgrading – and he did. Single to right on a 1-2 pitch off Domingo Murillo, and here comes Waters, and the Raccoons take the series…! 4-3 Critters. Zarate 3-6, RBI; Jimenez 2-5, BB, 2 2B; Cruz (PH) 1-1, RBI; Wheatley 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K and 2-3, BB; Norris 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (5-2);

Raccoons (53-31) @ Loggers (32-54) – July 8-10, 2044

Last scratches before the All Star Game! The Loggers were back to horrendous after six years of playing winning baseball. They had neither offense, nor pitching (bottom four in both), nor any luck. The defense was good, they were hitting homers, and they were nominally stuffed with the particularly annoying sort of coonskinners, but of course Ted Del Veccchio was out for the season (probably), and that mostly left Aaron Brayboy (.314, 17 HR, 53 RBI) to terrorize the Critters. He led that team in all triple crown categories, and it was not close in any of them. We were up 6-2 on Milwaukee this season.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (9-2, 2.77 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (5-7, 2.78 ERA)
Brent Clark (6-9, 4.45 ERA) vs. Chris Lulay (1-5, 4.44 ERA)
Jake Jackson (6-4, 4.08 ERA) vs. Ruben Guzman (6-7, 4.20 ERA)

Righty, lefty, righty. I was inclined to sit all the lefty bats on Saturday then. Maldo got a day off on Friday. All this was with an 11-game lead (bigger than any lead the Raccoons had ever blown!), and a desire not to break any of the good guys just before the break.

Game 1
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – 3B Jimenez – SS Gutierrez – P Mathers
MIL: RF Cannizzard – 2B S. Pena – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – LF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – SS McNelis – 3B Paul – P Piedra

Sergio Pena and Aaron Brayboy went to the corners in the bottom 1st, but Mathers also struck out three to keep the Loggers off the board, but still fell behind on straight hits to begin the bottom 2nd by Felipe Gomez (double), Eric McNelis (single), and Jared Paul (single), with the quirk that Paul drove in *McNelis*, on whose single Gomez had been thrown out at home plate by Mal Phinazee, but with McNelis advancing to second base, from where Paul drove him in. While the Loggers kept flicking away singles, the Raccoons had nothing cooking. Milwaukee went up 2-0 in the fourth, Pena driving home Paul. Piedra’s bunt had been bungled by Mathers himself for an error, making the second run unearned. Their run in the fifth was earned, another two singles, including a leadoff clipper by Bill Reeves, whom Mathers balked to second base. Gomez drove him in, 3-0.

Mathers struck out five while getting mobbed for 11 hits and the three runs through six innings, while Piedra suffocated the Raccoons to the tune of two hits and seven strikeouts. It didn’t get any better in the seventh with the 3-4-5 down 1-2-3, including strikeouts to Manny and Kilmer. The eighth was about as bad, and the Raccoons were retired in order again. The ninth began with Waters batting for Kelly in the pitcher’s hole, while righty Cesar Perez took over for a dominant Piedra. He struck out, and Cruz grounded out batting for Carreno. Ayala singled, delaying the inevitable just slightly, before… actually, Toohey singled to left, bringing up the tying run in Manny Fernandez after all. He fell to 0-2, then poked one up the middle, and the infielders missed it – RBI single…! Perez walked Kilmer, loading the bases for a listless Phinazee, and the Raccoons made a sketchy move and took away the platoon advantage, sending Maldonado to bat instead. And Maldo struck out. 3-1 Loggers. Ayala 2-4;

After the game I dug my face into a guardrail at the ballpark so hard, it took three ushers to unclench my jaws from it.

For Saturday, we couldn’t actually stuff the lineup with only right-handed bats. There were not enough non-left-handed outfielders / first basemen making the rounds at this point.

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 2B Carreno – LF Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – CF Phinazee – RF Pellicano – P Clark
MIL: CF Cannizzard – 2B Davison – LF Reeves – 1B Brayboy – C Payne – 3B Paul – RF Serad – SS S. Pena – P Lulay

Phinazee at least didn’t tank his stock any further than he already had, and when he came up with the bases loaded and one out in the first inning jabbed an RBI single to center to keep the line moving and raising the lead to 3-0. Waters, Maldo, and Toohey had all hit singles, Kilmer had been nicked, and Jimenez had reached on an error by T.J. Serad. And the Coons actually continued after the Phinazee single when unimpressive Gene Pellicano hit a 2-run double off the fence in left to go up to 5-0. Clark’s grounder brought in a sixth run before Reeves snatched a Waters fly to end the inning. Lulay would only get one out beyond this point before a combination of soft singles, hit batters (Maldo), and infield errors evicted him in an 8-0 game in the second inning. Lefty Marvin Verduzco replaced him with three on and one down, facing Pellicano, who came through again, this time with a CRUSHER to right – GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!!

That settled Lulay’s line at 1.1 innings, 11 runs (8 earned), but the Loggers’ staff had yet to close the gaping hole in the dam. The Raccoons loaded the bases again in the third inning, then got 1-out RBI singles from Phinazee and Pellicano, the old slugger, while Jimenez came home on Clark’s sac fly to right. That ran the score to a mild 15-0. It was safe to say that this was Clark’s game to lose, and they showed no signs of rallying out of that hole any time soon. In turn the Raccoons added a solo homer by Phinazee in the fifth, and then Milwaukee also let out a squeak, Serad singling, stealing second, and scoring on Pena’s single in the bottom of the same inning. Another run scored on a pinch-hit sac fly by Jonathan Fleming in the bottom 7th, getting home Serad and a leadoff double. Clark was done after seven, throwing 116 pitches to make it that far.

So that left us scrambling for the bullpen in a 16-2 game, while the eighth began with ancient long-ago Raccoon Josh Boles facing Pellicano, who was 3-for-4 with a homer, a double, a single, and seven ribbies, somehow. He also zinged the 1-1 pitch into the gap in right-center, then instantly lit the afterburners out of the box, zooming around the bases like a black-and-white flash and sliding into third base – safe! GENE PELLICANO … had hit for the cycle!!! NOW I HAVE SEEN … *EVERYTHING*!!

The Raccoons also threatened to strand him with Cruz’ foul pop and Waters’ comebacker. Carreno walked, and then Maldo singled up the middle to get that leadoff triple home. Then Toohey took Josh Boles to where the sun don’t shine in leftfield, a 3-run homer that made it 20 for the night. Reeves would homer off Jon Craig in the bottom 8th to not quite make up for it, Porter allowed no runs in the ninth. 20-3 Furballs!!! Maldonado 3-5, 2B, RBI; Toohey 3-6, HR, 4 RBI; Phinazee 3-6, HR, 4 RBI; Pellicano 4-6, HR, 3B, 2B, 7 RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W (7-9);

(blinks, disturbed)

Squee?

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS Davison – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – LF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – 2B S. Pena – 3B Paul – P R. Guzman

The Loggers lost Brayboy to injury on a first-inning double, with T.J. Serad replacing him and getting stranded. Guzman had already nicked Maldo in the first inning, then nicked Zarate with Manny (double) and Waters (walk) on base in the top 2nd, and also no outs. Ugh, three on, and three lottery tickets. Jimenez hit a sac fly for the lead, and Jackson hit a comebacker for a double play… But they had without a doubt all their runs for the next two week out of their system after Saturday, so that was that.

Then we nearly had a brawl in the third inning, in which Ayala AND Maldonado were drilled by Guzman, the **********. That made it four nicked Raccoons in 2.1 innings. The restless Raccoons could barely resist the urge to take off Guzman’s dumb head, if only to check whether there were sweets inside. When they were done chirping, Toohey and Manny made sullen outs to strand the free runners, while Guzman answered with a leadoff single, Cannizzard also singled, and two groundouts tied the game before Reeves struck out to leave Cannizzard on third with the go-ahead run.

Their next time up, Ayala and Maldo drew 1-out walks, and I felt like we had been there before, only with a lead. Toohey flew out to center, but Manny found the hole up the middle for a 2-out, go-ahead single. Waters then flew out to Daniel Hertenstein on the first pitch. Jimenez reached in the sixth and was bunted to second base. Carreno singled, parking them on the corners, and Ayala turned a 1-2 pitch into an RBI single in leftfield. Maldo rolled a single through the right side then. Carreno came around to score, but Ayala was thrown out at third base by Cannizzard, ending the inning, Portland being up 4-1. Of that lead, Zarate surrendered a run in the bottom 6th with a throwing error that allowed T.J. Serad to score, but pulled the run back in the next half-inning, singling home Manny Fernandez, who had singled off Ron Purcell and stolen second, to restore the 3-run gap at 5-2. Jackson grinded his way into the eighth before being knocked out by Serad and Reeves both hitting 2-out singles, bringing the tying run to the plate. The Raccoons went to Nelson Moreno, who rung up Hertenstein to get out of the inning. Rella retired Milwaukee 1-2-3 in the ninth to put the game away. 5-2 Raccoons! Fernandez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Jackson 7.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (7-4) and 1-3;

In other news

July 4 – SAC LF/RF Mike Preble (.374, 12 HR, 40 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak thanks to a ninth-inning single in a 4-1 loss to the Pacifics.
July 6 – Sacramento outfielder Mike Preble (.370, 12 HR, 42 RBI) goes hitless in a 5-2 win over the Pacifics, 0-for-4, to end his hitting streak at 21 games.
July 6 – Titans and Loggers play a 19-inning marathon that goes 5-4 Boston’s way. BOS MR Danny Fox (1-0, 1.88 ERA, 1 SV) nips his first major league win with three innings of long relief.
July 8 – Buffaloes RF/CF Mike Hall (.274, 3 HR, 44 RBI) hits a double off RIC SP Omar Lara (8-7, 3.72 ERA), requisitioned into late-night duty, to end a 17-inning game against the Rebels with a 5-4 walkoff win.
July 10 – NYC SP Paul Paris (6-5, 5.40 ERA) 3-hits the Titans in a 4-0 shutout, whiffing seven Bostonians.

FL Player of the Week: SAC LF/RF Nate Culp (.294, 14 HR, 50 RBI), hitting .464 (13-28) with 1 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 1B/C Jeff Wilson (.280, 4 HR, 23 RBI), batting .588 (10-17) with 1 HR, 2 RBI

Complaints and stuff

So, Gene Pellicano hit for the cycle in a rout of the Loggers on Saturday, first Raccoon since Tim Stalker in 2033 to hit for the cycle. Man, it will be so hard on the kid when he gets sent back to AAA when Derek Baskins comes off the DL.

Speaking of which, Derek Baskins started a rehab assignment on Friday, and will be back here when play resumes after the All Star Game. That only leaves Dustal on the DL, and he’ll remain there for the season. It also leaves Pellicano in AAA.

We’re a weird franchise to play for.

Meanwhile, we send four players to the All Star Game in Okuda, Moreno, Toohey, and Maldonado. The Knights had six All Stars including four starting pitchers, so that was something to look forward to in October, maybe… Maldonado was the only repeat All Star here, making his second appearance there. Everybody else was a first-time All Star.

After the break, we’ll be in Indy for the back four of that meeting, after which it will be a four-team homestand welcoming the damn Elks, Knights, Baybirds, and Falcons. This will get us clean through the end of the month and to another iffy 4-city road trip.

Fun Fact: Nate Norris has more wins than Jason Wheatley.

That is – … uh, what??

I mean, Wheats’ rough, but that’s a bit ridiculous. He even leads the team in strikeouts! And his FIP is not worse than Mathers’ …! Mathers…!

Just as wickedly, of our five starters Wheats has the highest ERA, but the fewest losses. (shrugs)

[Westheim]

Good job, Gene, on that cycle! Man, we were so delighted! – Yes, yes, very good; listen. You have won a prize for your cycle, too! – Yes, a trip! To Florida.

Maud, we need a tissue here.

Make it a double.

All Star Game

Jesus Maldonado won MVP honors in the All Star Game, which saw the CL whoop the FL, 11-5. Maldo went 4-for-5 with a triple, two doubles, and one RBI. He scores three times.

For the remaining Raccoons, Okuda and Moreno both spin scoreless innings, while Bryce Toohey starts in right, but goes 0-for-2 before being subbed out for Matt Kinder.

Raccoons (55-32) @ Indians (40-48) – July 14-17, 2044

Back half of the four-and-four, with the Raccoons having taken three of four in the front half and being up 5-2 on the Indians this year. They were bottoms in runs scored, third in runs allowed, and had a -38 run differential. Aided by Saturday’s rout of the Loggers, the Raccoons now had a triple digit run differential, +106.

The Indians traded Alex Flores (2-3, 4.13 ERA), swingman, to the Capitals mainly for Vince Lutch (.225, 1 HR, 8 RBI), which was a clear surrender move. Lutch was a former Raccoon, appearing in 12 games between 2035 and 2036 and hitting .214. He was traded to Washington with Justin Fowler for Brad Ledford and Steve Fidler after 2037.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (9-3, 2.78 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (9-5, 3.03 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-9, 4.32 ERA) vs. Ayden Cobb (5-7, 3.49 ERA)
Jake Jackson (7-4, 3.87 ERA) vs. Casey Pinter (6-8, 3.72 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (10-4, 2.75 ERA) vs. Chris Volk (0-7, 8.39 ERA)

The Coons effectively skipped both Okuda and Wheatley over the All Star break, but kept the ordering intact. Casey Pinter was the only southpaw on offer for Indy.

Game 1
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – RF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – 1B S. Jennings – 3B Lutch – 2B A. Avila – P Drury

The Raccoons scattered four hits, including two doubles, for no gains in the first three innings, which included Jimenez and Mathers pulling up on the corners with two outs in the second, but Carreno grounded out to short. The Indians had four pops on the infield in the first two innings, but also got Andres Avila to hit a homer to left in the bottom 3rd, and thus took a 1-0 lead. Then they added three runs on five singles, including four 2-out singles by the 6-7-8-9 hitters, in the bottom 4th.

And that seemed to be the game. The middle innings were nothing but dire for the Critters, and Drury also retired Kilmer and Jimenez to begin the seventh. Then Mathers, not hit for, because it seemed pointless, hit a single to left. Carreno and Ayala added singles of their own, which loaded the bases for the ASG MVP, who lobbed a first-pitch dunker into shallow right-center for a 2-run single. Whatever works! Toohey didn’t work, grounding out to Andrew Russ. Mathers’ return to the mound in the bottom 7th didn’t go well; Russ and Danny Rivera hit 1-out singles, Rivera stole second, and Nelson Galvan’s sac fly and Bill Quinteros’ single off Zack Kelly put the two runs right back on the board. The Raccoons had no answer to that anymore and went down silently. 6-2 Indians. Ayala 2-5, 2B; Maldonado 2-3, BB, 2 RBI;

Mathers faced 30 batters, striking out none of them.

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B Cruz – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Clark
IND: SS Russ – CF N. Galvan – LF D. Rivera – 3B Walley – C Julian Diaz – RF B. Quinteros – 1B Lutch – 2B A. Avila – P A. Cobb

Cobb struck out five in three innings, while Clark struck out four, with the only meaningful offense being a solo homer to left that Manny Fernandez hit in the second inning. The Coons then had the first three batters on base in the fourth inning, which amounted to runners on first and second with one out. Maldo was caught stealing before Toohey and Manny reached on a plunk and a walk. Jose Cruz then bounced into a 4-6-3 inning-murderer. Clark stayed up 1-0 through four even though he walked Julian Diaz with two outs and then gave up a screamer down the line to Quinteros that became a double. The Arrowheads though waved Diaz around third base, and had him thrown out at the plate by Bryce Toohey. Clark was less lucky in the fifth, conceding straight singles to Avila, Cobb (…), and Russ to forfeit the lead. Galvan’s grounder to short wasn’t good enough for two, either, but Rivera hit a poor comebacker to strand runners on the corners; 1-1 through five.

Clark had to settle for a no-decision, being removed after 95 pitches and 5.2 innings, departing with Diaz on second base in the sixth. Craig struck out Lutch to escape. Craig put Adam Huber, a .152 hitting switch-hitter on base with a 1-out single in the seventh. Huber stole second base, then was singled home by Russ to give the lead to the Indians. Chuck Jones would get out of that inning, stranding Russ on second base. The Raccoons were stuck on four base hits, and it didn’t get better in the top 8th, either. Nelson Moreno held the Indians away in the bottom 8th, after which right-hander Tommy Gardner faced the 2-3-4 batters. Ayala struck out. Maldo flew out to right. Toohey struck out. 2-1 Indians. Maldonado 2-4; Fernandez 1-2, BB, HR, RBI;

So this is how we’re gonna blow the 12-game lead. Interesting.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Jackson
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – 1B S. Jennings – 3B Walley – RF N. Galvan – 2B A. Avila – P Pinter

Waters opened the game with a mighty jack to left, after which Maldo singled, Toohey walked, and Avila reached a sharp grounder by Manny, but couldn’t coral it and it glanced off the tip of his glove and rolled towards foul ground, away from any defender. Scored a single, the Raccoons nevertheless all advanced by two bases, Maldonado scoring to go up 2-0. Pinter walked Kilmer, but rung up Jimenez. Carreno grounded to Chris Walley, who threw the ball away for a one-base error, 3-0. Jake Jackson thus batted before he’d pitch, and hit a grounder to Russ, and that was muffed, too! Another run-scoring error with three on and two outs. Waters was then actually out on the next meager grounder. Bottom 1st, Russ hit a soft single, stole second (his 34th base of the year, literally running away from Carreno), but was stranded on a K and two pops.

Jackson was then pitching more or less shambolically from there, while he also struck out to end the top 3rd, in which Pinter walked three, and the Coons stranded two without scoring; Jimenez lined into a double play, 3-unassisted. Russ was on base and stole second again in the bottom 3rd, but was stranded on third base; Toohey made a sliding catch on Diaz to keep Indy off the board. Maldonado made it a more comfy game with a 2-run homer to left-center in the fourth inning, 6-0, and, inspired, Toohey and Manny imitated his power, gradually moving to rightfield as the Raccoons hit back-to-back-back homers, the last two off Cesar Suarez. The Indians would eventually get to Jackson, too, with Russ reaching base on yet another single in the bottom 5th, but unable to steal because Rivera immediately took Jackson deep to right-center. Somehow the defense kept him together though all the way into the eighth, when Quinteros and Jennings whacked line drives for hits, shortening the score to 8-3. Preston Porter would navigate out of the inning on a single, a pop, and a K to Avila. Russ would single once more off Norris in the ninth, but that was not enough for the Indians to erase a 5-run deficit. 8-3 Raccoons. Waters 2-5, BB, HR, RBI; Maldonado 3-5, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Fernandez 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI;

Game 4
POR: 1B Ayala – LF Baskins – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Zarate – CF Phinazee – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda
IND: SS Russ – CF N. Galvan – LF D. Rivera – 3B Walley – C Julian Diaz – RF B. Quinteros – 1B Lutch – 2B A. Avila – P Volk

The Arrowheads went down in order the first time through, with two strikeouts on Okuda, but the Raccoons amounted to only two hits and no runs against Volk in the same timeframe. Baskins opened the fourth with a single to right before Maldo fed a 4-6-3 to Avila, but it was fumbled between the middle infielders an all paws were ruled safe. Nothing came of it, with Toohey whiffing, Waters grounding out, and Zarate flying out softly. Okuda retired 13 in a row before he walked Diaz, and then Quinteros singled to send the catcher to third base. Lutch hit a fly to center that Mal Phinazee snagged, but Diaz scored on the sac fly easily. Nobody reached in the sixth, while Okuda served up a homer to Rivera in the bottom 7th to fall behind 2-0, and it really felt like ballgame. Gutierrez, Manny, and Ayala were out in order in the eighth. Tommy Gardner was back for the ninth inning, the Indians not daring to gamble on the 4-hit shutout carried by Volk. Baskins opened with a single to right. Gardner walked Maldo, putting the tying run on base with nobody out. Toohey hit the first pitch up the middle, but Avila was over there and started a 4-6-3. Waters struck out. 2-0 Indians. Baskins 2-4; Okuda 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (10-5) and 1-1;

In other news

July 11 – The Knights acquire right-hander Marcus Goode (4-0, 3.38 ERA, 4 SV) from the Falcons, parting with LF Justin Simmons (.310, 3 HR, 28 RBI) and a prospect.
July 12 – DEN INF/RF Ronnie Thompson (.313, 1 HR, 42 RBI) is out for the year after breaking his hip.
July 12 – The Loggers’ 1B/LF/RF Aaron Brayboy (.315, 17 HR, 53 RBI) will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
July 13 – The Condors trade RF/1B Willie Ojeda (.320, 6 HR, 35 RBI) and #77 prospect SP Adam Johnson to the Stars in a trade that makes little sense for them, receiving 2B Hugo Acosta (.346, 2 HR, 58 RBI) and MR Ben Arner (0-1, 4.30 ERA).
July 13 – The Crusaders pick up RF/LF/1B John Marz (.256, 6 HR, 20 RBI) from the Miners, along with a prospect, parting with SP Ernie Quintero (6-10, 4.41 ERA).
July 14 – 32-year-old DAL 3B/SS Jon Ramos (.330, 0 HR, 24 RBI) lands his 2,000th career hit, going 4-for-4 in an 11-9 win over the Warriors. The milestone is a seventh-inning RBI triple off SFW MR Jeff Altemose (2-1, 2.49 ERA).
July 15 – Cincy INF/LF Chris Delgado (.326, 11 HR, 51 RBI) will miss two weeks with – of all things – cat scratch fever.
July 15 – BOS SP Ignacio del Rio (7-7, 3.93 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout against the Loggers in a 10-0 rout.
July 15 – Falcons and Bayhawks play scoreless ball into extra innings before CHA C Tony Morales (.250, 2 HR, 8 RBI) clinches the game with a 10th-inning homer. The Falcons hold off the Bayhawks in the bottom of the inning for a 2-0 win.
July 17 – The Condors get OF/1B Rikuto Ito (.310, 8 HR, 41 RBI) from the Scorpions in exchange for 1B/2B Jesus Matos (.260, 9 HR, 36 RBI) and a prospect.

FL Player of the Week: RIC LF/RF Pablo Gonzalez (.341, 21 HR, 74 RBI), hitting .471 (8-17) with 4 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR UT Jesus Maldonado (.309, 9 HR, 46 RBI), batting .550 (11-20) with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

We had won six straight series (four of them after dropping the opener), but that came to an end in Indy in a gruesome series that I never want to remember again. (puts big bottle of Capt’n Coma into his hand baggage)

The Titans took three of four from the Loggers, so the lead shrunk to 10 games. Here it comes – the collapse!

Bullpen depth took a hit this week with Sean Marucci hitting the minor league DL with shoulder inflammation, rendering him out for the year.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons had not lost a series against a Continental League team since May.

May 24-26, two of three at the cursed Bay. In between, we only lost to the Pacifics.

[Westheim]

Coming off the first series loss in a while, we returned home for an off day ahead of a 2-week homestand, and also to a new face in the front office. Maud informed me that Nick Valdes had arranged something with a business partner to give the partner’s kid an internship with the Raccoons, so now we were stuck with a 20-year-old that sort of stuck out in the office given his lack of fuzzy pointy ears. Oh well, they can’t all be adorable, can they? At least he was hiding his shame under a Raccoons cap, which was the bare minimum I’d expect.

Say, son, what’s your name? – Pierre? Sounds kinda gay, doesn’t it? – (Cristiano’s ears get pointier in the corner) – Maud, why are you hissing at me.

Fine, fine. If you want to make yourself useful, start by checking the leftfield stands for loose hot dog wrappers.

Yes, Maud, I shooed him away. – Hey, it’s MY off day too!

Raccoons (56-35) vs. Canadiens (44-50) – July 19-21, 2044

The damn Elks were 13 1/2 games out, which I’d say ruled them out for postseason contention, but then the Raccoons’ offense had been shocking in Indy, so there was that. The Elks were second in runs scored, and had improved all the way to second-worst in runs allowed, with a -28 run differential (Critters: +104). We led the series for the year, 6-3.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (4-2, 5.02 ERA) vs. Mario Godinez (4-7, 5.16 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-4, 3.06 ERA) vs. Matt Sealock (7-10, 3.47 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-9, 4.17 ERA) vs. David Arias (7-5, 3.37 ERA)

Doesn’t look like we were gonna get a left-hander. The only option would be Alex Lewis (5-7, 4.16 ERA).

Game 1
VAN: 3B Malkus – RF C. Robinson – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – C Julio Diaz – LF V. Vazquez – 1B M. Hernandez – SS Price – P Godinez
POR: 1B Ayala – CF Baskins – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley

During the day I showed Pierre all the things relevant for being a GM, including inspecting the players’ lunch (and gobbling a bowl yourself), fielding calls (nobody called, but I sat at my desk looking sternly for four hours, utterly ready to pick up the rotary phone), and randomly making yourself sound important (when I yelled out the window at the grounds crew that they were watering the dirt wrong, although I had no clue whatsoever). Then it was game time, which meant we shifted ourselves to the trusty brown couch and feared the worst for Jason Wheatley. As I told Pierre, it was very important to watch the team closely, yell at the umpires on screen, and have numbing agents ready at hand, should the need arise.

There was little offense early on; the Raccoons had no hits the first time through, while Wheatley scattered hitters efficiently at least, never letting them reach third base in the early innings, despite giving up a hit in each of them. Jerry Outram once more proved especially unretirable, but that was nothing new here. The fourth inning was one that filled me with foreboding particularly, given that Wheatley gave up a 1-out single up the middle to Victor Vazquez, while letting Manny Fernandez scramble after three deep fly balls to left, trusting he’d shag all of them – which he did! This, I explained to Pierre, was the proper time to start drinking yourself senseless, and that he should try himself. One swig of Capt’n Coma made him confused, and the second put him to sleep. Pff. Youth. They don’t make them like in the 1950s anymore…

Manny also got the Coons’ first base hit, a leadoff single in the fifth, after which Waters whiffed, Kilmer was hit, and Carreno grounded into a force at third base, 5-unassisted. Wheats also grounded out to Travis Malkus, and the game remained scoreless through five.

The bottom of the sixth began with Godinez walking Ayala, then also Maldo with one out. Toohey struck out, but Manny rolled a grounder up the middle for an RBI single, thus getting the first two Critters hits in the game. Ayala scored on the play, and Maldonado went to third base, then scored on a Waters single, lined at 2-2. Kilmer struck out, leaving Wheats with a 2-0 lead, but also on 90 pitches, and we were wary of an Elks lineup stuffed with left-handed bats. Vazquez hit a scratch single to begin the seventh, but Mel Hernandez lined out softly to Carreno and Rick Price whiffed. When it came time to bat for the pitcher, the damn Elks sent .188 righty Timóteo Clemente. The Coons stuck to Wheats, who got to 0-2, then gave up a single. When Arnout van der Zanden batted for Malkus, Wheats was no longer tenable – Chuck Jones would face that left-hander, entering in a double switch that exchanged catchers. Van der Zanden hit Jones’ first pitch to center, no trouble for Derek Baskins, and the inning was over.

The Coons picked up a buffer run in the bottom 7th when Sal Ayala homered of former Raccoons farmhand Lazaro Cavazos, which held up with Jones and Porter in the bottom 8th, and it was still 3-0 when Josh Rella got engaged in the ninth inning. Julio Diaz led off with a single to center, but was forced out on Vazquez’ grounder. Hernandez struck out before Vazquez reached scoring position on 1-2 wild pitch. The next pitch Rick Price swung through, ending the game. 3-0 Raccoons. Ayala 1-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, RBI; Wheatley 6.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, W (5-2);

By Wednesday, Pierre wore an ice pack on top of his Raccoons hat, and we also got a surprise visit from Nick Valdes – oh, the boundless joy!

While I tried to get some advance intel from Nick Valdes on the 2045 budget, which didn’t lead anywhere nice (“What do you need more money for? We’re in first place!”), the intern spent the day with Dr. Padilla for something against the headache and for some basic info on the newest dynonastics fad that Dr. Padilla followed for exercise, and with Cristiano, on how to put together a scientifically sound lineup for management for the night’s game, only to then see him do something completely different. Hence, when the game began and Matt Waters batted leadoff once more, it was Cristiano who already held a bottle of Capt’n Coma in his paw.

Game 2
VAN: 1B van der Zanden – 3B Malkus – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – C Julio Diaz – LF V. Vazquez – RF J. Becker – SS Price – P Sealock
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – CF Phinazee – 2B Carreno – P Mathers

The Raccoons started slow again, while the damn Elks got doubles from Julio Diaz in the second with one out, stranding that runner, and by Rick Price to begin the third inning. That run wasn’t stranded, Arnout van der Zanden doubling him home with a ball into the gap with one out. Malkus grounded out to Maldo, Carreno handled Jerry Outram’s grounder, and at least we were only down 1-0. – Yes, Nick, I know, that’s enough to be assessed a loss.

While Waters singled in the bottom 3rd and stole his way into scoring position, but was stranded, Diaz hit another 1-out double off Mathers in the fourth, only to be stranded again. Maybe an error of the long-ago Gold Glover Dan Schneller would get the Critters going; Maldo had opened with a single in the fourth, and Toohey’s grounder to second was filed past a reaching Price by Schneller for an error. But he got a new chance from Manny, this time turning the 4-6-3, and while Zarate walked, Mal Phinazee struck out hopelessly again, now hitting .161 as a Raccoon. – Yes, Pierre, now would be a good point to start drinking …! Good boy!

