Portland Raccoons (ABL) - Page 187

Westheim · 09-08-2021, 01:42 PM

November 16 – The Raccoons trade LF/CF/1B Mal Phinazee (.234, 72 HR, 317 RBI) back to the Thunder for 1B/RF/LF/2B Pat Gurney (.280, 61 HR, 288 RBI).
November 16 – The Crusaders trade 27-year-old 1B Dan Riley (.271, 73 HR, 265 RBI) to the Bayhawks for 31-yr old SP Garrett Sutherland (49-43, 3.63 ERA), a prospect, and $1.52M in cash.
November 18 – The Indians pick up right-handed swingman Justin Johns (16-29, 5.25 ERA, 6 SV) from the Capitals, parting with a prospect.
November 19 – Sacramento picks up 3B/SS Joe Lockwood (.271, 14 HR, 102 RBI) from the Capitals in a trade for LF/RF Pat Stipp (.135, 1 HR, 4 RBI).
November 23 – The Warriors splash big with the addition of ex-DAL/TIJ 2B Hugo Acosta (.345, 25 HR, 743 RBI), who signs a 6-yr, $21.84M contract.
November 23 – The Gold Sox add 39-year-old veteran closer Yeom Soung (44-44, 2.72 ERA, 259 SV) on a 2-yr, $4.88M deal. Soung was with the Warriors for the last three years.
November 26 – Former Canadiens 2B Dan Schneller (.293, 288 HR, 1,182 RBI) signs a 2-yr, $8.08M contract with the Miners. The 37-year-old had spent four-and-a-half seasons in Vancouver.
November 27 – The Pacifics’ former closer, 28-year-old John Steuer (33-41, 3.62 ERA, 162 SV), signs a 2-yr, $2.44M deal with the Crusaders.
November 28 – The Miners also snatch up ex-ATL SP Jerry Banda (131-105, 3.60 ERA), who signs a 2-yr, $8.8M contract.
November 28 – The Loggers trade OF Adam Borchard (.288, 3 HR, 53 RBI) to the Knights for a prospect.
November 29 – The Aces receive right-hander Andy Pedraza (6-15, 5.81 ERA, 22 SV) from the Condors for MR Pedro Quinonez (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 6 games) and a prospect.
November 30 – Sioux Falls adds ex-VAN C/1B Timóteo Clemente (.265, 128 HR, 585 RBI). The 34-year-old signed a 4-yr, $7.58M contract.
November 30 – The Loggers spend $2.7M over three years on right-handed MR Tim Hale (65-68, 4.01 ERA, 20 SV).
December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: 12 players are taken across two rounds. The Raccoons are not affected.

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Divesting ourselves of Mal Phinazee was almost disturbingly easy – the Thunder took him right back after sending him to Portland in the summer, then for a prospect. It was actually the third time the Thunder spun a trade involving Phinazee in this calendar year after picking him up from the Condors in February.

Not that Phinazee had been horrendous – after a slow start he had come around late and he had been clutch in October when he came off the bench – but he wasn’t what the Raccoons were looking for at this stage. The Raccoons were looking for a left-handed batting first baseman to sprinkle in to spot Maldonado and/or Toohey, and Gurney was exactly that. He had arrived in Oklahoma mid-season after years with the Aces. He had a bit of power, hitting 19 bombs, a career-high, in 2044, and he had pretty appealing OPS values as a whole. He also didn’t come with $5M+ in future salaries attached – he had not outgrown arbitration yet and thus wouldn’t eat up budget space by default later on. For mainly a first baseman he was lightning quick, too, stealing 18 bases in ’44, also a career-high. Overall he had batted .283/.344/.450 for Vegas and Oklahoma.

His main counterpart at first base would be Maldonado and not Toohey as previously thought. We had come up with a new scout in Pat Degenhardt, who had been the head scout in New York for a couple of years before house was cleaned there after last season. Degenhardt had written some nasty reports on our infielders once he had arrived, including Toohey, and was not too thrilled of the idea of him as a regular first baseman. No such concerns were raised about Maldonado, and thus Maldo was penciled in at first base going forward, with Toohey remaining in right.

Elsewhere the damn Elks had three type A free agents, but signed one of them (Sebastien Parham) back themselves. Dan Schneller was picked up by Pittsburgh for a second-round pick, while the Warriors hauled in Timóteo Clemente.

Other Critters with new jobs? So far only Alex Ramirez, who signed a 2-yr, $664k deal with the Cyclones;

Westheim · 09-10-2021, 02:39 PM

December arrived, and the Raccoons were not ultra-active on the market… except that they hung on Armando Herrera’s tail. Everybody around the office could easily tell whenever his agent called again, because I would then whine and whimper at max volume for at least an hour, and Maud was busy running back and forth and making fomentations for me.

It was A LOT of money that the Herrera camp was asking for. But we had to have him – he was the perfect fit, and we had already dumped Ayala for him … speaking of Ayala…

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December 2 – The Titans ink ex-POR 1B/LF/RF Sal Ayala (.271, 94 HR, 554 RBI) to a 1-yr, $1.62M contract. The Raccoons receive a second-round pick and a supplemental round pick for compensation.

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Well, that sucked. Especially since we’d – what is it, Maud? Please don’t tell me they’re on the phone yet again …! – I don’t have any more millions to promise!!

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December 3 – The Raccoons sign ex-SAL CF Armando Herrera (.314, 21 HR, 552 RBI) to a 6-yr, $28.2M contract. The Raccoons forfeit their #22 pick in the 2045 draft to the Wolves for the 30-year-old centerfielder.
December 3 – Denver inks ex-LAP SP Roberto Pruneda (168-127, 3.66 ERA) to a 2-yr, $9.2M contract.
December 3 – The Bayhawks add left-handed closer candidate Jake Bonnie (32-34, 3.60 ERA, 63 SV) in a trade with the Wolves that sends two prospects to Salem.

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Our #22 and Denver’s #24 pick were in fact the first first-round picks to be signed away this offseason. The first six type A free agents to sign all did so for bottom-half teams that forfeited second- or even third-round picks. Guess what, the Loggers got hung with a third-round pick once again…

…and while I tried to sneak a team option into Armando Herrera’s contract for the 2050 season, his camp had none of it. All the dosh had to be guaranteed! And so the Raccoons signed him for six slates of $4.7M and prayed their dearest he would run head-first into a fence before the end of April… Paying $4.7M for a centerfielder was bad enough. Paying $4.7M for a centerfielder in a wheelchair was even worse.

Cristiano, what’s the glare for?

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December 5 – The Crusaders sign 32-yr old ex-TIJ/DAL RF/1B Willie Ojeda (.321, 182 HR, 1,063 RBI) to a 4-yr, $17.6M contract.
December 6 – The Titans add ex-NAS/ATL 2B Juan Encinia (.262, 6 HR, 183 RBI) on a 1-year, $1M contract.
December 8 – The Indians acquire 2B/1B Logan Arnold (.276, 26 HR, 226 RBI) from the Rebels, along with cash, for MR Aaron Iten (5-6, 4.55 ERA, 3 SV) and a prospect.
December 9 – INF Chris Rose (.289, 5 HR, 84 RBI) is traded from the Condors to the Loggers for MR Cesar Perez (46-37, 4.37 ERA, 50 SV) and a prospect.
December 14 – The Wolves deal 3B/SS David Reid (.279, 11 HR, 73 RBI) to the Pacifics for a pitching prospect.
December 15 – Former Blue Sox 1B Chris Delagrange (.267, 245 HR, 1,002 RBI), an 11-year veteran, joins the CL for the first time in a 2-yr, $7.92M contract with the Knights.
December 22 – Dallas takes in former Scorpions RF/LF Joreao Porfirio (.268, 138 HR, 567 RBI), signing the 31-year-old for 6 years and $20.64M.
December 24 – The Condors sign ex-SAC LF/SS Jesus Banuelas (.293, 46 HR, 476 RBI) for $22.84M over seven years.
December 24 – The Bayhawks come to terms with ex-DEN SP Matt Hose (128-116, 3.96 ERA) on a 3-yr, $9.4M contract.
December 24 – 35-year-old SP Bill Quintero (150-153, 3.64 ERA), also last with the Gold Sox, signs a 2-yr, $8.76M deal with the Pacifics.
[b]December 24 – The Raccoons add former Thunder INF Al Martell (.257, 48 HR, 324 RBI) to a $500k contract for the 2045 season.

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Martell gets us a backup infielder that might actually hit. I tried to find somebody in a trade for a veteran reliever, but nobody really bought into the idea of, say, Jon Craig. So a cheap free agent it was. Martell had been a regular on the Thunder when he was just 21, but had been pretty much sorted to the side by 27. He was definitely glove-first, but he was also hitting lefty, which gave us another option to tilt the lineup against righty hitters (in Jimenez’ spot f.e.).

With that, de Wit and Gutierrez were out of luck for a roster spot in 2045. In the outfield, it looked like we’d send Van Anderson and Gene Pellicano back, and apart from that we looked pretty much set. Ruben Gonzalez would also go back to AAA. The only thing I was still working on was maybe a bullpen shake-up. I wasn’t hellbent on it, though.

Who else? Jonathan Dykstra, a Coons farmhand that was traded for Kurt Wall a decade ago, returned to the CL on an $870k deal with the Indians; Cosmo Trevino signed with the Pacifics for $500k;

Also, the Hall of Fame ballot is out. Find all the Titans on it that vexed us for a good decade or so.

Westheim · 09-12-2021, 06:30 AM

December 25 – The Knights snatch former Miner and Crusader RF/1B/LF John Marz (.277, 165 HR, 672 RBI). The 31-year-ol will bag $11.2M over four years.
December 25 – The Scorpions acquire C Anton Mercado (.272, 9 HR, 71 RBI) from the Miners for right-handed swingman Raul Cornejo (18-24, 4.82 ERA).
December 26 – Tijuana gets ex-ATL OF Brian Oliver (.275, 89 HR, 460 RBI) for 3-yr, $3.96M.
December 31 – Former Wolves closer Rico Sanchez (55-64, 3.44 ERA, 309 SV) is taken on by the Miners on a 3-yr, $7.8M contract.
January 6 – 1B/2B Dustin Fruman (.233, 13 HR, 117 RBI) is acquired from the Warriors by the Canadiens, who part with a prospect in the exchange.
January 15 – More infielders for Vancouver: INF Kenichi Saito (.227, 16 HR, 79 RBI) is acquired from the Bayhawks, along with an infield prospect, for SP Paul Medvec (50-38, 4.10 ERA).
January 19 – Ex-MIL INF/RF Ted Del Vecchio (.275, 86 HR, 598 RBI) signs a 2-yr, $3.76M contract with the Wolves.
January 30 – Ten years after first pitching there, ex-BOS SP Ignacio del Rio (147-159, 4.00 ERA) returns to the Thunder for a 3-yr, $8.64M engagement.
January 31 – Vancouver needs yet more infielders: they sign 34-yr old ex-Titan 2B/SS Oscar Aguirre (.230, 91 HR, 605 RBI) to a 3-yr, $3.36M contract.
January 31 – Former Bayhawks 1B/C Jeff Wilson (.270, 89 HR, 434 RBI) gets a 4-yr, $5.76M contract from the Scorpions.

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Since Del Vecchio was a type A free agent, the Wolves signed away the #22 pick they got from us to the Loggers. Themselves, the Wolves meanwhile got a fourth-round pick from the busily shopping Miners for their troubles with losing Rico Sanchez.

Former Raccoons with new trash bins to topple? Tony Hunter signed a $350k deal with the Warriors; Jesse Stedham got $462k from the Scorpions; Terry Garrigan made it onto the Buffaloes for 2-yr, $1.62M;

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The Hall of Fame received four new denizens in the most recent election, three of whom went in on the first ballot, with one holdover from last year.

The top vote getter was legendarily enduring and endearing Pablo Sanchez, who hit .339/.434/.467 with 4,476 base hits, 163 homers, 1,688 RBI, and 721 stolen bases over a career spanning 27 seasons and seven teams (but more than half of it with the Scorpions, for whom he debuted at 19), including a World Series ring (2020 Scorpions), three Player of the Year awards (2019, 2021, 2023), four batting titles, two stolen base crowns, and numerous other accolades and achievements. The Venezuelan, who played until he was 45 years old, retired as the all-time leader in games played (3,453), at-bats (13,189), runs (2,364), hits, total bases (6,157), singles (3,414), triples (293), stolen bases, caught stealing (410), and walks (2,047), leaving only doubles, homers, the rate categories, RBIs, and WAR untouched for commonly tracked offensive metrics. His legacy, including hitting .326 while falling just 8 at-bats shy of a qualifying season with the 2037 Bayhawks at age 43, will live on.

Dave Christiansen spent his entire career with the Pacifics, debuting at 21 in 2024 and holding out until the 2039 season, when he was moved to the bullpen amid a breakdown of stuff. The iron man never hit the DL in his major league career, led the league in innings pitched five times, in wins six times, in strikeouts three times, and in ERA once, but didn’t put a triple crown together. He did pitch a no-hitter against the Miners, and won three rings with the Pacifics (2027, 2030, 2032), while also taking the FL Pitcher of the Year award in 2026 and 2030. For his career he was 244-154 with a 3.32 ERA and 27 saves. He struck out 2,906 batters in 3,617.2 innings. He was also a respected batter, winning the Platinum Stick for FL pitchers a whopping ten times, hitting .290/.327/.416 for his career with 18 HR and 190 RBI. His career .743 OPS give him an OPS+ of 107.

Not always loved by his rivals for some persistent attitude, 3B Shane Sanks nevertheless put a great career together which spanned 19 seasons, of which the majority came with the Condors, for whom he is inducted, although his career started with the Bayhawks and ended with a backup year on the Capitals. He hit .260/.391/.456 with 2,359 hits, 1,846 walks, 379 homers, and 1,471 RBI in his career. He won the 2029 World Series with the Condors, the year he won his only Gold Glove, and was the CL Player of the Year five times between 2028 and 2035. He never won a batting title, but led the league in OBP four times, as well as in homers three times, and RBI and doubles once each. He contributed 70+ extra-base hits several times amidst 100+ walks in 10 of 11 seasons from 2026 through 2036 (with a naughty 98 in ’30, when he missed 33 games).

The fourth Hall of Famer also started his major league career on the Bayhawks before being traded to the Raccoons, for whom he is inducted, with another newcomer on the Hall of Fame ballot (Matt Huf) involved in that trade. Mark Roberts was a 12th-round pick (#294) by the Aces in the 2012 draft that became a minor league free agent, and nevertheless blossomed into a strikeout artist that led the league in K four times, and in K/9 four times as well. He took the triple crown and Pitcher of the Year award with the 2025 Raccoons, followed by two of his four rings in 2026 and 2028. The others came with the 2033 and 2034 Warriors. He faded in his mid-30s, but kept pitching until he was 43, his 20th major league season, playing for five teams in seven years after his Raccoons tenure ended. If there was a weakness to his game, it was giving up homers, in which he led the league three times in his Portland days, earning him the “Launchpad Roberts” moniker. For his career, he was 209-145 with a 3.27 ERA and 1 SV. He struck out 2,859 in 3,258 innings. He is the second Raccoons starting pitcher Hall of Famer taken deep in the #200s in the draft after Nick Brown (who was a #293 pick).

