Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

2037 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) vs. San Francisco Bayhawks (90-72)

Weeks had put in a scoreless inning in the Game 2 loss, and had beaten the Bayhawks in his only regular-season matchup with them on July 26 – his most recent W to date. Winning this one would be hard against the righty-laden lineup; but could he really do MUCH worse than the right-handed bunch we had sent up so far?

Game 6 – Josh Weeks (10-6, 3.58 ERA) vs. Josh Long (18-11, 3.89 ERA)

The anthem was performed by Miss… Siena Brown. – Maud, who is that? – Never heard of her. – Where did you find her? – Ugh, Gobble!

First pitch honors befell Mark Roberts, who had won four rings in his career, half of them with the Raccoons. He was technically still under contract to the Aces and thus could not wear a Raccoons uniform, some weird league rule, was three weeks short of his own 43rd birthday, on the DL with a back ailment, and thus delivered a ball underhand to Fernando Garcia.

SFB: LF Balderrama – RF P. Sanchez – SS Greer – 1B McGrath – CF Coca – 2B M. Hurtado – 3B Da – C Umanzor – P J. Long
POR: SS Ramos – C Garcia – LF M. Fernandez – RF Greenway – CF Fowler – 3B Maldonado – 2B Vickers – 1B Stedham – P Weeks

The Bayhawks sure sat on Weeks’ face fast, with Balderrama opening the game with a second-pitch jack, causing me to groan and seek safety in liquor. When Jesus Maldonado cashed Justin Fowler with a homer to right in the bottom 2nd, giving us a 2-1 lead, I was already somewhat doozy. – No, Nick, I don’t endorse drinking. But I also don’t endorse that sort of pitching.

Weeks nailed Balderrama his next time around in the third inning, which was admittedly one way to deal with a bat coming closer and closer to .500…

For a while Weeks did a really nice job of feeding grounders to the middle infielders, and they even made the plays. The Raccoons had a solid scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fourth inning, with Fowler and Maldonado hitting 1-out singles off Long. Vickers grounded out, moving the runners to scoring position, but that also took the bat out of Stedham’s paws and he got the four-fingered salute to first base. The Bayhawks would look for salvation with Weeks, who poked a 1-1 pitch up the middle, through a diving Long, past a lunging Hurtado, and into centerfield for one, no, two runs, sending the ballpark into an instant booming frenzy!! Berto was hit by a pitch, but Garcia popped out, stranding three in a 4-1 game. Man, what a wasted opportunity, I must drink faster …!

Weeks got around an Umanzor single to begin the fifth, while the Raccoons crowded Long again with a leadoff double by Manny Fernandez in the bottom 5th. Greenway, batting all of .182, was walked intentionally, but of course Fowler was an easier K. Long lost him in a full count, though, and the bags were loaded with nobody out. Maldonado struck out. Vickers struck out. I tried to shove the entire bottle down my snout, which didn’t really work to my satisfaction. On came Jesus Rodarte against Stedham, who hit the second pitch over Hurtado’s head, a terrible ****ing dinker, and it was IN for two runs!! Stedham!! Ru-(hcks!!)-uns!! (turns to Cristiano) Do you know, Crisssiano, that you have… the most beautiful hazel eyes?

Weeks took the K, then went back to work for the sixth inning, now up 6-1 on three pairs of runs. Of course the game immediately turned against the Portlanders. Greer single, McGrath single, runners on the corners with nobody outs. When Coca hit into a run-scoring double play, things actually trended upwards again, but then Hurtado hit another single, and Da flew to left, but Manny lost the ball mid-flight and was almost fatally struck in the noggin’ by it. The 2-base error put a pair in scoring position against Umanzor, and the Raccoons made a move for a right-hander. Citriniti got the ball and on his third pitch gave up a LOUD fly to right. The entire ballpark gasped in horror, but Greenway raced all the way back to the fence and made the catch …!!

The seventh was uneventful for Portland with three straight retirements collected by Citriniti and Fernandez. Fowler reached on an error in the bottom 7th, but nothing much came of that.

Top 8th, Prieto in to pitch. Greer singled. McGrath walked. Oh for ****’s sake. More booze …! Coca struck out, which was always a surprise, Hurtado flew out right to Fowler, and the inning ended with another strikeout. I was blowing and squishing Honeypaws a little tighter, while Valdes used Fairydust to fan air at himself.

The Raccoons went for the throat in the bottom 8th. Brito batted for Prieto and walked, while Berto singled to right, sending Brito to third base with nobody out against Eric Fox. Garcia flew out to Sanchez, but Brito dilly-dallied home for a sac fly, extending the lead to five. Manny flew out, Pinkerton hit for Greenway and whiffed. Soung got the ninth, with the Raccoons unwilling to mess around. Umanzor struck out, Sonny Deming doubled to left. Balderrama struck out. That made Pablo Sanchez, still 43, but looking like 57, the potential final out in the series. He got ahead 2-0, then hit a grounder to Maldonado. Throw to first, bounced, past Stedham, and Deming scored on the error. Valdes and me were each grapping an arm of Slappy for comfort, and screamed anyway. Marshall Greer was next. A ball. A strike. Then a pop in foul ground, Stedham racing for it … and – the catch! Portland to the World Series! Portland to the World Series!!

Raccoons 7, Bayhawks 3 – Raccoons win series 4-2

Ramos 2-4; Fowler 2-3, BB; Maldonado 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Stedham 2-3, BB, 2 RBI;

And one more bit of good news while we open the fizzly stuff in here and take turns in taking joyrides in Cristiano’s wheelchair – we will be able to make a roster change for the Big Show.

[Westheim]

2037 FLCS

Let’s also not forget, there was also an FLCS while we were going through the agony of that CLCS. In that, the 1989 champions Wolves made only their *fourth* ever playoff appearances, which would now tie them for worst with the Gold Sox and Loggers. Oh, the Loggers… The Wolves had assembled a winner’s pitching staff, and were plucking into the lineup whatever they could find. They had finished the season with the best rotation in the Federal League, and had allowed the third-fewest runs. Their offense ranked #4. They were solid from most angles, including defensively. Phil Harrington (17-3, 2.89 ERA) was the undisputed best pitcher of his generation, and had a supporting cast worth fearing. On offense, catcher Morgan Kuhlmann (.303, 32 HR, 112 RBI) was the big threat, but Kyle Weinstein (.284, 20 HR, 98 RBI) had also not fallen exactly off the garbage truck. They had no injuries to worry about.

They would be hosted by the 100-win Blue Sox, who had clinched home field throughout the postseason. They had a solid rotation, but the very best bullpen, and had allowed the second-fewest runs overall. Their ERA leader, Kevin Stice (10-11, 3.45 ERA) couldn’t buy a win, but overall they were second in run scored in the Federal League. They were not hitting many home runs – Sean Ashley held the team lead with 17 – but they were robbing the opposition blind, encroaching on base and then stealing a blinding 186 bases during the regular season, with four guys stealing a quarter-century or more, led by Chance Bossert (40), and chipped in mightily by Ashley (35), Billy Bouldin (34), and Jon Sullivan (26). The established star still had yet to be mentioned, with Jim “Mastodon” Allen hitting .299 with 16 HR and a team-leading 100 RBI. It was surely not a lineup to play games with – they could bite, and they would! The Blue Sox made their 13th playoff appearance and only their third since 2006. They had two championships, dating back to the 80s.

These teams had faced another only once in the CLCS, with the Wolves prevailing in 1989.

The Blue Sox made a slightly better impression and might be able to squeeze this one out.

+++

SAL @ NAS … 2-0 … (Wolves lead 1-0) … SAL Chad Armfield 3-4, HR, 3B, RBI; SAL Phil Harrington 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-0);

SAL @ NAS … 0-1 … (series tied 1-1) … SAL Brandon Nickerson 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (0-1); NAS Doug Clifford 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1-0)

Chance Bossert singles home Jon Sullivan for the only run in the third inning, while Hugo Salgado prevents the Wolves from getting no-hit in Game 2.

NAS @ SAL … 7-9 … (Wolves lead 2-1) … NAS Billy Bouldin 3-5, BB, 3B, 2B; NAS Cesar Talabera 2-2, 3B, RBI; NAS Stephon Nettles 2-3, 2 RBI; NAS Sean Ashley 2-3, BB, RBI; SAL Armando Herrera 4-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; SAL Oliver Witte 3-4, 2B, RBI;

Blue Sox centerfielder Cesar Talabera shatters his ankle crashing into third base on his triple and is out for the rest of the playoffs and in a powder blue leg cast as we speak.