Mathers melted with two outs in the sixth, walking Schneller and Diaz before giving up two singles up the middle to Vazquez and Becker. Price fanned with the bases loaded, the score now 2-0, but Mathers also reached 100 pitches and would not be back in the seventh. Not that it mattered, probably – the Raccoons couldn’t make anything out of Maldo’s leadoff double in the bottom 6th, and while the pen battled valiantly, the offense very much did not, going down in order entirely in the seventh. Waters hit a leadoff single off Sealock to begin the bottom 8th, who then lost Sal Ayala on four pitches. The tying runs were on, and the count to Maldo ran full. Maldo flailed away at a low pitch, lobbed it over Price and well in front of Outram, and somehow that duck snort became an RBI single. …and then Toohey hit into a 6-4-3 double play. (gulps own booze with vigor) Manny had been removed in a double switch, with Jose Cruz now hitting for Jon Craig. He faced right-hander Ruben Vela, and grounded out to short. In the ninth, Nelson Moreno gave up a Mel Hernandez single to lead off. Van der Zanden’s grounder moved the runner to second, but PH Chris Robinson struck out. The Raccoons had no interest in having left-handed Jerry Outram (.336, 10 HR, 48 RBI) hit, and would pick their poison with right-handed Dan Schneller (.279, 13 HR, 55 RBI). Schneller hit an RBI single through the left side, and that was what we got for trying to be clever. Diaz struck out to end the top 9th. Sebastien Parham turned away the Raccoons in the bottom 9th, setting up a rubber game for Thursday. 3-1 Canadiens. Waters 2-4; Maldonado 4-4, 2B, RBI;

Sebastien. Another gay name. (Cristiano’s interest seems piqued)

Boys, where’s the offense?? Pierre, did you play Little League? – Bother.

We had a day game on Thursday, with the morning spent by Valdes, Maud, and Pierre having high tea, which at least kept Valdes busy, so I had time to tend to my bruised ego and wondering where to get runs from. It would truly help if our middle infielders could start hitting…

Game 3
VAN: 1B van der Zanden – C Clemente – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – RF C. Robinson – LF V. Vazquez – 3B Malkus – SS Riquenes – P D. Arias
POR: 1B Ayala – CF Baskins – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 2B Gutierrez – P Clark

Single, single, walk, the damn Elks loaded the bases in the first inning with nobody out. Then they left them packed, with Schneller and Vazquez whiffing, while Robinson lined out to short in between. I had already reached for a bottle, but Maud reminded me sternly that we didn’t have alcohol before 3am around here. *Fine*. I’ll see whether I can find Chad’s glue then… The damn Elks still took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, with van der Zanden and Outram reaching scoring position with two singles and some confused defensive throwing by the Raccoons. Schneller’s sac fly and Robinson’s 2-out single brought in the runs before Vazquez was out to short. The Coons had one hit the first time through, a Waters single to lead off the bottom 3rd, and that led nowhere at all.

The bottom 4th saw Baskins and Maldonado reach scoring position with nobody out with a single and a double, respectively. It also saw Maldonado waving for the trainer, having jammed his paw into second base on the slide, and Dr. Padilla quickly removed him from the game. (reaches for the Capt’n Coma) – Oh, leave me alone, Maud! – I claim an injury exception! – No, I claim it! … See, Pierre, the GM has to be firm in his decisions and don’t let his guard down. Don’t show weakness. (pours laxatives into his Capt’n Coma)

Ricky Jimenez ran for Maldonado and would take over at third base. He scored along with Baskins on a Manny double to right, tying the game, after Bryce Toohey had hit a comebacker to Arias. Kilmer struck out, Waters flew out to right, and the go-ahead run was left in scoring position. Instead, the damn Elks took a 3-2 lead in the fifth, the run unearned thanks to a Manny error amidst two singles given up by Clark. It promptly started to rain, which was a sure sign the baseball gods were now getting involved, too. This is a time for despair, I lectured Pierre, and started to press Honeypaws against my chest for comfort. It didn’t help. Gutierrez, Clark, and Ayala made outs in order in the bottom 5th before Clark made his way back to the mound in the sixth. He got an out from Malkus, but the tarp came on with Sergio Riquenes batting. Then we sat out the bad weather for two hours, and then the game was called, by which time I was rolled up on the brown couch, whimpering. So was Nick Valdes. 3-2 Canadiens. Baskins 1-1, BB; Maldonado 1-2, 2B; Fernandez 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI;

Yes, Pierre, looks like the baseball gods are firmly on the damn Elks’ side. – Okay, around here we call them “damn Elks”, don’t pretend you’re better than that.

The weekend would take place without Maldonado, who had a badly jammed thumb and needed a few days of rest, a crippling blow to a team struggling to score four runs in a game all of a sudden.

Raccoons (57-37) vs. Knights (55-39) – July 22-24, 2044

…and with the stingiest pitching of the country in town for the weekend. The Knights were allowing just 3.7 runs per game, and were scoring just enough to be successful with that, seventh in runs scored, with a +64 run differential. The Raccoons had already been swept once by them this year, and things didn’t look great. Remember that this is the team that had four All Star starting pitchers…

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (8-4, 3.86 ERA) vs. Jerry Banda (8-8, 3.27 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (10-5, 2.74 ERA) vs. Bill Nichol (1-0, 1.85 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (5-2, 4.70 ERA) vs. David Farris (10-3, 2.70 ERA)

Mind that we’d only see two of those All Stars; Nichol had spent the first half of the year on the DL, the minors, and in the bullpen and had only rejoined the rotation this month. They were all right-handed.

Game 1
ATL: C Horner – RF Hester – 1B Levis – CF Oliver – 2B Sanderfer – LF C. Walker – 3B Melendez – SS Laughren – P Banda
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Baskins – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Jackson

For the second game in a row, the opposition had three on and no outs in the first innings with a walk to Adam Horner, Billy Hester hitting a pop that Waters dropped for an error, and a Doug Levis single. Brian Oliver’s groundout made it 1-0 Knights. Alex Sanderfer added a run with a grounder to short. Chris Walker ended the inning with a grounder to Carreno. But it was 2-0 against impregnable pitching, and this, Pierre, is where you resign yourself and let all hope just go.

While Nick Valdes was bored by all the losing and took Pierre to show him some things around the ballpark, Waters hit a leadoff triple in the bottom 1st in an effort to make good. Ayala singled him in before the team stalled again. Waters reached again in the third, an inning that saw the game getting tied on homers, a solo deed by Horner and a 2-piece by Ayala, putting everybody even at three. Baskins hit a single after that, but Toohey wrapped him up in a double play.

And while the Coons continued to tread water, the 1-2 in the lineup stirred to the best of their abilities, opening the fifth with singles that put them on the corners in a 3-3 game. The Raccoons were somehow out-hitting the Knights, 9-2, at this point. Baskins came through now, the 10th Critters hit on Friday being an RBI single to center. Toohey hit a wallbanger for an RBI double to break out of an Elks-series-sized funk, after which Manny was walked intentionally onto the open base. 5-3, bases loaded, nobody out, and of course they didn’t score again. Zarate struck out, Jimenez lined out, and Carreno grounded out. Nick Valdes returned without Pierre just as I banged with both paws against the big window, screaming at the players below to stop ******* away runners, asking for where our head scout Josh Busing was. – Nick, they’re playing a game. Josh is in the stands of course! … Valdes nodded and went, so that was that, and the Raccoons were up 5-3 in runs, 11-2 in hits, through five.

Billy Hester homered to begin the sixth, 5-4, filling me with unspeakable agony. Waters hit a double in the bottom half, but Ayala failed for the first time in this game, and Waters was stranded. The Raccoons groaned their way through the seventh inning; Jackson had been hit for with Jose Cruz, and Craig was on the mound, giving up a single to Bill Melendez. When left-hander Nelson Velez pinch-hit for Banda, the Coons went to Zack Kelly, who struck him in the elbow with a fastball, bringing on Tyler McKoy to pinch-run (Velez would later be ruled out for the weekend with an elbow contusion), then struck out Horner to escape trouble. Bottom 7th, Zarate was nicked, Jimenez hit a 2-out single, and Mal Phinazee hit for an equally hopeless Carreno against the right-hander Sean Fowler. He fell to 1-2, I saw another strikeout coming, but he met the following changeup for a single to right, and Zarate circled around to score a tack-on run. Omar Gutierrez grounded out for Kelly, ending the inning. Nelson Moreno was up for the eighth, getting singled against by Hester right away. Levis grounded to short, though, and that cleaned the bases again, 6-4-3. Brian Oliver flew out to Baskins, who reached and was caught stealing in the bottom 8th. Rella was up against the 5-6-7 in the ninth inning, got Alex Sanderfer out to Baskins, then walked Walker in a full count. That promoted Bill Melendez, hitting .273 with 7 homers, as the tying run. But he spanked the first pitch to Waters, to Gutierrez, to Ayala – ballgame! 6-4 Raccoons! Waters 4-5, 3B, 2B; Ayala 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Baskins 2-4, BB, RBI; Jimenez 2-4; Phinazee (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Yes! (pokes fists skywards) Win! Oh, Nick. You just missed the win! – What are you berating me now for, we won! – What do you mean, why didn’t we give Pierre access to Busing’s scouting database?? – Nobody gets access to Busing’s scouting database!! Did you give him the password?? – Hhh!! How could you!!??

At once, me, Cristiano, and Valdes stormed out of the room, through Maud’s room, across the hallway, and into Busing’s office, where Pierre was hunched over the computer and was dialing up some network at this very moment. Cristiano screamed and crashed into him with his wheelchair, catapulting Pierre into the corner on the swivel chair. There, his Raccoons hat came off, revealing a pair of previously hidden antlers. – Hhh!! Pierre! You’re not gay! You’re … CANADIEN!! – Were you about to upload our scouting database to the damn Elks??

While Cristiano interrupted the upload and shut off the computer, Valdes and me kept the fake intern cornered and on the ground while he tearfully confessed his many sins of spying for the damn Elks. Now, how to deal with THAT? Pierre now definitely knew too much!

Early Saturday morning, Valdes and me stood outside the ballpark. – Nick, I didn’t know we can get the dumpster emptied on a Saturday morning. – I see, you “know a guy”.

(watches on with Valdes as the full dumpster is loaded onto a flatbed, one antler poking out over the edge)

Yes, farewell for now, Nick. – Yes, Nick. “We” did a good job this week.

Game 2
ATL: C Horner – RF Hester – 1B Levis – 2B Sanderfer – LF C. Walker – CF Oliver – 3B L. Duarte – SS McKoy – P Nichol
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Baskins – RF Fernandez – C Zarate – CF Phinazee – 3B Jimenez – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda

The Raccoons poured out four singles in the first inning, Ayala and Baskins being scored by Zarate and Phinazee. Ayala and Baskins also had the following hits in the game, leadoff singles in the third. This time Manny whacked an RBI double to right, that came hard off the fence had forced Baskins to stop at third base. Zarate plated him with a groundout to short, while Ricky Jimenez found a 2-out single to get Manny home. That made it 5-0 for Okuda, who had seen Adam Horner reach on an infield single to begin the game, and hadn’t given up a hit since. He walks Levis to begin the fourth, but Sanderfer popped out and Walker found Waters for a two-for-one.

Jose Morales’ pinch-hit single in Nichol’s place gave the Knights a runner to start the sixth inning then. Okuda whiffed two, then got a fly to right from Levis that Manny had barely to move for. After that he got three groundouts on four pitches in the seventh inning, followed by two groundouts to Jimenez and a foul pop by PH Melendez in the eighth. He was *really* putting the pillow on the Knights’ faces! In great shape on 84 pitches, Okuda was not hit for as the 7-8-9 went in order in the Coons’ half of the eighth. He’d face the top of the order in the ninth. Horner right away ruined the mood with a homer to right, mashed in a full count. Okuda angrily refused relief, then excised the next three Knights to put the game away himself. 5-1 Furballs. Ayala 2-4; Baskins 4-4, 2B; Okuda 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (11-5) and 1-4;

Maldonado was unexpectedly ready again by Sunday, so was penciled back in there.

Game 3
ATL: C Horner – RF Hester – 1B Levis – CF Oliver – 2B Sanderfer – LF C. Walker – 3B Melendez – SS Laughren – P Farris
POR: SS Waters – LF Baskins – CF Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Cruz – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley

For the third time this week the opposition had three on with nobody out in the first, this time for a Carreno error and Wheatley walking Hester and Levis on eight pitches. He would strike out the side eventually, but not before a Sanderfer double, a Melendez single, and a Kilmer error plated a total of four runs for Atlanta. Only one run was earned. Farris walked Waters and Baskins to begin the Coons’ half of the first, but Maldonado’s single on 3-1 motivated Waters to dash for home plate, where he was thrown out by Hester. Toohey hit a sac fly, Manny singled, and Kilmer flew out to Oliver… And Wheatley remained an utter mess, walking Farris (…) and Horner to begin the second inning before Hester popped out at 3-1. Levis singled the bags full, but the only run they got came in on Oliver’s grounder. Sanderfer flew out to center.

A miserable Wheatley somehow managed to hold them there before he was hit for to begin the bottom 5th, the Coons down by a slam, but leading 3-0 in errors at least. Kilmer doubled home Maldonado with two outs in the sixth, 5-2, but Cruz flew out to rightfield, and Waters was stranded in scoring position in the seventh when Baskins flew out to left-center. The bullpen did hold up fine – Kelly, Porter, Jones pitched in order through eight – but the offense remained toothless against Farris, then the Knights’ own parade of relievers. Nate Norris’ clean ninth got Josh Livingston into the 5-2 game in the bottom 9th, and he issued a leadoff walk to Mal Phinazee, who after two double switches was hitting in the #7 hole. Omar Gutierrez hit for Carreno, straight into a double play. The end game with Ricky Jimenez in the #9 hole, flying out to Hester. 5-2 Knights. Maldonado 3-4; Ayala (PH) 1-1;

In other news

July 21 – LAP OF Juan Benavides (.370, 8 HR, 33 RBI) walks off the Pacifics with a grand slam off DAL MR Juan Espudo (2-1, 6.86 ERA), the final score being 9-5 Pacifics after 10 innings.
July 23 – NYC 1B/2B Mario Briones (.285, 5 HR, 36 RBI) hits a home run for the sole run in a 1-0 win over the Bayhawks.
July 24 – Capitals SP Matsuichi Yazawa (14-5, 2.88 ERA) 1-hits the Pacifics for a 3-0 shutout, striking out seven and walking four. LAP INF Brian Bowman (.291, 3 HR, 42 RBI) has the only Pacifics hit, a fifth-inning single.

FL Player of the Week: DAL OF Tylor Cecil (.311, 8 HR, 53 RBI), batting .455 (10-22) with 2 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC INF Randolph Nash (.292, 6 HR, 28 RBI), hitting .636 (14-22) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

So, what could be get at the deadline, besides a smarter owner? A hitting shortstop would be nice, we could always move Waters to second base. Carreno and Gutierrez are a black spot even as a platoon right now. But the offerings are slim, unless we want to burden us with an 8-figure contract remainder.

The Blue Sox’ Felix Marquez would be a great option. He is hitting .332/.434/.472, well above his career values, but how badly could he possibly crash here, right? He can fill all spots but catcher, first, and center competently, but we are really not starved for outfield help. While Phinazee is as useful as a wet towel beaten over a rock, Derek Baskins is turning into a beast and really needs playing time, which is why Maldonado has been at third base a couple of times this week. Third base is also a weak spot, and Marquez could conceivably play there.

But Marquez would cost a fortune in prospects, and there is the contract problem. He makes $3.84M this year, followed by $4.04M next year and a $4.24M player option, perhaps the scariest piece there, in his age 33 season.

…which is also why I was pestering Valdes for more money, because we can’t fit a $4M contract willy-nilly, especially while we’re burying $3M annually to Ricky Jimenez for a shocking return. He was ROTY last year, and this year I’m wishing him back to Cuba.

Next week, six more home games with the Baybirds, Falcons. That will end the month. We’ll begin a 4-city road trip starting in Oklahoma after that. We only have three home series in August – none of them against a US CL team.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons keep leading the CL in team ERA, bullpen ERA, and strikeouts.

That pen was put together largely from what was already here, and partly reusing the broken pieces of yesteryear’s starting prospects, and does anybody remember where we got Josh Rella from after all?

Rella was drafted #107 in the fourth round in ’39 – as an infielder! Here’s the blurb from the draft back then:

“Round 4 (#107) – INF/LF Josh Rella, 22, from Elizabeth, NJ – dawdles around playing middle infield for Seton Hall, when he should take his 96mph fastball for a spin instead. Complementary slider for conversion to a relief pitcher.”

Cristiano informs me daily that his FIP is over three, and I reply every day that his ERA is under two, and I’m bliss.

[Westheim]

Trade

The Raccoons were off, but not idle, on Monday. They reunited with a Critter from a few years back, trading for switch-hitting shortstop Tony Hunter (.243, 2 HR, 26 RBI) from the Pacifics to upgrade on the infield and perhaps give the recently foundering offense a nudge towards purring again. Hunter, who was on a 1-year, $1.32M contract, cost the Raccoons relatively little. The Pacifics received 27-year-old AAA SP Angelo Montano (8-19, 5.13 ERA for his major league body of work) and a 20-year-old AA lefty, Gustavo Chapa, who had signed in July 2040 for all of $6,000 and projected more of a reliever.

Omar Gutierrez (.218, 1 HR, 5 RBI), coming out of nowhere to hold a roster spot for two-and-a-half seasons, was sent to St. Petersburg. Jonathan Dustal and his broken knee were moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Raccoons (59-38) vs. Bayhawks (57-43) – July 26-28, 2044

Half a game back in the South, the Bayhawks were another contender, even though nobody quite knew how. They were sixth in runs scored, seventh in runs allowed, and had a -4 run differential (Portland: +107). They were … almost pedantically average in many categories, ranking sixth or seventh in the CL in most major categories. Exceptions were batting average (fourth), bullpen ERA (tenth), and defense (ninth). They also led the season series, 2-1, so what does it all mean after all?

The Bayhawks had also added a bat coming into this series, trading for Washington’s LF/CF Jamie McGuigan (.290, 5 HR, 58 RBI), a defensively challenged 27-year-old. They parted with CL Andy Hyden (5-8, 5.15 ERA, 23 SV) and a prospect.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (9-5, 3.06 ERA) vs. Eric Weitz (7-4, 3.64 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-10, 4.14 ERA) vs. Jesse Bulas (3-5, 4.58 ERA)
Jake Jackson (9-4, 3.89 ERA) vs. Kevin Nolte (2-3, 5.68 ERA)

Only right-handers in that preliminary draw, but if they used the common off day on Monday for anything, they’d skip southpaw Noe Candeloro (6-8, 3.72 ERA) into the series on Thursday.

Game 1
SFB: 2B Quiroz – 3B Sifuentes – 1B N. Duncan – CF McGuigan – LF S. Martin – RF Platero – SS K. Saito – C J. Hill – P Weitz
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 2B Waters – SS Hunter – C Kilmer – P Mathers

The Raccoons scored first when Maldonado was brushed by a pitch and moved around on Toohey and Manny singles in the first inning, but San Francisco tied it on singles by Scott Martin and Jose Platero, then a sac fly by Kenichi Saito in the second; they then went up 3-1 in the third as Mathers labored unsuccessfully. Sergio Quiroz singled, and both Nick Duncan and new arrival McGuigan doubled to center and left-center, respectively, each driving in a run. The Critters didn’t get another base hit until the fifth inning when Ayala hit a 2-out single to center. Maldonado doubled him in, beating Martin to the base of the fence in left, and Toohey singled to left to score Maldonado to tie the game. Manny grounded out – all even at three through five.

The Raccoons had Tony Hunter on base with one out in the bottom 6th, hitting his first single since returning to the team (quicker than Phinazee if nothing else…), after which Kilmer grounded to the right side. Quiroz intercepted the ball, looked to second, then decided otherwise and threw to first, but this was now also late, and his throw was a bit wide, making Nick Duncan reach into the stomping catcher’s path. They collided with great noise – Kilmer was ruled safe, but also had his paw jammed into Duncan’s hulking body and was removed from the game by the trainer. The Raccoons tried to be wicked; Arturo Carreno would run for him, while second catcher Jose Zarate would bat for Mathers, who was on 90 pitches. Zarate still managed to hit into an inning-ending double play… The Raccoons would pick up four outs from Nate Norris, who in turn got in line for the win on an Ayala homer to center in the bottom 7th, a solo shot. Maldonado drove a gapper after that, but it was snatched by Platero on the run. Jones followed on Norris, completing eight. Phinazee batted for Jones in the #8 hole after the first three Coons had reached base in the bottom 8th and Hunter had already driven in Manny Fernandez. He hit into a fielder’s choice, but Zarate found an RBI single to left. Baskins and Ayala hit flies to center, but both were retired by McGuigan, and thus the save opportunity remained alive for Josh Rella. Saito hit a 2-out, 2-strike double to left, but that was all, John Hill popping out to end the game. 6-3 Raccoons. Ayala 2-5, HR, RBI; Maldonado 2-3, 2B, RBI; Toohey 1-2, 2 BB, RBI;

Jeff Kilmer had to go on the DL with sprained thumb, which a) sucked, but b) allowed us to get a glimpse of 23-year-old Ruben Gonzalez, the #88 prospect in the league, and #5 in the system. He had been signed for $18k in the July 2038 IFA period, and had steadily moved through the system, usually taking 100 games to really get acquainted to a level. This year he was hitting .294/.357/.455 in AAA with 12 HR and 37 RBI. He was a righty hitter.

Jordan Gonzalez was DFA’ed to free a spot on the 40-man roster (Gonzalez was not yet rule 5-eligible last year).

Game 2
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 2B K. Saito – RF Platero – 3B Sifuentes – LF S. Martin – C J. Wilson – CF McGuigan – 1B N. Duncan – P Bulas
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Clark

Sal Ayala took Bulas deep to right in the first for a quick 1-0 lead after which Maldonado singled and Toohey doubled. Manny walked to fill the bases, but Waters struck out and Zarate grounded out to short, stranding everybody. In turn, Ramon Sifuentes opened the second with a single and former Critter Jeff Wilson opened my booze with a homer to left-center, flipping the score to 2-1 Bayhawks. McGuigan worked hard on becoming CL Player of the Week, tripling after the longshot, but was stranded on strikeouts to the 8-9 hitters. Ayala and Maldo would be on in the bottom 3rd, but Manny hit into a double play to kill that effort, and in the fourth Matt Waters reached on balls to get the inning going, stole second, moved to third on Zarate’s groundout, and then Carreno grounded right back to Sifuentes, keeping him pinned at third base. Clark struck out to end the inning. The run scored anyway – on a passed ball.

Clark was dominating almost everybody but Wilson, striking out eight against three hits and one walk in the first five innings, but just couldn’t get no run support. Whiffing up Scott Martin gave him 10 K to begin the seventh inning, and he also rung up McGuigan after Wilson flew out to center. That put him over 100 pitches and he was hit for by Phinazee in the bottom 7th, which led absolutely nowhere, and he had to settle for a no-decision in the 2-2 game.

Starter Mike Mihalik (10-4, 3.98 ERA) then appeared in relief in the bottom 8th, which struck me as odd, but you go, Bayhawks. Ayala doubled into the rightfield corner to begin the inning, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. Hunter pinch-ran for him, but Maldo’s single to center was almost picked out of the air by McGuigan and there was no way to score after he had to hold halfway. And then Toohey whiffed, Manny walked, Waters popped out, and Zarate flew to center… and into the third out, stranding three. (groans!) After that disaster, Hunter remained in the game over Waters, who made way for Nelson Moreno to potentially pitch two innings. Maldo moved to first, with Ricky Jimenez batting ninth and playing at third base. Moreno pitched two indeed, spilling only another McGuigan double in the 10th, but no runs. Well, neither did the Baybirds’ staff. The top 11th saw Preston Porter retire the 1-2-3 batters in that order, while Manny hit a leadoff single off right-hander Joe West in the reliever’s second inning in the bottom 11th. This was where Ruben Gonzalez made his major league debut, hitting for Porter with the winning run on base, first on first, then on second after another passed ball on Wilson. Gonzalez struck out, Zarate grounded out, but Carreno snuck a single through the left side, and that was enough to score Manny to end the game…! 3-2 Blighters. Ayala 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 2-5; Clark 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K; Moreno 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

A bit more vigor in RISP situations, boys?

Please?

For now, we got the southpaw in the finale, maybe because the Baybirds figured that would work better against us.

Game 3
SFB: 2B Quiroz – 3B Sifuentes – 1B N. Duncan – CF McGuigan – LF S. Martin – RF Platero – SS K. Saito – C J. Hill – P Candeloro
POR: 2B Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Baskins – SS Hunter – C R. Gonzalez – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson

Sifuentes and Duncan got first-inning singles off Jackson before Ruben Gonzalez, in his first starting assignment in the majors, threw away the ball on the double steal, conceding a run and moving Duncan to third, from where McGuigan inevitably scored him with a single before also stealing a base. Not the greatest of starts! The Raccoons had to make another injury adjustment in the bottom of the inning, when Toohey doubled to send Maldonado to third base with two outs, but also limped off with a hip ailment and was replaced with Mal Phinazee, who took over center, Maldo to right. Derek Baskins grounded out to short to strand the tying runs…

Those tying runs were on again in the bottom 2nd, Gonzalez (double) and Jimenez (single) being on the corners for Jackson, who struck out, and Waters, who singled to center to make up a run. Ayala’s fly to Jose Platero ended that inning. Cursed Jamie McGuigan’s answer was a solo homer in the top 3rd, while the only Raccoons reply to that was Maldonado sending Scott Martin into the fence in left in pursuit of a fly ball. The ball was caught, but Martin was also shaken up good and left the game for Bobby Hennessy. And that was about the extent to which the Raccoons rallied. Jackson threw seven fair innings, but left 3-1 behind, and the first thing Jon Craig did upon entering from the bullpen was to serve up a bomb to Sifuentes in the eighth, 4-1. Phinazee answered the homer call in the bottom 8th, hitting a solo shot to left-center, but it just wasn’t enough, was it? Top 9th, Nate Norris came on, was up on Kenichi Saito 0-2, then struck him in the knee, enough for the third player of the game to retire with an injury. Jorge Gonzalez ran for him, but never got off first base. So it was a 4-2 deficit in the ninth against righty Jeremy Mayhall. Also, the bottom of the order. Ruben Gonzalez struck out. Jimenez popped out. Manny hit for Norris and singled to center, keeping the team alive … until Waters struck out. 4-2 Bayhawks. Toohey 1-1, 2B; Cruz (PH) 1-1; Fernandez (PH) 1-1; Jackson 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (9-5);

The good news was that Bryce Toohey was day-to-day with a mild hip strain, but would be hobbled for at least the weekend. He’d not be in the lineup on Friday at the very least.

Raccoons (61-39) vs. Falcons (52-50) – July 29-31, 2044

Fourth in the South, fourth in on this homestand, and fourth in runs scored were the Falcons. The fours stopped at that point. They were eighth in runs allowed, with a middling rotation, a middling pen, and a middling defense. We held the edge in the season series, 4-2.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (11-5, 2.61 ERA) vs. Evan Henshaw (1-2, 2.90 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (5-3, 4.65 ERA) vs. Oscar Flores (8-9, 3.57 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-5, 3.13 ERA) vs. Jerry Felix (13-6, 3.15 ERA)

Only right-handers coming up here.

Game 1
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – C Kokoszka – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – 1B Haertling – CF Case – 3B Farfan – P Henshaw
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 2B Waters – SS Hunter – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda

Both teams had a pair on with one out in the first, but neither could get anybody home. Tony Aparicio hit into a 6-4-3 double play, while Manny and Zarate just made boilerplate bad outs. The game’s first run came on a leadoff jack to right by Waters in the bottom 2nd, his 10th longball of the year, and Tony Hunter went back-to-back with him, 2-0. Hunter was involved in another run in the fourth, singling with one out, stealing second, and only coming around when Okuda (!) doubled through Jose Farfan with two outs. Baskins whiffed after that, but it was 3-0 through four, with Okuda having allowed three hits while striking out only Henshaw against an overwhelmingly right-handed lineup.