Full voting results:

SAC RF Pablo Sanchez – 1st – 99.2 – INDUCTED
LAP SP Dave Christiansen – 1st – 96.8 – INDUCTED
TIJ 3B Shane Sanks – 1st – 96.8 – INDUCTED
POR SP Mark Roberts – 2nd – 85.7 – INDUCTED
TIJ SP Jeff Little – 3rd – 21.8
MIL SP Chris Sinkhorn – 7th – 18.7
SFW SS Jamie Wilson – 10th – 9.5 – DROPPED
TIJ 1B Kevin McGrath – 1st – 8.3
TIJ SP George Griffin – 1st – 7.1
??? C Mike Burgess – 2nd – 7.1
SFB SP Matt Huf – 1st – 7.1
SFW CF Pedro Cisneros – 2nd – 6.3
PIT C J.J. Henley – 5th – 6.3
BOS SP Adam Potter – 1st – 4.4 – DROPPED
TOP CL Mike Baker – 8th – 3.6 – DROPPED
BOS 2B Rhett West – 1st – 3.2 – DROPPED
??? 1B Kevin Harenberg – 3rd – 3.2 – DROPPED
OCT SS Alex Serrato – 3rd – 2.4 – DROPPED
ATL C Steve Garcia – 1st – 2.0 – DROPPED
BOS MR Julio San Pedro – 2nd – 2.0 – DROPPED
OCT RF Luis Sagredo – 1st – 1.6 – DROPPED
WAS SP Johnny Nelson – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED
LAP MR Chris Cooper – 1st – 0.0 – DROPPED
BOS SS Keith Spataro – 1st – 0.0 – DROPPED

Westheim · 09-13-2021, 12:18 PM

Was it the most exciting of offseasons? No. Was it a successful one? Sorta. We got Herrera, which was all we really wanted. No offense to Pat Gurney intended.

(Pat Gurney looks up from his food bowl, pretty offended)

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February 6 – The Warriors ink ex-IND/LVA SP Sal Chavez (117-98, 3.97 ERA) on a 1-yr, $1.96M contract.
March 3 – The Gold Sox add C Pacio Torreo (.271, 90 HR, 470 RBI), formerly of the Scorpions, on a 3-yr, $3.42M deal.
March 6 – The Loggers acquire INF Ricky Espinoza (.252, 29 HR, 110 RBI) from the Condors for 3B Tomas Ruiz (.303, 10 HR, 41 RBI) and a prospect.
March 27 – 38-year-old SP Raymond Pearce retires from baseball as a result of the torn rotator cuff he suffered the prior May. Pearce pitched to a 41-33 record with a 4.41 ERA and 4 saves in 241 games (96 starts) for five teams in the ABL, mostly the Canadiens.

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The Raccoons have another $2.6M in budget space that wasn’t used, so we have to do some renovations around here to use up all the money before Nick Valdes takes it back at the end of the season. I have already started. (opens and points at his snout with four shiny golden new canine teeth)

What else about former Critters? The Knights gave Jose Cruz $530k for his services in ’45; and that’s about it, it seems.

Westheim · 09-14-2021, 05:32 PM

2045 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2044 stats, second set career stats; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Sadaharu Okuda, 29, B:L, T:L (15-8, 3.37 ERA | 15-8, 3.37 ERA) – Japanese import signed on the cheap and throwing three pitches, including a 92mph fastball and a neat curve. He easily did the best of all our starters in ’44 and was thus assigned as the new recipient of the alive-and-well Opening Day Curse. Only 5.6 K/9, but he makes it up with few walks allowed and keeping homers to a minimum.
SP Corey Mathers, 26, B:R, T:R (10-11, 3.92 ERA | 36-40, 3.67 ERA) – Mix of four pitches, groundballer, 93mph fastball, and quick riser from being the #20 pick in the ’39 draft, and somehow nobody talks about Mathers at all as you know, the young right-hander in the 2042 rotation that actually got people out (most of the time). He looked like he might win 20 games in ’43, then barely won 10 in ’44, getting the worst run support in the rotation.
SP Jake Jackson, 32, B:R, T:R (14-7, 3.79 ERA | 75-84, 3.80 ERA) – groundballer with three good pitches, including a 95mph fastball, who got befallen by our Opening Day starter curse in ’43 but recovered nicely for his career-best record, a high in 6.8 K/9, and a low in 2.8 BB/9.
SP Brent Clark, 30, B:L, T:L (12-12, 3.75 ERA | 38-38, 3.60 ERA, 11 SV) – after three and a half years in the bullpen with decent success, Clark was a full-time starter for the first time in 2043 and had a few bright spots and a few not so bright spots, which translated into 2044 with relative ease. Walks were quite high for a starter at 4.3/9 although he did lead the league with 8.3 K/9.
SP Jason Wheatley, 24, B:R, T:R (9-6, 4.69 ERA | 23-22, 3.94 ERA) – boy, was it a struggle for Wheats in his second full season; he never got untracked, gnawed his way through the summer, and was getting bombed with no reservations by September, limiting him to one relief outing in the postseason. He has five pitches, some very good, and he added a full two strikeouts per nine innings in ’44 (to 7.6/9), but he also had a very low BABIP in his first full season and a rather ghastly one last year (.315 at least).

MR Chuck Jones, 33, B:L, T:L (3-1, 1.94 ERA, 4 SV | 26-13, 2.93 ERA, 19 SV) – lefty specialist that should be kept away from right-handers; if handled properly, can get his walks per nine innings under three, when he walked upwards of five in previous employments when he wasn’t handled with care. Middle year of a rather expensive 3-year deal that has yet to backfire on us.
MR Zack Kelly, 29, B:L, T:L (3-2, 4.85 ERA, 1 SV | 15-5, 3.49 ERA, 6 SV) – left-handed fifth-year pitcher with balanced splits, throws 96 with a nasty curve to complement it. Was largely competent until coming apart in the last quarter of the season, although his 28 earned runs in ’44 include an 8-run soaking in abortive long relief when the team was already mentally at the next game. Also suffered from a horrendous .370 BABIP that is almost unfathomable, while striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings.
MR Preston Porter, 23, B:R, T:R (1-1, 1.57 ERA | 3-1, 1.77 ERA) – the only young one that found a spot, Porter replaced Alex Ramirez during the 2044 season and quickly proved stinginess despite lacking obvious velocity (90mph), but keeps it on the ground and has a very nice curve; also exceptional control – he walked *three* batters in 28.2 innings in the majors … and four in 25.2 innings in AAA last year.
MR Nate Norris, 29, B:R, T:R (10-3, 2.91 ERA | 21-19, 4.35 ERA, 18 SV) – part of the Baskins trade with the Buffaloes, Norris had a really good season, coming out as a clutch piece in the pen and somehow won 10 games, all in relief.
MR Jon Craig, 30, B:R, T:R (2-5, 4.21 ERA, 1 SV | 11-11, 3.40 ERA, 9 SV) – right-hander with basic competence that was the Pointless Deadline Acquisition #2 in 2041, when the Coons were *** half-in, *** half-out in the second half of July. He was ho-hum then, and was ho-hum for much of 2044, too after a strong 2043. Was offered to other teams in the winter, but nobody was particularly interested. The Raccoons would lose him on waivers if they tried, so he remains with the team, while younger talent is sent to AAA again as injury reserve.
SU Nelson Moreno, 26, B:R, T:R (8-4, 1.99 ERA, 1 SV | 39-36, 4.11 ERA, 1 SV) – sic transit gloria mundi; the Raccoons’ previous diamond-grade pitching prospect had a third season that was boundless horror from beginning to end, and was relegated to the bullpen in September 2042, then missed almost all of 2043 with shoulder inflammation. Finally found his groove in 2044 and pitched very well in a setup role and in tied games (as his record will attest to).
CL Josh Rella, 28, B:R, T:R (3-1, 2.33 ERA, 38 SV | 8-4, 2.60 ERA, 100 SV) – look… we also don’t know how he does it with just 46 K in 54 innings, but he tied for the most saves in the CL in ’43 and went 7-for-7 in saves in our 8-0 postseason sweep. He’s got something figured out. Groundballer throwing 96 with a slide piece that was drafted as an infielder in the fourth round in 2039.

C Jeff Kilmer, 33, B:R, T:R (.230, 8 HR, 51 RBI | .253, 77 HR, 384 RBI) – continues to hit a little less every year, but also continued to be paid $2M a year through next season. Will more or less split the time rather evenly with Zarate behind the dish.
C Jose Zarate, 32, B:R, T:R (.286, 6 HR, 54 RBI | .293, 12 HR, 81 RBI) – strong defensive catcher that was stuck in AAA for the Loggers for all his 20s and didn’t get triple-digit at-bats in a season until last year’s excursion with the Scorpions. Picked up in a minor deal that gave us a 121 OPS+ hitter with sturdy defense behind the dish. Will probably go to arbitration for the rest of his career.

1B/3B/RF/LF/SS/CF Jesus Maldonado, 31, B:R, T:R (.323, 14 HR, 79 RBI | .296, 93 HR, 580 RBI) – It’s hard to forget this one: .411/.431/.571 and a 2037 World Series MVP award while playing on the losing team. He finally got the ring, too, just without the MVP title, but he doesn’t seem unhappy. Ten seasons into his career, his defensive versatility is breaking down, and the Raccoons will look to only appoint him to the corners anymore. Hit for a 138 OPS+ or better four out of the last five seasons, but also missed more than a season’s worth of games over the stretch, so maybe the reduced wear at first will help him be even more productive on offense.
2B Arturo Carreno, 25, B:R, T:R (.253, 3 HR, 46 RBI | .264, 11 HR, 98 RBI) – after two full seasons it’s safe to say that Carreno is a good defensive second baseman that will probably hit like a good defensive second baseman, but is at least easy to work with and can challenge for the stolen base title.
3B Ricky Jimenez, 27, B:R, T:R (.263, 5 HR, 43 RBI | .268, 23 HR, 135 RBI) – was signed for a risky $3M a year out of Cuba, came, saw, and conquered the Rookie of the Year title. That was in 2043. Was stuck in the quagmire for four months in ’44 and only started hitting late after seeing diminished playing time for long stretches of the season; somehow rallied to a 104 OPS+. There is no Jose Cruz for competition this year, but if he struggles again, we have alternatives again.
SS/2B Matt Waters, 24, B:S, T:R (.246, 15 HR, 68 RBI | .244, 16 HR, 75 RBI) – good defensive shortstop that unexpectedly hit 15 homers in his first full season even though the leadoff package didn’t quite come together. Also stole 29 bases; is definitely a keeper, although the Raccoons would really wish for him to draw more walks. Him or Carreno. Somebody. Please.
1B/RF/LF/2B Pat Gurney *, 27, B:L, T:R (.283, 19 HR, 86 RBI | .280, 61 HR, 288 RBI) – traded for with the Thunder for Mal Phinazee, Gurney is a surprisingly speedy corner guy that figures to get most of his playing time against right-handed pitching. Also has double-digit power when employed as a regular.
2B/3B/SS Al Martell *, 29, B:S, T:R (.267, 0 HR, 1 RBI | .257, 48 HR, 324 RBI) – versatile infielder with solid defense and a lefty stick that was a Thunder regular at 21, then fell by the wayside by age 26. Picked up on the cheap as free agent.

LF/RF/CF Manny Fernandez, 35, B:L, T:L (.266, 11 HR, 66 RBI | .284, 170 HR, 961 RBI) – as close to a 5-tool player as the Raccoons could ever find, especially in a draft. 2036 Player of the Year! Also won an RBI title in 2040, which totally saved our season (not). Signed a new 4-year deal with the Raccoons this winter, which might lead to him retiring him as a Career Critter eventually. He seems destined to take over the franchise record in RBI, which he could do with 93 RBI this season. He trails only Matt Nunley and Daniel Hall in that regard anymore, while having played several hundred fewer games than any of those two.
CF Armando Herrera *, 31, B:R, T:R (.315, 4 HR, 53 RBI | .314, 21 HR, 552 RBI) – the Raccoons’ eye-wateringly expensive star acquisition won eight Gold Gloves in nine seasons with the Wolves, so he’s got defense ticked off for sure. Has already won two rings and maintains that he has ringless paws left that need ringing. Elite hitter (without power though), that would work in the leadoff spot, although the Raccoons would REALLY like him to hit second behind someone quick(er), although Herrera himself also steals double digits every year.
RF/LF/1B Bryce Toohey, 29, B:R, T:R (.282, 26 HR, 89 RBI | .275, 78 HR, 282 RBI) – steady defensive rightfielder that continued a power outburst the last two seasons at ages 27/28 before he was acquired from the Condors. Hit a career-high 26 in ’44, not including the one in the 14th inning that claimed the Raccoons’ fifth World Series title.
LF/CF Derek Baskins, 29, B:L, T:R (.312, 4 HR, 34 RBI | .294, 43 HR, 434 RBI) – strong defender, quick enough to steal a bunch of bases, and hit .300 quite a few times for the Buffos. Now if only he hadn’t missed 66 games on the DL…
LF/RF/CF Jonathan Dustal, 27, B:S, T:L (.308, 0 HR, 5 RBI | .266, 29 HR, 134 RBI) – adept fifth outfielder that was picked up prior to 2044, but lasted only 27 games and 52 at-bats before busting his knee for the season. Switch-hitter to help balance the lineup when needed.

On disabled list: Nobody.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
SP Victor Merino, 24, B:L, T:L (2-2, 3.10 ERA | 4-2, 2.70 ERA) – optioned to AAA; hasn’t amounted to more than two cups of coffee so far. A struggling team would happily stuff this young lefty into the rotation right now, but the Raccoons are not struggling – he is on his final option now, though.
MR Bob Ibold, 24, B:L, T:R (1-0, 2.77 ERA | 2-0, 6.20 ERA) – optioned to AAA; up-and-coming righty with 14 strikeouts in 13 innings in ’44, but we just didn’t find a spot on the roster for him.
MR Steven Johnston, 25, B:L, T:L (1-0, 3.52 ERA | 1-1, 3.55 ERA) – optioned to AAA; left-hander that’s rough around the edges, with two cups of coffee in consecutive Septembers.
C/1B Ruben Gonzalez, 23, B:R, T:R (.191, 0 HR, 6 RBI | .191, 0 HR, 6 RBI) – optioned to AAA; didn’t hit much in his two call-ups which amounted to 47 at-bats, but the Raccoons are convinced that he’ll be on the roster next April. He does bring pretty good defense and a fine throwing arm, and he hit for a .760 OPS in AAA in his age 22 season – the boy can’t be all rotten.
3B/LF/2B Jay de Wit, 28, B:S, T:R (.217, 1 HR, 5 RBI | .238, 6 HR, 70 RBI) – optioned to AAA; Aruba’s Finest played the whole season with the Critters twice, never hitting for even a .600 OPS, and was as a consequence upgrade upon a while back.
2B/3B/SS/LF Omar Gutierrez, 30, B:L, T:R (.210, 1 HR, 5 RBI | .273, 7 HR, 48 RBI) – optioned to AAA; versatile lefty-hitting infielder that never made the majors in a stuffed Wolves organization until somehow flopping onto the Raccoons at age 27, but lost his bench spot last season when the team needed an actual threat with the stick.
RF/CF/LF Van Anderson, 27, B:L, T:L (.349, 1 HR, 6 RBI | .239, 5 HR, 38 RBI) – optioned to AAA; kind of a ho-hum player, flexible defensively, but not hitting much at all – at least not in the long run.
RF/LF/CF Gene Pellicano, 25, B:R, T:R (.286, 6 HR, 28 RBI | .286, 6 HR, 28 RBI) – optioned to AAA; good defensive outfielder with a surprisingly productive first partial season in the majors. He actually hit more with the Critters than with the Alley Cats, which contributed to his return to AAA in fact.

Everybody not mentioned by now has already been waived or reassigned during the offseason.

OPENING DAY LINEUP:

I liked our lineup last year, and not that much will change about it!

(Vs. RHP: 2B Carreno / SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters / 3B Jimenez – 3B Jimenez / 2B Carreno – P)
Vs. LHP: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P

Note that there’s not a lot of lefty bats in that lineup against right-handers. But there are many variations possible with Gurney, Baskins, an Martell on the bench (even Dustal), and more often than not one or more of those will actually be in the lineup over one or the other regular.