NAS @ SAL … 8-3 … (series tied 2-2) … NAS Jim Allen 3-4, BB, 3B; NAS Sean Ashley 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

NAS @ SAL … 6-3 … (Blue Sox lead 3-2) … NAS Jon Sullivan 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; NAS Billy Bouldin 3-5, 2 RBI;

All Salem’s hopes were on Harrington, but he gets roughed up for all six runs and takes the loss.

SAL @ NAS … 3-4 … (Blue Sox win 4-2) … NAS Juan Espudo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1-1);

The Wolves score three in the second inning off Stice, who holds out for six before replaced by Espudo, who gets the win when the Blue Sox overcome Nickerson in the seventh.

[alexsimon99]

World Series here we come!!!!

But wow, Salem really blew the chance for a revenge series from 1989. Sad

Go take down the Blue Sox, Blighters!!

[Westheim]

2037 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) vs. Nashville Blue Sox (100-62)

Music is playing, fans are excited and dressed in woolen apparel, and there’s a big trophy showcased and surrounded by league brass in front of the mound – must be the World Series!

The Raccoons and Blue Sox had never faced each other in the World Series, and hadn’t played another during the regular season, either. Raccoons with Blue Sox creds on their career stat tables were limited to Derek Barker (2035) and Josh Weeks (2030). On the other side, former Coons on the Blue Sox roster were Casey Moore (2036) and Matt Stonecipher (2029-2032). No position player had ever swung a bat for the other team.

The Critters had their work cut out for them – both teams had allowed almost the same amount of runs, but the Blue Sox had scored about 50 more than the Critters. Both teams had led the league in stolen bases; but the Sox were not hitting homers much at all. They had the best pen and a great defense, and had won a hundred for a reason.

A few roster moves were made by Portland – the Critters lucked into a speedy recovery by both Tony Morales and Cosmo Trevino, and were able to add both of those guys to the roster again. Jeff Kilmer and Jose Brito, who had amounted to a grand total of seven appearances and hitting 2-for-7 during the CLCS, were removed from the roster. Steve Nickas was arguably more useless than Brito, but the Raccoons needed a defensive replacement for Berto and Jesus Maldonado could ill replace both him and Fowler.

Injury-wise, the Raccoons thus only missed Dave Myers at this point. The Blue Sox were without SP Josh Irwin (bone chips in elbow) and outfielder Cesar Talabera (smushed ankle), the latter having been felled in the FLCS.

[Westheim]

2037 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) @ Nashville Blue Sox (100-62)

In contrast to the CLCS, the Raccoons could expect to see a southpaw in this series, which would be 20-game winner Doug Clifford, so the catcher platoon would be reinstituted, while Enrique Trevino went well with every sort of pitcher.

Trevino would bat second behind Berto, because he had a higher batting average while Berto had the higher OBP. Berto had also batted .321 in the CLCS, so he was reasonably warm. The big three in the middle remained. Morales slid in sixth ahead of Stedham and Maldonado, who kept holding down third base in Myers’ absence.

Against Clifford we’d find a way to twist this into shape. Maybe.

Game 1 – Jared Ottinger (11-11, 3.62 ERA) vs. Sean Fowler (14-7, 3.96 ERA)

Fowler, an All Star this year, was stingy with the home runs, but walked more than a batter per two innings. This was something the Raccoons … yeah, yeah, I know, they never walk…

Ottie got the nod because Weeks was still considered dicey and Bernie had only three days of rest. Weeks would start Game 3 at home, and Sabre was pencilled in for Game 4. Bryce Sparkes was not scheduled to make a start as of now.

POR: SS Ramos – 2B Trevino – LF M. Fernandez – RF Greenway – CF J. Fowler – C Morales – 1B Stedham – 3B Maldonado – P Ottinger
NAS: 1B Bossert – CF J. Sullivan – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – SS Bouldin – C Toki – 2B R. West – RF R. Sanchez – P S. Fowler

The Raccoons got the first stab in, with Manny Fernandez hitting a home run to left-center in the first inning, his third longball of the postseason. When Ottinger took the ball, things went south right away. Chance Bossert whacked a single. Jon Sullivan lined a single. Jim “Mastodon” Allen legged out an infield single. Three on, nobody out, and my facial expressions changed to “concerned”. Sean Ashley’s grounder to first base was well played by Stedham, who started a 3-6-3 double play, and while the lead went away as Bossert scored, the Blue Sox were held to the one run once Billy Bouldin, batting .385 in the FLCS, grounded out to Ramos.

Stedham and Maldonado reached with two outs in the second inning, but Ottie couldn’t cash in on his acquired hitting credentials and struck out. Ottie held up nicely on the mound for the next couple of innings, and then the Raccoons had another scoring opportunity in the fourth when Fowler singled off Fowler and Tony Morales hit a double to center, the first time one of the pair of DL returnees reached base in the game. Stedham was up with one out, but lined out to Allen, and Maldonado got four wide ones. Now – was that underscouting Ottinger on the Blue Sox’ part or were they just going by conventional wisdom? Because – Maldonado was a .247 hitter, but Ottie was a .335 hitter for his career! In any case, Fowler threw him a fastball, Ottie’s whiskers twitched, and he slapped the damn thing into left-center for a 2-run single! A wild pitch and a walk to Berto loaded the bases again, after which Fowler gave up a screaming liner into the gap to Cosmo, and one, two, three runs scored on the bases-clearing double! Things went so fast, the Blue Sox couldn’t even get a reliever in at a decent time, and Manny Fernandez slapped an RBI single to get to 7-1 before Fowler was yanked for Sean Badalamenti, who got out of the inning.

Up by six, Ottie just had to be steady and don’t get blown over. He gave up a double to Manichiro Toki in the fourth, a double to Badalamenti in the fifth, and while the latter was especially badalamentable, neither of the runners scored.

Cocky as they were, the Raccoons inserted their defensive replacements as early as the middle of the sixth, tempting the baseball gods. Nickas replaced Berto; Hooge replaced Fowler (but they’d bat the other way round, Hooge in #1 and Nickas in #5). The baseball gods did NOT approve. Mastodon hit a homer off Ottie *immediately*, no defending that one, and Sean Ashley hit a line drive homer to right-center that had to be measured in miles. (looks skywards) Alright, alright!! No taking out the lame ducks until the seventh next game! Can you please make it stop now??

Not bloody quite. PH Stephon Nettles tripled and scored on Bossert’s sac fly in the seventh, and Ottie left with Sullivan on second and two outs, and the tying run in the on-deck circle. David Fernandez replaced him, threw a wild pitch, gave up consecutive RBI doubles to Ashley and Bouldin before striking out Toki, and by then I was on my knees and in tears and begging the baseball gods for forgiveness, drawing some weird looks in a ballpark that was not used to my antics.

Fernandez could not get anybody out anymore. Old Titans foe Rhett West walked and was run for by Ricardo Vadillo, Raul Sanchez singled, and he barely got rid of Jamie Goldberg, but the runners were in scoring position with one out and the top of the order coming back in a 7-6 game. Portland sent Prieto, to no avail. Bossert hit a sac fly, tying the game, but Brad Critzer grounded out hitting for the pitcher in the #2 hole. After leading by six, the Coons were back at square one.

And Nickas led off the ninth against Casey Moore … then hit a single. Morales popped out, but Stedham walked. Maldonado flew out. Garcia grounded out. Nobody scored. Dennis Citrinti got around an Ashley single in the bottom 9th, sending the game to extras, now with Ed Hooge leading off against Moore… and hitting a single. Trevino hit another double in left-center, and this was a FAT chance. And … MannyVP popped out. Oh for ****’s sake. With Nickas rotting in the #5 hole, Greenway got four wide ones from Moore, and then Nickas hit a lazy fly to Ashley. But it was in okay depth – Hooge was sent, the throw by Ashleyohmy****inggodishegonna-SAFE!! SAFE!! HOOGE SCORES!!

Morales was out on a squibbler, but Yeom Soung would face three mild lefty batters in the bottom of the 10th. Vadillo grounded out on a 3-1 pitch. Raul Sanchez was at 2-2 before grounding softly to Maldonado, who hit a short-hopper to Stedham, who had a Gold Glove and needed every ****ing ounce of it to contain that terrible throw – two outs. Jamie Goldberg flew out to left, and that was a cozy Game 1 win that merely saw me dissolving in tears at the inevitability of it all.

Raccoons 8, Blue Sox 7 (10) – Raccoons lead series 1-0

Trevino 3-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI; M. Fernandez 3-6, HR, 2 RBI; Nickas 1-1, RBI; Maldonado 2-4, BB;

JESUS H. CHRIST.

But Ottie lasted longer than any starter before him in this postseason? Progress…?