The fifth was calm, but the sixth began with a leadoff single by Henshaw, which I found poop and promptly said so, being also as promptly admonished by Maud and having my cookie bowl taken away. In harsh times, Miguel Martinez, the Falcons’ boy-faced phenom, hit a comebacker that saw the pitcher forced out at second, but Martinez just stole his way there and now the Falcons had a quick guy in scoring position rather than a slow guy. There was no scoring for Martinez on Chris Kokoszka’s scratch single, and they were on the corners for Joe Besaw, who grounded to Waters at second, to Hunter, to Ayala – inning over, again! The seventh mainly saw Baskins hit a 2-out triple with nobody on and Ayala not getting him home, either, while Okuda retired the Falcons orderly until he arrived at 1-2 to Henshaw with two outs in the eighth, when a crappy looking Raccoons mascot stormed onto the field. At first I yelled out Chad’s name in anger, but the costume was obviously homemade, and the occupant ran straight for Tony Hunter to give him a hug before willingly being led off the field by Amos and Olaf, or two experienced old guards, both around since the inaugural season. Okuda finished the strikeout of Henshaw, his fourth of the game. The Raccoons didn’t tack on in the bottom 8th, but the Raccoons stuck to Okuda anyway, as he had needed 100 pitches to get this far. Martinez flew out easily to left. Baskins barely had to run for Kokoszka’s fly for the second out. Besaw – to left again, Manny over, ballgame! 3-0 Raccoons! Baskins 2-4, 3B; Hunter 2-4, HR, RBI; Okuda 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W (12-5) and 1-3, 2B, RBI;

First career shutout for Okuda!

Game 2
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 1B Haertling – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – C Kokoszka – CF D. Vasquez – 3B Farfan – P O. Flores
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 2B Carreno – CF Phinazee – C Gonzalez – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley

Straight hits by the 2-3-4 batters put the Raccoons up 1-0 in the bottom 1st, and Carreno came through for an RBI double to actually tack on for once. Phinazee fell to 1-2, then hit a bomb to right for a 3-run homer that opened the scoreline all the way to 5-0 …! Gonzalez walked, but was left on, as the Raccoons batted through the order. Wheats now had to cover his furry bum, because a lack of run support would not count as an excuse for not getting a W this time around, especially since the Critters tacked on two more runs in the second inning on a leadoff jack by Waters and then Manny’s sac fly that got in Ayala. He faced the minimum through three innings, which was at least something, even though that included two sharp singles and two more sharp grounders that became double plays.

The main problem soon became more injuries – Ricky Jimenez hurt himself on a defensively play in the fourth and was replaced with Jose Cruz. Wheats, though, motored, reaching the sixth on just 47 pitches and with a 3-hit shutout going. It was all a bid TOO perfect, wasn’t it? So he walked reliever Matt Schwartz with two outs, Waters bobbled a Martinez grounder for an error, and then Ed Haertling legged out a roller near the mound for an infield single. A mound conference, some verbal encouragement, and a pat on the bum later, Wheatley got a bouncer from Besaw to Cruz to end the inning. He issued a leadoff walk to Aparicio in the seventh, but that runner, too, was doubled up, now by Archie Turley’s 6-4-3. The only rational explanation was that Wheats had been hit in the head by a loose horseshoe this morning. The Coons’ offense took some time off after going up 7-0, only scoring again on the pen in the eighth inning with Carreno’s leadoff triple, and Ruben Gonzalez’ first career RBI on a grounder to short. Wheats entered the ninth on 93 pitches, facing the top of the order. Martinez doubled to left, which was not great. Haertling hit an RBI single to right, which was not much better and took away the shutout. Porter was up in the pen, but we’d give him one more chance. Besaw popped out to Phinazee in shallow center. And Aparicio found the 600th double play of the game, ending it. 8-1 Critters. Ayala 2-2, 2 BB, 2B; Maldonado 2-4, 2B; Carreno 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; Wheatley 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (6-3) and 1-3;

Dr. Padilla processed Ricky Jimenez with a diagnosis of back spasms, but wouldn’t tell whether they would be transient or crippling for life. For now he moved to the DL, although the 15-day minimum stay should be enough to get him re-twerked.

The stars almost aligned to give Victor Merino a spot start in the open roster slot, but he was on three days’ rest and we’d have a three-and-a-half-men bench with Toohey still hobbled. So instead fan favorite, and without a doubt future president of Aruba, Jay de Wit was called up. He was hitting .292 in AAA.

Game 3
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 1B Haertling – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – C Kokoszka – CF D. Vasquez – 3B Farfan – P Felix
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – SS Waters – RF Maldonado – 3B Cruz – CF Phinazee – C Gonzalez – 2B Carreno – P Mathers

The Falcons scored three runs in the first inning in what could only be described as the baseball gods’ warning not to get cocky. First, Martinez grounded out on 3-0, but Haertling walked and Besaw singled to go to the corners. Aparicio hit a sac fly before Turley struck out, but a nervous Ruben Gonzalez bumbled the ball and kicked it down the third base line while a run scored and everybody was safe – with two outs. Kokoszka’s RBI single was followed by a Mathers error on David Vasquez’ grounder, before somehow Farfan grounded out to Ayala to end the dismal inning. This was with the Raccoons’ relievers – on the heels of consecutive shutouts by the starters – spending the first few batters of the game holding up a sign reading “We want to play, too!” in the pen. It quickly vanished after that.

The Raccoons then pissed away four runners in the first two innings, hitting into double plays each time, before Ayala tripled home Baskins in the third to put the team on the board. Waters scored him with a grounder to Martinez, shortening the gap to 3-2. No runners went to waste in that inning, but Phinazee and Gonzalez were on in the fourth, yet both Carreno and Mathers flew out to Archie Turley to leave them on thoroughly. Martinez reached base with singles in the third and fifth innings, stole second base both times, and also was stranded on third base both times by an equally unproductive Falcons lineup. The Falcons DID get another run in the sixth, which Turley opened with a bloop double to right before coming around on two groundouts.

The Raccoons answered the same inning, Phinazee finding the rightfield corner for a 1-out triple, and Felix finding the space between Kokoszka’s legs for a wild pitch that got him in. Replay showed the slider to Ruben Gonzalez bouncing sharply upwards into Kokoszka’s cup, hindering the catchers subsequent pursuit of the wayward baseball. Gonzalez singled to right once Kokoszka could crouch down again without fainting, moved up on a Carreno grounder, and then the Raccoons sent Bryce Toohey to pinch-hit for Mathers, who was on 89 pitches. He grounded out. The Falcons would get their wild pitch run back in the eighth, Nate Norris conceding a triple to Aparicio and then throwing a wild pitch to Kokoszka to score him, 5-3. That was the score into the ninth. Chuck Jones held the Falcons short, while the Raccoons were up against righty Brad Blankenship. Hunter batted for Carreno in the #8 hole to begin the inning, but grounded out. Manny Fernandez batted for Jones, and lobbed a homer to right, 5-4! Alas, Baskins flailed out, which made Ayala the last string. He singled, bringing up Waters as the winning run. His 1-0 fly to left was no challenge for Besaw. 5-4 Falcons. Baskins 2-5; Ayala 2-4, BB, 3B, RBI; Waters 2-5, RBI; Gonzalez 2-4; Fernandez (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI;

In other news

July 25 – RIC LF/RF Pablo Gonzalez (.342, 23 HR, 76 RBI) has his season end in great pain and tears, as he breaks his leg in an on-base collision.
July 25 – The Thunder acquire corner guy Pat Gurney (.274, 13 HR, 54 RBI) from the Aces for two prospects.
July 26 – The Thunder score 11 runs in the second inning of their game against the Canadiens, and barely manage to win the game, 15-12. VAN 2B Dan Schneller (.287, 15 HR, 66 RBI) has the most productive day, driving in five runs.
July 27 – Shoulder inflammation ends the season of NYC SP Paul Paris (6-6, 5.47 ERA).
July 27 – RIC 1B Manny Liberos (.224, 8 HR, 49 RBI) is out with a broken kneecap and will miss the rest of this season and potentially the start of the next.
July 27 – Blue Sox SP Tim Steinbach (10-8, 3.85 ERA) walks five, but allows only three hits in a 4-0 shutout of the Pacifics.
July 30 – SAC LF/RF Mike Preble (.378, 15 HR, 51 RBI) is out until the middle of September, having suffered a strained abdominal muscle.

FL Player of the Week: SAL CF Armando Herrera (.299, 2 HR, 32 RBI), hitting .481 (13-27) with 1 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL 1B Doug Levis (.285, 20 HR, 72 RBI), batting .444 (12-27) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DAL OF/1B/3B Ricky Correa (.309, 5 HR, 43 RBI), hitting .403 with 2 HR, 17 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: ATL 1B Doug Levis (.285, 20 HR, 72 RBI), firing .358 with 4 HR, 20 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: DAL SP Orlando Leos (15-4, 2.54 ERA), pitching for a 5-0 mark with 2.04 ERA, 34 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: CHA SP Jerry Felix (14-6, 3.20 ERA), hurling for a 5-1 record with 2.34 ERA, 25 K
FL Rookie of the Month: DAL LF/RF/1B Govaart van Eijk (.410, 5 HR, 31 RBI), batting .640 with 3 HR, 10 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: POR SP Sadaharu Okuda (12-5, 2.43 ERA), pitching for a 4-1 record with 1.19 ERA, 23 K

Complaints and stuff

Maud, we’ll write a strongly-worded letter about Okuda not also winning the Pitcher of the Month. Get the angry red letter paper!

4-2 week, but with great annoyance I register that we just can’t go on a run right now. It’s more listlessness with runners in scoring position and near-comical cavalcades of errors than actual ineptitude that costs us games, which is consoling. Other teams make stupid errors, too.

While the Titans have collapsed this week, the damn Elks are now up to second place. They’re also merely .500, so that’s that.

Friday saw the third complete game, first shutout for technically-a-rookie-although-he’s-28-and-has-a-50-year-old’s-beard Okuda. This after the narrow disappointment of last week against the Knights, when he pitched a 3-hitter (as opposed to this week’s 5-hitter), but gave up a homer to Adam Horner in the ninth inning to take the shutout away.

As far as international free agents are concerned, we signed three kids to a total of $70k early in July, and since then have been engaged in a heated bidding war for the services of our main interest, outfielder Victor Magana, 17 by now, but 16 when the signing period began, from the Dominican Republic. A right-handed hitter with some of all tools, he has many suitors, and the price is up to $490k. The Raccoons will not go *much* further than this – he’s the guy you can blow half a million of your owner’s money on, but not the guy you want to blow half a million of your owner’s money on AND incur signing restrictions for next year… so he’s more an A- kid. Cristiano says B+, but Cristiano is no fun and one day we’ll replace his round wheels with square ones and leave him in a dark room if he doesn’t stop being no fun.

Fun Fact: Sadaharu Okuda now leads the league in ERA.

So at least those millions weren’t thrown onto the pyre. (glances over to Ricky Jimenez, sitting in his food bowl, confusedly, while also being on the DL)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (63-40) @ Thunder (48-55) – August 1-3, 2044

We were off to the road for 14 games, and without an off day, too. First station was Oklahoma on a loop to the east and back, with the Thunder sitting a beaten fifth in the South and out of it all. They were seven under .500, despite a +24 run differential and being slightly better than average in both runs scored and runs allowed. They didn’t hit for power, but were doing everything else quite decently, but that wasn’t enough. Starter Lachlan Clarke and regulars Carlos Vega and Cullen Tortora were on the DL. We were up 4-2 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (7-10, 4.04 ERA) vs. Jimmy Driver (4-9, 4.45 ERA)
Jake Jackson (9-5, 3.89 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (4-5, 3.16 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (12-5, 2.43 ERA) vs. Natanael Abrao (6-5, 3.35 ERA)

Handedness for the starters in each game would be opposite, so we’d see two right-handers sandwiching a southpaw. Bryce Toohey was still not in the starting lineup on Monday, but we were confident that he could be plonked down at first base on Tuesday against Marquez, thus giving Ayala the day off that everybody needed anyway at some point this week.

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 2B Waters – CF Phinazee – SS Hunter – C Zarate – P Clark
OCT: CF Zurita – 2B Simon – 1B S. Henderson – RF Gurney – LF E. Moore – C E. Stedham – SS Ban – 3B Schneider – P Driver

The Raccoons scored first, Waters walking to begin the top 2nd, reached third on a Phinazee single, and scored on Tony Hunter’s sac fly. Clark meanwhile scattered four hits in the first three innings and would have escaped unharmed if he hadn’t also thrown away Jimmy Driver’s bunt in the bottom 3rd, leading to a run on Brad Simon’s 1-out single to right, bringing in Brian Schneider. Sterling Henderson and Pat Gurney made poor outs, so at least we came out tied. Clark gave up the go-ahead run in the fourth instead, getting dinged for another three singles by Ed Stedham, Schneider, and … (sigh!) … the driver, Pitcher. While Clark died the death of a thousand needles, the Raccoons were still sitting on that lone Phinazee single. A 2-out single by Clark in the fifth made it two hits Portland, and Baskins’ single got them to three, but then Ayala flew out to center.

And there the game grinded along, the Raccoons down 2-1. Clark was hit for in the seventh, Toohey walking in his spot and then walking back to the dugout when Baskins popped out to Ethan Moore in shallow left. Chuck Jones had a difficult bottom 7th, because the Thunder bombarded him with right-handed pinch-hitters, but kept them where they were. Sal Ayala drew a leadoff walk in the eighth off Xavier Gomez, who was replaced with Chris Manley, who ran a full count to Maldo, which resolved with a blooper to the rightfield line that bounced JUST fair and then made a beeline for the tarp, coming to a dead stop for a double. That put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, nobody out, and here came the next reliever, the Thunder’s Jon Craig, the black one. We had the Raccoons’ Jon Craig, the white one. Both were right-handers, but, god, this was confusing. The Raccoons were more confused though as Craig cleaned up with them. Manny and Phinazee struck out; Waters at least managed a sac fly to get Clark off a rough hook. To make things ever more discombobulating, we brought OUR Jon Craig, who put on Jonathan Ban and Adrian Ringel, then got a lift out of the bottom 8th by Zack Kelly retiring Angelo Zurita. Nelson Moreno also put two on in the ninth, but managed to escape into extras on his own, with the Raccoons out-hit 11-5.

Moreno had them 1-2-3 in the 10th, which only extended the game, since the Raccoons kept treading water, then faced stone-cold killer Sean Green (0.38 ERA) in the 11th. Waters reached base, but was forced out by Phinazee, and the Raccoons just couldn’t get anywhere. Brad Simon and Dick Oshiita reached the corners against Preston Porter in the bottom 11th, but Waters snagged a bouncer by Moore to turn that into the third out. By the 12th inning the Thunder were out of bench, and the Raccoons were on their last reliever that wasn’t a closer, and by the 13th Maldonado doubled off Green to begin the inning. Hey, life …! Manny was walked intentionally, and Waters got into an 0-2 count before banging a ball into the gap where it made its way to the fence for a 2-run double. FINALLY. Bill Dickinson walked the bases full, then struck out Zarate. Ruben Gonzalez hit for Norris, struck out, and Baskins… struck out. At least Rella also struck out three in the bottom 13th after putting Brad Simon and Sterling Henderson on with one out. 4-2 Blighters. Maldonado 2-6, 2B; Moreno 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Game 2
POR: LF Baskins – SS Hunter – CF Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – 3B Cruz – C Gonzalez – 2B Carreno – P Jackson
OCT: CF Zurita – SS Rowell – C Adames – RF Gurney – 1B S. Henderson – 3B Simon – 2B Schneider – LF Ringel – P V. Marquez

First inning, Hunter reached, Maldo reached, and then Toohey returned with a BANG, hitting a 3-run homer to left. Unfortunately, what we also needed was a steady long outing from Jake Jackson, and it didn’t look too good early on. He walked two in the bottom 1st an gave up a run, which wasn’t great, and he reliably found his way into full counts after that as well. Simon singled home Gurney in the bottom 4th, narrowing the score to 3-2.

Jackson held up his end, sort of, through six innings, but it took him 96 pitches to get there, even though the Thunder only got three actual base hits off him. On the other paw, Toohey’s shot aside, the Raccoons’ offense remained most meager. Jackson batted for himself at the tail end of a sad three up, three down in the seventh so we could squeeze another inning out of him. Of course he immediately walked Simon, and the tying run reached second base with a groundout. I groaned, and we went to Kelly. He got Ethan Moore and John Peck on grounders, and the Raccoons got to keep their skinny lead. Manley walked Hunter and Toohey in the eighth, but nobody got a hit in any shape or form. Kelly held on stubbornly, and Carreno hit a triple in the ninth! …with nobody on… and two outs. Jay de Wit batted for Kelly in the #9 hole, but flew out to Zurita. Rella came back for the ninth, and Sterling Henderson singled up the middle right away. Simon flew out casually to Baskins. Jonathan Ban whiffed. Ethan Moore singled to right. Dick Oshiita would pinch-hit in the #9 hole, another lefty and a .300 one at that. There was the option to go for Chuck Jones, but Jones had been out on Sunday, too, and had thrown 40 pitches in total. When Rella walked Oshiita on four pitches, Jones was tossed into the steaming pot anyway, three on, two outs, no net, no cushion, and no escape. And also no problem – he got an easy grounder to Carreno on the first pitch. 3-2 Thunder. Kelly 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

They are sure not an easy watch, even though they’re winning …!

Game 3
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Okuda
OCT: CF Zurita – 2B Simon – C Adames – 1B S. Henderson – RF Gurney – LF E. Moore – SS Ban – 3B Schneider – P Abrao

While the league ERA leader held court, the Raccoons scampered together a run with a leadoff walk drawn by Manny and singles by Zarate and Carreno in the second inning, which was likely to be everything, and now, here, you’re on your own. After Okuda’s bunt, Baskins was robbed in the gap by Zurita, and I kept looking utterly concerned and like my lunch would soon depart through my snout again, especially when Moore doubled home Henderson in the bottom of the inning and Ban and Schneider reached on a single and a walk to load the bases. Abrao and Zurita both popped out, but what the heck was with the offense??

Maldo and Manny hit a pair of doubles to take a new 2-1 lead in the third inning, which was something. A passed ball moved Manny to third base, and Waters then drew a 2-out walk. Zarate hit an RBI single to center before Carreno grounded the ball to Ban at short – and Ban filed it past Henderson for a 2-base, 1-run error. Abrao got Okuda, but it was now 4-1. And then it was three on with no outs in the bottom of the same ******* inning. Simon got nicked, Adames singled, wild pitch, walk to Henderson. And I had left Honeypaws in the hotel room …! The Thunder tied the game despite Gurney’s initial lineout to Carreno. Moore hit a sac fly, and Ban singled in a pair through the left side before the inning ended with Schneider. Utter frustration.

Baskins’ single and Ayala’s double put Raccoons in scoring position with nobody out in the fourth, but all we ever got was a run from Maldonado’s sac fly. And Okuda just couldn’t get anybody out. The bases filled up again in the bottom 4th, and Gurney hit a 2-out, 2-run single to send him home. Moreno got out of the inning, while I was banging my head against a support column on the walkway, which I was still doing when Jose Zarate homered to left in the fifth, giving the Raccoons a 7-6 lead. Of note should be that both teams did not bat for their relief pitchers (Moreno, their Jon Craig) in this inning…

Zarate cracked another homer to open the seventh inning, still against Craig, their Jon Craig, not our Jon Craig, our Jon Craig came on … later … against … their lineup… I’m so tired, I want to go hoooome …! It was 8-6 when our Jon Craig came in for the bottom 7th (and hopefully more) He gave up a run on a Moore single and a Schneider double in the seventh, still was back for the eighth on account of the depleted bullpen, and then with two outs and Jesus Adames on first got bombed by Sterling Henderson to flip the score back to the Oklahomans. Right-hander Jesse Allison refused to give up a third homer to Zarate in the ninth, which he led off, and Hunter also made an easy out. Phinazee singled. Baskins singled. And it was all a big taunt, with Ayala grounding out to Henderson. 9-8 Thunder. Baskins 2-5; Maldonado 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Zarate 4-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Phinazee (PH) 1-1;

Blargh.

The Raccoons needed pitching, all of a sudden (and I remember a certain cocky bullpen sign on Sunday, don’t I?), and made roster moves on the way to New York. Jay de Wit, who had only made a few fruitless pinch-hitting assignments, and Preston Porter, because **** always flows downwards and asphyxiates the littlest guy first, were sent to AAA. Unfortunately both of the other two first-rank right-handed prospects, Sean Marucci and Bob Ibold, had JUST disappeared onto the DL, and the Crusaders had few left-handed batters (but two lefty catchers). Alex Ramirez had done badly in AAA (6 runs in 5.1 innings), but we needed the bridge. Sean Bowman, 26, was not doing great, but he was a righty, ready, and didn’t ask any stupid questions. He had made four appearances or the Critters in ’43, impressing not.

Raccoons (65-41) @ Crusaders (47-61) – August 4-7, 2044

New York ranked ninth in runs scored, ninth in runs allowed, and we shouldn’t have been so afraid if it didn’t look like every single wheel was trying to shake itself of the wagon right now. The season series stood at 5-2 Portland.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (6-3, 4.37 ERA) vs. Aaron Hickey (5-9, 4.00 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-6, 3.25 ERA) vs. Tony Galligher (2-5, 3.25 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-10, 3.99 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (7-8, 3.64 ERA)
Jake Jackson (10-5, 3.84 ERA) vs. Yataro Tanabe (1-0, 2.57 ERA)

Right, left, right, left, culminating in a Southpaw Sunday. If I desired to live that long…

Game 1
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – RF Marz – C Alba – LF A. Montes – 2B Nash – CF Rico – P Hickey – 3B Riario

We tried with the lineup that had scored eight on Wednesday and would attempt to match it with pitching that wouldn’t allow more than seven, which had to begin with Wheats… and Derek Baskins; the centerfielder opened the game with a double to center, scored on a Toohey single in the first, and in the second came up with two outs after Wheats had ripped an RBI double and dropped in and run-scoring groundout to score Zarate and to get to a 3-0 lead. Wheats faced the minimum the first time through while nailing Fernando Alba and getting a double play, then walked John Marz with two outs in the fourth, but got around that one, too. Danny Rico’s fifth-inning blooper into shallow center was the first base hit for New York, but the score through five remained the same, 3-0.

Not to make sound Wheatley better than he was – he struck out only two, and his pitch count was already over 60 despite all that. Lots of full counts, once more. He also was a the plate in a thick spot again in the top of the sixth, with reliever Matt Owen just having walked Carreno with the bases loaded to force in the Critters’ fourth run, and with one out. He grounded to short and got doubled up, then gave up a homer to Marz in the bottom 6th, but that was the only run the Crusaders got off him in seven innings. Lefty Mike Lynn was in trouble in the eighth, putting the 4-5-6 hitters on with a hit and two walks, and also with nobody out, which sounded like another choke job in the making. Zarate hit a sac fly, 5-1, but Carreno struck out. Wheats was hit for with Hunter because his pitch count was at 100 basically anyway. Hunter flew to deep right, but also to Marz. I sighed. Alex Adame singled off Norris to begin the bottom 8th, but then was also running past second base on a long fly to center by Marz with one out. The thing was – Baskins was back and caught it. And he also doubled Adame off first base with a HECK of a throw!

With Mike Lynn still flailing around on he mound, three on, one out, and the team up by a slam anyway, the Raccoons batted Ruben Gonzalez for Manny Fernandez in the ninth inning. The young catcher hit an RBI single to center, the only run the team would get in the inning. Up by five, Bowman was sent for the bottom of the inning, got two grounders, walked Randolph Nash, and then got Rico to fly out to Baskins in left. 6-1 Raccoons! Toohey 2-2, 3 BB, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 2B; Gonzalez (PH) 1-1, RBI; Zarate 1-2, BB, RBI; Wheatly 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (7-3) and 1-3, 2B, RBI;

With that scoreless inning, Bowman was dispatched to St. Pete again to make room for a 13th hitter, Van Anderson.

Manny Fernandez now had a 12-game hitting streak.

He’d also have a day off against Galligher, along with Baskins. Maldonado was penciled in for Saturday against the right-hander.

Game 2
POR: 1B Ayala – SS Waters – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – 3B Cruz – C Gonzalez – 2B Carreno – P Mathers
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – RF Marz – C Alba – LF A. Montes – 2B Nash – CF Rico – P Galligher – 3B Riario

Waters opened the scoring with a solo homer to left in the first inning, although that run would soon be undone. Dan Riley doubled off the wall in right-center, driving home Adame from first base in the same inning; Adame had reached on an Ayala error. In exchange it was an Adame error that gave the Raccoons a run in the third; Carreno reached on a Nash error, stole second, then scored when Adame fired Mathers’ grounder away for two bases. Ayala singled, Waters hit a sac fly, and Maldonado hit a homer to left to make it four in the inning, and five in total. The Crusaders’ error count in the top 3rd would reach three by the time Mal Phinazee was on with two outs and stole second. Alba threw the ball away then, but this would not lead to another run, Jose Cruz flying out to Rico instead.

If you were a fan of earned runs, the fifth inning had you covered with a Mathers meltdown that gave the defense little chance to interact to begin with. Leadoff walk to PH John Davis, then an uncatchable screaming triple in the alley by Vittorio Riario right away. Riley hit his 15th bomb to the next borough over, and suddenly we were down to 5-4 for a lead. That was before Toohey dropped an Alba fly with two outs in that inning. Andy Montes then struck out, but oh my, what a clown game …! Mathers croaked entirely in the sixth, allowing a single to Nash to lead off, who was forced out by Rico, but then walked Dave Myers and Riario. Moreno inherited stuffed bases in a 5-4 game, and croaked even louder. He gave up two runs on Dave Martinez’ single through the right side, walked Riley, then gave up another two runs on Marz’ single through the right side. Exit Moreno, enter Jones, and another RBI single by Alba to right. Montes hit into a double play, but the Crusaders were now up by a slam and I was eyeing the train station outside the ballpark so I wouldn’t miss the right time to throw myself under one of those trams.

Top 7th, Todd Lush walked Van Anderson leading off in the #9 hole, and Ayala singled. Waters grounded to short, but the Crusaders only got the guy at second base, which Waters then swiped just in time to score on Maldonado’s 2-run single to left-center. And then Toohey found a double play grounder after all. Oh goodness grievous!! … Alex Ramirez was then sampled for two runs on way too many hits to count them all in the bottom 7th, restoring the slam range. Despite all the bleeding, the Raccoons got the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth inning when Carreno singled and Ayala walked. In the save situation with one out, Luis Villagomez became the 750th relief pitcher to appear in the game. He got Waters to 0-2, then gave up a drive down the rightfield line for a 2-run double, which now made it 11-9 or something like that, I had stopped being able to tally up the runs a while back. Maldonado grounded out, but Toohey walked to put the tying run on base. And then Phinazee flew out to Rico. 11-9 Crusaders. Ayala 4-5, 2B; Waters 2-3, BB, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Maldonado 2-5, HR, 4 RBI;

Unfortunately the bottom six in the order batted with broomsticks or something, going 3-for-23…

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Baskins – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Gonzalez – 2B Carreno – 3B Cruz – P Clark
NYC: SS Adame – RF Marz – 1B Briones – CF Rico – 2B Nash – 3B Riario – LF D. Martinez – C E. Thompson – P J. Johnson

At least New York stopped with that nonsense hitting the pitcher eighth. Scary stuff, that. Also probably confusing our pitchers, so things would be rosy from now on, WOULDN’T THEY, BRENT??

Well, it was until a completely cursed fifth inning. The Raccoons did their stupid thing where they had a hit in every inning, but never scored a run, while the Crusaders did close to zero against Clark for four innings before Nash opened the fifth with a single. Riario bunted, Gonzalez got the ******* flutters again and threw it away to put runners in scoring position, and there it all went down into the sewers. Dave Martinez’ sac fly was the first run in the game, after which Riario stole third base, Thompson struck out looking though, which made it two outs with the pitcher at the plate and – oh, **** my ***, a duck snort single into center. Riario singled home another run in the sixth, when Clark walked two Crusaders, and that was the whole game, basically. The Raccoons never did ******* anything except for a late and meaningless homer by Waters. 3-1 Crusaders. Waters 2-4, HR, RBI; Ayala 2-4; Toohey 1-2, 2 BB; Hunter (PH) 1-1; Clark 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, L (7-11);

So, Manny’s hitting streak ended as soon as I noticed it, what else? Oh yeah, we play like arse.

Game 4
POR: LF Baskins – SS Waters – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – CF Anderson – P Jackson
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – RF Marz – C Alba – LF A. Montes – 2B Nash – CF Rico – P Tanabe – 3B Riario

Ugh, pitcher batting eighth! Can we just forfeit and go home!? … The Raccoons’ first two hits both belonged to Derek Baskins, so that was a good start, while the first run was the New Yorkers’, Danny Rico hitting a leadoff double in the third after Jackson retired six in a row, then scoring on an Adame single with two outs. I sat down next to a scary looking bearded guy in the stands and kindly asked him between bites he took off one of his four hot dogs whether he’d accept $50 as a fee for beating me dead right on the spot. He looked at me with pity, handed me a hot dog, and moved to the next section.

The Raccoons then had the bases loaded in the fourth, but in the worst way. Yes, with nobody out, which meant they were cursed not to score, and also with Manny – after singles by Maldo and Toohey – getting smitten in the paw with a fastball. He tossed the bat, jumped up and down, sang a song only dogs could hear, and none of that could be good. Dr. Padilla poked around his paw, every poke making Manny wince, then took him out of the game. We brought in Ayala, with Toohey going back out to his usual spot in rightfield – after the inning break of course. First the Raccoons had to make three outs in the worst way possible. Zarate hit a comebacker to Tanabe for a force out at home. Alba lost a pitch to Carreno, actually allowing Toohey to score. Then Carreno grounded to third base, keeping everybody pinned. Van Anderson was *Van Anderson* but still walked intentionally with two outs and first base available to pull .130 hitting Jake Jackson, who hit the ball right back to Tanabe for the bitter end.