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

The Raccoons won last year’s offseason according to BNN in terms of WAR gains, then also won the championship – I’m good with that. This year, we’re more middling, coming 7th of the 24 teams, with +2.3 WAR, but also added only three players, two free agents and one trade acquisition. Most of the stuff that wins rings is already here!

Top 5: Warriors (+10.2), Miners (+7.9), Crusaders (+6.2), Bayhawks (+4.6), Thunder (+3.6)
Bottom 5: Knights (-4.9), Rebels (-5.3), Blue Sox (-5.6), Condors (-6.7), Wolves (-8.7)

The remaining CL North teams are 9th (VAN, +1.1), 13th (IND, -0.3), 18th (BOS, -2.9), and 19th (MIL, -3.5);

PREDICTION TIME:

The prediction last year was that the Raccoons would win 95 games, win the North, and ended up more or less doing that, winning 96 in the regular season (and leading by 10-ish games for most of the last four months), and another eight in the playoffs for the team’s first title since Alberto Ramos (now trying his luck as a first baseman in the Loggers’ system…) was a young and hot thing!

With the team mostly sticking together, with the notable exception of Sal Ayala, I don’t see where we’d go wrong. Also, the remainder of the division lacks a serious threat. The Indians won’t hit, the damn Elks (now without Dan Schneller) won’t pitch, and the Crusaders had a couple of great players, including Raccoons scourge Willie Ojeda, they had too many holes at this stage to be a dangerous competitor.

The team should thus win another division title, perhaps as convincingly as last time, and maybe even reach for 100 wins this time. Since I’m a perpetual miser, though, I’ll say they stop at 98.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

For a seventh straight season, the Raccoons take a top 3 position in the pre-season farm rankings, but dropped from first place to third place. Which is not something to be upset about – we lost f.e. our top prospect in Matt Waters (#5 last year) to major league maturity … AND won the World Series. There’s no ring for leading the farm rankings. There’s only rings for the World Series.

Last year we had 11 ranked prospects, of which six sat in the top 100. The number is down to 9 ranked prospects this year, but seven are in the top 100.

Who besides Waters does no longer count against our farm bounty? #97 Gene Pellicano exceeded rookie limits, while four others, including three outfielders, that were ranked outside the top 100 are simply no longer ranked this year. The list includes #145 CL Brad Barnes, #172 RF/LF David Sanders, #184 RF/LF Matt Glodowski, and #197 RF/LF Daniel Wright.

6th (new) – A SP Victor Salcido, 19 – 2042 international free agent signed by Raccoons
14th (+2) – AAA SP Tony Negrete, 22 – 2038 international free agent signed by Raccoons
41st (+24) – AAA SP Adam Capone, 25 – 2040 first-round pick by Raccoons
80th (+8) – AAA C Ruben Gonzalez, 23 – 2038 international free agent signed by Raccoons
90th (new) – INT 1B/LF/RF Alan Puckeridge, 17 – 2044 international free agent signed by Raccoons

95th (+32) – INT OF Arturo Romero, 19 – 2042 international free agent signed by Raccoons
99th (new) – AAA SP Bubba Wolinsky, 22 – 2041 first-round pick by Raccoons
158th (-143) – AAA SP Jeremy Baker, 23 – 2043 first-round pick by Raccoons
194th (new) – A 3B/SS/2B/LF Shane Honig, 19 – 2044 seventh-round pick by Raccoons

The franchise top 10 would be completed by 23-year-old AA SS Josh Floyd, a seventh-rounder by us in 2042.

The top 10 overall prospects this year are:

1st (new) – WAS AAA SP Bruce Mark jr., 23
2nd (+4) – DAL AAA LF/CF Juan del Toro, 20
3rd (new) – SFW AA 3B/CF/1B Randy Wilken, 21
4th (+7) – DEN INT SS Carmem Barrento, 19
5th (+2) – OCT AAA SP Luis Copa, 21

6th (new) – POR A SP Victor Salcido, 19
7th (+17) – DAL AAA SP Adam Middleton, 21
8th (new) – NAS AA SP Andy Overy, 19
9th (+8) – LVA AA C Ray DeFrank, 21
10th (new) – MIL A OF/1B Will McIntyre, 18

Wilken was the top pick in the 2044 draft, while Mark was selected at #2. McIntyre was the #12 pick by the Loggers. Overy comes from the same draft, but was taken at #33 in the supplemental round.

So only two of last year’s top 10 are back – what happened to the rest of them? Mostly they firmly entrenched themselves in the majors and thus are no longer eligible.

Twice-topper of the prospect rankings Mike McCaffrey pitched the whole season with the Scorpions, going 13-8 with a 2.94 ERA. Fellow pitcher Kevin Daley (#4) made 26 relief appearances for the Condors for a 5.49 ERA, but that was enough to erase his eligibility. Last year’s #10 prospect Ricky Contreras debuted for the Titans, making 13 appearances for an 0-1 record, 4.11 ERA, and a save, also enough to lose rookie eligibility. Among pitchers, the worst trajectory was described by the Capitals’ Sean Fowler, who remained in AA and dropped from #9 to #22 accordingly.

For the four leftover hitters,

The Miners Ed Soberanes debuted for 55 games and a .335 average with 2 homers and 16 RBI to lose rookie eligibility from the #2 spot. One behind was Denver’s super utility Eric Miller, hitting .252 with 5 HR, 29 RBI in 97 games (71 starts). The #8 prospect from a year ago, SFB catcher Sean Suggs, lost rookie status with another 20-ish games late in the year, hitting .256 with 1 HR, 9 RBI. The most success probably had the Raccoons’ Matt Waters, playing the full season as reigning #5 prospect, and hitting .246 with 15 homers and 68 RBI as well as 29 stolen bags, as well as a World Series ring.

Next: first pitch.

Westheim · 09-16-2021, 03:52 PM

Service announcement: Beware, incomplete week ahead.

I started this week on Wednesday and played four games before getting very ill very fast. I will spare you the grisly details, but if someone wants to clear all the splatters from my barfroom … (drops apartment key on the table) … there you go. (pushes key a bit further to the reader with one claw)

Anyway, I spent most of today dazed and confused and while I eventually watched last night’s Mets loss and the just finished game between the Reds and Pirates, I watched both mostly with my eyes closed and in bed, and Pete’s homer didn’t register with me at all (the non-homer did…).

Since I’m currently not sure whether I can finish the week tomorrow, either, I’ll opt for the second-worst option, an incomplete week that will end very abruptly. Got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and I hope I get some of the good pills to sort this **** out.

Regards, your temporarily incapacitated furry GM

+++

Raccoons (0-0) vs. Titans (0-0) – April 4-6, 2045

Things were looking up in this matchup for the Raccoons recently, as we had won three season series in a row against the Titans, with a 13-5 performance in ’44. More of that, please! This series opened on Tuesday as playing on actual Opening Day was for peasants.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (0-0) vs. Chris Turner (0-0)
Corey Mathers (0-0) vs. Justin Kaiser (0-0)
Jake Jackson (0-0) vs. Lachlan Clarke (0-0)

Here was something novel – like the Raccoons at one point a decade back, the Bostonians had four left-handers in their rotation. We still managed to draw the only right-hander for the opening series (Clarke).

Game 1
BOS: 2B Encinia – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – LF Watt – 3B I. Lugo – CF T. Lopez – SS J. Rodriguez – P C. Turner
POR: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda

The Raccoons found themselves behind before Okuda logged a single out, briefly achieving an infinite ERA on a leadoff walk to Juan Encinia and Joe Ritchey’s 2-run homer to left. Huzzah! Okuda would walk Encinia again to begin the third inning, but then Ritchey hit into a double play, 5-4-3. The Raccoons had only two singles the first time through; Kilmer had one in the second that led nowhere, but Okuda hit a blooper for a single to begin the bottom 3rd. Carreno legged out an infield grounder to right for a single, but was then forced out when Herrera grounded to Encinia. Jesus Maldonado came through, singling over Juan Rodriguez to cut the gap in half, and “Tuba” Turner walked Toohey to fill the bases for Manny Fernandez. Manny had struck out the first time through, and thus had all of the $6M on his new contract to recoup, and fell to 1-2 again before hitting a grounder through the right side. Encinia dove and missed it, and two runs scored to flip the score, 3-2, before the inning fizzled out against the bottom of the order.

Okuda kept walking Encinia, which was a bit of an annoyance. It happened again with two outs in the fifth, and Ritchey also drew a free pass after that. The Opening Day Starter Curse was already in full swing on Okuda, who conceded a single to left to Dan Whitley, and Encinia was sent around third base for home plate – where he was met by a perfect throw by Manny Fernandez and slapped out by Kilmer, ending the inning. Maldo and Toohey hit singles and Kilmer hit a sac fly to tack on a run for Portland the same inning, but ex-Coon Carlos Cortes socked a homer off Okuda to begin the sixth, 4-3. Derek Baskins batted for Okuda in the bottom 6th, in which Turner struck out two while going 1-2-3 on Portland, but Preston Porter returned the 1-2-3 favor in the seventh as the first Furball out of the bullpen, a performance then matched by Nelson Moreno in the eighth. There was the potential for a cushion in the bottom 8th: Todd Lush had already pitched an inning, but conceded singles to Kilmer and Matt Waters to begin the eighth. They went to the corners, but Ricky Jimenez failed to hack away at a 3-1 pitch, drew a walk, and with three on and nobody out the Raccoons surely wouldn’t score. Jose Zarate hit for Moreno against the lefty Lush, and managed a sac fly to center. Carreno whacked an RBI double to center, with Boston axing Lush for another southpaw, Chris Lulay, who got whacked for straight singles by Herrera (RBI!), Maldo (RBI!), and Toohey (loading the bases only). Manny whipped the fourth straight single off Lulay, a liner to Matt Watt’s feet for another run. Kilmer whiffed and Waters flew out to end the 5-spot. Jon Craig then put the game away. 9-3 Raccoons! Carreno 2-5, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 3-5, 2 RBI; Toohey 2-3, 2 BB; Fernandez 2-5, 3 RBI; Kilmer 2-3, RBI; Waters 2-5;

Win!

Game 2
BOS: 2B Encinia – RF Ritchey – LF Liceaga – 1B C. Cortes – C Whitley – 3B I. Lugo – SS J. Rodriguez – CF T. Lopez – P Kaiser
POR: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers

Like Okua on Tuesday, Mathers began his season with a walk to Juan Encinia, but at least got a double play from Ritchey rather than taken deep. Carreno walked to begin the Coons’ half of the first, but was caught stealing, and instead Mathers allowed a single to Cortes to begin the second, walked Whitley, and conceded both runs on a Juan Rodriguez single with one down. (sigh!)

Portland didn’t get much put together in the early innings, but Kaiser nicked Manny with one out in the fourth, while Kilmer drew a walk. Matt Waters hit a liner over Ivan Lugo and up the line for an RBI double, only the Critters’ second hit in the game. The tying and go-ahead runs were in scoring position for an 0-for-4 Ricky Jimenez, who popped out to Tony Lopez in shallow center, a wholly unhelpful endeavor. Mathers also popped out, ending the inning. But things got better in the fifth; Mathers had a 1-2-3 inning, and a Maldo double and a Toohey homer to left-center flipped the score to Portland, 3-2, again.

The lead was not secure though, because Mathers kept walking people, and with a walk drawn by Danny Liceaga and a Cortes double the Titans had two in scoring position with one gone in the sixth. Mathers struck out Whitley, then got an easy bouncer from Lugo to bail out of the jam. He continued in the seventh, got two outs, then walked Matt Watt in the #9 hole. The Titans tossed in Sal Ayala, recent Raccoon, to pinch-hit for Encinia, which prompted the Furballs to move to Chuck Jones against the lefty batter. Ayala grinded out the walk in a full count – which was what got him paid millions in the first place – and I closed my big black googly eyes and covered my striped face with a pillow while Jones pitched to the right-handed Ritchey (Liceaga behind was the target), who hacked himself out to end the inning. Jones struck out Liceaga in the eighth instead, and Moreno collected two more outs. The Portland offense had no late-inning magic to work on this Wednesday, so Josh Rella made his first appearance in a 3-2 game in the ninth. Lugo grounded out, but Rodriguez singled to right. PH Kyle Templeton zinged a double to left. Uh-oh. Those were the tying and go-ahead runs again in scoring position. Javier Miranda hit for the pitcher in the #9 hole. That count ran full, and Miranda struck out swinging on the sixth pitch. Which flipped over the lineup to reveal Carlos Jimenes, a 27-year-old Dominican infielder in his first ever ABL appearance, with two outs in the ninth inning and two runners in scoring position. Rella carved him up to put the game away. 3-2 Critters! Waters 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Too close for comfort, but we’re 2-0, and I like when we’re 2-0.

Game 3
BOS: 2B Encinia – RF Ritchey – LF Liceaga – C Whitley – 3B I. Lugo – SS J. Rodriguez – 1B S. Ayala – CF T. Lopez – P Clarke
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Jackson

The weather was unpleasant, and I was getting a bit impatient with our starting pitchers, with Jackson making it 3-for-3 in opening the year with a walk to ******* Juan Encinia. It got worse, though, with Liceaga singling, Whitley walking, and Lugo getting nailed to force in a run. The Titans added three more on singles by Rodriguez and Sal Ayala, then a Lopez sac fly. Clarke struck out to end the misery. Bottom 1st, after a Baskins fly to center, the Raccoons loaded the bases with straight singles, bringing up Manny as the tying run. He hit a comebacker to get Herrera forced out at home, but Matt Waters hit a 2-out RBI single. Carreno drove in two more, and when Zarate flew out to strand them on the corners, the gap was scrubbed down to 4-3.

Then nobody scored for the next three innings, or was really close to scoring, until the rain started. Jackson was in many long counts and was held together only by the defense and generous application of duct tape between innings, but still managed ANOTHER leadoff walk to Encinia in the fifth. The runner moved up on Ritchey’s and Liceaga’s groundouts, but Whitley popped out to strand him. By the bottom 5th, the rain was so bad that the game went into a delay after only two pitches to leadoff man Derek Baskins, ending Jackson’s outing in any case. Since we were only in the fifth, we couldn’t lose the game outright (but could have won it outright if leading…), and play resumed about an hour later, with Clarke still in there. Baskins and Herrera hit singles to go to the corners with nobody out. All the Coons got was a game-tying sac fly from Toohey, with Maldo popping out poorly in particular.

Top 6th, Zack Kelly retired two before Sal Ayala singled an was run for by Miranda. The Raccoons went to Preston Porter, who retired … nobody. Four up, four one went the Titans, loading the bases, getting a 2-run single from Encinia, 6-4, and Ritchey to draw a walk to fill the bases again. Then Nate Norris made his season debut with a K on Liceaga, ending the goddamn inning. Things didn’t get better after that, either. Portland went down in order in the bottom 6th, and Norris went down to a barking elbow in the seventh. Jon Craig and Al Martell arrived in a double switch at Carreno’s expense, with Rodriguez an unearned runner on first base. Miranda hit a ball to the fence at 1-2, but Baskins made the catch to end the top 7th. Baskins made another two catches like that in the eighth, which still wasn’t enough to get Craig out of the inning without scoring a run on a walk to Jimenes, an Encinia single, an Ritchey’s sac fly.