Game 2 – Bernie Chavez (13-10, 3.38 ERA) vs. Doug Clifford (20-10, 3.74 ERA)

Second game, southpaw on for Nashville, so we got to rejigger our lineup right away. The only bat that really entered the lineup again was Rich Vickers’, as he had hit reasonably well in the CLCS. Stedham was the guy ending up on the bench, but from there he could of course be a valuable pinch-hitter. There was an argument to be made to leave out Greenway, but he could not hit for a .238 BABIP forever…

POR: SS Ramos – 3B Trevino – LF M. Fernandez – CF J. Fowler – RF Greenway – C Garcia – 2B Vickers – 1B Maldonado – P Chavez
NAS: 1B Bossert – CF J. Sullivan – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – SS Bouldin – C Toki – 2B R. West – RF R. Sanchez – P Clifford

On four pitches, Berto gave up a Bossert double, a Sullivan RBI triple, and a deep sac fly to Mastodon. The bullpen was up in the top 2nd, with the Raccoons down 2-0. That kind of game. The Raccoons scratched out a run in the inning, with Maldonado landing a 2-out RBI single to score Greenway, who had forced out Fowler. Him and Vickers remained on base because Bernie was not an Ottie with the stick and rolled one over to West. And on the mound? Leadoff single by Toki in the bottom 2nd, but West hit into a double play, but I was looking at Bernie and what I saw frightened me.

Fowler hit a leadoff single in the fourth and was doubled up by Greenway, so that BABIP was yet sinking. It worked both ways though; Ashley hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, and Bouldin snapped a ball into a 5-4-3 double play. Toki grounded out to Ramos and the score remained 2-1 for the Blue Sox through four.

Next, Vickers was blatantly robbed in the gap by Raul Sanchez leading off the fifth inning. Maldonado hit a single and stole second, but was stranded by Bernie and Berto, both grounding out. The Raccoons mounted another attack in the sixth: leadoff single by Cosmo, then an advance on a groundout and a Fowler single, putting runners on the corners for Mr. Unlucky Greenway. And who’d really pinch-hit for him here? Pinkerton?? He wasn’t doing badly per se, he was just getting screwed. He popped out as the screwing continued, and Garcia’s grounder was intercepted by Allen, ending the inning with the tying run starved at third base.

Maldonado was on base again in the seventh and was caught stealing, which didn’t help. The Blue Sox scratched out another run in the bottom of the inning, landing a leadoff triple by Bouldin. Bernie struck out Toki, but gave up the run on West’s sac fly.

Top 8th, Clifford still dealing. Cosmo hit a leadoff single, and Manny walked in a full count, the third free pass given up by the left-hander. They HAD to pounce this time. Fowler was unretired in the game, never got a good pitch to whack, and ended up also walking. And now what? Three on, no outs, Greenway back at the plate, batting .161 overall and TWO-OH-EIGHT on balls in play. The only way to get a righty batter in there was to send Pinkerton or Nickas. Those words sounded mad. The Raccoons didn’t pull the trigger, Greenway remained in there, drew three balls off the dissolving Clifford, and then… poked. I screamed in horror, shattering several glasses nearby, but the ball he hit whizzed past West and into shallow center for an RBI single. A wild pitch tied the game… and then the Coons ****ed up again. Garcia was walked intentionally by Nashville, but Vickers hit a ball at Allen for a 5-2-3 double play. Maldonado grounded out, stranding two in scoring position. The agony.

Bernie Chavez lasted eight, somehow avoiding major damage after the horrendous opening frame. His spot was up to begin the ninth against Moore, with Ed Hooge pinch-hitting for him and whiffing as the Coons were retired in order. Garavito held the fort in the bottom 9th, and we got extras part deux in Game 2.

…where Manny Fernandez reached base on an uncaught third strike to begin the 10th, and if there were ****ty ways to put the potential winning run on base, this was surely one of them. Fowler and Greenway were retired on poor outs before a wild pitch advanced Manny to second – and then Garcia slapped a single off Moore. Jon Sullivan took time to reach it, Manyn was waved around and scored. Stedham hit for an 0-for-4 Vickers and walked, while Maldonado pushed a grounder through between Bouldin and Allen for a single. Garcia was waved around, scoring on a weak Ashley throw, and the lead was two. Rafael Zacarias replaced the fallen Moore, with Tony Morales batting for Garavito, flying out to deep left.

Bottom 10th. Soung back against the bottom of the order (West, Sanchez, Nettles). Stedham stayed in at first, Maldonado went to center, Fowler was out. Nickas took over second base, batting cleanup. Then West walked on four pitches. Sanchez singled. Nettles hit a comebacker, Soung took it to third base, and the lead runner was axed. But the winning run remained at the plate with one out, and Bossert was back in there. Not a great power bat – but he’d hit .337 in the regular season and was a righty. The pitching coach went out to try and charm Soung into not ****ing up. A walk loaded the bases and brought on Goldberg to bat for the pitcher in the #2 hole. Goldberg was left-handed, and the Raccoons had to leave Soung in there. Prieto was getting ready and would face Allen, though. He did so with the game tied, the winning run on third base, and all hope lost after a 2-run double. Mastodon shot a 1-1 pitch to short, Berto fired home – OUT! Ashley’s fly to right was caught… and the game went to the 11th.

(breathes heavily)

Right-hander Juan Espudo walked Berto to begin the 11th. Berto didn’t get a jump, then was shoved to second when Cosmo drew another walk. Then Manny and Nickas (…) struck out, and Greenway lined out to West. ****ing ****-***. Prieto nailed Bouldin and walked Mike Burgess in the bottom 11th. A grounder by West put them into scoring position. David Fernandez came out to face Raul Sanchez in a vain attempt to stave off defeat, but he gave up a single on 2-2, and that was ****ing that.

Blue Sox 6, Raccoons 5 (11) – series tied at one

Trevino 2-5, BB; Fowler 2-3, 2 BB; Maldonado 4-5, 2 RBI;

If I’ll ever find out what the ****ing is wrong with our ****ing pitchers, I’ll report on it.

[Westheim]

2037 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) vs. Nashville Blue Sox (100-62)

The series headed to Portland with me already being a certified wreck, emotionally. There wasn’t a lot to do about it… nobody could get anybody out. We had to keep hoping to out-hit the other team…

The Raccoons had perhaps gone a little overboard with the decorations. Maud had knotted red-white-blue bands even around the necks of Honeypaws and Fairydust. (holds Honeypaws really close to his face and whispers in his ear) Is it alright? – Can you breath? – Good.

Game 3 – Josh Weeks (10-6, 3.58 ERA) vs. Kevin Stice (10-11, 3.45 ERA)

Weeks was in for Game 3 as advertised, and at least with the off day in between games the bullpen was ready again. The question was whether Yeom Soung should get any more baseballs to give up for screaming extra-base hits.

The anthem was sung by local acapella group “Save the Trees”, which was too cliché even for ****ing Portland to allow…

The first pitch was delivered by former Raccoons pitcher Hector Santos, who had to see Dr. Chung right afterwards.

NAS: SS Bouldin – CF Nettles – 1B Bossert – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – 2B R. West – RF J. Sullivan – C Burgess – P Stice
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Trevino – LF M. Fernandez – RF Greenway – CF J. Fowler – C Morales – 1B Stedham – 3B Maldonado – P Weeks

Only two lefty bats in the lineup for the Blue Sox, who put three runners on base in the first inning, but Bouldin was caught stealing before anybody else could join him and the inning ended with Weeks getting the K on Ashley with runners on the corners. The Raccoons had them in scoring position with one out after Cosmo walked and Manny doubled. Greenway struck out. Fowler struck out. – Nick, say, you played Little League at one point, right? – I don’t care whether Carlosito bribed the opposing pitchers with ice cream to give you a nice pitch to hit. Go down and suit up. I’m activating you.

Weeks had a calm second inning, while Morales reached base to begin the bottom half of it. Stedham smacked into a 4-6-3, and Maldonado reached again. Weeks then hit a ball into the gap for an RBI double, putting the first run on the board. Berto, who had looked bad in Nashville, struck out and continued to look bad at home.

Bouldin singled, Nettles singled and stole second, and Bossert walked. Three on, one out in the top 3rd. Mastodon and Ashley then tested Fowler’s defense. Allen hit a soft fly to shallow center on which Fowler had to race in, made the catch, and shooed Bouldin back to his base. Ashley then sent Fowler well back into the depths of the outfield, where he made THAT catch over his shoulder. Not bad for a guy without a position rating!! (glares at scout guy in the corner) Rhett West drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, but was doubled up by Sullivan. Bouldin was on in the fifth with a single, stole a base, and was stranded.