While I asked an usher whether there were any rope stores near the ballpark and was utterly disappointed, the Raccoons had Carreno on first base with two outs in the sixth inning. With the game still tied, maybe we could clear the pitcher’s spot again. Carreno was ordered to run, never got the jump, and eventually held with two strikes on Van Anderson, who was *Van Anderson*. Then Van Anderson hit the fifth pitch of the at-bat over the head of John Marz in right-center, and over the ******* fence, too, giving Portland a 3-1 lead. VAN ANDERSON. Baseball, you utterly stupid little game.

Of course Jackson had a little meltdown right away, allowing a run on singles to Riley and Alba in the bottom 6th, then walked the bags full. Danny Rico grounded out to Carreno rather than waiting for his turn to walk, stranding three in a 3-2 game. The Raccoons got the run back with the help of an Adame error that put Maldonado on base in the seventh. Toohey singled him in. Jackson grinded out seven, then was hit for against Todd Lush, the lefty, with Carreno and Anderson on second and first after a single and stolen base and a walk, respectively, all with one gone. Tony Hunter grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Baskins struck out. Sigh.

Norris and Jones pieced the eighth together, getting Rella lined up for the ninth inning, which arrived without offensive reinforcements for Portland. John Davis hit a hard fly to right, but Toohey had it on the warning track. Rico singled to right on 0-2. But Mario Briones hit a bouncer right at Carreno! To Waters, to Ayala, and the ballgame…! 4-2 Critters. Baskins 2-5; Toohey 2-5, RBI; Carreno 2-4; Anderson 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Jackson 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (11-5);

*Van Anderson*!

In other news

August 1 – MIL OF Adam Borchard (.339, 0 HR, 5 RBI) whips four singles and a triple for one RBI in contribution of a 13-2 rout of the Condors.
August 1 – LVA C John Lunde (.322, 6 HR, 17 RBI) hits a walkoff jack against the Titans for the only score in the Aces’ 2-0 win.
August 2 – SFB OF/1B Scott Martin (.297, 4 HR, 32 RBI) announces his retirement from baseball on account of a particularly badly torn labrum that can be fixed for daily use, but not for baseball purposes. The 31-year-old hit .292 with 86 HR and 515 RBI for his career. He won championships with the 2035 Capitals and 2043 Bayhawks.
August 2 – DAL SP Mark Holliday (9-6, 3.77 ERA) is out for the year with a torn rotator cuff.
August 4 – Salem CL Rico Sanchez (3-4, 4.20 ERA, 23 SV) saves his 300th game, a 4-1 win over the Stars. The 33-year-old righty, who has mostly pitched for Oregon teams in his career, is 53-62 with a 3.47 career ERA.
August 5 – LAP SP Roberto Pruneda (9-9, 3.74 ERA) 3-hits the Warriors in a 4-0 shutout for the Pacifics.
August 5 – After playing a scoreless game through nine innings, both the Buffaloes and Cyclones score once in the 10th inning. The Buffaloes prevail with two runs in the top of the 11th, winning 3-1.
August 7 – Pacifics infielder Brian Bowman (.287, 4 HR, 44 RBI) will be out until September with a sore shoulder.

FL Player of the Week: SAL 2B/1B/RF/LF Bob Mancini (.300, 13 HR, 49 RBI), hitting .516 (16-31) with 2 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC 1B Dan Riley (.276, 14 HR, 38 RBI), batting .429 (9-21) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The good news first – Manny Fernandez’ paw is not broken, just squished into a pulp. He’s officially day-to-day but won’t be able to hold a bat on Monday at the very least as we continue to Indy right away. Last stop on the road trip will by Sacramento.

We’re very much feasting on the laurels of May and June, now, though. We’re 12-11 since the All Star Game, a winning percentage which, last time I had Cristiano check, didn’t usually permit participation in October ballgames.

We passed on Victor Magana when the asking price on the 17-year-old reached the $500,000s and would have gotten us into the penalty zone for international free agents next year.

Fun Fact: With the busy roster shuffles of the last few weeks, the Raccoons have now employed a whopping 35 players this year.

That includes a pitcher that pitched one inning (Bowman, this week), and six batters with less than 30 at-bats (R. Gonzalez, de Wit, J. Gonzalez, Hunter, Anderson, Rosario).

+++

As threatened, tomorrow is the release of Humankind. If it’s any good, I might get lost in it for the next three days. I *should* be able to botch an update together by Friday one way or another

Oh, and if Humankind isn’t any good, I have to cast myself into the nearest ocean. Which is 300+ miles away, and I am so lazyyyy…… I’ll wait until the ocean comes to me.

[Westheim]

Steam says I played almost 15 hours. I think Humankind might be pretty decent. Anyway, here come the Coons!

Which position were we in again?

+++

Raccoons (67-43) @ Indians (57-54) – August 8-11, 2044

Back half of a road trip of four cities, and beginning with four games in Indy. The Arrowheads had somehow won nine in a row to storm into second place, so that was something to contend with for the Critters, who were 12-11 out of the All Star Break, a string that had begun with one out of four against this team here, same spot. Despite their winning spree, the Indians were still last in runs scored and had a -5 run differential on their top 3 pitching’s strength, so I had to assume that we wouldn’t score all week. The season series stood 6-5 in the Raccoons’ favor.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (12-5, 2.77 ERA) vs. Chris Volk (3-7, 6.48 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (7-3, 4.13 ERA) vs. Willie Gonzales (3-0, 1.80 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-7, 3.50 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (11-6, 2.67 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-11, 3.85 ERA) vs. Luis Anzaldo (2-0, 3.77 ERA)

We managed to tip-claw around their only southpaw starter, Casey Pinter (8-9, 3.74 ERA). We were lefty-avoiding all year, with only 21 of our games having been against left-handed starters …! Manny Fernandez was still day-to-day and not in the lineup on Monday.

These were also the last seven games of 20 straight without a day off.

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – 2B Waters – C Zarate – SS Hunter – CF Phinazee – P Okuda
IND: 1B Lutch – CF N. Galvan – LF D. Rivera – RF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – 3B Walley – SS Huber – 2B A. Avila – P Volk

Volk had snapped out of getting rioted over his last time out against the Critterfolk, so I wasn’t looking forward to this game at all. But the Critterfolk put Waters and Zarate on the corners with singles to begin the second inning, so that was *something*, out of which the Raccoons almost made *nothing*, but while the bottom of the order failed away, Volk threw a wild pitch to score Matt Waters for the first run of the game. Baskins began the third with a single, but was doubled up by Sal Ayala, which was unfortunate given that the inning continued with doubles by Maldo and Toohey, and Waters singled, adding two more runs before Jose Zarate grounded out. Baskins instead singled home Mal Phinazee in the fourth, 4-0. The Indians did nothing much against Okuda after a leadoff single by Vince Lutch in the bottom 1st, all the way until Julian Diaz hit a 2-out double in the fourth. Chris Walley grounded out after that, stranding the runner.

While Okuda walked Volk for no good reason in the fifth, he was mostly in control in this game. Phinazee’s homer in the sixth added one run to the Raccoons’ tally, and things looked pretty good at 5-0. So of course, just as I started to breathe at a normal rate, the Indians began to drop in singles and bopped Okuda around for three hits and two runs in the bottom 6th, all hits finding seems on the infield. Okuda pitched into the eighth with the 5-2 lead, where Danny Rivera hit a leadoff single past Waters, but Bill Quinteros struck out. Those were lefty hitters; after this, the bullpen took over. Jon Craig conceded the Rivera run on a 2-out hit by Walley, while Adam Huber walked. With Danny Diaz pinch-hitting, Chuck Jones came on, and got a foul pop to end the inning with the tying runs aboard. Jones then immediately bowed for Carreno to lead off the ninth, drawing a walk off Domingo Murillo. He stole second, reached third when Julian Diaz’ throw bounced away from Danny Diaz, and dashed home on Derek Baskins’ RBI single to right, 6-3. Baskins stole second, Ayala singled, but Maldo whiffed. Manny would pinch-hit for Toohey against Murillo, who balked Baskins across, then walked Manny, who’d be run for with Van Anderson, while Cesar Suarez stemmed the bleed for Indy as he relieved Murillo. The Raccoons went to Alex Ramirez in the bottom 9th, which resulted in runners on the corners and Josh Rella getting a 2-out save opportunity. He got Quinteros to ground out to end the game. 7-3 Raccoons! Baskins 4-5, 2 RBI; Toohey 2-4, 2B, RBI; Waters 3-5, RBI; Phinazee 1-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Okuda 7.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (13-5);

There was no reasoning with Alex Ramirez anymore… He was a walking mess. Back to St. Pete he was and due to be non-tendered in the fall. The Raccoons recalled Preston Porter.

We also got a bullpen reset with a rainy day on Tuesday, nixing that day’s baseball activities. We’d have a double-header on Wednesday. Jeff Kilmer was ready to come off the DL by Wednesday, but we’d put that off until the second game of the double-header. Ruben Gonzalez would get another start in the first one.

Game 2
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Hunter – C Gonzalez – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF B. Quinteros – RF Crocker – C Julian Diaz – 1B S. Jennings – 3B Walley – 2B Huber – P W. Gonzales

Assigned the first game of the double header in order, Wheatley did his royal best to get stomped into the mound by the Indians; Andrew Russ reached base on soft singles twice, both times stole a base, and was singled home. In between they loaded the bases and left them loaded, and through four innings they beat around Wheatley for seven hits, two walks, and nothing more than the two Russ runs. Still better than the Raccoons, who were getting 2-hit by Gonzales. Rivera hit a double to open the bottom 5th, but was stranded on three poor outs, and while Wheats looked ghastly, he was not hit for to begin the sixth, given another nine innings beckoning after this hacker of a game. He made the first out in the sixth, after which the 1-2-3 loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, bringing up Toohey, who … struck out. Manny ran a 3-1 count with two outs, then poked for an RBI single in shallow center, which was *something*, but Hunter grounded out to Adam Huber and three Coons were stranded.

Wheats’ spot came up with two outs in the seventh and nobody on. He was left to his own devices and singled. Yeah, right. Kill the top of the order for the eighth, Wheats! Baskins singled, moving the tying run to second base. And then Ayala singled to left-center, Wheats was sent around third base an scored ahead of a bad throw by Bill Quinteros…! Tied game! Gonzales nicked Maldonado with a 1-2 to load the bags for Toohey again, and this time Toohey found something hittable and dropped it into the gap for a go-ahead, 2-run single! Manny added an RBI single for the last of six straight Critters reaching base with two outs, with Hunter grounding out after him. Wheats came back to the mound, but right away allowed a single to PH Danny Diaz in the #9 hole. Russ struck out, after which the Raccoons sent Zack Kelly against three lefty hitters. He walked Rivera, nailed Quinteros, and Nelson Galvan batted for Nick Crocker, prompting another move to the pen, now for Nelson Moreno. Galvan lifted the 0-1 to shallow left, Manny snagged it on the run for the second out, and would we come out okay here after all? No. Moreno walked in two, Lutch drove in two more, and Portland pissed away their 4-spot with a 4-spot for Indianapolis…

The simpleton Critters struck out in order in the eighth, but got the tying run in scoring position with nobody out for free in the ninth inning when Derek Baskins reached on a capital throwing error by Julian Diaz. Ayala lined out. Maldonado grounded out. Toohey struck out. 6-5 Indians. Baskins 2-5; Fernandez 3-4, 2 RBI;

Well, that was **** game of the sort .500 teams play. And we’re basically .500 for the last month.

Gonzalez went 0-for-4 to dunk his slash line to .200/.226/.267 on his way out and back to AAA, Kilmer taking his spot for the second game.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Phinazee – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Cruz – 2B Carreno – RF Anderson – P Mathers
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF B. Quinteros – RF Crocker – 1B S. Jennings – 3B Walley – C Ebner – 2B A. Avila – P Drury

The Coons started off 2-0 in the nightcap, getting a Waters double, four balls to Ayala, a wild pitch, and two RBI groundouts from Phinazee and Manny. The Indians countered with four, the pesky Russ and Quinteros reaching ahead of a 3-run blast to right for Nick Crocker; Walley singled, Sean Ebner ripped an RBI double, it was terrible. And none of it got better. While the Raccoons got Carreno and Anderson on to begin the second inning, and stranded them both, the Indians kept running circles around Mathers, which included the ******* ******** Andrew Russ hitting a single or drawing a walk, followed by another stolen base, every single ******* time. By the fourth of this second game of the double-header, he was 5-for-5 in stolen bases for the day. The Indians also led 6-2, driving him home twice more along the way, and Mathers was lifted for a pinch-hitter to begin the fifth. The Raccoons would get scoreless relief from Nate Norris and Preston Porter after that, with no offense coming forth.

…until the eighth. Waters led off with a single, stole second, and scored a while later after a fly out, a walk, and then a groundout by Manny. Drury walked Kilmer, and Jose Cruz drove in Phinazee. All of a sudden, the tying runs were aboard with two outs. But Carreno grounded out to Steven Jennings, ending the inning, and the Raccoons were up against Tommy Gardner, for the second time this day, with two runs to tie in the ninth. Anderson grounded out. Maldonado struck out. Waters grounded to short – infield single. Ayala was the tying run. He was out on a comebacker. 6-4 Indians. Waters 3-5, 2B; Norris 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Porter 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

(looks grumpy)

Game 4
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Clark
IND: SS Russ – CF N. Galvan – LF D. Rivera – RF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – 3B Walley – 1B Huber – 2B A. Avila – P Anzaldo

The sky looked moist and ready for dousing, so we’d like to get into the lead early and maybe even hold it. Well, I would have liked that. The team seemed to have other designs, getting a guy on every one of the early innings before finding a double play or some other stupid scheme to not get the run across. The Indians did get the run across in the bottom 3rd when Huber reached on a Maldonado error, Avila walked, and after the inevitable bunt, Russ brought a run home with a grounder up the middle. Galvan was out on a comebacker, ending the inning with the Arrowheads up 1-0. It began to rain almost at once.

The Raccoons had Zarate and Carreno on with one gone in the fifth inning, with Clark’s bunt so bad that Zarate was out at third for the second out. With Baskins batting, Carreno took off for third base – and was thrown out by Diaz. While the weather calmed itself and no immediate death was to be expected, the Raccoons still couldn’t ******* hit. Clark battled as hard as he could and held Indy to three hits and a run through six, while the Raccoons sat on two ****** base hits.

Top 7th, leadoff walk drawn by Toohey. Anzaldo fell to 3-0 on Manny, which was good, since Manny had veteran savvy and thus wouldn’t whack for a stupid out. Manny then whacked for a stupid out to Rivera. Waters grounded out, moving Toohey to second, and Zarate strung an RBI double down the rightfield line just in time for me to not burst a blood vessel. The double tied the game with two outs in the seventh, 1-1, and Carreno singled after that, putting runners on the corners. While Clark had foam left, pinch-hitting was imperative once the Indians brought a new righty, Orlando Altreche, for Anzaldo. Mal Phinazee grabbed a stick, ran a full count, then crammed a ball through between Avila and Huber on the right side for the go-ahead single. Okay – NOW it can rain! Before it could start, Phinazee was caught stealing, ending the inning. The pen blew the lead immediately, Jon Craig being **** again. Walley singled, Crocker struck an RBI double, then stole third base. Diaz lined out to Waters, after which Chuck Jones came on to face the pinch-hitting Jennings, but gave up the go-ahead single. Russ struck out, but Jones was whacked around for two more runs in the eighth. And then it started to rain. The game finished orderly and without a rain delay, and with the last five Raccoons all striking out. 5-2 Indians. Zarate 2-3, 2B, RBI; Carreno 1-2, BB; Phinazee (PH) 1-1, RBI; Clark 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K;

The Raccoons! – now under .500 since the All Star Game.

The Indians were now only 8 1/2 back and would pretty soon take first place, without a doubt.

Raccoons (68-46) @ Scorpions (67-49) – August 12-14, 2044

The Raccoons had won two of three from the Scorpions last year, but right now I saw them more like scoring no runs and losing everything within sight and beyond… Sacramento was in third place in the FL West, second in runs scored, but second from the bottom in runs allowed, with a +10 run differential, hinting at them being due some bad luck, just the opposite of the Critters…

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (11-5, 3.77 ERA) vs. Raul Cornejo (10-8, 4.83 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (13-5, 2.82 ERA) vs. Josh Vercher (10-8, 4.07 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-8, 3.76 ERA) vs. Angel Velasquez (6-10, 5.09 ERA)

The Raccoons went with Mathers on short rest on Sunday rather than Wheatley, who had thrown a full complement of pitches in the double header, while Mathers had been yanked after just 75.

We’d get all right-handers, once again, missing Raccoons farmhand of old, Fiorenzo DeSanctis (10-4, 5.25 ERA), the only lefty in the rotation. At least he seemed to be the one that got all the run support, so we’d stick to the right-handers. With Mike Preble, Jesus Banuelas, and Nate Culp, the Stingers were also missing a few regulars from the lineup – whatever helps!

Game 1
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Jackson
SAC: CF Cedillo – 2B J. Matos – RF E. Moreno – LF Porfirio – 3B Copeland – C Torreo – 1B Herrington – SS Kea – P Cornejo

Both teams had two hits the first time through, although Jackson faced the minimum for two double plays behind him. He also singled over shortstop Steve Kea after Carreno had singled and stolen second, but Carreno had to hold initially and only could go after the ball was past Kea, had to park it at third base, and then Baskins and Ayala made stinky outs and nobody scored for Portland, either. Maldo opened the fourth with a single, was forced out by Manny, who at least stole second, but was stranded anyway. Zarate hit a leadoff single through the right side in the fifth, but Carreno popped out. The runner was bunted to second, reached third on Baskins’ single to right, and then was stranded again when Ayala popped out. Sebastian Copeland and Chris Herrington singled for Sacramento in the same inning, but Kea struck out and Cornejo rolled out to Maldonado to keep everybody off the board in five innings of agonyball.

Zarate and Carreno hit 1-singles in the seventh of a scoreless game, which presented a conundrum. Jackson was doing well, and had another inning in him at least, but the Raccoons were DYING for offense. Mal Phinazee hit for him… and popped out. Baskins walked, loading the bags with two outs anyway, and then Ayala’s fly to left was caught by Alfonso Cedillo to strand ******* everybody. Preston Porter kept Sacramento away in the bottom 7th, but had to stalk around a leadoff walk to Sebastian Copeland to do so, and had to get Manny to catch the third out on the run.

Top 8th, Maldo led off with a fly behind Eddie Moreno and off the damn wall for a leadoff double. But now, boys! Now! If you don’t score Maldo, we won’t go out to have pizza after the ******* game! Toohey was half-heartedly walked onto the open base, while Manny lined hard to left – and into Copeland’s mitten. Waters flew out to right. Zarate grounded to short, and Kea went the short way to end the inning. Nobody scored. While I wailed, Kelly and Moreno kept the Scorpions at bay in the bottom 8th. Carreno then opened the ninth off ex-Coon Antonio Prieto with a zinger to center for ANOTHER leadoff double. LAST CHANCE, BOYS!! Last chance!! Kilmer hit for Moreno, flew out to right, but Carreno boogied to third base. Derek Baskins hit a *scorcher* - right at Kea for the second out. Ayala grinded out a walk in a full count to deflect responsibility for Carreno’s furry bum to Maldonado, who put the 1-0 pitch in play to right, softly hit, but past Jesus Matos! Single! Run! Boys! Run! Run! We have a run!! Prieto melted for a walk to Toohey, loading the bases, and bringing up Manny Fernandez, who unleashed a weak roller near the third base line that saw all sorts of confused movement on the diamond, but nobody managed to make a play as the Raccoons went station by station and Manny ended up with an RBI single! Waters grounded out, sending out Rella for the bottom 9th, and Rella struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning. 2-0 Blighters! Maldonado 3-5, 2B, RBI; Zarate 2-4; Carreno 3-4, 2B; Jackson 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K and 1-1;

What a terrible game…!

Boys! What’s going on???

Game 2
POR: 2B Waters – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – P Okuda
SAC: CF Cedillo – 2B J. Matos – RF E. Moreno – LF Porfirio – 3B Copeland – C Torreo – 1B Herrington – SS Kea – P Vercher

Back in the cleanup spot, Manny cleaned up immediately in the first inning, hitting a 2-run homer to left to score Maldo for a 2-0 lead. That was about it for Vercher, who amid an apparent injury would not return for the second inning, and his replacement Aaron Morris, also a righty, was positively wild. He filled the bases in the second *and* third, on two singles and four walks total. The Raccoons didn’t score the first time, and they only scored the second time once Pacio Torreo was overwhelmed by the wildness and missed an 0-1 to Kilmer that bounced away for a run-scoring passed ball. That somehow dissolved the knot; Kilmer crashed a wallbanger for a 2-run double on the next pitch, 5-0, and a Hunter single and a walk to Okuda (!) loaded the bases again. Morris was yanked, right-hander Omar Benitez taking over. He balked in a run (…!), Waters hit a sac fly, Ayala walked, and Maldo’s fly to right would have ended the inning, but Eddie Moreno had it clank off his forearm for a 2-base, 1-run error. Manny flew out to left instead. But it was 8-0 Raccoons and Okuda was pitching, so I can put my feet up now, right?

Mostly, yes. The Raccoons stopped hitting after the 6-spot, but it was still Okuda on the mound. Jesus Matos had his number, hitting a pair of doubles off him, both of which led to a run. He drove in Cedillo in the third, and was brought home by Joreao Porfirio in the sixth, but apart from that Okuda’s main problem was a number of long counts that ran up his pitch count. He made it through eight, and the last inning was pitched by Craig without getting mowed down for a change. The Raccoons’ offense never did a thing again, but at least they had packed on early… 8-2 Critters. Fernandez 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Hunter 2-5; Okuda 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (14-5);

Vercher was out for the year pretty much with an oblique strain as was revealed after the game. Ricky Jimenez came off the DL by Sunday, with Van Anderson returned to AAA.

One more, boys, make it a winning week!

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – CF Phinazee – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers
SAC: CF Cedillo – 2B J. Matos – RF E. Moreno – LF Porfirio – 3B Copeland – C Torreo – 1B Herrington – SS Kea – P Velasquez

The Raccoons took a 2-0 lead in the first again, with Ayala getting on and being singled home by Manny before the bases filled up sloooowly. Carreno drew a bases-loaded walk before Jimenez stranded three with a deep fly to right. That was it for Portland in the early going, but at least Mathers had more pitchcraft in his paws than on Wednesday. He scattered two hits and a walk in the first three innings, and needed only 35 pitches for them when the Raccoons aimed for 75-ish pitches for him, three days removed from a 75-pitch outing in Indy.

Then leadoff jacks by Moreno in the fourth and Herrington in the fifth tied the game, both to left. In between the Raccoons had two on in the top 5th, only for Kilmer to hit into an inning-ending double play. With Phinazee and Carreno reaching base to begin the sixth, Jimenez hit into the next 6-4-3 stinker. Mathers struck out, allowed a 1-out double to Moreno in the bottom 6th, walked Porfirio, then – on 76 pitches – was lifted and walked off the field screaming into his glove in agony… pretty much what I did in the visiting team’s suite, just with a glass of booze subbing for the glove. Norris replaced him, gave up a run on a Copeland single, and just like that the Raccoons were trailing again, 3-2. Torreo and Herrington made outs on the ground, stranding two in scoring position.

Top 7th, Waters opened with a single to center, and Maldonado hit another one of those, but Waters only made it to second on the play, fearing Cedillo’s arm in center. Manny was next and was drilled in the paw, jumping up and down screaming while I hit my head onto the table repeatedly. Dr. Padilla removed Manny after checking out his paw at first base – Derek Baskins would run for him and then play left. When Kilmer fell to 1-2, I accidentally broke the booze class, getting a shard stuck in my forehead, and while Josh Busing was mildly concerned for the bleed, which wasn’t *that* bad, I suddenly felt so much lighter. Also, Jeff Kilmer hit a homer to left on the next pitch. – GRAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!

The stunned Stingers lied down and stopped resisting after this. The Raccoons would add a run in the ninth on Morris again, taking off the save for Rella. Following Norris, the Raccoons got scoreless relief from Jones, Porter, and Moreno to complete their first sweep in a while. 7-3 Furballs. Waters 2-6; Maldonado 2-5, 2B; Fernandez 3-3, RBI; Kilmer 3-5, HR, 4 RBI; Phinazee 2-3, 2 BB; Cruz (PH) 1-1, RBI;

In other news

August 9 – LAP SP Joe Feltman (9-11, 4.48 ERA) will miss a full year with a torn rotator cuff.
August 9 – Scorpions LF/RF Nate Culp (.289, 20 HR, 69 RBI) is out with shoulder inflammation and will not be back this season.
August 14 – VAN SP Matt Sealock (9-12, 3.94 ERA) was out for the rest of this and maybe all of next season with a torn UCL requiring Tommy John surgery.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B/LF/RF Eddie Moreno (.318, 26 HR, 85 RBI), hitting .407 (11-27) with 3 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.331, 23 HR, 81 RBI), batting .448 (13-29) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

First series sweep in over two months! We hadn’t taken a full set since we swept the Loggers in Milwaukee from June 3-5. Of course, losing three of four to the Indians for the second time in a row didn’t help this week, but at least there’s only three games left with those devils.

Also not helping: Manny Fernandez having his thumb broken by a pitch on Sunday. It will put him out for a month, just when he was finally starting to get balls to fall in.

Besides Indy, everybody else is 15 games out by now, and we’re at the stage where the final quarter of the season beckons, and if you’re 15 games out now, there is no chance in hell you’re coming back. It’s us, our .500-ness after the break, and the Indians.

Next week: home series against the Capitals, and then it’s right off to Boston for three there. We will then come back right away to host the damn Elks and the Condors the week after. Those three series are the only home gigs this month, but we’ll have five home series in September and the first few days of October, all in division, including the last three games with Indy on September 9-11.

Fun Fact: The Indians are 12-2 in August and 22-8 since the All Star Game.

Tee-hee. We’re toast.

[Westheim]

The week began with Manny Fernandez being shifted to the DL with a broken thumb, which was something that would sort itself out by mid-September. Van Anderson was recalled from AAA.

Raccoons (71-46) vs. Capitals (52-65) – August 16-18, 2044

Last FL series before October (cough! cough!), hosting the Capitals for three games starting on Tuesday. Washington was in the bottom three in runs scored and allowed in their league, and even bottoms altogether in offense. They weren’t hitting, they weren’t walking, and they also weren’t pitching or defending. They were just … there. We had last played them two years ago, winning two of three then.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (7-3, 4.14 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (4-5, 3.74 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-11, 3.68 ERA) vs. Corey Booth (7-11, 5.98 ERA)
Jake Jackson (11-5, 3.62 ERA) vs. Matsuichi Yazawa (15-8, 3.42 ERA)

We would only get to see right-handers in this series.

Game 1
WAS: 2B Loyola – RF E. Avila – 1B Jam. King – SS O’Keefe – C Toki – CF Kristoff – LF Santiago – 3B Lockwood – P A. Flores
POR: 2B Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Baskins – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley

Jon Loyola and Eduardo Avila both hit singles through the gaps on the infield to begin the week, took up positions on the corners, and Jamie King’s 4-6-3 grounder made for two outs, but also the first run of the game. Tony Hunter’s 2-out walk, stolen base, and quick paws on Ricky Jimenez’ single would erase the deficit in the bottom 2nd, and that seemed to be all the Raccoons were destined for once again.

Wheatley struck out six through four innings; in the fifth he walked Justin Kristoff to begin the frame, which was far from great, but Kristoff was caught stealing third base after Jordan Santiago’s groundout, which oughta be helping. Nah. Joe Lockwood singled, Alex Flores singled (…), Jon Loyola singled, and it was 2-1 Caps. Avila grounded out to Hunter to end the inning, but not my dismay. Bottom 5th, Wheats clipped a single past Jamie King with one out, which may or may not be the awakening call for the team. Matt Waters legged out an infield single, if nothing else, and Flores threw a wild pitch to move the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position. The Caps then let Ayala, ahead in the count anyway, slide onto first base with a careless walk, hoping for two from Derek Baskins. Well, two they got – runs scored, that is, on a single up the middle, and right over the bag. That one flipped the score, and the inning dragged on long enough for Jeff Kilmer to strike out and strand three base runners, but no tack-on runs anymore. Well, tack-on runs would have helped – Joe Lockwood tagged Wheatley for a solo homer to left with two outs in the seventh, and that was a tied game…

With a 13th no-decision beckoning for Wheatley, the Raccoons saw Ayala strike out against lefty Jose Alaniz to begin the bottom 7th, but Baskins singled. He also stole second, and he raced around third base to score ahead of Kristoff’s throw on Maldonado’s single to center, making it a new Portland lead, 4-3. The bags filled up by means of two walks then, bringing up Tony Hunter in a fat spot he’d strike out in, and Jimenez flew out to center – AGAIN the Raccoons stranded three. Wheatley was replaced with Moreno, who struck out the 1-2 in the order to begin the eighth before Zack Kelly blew the lead again, walking King and Chris O’Keefe and giving up an RBI single to Manichiro Toki. Nate Norris had to get the final out from T.J. Lujan, and Wheatley got another no-decision after all… Still better than what Josh Rella got, which amounted to reckless abandonment by his teammates with two outs in the top 9th. Kyle Weinstein doubled on a ball in the gap on which Maldonado and Baskins scared each other off, which was not great. Loyola singled him home. PH Jose Salinas singled behind Waters, who meandered around the spot where the pop dropped eventually. Loyola scored on the play, and then Jamie King hit a 2-run homer to right. The dismally dim-witted Raccoons posted another shambolic loss. 8-4 Capitals. Waters 2-5; Baskins 3-5, 2 RBI; Jimenez 2-5, RBI;

Leave me alone, Maud! I will nail them all to tree stumps by their paws in the deep dark forest, and if it’s the last thing I’ll ******* do!