Bottom 8th, Victor Mondragon pitched for Boston, but not all that successful. Maldonado had a hit, as had Toohey – a homer over the fence in left. That narrowed the score to 7-6 again. Mondragon also left with an injury. Still with nobody out, Manny socked a double to right off right-hander Aaron Durham, putting the tying run in scoring position. Waters struck out, and Pat Gurney batted for Craig in the #7 spot, drawing the attention of lefty reliever David Barel. Gurney grounded out. Zarate drew a 2-out walk. Martell whiffed. No, this was not the Critters’ game. They also ended up with Rella pitching in the ninth inning (the alternative was Jones against righties or Moreno on the third day in a row), and he got bopped for three singles and two runs, including two infield singles. The Raccoons brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out against Danny Tirado in the bottom 9th, though. Baskins singled, Herrera singled. Maldo was next – a booming shot to left! High! Long! Disappeared! Game-tying 3-run homer! (screams and throws Honeypaws in the air) Jubilations continued when Todd Lush replaced the fallen Tirado, immediately getting bombed by Toohey to end the game. 10-9 Bandits. Baskins 2-5; Herrera 5-5; Maldonado 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Toohey 3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI;

(SCREAMS!)

Our top four in the lineup combined for 14 hits, including three homers, and seven RBI.

And that wouldn’t have been enough on this ho-hum pitching day.

Nate Norris had a sore elbow, Dr. Padilla reported, and needed a week off, roundabout. That was too long to go with only six relievers, and the Raccoons put him on the DL, recalling Bob Ibold on the eve of AAA’s Opening Day.

Raccoons (3-0) vs. Condors (1-3) – April 7-9, 2045

Playing the CL South had not been the greatest of joys in the 2044 season when the Raccoons lost four of six season series, including the one to the Condors (4-5). Tijuana had lost three of four to the Falcons to begin the year, scoring only seven runs in the four games, while giving up 23, making an early bid to sit at the bottom of every category. They did have two stolen bases – the Raccoons went 0-for-2 in that regard in the Boston series against the army of left-handed hurlers the Titans carted in.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (0-0) vs. Juan Vela (0-0)
Jason Wheatley (0-0) vs. Marc Hubbard (0-1, 3.38 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Ryan Porter (0-1, 11.57 ERA)

With Vela, we’d be 3-out-of-4 in terms of seeing left-handed starters to begin the year. The other two were right-handers.

Everybody will get a day off here; Manny would start it on Friday against the southpaw, and then we’d do some more rotating against the right-handers on Saturday and Sunday.

Game 1
TIJ: SS Banuelas – 1B Gibbs – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – CF Reidinger – 3B T. Ruiz – 2B M. Lopez – P J. Vela
POR: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – LF Dustal – P Clark

Brent Clark didn’t start his year with a walk to the leadoff batter. He started it with three straight singles by Jesus Banuelas, Ron Gibbs, and Terry Black, then walked Rikuto Ito to load the bases down 1-0, and walked Nate Rossi with the bases thus fully loaded. After some yelling-at by the pitching coach on the mound, he struck out three to get out of the inning… well, after walking in another run against Miguel Lopez with two outs. Clark then infuriatingly retired the Condors’ lineup in order in the second through fourth innings, while Portland sat on one measly base hit and couldn’t go anywhere. Did I mention the weather was moist? Herrera drew a walk to begin the bottom 4th, Maldo grounded out to move him to second base, and … rain delay.

An hour later and with Clark disappeared into the clubhouse after throwing 73 pitches – most bad – in four soggy innings, the inning continued with a still fresh-looking (35 pitches) Vela retiring Toohey and Waters to keep Herrera stranded. Ibold was tagged for long relief, pitched two scoreless, but then was up as the tying run in the bottom 6th, just after Bryce Toohey had singled home Herrera to get the Coons on the damn board. Manny grounded out for him, ending the inning. No, the Raccoons couldn’t get to Vela in any meaningful way – nor could the moistness around. He pitched eight innings of 3-hit ball, then was lifted in the ninth inning for right-hander Ben Arner to close out proceedings. The Raccoons brought up the 3-4-5 part of the lineup, Maldo, Toohey, and a pinch-hitter. Maldo opened the inning well, belting a homer to left-center! Toohey struck out, though. Baskins batted for Chuck Jones and singled to right, which made Kilmer the winning run in the box. In pouring rain, he hit a 1-2 to deep left. It didn’t reach the fence, at least nobody jumped up in the stands. Where was the ball? The rain is so bad! It was a double apparently, but Baskins didn’t see the ball, either, and stopped at third base. The umps had enough – the tarp came on for a second time.

For 22 minutes, I was whimpering and whining, and getting patted by Maud, mortally scared that the game would be called with the tying run on third base and one out. It wasn’t – the rain let up as soon as the tarp was secured, and play resumed after 22 minutes – with Arner on the hill, and Pat Gurney pinch-hitting for an 0-for-7 Ricky Jimenez (but with three walks). Gurney flew out to shallow left, with Baskins not daring to run on Nate Rossi. Two outs. I groaned in agony. Jonathan Dustal was also hitless on the season (in 4 attempts), but we only had Zarate left and would have trouble fitting a working defense if we sent him to bat here. It was Dustal, Arner, a 2-2 count, AND A SINGLE UP THE MIDDLE…!! Baskins in to score! Kilmer was being waved around – throw by Brian Oliver to home plate – Terry Black lunging into the sliding Kilmer – late! Safe! Walkoff!! Hhngg-yyaaahhh!! … 4-3 Raccoons. Baskins (PH) 1-1; Ibold 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Boys. Boys.

Boys, I like that you’re winning. But … can you start winning … a little bit earlier? Please?

Thanks, your old, weak-nerved GM.

Game 2
TIJ:
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Wheatley

Westheim · 09-18-2021, 02:57 PM

The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated!

+++

Raccoons (3-0) vs. Condors (1-3) – April 7-9, 2045

Game 2
TIJ: SS Banuelas – LF Rossi – 1B Gibbs – RF Ito – 3B Barcia – C Pasko – CF B. Oliver – 2B M. Lopez – P Hubbard
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Wheatley

For something new, the Raccoons’ starter didn’t get torched right out of the gate, and, y’know, for a nice start, retired the leadoff man in a game, too. The Condors had 2-out singles in the first two innings, but with Brian Oliver also thrown out by Herrera in an attempt to stretch his into a double. Pat Gurney then became the first Critter to actually steal a base on the year, swiping second after a 1-out single in the bottom 2nd. He had certainly been an outside bet for that distinction. Unfortunately, Waters and Zarate went down meekly, but Derek Baskins would give the Raccoons the first 1-0 lead of the season with a third-inning jack off … Kevin Daley. Hubbard had left the game just prior to him coming back to the plate, apparently with some lower core issue.

No issues with Wheats – he didn’t pitch with a runner on base between Ron Gibbs’ single in the first and Mark Pasko reaching on Wheatley’s own hard-luck error in the fifth. Oliver and Lopez both went own on strikes after that to end the inning and protect the 1-0 lead. We weren’t yet concerned when he walked Jesus Banuelas with one out in the sixth, but with two outs in the inning, Gibbs and the ex-Critter Rikuto Ito piled on two line drive hits to bring the runner around and tie the game. Sergio Barcia flew out to Baskins, stranding two. The Raccoons got on the lead horse again soon, however; Herrera opened the bottom 6th with a double to center, Maldo walked, and Manny hit into a double play, but that moved Herrera to third base, from where Gurney singled him home, 2-1. Waters singled to move Gurney to third base, which also ended the day of Daley after a valiant three innings in long relief. Bobby Klopotek got Zarate to ground out then, and another pair of runners were left on.

Pasko singled in the seventh, and left-hander Tom Rudd would pinch-hit for Klopotek with two outs. The Raccoons called on Chuck Jones, who got the strikeout to bail out of the seventh. In turn, the Raccoons got Baskins on in the bottom 7th, he stole second, and was driven in on a Herrera single, 3-1. The extra run came in handy when Nelson Moreno was taken deep by Ron Gibbs in the eighth, which reduced the lead to a single marker, but that was still something that Josh Rella could save in the ninth – and did, retiring the Condors’ 5-6-7 like 1-2-3 for the W. 3-2 Critters. Herrera 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Gurney 3-4, RBI; Waters 2-4, 2B; Wheatley 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1-0);

Could the Raccoons open the season with an undefeated week? I’d like that!

Game 3
TIJ: SS Banuelas – 1B Gibbs – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – 3B Barcia – CF J. Sullivan – 2B M. Lopez – P R. Porter
POR: 2B Carreno – CF Baskins – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – SS Martell – P Okuda

Trailing almost came back in the third inning of the Sunday game, which Miguel Lopez opened by reaching second base on a throwing error by Al Martell. On Porter’s bunt, though, Ricky Jimenez pounced and tossed the ball back to third base where Lopez was slapped out by Martell, and even a wild pitch later, the Condors were no closer to a run than before. Banuelas walked, but Okuda struck out Gibbs, and Terry Black grounded out to Jimenez. The Raccoons weren’t doing much in the early innings, but Baskins opened the fourth with a double to right-center, only the second Critters hit in the game. A wild pitch advanced him to third base right away, so there was the go-ahead run with nobody out. Porter lost Manny on four balls before Toohey got the run home… unfortunately on a double play grounder that left the bags empty. That kept the Raccoons to a 1-0 lead, although they doubled it the following frame with a Kilmer single and a Martell triple, 2-0.

Okuda, on a 2-hitter, appeared entirely solid until the seventh when Baskins had to chase after fly balls twice, but caught both Ito’s and Barcia’s drives to deep center. Boldly, Okuda hit for himself in the bottom of the inning with Gurney on second, Jimenez on first, two outs, and Porter staring down at him still, having whiffed him twice already. He didn’t get him three times, and didn’t even get him out. Okuda chopped a 2-1 pitch through the right side for a single, Gurney darted for home plate around third base, Ito threw a ball over Black’s head, and while the runner might have scored anyway, the trailing runners reached scoring position, too. That one came up costly on Carreno’s single to left, on which Nate Rossi fumbled the ball for another error, allowing two runs to score. Okuda, now ahead by five, got through the eighth without hiccups, and started the ninth on 101 pitches, as we’d wait and see how it would go. After a Banuelas single and a Gibbs homer, we judged it to be going badly and went to the pen. Rella wasn’t brought out after 65 pitches in four days; we went to Craig instead. Three Condors later,the game was over. 5-2 Raccoons. Baskins 2-4, 2B; Kilmer 2-4; Okuda 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2-0) and 1-3, RBI;

In other news

April 4 – The Miners score *16* runs in the fifth inning of a 17-4 win over the Rebels. Miners hurler Jesus Sanchez (1-0, 5.14 ERA) makes two of the three outs, once bunting, but also hits a 2-run triple. While 18 Miners reach base, none of them hits a home run.
April 8 – SAC LF/RF/1B Nate Culp (.105, 0 HR, 0 RBI) will be out two weeks with a knee contusion.
April 9 – DAL INF/CF Jose Rivas (.444, 0 HR, 3 RBI) slaps six hits in the Stars’ 21-4 rout of the Rebels, including two doubles and four singles, and drives in two runs. Rivas even has a chance for a seventh hit in the ninth inning, but grounds out. He is the sixth Dallas player to join the 6-hits-in-a-game club.

FL Player of the Week: SFW C/1B Timóteo Clemente (.435, 3 HR, 7 RBI)
CL Player of the Week: VAN C Julio Diaz (.435, 2 HR, 7 RBI)

Complaints and stuff

Undefeated! I didn’t quite see it coming, but we didn’t get put into the L column yet this season. Never mind that four wins were by one run and that a few of them were daytime TV drama material.

Not *everybody* is raging hot at this point, but it’s only a week… Quite a few guys are still hitting zilch (or very close to it), with Jimenez and Zarate hitting a combined 0-for-16. We’re even 2-for-6 in stolen bases. The first (few) inning(s) has been a stepping stone pitching-wise.

But we’re 6-and-*******-0, which counts for something!

Fun Fact: The Rebels have allowed 56 runs in six games this week, so even in non-routs, they were still pretty dim.

I can’t remember any Raccoons week like that, and I don’t know whether that would be down to it never having happened or me having drunk my sorrows away successfully.

Westheim · 09-19-2021, 02:40 PM

Raccoons (6-0) vs. Thunder (4-2) – April 10-12, 2045

The Thunder were fifth in runs scored and tied (with the Critters) for fourth in runs allowed after a week’s worth of games – but the Raccoons topped the CL in markers put on the board. The Thunder had swept the Bayhawks before a weekend of scuffling against the Titans. Last year, the season series had seen the Raccoons on top, 6-3, one of only two series against the CL South that we won – not including the CLCS, tee-hee.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (1-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (0-0)
Jake Jackson (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Rick Haugh (1-0, 7.50 ERA)
Brent Clark (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (0-0, 1.69 ERA)

The second-year pitcher at the tail end of the series here was the next left-hander in line. Marquez, 25, went 9-11 with a 3.14 ERA as a swingman in 2044, pitching 189 innings in 37 games (26 starts).

Game 1
OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – 1B S. Henderson – 3B Simon – SS Rowell – LF Phinazee – 2B C. Vega – P M. Peterson
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Mathers

The Raccoons scored first, and in the first, when Maldonado socked a homer over the centerfield fence with nobody on for a 1-0 edge. It was his third of the year, same as Bryce Toohey, and nobody else on the team had any so far. Zarate would drive in Carreno the following inning, doubling the lead, but while Mathers struck out five in three scoreless to begin his game, there were a few issues, besides the dark clouds overhead that had lingered over Coon City for most of Opening Week. He was getting ground down in numerous long counts and needed 57 pitches through just three innings. It got worse in the fourth, with a Rick Rowell single, an RBI double by Mal Phinazee, and him barely getting out of the inning when Peterson grounded out on a 3-0 pitch…

On the other side of the box score, Peterson played with fire with leadoff walks to Manny and Jimenez in the bottom 4th. Carreno struck out in a dull count, while Zarate hit a shy single to load the bases… for Mathers. Well, there was no pinch-hitting for him with a lead in the fourth…! Before he could hit into an inning-ending double play, Peterson uncorked a wild 0-1 pitch to plate Manny Fernandez, 3-1. Mathers struck out, as did Waters, ending the inning.

The score remained close, thanks to Angelo Zurita’s leadoff double in the fifth. Mathers threw a wild pitch, then gave up the run on Cullen Tortora’s drive to deep center that Herrera chased down close to the warning track. Sterling Henderson hit a 2-out double, but Mathers got Brad Simon to ground out; however, you couldn’t help but seeing him exit the game soonish. Bottom 5th, however, Herrera drew a leadoff walk from Peterson, then reached third with an early start on Maldo’s single to center. Nobody out, Toohey hit an RBI single through the left side, 4-2, Manny struck out, Jimenez walked, and the bags were full as the rain began to fall. Peterson was yanked, Chris Manley struck out Carreno, but with two outs Zarate got an 0-1 over the head of Rick Rowell for a 2-run single.

Mathers hit for himself and struck out, ending the inning, mostly because a righty hitter was up to begin the sixth and we were now a slam ahead at 6-2. He retired Rowell, then left for Zack Kelly, who would get four outs from the Thunder before being sidelined by an hourlong rain delay. In between, Bryce Toohey hit his fourth homer, a 2-piece in the bottom 6th that stretched the score to 8-2. That pretty much put the game away – but the Thunder would rise a bit in the ninth inning. They had *many* left-handed hitters; and up by six, the Raccoons were not inclined to use Chuck Jones in a 6-run game with two more games coming against those lefty hitters. The result was a 2-run beatdown on Preston Porter on a walk and two RBI hits in the ninth. We still won by a bunch, though. 8-4 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4, HR, RBI; Toohey 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Zarate 3-4, 3 RBI;

Game 2
OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS Ban – 3B Simon – LF E. Moore – 1B J. Aviles – 2B C. Vega – P Haugh
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Jackson

Herrera was hit, Toohey walked, and Manny raised his depressed average to .200 with a 2-out, 2-run double to give the Raccoons another early lead. Unfortunately, Jake Jackson didn’t take well to a lineup in which only Jesus Adames would face him as a right-handed batter, and allowed one run in a chewy second inning, then crawled through the innings slowly, sloooowly, until the score got flipped on a 2-out, 2-run homer in the fifth by… Adames, of all people. He was hit for after six mostly miserable innings, down 3-2, Baskins batting with runners on the corners and two outs, but flying out to Ethan Moore to continue a stretch of offensive futility in which the Raccoons would get a runner on base in almost every inning, and never moved him all the way around.