The Raccoons had been silent for a bit, but loaded the bases in the bottom 5th, albeit with two outs. Manny and Greenway singled, Fowler walked, and Morales was presented with a complete selection of runners. His fly to left ended up with Ashley. In response, “Mastodon” Allen tied the game with a leadoff jack in the sixth, and that was pretty much all for Weeks, who had to expend almost 100 pitches to get through six innings. Vickers hit for him and singled with two outs in the bottom 6th, knocking out Stice, who just couldn’t buy a win even on a team that collected a hundred in the regular season and was working hard on #106. The Sox went to Matt Stonecipher, who was not much better than when he was with Portland, when he had been really yuck. Berto singled. But Cosmo grounded out, and the game remained tied at one.

The seventh was uneventful, with Barker pitching a clean frame, but then allowed singles to Bossert and Allen to begin the eighth. Garavito came in, Ashley legged out an infield single, and three on and nobody out was going to be the end. Even Honeypaws hung his whiskers. PH Ricardo Vadillo hit into a 6-4-3, but the go-ahead run scored.

Portland did nothing in the eighth, then faced Moore for the third time in he ninth. One run to tie, two to win, and Hooge batting in the #9 hole to begin the inning. He grounded out. Berto flew out to Goldberg. Cosmo grounded out to Critzer.

Blue Sox 2, Raccoons 1 – Blue Sox lead series 2-1

M. Fernandez 3-4, 2B; Maldonado 2-4; Vickers (PH) 1-1; Weeks 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K and 1-2, 2B, RBI;

Well, it was tough to find solutions at this point…

Game 4 – Raffaello Sabre (11-8, 4.08 ERA) vs. Matt Hose (9-10, 4.91 ERA)

One was to finally sit down Greenway. Ed Hooge would start in leftfield. Maldonado was promoted up the order for hitting over .400, getting all they into the #3 hole, with Manny batting cleanup. The Raccoons HAD to overcome this pedestrian right-hander or else everything was hosed.

The anthem was performed by former Raccoons first baseman Al Martin, and sounded horrible. Portland-born opera singer Lance McNilligan threw out the first pitch, beaning the guy holding a microphone on a stick.

(looks at Maud) Is it possible we mixed things up there?

There was also rain in the forecast.

NAS: 1B Bossert – CF J. Sullivan – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – SS Bouldin – C Toki – 2B R. West – RF R. Sanchez – P Hose
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Trevino – 3B Maldonado – RF M. Fernandez – CF J. Fowler – LF Hooge – 1B Stedham – C Morales – P Sabre

Sabre being utter dog **** didn’t help one bit. Bossert and Sullivan reached base in the first inning, which got derailed when Allen hit into a double play. In the second, the Raccoons would have no such luck, Sabre ****ed the bases full and with two outs allowed a bases-clearing double to Jon Sullivan, which led be to hold a pillow in front of my face. If I didn’t see it, it wasn’t really happening – that was the sound reasoning. Object permanence be damned.

Hose retired the first six Critters before walking Stedham, who was bunted over by Sabre and scored on Berto’s 2-out single to get the Critters on the board. The Blue Sox had another two hits off Sabre in the fourth, this time seeing Bossert hit into the double play to unravel their efforts.

The Raccoons dragged Sabre’s useless ass through five innings before mounting some sort of offense in the bottom of that inning. Hooge and Stedham reached base to begin the inning. Morales jocked a ball into a double play, I cried bitter tears for humanity, and Greenway batted for Sabre and walked. Hose then ran a full count on Berto before giving up an RBI single to left, and Greenway reached third base as the tying run. Bouldin’s lunging grab on Cosmo’s liner ended the inning.

The Raccoons went on to get two clean innings from Citriniti, but no offense whatsoever, and then it also started to rain. We had a delay of 40 minutes in the eighth inning while a gusty wind also chimed in to try and freeze everybody in the ballpark to death. Well, we were huddled up in the warm office, where the delay did little to relax me and I was constantly rocking back and forth with Honeypaws in my clutch.

When play resumed, Allen hit a single off Prieto, but was doubled up by Ashley and the score remained 3-2. The tying run was on when Zacarias walked Berto to begin the bottom 8th, for which he was swiftly yanked for right-hander Juan Espudo, who shut the Coons down via strikeout, fielder’s choice, strikeout. Bouldin was on in the ninth, was caught stealing, and then it was STONECIPHER in the bottom 9th, with a 3-2 lead and Fowler leading off. Come on boys! They deserve to lose for that insult! Fowler flew out to right. Nope, wasn’t happening. (presses pillow against face) LA-LALA-LALA. SUNSHINE. FLOWERY MEADOW. LA-LALA-LALA.

I poked my snout and whiskers over the edge of the pillow when the noise in the room indicated that Ed Hooge had just singled. The Blue Sox stuck to their right-hander in a decidedly lefty part of the lineup. Yet, Stedham struck out in a full count. What an investment that had been… Tony Morales went down on strikes as well.

Blue Sox 3, Raccoons 2 – Blue Sox lead series 3-1

Ramos 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; Hooge 2-4, 2B; Stedham 0-1, 3 BB; Citriniti 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; Prieto 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

It’s not happening, is it?

They’re not gonna win, are they?

They’re not gonna, are they?

Game 5 – Jared Ottinger (11-11, 3.62 ERA) vs. Sean Fowler (14-7, 3.96 ERA)

Back to the Game 1 matchup, with the Raccoons had at least won. Somehow. Late. After ****ing up.

The Raccoons kept their Game 4 lineup in place, with Hooge and without Greenway, trying to play any hot paw they could find. There weren’t many.

There was also rain in the forecast AGAIN, which I partially blamed on the interpretive dance that accompanied the anthem, performed by Dame Ethel McOgarty, age 91.

First pitch was delivered by “Admiral” Nelson, who was fostering rescue beavers on a plot of land south of town.

NAS: 1B Bossert – CF J. Sullivan – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – SS Bouldin – C Toki – 2B R. West – RF R. Sanchez – P S. Fowler
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Trevino – 3B Maldonado – RF M. Fernandez – CF J. Fowler – LF Hooge – 1B Stedham – C Morales – P Ottinger

Ottie got two, then got pummeled around a bit. Allen walked. Ashley singled. Bouldin hit an RBI single. Toki grounded out, barely. The Raccoons got Cosmo on with a Rhett West error in the bottom of the inning. He stole second, then scored on Manny’s 2-out single into shallow center. Fowler struck out and the score was 1-1 at the end of one.

Ottie retired the bottom of the order in the second, then saw Hooge hit a leadoff single off Sean Fowler, and Morales doubled to center. Runners in scoring position with nobody out! Both Tony Morales and Ottie dropped RBI singles, and instead of keeping on the pressure, the Raccoons’ top of the order pissed the inning away aggressively with BOTH Ramos and Trevino popping out in 3-ball counts. Maldonado bounced out, and I was biting into the pillow. – This doesn’t work, Maud. I need something harder. … Thankfully, Valdes offered that we could share the bat he was chewing on.

After a calm third inning, the Blue Sox had a stupid fourth. Bouldin popped out on a 3-0 pitch, while Toki hit a 2-out double to center, and was thrown out by Fowler at third base aiming for the 2-out triple with nobody on base, ending the inning. Bottom 4th, the Critters loaded the bases with nobody out. Ottie walked. Berto walked. Cosmo singled. Three on, no outs, and Maldonado hit the ****tiest grounder near the fist base line, but Bossert and Fowler got into each other’s limbs fielding it, and the Blue Sox had no play, infield single! The Blue Sox came apart at once – Fernandez plated a run, Fowler plated a run with a sac fly. Stedham hit an RBI single. The Coons rioted for four runs as Sean Fowler got his scarf caught in the wheel spokes of the speeding Amilcar and had his neck snapped, there was bedlam in the office –

And then it sunk in. They had blown a 7-1 lead in Game 1. They were up 7-1 now. The existential crisis overwhelmed me and I cried bitter tears. Don’t blow this one, boys! Don’t blow it!

Sean Ashley’s 2-out, 2-run homer in the sixth was not what I needed. Allen had singled just before that, and the Sox were back in slam range. Ottie was yanked after walking Bouldin, who stole second after David Fernandez’ arrival, but at least Fernandez got Toki to ground out.

Top 7th, West singled off Fernandez, and he walked the lefty pinch-hitter Vadillo. Citriniti was sent to rescue him, struck out Bossert, then got a grounder from Sullivan, ending the inning. After an uneventful bottom of the inning, the Raccoons brought their defensive replacements again. Berto ended the inning, so Barker slipped into the #1 slot as pitcher. Nickas was batting ninth, and Greenway took over the #5 slot with Hooge to center. Barker struck out two before Bouldin singled in the eighth, but Maldonado snatched a liner to end the inning, then hit a solo homer off Abramo Archibugi in the bottom of the inning. The run was not needed – Barker finished the game without it.