Game 2
WAS: 2B Loyola – RF E. Avila – SS O’Keefe – 1B Barrientos – LF Santiago – 3B Lockwood – CF J. Norris – C J. Salinas – P Yazawa
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Baskins – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Cruz – 2B Carreno – P Clark

The Caps made two errors in the bottom 1st which was barely enough for the Raccoons to score a run – Ayala driving home Waters – and to leave the bases loaded when Cruz struck out. While Brent Clark struck out two per inning more or less, the rest of the team remained utterly unbelievable and steadfastly committed to a second half at no better than .500. Carreno reached base and was caught stealing. Baskins reached base, stole second, and was stranded on third when Zarate struck out. Cruz singled through the right side to open the home fourth, and then Carreno stuck a triple into the corner in leftfield, upping the lead to 2-0, but scored only through dumb luck after Clark struck out. Waters hit a bouncer back the mound that Yazawa reached for, but deflected, away to Loyola, who had no chance at Carreno at home plate, but did get Waters at first. Meanwhile Clark did indeed reach 10 K when he ended the top 5th with a K to Jeremy Norris, who had walked the first time through, the only Caps runner against Clark.

While Zarate’s 2-run homer in the bottom 5th sent Yazawa to bed, Clark struck out Jose Salinas and Loyola in a 1-2-3 sixth. Two more runs scored off Jayden Garriques in the bottom 6th, but the crowd was more interested in Clark’s exploits – but the show took a turn towards the abyss in the seventh. He walked O’Keefe with one out, threw a wild pitch, then also walked Miguel Barrientos. Santiago walked. Lockwood poked at the first pitch with the bases just having been walked full and hit a sac fly to Baskins, but suddenly Clark had lost his edge. Norris hit an RBI single to right – and that ended the no-hitter. Salinas, lefty batter, popped out, and Clark was hit for in the bottom of the inning, but got an ovation on his way to the dugout, but hung his head anyway. Carreno tripled again and Phinazee doubled him home in Clark’s spot, 8-2, but Jon Craig was roughed up for another two runs in the eighth inning. Derek Baskins countered with a leadoff jack blasted off right-hander Leif Squires in the bottom of the inning. Maldo doubled, Toohey hit another homer, and it was hard to keep counting at this rate. Zarate doubled off new pitcher Victor Flores, Carreno singled him home, Phinazee reached on an error, but Van Anderson and Tony Hunter made outs as pinch-hitters to end the Raccoons’ hitting part in this game. Preston Porter turned the Caps away in the ninth to protect a 2-slam lead. 12-4 Raccoons. Baskins 3-5, HR, RBI; Maldonado 2-5, 2B, RBI; Toohey 3-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Zarate 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Cruz 2-5; Carreno 4-5, 2 3B, 2 RBI; Phinazee (PH) 1-2, 2B, RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 12 K, W (8-11) and 1-3;

Good! Now win one without me yelling first!

Game 3
WAS: LF Santiago – RF E. Avila – 1B Jam. King – SS O’Keefe – C Toki – CF Kristoff – 2B Lujan – 3B Lockwood – P Booth
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – LF Baskins – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Zarate – SS Hunter – P Jackson

While Jackson whiffed four and allowed but a lone single through three innings, the Raccoons had a Phinazee double in the second that led nowhere, then saw Carreno reach base on balls with two outs in the bottom 3rd. He stole second, his 35th of the year, and was singled home by Ayala for a 1-0 lead. Baskins walked, Maldo hit another RBI single, and Toohey’s K ended the inning. And Jackson blew the lead right away…! One out in the fourth, Jamie King singled, O’Keefe walked, and Toki cracked an RBI single. Phinazee threw home late, the trailing runners moved up, and that allowed Kristoff to tie the game at two with a sac fly. Neat, boys. Neat.

A leadoff walk drawn by Phinazee and a Zarate double to right put two Raccoons in scoring position with nobody out in the bottom 4th. The Caps hedged their bets and walked Tony Hunter intentionally, giving us three on and nobody out, and leading me to wrestling Maud for the remote so I wouldn’t have to see them strike out three times in a row. – Let go, Maud! – No! – I’d rather see “Flowerbeds for Florence” on Channel 46!! … It was not a winnable fight for me, but at least I had underestimated the flammability of Corey Booth, who walked JACKSON with the bases loaded, pushing home Mal Phinazee with the go-ahead run, 3-2. Carreno and Ayala both clipped RBI single to knock out Booth, with order then being restored by Tony Granado, who retired the next three on pops and strikeouts.

Would they at least waggle that 5-2 lead home? Well, Jackson loaded the bases in the sixth, a hit by King, a walk by O’Keefe, and hitting Toki with an 0-2 pitch almost made me explode for good, but Kristoff hit into a run-scoring double play and Lujan popped out to Ayala before I could build up the internal pressure necessary. Only breathing in, not out, was the secret here.

Jackson lasted seven innings, Chuck Jones was steady in the eighth, and then the Raccoons tacked on two more runs against the bullpen in the bottom 8th, RBIs being contributed by Jimenez and Toohey. Nate Norris handled the Caps in the ninth. 7-3 Raccoons. Ayala 3-4, 2 RBI; Jimenez (PH) 1-1, RBI; Maldonado 2-5, RBI;

The Indians also won two of three during the week, so the distance atop the CL North remained steady at 9 1/2 games.

But the Raccoons now had to descend into the Boston den again…

Raccoons (73-47) @ Titans (58-63) – August 19-21, 2044

The Titans were out of it with their thoroughly average team that had a +12 run differential (Critters: +141), and we held a 9-2 lead in the season series, but this was Boston, and nothing good ever happened in Boston. They had a bunch of injured outfielders with Joe Ritchey, Rob Bottino, and Danny Liceaga, who had just gone down this week.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (14-5, 2.78 ERA) vs. Jamal Barrow (8-13, 3.61 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-8, 3.81 ERA) vs. Chris Turner (10-11, 4.04 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (7-3, 4.12 ERA) vs. Ignacio del Rio (10-8, 3.82 ERA)

“Tuba” Turner would be a southpaw on Saturday – what an unfamiliar sight to see!

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Okuda
BOS: LF Watt – RF Casaus – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – CF T. Lopez – 2B M. Avila – SS J. Rodriguez – P Barrow

Okuda – had nothing. He walked three and allowed three hits and three runs in the first two innings. The Titans were just whacking the balls, they were falling in, except when he was outside zone, which he didn’t without fooling anybody. The Raccoons also had nothing offensively in the first three innings, but got Maldonado on with an error in the fourth (…!). Phinazee doubled with one out, sending a pair into scoring position, and with two outs Ricky Jimenez found a 2-run single to left-center, getting the Raccoons to within a run. All that did was set up Okuda for more failure. Moises Avila hit a leadoff single in the bottom 4th, Juan Rodriguez doubled over Phinazee, and now they had two in scoring position with nobody out. Barrow struck out. Matt Watt grounded out to Jimenez, pinning the runners. Former Raccoons farmhand Sandy Casaus ran a full count, then popped out. Okuda was obviously trying to compensate a lack of stuff with raw guts; it wasn’t pretty, and also not successful. Ivan Lugo hit a 2-out double to left in the fifth, and Tony Lopez singled him home, 4-2. Okuda wasn’t seen after the inning.

The tying runs were on in the sixth when Maldo singled through the left side and Toohey’s shirt was tickled with a breaking pitch, and, oh, nobody out. Phinazee hit a string down the rightfield line that Casaus cut off before the corner, holding Phinazee to one run on the double rather than two, but the tying and go-ahead runs were in scoring position now, and with three chances…! Jeff Kilmer didn’t play around long, hit a clean RBI single to left, and that took Okuda off the hook. Barrow walked Jimenez to load them up with nobody out, Carreno hit a sac fly, Baskins flew out ineffectively in Okuda’s spot, but Waters found another RBI single, finally ending Barrow’s time out. Southpaw David Fox got a groundout from Ayala to end the inning.

Then the pen blew the lead in the bottom 6th. Kelly nicked Mark Vermillion, walked Watt, was yanked, and nothing got better with Nate Norris, even though Vermillion was caught stealing third base by Kilmer. Casaus walked, Dan Whitley hit a 2-out, 2-run double, and everybody was even at six. And then everybody stopped scoring and hit into more double plays instead, f.e. Waters for the Coons in the eighth when they had Jimenez and Baskins aboard and one out. Thus we arrived in extra innings, where Kilmer hit a 1-out single up the middle of Danny Tirado to get something going, maybe. Yes, he did – Ricky Jimenez remembered he was good in his first season and crashed a homer to left, giving Portland an 8-6 lead! Rella’s googly black eyes were still wet from Tuesday, but he nevertheless retired three in a row in the bottom 10th to put the game away. 8-6 Raccoons. Hunter (PH) 1-1, 2B; Maldonado 2-5; Phinazee 2-5, 2 2B, RBI; Kilmer 2-5, RBI; Jimenez 3-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI;

While we eeked out the win and took the season series on Friday, trouble was brewing on Saturday. Jason Wheatley had caught something wrong to eat and had spent all night barfing his guts out. He was in no condition to start on Sunday and we’d have to come up with something. Victor Merino was not in sync with the open spot – but Tony Negrete would be. The 22-year-old was 7-10 with a 3.67 ERA in AAA, and would be flown in for the spot start.

For the middle game it was still Mathers.

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Baskins – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Mathers
BOS: LF Watt – SS J. Rodriguez – C Whitley – RF C. Cortes – 2B O. Aguirre – 3B I. Lugo – 1B J. Parker – CF T. Lopez – P C. Turner

Mathers had seen … uh, “limited success” on the mound recently, but opened with two scoreless and then hit a single in the third that led to him scoring the first run of the game when Ayala and Maldo also reached, and Toohey grinded down “Tuba” Turner for the bases-loaded, 2-out walk. Derek Baskins fired a ball to center that stretched away from Tony Lopez and fell for extra bases. Ayala scored, Maldo scored, Toohey scored, a bases-clearing triple for Derek Baskins!

Kilmer’s groundout stranded Baskins, while the Titans didn’t get anything together until they hit two doubles to left with Lugo and Lopez in the bottom 5th for their first run, narrowing the score to 4-1. What followed after that was an orgy of quick outs, with next to no offense in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Baskins hit a single. That was about it. The Raccoons had the 7-8-9 up in the ninth inning and began with two outs. At that point Mathers was allowed to hit. Jon Landrum rung him up. He then took to the mound again himself, on 97 pitches, but also on a 3-hitter. Jones and Rella were available and ready, though. Juan Rodriguez grounded out to Carreno. Dan Whitley walked. Carlos Cortes popped out on the first pitch. And Oscare Aguirre ran a full count, then grounded to Jimenez. Sure grab, steady throw, out! Complete game 3-hitter for Corey Mathers! 4-1 Raccoons! Baskins 3-4, 3B, 3 RBI; Mathers 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (10-8) and 1-4;

A fully rested pen was of course even better for what we had concocted up – Preston Porter had to bite the bullet again, vacating his roster spot for debutee Tony Negrete. Sean Sieber was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – LF Baskins – RF Maldonado – C Zarate – SS Hunter – 3B Jimenez – CF Anderson – P Negrete
BOS: LF Watt – RF Casaus – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – 2B O. Aguirre – CF T. Lopez – SS J. Rodriguez – P del Rio

Negrete, 22, southpaw, and the #16 prospect in the land. You could also see that he liked to eat. He also had some unresolved control issues that would need ironing out at some point, allowing a single to Whitley in the first before walking the bases full. Aguirre popped out to strand three. He struck out Rodriguez in the second for his first career K, and for good measure added del Rio in a 1-2-3. The Raccoons had stranded three total in the first two innings, but got Carreno to third base by virtue of a leadoff single and two stolen bases – and with nobody out. Ayala had walked behind him, and Carreno went for home on Baskins fly to Casaus, who threw him out at the plate. (sigh!) Maldonado walked, but Zarate popped out, and nobody scored.

Negrete held his own, then hit his first single with two outs in the fourth, following on a Van Anderson single. Carreno walked, filling the bases, but Watt caught Ayala’s fly, and everybody was stranded again… It then also came apart for Negrete, who allowed a run on Aguirre and Rodriguez singles in the fourth, and another (unearned) run scored in the fifth thanks to a Jimenez throwing error, burying him 2-0. Tony Lopez tripled in the sixth, then scored on a sac fly by Rodriguez, 3-0. The Raccoons? Outhitting the Titans, 6-5, but that was about it for them, even with five walks issued by del Rio. Negrete was done after a leadoff walk to Watt in the bottom 7th, before Jon Craig had another meltdown, allowing three runs on three hits to put the game away. 6-0 Titans. Toohey (PH) 1-1; Anderson 2-4; Phinazee (PH) 1-1;

In other news

August 16 – SFB 1B/C Jeff Wilson (.268, 6 HR, 29 RBI) is a triple shy of the cycle in a 5-for-5 game with a single RBI as the Bayhawks rush the Warriors, 14-5.
August 19 – MIL 3B/2B Jared Paul (.278, 4 HR, 32 RBI) is out for the season and questionable for Opening Day after tearing his posterior cruciate ligament.
August 19 – CHA C/1B Chris Kokoszka (.277, 12 HR, 58 RBI) misses the cycle by the triple, going 4-for-4 with two homers and 4 RBI in a 15-4 win over the Aces.
August 19 – RIC SS/2B Lance Harrison (.246, 1 HR, 21 RBI) hits a walkoff single to end a 17-inning marathon with a 5-4 win over the Cyclones.
August 21 – Falcons SS Tony Aparicio (.252, 13 HR, 57 RBI) hits for the cycle in a 15-1 destruction of the Aces. Aparicio drives in run(s) with every one of his four hits, six in total.

FL Player of the Week: SAL CF Armando Herrera (.312, 3 HR, 41 RBI), hitting .500 (15-30) with 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: OCT 1B Sterling Henderson (.308, 5 HR, 30 RBI), batting .357 (10-28) with 4 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Another six games ticked off, and it wasn’t *great*, but at least we didn’t stumble and gained a game on Indy again. We have Monday off, then will have the damn Elks and Condors at home. We don’t know yet when Wheats will be done with the barfing, but he should be woven back into the rotation against the Elks. Negrete will go back to AAA right away after a “serviceable” debut.

Should Jon Craig also go? He’s in a bit of a rut and can’t get anybody out right now. This week he got socked for four runs (plus an inherited run), and he has been charged with 10 runs since July 28, packing a full run onto his ERA. Sean Marucci was out for the season, but the third relief prospect (counting Porter), Bob Ibold, looked ready. After a brief injury break, he was back pitching for the Alley Cats, and he had a 4.54 ERA in 37.2 innings there, but the BABIP was rubbish. He had almost three strikeouts for each walk.

Ibold had come over from the Buffos with Gene Pellicano in the deal that sent out Tony Hunter and Wyatt Hamill in ’42. He also had been traded for Troy Greenway earlier in his prospect career, which was not major news. It seemed everybody had been traded for Troy Greenway at some point in their career…! Ibold was a 23-year-old righty, 93mph heater, strong curve. Sometimes a bit down the middle.

This year’s top pick Brett Lillis jr. has been found out to have some crunchy movables in his pitching elbow, and Dr. Padilla will sent some archaeologists in there to brush it all out. That’s his first professional season over with a … (draws in air between his teeth sharply) … 1-7 mark and 4.94 ERA in Aumsville.

Fun Fact: Four previous Falcons cycles have been counted, including two in the same season in 1999.

That was a June 3 cycle by Hubert Green, and a September 2 event delivered by Joe Morton. Hubsie Green did his deed against the Raccoons, who at that point offered but little resistance.

Green was a career Falcon that played 16 years in the major leagues. He was an All Star twice, and won the 2005 World Series with the Falcons, too. He led the league in doubles twice (1998, 2004), and his extra-base knack was pronounced enough that he was a worthwhile hitter even while poking .256 for his career. He had 74 extra-base hits in a season twice, and he overall landed 2,033 hits, including 520 doubles, 81 triples, and 156 homers. He drove in 995 runs and stole 190 bases.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (75-48) vs. Canadiens (60-65) – August 23-25, 2044

The damn Elks were 16 games out and only left for spoiler purposes. We were up 7-5 on them this year, but beware their spoiler capabilities… They did have the second-most runs scored (587) in the CL, just narrowly behind the league-leading Coons (595). The Elks’ issue had been an utter lack of pitching, defense, speed, power, and literally anything else. They had one of the most amazing players in the league in Jerry Outram, they had Dan Schneller, who was still striking fear with the stick at age 36, but was definitely costing them on D, and while there were a few accomplices to these two’s shenanigans (of which Arnout van der Zanden was on the DL), it just wasn’t enough. Schneller was a free agent this fall, and Outram next year. The damn Elks stared into the abyss.

Been there, done that.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (8-11, 3.63 ERA) vs. David Arias (9-6, 3.31 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (7-3, 4.12 ERA) vs. John Roeder (2-6, 4.48 ERA)
Jake Jackson (12-5, 3.63 ERA) vs. Paul Medvec (11-7, 4.89 ERA)

Jason Wheatley would return from The Barfs to pitch in the middle game where he’d oppose the only left-hander scheduled to come up, Roeder. Tony Negrete, who had done *okay* on Sunday, but had taken the loss, was sent back to AAA for Preston Porter.

Game 1
VAN: 3B Malkus – C Clemente – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – RF V. Vazquez – LF C. Robinson – 1B J. Lopez – SS Riquenes – P D. Arias
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – CF Phinazee – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Clark

Clark struck out four the first time through the Elks’ order, but also spent lots of time in endless counts, needed over 40 pitches, and surrendered a run on a walk to Victor Vazquez and an RBI single by Johnny Lopez in the second inning. The Raccoons had Bryce Toohey on to begin the bottom 2nd, but Waters whiffed and Phinazee hit into a 3-6-3, which was always great, but then put runners on the corners with a Kilmer double and a Carreno single to begin the bottom 3rd. Clark fell to 0-2 before hitting a sac fly to tie the score, which was decent enough. Carreno failed to get a steal off, then was double up by Baskins’s grounder to short, ending the inning. The damn Elks took the lead back right away, with Dan Schneller, hitting .288 with 17 homers, drawing a leadoff walk and being doubled in by Chris Robinson. Robinson hurt himself in some way or shape, getting replaced with Steve Jorgensen, who was stranded on third base when Lopez grounded out and Sergio Riquenes whiffed. The Coons wasted a Toohey double in the bottom 4th, then saw Travis Malkus and Jerry Outram (.323, 15 HR, 64 RBI) draw up on the corners with two outs in the fifth. Clark rung up Schneller on three pitches, concluding the top 5th, but was also closing in on 100 pitches on a rather busy day.

A 1-out single by Carreno put the tying run on base again in the bottom 5th. He was bunted to second by Clark, and Baskins drew a walk to take the open base behind him. Sal Ayala was next and hit a blast to right. I was already screaming homer and jumping on the couch, but the ball dove to hit the top of the fence in rightfield instead before bouncing back into the field. At least it bounced away from Vazquez and with two outs the runners had been flying anyway, so we’d settle for a score-flipping 2-run double. Maldonado fouled out behind home plate to leave Ayala on second.

It all came apart in the seventh again; the Raccoons used four pitchers, which was not great to begin with. Clark faced Arias, gave up a leadoff single, and was yanked. Norris was no help, getting a force at second that replaced the slow runner with a fast runner, then walked Timóteo Clemente. Exit Norris, enter Chuck Jones, who struck out Outram. With Schneller right-handed, a double switch brought on Nelson Moreno, who walked Schneller anyway, then gave up a 2-run single to Vazquez before PH Rick Price grounded out to short, and now the damn Elks were up by one again. Further relief work in regulation was spotless, which was cold comfort given the offense’s inability to restart. They put a runner on first in each of the seventh and eighth, then kept him there each time. For the bottom 9th, the bottom of the order was up against Sebastien Parham and his 1.80 ERA. Kilmer lined out to Riquenes. Carreno grounded out to Riquenes. Van Anderson grounded out to Mel Hernandez at first. 4-3 Canadiens. Toohey 2-4, 2B; Carreno 2-4;

(hacks)

Game 2
VAN: 3B Malkus – RF C. Robinson – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – C Julio Diaz – LF V. Vazquez – 1B M. Hernandez – SS Price – P Medvec
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – CF Phinazee – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley

With Roeder bumped to make room for a right-hander, the Raccoons ran out the same lineup as the day before, lacking bright ideas in general. The damn Elks then put runners on base by an Outram error, an infield bobble by Hernandez, a hit by pitch, and the Raccoons ACTUALLY also scored in that comically inept bottom 1st, Waters singling home one run before Phinazee struck out. Maldonado had already hit into a double play before that… Wheatley looked alright the first time through, then promptly issued 1-out walks to Malkus, Robinson, and Outram in the top 3rd, leading me to glumly open a new bottle of booze and a pill container with something against nausea. Schneller struck out, which was surprising, and Phinazee caught up with Julio Diaz’ fly, stranding all the free passes just doled out by Dimwit Wheatley.

Nevertheless, Wheats got his ERA under four with 4.2 scoreless innings to begin this game, getting Malkus to pop out to Baskins to reach 3.99; Robinson then singled, but Outram flew out to center without causing panic. The score remained 1-0 all the time, the Raccoons being remarkably resilient to scoring if not specifically invited by the other team. Carreno hit a leadoff double in the bottom 5th for example that definitely went to waste. Of course, so much rank stupidity and/or gross ineptitude would be punished with the purple poopers in the house. Wheatley walked Schneller to begin the sixth, and Hernandez doubled in the tying run with two outs before overrunning second base and being slapped out on the way back there to end the inning, but the run had already scored by then.

Top 7th, Rick Price opened with a drive to left. Baskins made a leaping grab on the warning track, came down weirdly and slammed into the fence, then sat at the base of the fence, ball in glove, until he was picked up by Dr. Padilla and the medical cart. I reached for Slappy’s paw for comfort and he kindly squeezed mine. Maldonado moved to left, Ricky Jimenez took over third base, batting leadoff. Wheatley completed the inning, then was hit for to begin the bottom 7th in the 1-1 tie. Jose Cruz grounded out before Lazaro Cavazos walked both Jimenez and Ayala. Maldo grounded out in a full count, advancing the runners so that Toohey could strand them in scoring position with another groundout. Hey, another no-decision for Wheats! Neats. Dan Schneller homered off Zack Kelly to give the damn Elks the lead in the eighth, 2-1, while the increasingly annoying Raccoons got a 1-out walk drawn by Phinazee before Malkus fumbled Kilmer’s double play attempt for an error and a second runner. Carreno hit into a fielder’s choice, and Jose Zarate batted against new lefty reliever Ryan McConnell. He struck the 1-0 pitch to left, through Malkus, and up the line! Tying run in, here came Carreno, and it was a 2-out, 2-run, score-flipping double for Zarate …! Jimenez added an RBI single to center for good measure before Ayala grounded out, which sent out Josh Rella for the ninth. The Elks went in order, with two strikeouts. 4-2 Blighters. Jimenez 1-1, BB, RBI; Ayala 2-3, 2 BB; Zarate (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Wheatley 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K;

Now the bad news – Derek Baskins had strained a hamstring on the landing, but at least hadn’t broken 15 bones on impacting the wall. He’d be out until late September, but Dr. Padilla thought him to come back in time for the playoffs.

So here was another outfielder to the DL, which the Raccoons would try to compensate with Gene Pellicano.

Game 3
VAN: 3B Malkus – RF C. Robinson – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – C Julio Diaz – 1B J. Lopez – LF J. Becker – SS Price – P Roeder
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – CF Pellicano – P Jackson

Jackson was perfect the first time through, whiffing four, which gave him as much of a share of a potential win as Slappy or me, given that the Raccoons landed four hits in the first three innings, and frittered away all of them. Malkus then opened the fourth with a double of the wall, and with a Robinson single the damn Elks were on the corners. Outram fouled out behind the plate, though, and Schneller hit into a double play to keep them off the meaningful part of the board. Then Jackson’s spot came up with the bags full and one out in the bottom 4th. Zarate had double, Carreno walked, and Pellicano singled. Jackson struck out in a full count, something also run by Matt Waters before he grounded out to Schneller. The Coons had Ayala, Zarate, and Carreno on base in the fifth, then with two outs and Jimenez batting, and the somehow-ROTY from 2043 popping out to Schneller on the first pitch. – Maud, I can’t take it anymore! Do something! – … and there she went to bake some muffins. Better than nothing.

Two inept teams were still scorelessly entangled through six before the damn Elks got a leadoff single through the left side from Johnny Lopez in the seventh. And Justin Becker also singled. And Jackson nailed Price, loading them up with two outs. Clemente batted for Roeder, flying to left. Maldonado made the catch, then unleashed hellfire to home plate to strike down Lopez for a 7-2 double play and the 0-0 on the board persisting. The trailing runners moved up while switch-hitter Victor Vazquez batted for Malkus, popping out. THIS GAME! … Ayala opened the bottom 7th with a double into the rightfield corner, so here was more heartbreak coming. Maldo flew out, Toohey was bypassed. Zarate hit into a double play.

Jackson was done after 102 pitches. Chuck Jones retired the 2-3-4 in order in the eighth, while Carreno reached base in the bottom of the inning and was caught stealing. Jimenez singled with one out. Pellicano flew out. Tony Hunter pinch-hit for Jones, grounded to Riquenes, and reached on an error. Juan Vela balked the runners into scoring position. OH, THE TENSION. Matt Waters raked the first pitch to the left side – OVER RIQUENES – and up the line! Finally, runs! 2-run double for Matt Waters! RBI single for Ayala! And Maldo reached! And Toohey reached! And Zarate banged a Cavazos pitch off the fence for a bases-clearing double! WELL, NOW YOU GUYS CAN SCORE ALL THOSE RUNS?? Not only that, but Jon Craig also managed to not implode the damn Elks back into the game in the ninth, maintaining the shutout. 6-0 Raccoons. Waters 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Ayala 4-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 2-5; Zarate 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Carreno 1-1, 4 BB; Jackson 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K;

One of these days, a starting pitcher on this team will get a W.

One of these days.

Raccoons (77-49) vs. Condors (50-76) – August 26-28, 2044

We were 3-3 against the Condors this year, so I was looking into every nook and cranny for Mexican assassins as they came to Portland on Friday. They were second from the bottom in runs scored, and were allowing the absolute most runs in the CL. Their run differential was a crikey -150 (Critters: +147). The only thing the Condors were even remotely good at was the power department. They were third in the CL in dingers, with Ricky Espinoza leading the team with 18. He was also their only qualifying batter hitting better than .215 …

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (14-5, 2.93 ERA) vs. Marc Hubbard (14-10, 4.12 ERA)
Corey Mathers (10-8, 3.65 ERA) vs. Tommy Kubik (7-13, 4.89 ERA)
Brent Clark (8-11, 3.60 ERA) vs. Aaron Howell (2-10, 4.59 ERA)

Another lefty scheduled for the middle game.

Game 1
TIJ: 2B H. Acosta – RF Waltz – 1B A. Zacarias – SS Espinoza – CF Ito – C T. Black – 3B Barcia – LF Rossi – P Hubbard
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Zarate – SS Hunter – 3B Cruz – P Okuda

Ex-Coon Rikuto Ito drew a leadoff walk in the second inning, Terry Black doubled off the fence (speaking of power…), and the Raccoons conceded a first run on Sergio Barcia’s groudout, but Okuda got poor outs from Nate Rossi and Hubbard to limit the damage. Portland had already stranded a pair in the first, then wasted a Zarate double to lead off the second. Hunter walked, Cruz hit into a double play, and Okuda was rung up, leaving Zarate on third base. The Coons kept scuffling, and the Condors got that first homer in the fifth inning, and it was… Marc Hubbard to take Okuda deep to right. – Maud, these muffins come just at the right time. But I must ask – did you put enough rat poison into them? – Aw.

Ito hit a 2-run homer in the sixth, cashing in a walk to Alex Zacarias to put the game more or less away at 4-0. Couldn’t say I hadn’t seen it coming, but that wouldn’t buy us a win, either. The Raccoons remained utterly *****. Maldonado singled in the bottom 6th, Phinazee walked, and then they croaked again. Okuda was knocked out in the seventh after Hubbard doubled off him (…!), and then it was of course Justin Waltz, the ******* dimwit, who drove in he extra run with a 2-out single off Preston Porter. Down 5-0, the team loaded the bases with Hunter, Cruz, and Carreno in the bottom 7th, but at that stage there was already a Hugo Acosta error involved. Ayala hit the first pitch he got back to Acosta, 4-6-3, inning over. Ricky Espinoza homered off Porter in the eighth, ending Porter’s spell of 16 scoreless innings. Hubbard finished a 7-hit shutout. 6-0 Condors. Phinazee 1-2, BB;

Let’s just say I visited the players in the clubhouse after the game and I had a good yell.