When Jon Craig was whacked around for two runs by the top of the order in the seventh inning, the game was more or less in the bin. The Raccoons were down 5-2 and still couldn’t chain two hits together – but they had eight hits through eight innings. Bob Ibold allowed two hits in the ninth, Zurita and Adames hitting singles, which was enough to get another run home on Jonathan Ban’s groundout. The Coons didn’t get more together in the ninth than a Herrera walk, and as a consequence cashed their first loss of the season. 6-2 Thunder. Fernandez 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4;

Oh well. Shucks. You can’t win all of them.

But at least we have Brent Clark in the rubber game, which should put that lineup under a bit more pressure from a splits standpoint.

Game 3
OCT: RF Zurita – LF E. Moore – C Adames – 1B S. Henderson – SS Ban – 3B Simon – CF Phinazee – 2B C. Vega – P V. Marquez
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Clark

The 3-4-5 hitters would face Clark right-handed, but only Moore reached on a single in the top 1st. The Coons put two on the board in the bottom 1st, with Herrera reaching on an error before scoring on Maldo’s triple. Toohey walked, Waters hit an RBI single, and Kilmer killed the effort with a double play grounder. Maldo went on to hit a jack in the third inning, a solo deed to extend the lead to 3-0, and ticking off the harder half of the cycle. Brent Clark on the mound looked rather resilient, at least when not sunk by his own defense – Matt Waters committed a 2-base throwing error to put Jonathan Ban on base to begin the fifth, and that run scored in unearned fashion on a 2-out single by Carlos Vega…

No other Thunder reached base until Simon coaxed a walk in the seventh, with Phinazee whiffing and Vega lining out softly to Carreno. The Raccoons though had also stopped hitting, including Maldo grounding out in his at-bat in the fifth. Clark hit for himself in the bottom 7th, grounding out before whiffing two in a 1-2-3 eighth, which, with the very much not left-handed 3-4-5 batters up *next* would bring his day to an end (and he was on 100 pitches, too). Portland didn't add on, then sent Josh Rella into the ninth inning to see after that meat of the order. It didn’t go so well for him, with Adames reaching on a leadoff single, Henderson walking, and Ban only out on a fly to sizably deep center. There was the urge to twitch and send Chuck Jones – but there was Rick Rowell on the bench, in addition to backup catcher Ed Stedham, both righty batters. Instead, Rella got a good talking-to, then gave up a sac fly to Simon – but the tying run remained on first base. Two outs for Mal Phinazee, who hopefully held no grudges for being traded off a championship team. If he did, he didn’t show it, striking out in a full count. 3-2 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4, HR, 3B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4; Clark 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W (1-0);

Raccoons (8-1) @ Canadiens (6-3) – April 14-16, 2045

The first road series of the season was already into hostile, and this time of the year likely still frozen, territory. Oh well, we were 8-1 – what could possibly go wrong? I went home to my couch, taking no emotional support except for Honeypaws with me. We were going to be *fine*! The Elks were second in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed with a +14 run differential, same as the Critters, who were third in runs scored and allowed. Like I said, we were going to be *fine*. Just *fine*! … We won the season series last year, 11-7.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (1-0, 1.35 ERA) vs. David Arias (1-0, 2.19 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (2-0, 3.21 ERA) vs. John Roeder (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Michael Donovan (0-1, 5.06 ERA)

Right, left, left. Where did all these southpaws suddenly come from?

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley
VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – SS K. Saito – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – 1B Zuazo – RF J. Becker – LF van der Zanden – P D. Arias

For a slight mood dampener, Kenichi Saito and Jerry Outram went deep to right back-to-back against Wheatley in the first inning, and that *after* Oscar Aguirre reached base on a single. So that was an instant 3-0 deficit that … it would be *fine*. Honeypaws. Please. Make it *fine*. I’m begging you.

No. Wheatley was awful, and Arias seemed very much on. The Raccoons had one hit through three innings, and the damn Elks had six, including an infield single by Outram and an RBI double by Julio Diaz in the bottom 3rd, which ran the score to 4-0. The Raccoons continued to mostly get swept under the rug in the fourth and fifth, adding a second hit, but not getting close to a run, and Diaz hit a solo home run to right to extend the damn Elks’ lead in the fifth, which also sent Wheatley to bed after the inning; his spot led off the batting parade in the sixth. Dustal flew out in his spot. Baskins singled, and that was it, again. A tremendous amount of hurt was then waiting for Bob Ibold, although it was all for not being able to retire the ******* pitcher with two outs. David Arias found Alvin Zuazo on third base, and singled him in. Aguirre walked, wild pitch, 2-run single for Saito. The Raccoons’ staff was the gift that kept on giving.

Down by eight in the eighth, the Raccoons loaded the bases with nobody out. Al Martell singled from the #9 hole after coming on in a double switch just prior. Baskins landed a hit, and Herrera was nicked. Nothing more than a pair of RBI groundouts by Maldo and Manny was in it for the Critters, while the damn Elks went to town on Jon Craig, Nelson Moreno, and Preston Porter in the bottom of the inning. Chris Robinson hit a 2-run homer off Craig, who then put two more on. Moreno walked Outram, then gave up a slam to Julio Diaz. Free agent addition Dustin Fruman then singled off Porter and stole second base with a 12-run lead, which marked up Outram for a beaning on Saturday unless the Raccoons rallied. They didn’t. 14-2 Canadiens. Baskins 2-4, 2B; Gurney 3-4;

(is rolled up under the couch, whimpering)

Game 2
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – C Zarate – P Okuda
VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – SS K. Saito – CF Outram – 3B Hutson – C Julio Diaz – 1B Zuazo – RF V. Vazquez – LF J. Becker – P Roeder

Saturday began with Raccoons on every base and nobody out after two singles and a walk off Roeder, who plated the first run on a wild pitch, while Toohey got another with a sac fly. That was also it, despite a Waters single, which moved Maldo from second to third; but Carreno whiffed and Jimenez grounded out. Up 2-0, Okuda allowed a 1-out single in the first, but then was part of the bases being loaded in the top 2nd. Jose Zarate opened with a single before both Okuda and Herrera reached on errors, putting three on with one gone. Maldo and Toohey both popped out on the infield to throw that chance away. The Elks made up a run in the bottom 2nd, but Carreno homered in the third to restore a 2-run lead at 3-1.

Okuda was scuffling and somebody seemed constantly on base against him, but for the moment he held up, mostly. He also drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, in a full count. He advanced on Baskins’s groundout, then on Herrera’s single to right. A walk to Maldo filled the bases for the third time in four inning, and it was time to get a HIT in such a situation. Toohey struck out. Waters walked with a full count on him, and the damn Elks bitterly disputed the call, but Okuda was shoved across home plate, 4-1. Roeder was on 98 pitches in the fourth inning, ran another full count on Carreno, but the second-sacker flew out to Justin Becker to strand a full complement.

The bottom 5th began with a single by PH Arnout van der Zanden, then walk drawn by Aguirre, which gave Okuda four walks against one strikeout in a shoddy start. Saito popped out, though, and he struck out Outram. Dan Hutson was hitting .196 but had skinned many a Critter in his Indians days, all batting right-handed – but taking out Okuda in the fifth after the bullpen massacre on Friday? That sounded very, very bold. Okuda was left to himself, lost Hutson on balls, and then gave up a long drive to left to Julio Diaz. Baskins racing back, on the warning track, jumping up – and picking the ball before it could hit eight feet high off a 10-foot wall …! Inning over. Said Honeypaws. My eyes were closed in horror still.

Top 6th, leadoff single for Baskins, then a triple into the rightfield corner from Herrera to ran the score to 5-1. Maldo added the Herrera run with a groundout. Baskins singled home Zarate in turn with two outs in the seventh. That created some addition cushion, while Okuda went into full-on Japanese knife juggler mode in the following innings and grinded out eight innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball despite a shoddy start to the game. He got better as he got along; he was removed after eight only because he had reached 120 pitches. Ricky Jimenez added a solo homer in the ninth, and Preston Porter added a scoreless inning to finish off the game. 8-1 Coons. Baskins 3-5, RBI; Herrera 3-5, 3B, RBI; Zarate 2-5; Okuda 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, W (3-0) and 0-1, 2 BB;

Okay, maybe don’t make a complete mockery out of the rubber game and then we can forget Friday ever happened…

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers
VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – SS K. Saito – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – RF C. Robinson – 1B van der Zanden – LF V. Vazquez – P Donovan

The bottom 2nd began with four straight damn Elks reaching, sending me back under the couch while Honeypaws bravely weathered the storm on the furniture piece. Diaz singled, Hutson doubled, wild pitch (…), Robinson single, a walk to van der Zanden, and then somehow a 4-6-3 double play and a K on the pitcher, limiting the actual damage to two runs. It didn’t get much better after that – Mathers allowed a leadoff single to Aguirre in the third, then walked the 3-4-5 batters in order to force in the run. Somehow, Robinson and van der Zanden then both whiffed to leave three runners stranded. The Raccoons? Retired in order the first time through, and drowning in a 3-0 deficit. The Critters had isolated singles in the fourth and fifth, which couldn’t stink up to Vazquez’ solo homer in the bottom 4th, and Mathers was yanked from a 4-0 game in the fifth inning before he could do even more damage. Manny hit a triple in the seventh that came with two outs, nobody on, and nobody being much help behind him, either. Carreno walked, Kilmer flew out.

The Raccoons didn’t score until the eighth when Baskins opened with a single for Ibold in the #8 hole, then scored on a 2-out single by Herrera. Maldo singled, but Toohey, then the tying run, struck out, ending the inning. Moreno and Kelly held it together in the bottom 8th, and Manny drew a leadoff walk from Sebastien Parham to begin the ninth, which moved the tying run to the on-deck circle for whatever that would turn out to be worth. Nothing much. Carreno popped out on a 3-1 pitch. Kilmer put the 1-0 in play, and went 4-6-3 on it. 4-1 Canadiens. Herrera 2-4, RBI; Baskins (PH) 1-1;

In other news

April 11 – The Canadiens sign a major extension with their last remaining star batter, OF Jerry Outram (.367, 2 HR, 8 RBI), who agrees to a 6-yr, $31.8M deal that will start in 2046.
April 11 – TOP SP Josh Long (1-0, 0.00 ERA) 3-hits the Scorpions in his first start of the year, going all the way for his 3rd career shutout and 30th complete game in 449 starts.
April 11 – DEN OF Sandy Castillo (.382, 1 HR, 6 RBI) provides the only offense in the Gold Sox’ 1-0 win over the Capitals, while DEN SP John Kennedy (2-0, 0.59 ERA) and CL Yeom Soung (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 2 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter. Only WAS RF/LF Eduardo Avila (.344, 0 HR, 3 RBI) enters the H column with a single off Kennedy.
April 11 – LAP OF Juan Benavides (.400, 0 HR, 4 RBI) will miss the rest of the month with a calf strain.
April 11 – Two days after a 6-hit game, DAL INF/CF Jose Rivas (.472, 0 HR, 4 RBI) lands five hits, all singles, and one RBI in a 10-5 win over the Miners.
April 13 – DAL SP Orlando Leos (0-1, 9.00 ERA), who went 22-9 with a 3.17 ERA in 2044, is out for the season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament.
April 15 – The Wolves score a dozen runs in the seventh inning while shaking down the Warriors, 18-7. SAL RF/LF Jorge Quintanilla (.226, 3 HR, 8 RBI) drives in five runs on a pair of hits and a walk.
April 16 – SFB SP Eric Weitz (1-1, 4.91 ERA) takes his 200th career win in a 7-5 victory over the Condors. The 37-year-old is 200-138 in total, with 2,300 strikeouts in 3,155 innings and an ERA of 3.39. He won the World Series twice, with the 2038 Canadiens and 2042 Wolves.

FL Player of the Week: PIT C Giampaolo Petroni (.426, 5 HR, 16 RBI), hitting .435 (10-23) with 4 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN C Julio Diaz (.479, 4 HR, 16 RBI), batting .520 (13-25) with 2 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Damn Elks. (spits on the ground to Maud’s annoyance)

This week was a bit rougher compared to 6-0 cruise in … well, we didn’t cruise even then. Not all the moving parts are seamlessly linking right now, some batters aren’t hitting, and some pitchers are more tossing. The pen fell into a collective meatmincer, which is always such a thrill.

Well, no reason to panic… yet. The Coons will travel via Indy before returning home, with the next homestand featuring the Baybirds and Aces.

Fun Fact: The Loggers are second in both runs scored and runs allowed.

Which is not bad for a team that was second from the bottom in runs allowed and third from the bottom in runs scored last season and on paper shed personnel. We’ll see how they do in a longer string of games, but we won’t get to see them until early May.

Westheim · 09-20-2021, 06:59 AM

Raccoons (9-3) @ Indians (2-11) – April 18-20, 2045

Things had not started very well for the Indians, but we also shouldn’t forget that things for the Coons had never gone well against them in ’44 and we had lost the season series to them, 10-8, in a series of frustrating losses. Right now though they were bottoms in both runs scored and runs allowed and there was a certain urge to keep stepping on them as long as they were down.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (0-1, 5.73 ERA) vs. Willie Gonzales (0-1, 5.52 ERA)
Brent Clark (1-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. Chris Volk (0-1, 6.23 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (1-1, 4.63 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (0-3, 5.60 ERA)

Only right-handers, only with sub-par ERA’s.

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Jackson
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – 1B Barrientos – RF B. Quinteros – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – 2B Arnold – 3B Walley – P W. Gonzales

We took the lead without making an out, although Willie Gonzales would get an assist with brushing Baskins on base to begin with. Herrera singled to left, Maldo doubled to center, and Baskins scored on that fly to the warning track. Toohey added a second run on a grounder, but Manny’s groundout was too poor and Maldo remained pinned on third base. He only scored on a Matt Waters double to center. Carreno ripped an RBI triple into the corner, Zarate walked, and Jackson batted before he pitched, popping out before taking the hill with a 4-0 edge. He would give up a run when Nelson Galvan (walk), Julian Diaz, and Logan Arnold (singles) all reached in succession in the bottom 2nd, while in the third inning, solo home runs were exchanged by Matt Waters and Danny Rivera for a 5-2 score.

The next two innings brought precious little before Maldonado hit a sac fly with the bases loaded in unearned fashion in the sixth, but the bottom 6th brought the end for Jackson, who walked Miguel Barrientos, nailed Bill Quinteros, and then gave up two RBI singles to Diaz and Arnold to find his way to an unhappy shower. Porter struck out Chris Walley to get out of the inning, still up 6-4. The score narrowed to a single run in the seventh on a Rivera moonshot off Zack Kelly, who came in specifically to face him. Portland put Zarate (hit by pitch) and Baskins (single) on in the eighth, but Herrera and Maldonado both made poor outs to strand the insurance runs. They didn’t have much more luck in the ninth, but Nelson Moreno followed Kelly in the eighth for a scoreless inning, and Josh Rella faced the 7-8-9 in the ninth inning and retired them in order on a grounder and two strikeouts. 6-5 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Waters 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Zarate 1-2, BB;

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Martell – P Clark
IND: SS Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – 2B Arnold – RF B. Quinteros – 3B Walley – P Drury

Manny and Martell both stole their first bags of the season in the second and third innings, respectively; the former was not scored, getting no offensive support, but the latter was driven in by Maldo, on a 2-out bloop single, with Waters having reached base on a walk in between. Toohey flew out to center, stranding two. Drury hit a leadoff double to right in the bottom 3rd, but got just as much help as Manny had gotten in the top 2nd, and was stranded on third base on a grounder, pop, and strikeout by the 1-2-3 in the order.