Raccoons 8, Blue Sox 3 – Blue Sox lead series 3-2

Maldonado 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Hooge 3-3, BB; Stedham 3-4, 2B, RBI; Barker 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

[Westheim]

2037 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) @ Nashville Blue Sox (100-62)

There were no emotional support animals left for this one, you’d think. You’d be wrong. (removes Honeypaws from a bag and puts him on the counter of the executives’ bar at the Blue Sox’ park) Sir, my little friend needs a shot, too. – No, no, don’t talk to me about him, talk to HIM!

Game 6 – Bernie Chavez (13-10, 3.38 ERA) vs. Doug Clifford (20-10, 3.74 ERA)

Absolutely having to win, the Raccoons continued to sit Greenway against the left-hander. Hooge was also not in the lineup; Maldonado filled up the outfield, with Vickers again playing second and Stedham, who had not been in the lineup in Game 2 of the same matchup, back at first.

POR: SS Ramos – 3B Trevino – RF Maldonado – LF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Garcia – 1B Stedham – 2B Vickers – P Chavez
NAS: 1B Bossert – CF J. Sullivan – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – SS Bouldin – C Toki – 2B R. West – RF R. Sanchez – P Clifford

Berto opened this elimination game with a single to right. Cosmo singled to center. Maldonado doubled to left, one run scored, and the Coons were on the board already! Manny popped out, which sucked, but Fowler’s grounder to West was tossed away for an error, plating a second run. Garcia walked to fill the bags, and then Stedham looped an RBI single over Rhett West, 3-0! Vickers hit a sac fly, and then Bernie was not expected to do much, but shot a ball through Chance Bossert for extra bases – a 2-run double for Bernie Chavez!! The inning ended with a Berto grounder after the Raccoons had put SIX on Clifford!

And now I was tempted to learn how long it would take Bernie to give up six solo bombs. Two innings? Three? Toki hit one with two outs in the bottom 2nd, so there was one scratch to be made on the lineup card. But the Blue Sox again had made a stupid out on the bases, with Bouldin hitting a single ahead of Toki, then got caught stealing. Down by six! Come on, boys!! You wanna get beaten by those idiots??

(looks around to find a lot of people glaring at him and Honeypaws)

The Blue Sox added two unearned runs in the third, because the Raccoons were just as ****. Berto threw away Bossert’s grounder for a 2-base error. Sullivan singled him in, Bernie also put Allen aboard, and Ashley hit an RBI single. Bouldin struck out as the tying run.

Top 4th, Berto reached base to begin things. He couldn’t get a jump, but Maldonado’s gapper was well good enough for a run-scoring double, 7-3, and Vickers hit another one of those the following inning with Garcia and Stedham on and nobody out. Archibugi struck out Bernie, but gave up a run on Berto’s grounder. West pulled something on the play and had to be replaced by Brad Critzer. Nothing more happened in that inning, but Garcia doubled home Maldonado off Archibugi in the sixth, as the Raccoons reached double digits for the second time in this postseason, 10-3.

At this point it was clear that the Sox accepted that Game 7 was coming. They left Archibugi in, no matter what, until his tongue would hit the mound from him panting so hard. The Raccoons also squeezed every last pitch out of a mildly inefficient Bernie Chavez, who reached 104 pitches through six innings, and was still sent out for the seventh – have as much bullpen available for Game 7 as possible was the doctrine of the day. Bernie got through the seventh unharmed, then got his pat on the bum.

Archibugi was also yanked after four-plus innings, looking completely gassed. The Raccoons, up by seven, then rolled the dice and sent the one pitcher into the eighth inning they would dare to send into a close game – Travis Sims, who entered in a double switch with Nickas, who would replace Vickers. Sims finished the game without blowing up, and the Raccoons were in a GOOD position for Game 7.

Raccoons 10, Blue Sox 3 – series tied at three

Trevino 2-6; Maldonado 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Garcia 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Stedham 3-5, RBI; Chavez 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W (2-0) and 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Sims 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

[Westheim]

2037 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) @ Nashville Blue Sox (100-62)

I can barely breath.

Game 7 – Josh Weeks (10-6, 3.58 ERA) vs. Kevin Stice (10-11, 3.45 ERA)

All hot paws on deck! Handedness be damned. If you hit, you’re in. Notably, Tony Morales was NOT in the lineup after hitting .125 in the series. Garcia was back behind the dish for Weeks.

And SHOCKINGLY, Justin Fowler was not in the lineup either. Fowler had gone 0-for-15 in the last four games after starting with a 3-for-7 bat in the first two games. Since his defense was not a plus, either, he was on the bench for the Game of the Year. Hooge took over center. Greenway got the start in right, because the alternative after lots of shifting would be Vickers at second, and he hadn’t hit that much, either. Both had an identical .233 BABIP, so in the end the decision was probably still down to handedness.

POR: SS Ramos – 2B Trevino – 3B Maldonado – LF M. Fernandez – CF Hooge – RF Greenway – C Garcia – 1B Stedham – P Weeks
NAS: SS Bouldin – CF Nettles – 1B Bossert – 3B J. Allen – LF Ashley – 2B Critzer – RF J. Sullivan – C Burgess – P Stice

Greenway was the only Furball to reach in the first two innings, and he did so an error by Bossert. “Mastodon” Allen opened the bottom 2nd with a single up the middle, was moved to second on Ashley’s grounder and then scored when Critzer shot a double through between Maldonado and Ramos. Sullivan popped out and Mike Burgess struck out to end the inning.

Wickedly, Weeks walked with one woolly Critter down in the third inning. Berto’s pop was not helpful, but Cosmo singled up the middle. That brought up Maldonado, batting .434 with 10 RBI in the playoffs. He grounded out to Critzer, but the Raccoons were back with a 1-out single by Ed Hooge in the fourth. Greenway’s fly to right stretched away from Sullivan, hit off the track, off the wall, hung in the air for a long time, and by the time Sullivan finally got to catch the ball, Hooge was already chugging home, tying the score on Greenway’s RBI double! Garcia flew out to center, with Stedham walked intentionally after that, but the Raccoons found pinch-hitting for Weeks in the top of the fourth inning too dicey. He flew out.

Nope, the Raccoons waited until the Sox would pummel him out of the game. Critzer, Sullivan, Burgess – straight singles to begin the bottom 5th, and that brought the go-ahead run across. Stice popped out, but then the Sox hit Weeks for two more singles. Antonio Prieto inherited a 3-1 deficit, three aboard, and only one out, gave up a screamer to Bossert on his first pitch, but the liner was shagged by Stedham. Stephon Nettles refused to be doubled off, but “Mastodon” Allen popped out to strand the knockout runners.

Hooge was hit in the sixth, but doubled up by Greenway, who’s inclusion in the lineup had been quite hit-and-miss. The Raccoons had only three base hits through six, which was wildly not enough to win a title… Garcia drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, and then Stedham hit into a double play. No, boys. No. NO. I forbid it!!

Hitting for Prieto, Vickers singled to right, and Berto singled to center. A stir with two outs? The tying runs were on for Cosmo, and we’d cherish one of those gappers. Me and Honeypaws that was, everybody else around me seemed rather hostile to Cosmo’s gappers. In any case, he grounded out to first, and the inning dissipated. Derek Barker held the Sox short in the bottom 7th.

The eighth saw Zacarias on the mound, and he retired Maldonado on a grounder and then Fernandez and Hooge on strikes. The Raccoons used Garavito and Sparkes to keep the Blue Sox to their 2-run lead in the bottom of the inning.

And then it was Casey Moore again, a frequent guest on the mound. The right-hander was up against 6-7-8, with Fowler likely pinch-hitting in the #9 hole if anybody could get on base. Getting on base would be required for a comeback. Greenway walked, and the tying run came up. Garcia struck out in a full count. Stedham struck out well before reaching a full count.

Justin Fowler indeed batted for the pitcher. And struck out.

Blue Sox 3, Raccoons 1 – Blue Sox win series 4-3

Vickers (PH) 1-1; Prieto 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Farewell, our friends. We go to glory.

2037 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
Nashville Blue Sox
(3rd title)

[Questdog]

That they got to a Game 7 without Fowler or Greenway doing much of anything is actually quite remarkable. I, for one, cannot wait for '38!

[UltimateAverageGuy]

Man, this was high drama.

[DD Martin]

So close to title #5: if only a couple of guys could remember how to hit and drive in some runs. Will 38 be the magic year?

[Westheim]

Some time after Justin Fowler made the final out, I was encouraged to go home by Blue Sox personnel. They shut off the lights in the ballpark and carried me to a car that brought me to the hotel while I held on to Honeypaws. I spent two days lying face down in the hotel bed, then flew home to Portland.

Without a ring.