You could read all about it in Saturday’s Agitator. They had pictures of me unhinging my lower jaw, and of me sitting slumped against a locker and being tended to by Dr. Padilla and being waved cool air with a towel by Jose Cruz.

Game 2
TIJ: RF Waltz – C T. Black – 2B H. Acosta – SS Espinoza – CF Ito – 1B A. Zacarias – LF Reidinger – 3B Barcia – P Kubik
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – CF Pellicano – P Mathers

Kilmer was rung up to strand two in the opening inning for Portland, which was exactly the hot start I had been hoping for. At least Maud’s muffins became a lot more calming once laced with a hit of fly agaric extract. Ricky Jimenez hit a 1-out double to left in the second, Pellicano failed, but somehow Mathers clipped a 2-out RBI single for the first marker on the board.

While Mathers 2-hit the Condors through five innings and was rarely ever in real trouble, RBIs for Raccoons position players in this series remained excruciatingly absent. The 2-3-4 made another appalling appearance in the bottom 5th, after which “Kitten” Kubik opened the top 6th with a single and was doubled home by Terry Black, thus tying the game. On to the seventh, where Ito drew a leadoff walk, then was singled in by Barcia with two outs, because why not. Kubik came up, hit a looper to right, Toohey came on sliding, missed it, and that became a bouncer to the corner and a 2-out RBI triple. Waltz hit an RBI single to chase Mathers, but Nate Norris was no help whatsoever. Black singled. Acosta hit a gapper for a 2-run triple. Somehow Espinoza made an out, but did it matter anymore? Five 2-out runs, a 6-1 deficit, and another ******* stupid loss. For illustration purposes of what we mean by “another ******* stupid loss”, Pellicano opened the bottom 7th with a single off Kubik, then was doubled off by Tony Hunter. Jon Craig and Nelson Moreno combined for another two runs (one earned) in the ninth inning, not that anyone cared. The dejected fans had already left in disgust. Gene Pellicano hit a home run off Ricardo Marquez in the ninth inning. I remained frozen on the couch. 8-2 Condors. Pellicano 2-4, HR, RBI;

I sat frozen until Sunday afternoon for the final game in the set.

Game 3
TIJ: 2B H. Acosta – RF Waltz – 1B A. Zacarias – SS Espinoza – CF Ito – C T. Black – 3B Barcia – LF Rossi – P Howell
POR: 2B Waters – C Zarate – LF Maldonado – 1B Toohey – CF Phinazee – SS Hunter – 3B Jimenez – RF Anderson – P Clark

Clark walked three in the first inning, which wasn’t great, although the Condors’ run scored on a pickoff attempt by Zarate on Ricky Espinoza at first base, which hit Espinoza in the bum and bounced away, allowing Hugo Acosta to score from third base. I showed no reaction, being dead inside. Zarate had the common decency to draw a walk himself in the bottom 1st, to expose himself to the inevitable double play, but much the contrary Maldonado whacked a 2-run homer to right, the first sign of offense from the middle of the order in a few days. Howell walked the bags full with Hunter, Anderson, and Waters in the bottom 2nd, but by then there were also two outs on the Critters. Zarate batted, knew better than to hold out when ahead 2-0, and hit a ball up the middle. Acosta missed it narrowly, and the Raccoons got a 2-run single out of the whole shebang. Maldo grounded out, keeping it 4-1.

Jimenez doubled home Toohey for an extra run in the third inning, at which point it was clear that both pitchers were a hot mess. Howell walked five in three innings, allowing five runs on three hits. Clark had walked four, conceding the one run while not giving up a base hit yet, but he had already spun 60 pitches. Clark went 1-2-3 in the fourth, while Howell walked Maldo and Toohey, but got Phinazee to end the inning with a groundout. Tony Hunter’s leadoff walk in the bottom 5th was the NINTH walk given up by Howell in the game, and singles by Jimenez and Anderson loaded the bases. The Condors hung with him against Clark, who hit a sac fly, 6-1, then brought Steve Bass from the pen. Waters hit a single, Zarate drew a bases-loaded walk, and Maldonado jammed a ball into a double play to close out the fifth, up 7-1.

After throwing 60 pitches in three innings, Brent Clark threw 39 pitches in the next four, adding up to 99 through seven. He issued one walk in those four innings, and nothing else. The Raccoons’ staff shrugged and sent him to bat in the bottom 7th and back to the mound in the eighth. The no-hitter was broken up at once with Nate Rossi’s double to left to lead off the inning. Marty Reidinger pinch-hit for the pitcher, which was a lefty bat, so Clark would still face him, gave up a single, then was yanked. Norris replaced him and got out of the inning for nothing more than an Acosta sac fly in terms of runs scored, keeping the Coons ahead by five. Porter allowed two singles in the ninth, but otherwise put the Vultures down. 7-2 Raccoons. Jimenez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Anderson 2-2, 2 BB; Clark 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K, W (9-11);


In other news

August 22 – MIL SP Mackenzie O’Toole (1-0, 3.43 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout in his first start of the season, shutting out the Crusaders in a 6-0 game.
August 24 – The Thunder beat the Bayhawks, 1-0, on just two singles. The astonishing part is the San Francisco team pouring out 11 hits, including two doubles, but not managing a single run.
August 25 – RIC 3B Josh Frazier (.271, 19 HR, 69 RBI) is out until about May with a badly broken elbow.
August 27 – Denver’s SP John Kennedy (11-5, 2.76 ERA) 2-hits the Cyclones in a 4-0 shutout.
August 27 – VAN C Julio Diaz (.288, 10 HR, 62 RBI) drives in four runs on three hits in the Canadiens’ 11-inning, 11-7 win over the Falcons, all in one stroke for a walkoff grand slam off Emmanuel Lizarraga (8-6, 3.65 ERA).
August 28 – OCT SP/MR Victor Marquez (5-9, 3.01 ERA) 2-hits the Loggers, striking out eight, in a 7-0 Thunder shutout.
August 28 – BOS SP Jamal Barrow (8-14, 3.76 ERA) is headed for Tommy John surgery and a full year on the shelf with a torn UCL.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B/LF/RF Eddie Moreno (.316, 32 HR, 103 RBI), crushing .400 (10-25) with 4 HR, 15 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL RF/LF Billy Hester (.252, 13 HR, 42 RBI), hitting .474 (9-19) with 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

They say that you can’t win the division in the first half, you can only lose it. The Raccoons appear determined to prove them wrong. We’re merely 23-19 since the All Star Game, which remains not that much.

The weekend’s display against the Condors was utterly shambolic. That’s not how you have to even travel to Atlanta in October. I am even more incensed for the fact that they gave the Agitator another chance to run laps around us.

DO YOU HAVE NO COMMON DECENCY?? (hits Bryce Toohey with a rolled-up Agitator)

…

Next week: road trip to the east coast, hitting up Atlanta and New York. The rosters will expand for the latter series. The Knights have fallen to third place in the South, but I believe in four All Star starting pitchers more than anything else.

Fun Fact: Five years ago today, Salem centerfielder Armando Herrera had the first of his two 6-hit games in an 11-0 rush of the Miners.

Both of his 6-hit games actually came against the Miners.

Herrera, 30, is an excellent defensive centerfielder hitting .314/.366/.404 for his career. He has 1,685 hits, 20 homers, and 544 RBI. He also has won a myriad of Gold Gloves and the 2042 batting title.

With the Wolves collapsing and Herrera’s contract expiring, there’d be an excellent CF option on the market this winter…!

[Westheim]

Raccoons (78-51) @ Knights (71-58) – August 29-31, 2044

Recently fallen out of first place, the Knights had to turn their stuff around. They had posted a 13-14 July, followed by a 10-16 August, which was actually their third losing month of the year. They sat eighth in runs scored, with the second-worst batting average, but were allowing the second-fewest runs on the strength of those four All Star starting pitchers. Offensively, they were tops in home runs and bottoms in stolen bases. We were down 4-2 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (7-3, 3.99 ERA) vs. Jerry Banda (12-11, 3.54 ERA)
Jake Jackson (12-5, 3.47 ERA) vs. Bill Nichol (2-5, 4.05 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (14-6, 3.09 ERA) vs. Brian Buttress (12-9, 2.78 ERA)

Right, right, left to end the month of August.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley
ATL: C Horner – RF Hester – 1B Levis – CF Oliver – LF C. Walker – 3B Melendez – 2B McKoy – SS Laughren – P J. Banda

Chris Walker’s bases-loaded walk gave the Knights a 1-0 lead in the bottom 1st, but at least Bill Melendez hit a bouncer to Jimenez for a 5-4-3 double play. Wheatley had put Adam Horner and Doug Levis on base, while Brian Oliver had reached on an Ayala error. The Knights also loaded the bases in the bottom 2nd, this time with the aid of a Waters error, bumbling Banda’s grounder, but didn’t score that time, although they exploded Wheats’ pitch count rather nicely. But Wheats also got a single in the top 3rd. Maldonado walked with two outs, and Bryce Toohey hit a 3-run screamer to left, giving the Raccoons a 3-1 lead, and extra-base liners by Mal Phinazee and Jose Zarate added another run in the same inning.

Wheatley put more runners on base, but Walker was caught stealing in the third, the Critters turned another double play in the fourth, and then there was a chance to tack on in the fifth when Ayala opened with a leadoff walk, Maldo singled, and Toohey walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch that the Knights bitterly disputed. Banda would walk Phinazee, also in a full count, to force home a run, and while Zarate hit into a 6-4-3, that still got Maldo home from third base to extend the lead to 6-1. Wheats pitched one batter into the seventh, but gave up a leadoff single to PH Chris Levy. Kelly inherited the ball against the left-handed top of the order, and got out of the inning without conceding a run. Levy was the Knights’ last base runner, with Craig and Porter adding scoreless frames towards the end. 6-1 Raccoons. Toohey 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Zarate 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
POR: 1B Ayala – 3B Cruz – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – 2B Carreno – P Jackson
ATL: C Horner – RF Hester – 1B Levis – CF Oliver – 2B Sanderfer – LF C. Walker – 3B Melendez – SS Laughren – P Nichol

Another game, another Toohey homer for the first Raccoons runs on the board, this time a 2-piece in the first inning that brought home Jose Cruz. Unfortunately things went pear-shaped after that, with Adam Horner reaching right away against Horner, and Billy Hester took Jackson deep to tie the game to begin the bottom 1st. The Knights whacked three more hits and got a walk off Jackson in a bloody 5-run first, two runs driven in by Chris Walker and one more by Paul Laughren. Another 2-run homer by Doug Levis extended the score to 7-2 in the second inning and sent Jackson to the dark corner to think about what he just had done. Jon Craig replaced him, allowed one more run in five outs logged, not that it mattered much at this point. After that came Zack Kelly, who had a day from hell, of which he got to enjoy a whole lot. It was only the fourth inning, and the well of relievers was not endless, so we expected Kelly to pitch at least the full inning. He didn’t – he gave up eight hits. And eight runs, including three homers, including Levis and Oliver to end his rotten day. He had 14 earned runs allowed this year prior to this outing. Now he had 22.

And the Knights had 16 on the board. By the fifth inning, the Raccoons were using CHUCK JONES in long relief. He pitched two scoreless before hitting a single with Carreno aboard in the seventh inning, sending him to third base. Sal Ayala hit a sac fly to center, which narrowed the chasm to a mere 13 runs. That run would fall out of Josh Rella’s bum in a 3-walk eighth inning, but at least he collected three outs before allowing a year’s worth of runs to be beaten out of him. Getting the game over with was good enough at this point. Ricky Jimenez hit a homer with Van Anderson on base in the ninth. STOP WASTING TIME!! … 17-5 Knights. Jimenez (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Maldonado 2-5; Toohey 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4; Carreno 2-4; Jones 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K and 1-1;

That was … rough.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – CF Pellicano – P Okuda
ATL: C Horner – RF Hester – 1B Levis – 3B Melendez – 2B Sanderfer – LF C. Walker – CF Oliver – SS McKoy – P Buttress

It was a game of bad news. First, the Raccoons put nobody on base the first time through, but Okuda walked a pair and allowed a 2-run double to Brian Oliver in the bottom 2nd. Second, the Raccoons still put nobody on base the second time through, but Chris Walker hit a solo homer in the fourth. Down 3-0, Okuda had to get some length for the Raccoons, but got exploded in the sixth inning … *after* getting two outs. Alex Sanderfer singled. Chris Walker doubled him home. Brian Oliver doubled HIM home. And then Tyler McKoy hit a no-doubter, a 2-piece to right. That made it 7-0 Knights.

The Raccoons went down 1-2-3 in the seventh inning, making it 21 up and just as many down, while Okuda hung around until Billy Hester hit a double off him with one out in the bottom 7th. Norris got the ball, but conceded the run on a Melendez single. Top 8th, Toohey popped out. Zarate grounded out. Jimenez grounded to left – and through. The Knights’ fans were in utter disbelief given how hopeless the Raccoons had looked against the dominant Buttress. But gone was the perfect game, gone was the no-hitter! Also, Carreno flew out to Levy in right, ending the inning, and a rally wasn’t on the table anyway. Gene Pellicano opened the ninth with a single. Tony Hunter hit into a double play. Waters flew out. 8-0 Knights.

We might win the rancid division, but if we face the Knights in the CLCS, I see nothing but blackness and tears coming for us…

For the time being, the Raccoons were off on Thursday, which was the day rosters expanded. We only called up the reinforcements for Friday, though:

First, we brought up Victor Merino, who would get regular starts in September. The 23-year-old was 10-14 with a 4.03 ERA in AAA, but I didn’t trust the flimsy defense down there. He also had pitched on Wednesday and wasn’t available for a start on the weekend. The pen was extended with Bob Ibold, Alex Ramirez, and lefty Steven Johnston, who had been up last September, too. Omar Gutierrez and Jay de Wit were added in terms of bats. No outfielder was brought up – there was no outfielder left on the 40-man that wasn’t already here. Manny Fernandez was however just days away from returning, so there was a speedy heal in progress. Nor did we add a catcher – Sean Sieber had been removed from the 40-man, and I didn’t want to waste service time on Ruben Gonzalez to have him sit around, at least not as long as the AAA season was still going on.

Raccoons (79-53) @ Crusaders (60-73) – September 2-4, 2044

The season series stood 7-4 in the Raccoons’ favor. The Crusaders had been swept during the week and ranked ninth in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed. They had shed some pitching with Aaron Hickey and Paul Paris, but it wasn’t like they had been at the top of the pack in pitching before losing a few starters.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (10-9, 3.77 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (9-11, 3.78 ERA)
Brent Clark (9-11, 3.55 ERA) vs. Tony Galligher (3-7, 3.25 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (8-3, 3.89 ERA) vs. Matthew Owen (1-0, 0.75 ERA)

Right, left, right… maybe; they had added a number of pitchers, too, including Owen.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ayala – C Zarate – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – 2B Waters – SS Hunter – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – RF Marz – C Alba – 2B Nash – LF Rudd – CF Graf – P J. Johnson – 3B Riario

The Raccoons continued to hit nothing at all, not getting a base hit until the fourth inning after getting most of the way to being perfectoed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mathers was merely mediocre. He retired New York in order in the first, but allowed singles to Fernando Alba and Randolph Nash in the second, both being then doubled home by Tom Rudd. Extra bases remained the order of the day for the Crusaders, who got a leadoff triple from Alex Adame that led to a run on the third, and an RBI triple from Vittorio Riario in the fourth for another one. That buried the Raccoons four deep already, with no prospect of getting out of the hole. Hunter and Jimenez reached base to begin the fifth, Mathers bunted them into scoring position, and then Ayala struck out and Zarate popped out…

The bottom 5th began with a John Marz double to center, then right away an Alba homer. Mathers was yanked, the third starter in a row that got absolutely ravaged. Mal Phinazee hit a homer to right in the sixth inning that appeared to be absolutely meaningless, as solo as it was, narrowing the gap hardly at all to 6-1. Carreno hit a single from the #9 hole in the seventh, stole second, and Ayala popped out. Zarate reached on a Nash error, and Maldonado barely hit a shy single through the right side to score Carreno, 6-2. Toohey struck out. Phinazee grounded out. ******* hopeless. Ayala drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, then was doubled up by Zarate. Maldonado was nicked and doubled home by Toohey. And Jose Cruz flew out to center. 6-3 Crusaders. Jimenez 2-4; Carreno (PH) 1-1;

For a surprise – besides the 3-game losing streak – the Raccoons would get to see former Critter Rich Willett (11-10, 3.70 ERA) on Saturday. It’s not like there’s a pitcher out there we seem to be able to beat, so what’s the matter…

Game 2
POR: 1B Ayala – 3B Jimenez – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – CF Anderson – 2B Gutierrez – P Clark
NYC: SS Adame – RF Marz – 1B Briones – CF Rico – 2B Nash – 3B Riario – LF D. Martinez – C Alba – P Willett

The Coons took the lead on something Toohey did for the third time this week, this time a run-scoring groundout plating Jimenez (single) in the first inning. Maldo had doubled in between those two. The lead disappeared immediately on another triple hit by Mario Briones this time, and Danny Rico’s single up the middle. Rico reached third on a stolen base and Kilmer’s throwing error, but was stranded when Nash struck out. Clark held out in the second, then hit a dying yammerer in the third inning for a leadoff single; the ball stretched past Alex Adame’s glove by mere inches. Ayala grounded out to advance him, while Jimenez hit a drive to deep center. Rico couldn’t catch up with it, and Jimenez landed a go-ahead, RBI double, 2-1 Raccoons. And then Maldo and Toohey made pathetic outs to leave another guy in scoring position… That one went away instantly as well. John Marz hit a single in the bottom 3rd, was forced out by Briones, but with two outs Nash stuck the ball into the letfield corner for an RBI triple. Riario singled him home, and the Crusaders took a 3-2 lead. Raccoons. Can’t hit, can’t pitch, can’t field, can’t smell nice.

Marz was ejected in the fourth for arguing balls and strikes, replaced by John Davis, which was a defensive downgrade that soon came into play. Gutierrez was hit by Willett with an 0-2 pitch in the fifth to put the tying run on base with nobody out. Clark failed to bunt before swinging away, hitting a ball in the right-center gap. Davis didn’t get near it, and the Raccoons got a double out of their pitcher, putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Ayala popped out to third. Jimenez popped out to Dave Martinez in shallow left. Oh for crying out loud! Maldonado fell to 1-2 before slapping a ball up the middle; Adame missed it, and the Raccoons barely scratched out a 3-3 tie before Toohey grounded out. The Crusaders still reclaimed the lead in the sixth with a solo homer by Martinez…

Clark was hit for in the seventh inning, which got the Raccoons ******** nowhere, while Porter appeared for the bottom 7th, but allowed three singles to load the bases and then was yanked. Zack Kelly walked in a run against Tom Rudd before striking out Martinez and Elliott Thompson. Ex-Coon Dave Myers pinch-hit in the pitcher’s spot, drawing attention from Nelson Moreno, who got him to fly out to Van Anderson. The Raccoons were now down by two, which narrowed to one in the top 8th when Maldonado singled, advanced on a grounder, and was singled home by Jeff Kilmer with one out. Hunter and Zarate were good for nothing, though. Moreno instead walked Adame to begin the bottom 8th. The runner was on third base with two outs and Dan Riley up, which prompted a move to left-hander Steven Johnston. The useless piece of ******** **** threw four pitches, which was enough for two RBI doubles and an RBI single to fire the game into the bin with great vigor, then was yanked and kicked down the stairs to the clubhouse. Jon Craig would strike out Martinez to end the ****** up inning. The miserable Blighters still got the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth when Carreno and Ayala reached. And then Jimenez hit into a double play. 8-4 Crusaders. Maldonado 3-4, 2B, RBI; Carreno (PH) 1-1;

Four in a row. All hopeless.

Everything is hopeless.

Manny Fernandez came off the DL on Sunday. I hugged him tight and kissed him on the snout, and he looked bewildered. “Manny!”, I begged him while shaking him. “You must save this team!”

Even if it’s against a left-hander on Southpaw Sunday.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – C Zarate – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – CF Pellicano – P Wheatley
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – RF Marz – C Alba – 2B Nash – CF Rico – LF Villareal – P Galligher – 3B Riario

Marz walked with two outs and scored on singles by Alba and Nash, and the Raccoons trailed again after just one inning. Rico popped out, taking care of the remaining runners, while the Raccoons had another slow start and no hits until Pellicano dropped in a single to begin the third inning. He was bunted to second, then reached third on Waters’ infield single. Zarate grounded to the left side, I shrieked, but Adame and Riario couldn’t reach the ball, which rolled through between them for an RBI single, tying the game. Maldonado flew out to right on 0-2, bringing up Toohey with two outs. Bryce Magic worked again – he mashed a 3-run homer to left, and Wheats had a 4-1 lead. Manny going back-to-back outta rightfield upped the score to 5-1.

The cursed Crusaders pulled a run back in the bottom 3rd, getting Adame on with a single. He stole third base and scored on a groundout eventually, and hits by Riario and Riley gave the Crusaders another run as Wheatley brittled away for a 5-3 score after five innings.

But he retired the New Yorkers in order in the sixth, and for now we were willing to stick to him. Playing it purple pooper by purple pooper, Wheatley retired Angel Villareal, Andy Montes, and Riario in order in the seventh, too, at which point the Raccoons introduced our archnemesis in the eighth inning – SAUERKRAUT!! The left-hander carried a 5.50 ERA for mostly negligible services, walked Toohey to lead off the inning, and gave up a 1-out single to Jimenez. But Carreno flew out to left and Pellicano grounded out to second, and nobody scored. Wheatley then nailed Adame, the little pest, to begin the bottom 8th, which was… not ideal. The Raccoons went to Chuck Jones, who popped out the left-handed Riley, and then had to get around Marz to also get the left-handed Alba out. The left-handers were hitting around .300, Marz .259, all had double digit power as the tying runs. Marz flew out to Toohey on the first pitch, but Alba grinded out a walk. Mario Briones pinch-hit for Nash, bringing on Moreno. They battled to 2-2 before Briones hit a ball up the middle. Waters warped there, picked, and tapped the base ahead of Alba to end the inning. The Raccoons then stranded Waters in scoring position in the ninth against Sauerkraut, but not for a lack of trying. John Marz picked a Maldonado drive with two outs off the top of the ******* fence. Josh Rella would get involved then, for the first time since the 17-run blowout on Tuesday. Danny Rico singled to right. Rella threw a wild pitch, then walked John Davis in a full count. Oh why. Dave Myers pinch-hit for the pitcher, and sent a fly to deep center. Pellicano got there, made the catch, and Rico jogged to third, but Davis held at first base. Riario lined out to Waters. That left the revolting Adame. He spanked the first pitch to left, but Waters found a way there, too – zing to first, bang-bang play, and what was the ump gonna do? He punched him out! 5-3 Critters. Zarate 2-4, BB, RBI;

In other news

August 29 – LVA OF Justin Beaudoin (.224, 3 HR, 16 RBI) is done for the season after breaking his kneecap.
August 30 – The Aces’ LF/RF Brian Fox (.271, 5 HR, 22 RBI) knocks out five hits, including two doubles, and drives in two as the Aces rout the Canadiens, 13-0.
August 31 – SFB 2B Enrique Trevino (.274, 1 HR, 10 RBI) hits a walkoff single for the only run in the Bayhawks’ 10-inning, 1-0 win over the Crusaders.
September 3 – RIC OF Alex Marquez (.312, 13 HR, 54 RBI) will miss most of September with a hip strain.
September 4 – Nashville SP Tim Steinbach (13-10, 3.65 ERA) 3-hits the Rebels in a 2-0 shutout.
September 4 – Titans and Canadiens play 26 innings in a double-header, with 13 innings in each game. For their efforts, the teams get a split, a 4-2 win for Boston and a 3-2 win for Vancouver.

FL Player of the Week: SFW RF Matt Diskin (.305, 13 HR, 82 RBI), hitting .464 (13-28) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL OF Brian Oliver (.270, 6 HR, 50 RBI), slashing .500 (15-30) with 2 HR, 7 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SAC 1B/LF/RF Eddie Moreno (.314, 34 HR, 106 RBI), mashing .374 with 12 HR, 32 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: CHA LF/CF Joe Besaw (.288, 8 HR, 58 RBI), hitting .368 with 5 HR, 21 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: LAP SP Roberto Pruneda (13-9, 3.31 ERA), pitching for a 5-0 record, 1.29 ERA, 32 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: IND CL Tommy Gardner (5-7, 4.35 ERA, 30 SV), nailing it down for a 1-0 record, 1.26 ERA, 10 SV, 16 K
FL Rookie of the Month: CIN INF/LF Chris Delgado (.318, 14 HR, 67 RBI), hitting .302 with 3 HR, 16 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: OCT 1B Sterling Henderson (.317, 7 HR, 36 RBI), batting .342 with 7 HR, 29 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Wheats won two games and held crap together really nicely this week.

I really don’t want to talk about ANY OTHER PITCHER. Except Chuck Jones. Oh, Chuck Jones is a national treasure. Even when used in garbage relief in a 14-run blowout in Atlanta in the middle of the week…

We will host the Loggers starting on Monday, which is at least a season series that has worked out for us in the past (8-3). And while the Arrowheads – who we will host on the weekend for the final set between those two teams – were just as bad this week and thus didn’t gain ground, I have no confidence for any CLCS matchup right now.

Thankfully there’s four weeks left to make everything hum again. Right, boys?

Right?

Boys??

Fun Fact: Since June 16, Chuck Jones has given up runs in a single appearance and has an 0.77 ERA.

That was two runs in a 5-2 loss to the Indians on August 11. Apart from that, he’s been unscathed. Heck, he’s only been ticked for more than one base hit in two innings since then, including the August 11 outing.

Maybe he should take a few starts…

[Westheim]

Raccoons (80-55) vs. Loggers (54-81) – September 5-8, 2044

After a highly muddled week, the Raccoons were up against the Loggers, who they were leading the season series against, 8-3. Milwaukee was in the bottom three in both runs scored and runs allowed, with a -104 run differential. The Raccoons’ RD had taken a bit of a beating last week, and was now +120.

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (0-0) vs. Mackenzie O’Toole (1-0, 3.74 ERA)
Jake Jackson (12-6, 3.83 ERA) vs. Jose de Lucio (10-14, 4.40 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (14-7, 3.40 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (8-12, 3.19 ERA)
Corey Mathers (10-10, 3.99 ERA) vs. Ruben Guzman (8-12, 4.70 ERA)

We’d only get right-handers here. On the other paw, the Loggers were missing most of their starting infield with Aaron Brayboy, Ted Del Vecchio, Jared Paul all on the shelf. Add Ricky Payne and Eric McNelis and there were some very strange people in their lineup that I was pretty sure had never seen the majors and had no business seeing them.

Game 1
MIL: LF Borchard – SS Davison – CF Reeves – RF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – 2B S. Pena – 3B Tom. Ruiz – 1B Cannizzard – P O’Toole
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Merino

The Raccoons broke out for the first four runs in the game in the second inning, getting Manny and Kilmer on, then the first run on a Jimenez sac fly. Carreno was walked intentionally, but Merino hit an RBI double in the gap, and Waters drove in both of the 8-9 hitters with a single. Jimenez hit another sac fly the following inning, batting with the bases loaded with Toohey, Manny, and Kilmer, and hitting a fly to Daniel Hertenstein. Carreno struck out to leave two aboard after that. Ayala’s homer ran the score to 6-0 in the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Merino? Not exactly dominant, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the Loggers made consistently pathetic contact, hitting only two singles, one of the infield variety, while the Critters scored six.

The Coons parked it there, while all eyes were on Merino, who made eye contact with a shutout for a while, but by the middle innings control began to slowly slip away from him, and he ended up throwing 102 pitches in seven shutout innings. The Loggers got two hits, and drew four walks. Bottom 7th, Maldo drew a leadoff walk from Marvin Verduzco, and Bryce Toohey belted another homer to left, his 20th of the season. Bob Ibold pitched a scoreless eighth in his season debut, then was hit for by Gene Pellicano in the bottom of the inning; Pellicano crashed a homer off Tony Ruiz, who also went on to walk Waters and Toohey before giving up an RBI single to Manny Fernandez, putting the Raccoons into double digits. Kilmer popped out to Tim Cannizzard, ending the inning. Alex Ramirez pitched a scoreless ninth to put the Loggers away. 10-0 Raccoons. Toohey 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Fernandez 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Pellicano (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; Merino 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K, W (1-0) and 1-3, 2B, RBI;

This game mathematically eliminated the Loggers from postseason contention, but I have a hunch they already saw it coming.

Tuesday brought a day off for Maldonado, with Toohey also penciled in for a day on the bench before long; those were about the only players that hadn’t already been given a day of rest last week.