Coons were back in scoring position in the fourth between a 1-out walk drawn by Kilmer and a Jimenez double. The Indians passed on Martell, walking him and his .118 stick intentionally to bring up Clark, hitting zilch for the year. Clark was a career .229 hitter though, hardly a pushover and a free out, and he burned the Arrowheads with a 2-run double to left …! And then Waters and Herrera made sad outs to strand two in scoring position, because more than a 3-0 lead would have been obnoxious or something… Waters would bat again with two in scoring position – Jimenez and Martell in the sixth – and two outs, then struck out. At least Clark, after a few early hits against him, had gone into zero mode … until he walked Andrew Russ and Barrientos to begin the bottom 6th. Rivera lined out to a lunging Maldo, who could have doubled off Barrientos if he hadn’t kissed the infield dirt on the play. Nelson Galvan fanned, the 7th K for Clark. Julian Diaz became #8, ending the inning. And the Critters? Loaded the bases with three on and one out in the seventh as Herrera, Maldo, and Manny all reached – and then Jeff Kilmer hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Argh!

Clark’s day ended in the seventh after PH Enrique Vargas singled home Logan Arnold with two outs. Steven Jennings ran for Vargas and stole second, but Jon Craig got Russ to ground out to end the inning anyway, Coons still up 3-1. Portland went on to waste a Derek Baskins leadoff double, pinch-hit in Jimenez’ spot against righty Justin Johns in the top 8th, but Moreno retired the 2-3-4 in order in the same frame. With the top 9th seeing nothing more threatening than a pinch-hit lineout by Gurney, the Indians were up against Rella in the bottom 9th. Diaz grounded out. Arnold walked. Quinteros singled, runners on the corners – the tying runners, mind you. Walley struck out. Left-handed Nick Crocker came out to pinch-hit in the #9 hole, batting .167. He flew out to Baskins in left. 3-1 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-5, RBI; Jimenez 1-2, BB, 2B; Baskins (PH) 1-1, 2B; Martell 1-2, BB; Clark 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (2-0) and 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI;

As annoying as a win can be! But a win is a win is a win.

Game 3
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – 1B Barrientos – RF B. Quinteros – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – 2B Arnold – 3B Walley – P Volk

An hourlong rain delay early on in the third inning made me feel like we were at home in Portland. Wheats had thrown 26 pitches in two scoreless at that point, so the rain was not likely to wreck his day completely, but we’d have to watch him closely. Early signs were discouraging, with Arnold and Walley whacking singles off him to begin the bottom 3rd. Volk hit into a run-scoring fielder’s choice, while Russ doubled and Rivera hit a sac fly. Barrientos made a deep out to Manny on the warning track in right. Yeah, I don’t know, down 2-0, maybe wake up the bullpen… Volk loaded the bases in the fourth while Craig and Ibold were gently stretching and soft-tossing, putting on Manny and Waters with singles, Zarate on four balls, and all that with one out. Carreno was next and his season so far was a struggle, batting .146 with a homer, but he kept crawling out of that hole with a shot to deep left. High. Deep. GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!

The bags were full again with one out the inning after; Baskins and Herrera had landed the singles, and Manny was walked intentionally after Maldo was out on a tight play at first, with Baskins having been looked back by Volk to third base. Waters was next, hit a hard bouncer, right at Logan Arnold, and for a 4-6-3 inning-ender. (groans) Bottom 5th, Walley opened with an infield single, as things didn’t get easier for Wheats. Volk bunted him over, but Russ failed to get a drag bunt down, then popped out. Rivera was a dangerous batter, but he floated out easily to Herrera to end the inning and get Wheatley through five. He batted for himself in the top 6th with Carreno on second and two outs, shooting a single past Russ for an RBI single, 5-2 …! Baskins hit another single, but the inning ended when Herrera flew out to Quinteros. Wheats took the ball again for the sixth, starting on 64 pitches, but the pen was ready. It took only him nailing Barrientos to begin the bottom 6th to bring on Chuck Jones, who retired the next two before turning it over to Ibold, who axed four Indians between the sixth and seventh. Zack Kelly did a clean eighth, but then conceded Quinteros on an infield single to begin the bottom 9th, the score still 5-2. The Raccoons judged it too early to use Rella three days in a row, and went to Preston Porter against the 5-6-7 batters. Galvan singled, PH Nick Crocker singled – but Barrientos was thrown out at home plate. Nevertheless, another pitching change. Oh look, it’s Rella! Sometimes it’s too early, but don’t let it ever be too late…! Logan Arnold ran a 1-2 count before hitting a bouncer to Waters, to Carreno, over to Maldonado – ballgame! 5-2 Raccoons. Baskins 3-5, 2B; Fernandez 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Carreno 2-4, HR, 4 RBI;

There was a roster change on the way home, with Bob Ibold flying to Florida until and when we could sort out the bullpen on a more permanent basis. Nate Norris came off the DL.

Raccoons (12-3) vs. Bayhawks (6-8) – April 21-23, 2045

We had gone 8-5 against the Baybirds last season; 4-5 in the regular season, and 4-0 when it actually counted in the CLCS. They had started limply, scoring the fewest runs in the league (taking over from the Indians by scoring four runs total in three games with the Falcons, one of which they won), but were also second in runs allowed, with a -5 run differential (Coons: only +12 thanks to that one thrashing by the damn Elks).

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (3-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Eric Weitz (1-1, 4.91 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-1, 4.32 ERA) vs. Noe Candeloro (0-1, 4.15 ERA)
Jake Jackson (1-1, 5.94 ERA) vs. Kevin Nolte (1-1, 1.10 ERA)

Southpaw on Saturday – unless they skipped him. Weitz and Candeloro had both pitched in a double header on Sunday. By bypassing Candeloro, they could bring another righty with a miniscule ERA into the set, Paul Medvec (1-0, 1.10 ERA), who however dealt with back soreness as of Friday and was listed as day-to-day.

Derek Baskins wasn’t really pencilled in as a regular every day, but he was also hitting .462/.500/.641, which forced his furry tush into the lineup no matter what. Jimenez was shuffled out by going the long way round; Jimenez was hitting .115/.324/.269.

Game 1
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – RF Platero – 3B R. Sifuentes – C J. Hill – 2B Quiroz – CF McGuigan – LF Kristoff – 1B D. Riley – P Weitz
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – SS Martell – P Okuda

The Baybirds scored first when they opened with two singles from Jorge Gonzalez and Jose Platero and then got two productive groundouts from Ramon Sifuentes and John Hill. Portland countered though with two outs in the bottom 2nd. Manny was on second base and doubled home by Al Martell, who in turn was singled home by Okuda to take a 2-1 lead. It didn’t last – the top of the order whacked Okuda around again, this time with a Gonzalez single to open the third, and then RBI knocks by Platero and John Hill, a double and a single, respectively. While I sighed and reached for Capt’n Coma for comfort, the Raccoons had their own counter-rally. Herrera reached. Maldo reached. Toohey popped foul to Ramon Sifuentes, who dropped the ball in foul ground for an error, getting Toohey back to the dish – and he homered to left on the next pitch, a 3-run score-flipper to get Portland up 5-3 in the bottom 3rd…! The demolition derby continued in the fourth with three straight 2-out singles off Weitz, with Maldo driving home Baskins for the 6-3 run. Okuda had faced the lefty bottom of the order in the fourth, but by the fifth was back in the nightmare zone, the righty top of the order that had already set his pants on fire twice on this Friday. Sifuentes and Hill singled, but the former was caught stealing before the latter came to bat, and the threat dissipated when Sergio Quiroz flew out to center.

The Critters added another run in the bottom 5th, Manny doubling to lead off and scoring on two groundouts, 7-3. Okuda was squeezed out in the sixth though, walking Dan Riley and weird ex-Coon David Harroun (28 games in ’42) with two outs. Porter came on against the top of the order, getting a high, but not deep fly from Gonzalez that Baskins snatched to end the top 6th. The bottom of the inning the Coons scored for the fifth straight inning, this time with Baskins opening with a double, advancing on a wild pitch by Matt Hose, and scoring on a Herrera single, 8-3. Herrera stole second, then was singled home by Toohey, after which the bags filled up, and Carreno drew a bases-loaded walk, 10-3, getting Yank hosed. Mike Mihalik, another fallen starter, took over, giving up a sac fly to Martell. Dustal then flew out to center, but remained in the game as Armando Herrera came out to save him a few innings in an 11-3 affair. Portland scored in the seventh by means of Jimenez tripling home Baskins and scoring on a Toohey out. That was the end for the Raccoons, who didn’t score in the eighth after plating somebody in six straight, while the Bayhawks scored three runs in the ninth off a completely off-the-rolls Jon Craig, who was taken deep by Sifuentes and Platero. 13-6 Raccoons. Baskins 3-5, 2B; Herrera 3-4, RBI; Maldonado 3-4, RBI; Jimenez (PH) 1-1, 3B, RBI; Toohey 2-5, HR, 5 RBI; Fernandez 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Martell 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

13 runs – barely enough to outpace Jon Craig’s 12.79 ERA. If he doesn’t get reeled in soon, we might actually have a spot for Bob Ibold (or Sean Marucci)!

Game 2
SFB: LF Platero – 1B D. Riley – CF McGuigan – SS Quiroz – C Suggs – 3B R. Sifuentes – RF N. Duncan – 2B M. Gibson – P Candeloro
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers

Mike Gibson was the only Bayhawk to reach the first time through, hitting a single and stealing a base, but being stranded at third by Platero. The Raccoons left Herrera and Toohey on the corners in the bottom 1st, made nothing of a Kilmer walk in the second, and in the third Herrera singled again, but Maldonado hit into a double play… on a 3-0 count. I demonstratively walked over from the trusty brown couch to the big window, Honeypaws squeezed under my arm, and shook my fist at them, down on the field below.

The Bayhawks had singles, one each, in the fourth and fifth; the latter was Sifuentes’ to lead off. Nick Duncan was out on strikes while Gibson and Noe Candeloro were out to center. Herrera had to race back for the first ball and race in for the second, but caught them both and stranded Sifuentes in scoring position thus. Kilmer opened the bottom 5th with a double up the leftfield line for some sort of hope. Jimenez and Mathers were no help, but Baskins flicked a single to right-center, bringing in the catcher for the game’s first run after 19 markers had flown onto the board by all means up to and including black devil magic in the Friday affair. The inning ended with Herrera, while the next began with a walk to Platero, then a Riley homer that flipped the score. Waters got on base after that, but was caught stealing. Kilmer walked again with two outs, but the inning fizzled out anyway. Mathers held up through seven before Zarate hit for him to begin the bottom 7th. He grounded out, but Baskins and Herrera, the two-pronged terror at the top of the order, both reached base ahead of Maldonado, who reached the leftfield seats with another Candeloro offering for a 3-run homer to spread the score to 6-2 …! Raccoooooons!!

The extra runs were welcome, because Chuck Jones had a turd of an outing after that, walking two and giving up a bases-loading single in the eighth before being yanked for Moreno. Sifuentes popped out for the second out in the inning, but Duncan then singled home a pair. Justin Kristoff grounded out, allowing the Coons to elope with a 6-4 lead still. Rella did a 1-2-3 in the ninth to keep me a little bit calmer. 6-4 Raccoons! Baskins 2-5, RBI; Herrera 3-4; Maldonado 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Toohey 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Kilmer 1-1, 2 BB, 2B; Mathers 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (3-1);

Should this be the second undefeated week of the month? Only one more game remaining!

Rare sight for a game against a right-hander: no Manny in the lineup. Gurney needed a game, and there was no parking Baskins right now…

Game 3
SFB: RF Kristoff – 1B D. Riley – CF McGuigan – SS Quiroz – C Suggs – 3B R. Sifuentes – LF N. Duncan – 2B M. Gibson – P Nolte
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – 1B Gurney – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Jackson

Jackson allowed two singles and struck out four in three innings, while the Raccoons mostly had a Baskins walk to open the first and little else of note until Baskins singled again to begin the bottom 3rd. Herrera hit into a fielder’s choice, but stole second base, then scored on Quiroz’ throwing error on a Maldonado grounder. Maldo went to second, scoring on singles by Gurney and Waters to go up 2-0. Waters stole second, but Zarate flew out to Kristoff to end the frame.

The Baybirds reached the corners with McGuigan and Sifuentes, the latter getting nailed with a 3-2 pitch, in the fourth, but Gurney speared a hard bouncer by Duncan to get the Coons out of the inning without damage. The rest of the first five was uneventful before Jackson came apart at the seams again in the sixth. Riley and McGuigan opened with singles, Quiroz was awarded a walk on a borderline 3-2 pitch, and there were three on and nobody out. Young catcher Sean Suggs struck out, but Sifuentes was the reigning Player of the Year, even though he was only at .257 with a homer so far this season. He was also a righty, though. Chuck Jones was up for Duncan afterwards, but Jackson had to get Sifuentes himself. He got a grounder on 0-2, for a 5-3 putout, and a run scoring, then got lifted for Jones. He got Duncan swinging, stranding runners in scoring position in a 2-1 game.

Chuck Jones added three more outs in the seventh, then was hit for without success by Manny in the bottom 7th. Norris took over, but gave up a leadoff single to Riley, who was run for by Jorge Gonzalez, which still was no use on a perfectly-bounced ball by McGuigan, 4-6-3 in short order, cleaning the bases. Quiroz was out on a comebacker. Kevin Nolte held out into the eighth inning, allowing a single to Toohey and a homer to Matt Waters that opened the score to 4-1.

Nothing else in the inning – and now the Raccoons had a problem. Rella had pitched four days out of five. Norris had been hit for. Moreno needed a breather. There was really just one well-rested option left… Jon Craig, who had thrown 15 pitches on Friday, getting whacked around for two homers and three runs. Sigh. So be it. Suggs singled right away to left. Sifuentes doubled. Duncan flew out to Baskins for a sac fly. He walked PH Jose Platero, but another pinch-hitter, Bobby Hennessy hacked himself out. That brought back Kristoff, a lefty .317 hitter. The Raccoons twitched, sprung for Zack Kelly, and the Baybirds called them out for it, and John Hill, a .471 hitter (8-17), would bat from the right side against Kelly. He fell to 1-2, then raked a double to left. It scored the tying runs. It took another walk, then a McGuigan pop to end the dismal ******* inning. The Raccoons had the top of the order up against Jeremy Mayhall’s 1.13 ERA in the 4-4 game. Baskins grounded out. Herrera flew out. Maldonado flew to center. High! Deep! WALKOFF!!! … 5-4 Raccoons. Gurney 2-4; Waters 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

In other news

April 17 – Bayhawks SP Kevin Nolte (1-1, 1.10 ERA) 2-hits the Falcons in a 2-0 shutout. He strikes out six.
April 17 – BOS 1B/LF/RF Carlos Cortes (.396, 4 HR, 11 RBI) whacks the Loggers for five hits, including everything but a triple, and 3 RBI in a 7-2 Titans win.
April 18 – The Cyclones’ SP Willie Gallardo (2-1, 1.38 ERA) throws a 3-hit shutout against the Capitals. Cincinnati wins 9-0. One of the hits is grabbed by Washington’s Eduardo Avila (.305, 0 HR, 4 RBI), who thus extends a hitting streak started in 2044 to 20 games.
April 20 – WAS RF/LF Eduardo Avila (.279, 0 HR, 4 RBI) has his hitting streak end at 21 games, going 0-for-4 in a 5-2 loss to the Cyclones.
April 22 – Pacifics rookie OF Armando Luis Herrera* (.467, 2 HR, 11 RBI) shines in his 14th major league game with a 4-hit day and 5 RBI in a 12-1 rush of the Rebels.
April 23 – SAC LF/RF/1B Nate Culp (.091, 0 HR, 0 RBI) will miss more time, now dealing with elbow soreness that might cost him the rest of the month.