Back in the office, I learned of Nick Valdes’ great disappointment with the result of Game 7, that he’d have to adopt a more hands-on approach to this routinely failing baseball team and visit for all the home games, and finally also of the new budget. For 2038, the Raccoons’ budget would increase the budget to $40.5M, the first time we’d spend above the big four-oh mark, which was up $1.5M from ’37, but we actually dropped from being tied for 9th in the league to sitting alone in 11th place.

The rich guys in the league where the Pacifics ($49.5M), Capitals ($48.5M), Condors ($47M), Titans ($45.5M), and Warriors ($43.5M). This included a $7.5M slash for the Titans!

At the bottom of the league there’d be the Aces ($31.5M), Thunder ($30M), Falcons ($26.8M9, Rebels ($24.2M), and Loggers ($23.4M). The missing CL North teams sat in 13th, a tie between the Crusaders and Canadiens with $38M, and 19th, with $32M in the Indians’ coffers.

The average budget was $37.95M, about $650k more than a year ago. The median budget amounted to $38.75M, which was up a whopping $2.75M from last season.

+++

Of our $40.5M, about four fifths were already invested in some players (not including costs for coaching, scouting, and all the other side hustles!), and here we came to the meat of the offseason conundrum right away. The Raccoons figured to pay a total of $7.58M to three players who’d be in a contract year in ’38 and who for one reason or another had huge red notes attached to their scouting reports. There was Justin Fowler, now devoid of a centerfield rating, or in fact any positional rating. According to Cristiano, he had cost the Raccoons more than two wins just by standing on the grass out there, or in other words, almost everything he had gained them with 33 homers and 103 RBI. Net, his WAR was +0.3 …

Berto was the other player without a position rating in the newest scouting report. He was due $2.5M … and that was a team option. The mere thought of dumping Berto drove tears into my eyes. Cristiano said he had been a net negative defender, but not much worse than his long-term average. He had not batted for *a lot* the last two years, part of the problem being .290-ish BABIPs, which was a bit below average. However, even then he had still been worth +2.4 WAR.

Not that WAR was not a useless stat, but I liked weaving it in when it fit my narrative…

And then there was Colt Willes ($1.58M), whose arm had basically fallen off after two weeks with repeated grim injuries. He had made only 19 starts in the last two years, all in ’36, and had only pitched in 10.1 innings this year, piling up an 11.32 ERA. By all accounts, he was done, and the Raccoons were stuck with his contract.

Who else drew a paycheck he didn’t merit? Not that many, although there was Sabre pitching thoroughly average for $2M, and then there was Stedham, batting .239 with 14 homers for $2M and +2.0 WAR, but if the BABIP argument was good for Berto, it was even better for him. His had been .267…

So yeah, the BABIP had been terrible early on for many, but some of them never recovered. Hooge (.270), Maldonado (.259), Kilmer (.217!) were other regulars (at least initially) that kept being screwed over all year long by the baseball gods. Fowler, too – his BABIP ended up being a miserable .243, but then again, his batting was not our chief concern…

+++

Salary arbitration was not as crowded as usually, partly because the team was full of old farts, and because f.e. Manny Fernandez and Troy Greenway were of that certain age but had been bought out for long-term contracts already.

The Raccoons had three free agents (none of them compensation-eligible) to bother with: Fernando Garcia, who had been a great help after coming over, and relievers Derek Barker and Nate Ward, also mid-season pickups. Ward had been quite terrible, but Barker had been about infallible, pitching to a 1.32 ERA for the Coons. However, he was a 33-year-old righty, so what were the chances he’d repeat that feat? Garcia was worth a discussion, but had made $1.6M in ’37 and something like that was not in the books as long as we didn’t part with another big contract. I mean, in the end we’d still have Tony Morales as the primary component of the catching platoon, since he was the left-handed batter. There was no point whatsoever in paying that amount of money to a guy that might get 200 at-bats.

For true arbitration candidates we had Bryce Sparkes, Antonio Prieto, Rich Vickers, Ed Hooge, and Preston Pinkerton. The pitchers were without a doubt of value; Sparkes was arbitration eligible for the final time. Hooge was as spiffy a fourth outfielder as the Raccoons had longed for to have for a very long time (fawning about Eddie Jackson again now…).

What was in there for Vickers? He was a right-handed second baseman and ultimately a dime a dozen. We had a younger guy with the exact same profile pushing up in Jose Brito, and never mind that the position is ultimately blocked by Cosmo Trevino for the foreseeable future. The Raccoons were looking for a left-handed addition to the bench for sure, too.

Preston Pinkerton? Novelty and usefulness had worn off quite a bit here, and it was probably time to part ways, which was likely to end his career altogether. Yeah, his BABIP had been a shocking .221; the entire team had gotten nothing but screwed by the baseball gods for the entire season, why would he be an exception?

What is it, Maud? – Nick Valdes can call another six times, I don’t give a ****. – Then tell him again, we CAN NOT replace our middle infielders with short-skirted ladies to increase attendance in the stands. – Make something up. League won’t allow it. Which is probably true. They also told me off when I used to grease the opposing team’s dugout stairs and railings in the 80s.

Valdes. Such a lovely bugger.

[DD Martin]

Wait the team has won the division 2 of the last 3 years and went to game 7 of the World Series and he is “worried”? What sort of idiot is this Juan Valdez?

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Wait the team has won the division 2 of the last 3 years and went to game 7 of the World Series and he is “worried”? What sort of idiot is this Juan Valdez?

Hey, leave poor Juan Valdez out of this!

[Westheim]

Cristiano Carmona showed me lots of silly tables and colorful graphs that looked like a toddler on sugar cubes had fallen into a bucket of crayons, but in the end he convinced me that the Raccoons should not part with Alberto Ramos. His defense was going to be a problem, yes, especially since the Raccoons’ pitching staff relief on defense due to overall low K/9 values. Where starters were concerned, Sparkes led the team at 7.3 K/9, and the rest of the flock huddled around the 6 K/9 mark.

But there was still the on-base threat, the speed, and that he gelled well with Cosmo at the top of that lineup.

Now here was a different thought, and one that involved Fowler as well. How could the Raccoons shift guys around in a way that their two expensive toys could be less exposed on defense? Both had a range issue. Berto was actually quick with the front, but not the hindpaws. Fowler had a decent enough throwing arm. Slotting both of them one spot to the left was probably a valid attempt to limit the damage.

Now, the Raccoons didn’t have a great defensive shortstop, at least not one that could bat his own weight. Dave Myers was *an* option, switching positions with Berto, although I’d prefer an actual shortstop if we made the move. There was none in the system that fit the description.

In the outfield, there were multiple options; the straightforward option was to switch Fowler and Fernandez in the field, although Manny was not a great centerfielder, either, but quite serviceable. Ed Hooge also played center fine.

We also had an elite level centerfielder in Jesus Maldonado, who had batted all of .235/.300/.348 during the regular season, but that was half the story. In the playoffs, the 23-year-old Maldonado had batted a whopping .411/.431/.571 – AND had won World Series MVP honors! On the losing team!!

How do you not play the guy that was World Series MVP, even if he was on the losing team??

By the way, the CLCS MVP? Manny Fernandez. And now they were competing for the same spot!? What is this madness??

Alright, back three squares. Maldonado had also played short during the regular season. He played a lot of positions, really, but he was generally a better outfielder than infielder, although our scout guy saw him well above Myers in defensive aptitude at short. He had played 337 innings at short in '37 (between AAA and ABL) and had been worth about 0.2 WAR on defense. That was not a lot – less than 1 WAR over the full season – but it was more than what Berto had. Center was the position where he’d likely shine most – but it wasn’t in play with Fernandez and Fowler and Greenway all on the team… yet. Fowler’s contract was up after ’38 and under the circumstances he would not get another one. (Berto’s was also up and I had terrible thumping chest pain for it.)

Did I mention we have very little money available?

So. Uh. Yeah. Lots of problems. We need all the experts to stick their heads together. (dramatically places Honeypaws on the table)

[Westheim]

The offseason began in earnest with a waiver claim, as the Raccoons snatched 25-year-old C Erik Wheeler (1-for-3, 0 HR, 0 RBI) off the damn Elks. Wheeler had sat on the bench for the last two Septembers and didn’t figure into our plans for the major leagues either, but he was a sound option for depth at AAA. The Elks had tried to take him off the 40-man roster, and the Raccoons’ own 40-man roster was full to begin with. Infielder Vince Lutch, 26, who had rotted away in St. Petersburg for the last four years, was designated for assignment to make room for Wheeler, who was assigned to AAA right away.

Next thing up, the Raccoons signed medium-sized extensions with two pitchers. First up was Antonio Prieto, who is touted as potential closer in certain circles, and who signed a 4-year, $2.7M contract that would escalate from $450k in ’38 to twice that in ’41, and would buy out two years of free agency for the right-hander.