Game 2
MIL: LF Serad – 2B S. Pena – RF Hertenstein – CF Reeves – C F. Gomez – 1B Cannizzard – SS Davison – 3B Tom. Ruiz – P de Lucio
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P Jackson

The Coons couldn’t do anything with Waters’ leadoff double in the first inning, but Zarate hit a single to open the second. Carreno also singled, with T.J. Serad overrunning the ball for extra bases, allowing Jackson to score Zarate from third base with a groundout. Waters singled home Carreno, 2-0, then was caught stealing. Jackson allowed one hit and a walk the first time through, with the only thing irking me being that the walk was to the opposing pitcher.

Ayala opened the third inning with a double, was also stranded, then batted with Carreno and Waters on the corners and two outs in the fourth. A run scored – on a wild pitch, after which Ayala drew a walk in a full count. Manny struck out, stranding a pair in a 3-0 game. I had a hunch that the Critters were yet trying to lose this one. But Jackson pitched solidly, allowing three hits through six innings, and striking out two in a 1-2-3 seventh after that. There seemed to be really no teeth, not one, to this Loggers lineup! Toohey had teeth, hitting a solo shot to left in the bottom 7th, extending the score to 4-0 with his 21st bomb. Scott Davison hit a leadoff single in the eighth, but nothing came of that, either. The Coons scratched out another run in the inning, getting singles from Jay de Wit, Jackson, and Waters to make it happen. Then Jackson came back to the mound for the ninth – and Sergio Pena doubled to center off him right away. Oh noes! The shutout! Hertenstein grounded out, moving the runner to third base. Bill Reeves, though, struck out on four pitches. There was hope yet, with Felipe Gomez batting and Jackson on 99 pitches. The count ran full, Gomez hit a liner to left, and Manny wasn’t gonna get it. RBI double, and gone was the shutout to the disappointment of everybody. Cannizzard struck out to end the game, but Jackson screamed into his glove as he walked off the mound. 5-1 Raccoons. Waters 3-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Carreno 2-3, BB, 2B; Jackson 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W (13-6) and 1-4, RBI;

Game 3
MIL: LF Borchard – SS Davison – CF Reeves – RF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – 2B S. Pena – 3B Tom. Ruiz – 1B J. Hill – P Piedra
POR: 2B Waters – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – CF Phinazee – RF Pellicano – SS Hunter – P Okuda

Somehow, Okuda kept laying eggs in this late phase of the season. He had two outs on the board and nobody on base in the second inning before leaking walks to both Tomas Ruiz and Jim Hill, then a bases-filling single to Piedra. Adam Borchard singled home two, and the Raccoons trailed for the first time this week. The Portlanders started slooow, getting nothing meaningful done the first time through, but in the bottom 4th Ayala drew a leadoff walk, Maldo singled, and Manny … flew out. Zarate struck out. Phinazee hit an RBI double, cutting the gap in half, but Pellicano’s fly to left was caught by Borchard.

The Coons failed to spring into action, or at least tying the game, in the fifth, when Tony Hunter drew a leadoff walk, or the sixth, which Maldonado opened with a single. Phinazee hit an infield single with two outs, but Pellicano popped out to Davison at short, keeping the Critters 2-1 behind. Okuda would go seven before being hit for in the bottom 7th. Hunter had just grounded out, but Carreno hit a single to right in Okuda’s spot. The plan was for him to steal his tying run bum into scoring position, but Waters put the ball in play before that could be arranged: a screamer into the gap in right-center for a double, and Carreno raced all the way around to score and tie the game…! Chris Lulay walked Ayala, then gave up a grounder up the middle to Maldonado. The middle infielders converged, but neither could reach it, and Maldo had a single. Waters was running for home plate, and Bill Reeves’ throw was cut off to keep the trailing runners decent, with Portland going up 3-2. Manny hit a soft single to load the bases, with Jose Cruz hitting for Jose Zarate against the right-hander Bobby Freels. He popped out, but Phinazee grinded out a 2-out walk to push home another run, 4-2 …! Van Anderson batted for Pellicano and oversaw all the runners scoring; Freels balked home Maldo, and Anderson singled in the rest as the Loggers’ pen came apart entirely. Ron Purcell entered the game and whiffed Hunter to end the 6-run inning. Nate Norris and Bob Ibold would pitch the Raccoons to their fourth straight win after that. 7-2 Critters. Toohey (PH) 1-1; Maldonado 4-4, RBI; Phinazee 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Anderson (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Carreno (PH) 1-1; Okuda 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (15-7);

Game 4
MIL: LF Borchard – 2B S. Pena – RF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – 1B Cannizzard – SS Davison – CF Serad – 3B Tom. Ruiz – P R. Guzman
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 3B Cruz – C Kilmer – SS Gutierrez – P Mathers

Mathers‘ scuffles from the last few outings were not over; he loaded the bags with the 2-3-4 batters in the first inning and gave up a run on a Cannizzard sac fly before Davison flew out to end the inning, but the Loggers kept pooling onto the bases after that, too. Pena and Hertenstein opened the top 3rd with singles, and while Gomez hit into a double play, Cannizzard drove in another run with a 2-out single, sending Milwaukee up 2-0. The Raccoons struggled to put anything together. We had one hit and one walk the first time through, now with Mathers drawing a walk from the opposing pitcher, and in the fourth put Toohey (double) and Cruz (nailed) on base with two outs, but Jeff Kilmer’s fly to right was caught on the warning track by Hertenstein.

The next few innings were mostly uneventful and the Raccoons remained 2-0 behind. Mathers was batted for when his spot came up in the bottom 7th with Kilmer (nailed, again) on first base and two outs. Phinazee struck out in his spot. They did just as little in the eighth inning, and the Loggers tacked on two runs on Jon Craig and Steven Johnston in the ninth inning after that. Southpaw Jordan Calderon would also sit down the Critters in order in the bottom 9th, and the winning streak was already over again. 4-0 Loggers. Toohey 2-4, 2B; Mathers 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (10-11);

Raccoons (83-56) vs. Indians (72-67) – September 9-11, 2044

Now, this was the important series. The Raccoons were 11 ahead of the Indians. The only way – the ONLY way – for the Indians to make a thing out of this was with a sweep. (reaches for Honeypaws and starts rocking back and forth) Even winning one game would put the Raccoons in a situation where they’d only have to manage a 10-game lead with 20 to play, which sounded quite doable. The Arrowheads were bottoms in runs scored, but were conceding the fewest runs, and they held an 8-7 lead in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (9-12, 3.64 ERA) vs. Casey Pinter (10-11, 3.72 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (9-3, 3.89 ERA) vs. Willie Gonzales (5-2, 2.50 ERA)
Victor Merino (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (15-7, 2.58 ERA)

Pinter would be the only southpaw we’d see this week.

Game 1
IND: SS Russ – 1B Ebner – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – 3B Walley – RF B. Quinteros – 2B A. Avila – P Pinter
POR: SS Waters – C Zarate – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – 3B Jimenez – CF Pellicano – 2B Carreno – LF de Wit – P Clark

…and Cristiano could tell me another thousand times that the Arrowheads were last in runs scored, but they kept scoring against the Critters…! Clark walked Sean Ebner and was taken deep by Danny Rivera, and bibbidy-bubbidy-boo, it was another 2-0 deficit on the Coons. We made up one run in the bottom 1st when Waters opened with a double to left and scored on Jimenez’ 2-out single to right, before Pellicano popped out to strand Toohey and Jimenez. Carreno reached base and stole his way to second in the next inning, but was left on, and Clark then had a third inning from hell; Carreno made an error, but Clark also walked two and allowed a bases-loaded RBI single to Julian Diaz that put the Indians up 3-1. Chris Walley popped out, Bill Quinteros grounded out, three were stranded, but Brent Clark had thrown *79* pitches through three innings…!

Jose Zarate opened the bottom 3rd with a *triple*, which was something, and, hey, we even found somebody to score him, Maldo hitting a single to narrow the gap to 3-2. Jimenez’ 1-out single put runners on the corners, but Pellicano’s shallow fly and Carreno’s grounder stranded them where they were. And Clark? Gone after four, allowing another run when Ebner tripled home Pinter. Nothing worked for him, and we had a hundred relief arms available…

Bottom 5th, again Zarate and Maldonado; the former opened with a single to left that Rivera fumbled for an error and an extra base, and then Maldo doubled him home, becoming the tying run in scoring position once again. And this time he scored, on Toohey’s single up the middle that sent him around to score from second base – score all even at four…! Jimenez singled, but then the 6-7-8 made three sad outs, and Toohey was left in scoring position… (sigh!)

…and then the game went to ******* hell for good. Porter was in for the sixth inning, but Andres Avila opened with a single. Porter fudged Pinter’s bunt, and Andrew Russ, the ******* pest, reached with an infield single. Three on, no outs. Ebner broke the tie with a groundout, Rivera doubled home two, and Nelson Galvan hit ANOTHER infield single. Norris replaced the yanked Porter, but allowed another run on Chris Walley’s groundout, the last piece in the Indians’ ******* 4-spot. Yeah, Cristiano, they’re so last in runs scored! (hits Cristiano over the head repeatedly with his oh so smart hoverpad)

The Raccoons looked stunned, not that they hadn’t been dazed before. The Raccoons mostly emptied their bullpen as the innings went by, keeping the game in its lamentable 8-4 state, but the Raccoons didn’t even hint at a comeback until the ninth inning; then Maldonado reached, advanced on a grounder by Toohey, and was doubled home by Ricky Jimenez. Domingo Murillo walked Ayala, hitting for Chuck Jones, which put the tying run in the box. But Carreno struck out, after which we pulled our last power option from the bench, sending Jeff Kilmer to hit for de Wit. He struck out, too. 8-5 Indians. Zarate 2-4, BB, 3B; Maldonado 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Jimenez 5-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

Here comes the sweep…

Game 2
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – 2B D. Diaz – 1B S. Jennings – RF N. Galvan – 3B Walley – P W. Gonzales
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Wheatley

Sal Ayala homered in the bottom 1st to give Wheats a 1-0 lead. Wheats had troubles, walking three the first time through, although that included an intentional 2-out walk to .317 hitter Chris Walley in the #8 hole, after which Gonzales made the third out in the top 2nd. The Indians also issued an intentional walk to Kilmer to bring Wheatley to the plate in the same inning, after Manny and Jimenez had reached base and a wild pitch to Kilmer had advanced them into scoring position with one out. Wheats struck out, Waters lined out to Danny Diaz, and nobody scored.

Then the ******* Indians hit three triples in the fourth inning, intermingled with two walks issued by Wheatley, who walked the bags full after Rivera hit a 1-out triple to center. Danny Diaz hit a bases-clearing triple, Steven Jennings tripled, and Galvan hit a sac fly. The stupid Raccoons meanwhile put Ayala and Maldonado on base to begin the bottom 4th, then choked again and couldn’t get anybody home. And Cristiano, I swear, if you say one more time that the ******* Indians are last in runs scored, I will take your ******* pad and ***** it ******* deep where ********* ********* ********** never again!!

Wheatley was knocked out by Bill Quinteros’ 2-run homer in the fourth inning, burying the Raccoons down 7-1. It all looked a bit hopeless, even when the Raccoons put up a 3-spot in the fifth inning. Maldo was singled home by Manny, the bases filled with Jimenez and Carreno, Kilmer hit a sac fly, and Mal Phinazee pinch-hit for Bob Ibold for an RBI single. Waters then grounded out as the tying run. Toohey hit a solo homer to left in the sixth, 7-5. The bullpen scrambled and kept the Indians pinned, but the offense amounted to nothing in the eighth. Omar Gutierrez then hit a leadoff double in the bottom 8th out of the #9 hole, in which he had arrived in a double switch. That put the tying run in the box again, again with Waters, who singled to right, putting runners on the corners against righty Aaron Iten. Ayala struck out in a full count, but Maldonado singled, and the Raccoons had scratched all the way back to 7-6…! Toohey’s fly to center was caught by Quinteros, but there was no catching Manny’s blooper with two outs – it fell in shallow right-center, and Matt Waters ran around and scored – tied game!! All level at seven! In a perfect world, Ricky Jimenez would have hit a homer, but he flew out to left.

Josh Rella stumbled around a leadoff walk to PH Sean Ebner in the ninth, but kept the Arrowheads off the board. The Raccoons had his slot, Kilmer, and Gutierrez up for the bottom 9th, which didn’t sound *great*. Cruz hit for Rella and singled to left on a 3-2 pitch. Iten was removed and righty Luis Anzaldo replaced him. Kilmer grounded out, advancing the runner, and Gutierrez hit a scratch single to right that Jennings lunged for and knocked down, but couldn’t contain, Gutierrez reached as the ball dribbled away. Back up was Waters in the thick spot – he struck out. Anzaldo walked Ayala, which loaded the bases with two outs for Maldo, hitting .328 with 11 homers. A single would be enough. Or a walk. Anzaldo fell behind 2-0, then 3-1. He threw one down the middle, but Maldo whacked it foul. The 3-2 came in wide – Maldo stopped the swing – did he stop in time!? Diaz asked for the first base ump’s assessment – and he spread his wings: it’s a walkoff walk! 8-7 Critters! Ayala 2-5, BB, HR, RBI; Maldonado 4-5, BB, 2 RBI; Fernandez 3-5, 2 RBI; Cruz (PH) 1-1; Phinazee (PH) 1-1, RBI; Gutierrez 2-2, 2B;

Has an uglier crucial win ever been seen??

In any case, it eliminated the Crusaders mathematically.

Game 3
IND: SS Russ – CF N. Galvan – LF D. Rivera – 1B Ebner – C Julian Diaz – RF B. Quinteros – 3B Walley – 2B A. Avila – P Drury
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Merino

Another game against the Indians, another hefty deficit, this time three runs in the third, mostly to blame on Ricky Jimenez, who threw Drury’s bunt away for two bases with Walley and Avila already on the corners, and nobody out. A Galvan sac fly and a Rivera single each added a run for a 3-0 score, one of the runs being earned. They added two more in the in the fourth inning, the centerpiece being Bill Quinteros’ triple, and when Cristiano started to open his snout I peppered a pillow into it with a perfect strike.

And the Raccoons? Their first two times through the order, they had three base hits. Two of them were Merino singles. One of those brought home Arturo Carreno, and it was 5-1 Indians through five. I mean, boys! COME THE **** ON!!!

The Coons had singles from Maldo and Manny in the sixth, but Toohey had already hit into a double play and nobody scored. We then had nothing in the seventh, and even less in the eighth. The pen held up, but it didn’t seem to be of much use. Orlando Altreche was out for the Indians in the ninth inning, facing the 4-5-6 batters. Toohey struck out, Manny walked, but was forced out by Jimenez. Carreno flew out to Galvan to end a miserable series. 5-1 Indians.

In other news

September 7 – The scuffling Knights exchange INF Paul Laughren (.270, 7 HR, 38 RBI) for Topeka’s 2B/3B Glenn Sprague (.250, 0 HR, 0 RBI), and in a separate trade pick up 2B Juan Encinia (.339, 1 HR, 18 RBI) from the Blue Sox for two prospects, including #41 prospect SP Zack Stahl.
September 10 – Miners SP Danny Orozco (12-8, 4.53 ERA) is out with a stretched elbow ligament, which might keep him out for the first half of the 2045 season.
September 10 – NAS SP Tim Steinbach (14-10, 3.49 ERA) 2-hits the Cyclones in a 15-0 rout win.
September 11 – The Knights walk off against the Aces on a home run by OF Chris Walker (.245, 5 HR, 41 RBI), ending the game with a 4-3 win… in 19 innings.

FL Player of the Week: DAL OF/1B Omar Gonzalez (.270, 6 HR, 61 RBI), batting .533 (16-30) with 1 HR, 10 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR UT Jesus Maldonado (.327, 11 HR, 66 RBI), hitting .500 (13-26) with 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

They’re playing like ***. Last time I checked there was no price for playing like ***, except that you smell, and that your GM gets mad at you.

Cristiano by the way has been banished to the other room, because he can take his smart stats and cram them up his ******* ********** *******. Yeah, yeah, the Indians score 3.84 runs per game. In the last two series against the Portlanders, they scored 5.71 per game.

CRISTIANO I CAN HEAR YOU SQUAWKING IN FROM THE OTHER ROOM!!

(Slappy holds up sign reading “3.94 R/G for the season”)

There’s too much insubordination in here. I need to clean house. – (is handed a mug with steaming cocoa by Maud and patted on the head) – Thanks, Maud. Did you put the certain special in? – No I didn’t mean the two marshmallows. – Or the four gummy bears. – I have to do everything myself, I see. (pours Capt’n Coma into the mug)

Maldo has snuck into the batting title conversation with his average up to .327 at this point. He trails only Ramon Sifuentes by six points, and Jerry Outram by five. The title wouldn’t win itself by standing pat – Sifuentes was on the DL and would miss another few games with a mild oblique strain. Somehow the Raccoons also looked like wet newspapers against the Indians without Andrew Russ robbing them blind. Russ leads the CL in steals with 49; he stole nothing this weekend. Carreno is second, having gotten to 44 this week.

We have one more 4-game set at home against the Crusaders, then will go on a 3-city road trip starting in Bayhawks territory on the weekend. We won’t leave the west coast on that trip, which also leads the team to Vegas and Elk City. The final week will be at home against, hosting the Titans and Loggers.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons have scored 4.39 runs per game against the Indians this year.

The Indians apparently gave up 3.77 per game for the season as a who-

Cristiano, are you sneaking your stupid worthless stats into my notes??

[Westheim]

Raccoons (84-58) vs. Crusaders (63-79) – September 12-15, 2044

Last dips against the Crusaders, where we needed a split or better to win the season series for the third straight year; the Raccoons were up 8-6 going into the scuffle. Sitting ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed with a -50 run differential in the Continental League, the Crusaders were certifiably crummy. Injuries had taken their pitching staff apart by this point, so maybe the Raccoons could find some offensive outburst.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (13-6, 3.68 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (10-12, 3.85 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (15-7, 3.37 ERA) vs. Matthew Owen (1-0, 2.45 ERA)
Corey Mathers (10-11, 3.93 ERA) vs. Rich Willett (12-10, 3.67 ERA)
Brent Clark (9-12, 3.77 ERA) vs. Tony Galligher (3-9, 3.70 ERA)

Three right, one left at the end; since the next off day for Portland was still a way’s away, we’d do quite a bit of rotating in the lineup this week to keep everybody fresh and hopefully healthy.

There was also the chance for the Raccoons to clinch the division this week (though not in this series). The Indians’ magic number was 11, with the Elks at 7, and the Titans at 4. The Crusaders (and Loggers) were already in the mathematical bin.

Game 1
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – C Alba – 2B Nash – 3B Riario – RF Rico – LF Villareal – P J. Johnson – CF Graf
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Zarate – 3B Cruz – SS Hunter – P Jackson

Jake Jackson pitched three scoreless innings, whiffing four, before consulting with Dr. Padilla and being removed from the game. I had some mild convulsions on the trusty brown couch, and locked Honeypaws into my arms for comfort, although there was hardly enough comfort being provided here by just one stuffed toy raccoon. The Coons responded by loading the bases in the bottom 3rd on a hit by PH Ricky Jimenez, a walk drawn by Sal Ayala, and Manny reaching on a communal fumble error on the infield. Three on, one out for Bryce Toohey, who had been on a bit of a power surge recently (6 HR since August 29), but was held to a sac fly. Phinazee struck out, as usual. Portland doubled the lead to 2-0 in the fourth on a triple by Nate Norris (!) and Tony Hunter’s sac fly.*

Norris also pitched three scoreless innings to put in a bid for his ninth W of the season. Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless seventh despite the Crusaders reaching the corners with the tying runs, while the Raccoons filled the bags against Todd Lush in the bottom 7th. Ayala, Manny, and Toohey were aboard on two singles and a walk, in that order, and Gene Pellicano batted for Mal Phinazee against the left-hander. He poked the 0-1 to deep right, over Danny Rico’s glove, and onto the warning track for a 2-run double. Zarate’s grounder added another run, 5-0, but the Crusaders got to Bob Ibold in the eighth. Leadoff walk to Fernando Alba, a Randolph Nash single, and with two outs a 2-run slapper by Angel Villareal. With Mario Briones pinch-hitting, the Raccoons went to an underused Josh Rella in what was technically a save situation. He ended the eighth with Briones grounding out to Jimenez. He walked Joe Graf to open the ninth, then got a double play, 5-4-3, from Alex Adame, which would turn out to be precious once Dave Martinez walked and Alba whacked an RBI double to center. PH John Marz grounded out to Ayala, ending the game before it could get really, really ugly. 5-3 Raccoons. Ayala 2-5; Toohey 0-1, 2 BB, RBI; Pellicano (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Jimenez 2-4; Jackson 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K; Norris 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (9-3) and 1-1, 3B;

*(The game did the annoying thing where it stuffs a pinch-hitter into the pitcher’s spot upon injury, but requires you to put a pitcher in. Since Ricky Jimenez was the stuffee, Cruz was yoinked, and we ended up with the pitcher in the #7 hole.)

In relieving news, Dr. Padilla reported on Tuesday that Jackson had only a mild shoulder strain. He’d probably be good after being skipped for his next turn, which – with the 6-man rotation on – would have been Sunday.

PHEW. Come on, boys, don’t shed limbs so close to the playoffs!

Game 2
NYC: SS Adame – RF Marz – 1B Briones – CF Rico – LF J. Davis – 2B Nash – 3B Riario – C Alba – P M. Owen
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Phinazee – C Kilmer – 3B Cruz – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda

On Tuesday, the Raccoons tried their bestest to get shut out. They hit into double plays in the first two innings (Maldo, Kilmer), then stranded leadoff doubles by Cruz and Ayala and Kilmer in the third and fourth and fifth frames, respectively. Ayala they didn’t even get off second base… Okuda was doing pretty well against an all-righty lineup (except for Alba), until springing a leak in the sixth of the heretofore scoreless ballgame. Owen, of all people, hit a 1-out single. Okuda walked Adame on four pitches, then gave up more singles to Marz, loading the bags, and Briones, which brought home the pitcher, with Adame being thrown out at the plate for *an* out. Rico grounded out to Gutierrez, stranding two in scoring position, but oh boy, did that 1-0 deficit look insurmountable!

Ayala opened the bottom 6th with a single to left, which was a step back from the three leadoff doubles in the previous three innings, but ironically was the breakthrough for the Raccoons; Mal Phinazee singled him home with two outs, tying the game. Well, and then Kilmer grounded out to Vittorio Riario, but you can’t always score multiple runs at once, huh? And Okuda didn’t get any better… John Davis opened the seventh with a single up the middle, was forced out by Randolph Nash, but Nash reached second on a wild pitch and stole third base before scoring on a Riario blooper, 2-1. Alba flew out, but Owen singled, ending Okuda’s day. Nelson Moreno inherited a pair of runners, plus lefty pinch-hitter Dan Riley in the #1 hole, but got a grounder to second base to get out of the jam. Okuda was taken off the hook in the bottom of the inning; Cruz hit a leadoff single up the middle, advanced on a grounder, and scored on Pellicano’s single to right. Marz’ throw home allowed Pellicano into scoring position. Owen struck out Waters, then got a grounder to short from Ayala, but Quadir Randle botched it, and the Raccoons had runners on the corners for Maldo, who shot an 0-1 pitch through the right side for the go-ahead RBI single…! Toohey lined out, giving the ball back to Moreno, who had been plunked in the #5 spot earlier. Rico hit an infield single with two outs in the eighth, with lefty Andy Montes coming out to hit after that, drawing Chuck Jones, who got him to fly out to Pellicano in center.

Bottom 8th, three on, no outs. Owen put the pinch-hitting Carreno on board, while Lush filled the bags with Kilmer and Cruz. Jimenez hit for Gutierrez and singled home a run, but Pellicano’s hard grounder was fired home by Nash to get Kilmer out at the plate. Waters grounded out, adding a run, 5-2, while Jay de Wit hit for Ayala and romped a single to left to score the remaining runners, 7-2. The save was thus taken off; instead Ramirez and Johnston put the ninth inning together, not allowing a run. 7-2 Critters. Ayala 2-3, BB, 2B; de Wit (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4, 2B; Cruz 2-2, 2 BB, 3B; Jimenez (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Game 3
NYC: SS Adame – 1B D. Riley – RF Marz – LF Montes – 2B Nash – 3B Riario – C E. Thompson – P Willett – CF Villareal
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – SS Waters – CF Anderson – P Mathers

Speaking of power surge – Bryce Toohey put the first run on the board with a leadoff jack in the second inning. That one put him at 23 homers and 80 RBI, both leading the team by a bunch. That was about it for offense in the first half of the game. Through the middle of the fifth, both teams had two base hits each, with the Crusaders getting a leadoff single from Nash in the fifth. He stole second, but Riario, Elliott Thompson, and Willett made poor outs. That was also what the Crusaders deserved for their folly of putting their pitcher in the #8 hole!

The sixth saw 2-out singles from Riley and Marz, both to right, putting them on the corners. There was a mound conference which turned out to be somewhat inefficient, as Andy Montes hit a game-tying RBI single on the very next pitch before Nash flew out to Van Anderson in center. Willett and Mathers remained locked in a 1-1 duel into the seventh when Zarate and Waters hit back-to-back 1-out singles to get to the corners. Waters was caught stealing, and Anderson flew out to left, ending that threat. Then Mathers put them on the corners in the eighth, with a leadoff double by Briones and an Adame single. Zack Kelly came out, but faced PH John Davis rather than the left-handed Riley, and lost him on balls. The next pitching change brought on Jon Craig, who conceded all the runs on two hits and a sac fly, dropping the Raccoons in general and Mathers in particular 4-1 behind. Was that it? Maybe not! Jose Cruz popped out in the #9 hole to begin the bottom 8th, but then the Raccoons unleashed a string of doubles from their 1-2-3 hitters. Ayala and Maldo both drove in a run, narrowing the gap to 4-3, and Toohey also hit a deep fly, but was caught by Montes in left-center. Maldonado scurried to third base, where we was left after Manny drew a walk and Zarate grounded out.

Johnston and Porter combined for a scoreless ninth out of the Critters’ pen, before lefty Mike Lynn was out to face the 7-8-9 hitters in the bottom 9th. Waters struck out. Pellicano grounded out to short. But Ricky Jimenez hit a last-ditch double to left, bringing back Carreno, who fell to 1-2 before hitting a soft pop to shallow left-center – right in the danger zone! Three Crusaders converged, none made the catch, and while Adame and Montes fell over each other, Rico had to scurry after the ball, throwing home in vain as Jimenez scored the tying run and Carreno scampered to second base…! Sal Ayala remained in to face the left-hander, ran the count to 2-2, then shot a ball up the middle for a single. With two outs, Carreno went on contact, an scored easily to walk off the Critters …! 5-4 Furballs! Carreno 2-5, 2B, RBI; Ayala 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Jimenez (PH) 1-1; Mathers 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K;

Coming back clutch!

This was also the first time this week the Indians lost, dropping them 11 games out with a magic number of 7. The Titans were eliminated from even mathematical if-and-when with this Raccoons rally. That left only the damn Elks (13 1/2 out) besides the Indians.

Game 4
NYC: SS Adame – RF Marz – 1B Briones – CF Rico – LF J. Davis – 2B Nash – 3B Riario – C Alba – P Galligher
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – CF Pellicano – SS Waters – LF de Wit – P Clark

Both teams got a homer in the first inning; John Marz did a solo deed for the Crusaders, but Maldo hit a bomb to center with Carreno on base, who had stolen his 45th bag of the year. While Clark struggled against the same mostly right-handed lineup that Okuda had faced on Tuesday, the Raccoons used the successful pattern of the first inning again in the third, for the most part. Carreno hit a leadoff single, stole a bag, and scored on a Maldonado gapper. Toohey then went deep, extending the lead to 5-1.

Clark hit a single in the fourth that led nowhere, then packed the bags full in the fifth with a Marz double, a Briones single, and a walk to Danny Rico. Clark was already on 86 pitches in a chewy start, and the pen was in action, but he’d have to face Davis as the tying run. Davis struck out, and Clark remained in the game to see Nash, who grounded out to Waters, and all the runners were stranded, the score remaining 5-1. Clark was back out for the sixth, walked Riario, allowed a single to Alba, plated a run with a wild pitch, and walked PH Andy Montes, too, before departing after 5+ gruesome innings. Preston Porter replaced him, rung up Adame, Marz too, and got Briones to ground out at 1-2. Bob Ibold had a neat seventh, bothered only by a de Wit error, and Chuck Jones would have had a quick eighth if not for a Carreno error behind him. Ramirez then ended that inning, still up 5-2. The Raccoons never tacked on after the Toohey homer in the third, stranding the odd runner, leaving the ninth inning to Josh Rella, who again surrendered a run when Briones dished a leadoff triple into the gap. A Mal Phinazee error on Rico’s fly to center brought the run across, but it would be earned on Rella’s ledger when Dan Riley grounded out and would have scored Briones anyway. Nash and Riario struck out to end the game. 5-3 Raccoons. Carreno 2-4; Maldonado 2-3, HR, 2B, 3 RBI;

Sweep!