FL Player of the Week: CIN INF/LF Chris Delgado (.429, 4 HR, 14 RBI), hitting .480 (12-25) with 2 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC RF/1B Willie Ojeda (.319, 8 HR, 21 RBI), batting .480 (12-25) with 5 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Undefeated week, parte deux. I could get used to that kind of ****.

Hopefully getting used to minor league size food bowls will be Jon Craig if he doesn’t stop imploding right away. Not all the bats are knocking right now, but that guy’s pitching is a true eyesore.

We could use another Josh Rella. I should consult our new scout Pat Degenhardt whether we have any other underachieving infielders in the system that can toss a little.

Maldo and Toohey both have six homers, but they are not leading the league (they would lead the FL); Willie Ojeda on the Crusaders is already at eight, and has 21 RBI to lead that list too. Derek Baskins, though, is now leading all of the ABL in hitting with a nuts .462 clip. Like I said, you can not NOT put him in the lineup right now. Waters? Carreno? Leadoff? Pah! We got DEREK BASKINS!!

Jose Casas was part of the package for Baskins (and Norris) from the Buffos prior to last year; Casas was hitting .209/.310/.302 for the Coons in 92 games in ’43. He was a backup outfielder last year for them, going .248/.324/.376 with two homers in 149 at-bats. This year, he gets more regular playing time, and is hitting .304/.371/.500 in 16 games (56 AB). Good enough for a 137 OPS+. But I’ll take Baskins’ 206 OPS+.

Next week: Aces at home, then the start of a 3-city road trip to Boston, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles.

Fun Fact: Derek Baskins’ BABIP is .511 as of Sunday night.

Cristiano, why do you want to make me sad all the time?

*Luis added by me; bets on how long it would have taken me to realize there were now two Armando Herreras if we hadn’t gotten the other one will not be accepted!

Westheim · 09-22-2021, 02:18 PM

Raccoons (15-3) vs. Aces (6-12) – April 24-26, 2045

The Critters had fallen to the Aces, 5-4, in the 2044 season series. This yar the Vegas team was off to a rather … well; they were even in terms of run differential, with 74 markers in each column, eighth in runs scored, third in runs allowed. Somehow it all piled up to put them six games under after only three weeks. Maybe a 5.31 bullpen ERA was not so helpful in this regard. Ironically, our bullpen ERA was almost the same.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (2-0, 1.93 ERA) vs. Josh Brown (0-2, 4.24 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (2-1, 4.32 ERA) vs. Jayden Woods (1-1, 0.90 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (4-0, 2.93 ERA) vs. Oscar Valdes (0-1, 4.05 ERA)

Southpaw and ex-Coon Josh Brown opened the series; he was the only lefty starter on staff.

Game 1
LVA: SS Quintana – 3B Montes de Oca – CF Kinder – LF Montana – C F. Gomez – RF Cannizzard – 1B J. Byrd – 2B B. Owen – P J. Brown
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – P Clark

Clark walked the leadoff batter, Angel Quintana, but then found a bit of a groove, while the Raccoons drew first blood with a 2-out, 2-run homer hit by Ricky Jimenez in the bottom 2nd. Carreno had reached on an uncaught third strike. Carreno struck out again, and this time was truly out, in the bottom 3rd, stranding a pair after Waters had singled home Maldonado to make it 3-0. However, 3-0 became 3-2 on a Matt Kinder homer in the fourth. He hit a blast to left after Angel Montes de Oca had walked and scooped second base off Jose Zarate, who countered with a drive to deep right to open the bottom 4th, but was caught by Tim Cannizzard, the ex-Logger, on the warning track. No such luck for Josh Brown with Jimenez, who hit his second homer in the game and third on the season right after that, outta leftfield again, for a 4-2 Coons lead.

That run was scratched back by the Aces in the fifth, with Brandon Owen doubling to left with one out. Brown struck out poking, but Clark lost the pesky Quintana on balls, then the lead runner on a 2-out RBI single by Montes. Owen hit another double his next time up, then off Nate Norris, who took over pitching duties from Brent Clark after six innings. Norris would go on to nick Quintana, but struck out Montes to stall the tying run in scoring position for the top 7th. Nelson Moreno added a scoreless eighth, while the offense a run in the bottom 8th to the 4-3 score. Carreno hit a leadoff single, stole second, advanced on a wild pitch by Miguel Mauricio, and scored on Zarate’s sac fly, all in four pitches. Josh Rella took the mound the ninth, which began with Tim Cannizzard, who knocked a bouncer to Jimenez for the first out. John Byrd hit a liner off the edge of Waters’ glove for a single. He was forced out on Owen’s grounder to Carreno. Right-hander Kevin Prow, 2-for-10 on the year, would hit in the pitcher’s spot, popped out to Carreno, and that was the ballgame. 5-3 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4; Carreno 2-4; Jimenez 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI;

Game 2
LVA: SS Quintana – 2B B. Owen – CF Kinder – LF Montana – RF Cannizzard – C F. Gomez – 3B Montes de Oca – 1B J. Byrd – P J. Woods
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – SS Martell – P Wheatley

It was on one paw not bad for Wheatley, and on the other paw, very bad for Wheatley. Weird game. Lemme explain. Pesky Quintana was on base again to begin the game, singling and being stranded on first, but the Aces scored a run in the second on a Felipe Gomez wallbanger and a Montes RBI single. Wheatley then held his stuff together through four, and struck out seven through five innings, walking nobody, but also incurred plenty of damage in that fifth inning. To begin things, Al Martell threw away Montes’ grounder to give him two free bases. Wheats nailed Byrd, and both runners were bunted over. Crucially, Quintana struck out, but Owen singled up the middle to plate two unearned runs, and put the Aces on top 3-0. Matt Kinder even hit another double before the inning mercifully ended when Bob Montana struck out on 1-2.

And the Raccoons? They had one hit at that point, and looked like they wouldn’t be playing better than .800 ball by game’s end. Woods was shutting them down quite thoroughly through five innings, and then only conceded a run with two outs in the bottom 6th in the most depressing circumstances, with Al Martell getting on, being bunted over, and not moving on Baskins’ fly out. Herrera’s fly found real estate in center and he legged out an RBI triple – then limped off right away. Dr. Padilla had to take care of two cases at once, because as soon as Herrera grimaced on third base I began to hyperventilate on the trusty brown couch. Dustal took over for him, but was stranded along with Maldo, who walked, when Manny Fernandez popped out. The Aces added a run on Chuck Jones in the eighth; he had dug Wheatley out of a tight spot in the seventh, but gave up a leadoff single to Cannizzard in the eighth. Preston Porter was no help in particular against the righty hitters that followed, and conceded his run on a double and a groundout. The offense remained helpless, getting 3-hit by Woods and reliever David Williams. The best Raccoons performance in this game was doubtlessly Maud’s, who waved cold air at me for an hour after the Herrera injury.

All will be well.

Honeypaws.

Please.

Make it so.

Game 3
LVA: SS Quintana – 3B Montes de Oca – CF Kinder – LF Montana – RF Cannizzard – C Prow – 1B Stern – 2B B. Owen – P O. Valdes
POR: CF Baskins – SS Waters – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Okuda

Both teams sent 10 batters to the plate in total in the first three innings; the Aces got a homer from Montana for a run. The Raccoons hit four singles, then kept stepping on their own tails to the tune of double plays by Maldonado and Gurney, Carreno was caught stealing, and Okuda was boilerplate stranded after singling, when Baskins grounded out. Montana hit a 2-out double in the fourth for the second Aces runner of the game, but was stranded when Cannizzard made a poor third out. While the Raccoons didn’t reach in the fourth and fifth innings, the game didn’t go in the bin for good until the top of the sixth, with Oscar Valdes hitting a leadoff jack before the top of the order grounded Okuda to the tune of three base hits from the 1-2-3, Kinder singling home his predecessors to make it 4-0. Montana also reached when Carreno dropped his infield pop for an error. Cannizzard hit into a fielder’s choice, Kevin Prow lined out to Toohey, but Rusty Stern snuck in another RBI single before Owen ended the miserable inning.

Portland’s token run came in the sixth again, as Kilmer opened the inning with a single, was bunted to second by the whacked and sore Okuda, and scored on a Baskins double, which also gave a 13-game hitting streak to the latter. Montes dropped a foul pop from Waters on 1-2, prolonging a plate appearance into a full-count walk before Valdes nailed Maldo on the next pitch. Toohey came up as the tying run all of a sudden. Valdes got to 1-1, then got taken behind the shed with a 441-footer to right-center – GRAAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!

After some commotion and a mound conference, Manny restarted the on-base-getting with a triple into the gap. Pat Gurney scored him by means of a single to right, giving Portland a 6-5 lead on account of a 6-run 6th! And then Carreno found another double play. Okuda made it through the top 7th with some defensive assistance, after which the Raccoons loaded the bases against right-hander Jeff Turi with Kilmer (nicked), Jimenez, and Baskins (singles) … and nobody out. Waters struck out, while Maldo hit a gapper to left-center, but Montana caught up with it and held him to a sac fly, 7-5. Toohey whiffed. The bases were loaded again in the bottom 8th, then with Manny, Martell, and Kilmer, while Jimenez batted with one out in the #9 hole, having replaced Maldo on third base. He hit a sac fly, Baskins grounded out. Josh Rella retired the Aces 1-2-3 to give the Coons a series win. 8-5 Furballs. Baskins 2-4, 2B, RBI; Toohey 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 3B; Martell (PH) 1-1; Kilmer 1-2, BB; Jimenez (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Even better news than a come-from-behind rubber game win? Dr. Padilla reported that Armando Herrera had a sore ankle, would have to sit out for up to two weeks, but at least there was no need to amputate anything…

Maybe my anxiety.

The Raccoons put their prized acquisition on the DL for the time being and called up a replacement outfielder in Gene Pellicano, who was hitting .293/.400/.569 in AAA.

Raccoons (17-4) @ Titans (12-9) – April 28-30, 2045

Fifth in runs scored, eighth in runs allowed, Boston had a +3 run differential on Friday morning. They had also already been swept in a 3-game series by the Raccoons this year, so there was that. That series, however, had taken place in Portland, and not in Boston. Nothing good ever happened in Boston. They ha a few injuries with Chris Turner, Dan Whitley, Danny Liceaga, and Juan Encinia all on the shelf, although “Tuba” Turner could be activated on the weekend.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (3-1, 3.80 ERA) vs. Emanuel Caceiro (1-1, 6.50 ERA)
Jake Jackson (1-1, 4.84 ERA) vs. Lachlan Clarke (3-0, 3.03 ERA)
Brent Clark (3-0, 2.55 ERA) vs. Ricky Contreras (1-0, 1.67 ERA)

Left, right, left for this series.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – CF Pellicano – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B R. Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Mathers
BOS: LF Watt – CF Ritchey – C Templeton – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – SS J. Rodriguez – RF C. Jimenez – 2B Kleemeyer – P Caceiro

Again, both teams sent 10 men to the plate in the first three innings; this time, neither scored, and the Raccoons didn’t even get a hit the first time through. Toohey hit a single in the fourth, Carreno hit a single in the fifth, and neither got very far, even though Carreno stole a base, only his third of the season (but never getting on base in the first place had something to do with that). Mathers held the Titans to one base hit in five innings, whiffing three while getting mostly poor contact. Only Ivan Lugo’s second-inning bouncer escaped right over the second base bag for a single.

Gene Pellicano walked twice, first in the first, and then again to lead off the sixth inning. He was in motion with Maldonado batting, but the hurry was misplaced – Maldo hit a jack to right, and that broke the ice for a 2-0 Critters lead. Mathers added a sixth shutout inning before Ricky Jimenez hit a leadoff single to left-center in the seventh. This time Jeff Kilmer provided the power, hitting his first homer of the year to left, 4-0. Mathers was on 72 pitches at that point, hit a single himself after the homer, but was left on base. He retired the Titans’ middle of the pack on 10 pitches in the bottom 7th, and I licked and pawed through my fur in anticipation of a photo with the shutout pitcher. The eighth was chewy, though, with John Kleemeyer and Sal Ayala grinding long at-bats against Mathers, and while ultimately only Kleemeyer reached with a single, Mathers’ pitch count got to 103. He nevertheless hit for himself and would get the chance in the bottom 9th, which started with Joe Ritchey in the #2 hole. He grounded out – in a full count. Kyle Templeton flew out to Pellicano at 1-0, which was better. Carlos Cortes even put the first pitch in play – high fly to center, but not deep, Pellicano ambling under it – and he made the catch! 4-0 Furballs! Waters 2-4, BB, 2B; Mathers 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (4-1) and 1-4;

For Saturday – another southpaw, and it was “Tuba” Turner (2-1, 4.50 ERA), straight off the DL.

Game 2
POR: LF Baskins – CF Pellicano – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – 3B R. Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Jackson
BOS: RF C. Jimenez – CF Ritchey – C Templeton – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – SS J. Rodriguez – LF J. Miranda – 2B Kleemeyer – P C. Turner

The Raccoons had the bags loaded before they made an out; Baskins, who had not played in the opener, extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a double over Ritchey’s glove. Pellicano singled to left, Maldo walked in a full count. Toohey struck out in a full count, while Waters hit into a double play, and nobody scored. And I’d give my ******* left hindpaw to get rid of that stupidest of all curses.

We still scored first, Jackson doubling home Carreno, who had forced out Jimenez, in the top 2nd – and with two outs! In the third, Pellicano drew a leadoff walk, Maldo doubled, and Toohey hit a sac fly to center. Waters and Jimenez made poor outs to keep Maldo aboard. Jackson, one of the more troubled starters for us in April, kept the Titans to the minimum for a good while. Only ex-Coon Carlos Cortes reached for them in five innings, but did so on a pair of leadoff singles in the second and fifth frames. He was doubled up by Lugo, 6-4-3, the first time, then picked off by Jackson the second time. The minimum string ended in the most stupid way possible – with a 2-out walk to the pitcher, “Tuba” Turner, in the bottom 6th. Chris Jimenez grounded out to make the shame go away. With the score narrow, the pen was alert and somebody was up by the seventh, even if only tossing lightly. Cortes hit a third single in the bottom 7th, but Lugo struck out to end the inning.

Top 8th, scoring opportunity with a leadoff walk to Maldo, then a double to center by Toohey. This put two runners in scoring position for Waters, who was a bit of a black spot in the lineup in this game so far, but at 2-1 raked a breaking ball deep into the gap for a 2-run double. He’d score on a 2-out single by Zarate, 5-0, and that was the first of FOUR straight 2-out singles. Jackson, Baskins, and PH Jonathan Dustal followed, plating two more runs, while the Titans kept throwing in new pitchers all the time. Maldonado romped a 2-run double off Victor Mondragon before the inning ended with a Toohey strikeout. It had derailed into a 7-spot, entirely out of the blue. Jackson meanwhile bid for his own shutout, finishing eight innings on a 3-hitter (all by Cortes, the bugger!) on just 89 pitches. Sal Ayala pinch-hit against him in the #9 spot to begin the bottom 9th. He walked. Chris Jimenez singled, Carlos Jimenes doubled, and Jackson’s shutout went bust. The Raccoons went to Jon Craig with a 7-run lead. When if not now? He retired the next three without conceding Jimenes’ run. 9-2 Raccoons. Baskins 2-5, 2B, RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1, RBI; Maldonado 4-4, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Waters 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Jackson 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (2-1) and 3-4, 2B, RBI;

After it had worked so well for two days, the Titans would try with another lefty on Southpaw Sunday. No Lachlan Clarke – Ricky Contreras kept the assignment.