Three years of free agency were bought out from Bryce Sparkes, who came slightly more expensive than Prieto. The right-hander from the frozen wastes of the north signed a 4-year deal worth $5.9M, with $1.1M in the upcoming season and $1.6M for the three years thereafter. As a quirk, he’d make twenty grand *less* in 2038 than what he got in arbitration for 2037, but he liked the big number at the bottom of the list, I guess.

No contract extension was signed with right-hander Derek Barker, who was 33, and eager to sign one big contract that would take him through to retirement. Since the Raccoons wanted to sign him only to have some sort of depth for potential trades during the winter, and for no more than two years, the parties did not come to terms.

That sealed the fate of the only outright free agent that we even attempted to keep around. Fernando Garcia had been very good for us after the trade from Dallas, but ultimately was too expensive, and if Jeff Kilmer could shake off the .217 BABIP he’d be a much better deal than last season; the Raccoons fully intended to enter the 2038 season with the same catching duo as they entered 2037 with, Kilmer and Morales.

Rich Vickers signed a $350k contract as November began, avoiding arbitration with him, which left only Ed Hooge and Preston Pinkerton. The Raccoons resolved to non-tender Pinkerton to make room for significant upgrades on the bench, and Hoogey would eventually settle for $400k.

That was a job well done – no arbitrator to screw us over once again!

+++

October 29 – The Raccoons claim 25-yr old C Erik Wheeler (.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI) off waivers by the Canadiens.
October 31 – The Capitals acquire INF Alex Castillo (.254, 58 HR, 291 RBI) from the Bayhawks in exchange for 37-yr old lefty reliever Adam Moran (81-67, 3.49 ERA, 167 SV) and a prospect.

+++

Outfielder Danny Serrano retired at age 39; the switch-hitter had been most prominent as a member of the Aces in the 20s, but had also played for seven other teams in his later years. He had won no fewer than three batting titles, with Vegas in 2026 and 2027, and then again in his only season with the Crusaders in 2030. Despite that, he became a reserve soon after and will not garner major support for the Hall of Fame.

Couple of minor leaguers became free agents, including C Chris Manning, OF Jason Keller, and for major relief: SP Darren Brown. The extremely irritating right-hander had not appeared for the Raccoons in 2037, but had pitched to a 13-12 record and 3.60 ERA in St. Petersburg, walking 119 guys. With annual despair assignments in Portland between 2032 and 2036 he had piled up 32 appearances (28 starts) for an 11-11 record and 3.93 ERA, while also walking everybody with legs.

+++

2037 ABL AWARDS

Players of the Year: SAL C Morgan Kuhlmann (.303, 32 HR, 112 RBI) and IND 2B Dan Schneller (.324, 36 HR, 101 RBI)
Pitchers of the Year: SAL SP Phil Harrington (17-3, 2.89 ERA) and BOS SP Tony Chavez (17-10, 2.62 ERA)
Rookies of the Year: PIT OF Adrian Wade (.308, 14 HR, 66 RBI) and VAN SP Matt Sealock (15-9, 2.61 ERA)
Relievers of the Year: LAP CL Jermaine Campbell (4-8, 2.24 ERA, 40 SV) and TIJ CL Steve Bailey (7-5, 1.69 ERA, 37 SV)

Platinum Sticks (FL): P LAP Dave Christiansen – C SAL Morgan Kuhlmann – 1B WAS Adam Avakian – 2B DAL Hugo Acosta – 3B WAS Rich Falzone – SS NAS Billy Bouldin – LF SFW Melvin Hernandez – CF SAC Chris Sandstrom – RF WAS Scott Martin
Platinum Sticks (CL): P TIJ Jimmy Driver – C VAN Timóteo Clemente – 1B SFB Kevin McGrath – 2B IND Dan Schneller – 3B TIJ Shane Sanks – SS MIL Ted Del Vecchio – LF POR Manny Fernandez – CF POR Justin Fowler – RF TIJ Willie Ojeda

Gold Gloves (FL): P SFW Jose Medina – C SFW Ethan McCullar – 1B RIC Dan Sarro – 2B CIN Elijah Williams – 3B NAS Jim Allen – SS SAL Jose Castro – LF DEN Rich de Luna – CF SAL Armando Herrera – RF TOP Miguel Reyna
Gold Gloves (CL): P NYC Brian Frain – C IND Elliott Thompson – 1B POR Jesse Stedham – 2B CHA Oscar Aguirre – 3B POR Dave Myers – SS BOS Antonio Gil – LF BOS Willie Vega – CHA Jonathan Reyna – RF CHA Jerry Aguilar

Not a bad haul! Kinda surprised Stedham got a gilded mitten and when I look at Del Vecchio I think that Berto’s better in every aspect but the cute six homers that Del Vecchio hit, but the Loggers have no joy as it is, we’ll let them have that one…

Schneller, the 2037 homer king and certified beast, will be a free agent this time around, but the Raccoons have neither the resources nor the space to accommodate him. Not that I am married to our #23 pick; it’s just not possible.

The Raccoons will pull enough crazy stunts as is, with Berto and Myers flicking positions – so, yeah, the second we get a third baseman to win a Gold Glove, we place him elsewhere. We used to own third base defensively; between 1981 and 1991, Raccoons won the Gold Glove at the hot corner six times; Cam Green in 1981, then Mark Dawson four times, and finally Ben O’Morrissey, the despicable scum, in 1991. And that was it, for a disturbingly long time. The only Raccoon to win a Gold Glove at third between O-Mo and Myers was Matt Nunley, twice (2024, 2030).

[Westheim]

With the advent of free agency in mid-November the offseason began in earnest. The Raccoons still had 31 players on the active roster, though that included quite a few that were not tipped too hotly for a spot come Opening Day some four months from now, like Matt Hartley, Jose Brito, Jon Caskey, Chiyosaku Maruyama, Francisco Pena… there was quite a list.

One particularly dismal case was that of Colt Willes, who by all accounts and estimates was ready for disposal, but had a valid contract amounting to $1.58M for ’38. The Raccoons would like nothing more than having that dosh available for somebody else. (Maybe Berto suddenly finding some more range to play short productively)

With the books cleared after free agency, the Raccoons had about $1.7M of budget room and roughly $1M cash, which wasn’t a lot, and certainly not enough to get an impact player. Dan Schneller was asking for $6M for example. That was an annual figure.

There were good news though, like the continued improvement of overall team finances, since we got a new sponsor on board in November: Dr. Soffer’s Finest, dry food for cats. And I must say it is a good product, isn’t it, boys? (looks at Hooge, Manny, and Sabre, none of whom can answer because they’re busy shoving their cheeks with the contents of the bowls in front of them) Good deal! Good deal!

Then again, where *do* we need an impact player? We have a solid rotation; not great, but pretty good. The pen was largely blameless, but there was certainly at least one spot open for a right-hander here, and that included counting on Travis Sims to hold down one of the low-key, no-risk spots at the shallow end, which was a bold assumption. Expecting Colt Willes to even pitch garbage innings competently was also a bit much…

In the lineup, we were pretty happy with the *lineup*, just not with how it played on the field. Shifting four regulars around would open the entire left side of the field to opposing team’s shenanigans. Now, we had only one left-handed starter, so teams would be inclined to send all their left-handed pull hitters against us most of the time, but that was only a token consolation.

Well, well, what are we gonna do…

+++

November 21 – The Raccoons trade 35-yr old outfielder Justin Fowler (.278, 300 HR, 1,084 RBI) and 26-yr old AAA INF Vince Lutch (.212, 1 HR, 2 RBI) to the Capitals for 26-yr old SP Steve Fidler (0-0, 4.09 ERA, 1 SV) and 27-yr old LF/RF Brad Ledford (.275, 20 HR, 91 RBI).
November 21 – The Canadiens trade MR Robby Ciampa (36-31, 3.61 ERA, 30 SV) and a prospect to the Warriors for INF Justin Marsingill (.274, 7 HR, 115 RBI).
November 23 – The Titans acquire LF/RF/1B Jimmy Wallace (.282, 93 HR, 489 RBI) and cash from the Falcons, parting with AAA 1B Joe Payne (.268, 9 HR, 48 RBI) and a prospect.
November 27 – Vancouver adds RF Jacob Kolbe (.317, 8 HR, 96 RBI) in a trade with the Rebels, who receive a decent prospect.
December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: 13 players are selected. The Raccoons lose 22-yr-old AAA SP/MR Roger Arrendell to the Cyclones.
December 1 – The Warriors pick up LF/CF Roger Strand (.259, 1 HR, 24 RBI) from the Buffaloes, parting with 1B Tony Graham (.284, 6 HR, 29 RBI) and a prospect.

+++

Well, I guess, we have things to discuss.