The Indians lost again, narrowing the magic number to five, which meant the Raccoons could in theory still clinch on Sunday, although they were also due to appear at The Bay, and nothing good had ever happened at The Bay.

Raccoons (88-58) @ Bayhawks (83-62) – September 16-18, 2044

This was a potential CLCS matchup, with the Baybirds 1 1/2 games ahead of the Knights at this point. The Aces had fallen away to 7 1/2 games out and were that much of a contender anymore. San Fran sat fifth in runs scored, sixth in runs allowed, and just exactly how they were holding off the Knights was not exactly clear. Their run differential was only +29 (Critters: +139). On the other paw, the season series was tied at three.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (9-3, 4.20 ERA) vs. Eric Weitz (12-8, 3.82 ERA)
Victor Merino (1-1, 2.08 ERA) vs. Noe Candeloro (10-10, 3.56 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (15-7, 3.34 ERA) vs. Kevin Nolte (5-5, 4.67 ERA)

Right, left, right in terms of San Fran pitchers. They had also gotten batting title race leader Ramon Sifuentes (.333, 27 HR, 89 RBI) off the DL just in time for this set. He ranked second in homers (Toohey was 3rd with 24), and third in RBI, but his gap in the latter category was double digits, which either ruled him out of triple crown contention, or would spark him to new coonskinning records in this 3-game set…

Game 1
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – CF Phinazee – RF Pellicano – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – P Wheatley
SFB: 2B Quiroz – 3B R. Sifuentes – RF Platero – CF McGuigan – 1B N. Duncan – C Suggs – SS S. Diaz – LF Caldwell – P Weitz

While Kilmer hit a homer to left in the second inning to give the Critters a 1-0 lead, Jason Wheatley soon showed why he was one of the primary candidates to get dropped into the pen in the postseason. The Bayhawks ruffled his fur for four singles, three hard and one on the infield, in a seemingly endless bottom 3rd. Sifuentes was on point for an RBI single, while Maldo, third in the batting race behind Jerry Outram of the damn Elks, had already dropped to 0-2 on the day. Jose Platero drove in the go-ahead run before Jamie McGuigan grounded out to Hunter to end the inning. Wheatley went on to walk the first two batters in the bottom 4th, Nick Duncan and Sean Suggs, before giving up a ground-rule RBI double to Steve Diaz. Corey Caldwell’s pop, Weitz’ liner to Maldo, and Sergio Quiroz’ pop stranded two in scoring position.

Those were also the last outs recorded by Wheatley, who allowed a leadoff single to Sifuentes in the bottom 5th before Platero reached on a Maldonado error. McGuigan hit a 2-run double, sending Wheatley for the showers. Bob Ibold conceded the remaining runner without much further ado, and the Raccoons were down 6-1, and on only two base hits of their own. They were not entirely dead yet, though – Maldo drew a 1-out walk in the sixth and Manny singled. Phinazee grounded out, but Pellicano came through with a single through the left side, plating both runners, 6-3. Kilmer struck out to end the inning. Then they did nothing the next two innings, and arrived still trailing by three in the ninth, facing Jeremy Mayhall, right-hander with a 1.67 ERA. Pellicano and Waters opened with outs before Toohey came off the bench for a double with two outs. Ricky Jimenez singled, bringing up Carreno as the tying run. Mayhall slipped him breaking balls until he struck out. 6-3 Bayhawks. Carreno 2-5; Hunter 0-1, 2 BB; Toohey (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Bright sides: the Indians and damn Elks also lost. Their magic numbers were now own to four and one, respectively.

And you know I’d like to eliminate the damn Elks with a W!

With the AAA season concluding on Friday, the Raccoons added C Ruben Gonzalez to the roster as the final addition. He had previously appeared in 10 games, hitting .200 with no homers and 2 RBI.

Game 2
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Pellicano – C Kilmer – SS M. Waters – LF de Wit – P Merino
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 2B K. Saito – LF Hennessy – 3B R. Sifuentes – RF Platero – 1B J. Wilson – C J. Hill – CF Vogan – P Candeloro

After Wheatley, the Bayhawks roughed up Merino early, too, getting two runs (one earned in the first). Kenichi Saito and Sifuentes (…) got hits, while a Jimenez error had added Bobby Hennessy to the base paths. Sifuentes and Platero on a grounder got RBIs. Jimenez tried to make up with a 1-out double in the third inning, sending Carreno to third base and thus putting the tying runs in scoring position for Maldonado, who dropped a soft 3-1 looper in front of Jeff Vogan for an RBI single. Toohey tied the game with a sac fly, while Pellicano split Vogan and Platero in the gap for a 2-out RBI triple to take a 3-2 lead. Candeloro got Kilmer to 0-2, then hung one that was hit to the other side of the Bay by Kilmer, 5-2.

Merino then scattered base runners in the next few innings, but held on to the lead, which was extended to 6-2 by Kilmer’s groundout in the fifth inning, after Toohey and Pellicano had reached the corners to begin the inning. That knocked out Candeloro, with righty Josh Wilkes replacing him. He gave up a homer to right to Matt Waters on his second pitch, and the Raccoons zoomed out to an 8-2 lead. Toohey went yard to left off Wilkes in the sixth for a solo homer, and Wilkes hung around for sharp singles up the middle to the next two batters, then a RBI double by Waters that put the Coons into double digits. Chih Ke, foremost Formosan right-hander in the league, replaced him, allowing an 11th run on de Wit’s groundout before ringing up Merino.

The Coons replaced several regulars at the seventh-inning stretch, with Merino still going, but was lifted with one out in the seventh after Quiroz singled and Jorge Gonzalez tripled him home. Norris condeded the run on a sac fly. The eighth was uneventful, while in the ninth the Bayhawks’ southpaw Bobby Waters loaded the bases with one out, then nicked Van Anderson, who had earlier replaced Maldonado. Toohey hit into a double play to end the inning. Zack Kelly surrendered a run in his late-season scuffle, but the Raccoons still won by a bunch. 12-5 Raccoons. Carreno 3-4, BB; Gutierrez 1-1; Jimenez 2-5, BB, 2B; Toohey 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Pellicano 4-5, 3B, RBI; Kilmer 3-4, HR, 3 RBI; Waters 2-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Cruz (PH) 1-1;

This W indeed eliminated the damn Elks. The Indians, however, won their game against the Falcons, and thus the Raccoons would have to defer clinching to next week. A magic number of three was not reduceable to zero with only one game left to the week.

Game 3
POR: 2B M. Waters – 1B Ayala – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – CF Pellicano – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – SS Hunter – P Okuda
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 2b K. Saito – 3B R. Sifuentes – RF Platero – 1B J. Wilson – C J. Hill – LF M. Castillo – CF McGuigan – P Nolte

Both teams put the leadoff man aboard in their halves of the first two innings; the Raccoons got a leadoff jack from Waters and a Pellicano double that led to him being stranded at second, while the Baybirds hit into two double plays and allowed Okuda to face the minimum once through the order. But the bottom 4th began with a Gonzalez single, and while Kenichi Saito flew out to Manny, there was no catching up with Sifuentes’ corner-bound RBI double that tied the ballgame. Platero’s grounder and Jeff Wilson’s easy fly to center kept the go-ahead run stranded at least.

…at least until the bottom 7th. The impossible Sifuentes led off with a double to right, and Jose Platero hit a jack to left to break the 1-1 tie. After that, madness broke out. Wilson walked, and the bags filled up on consecutive errors by Waters and Hunter. Okuda left in a mess, leaving Preston Porter to give up an RBI single to PH Bobby Hennessy. Nolte struck out – that was the first out in the damn inning. Quiroz hit a sac fly and Saito whiffed, but the 4-spot appeared sufficient to put the game away against the Critters, who were still stuck on two base hits against Nolte. But they made up a run in the eighth, Ruben Gonzalez hitting a single in the pitcher’s spot, and then scoring on a Waters double. Ayala flew out to end the inning. But the tying run DID reach home plate in the ninth inning. Manny opened with a grounder against Mayhall, who then walked Toohey and saw Pellicano reach on a Sifuentes error. Maldonado hit for Zarate, but flew out to Platero. Phinazee hit for Jimenez and flew into the gap; Platero couldn’t get to it, and the Raccoons got a last-ditch 2-run double that narrowed th gap to 5-4. Carreno went to bat for Tony Hunter… and struck out. 5-4 Bayhawks. Waters 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Phinazee (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Gonzalez (PH) 1-1;

In other news

September 14 – The walkoff home run hit by TOP C/1B Josh Davis (.269, 16 HR, 68 RBI) is the only run in the Buffaloes’ crucial 1-0 win against the Cyclones.
September 16 – SFW RF Matt Diskin (.303, 14 HR, 88 RBI) ends his season early by breaking his foot.
September 17 – Pittsburgh 3B/RF Ed Soberanes (.348, 1 HR, 11 RBI) goes 5-for-5 with a triple and one RBI against the Wolves, but his team loses the game, 8-7.
September 18 – The Aces pick up catcher Felipe Gomez (.243, 12 HR, 47 RBI) from the Loggers for LF/RF Brian Fox (.255, 6 HR, 25 RBI) and a third-rate prospect.

FL Player of the Week: CIN 1B Victor Chavez (.301, 13 HR, 95 RBI), batting .440 (11-25) with 1 HR, 12 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC RF/1B/LF John Marz (.278, 14 HR, 39 RBI), hitting .385 (10-26) with 4 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

11 ahead with 13 to go! Don’t make it tight, boys!

Jackson could have started on Sunday, but we’ll skip him anyway after the shoulder scare and bring him back by next weekend.

Who will be the odd one out of the rotation for the playoffs? Merino doesn’t count anyway, and apart from that Wheatley sure filed another application for mop-up duty in October this week. The other idea I had was to drop Brent Clark and instead use him as counterattack for when Wheatley has a bad start in the playoffs; chances are you might see a lefty lineup then and could use Clark to choke them.

…if Clark’s remotely on, that is.

Decisions, decisions!

And never mind who we face in the CLCS, we’ll have lost the season series against them: 4-5 against San Fran, 3-6 against the Knights, and if the Aces somehow did make a comeback they sure would have to start by sweeping the Critters starting on Monday. I also loathe the set in Elk City on the weekend. Nothing good can come of it. But Derek Baskins will come off the DL on Monday, which will bloat the roster to 34 players.

Our minor league teams were never in contention for the playoffs. The Panthers and Beagles each ended up under .500, the Alley Cats just above .500; shoutout to 2041 first-rounder Bubba Wolinsky, who had a meh pair of seasons after being ranked #61 before 2042, but rebounded this year, going 5-3 with a 1.76 ERA for Ham Lake, then 10-2 with a 3.12 ERA for St. Pete to get himself back onto the favored prospects list.

Fun Fact: It’s been nine years since the Crusaders season series ended with both teams having odd win totals.

That was a 9-9 split in 2035. Since then all series have ended 14-4, 12-6, or 10-8 for one of the teams. We won the series seven times out of nine, dropping it only in 2040-41.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (89-60) @ Aces (79-69) – September 19-21, 2044

The Raccoons were inches from clinching, while the Aces could not afford to lose any more games if they still wanted to get into the playoffs. They had won four in a row, but were only a modest sixth in runs scored and fifth in runs allowed for the season. Their run differential was +34. The season series was tied at three, but while the Raccoons got Derek Baskins back from the DL to begin the week, the Aces carried a whole host of players on the DL, including pitchers Raymond Pearce and Jake White, and regular position players Doug Richardson (just out with a torn ACL), John Byrd, Matt Kinder, Justin Beaudoin… and a couple more.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (10-11, 3.88 ERA) vs. Steve Huffman (13-8, 4.03 ERA)
Brent Clark (10-12, 3.77 ERA) vs. Josh Henneberry (10-9, 3.66 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (9-4, 4.37 ERA) vs. Josh Brown (12-10, 3.79 ERA)

Right, right, left for their starters. The Raccoons could – in theory – clinch as early as Tuesday with their magic number at four.

Game 1
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – SS Waters – P Mathers
LVA: SS Quintana – 2B B. Owen – 1B Speth – C F. Gomez – RF Berryman – 3B Montes de Oca – CF Whalen – LF Brink – P Huffman

The Aces had just picked up Felipe Gomez from the Loggers for the stretch drive, and driving he did, a 2-run homer off Mathers in the first inning to give the Aces the early lead in the Monday opener. Derek Baskins hit a solo homer in the third to cut the gap in half, but Brandon Owen singled home Angel Quintana, who had hit a 1-out double in the right-center gap, in the same inning to put the Aces up 3-1 against Mathers.

The game dumpled along through five until the Raccoons got Ayala on base to lead off the sixth, Maldonado popped out, but Bryce Toohey hit a double to put the tying runs in scoring position. Huffman ran a full count on Manny Fernandez, who grounded to right eventually. Owen stopped the ball, but had no play – RBI single! Kilmer tied the game with a sac fly, three-all, while Carreno singled up the middle and sent Manny to third base. Waters hit another single to right, bringing in Manny for the lead, while the Aces also bumbled the ball somewhere between Nick Berryman and Brandon Owen, allowing both remaining runners into scoring position, but Mathers flew out to Rob Brink to end the inning. Mathers also blew the lead without logging an out, walking Owen to begin the bottom 6th; the runner stole second, and came around on two singles while the Aces loaded the bases with two outs and Brink at the plate. Nelson Moreno came in for the sticky spot, balked home a run, walked Brink, and then nailed PH Dan Holmes to push home another run. True playoff form here!

Once Angel Quintana grounded out, the Raccoons struck out in order against Miguel Mauricio in the seventh. Toohey drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, but never got off first base. Zack Kelly and Jon Craig kept the Aces within reach, while right-hander David Williams (2.99 ERA) took the ball for the ninth inning. Waters led off with a single to right, bringing up Mal Phinazee to pinch-hit as the tying run. He singled up the middle at 2-2, sending Waters to first base. Baskins was next, whacking a liner into the gap in left-center for an RBI double! Ayala walked, loading the bags … with nobody out. Oh noes! Maldonado hit into a force out at home plate, but Toohey hit a ball to center, and that was deep enough to bring home Baskins to tie the score at six …! It didn’t get the Raccoons anywhere; Manny grounded out to end the top 9th, and when Chuck Jones came out for the bottom 9th, he was bombarded with right-handed pinch-hitters. John Lunde and Angel Quintana hit doubles, and the Aces walked it off. 7-6 Aces. Baskins 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Ayala 1-2, 3 BB; Waters 2-4, RBI; Phinazee (PH) 1-1;

Ack.

The Indians won, 4-0, over the Knights on a 3-hit shutout by Casey Pinter (12-12, 3.69 ERA), so we didn’t get any closer to clinching. The magic number was three.

Game 2
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Gonzalez – P Clark
LVA: SS Quintana – 3B Montes de Oca – RF Berryman – C F. Gomez – 1B Speth – 2B B. Owen – CF Whalen – LF R. Sanchez – P Henneberry

While Clark whiffed four in a perfect first run through the order, the Raccoons scattered three singles without getting anywhere in the first three innings. The fourth began with a Maldo single, and Toohey walked. Manny ran a 3-1 count, then poked a grounder to right. Owen missed it this time, and Manny had another RBI single when Maldo scampered around to score, the first run in the game. Matt Waters legged out a spanker up the middle that Owen *did* cut off, but had no play on again. Three on, no outs, the Critters choked, with Carreno whiffing, Ruben Gonzalez barely hitting a sac fly, an Clark grounding one back to Henneberry to make the third out.

Clark faced the minimum again the second time through, but wasn’t perfect. Chris Whalen hit a leadoff single in the sixth, and Ricky Sanchez smashed into a double play. But nothing could ever be easy, or fun, in this game, could it? Quintana opened the bottom 7th with a homer to left-center, and Clark put Berryman and Tim Speth on base before running into PH Bubba Shaffner, a second-rounder from 2040 that had been traded three times and was making his sixth career appearance, all off the bench. He also hit a 3-run homer to left to flip the score around, 4-2 Aces.

Henneberry walked Ayala and Toohey in the eighth inning before being yanked. Left-hander B.J. Brantley came in to face Manny, who fell to 2-2, but then dished a liner up the rightfield line. Berryman had to chase it into the corner, and the Raccoons got an RBI double out of it, with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Mike Nett then struck out Waters before balking home a run and conceding the second run on Ricky Jimenez’ double to left. So we were up 5-4 into the bottom 8th, which Preston Porter began with two outs before allowing singles to Quintana and Angel Montes de Oca. For Berryman, the Raccoons sent Chuck Jones, who was again met by John Lunde, and walked him. Nate Norris then was sent to face Gomez with the bags full. Gomez gave a 1-1 pitch a heck of a ride to right-center, but couldn’t beat Baskins, who tracked it down to strand all the runners. The Raccoons went down in order against Nett in their half of the ninth – but so did the Aces against Josh Rella. 5-4 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4; Toohey 1-2, 2 BB; Fernandez 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Waters 2-4; Jimenez (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

Not really in playoff shape, may I quip…

The Indians were rained out, with the magic number now at two

Game 3
POR: 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – CF Pellicano – SS Hunter – P Wheatley
LVA: SS Quintana – 2B B. Owen – 1B Speth – C F. Gomez – RF Berryman – 3B Montes de Oca – CF Holmes – LF Southall – P J. Brown

Clinching under our own steam suffered a bit of a dent when Wheatley exploded for a 5-spot in the second inning of the rubber game. Berryman opened with a single, but he got two pops after that. Berryman then stole second, with former Coons farmhand Ben Southall drawing a walk. Josh Brown’s bloop RBI single opened the scoring, Quintana walked, and Owen ripped a bases-clearing triple, scoring on a Gomez single after Speth reached on catcher’s interference of all ******* things. Berryman finally grounded out. Wheatley then bid for making-up with a leadoff single in the third, but was doubled up by Carreno, and everything was ****. Case in point, former Raccoons left-hander Brown doubled home Dan Holmes to make it 6-0 in the bottom of the inning, and Wheatley wasn’t seen again thereafter.

There was no real rally in the Coons either, as they amounted to all of three hits against Brown through six innings, but then knocked him out with two hits and a run in the seventh, as Toohey doubled and scored on a Zarate single. Gene Pellicano hit into a fielder’s choice against Natsume Adachi, then was caught stealing, because, y’know, sometimes you just have your boots all full of ****. Montes would claim the run back from Zack Kelly with a homer in the bottom 7th, and Preston Porter was dinged for another run in the eighth on two base hits. 8-1 Aces. Carreno 2-4; Toohey 2-4, 2B; Anderson (PH) 1-1;

The Indians won both their games against Atlanta, both with 2-1 scores – was the rally now on?

Raccoons (90-62) @ Canadiens (78-75) – September 23-25, 2044

While both contenders were off on Thursday, and the Raccoons spent the day in Portland before shipping their bums north to Iceland, the damn Elks had been eliminated and reduced to potentially playing spoilers while the Indians busied themselves with the fourth-place Titans. They had also won four in a row, filling me with foreboding while I surrounded myself with booze, donuts, Honeypaws, and Slappy on the trusty brown couch. A different comfort for different needs that can arise! The Elks were second in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed, a marked improvement from sitting bottoms in getting pounded all year long. Their run differential was -10. We were up 9-6 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (2-1, 2.79 ERA) vs. John Roeder (2-9, 5.10 ERA)
Jake Jackson (13-6, 3.62 ERA) vs. David Arias (12-7, 3.14 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (15-8, 3.38 ERA) vs. Paul Medvec (14-7, 4.35 ERA)

We’d see a left-hander to begin the series, then two right-handers. We would not see regulars Dan Schneller and Arnout van der Zanden, who were both on the DL.

Game 1
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Zarate – CF Phinazee – SS Waters – LF Pellicano – P Merino
VAN: 2B Malkus – C Clemente – CF Outram – RF V. Vazquez – LF C. Robinson – 1B J. Lopez – SS Price – 3B Riquenes – P Roeder

Merino hit a double in the third inning after two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, moved to third on a Carreno single, and scored on Sal Ayala’s sac fly to center for the first run of the game. By the fourth, the Raccoons ran into the good old three on, no outs trap, seeing Zarate and Phinazee on with singles before Waters drew a walk. Gene Pellicano did his best to buck the trend then, hitting a deep fly to left that kept growing deeper and flier and was outta there! GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMM!!!

I actually enjoyed a donut rather than just stuffing myself for the sugar after Pellicano’s slam put the Raccoons up 5-0 against the damn Elks. Now it was on Merino to show his credentials and hold the Elks down for a few more innings. Jerry Outram singled off him to begin the bottom 4th, but Outram could get hits off everybody. Merino responded with two strikeouts, then picked Outram off first base! And yet – Merino didn’t get the win. The Raccoons had two runs across in the fifth inning – one unearned – when Merino was batting with Phinazee and Pellicano on the corners and one out, and was struck in the throwing shoulder with all Lazaro Cavazos could muster. Dr. Padilla removed him from the game as a precaution, although Merino visibly didn’t like it to get yoinked from a 7-0 game. Jay de Wit pinch-ran for him, and was the only runner stranded of the three on base now. Carreno hit a sac fly, while Ayala doubled in Pellicano. Maldonado grounded out, keeping the score at 9-0, and was replaced with de Wit, while Bob Ibold was assigned the potential W by insertion in the #3 spot to pitch.

Ibold gave up a run on three hits in the bottom 5th, and scoreless appearances by Johnston and Ramirez followed. The Raccoons busied themselves with scattering as many runners as possible without actually reaching double digits with one more tiny run, but it was *fine*. Zack Kelly allowed a leadoff single to Outram to begin the bottom 9th, but Victor Vazquez doubled him up, and Chris Robinson made an easy out to win the game for Portland. 9-1 Raccoons! Carreno 2-4, BB, RBI; Ayala 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Toohey 2-5; Zarate 2-4, BB; Phinazee 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Pellicano 3-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Merino 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K and 1-2, 2B; Ramirez 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

The Indians won *again*, and *again* by a 2-1 score, this time rallying out of a 1-0 hole in the ninth, so the deed was still not done, but the magic number was rubbed down to one now.

One more win, boys!

Game 2
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 3B Jimenez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Gutierrez – P Jackson
VAN: 2B Malkus – RF C. Robinson – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – LF V. Vazquez – SS Price – 1B M. Hernandez – 3B Riquenes – P D. Arias

Jackson came off missing a start, allowed a single to Chris Robinson in the first, but got a double play grounder from Outram. He came to bat in the top 2nd, finding Omar Gutierrez on second after a 2-out double. Jackson clipped a single to right-center, driving Gutierrez home for the first run on the board. Bryce Toohey hit a solo homer in the third to get to 2-0, but it all went away in the fourth with a walk to Julio Diaz, then back-to-back 2-out RBI doubles to center that Baskins couldn’t catch up with, hit by Rick Price and Mel Hernandez. Sergio Riquenes grounded out in a full count to end the inning, but the lead was gone, and I was dismayed, stuffing my snout with donuts soaked in Capt’n Coma.

Sal Ayala grabbed the lead back with a leadoff jack to right in the fifth, going up 3-2 on his 12th bomb of the season. Jackson scattered three more hits through the end of six, but held on to the lead until he was pinch-hit for to start the seventh inning. Carreno hit for him, singled, and was caught stealing. The Raccoons kept clawing with pitching more than with hitting – Preston Porter retired two right-handers to begin the bottom 7th after which we went to Chuck Jones. Robinson popped out to conclude seven, while Outram eeked out a leadoff walk against Jones in the eighth, but was then doubled up, 4-6-3, on a Diaz bouncer. Vazquez was also retired by Jones, ending the eighth. The Raccoons still had nothing to add to their 3-2 lead through the end of regulation, then sent Josh Rella into the bottom 9th against the 6-7-8 hitters, although the pitcher was in Price’s spot and Timóteo Clemente was the pinch-hitter. He ran a full count, then flew out to Manny Fernandez. Two more! Maud, Slappy, Cristiano, Honeypaws, and me were all yelling encouragement at the TV back home in Portland. Mel Hernandez got to 2-2 before grounding to Gutierrez for the second out. That made Sergio Riquenes the guy to clinch the division – but he singled on a 1-2 pitch. Justin Becker then pinch-hit in the #9 hole. He ran another full count against Rella, then grounded hard to the left side. Jimenez with the lunge, up like a shot, and a hard throw to first base – IN TIME! THE RACCOONS TOOK THE DIVISION!! 3-2 Furballs!! Toohey 2-4, HR, RBI; Carreno (PH) 1-1; Jackson 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (14-6) and 1-1, RBI;

…while the Indians won again, but in vain!

Game 3
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – CF Phinazee – 2B Carreno – SS Hunter – C Gonzalez – RF Anderson – P Okuda
VAN: 2B Malkus – C Clemente – CF Outram – LF C. Robinson – 1B J. Lopez – SS Price – RF J. Becker – 3B Riquenes – P Medvec

The Raccoons celebrated by resting a bunch of guys on Sunday, but the remaining regulars put them up 2-0 in the top 1st, getting a double from Ayala and a homer from Maldo. That seemed to be all that Okuda would need in the early innings, but by the fourth the damn Elks got Clemente on with a leadoff walk, Outram with a single, and then Robinson’s grounder was grossly thrown away Carreno for two bases, somehow. One run scored on that play, while Outram scored on Lopez’ groundout to tie the game, although Rick Price’s pop kept Robinson at third base with two outs, and Justin Becker grounded out to Tony Hunter to end the inning. Both runs were unearned on Okuda, and Carreno looked like he knew he was guilty.

Carreno reached on a Riquenes error in the seventh after two uneventful innings. Hunter made the second out by K, but Ruben Gonzalez singled to center, and Carreno dashed for third base with the go-ahead run. Manny hit for Van Anderson to give the Coons a little nudge towards taking the lead, but he struck out. Instead, Okuda walked Steve Jorgensen to begin the bottom 7th, and conceded the run on singles by Becker and Vazquez for a 3-2 deficit…

Jose Cruz batted for Okuda to begin the eighth, but made an out, as did Baskins. Ayala didn’t, instead homering to right to tie the game at three and take Okuda off the hook, but that remained all he could hope for, Maldonado grounding out to end the inning. Zack Kelly then gave the tie away in the bottom 8th, continuing his late-season struggles with a single to Outram, and then a Robinson homer to right. He retired nobody, and had to be dug out by Jon Craig. Then the ninth rolled around, with Sebastien Parham appearing for the damn Elks. Phinazee opened with a single, advancing to second on Carreno’s groundout. Toohey hit for Hunter, but also grounded out. Waters hit for Gonzalez, and walked on four pitches to put the tying run on base. And here we would have liked Manny to still be in the #8 hole, but he had not stayed in the game after striking out earlier; Gene Pellicano had taken over defensively. Pellicano though cracked an RBI single to right, and Waters carried the tying run to third base…! Ricky Jimenez batted for Craig – but grounded out to Johnny Lopez. 5-4 Canadiens. Ayala 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Pellicano (PH) 1-1, RBI; Okuda 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K;

In other news

September 21 – SFW SP Carlos Padilla (9-15, 5.76 ERA) could face nine months on the shelf with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.
September 21 – The Titans beat the Falcons, 2-1 in 14 innings. Neither team scored through 11, before both teams scratched out a run in the 12th. BOS 2B/SS Oscar Aguirre (.255, 9 HR, 54 RBI) draws a bases-loaded walk to walk off Boston.
September 22 – NAS INF/RF/LF Felix Marquez (.319, 12 HR, 73 RBI) is out for the season with a bruised elbow.
September 23 – An oblique strain might rule out DAL OF Tylor Cecil (.305, 13 HR, 91 RBI) for at least the CLCS, should the Stars overcome the Gold Sox.
September 23 – The first career homer for LVA INF Josh Landstrom (.222, 1 HR, 2 RBI) also marks the only run in the 1-0, 10-inning win the Aces win over the Condors in Tijuana.
September 25 – The Buffaloes scored 15 unanswered runs in a 15-2 win over the Blue Sox, with Donovan Bunyon (.281, 1 HR, 22 RBI) driving in five runs on three hits.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Juan Benavides (.350, 17 HR, 58 RBI), hitting .455 (10-22) with 4 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA OF David Vasquez (.294, 9 HR, 49 RBI), batting .462 (12-26) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Portlaaaaaaaand!

First time in seven years! I’m … I’m just … (is handed a tissue by Maud) … I’m not crying, Honeypaws; you’re crying!!

(cough)

Victor Merino, rudely robbed of a near-certain W on Friday, might not make another start after leaving the game with a bum shoulder upon getting drilled. Who knows what will happen; we also don’t want Okuda to come up at the end of the year, because Okuda would be ONE option to open the CLCS with.

Only the Titans and Loggers are left now, and the noble hope that nobody gets stupidly hurt now.

And then? The Aces had won nine of ten despite half a dozen key players on the DL, and were now chasing down the Baybirds, down by three with one week to play. The Knights had faded to third place, 4 1/2 games out. In any case, we had lost the season series to all of them – it’s not like we had favorites here.

Fun Fact: Bob Ibold not only picked up any old W in the Friday game in Elk City, but the 5,700th regular season win in franchise history.

Lumping him together with Roberto Carrillo, there have now been just as many Bob-sort-ofs with milestone wins for the Raccoons as Travises: Sims and “Tragic” Travis Garrett.