In the end, the defensive hole that Justin Fowler represented was too big. He wasted almost all his 33 homers on bottomless defense, and there was little reason to hope that he’d even reach a Jimmy Wallace level of competence if moved to leftfield for his final year under contract. The Capitals expressed interest in him right away, no idea what they’re gonna do with him, though. Maybe he’ll make the Senate, I don’t know.

The trade keeps Manny in his Gold Glove position, and opens centerfield for World Series MVP Jesus Maldonado, where he could also operate on a Gold Glove level. Nothing was ever going to happen to Troy Greenway. With Hooge and Ledford behind those two, it looks like our outfield is already set. Yes, four of them are left-handed batters (Maldonado being the only exception), but it looks like a deal we’re gonna take.

Of course, finding a right-handed super utility wouldn’t be bad. Right now we had no such player after letting Preston Pinkerton go. Well, except Maldonado, but the point was to find somebody in addition to Maldonado to put in the lineup against left-handed pitching.

The deal also freed up some close to $3M to blow on jet skis.

That principally left us with the mess of our infield to sort out. At this point, the Raccoons had nine infielders on the expanded roster, three of which (Maruyama, Brito, Caskey) would definitely go back to AAA, and they should take Steve Nickas right with them. That left a starting quartet of, from right to left, Jesse Stedham, Cosmo Trevino, Dave Myers (?), and Alberto Ramos. The only reserve we so far calculated with was Rich Vickers. With the rather modest defensive aptitudes around the infield and Berto’s situation in particular, we were definitely looking for some tough-as-nails defensive third baseman, who also had to play at least shortstop well. It didn’t really matter which side he batted from, as long as he could out-hit Steve Nickas’ .566 OPS. Maldonado was *an* additional option – but not the solution!

The rule 5 loss of Roger Arrendell is not something that irks me too much; there is potential there, but he’s wildly underdone at this point. He walked more than he struck out in 44 relief outings in St. Petersburg last season, posting a 4.46 ERA. I don’t see the Cyclones having much fun with him and he could probably be sent back eventually. We signed the Venezuelan righty in the July IFA period some years back, paying $192k for his services.

Elsewhere, Dave Martinez signed a 2-yr, $600k deal with the Condors; Mark Roberts is not ready to give up – he’ll be 44 next fall, and fittingly signed a $444k deal with the Indians.

[Westheim]

December came, and I solved all of our problems with one swoosh with my Raccoons-branded flyswatter.

+++

December 2 – The Raccoons acquire 31-yr old INF Elijah Williams (.261, 17 HR, 393 RBI) from the Cyclones for a package of three pitchers: 30-yr old SP Colt Willes (58-53, 3.63 ERA), 27-yr old AAA SP/MR Bob Thomson (1-2, 4.61 ERA), and 23-yr old AAA SP/MR Tyler Canfield (0-0, 7.20 ERA), plus $1M in cash.

+++

The Cyclones were rebuilding – they had the time and patience to see whether there was anything left to Colt Willes, and would pay roughly one third of his salary for 2038, with the Raccoons packing the rest, but at least we had cleared that roster spot. Thomson was probably never going to amount to more than long relief, but he was a groundballer and the Raccoons’ defense hadn’t been the best in recent years, *and* there was the problem of small sample size. Canfield had only made a handful of relief outings. The Cyclones were high on him; we weren’t.

Williams, a former #12 pick, was a top-notch defensive infielder with a defensive shortstop’s bat. That was alright – he was going to be paid like a defensive shortstop for the next two seasons! He was also a team leader personality and got along well with everybody. I wondered whether he’d also get along well with me.

Say, Berto, that guy is just as old as you are, and yet he is a so much better defender! How come you can’t range to your right and left anymore? – (Berto burps, then reaches for another turkey drum, with one paw firmly stuck in a bowl of mashed potatoes)

This added another bat to the infield tussle. Williams was right-handed so would obviously at least platoon with Berto as well as play late-inning defensive replacement for him, but he could also spot Cosmo and Myers a day off. This would work well as long as you didn’t expect any offensive heroics from him. He had NEVER made it to being even a league-average batter; his best ever OPS+ in a season had been 96, in 2036, but he had missed plenty of time there. In a qualifying season his best was a 93 (’32), and for his career he was an 80 OPS+ batter. But he brought two Gold Gloves to a team that didn’t have many of them, and he brought the right mindset (bench job) and attitude (team first, him second). Big W, this deal! Add in that we a) got rid of Willes and b) avoided parting with Nelson Moreno, our best pitching prospect in a while, who’s popular with ALL teams, and this was already shaping up to be the biggest coup since the Blue Sox fleeced us for all of Dennis Fried’s Hall of Fame career for three games of Raúl Castillo.

Vickers was still hanging on to that second bench job. There was however no point in keeping some of the other players around any longer. Everybody with no chance to make the Opening Day roster was reassigned at this point, which included reliever Francisco Pena, catcher Matt Hartley, and then a multitude of infielders: Jose Brito, Jon Caskey, and Steve Nickas. The only infielder that we wanted no part of that was not reassigned was Chiyosaku Maruyama, who was out of options.

+++

December 3 – The Stars sign ex-CHA C Ernesto Huichapa (.286, 149 HR, 566 RBI) to a 2-yr, $7.08M contract.
December 4 – Salem sends SP Jose Alaniz (24-17, 3.44 ERA) to the Miners for 1B Bill Jenkins (.297, 2 HR, 15 RBI).
December 5 – The Stars blow more money on another catcher, signing former Gold Sox backstop Danny Zarate (.263, 152 HR, 784 RBI) to a 2-yr, $4.4M contract.
December 5 – A trade wit hthe Gold Sox sees the Stars pick up 27-yr old OF Sean Calais (.292, 14 HR, 121 RBI) for two prospects.

December 6 – Ex-WAS 2B/SS Keith Spataro (.287, 66 HR, 667 RBI) signs a 3-yr, $8.72M contract with the Buffaloes, which is a bold move for a team with a 36-year-old middle infielder.
December 6 – Former Miners SP Matt Moon (61-63, 3.50 ERA) returns to the Falcons via free agency, signing a 3-yr, $4.26M contract.
December 10 – The Crusaders pick up Richmond’s SP Jamal Barrow (19-28, 4.49 ERA) for two prospects.
December 10 – More pitching in Dallas, with the acquisition of SP Antonio Vega (30-22, 4.10 ERA) from the Aces, who receive a prospect.

December 11 – The Stars also get outfielder Will Korecky (.232, 36 HR, 184 RBI) from the Canadiens, plus a prospect, in exchange for SP/MR Alexander Lewis (16-29, 4.10 ERA, 7 SV).
December 11 – Another pitcher goes to New York, with SP Joe Feltman (27-29, 4.47 ERA) being acquired from the Scorpions for two prospects, including #56 SP Craig Czyszczon.
December 11 – The Bayhawks part with SP Ben Lipsky (118-100, 3.53 ERA), who is dealt to the Cyclones for RF Bobby Hennessy (.247, 11 HR, 56 RBI) and a prospect.

December 12 – The Aces reunite with ex-SAL 3B Chad Armfield (.286, 49 HR, 405 RBI) for 2-yr, $2.64M.
December 12 – The Indians get a new reliever in Michael Donovan (16-9, 3.38 ERA, 6 SV) and cash for a prospect.
December 12 – New York acquires 2B Mario Duenez (.262, 45 HR, 349 RBI) and cash for MR Michael Zabek (5-5, 4.55 ERA) and #22 prospect CL John Steuer, who was drafted two years ago and traded three times now.
December 12 – The Loggers send 1B Salvador Ayala (.263, 19 HR, 137 RBI) to the Buffaloes for #52 prospect INF Quadir Randle.
December 14 – The Rebels pick up 33-yr old 2B/SS Alex Majano (.308, 29 HR, 657 RBI) from the Cyclones, along with a prospect, parting instead with 28-yr old 2B/3B Ben “Nine Fingers” Freeman (.279, 84 HR, 437 RBI).
December 17 – Former Indians outfielder Oscar Mendoza (.262, 97 HR, 499 RBI) ends up with the Warriors for 2-yr, $2.44M.

+++

Former Raccoons finding a new home: only Preston Pinkerton, who signed with Sioux Falls for $288k;

And there’s another Hall of Fame ballot out!

[alexsimon99]

Pretty affordable salary, too. What was the final amount of budget space you cleared up in this trade, after all of the shifting of money?

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by alexsimon99

Pretty affordable salary, too. What was the final amount of budget space you cleared up in this trade, after all of the shifting of money?

The Williams trade saves only about $270k; the Fowler trade more than ten times that.

The good news is that the jet skis were not that expensive, and most of the savings can be put towards a player or two.

Here is a hint for people paying attention. The guy the Raccoons are after rhymes with "remain".