Game 3
POR: LF Baskins – SS Waters – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – 3B Jimenez – C Kilmer – CF Dustal – 2B Carreno – P Clark
BOS: SS C. Jimenez – RF Ritchey – LF Watt – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – C Templeton – 2B J. Rodriguez – CF J. Miranda – P R. Contreras

The Titans reached the corners with Chris Jimenez’ leadoff walk and a Ritchey single in the first, but Clark then struck out the next three in order. Jimenez and Ritchey were on again in the third, then with a walk and a welt at the hip, but again the Titans didn’t score; Watt struck out, while Cortes hit into a double play. In between, the Raccoons had frittered away four hits and a walk off Contreras without getting anybody across, so the ineptitude was not limited to one team or the other.

Ricky Jimenez reached on a Lugo error to begin the fourth. Kilmer singled, but was forced out on a Dustal grounder; the fifth-and-a-half outfielder at this point, Dustal at least legged out the return throw after having killed the second inning with a double play earlier. That left runners on the corners for Carreno, who streaked a screamer into the gap in right-center on a 2-1 pitch. Both runners scored, 2-0 Coons, as Carreno stopped at second base, where he was also left by Clark and Baskins. Clark then opened the bottom 4th with a leadoff walk to Lugo, his third leadoff walk in the game. Templeton singled, Juan Rodriguez walked again, and now there were three on with nobody out. It didn’t get much better soon for Boston, though, with Javier Miranda lining a baseball at Ricky Jimenez, who made a sprawling catch, and, worse yet for them, Lugo had made for home and was doubled off. Contreras struck out. Then they loaded the bags with two outs in the bottom 5th; Watt walked, Cortes was brushed with a baseball, and Lugo singled to left. Templeton flew out to center, stranding the bazillionth runner of the game, but at least they had whittled down Clark, who had thrown 103 pitches to get through five innings.

Zack Kelly hadn’t pitched since the prior Sunday and logged the first two outs from the pen before yielding for Craig. Derek Baskins hit a leadoff jack to right in the seventh (but had extended his hitting streak two attempts earlier), pushing the lead to 3-0. The Titans continued to despair against Craig and Moreno, who pushed the Raccoons through the eighth inning while scattering another four runners between them. With no tack-on offense coming anymore, Josh Rella did the honors in the ninth, completing the sweep on three batters, with one strikeout. 3-0 Critters. Baskins 2-4, HR, RBI; Kilmer 2-4; Carreno 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

In other news

April 25 – Warriors 2B Hugo Acosta (.378, 0 HR, 10 RBI) has his 2,000 career hit in a 5-3 loss to the Blue Sox. The career .345 hitter with 25 HR, 753 RBI, and 399 SB, hits a game-tying 2-run single off Ricardo Ordas (1-0, 2.38 ERA, 4 SV) in the ninth inning to extend it to extras, but the Blue Sox prevail in ten innings. Acosta, 30, is a four-time batting champ and five-time All Star.
April 25 – Boston catcher Dan Whitley (.286, 1 HR, 6 RBI) would miss three weeks with chronic back soreness, always good news for a 26-year-old backstop.
April 26 – NYC C Fernando Alba (.355, 2 HR, 12 RBI) has four hits and three RBI in a 16-3 rout of the Knights.
April 30 – NYC RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.340, 8 HR, 28 RBI) reaches 2,500 career hits with a 4-hit rampage against the Loggers, who fall 6-3 to the Crusaders. The 16th-year player, 2-time batting champ and 9-time All Star was hitting .321/.372/.475 for his career, with 190 HR and 1,091 RBI. He also stole 325 bases in his younger years. The milestone hit is an eighth-inning single off MIL MR Jose Colon (1-1, 5.25 ERA).
April 30 – Vancouver SP David Arias (2-1, 3.21 ERA) would miss four months with a partial tear in his labrum.

FL Player of the Week: CIN 3B Jesus Burgos (.402, 1 HR, 15 RBI), hitting .577 (15-26) with 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL RF/1B/LF John Marz (.272, 5 HR, 16 RBI), batting .391 (9-23) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: CIN INF/LF Chris Delgado (.411, 5 HR, 25 RBI)
CL Hitter of the Month: NYC RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.340, 8 HR, 28 RBI)
FL Pitcher of the Month: DEN SP John Kennedy (4-0, 1.45 ERA)
CL Pitcher of the Month: CHA SP Oscar Flores (4-1, 1.80 ERA)
FL Rookie of the Month: LAP OF Armando Luis Herrera (.458, 2 HR, 16 RBI)
CL Rookie of the Month: CHA INF/LF/CF Shintaro Watanabe (.250, 2 HR, 12 RBI)

Complaints and stuff

We are seeing so many lefty pitchers that some guys are not getting their usual shake at the plate. Manny is the most prominent example, although one factor is Derek Baskins being scalding hot for all of April. We now played 24 games – 11 of them against southpaws. Oh, by the way, we might get another southpaw on Monday.

Meanwhile our pitching was so dominant this week that four of our relievers had only a single outing this week. Only Rella, Moreno, and Craig so action more than once, all three pitching three times. Only Chuck Jones was charged a run (though that was waved in by Porter against the Aces).

Our romping roadshow will continue in Milwaukee on Monday, then stay in L.A. over the weekend. Two-week homestand after that.

Fun Fact: We are now 6-0 against the Titans this season.

At this rate, we’ll even the all-time record against them somewhere around August of 2047. It was that bad. We started the season 588-637 against them, worst against all CL teams and only better than our record against the Warriors.

Westheim · 09-24-2021, 04:53 PM

Raccoons (20-4) @ Loggers (13-10) – May 1-3, 2045

The Raccoons rode into Milwaukee on the heels of a blazing April that saw them third in runs scored and second in runs allowed with a +38 run differential. Milwaukee – not quite as blazing, but at least above .500 with a +18 run differential and in the top 4 in both runs scored an runs allowed, and thus hardly comparable to the clusterbombs going off around them last year when they lost exactly 100 games to end a run of six straight winning seasons. We had gone 13-5 on them on the occasion.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (2-2, 3.52 ERA) vs. Victor Padilla (1-1, 2.25 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (5-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (2-1, 3.62 ERA)
Corey Mathers (4-1, 2.76 ERA) vs. Ruben Guzman (2-1, 3.38 ERA)

The 24-year-old lefty Padilla would make only his fourth career start to open the month of May. The two right-handers after that were old news.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – C Kilmer – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – CF Pellicano – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley
MIL: CF Reeves – 3B B. Johnson – 1B Brayboy – SS R. Espinoza – RF Hertenstein – C Payne – LF B. Fox – 2B S. Davison – P V. Padilla

Dismal Ted Del Vecchio had changed teams in the wintertime, but Aaron Brayboy remained with the Loggers, and hit a 1-out double off Wheats in the bottom 4th for the first extra-base knock and only the second Loggers hit in the game. It promoted the tying run to the plate, the Raccoons having taken a 2-0 lead on Gene Pellicano’s homer in the top of the same inning; neither team had done anything of value in the first three innings on Monday. Wheatley fell to a single by Ricky Espinoza, then a triple by Daniel Hertenstein, who became more Del Vecchio-esque every time we saw the Loggers. Wheatley wouldn’t get out of the inning; the go-ahead run scored on a Waters error, and somehow you could see Wheatley abandoning all hope and talent in his head and from there he just chucked fastballs until the Loggers bombed him out of the game. Brian Fox singled, Scott Davison walked, Padilla hit a sac fly, Bill Reeves doubled home two, Brad Johnston walked, and it took Zack Kelly to finally get out of the ******* inning. The Loggers scored six, three earned, but the Raccoons also got three back right away; Padilla opened the fifth with walks to Waters and Kilmer, then got bombed to left by Jesus Maldonado for his eighth homer on the year. That cut the gap to 6-5. He walked Toohey, he walked Manny, but Pellicano popped out at 3-1 and the inning ended with a Carreno grounder for two outs. I rolled up a magazine and hit it over the edge of the nearest counter until bits of paper started flying everywhere.

Kelly in the fifth and Norris in the sixth would both put pairs of Loggers on base before getting bailed out by long flies to Bryce Toohey with two outs. The Raccoons didn’t do much having the tying run at the plate for two innings until Manny Fernandez doubled to right off a tiring Padilla in the eighth inning. The Loggers’ starter hung around to walk Pellicano and surrender the tying run on a Jimenez sac fly, while reliever Jose Colon gave up a single to PH Jose Zarate that sent the go-ahead run in Pellicano to third base, then balked that run across home plate. Not that it mattered much – Matt Waters socked a home run to right then anyway. Moreno and Rella did their thing after that 4-run comeback rally to put the game away. 9-6 Raccoons. Waters 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Maldonado 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 2 2B; Zarate (PH) 1-1;

Shutout ball for 5.1 innings by six relievers to correct Wheatley having a stroke on the mound…

Game 2
POR: CF Baskins – SS Waters – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Martell – P Okuda
MIL: CF Reeves – 2B S. Davison – RF Hertenstein – SS R. Espinoza – 1B Brayboy – C Payne – LF B. Fox – 3B C. Rose – P Piedra

With only Jon Craig idle on Monday (but having pitched two sizable outings the two days before that), the Raccoons would very much welcome a long outing by Okuda. He had a chewy second inning, walking Ricky Espinoza and nailing Brian Fox, but didn’t allow a hit in the first three innings – unfortunately he was near 50 pitches already. Espinoza would get the Loggers into the H column with a fourth-inning single, but was then also caught stealing by Jose Zarate. Offensively, the Raccoons were lying low, but coming on late was their thing early in this season. Through four, they had two hits and no walks off Sergio Piedra. Zarate hit a single in the fifth, but was doubled up by Jimenez to end the inning, while the Loggers began with a walk drawn by Payne, a Fox single, and then saw Chris Rose hit into a fielder’s choice. Okuda slayed Piedra on strikes for the second out, while Bill Reeves flew out to Baskins in center. Through five, Okuda threw 70 pitches in a scoreless game.

Then he came apart; the Loggers exploded for four hits in the bottom 6th, singles to center by Davison and Espinoza, an RBI single with two outs by Payne, and a Fox gapper for a 2-run double in right-center. He pitched one more inning before going to bed after seven. Jon Craig added a scoreless eighth, but it was all of no use – the Raccoons were stuck on three base hits and couldn’t get on base against Piedra anymore. The ninth brought right-hander Tim Hale, briefly a Raccoon a few years back, into the game. Out of nowhere, Al Martell opened with a triple into the rightfield corner, then scored on a wild pitch. Carreno and Baskins, however, made poor outs. A 2-out walk to Waters prolonged the game to bring up the tying run, and Maldonado singled to left. Next was Manny, but his bouncer to right was intercepted and became the final out. 3-1 Loggers. Maldonado 2-4; Martell 2-3, 3B, 2B;

Game 3
POR: CF Baskins – SS Waters – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Mathers
MIL: CF Reeves – 3B B. Johnson – 1B Brayboy – SS R. Espinoza – RF Hertenstein – C Payne – LF B. Fox – 2B S. Davison – P R. Guzman

Reeves opened the Loggers’ first with a scalded triple over Derek Baskins and scored on a sac fly by Brad Johnson for a quick first run in the rubber game. Portland countered fast for once, with Manny hitting a leadoff single in the top 2nd and Pat Gurney whacking his first home run as a Critter to flip the score. Kilmer missed another homer by not all that much, but the inning would go 1-2-3 from there as Hertenstein shagged his drive on the warning track. The Raccoons saw Mathers work around two singles with three strikeouts in the bottom 2nd, then got a screamer double from Baskins to open the third. Waters walked, and both pulled off a double steal. Maldo and Toohey both hit RBI groundouts, and the team went up 4-1 before Reeves hit an infield single to begin the bottom 3rd, but then was caught trying to steal second.

Gurney, Kilmer, and Carreno all reached base to begin the fourth inning, putting three on with nobody out against Guzman, who rung up Mathers, the Coons’ starter being on six strikeouts through three innings himself. Baskins slashed an RBI single to left, 5-1, and that was the only run of the inning; Waters whiffed, and Maldonado grounded out to Davison. The 6-7-8 got on in order again in the top 5th, then with two outs; Guzman struck out Mathers again, only to have the favor returned after Davison’s 1-out double in the bottom of the inning. Reeves, though, came through for an RBI single to right, stole second, and scored on another RBI single by Johnson, narrowing the score to 5-3.

Mathers couldn’t find strike three anymore, and pretty soon no strike at all. Espinoza singled, Hertenstein walked, and Payne reached on a Toohey fumble to load the bases in the bottom 6th. He was yanked after walking in a run against Fox, although all that Preston Porter did was to serve up a bases-clearing double to Davison. Reeves singled home the extra run with two outs, putting the Raccoons in an 8-5 hole after a depressing 5-spot. Another run fell out of Chuck Jones in the seventh, and the same for Norris in the eighth. Nobody could get the Loggers out anymore…!

Top 9th. Despite having been nicked for nine in four innings, and being down 10-5, the Raccoons somehow turned the game into a rally and brought Hale in after beating up ex-Coon Damon DeOrio. With one out, Jonathan Dustal had a pinch-hit infield single, but also tweaked a hammy while doing so. Martell ran for him. Toohey walked. Manny hit an RBI double to center. This brought on Hale, with the tying run in the on-deck circle. Gurney struck out, but Kilmer walked, promoting the tying run to the plate… in .185 hitter Arturo Carreno. Now, the thing was … the Raccoons, if hitting for Carreno, needed two pinch-hitters, with the pitcher right behind him. There were precisely two bums left on the bench in Jimenez and Zarate. They’d line up in that order. Zarate didn’t get a turn – Jimenez popped out on 1-2 to end the game. 10-6 Loggers. Baskins 2-5, 2B, RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1; Fernandez 2-5, 2B, RBI; Gurney 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Pellicano (PH) 1-1, 2B;

That was not a well-pitched series…!

Raccoons (21-6) @ Pacifics (17-11) – May 5-7, 2045

After a day spent in a spa halfway in Colorado to lick wounds, the Raccoons headed to L.A. for the first interleague set of the season. The Pacifics were second in the FL West behind the Gold Sox, sixth in runs scored, and fourth in runs allowed. Their rotation had an ERA of 4.51, but the bullpen was really stingy and close to the best in the Federal League. They had no speed and little power, being in the bottom four in the FL in both categories. With Joe Feltman and Bill Quintero they had two pitchers on the shelf that they were counting on. This was the third straight year of playing them; we had lost two of three in ’44.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (2-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Al Scott (0-2, 5.40 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-0, 2.12 ERA) vs. Mike LeMasters (1-3, 6.03 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (2-2, 4.05 ERA) vs. Marcus Wilkins (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

More southpaws! Two to begin the series, and Wilkins might be placeholder. He was a 25-year-old rookie with two appearances under his belt. He threw 97 with little idea where it was going, so that filled me with foreboding.

The Raccoons were down a backout outfielder, with Jonathan Dustal day-to-day for the weekend with the tweaked hammy.

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – SS Waters – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – CF Pellicano – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson
LAP: 2B Bowman – CF K. Leon – RF Benavides – 1B Cahill – 3B D. Reid – C Alvardo – LF T. Romero – SS A.L. Herrera – P A. Scott

Bryce Toohey was nailed by Scott – who you might remember snubbed the Raccoons in free agency talks a few years back – to begin the second inning of the Friday game. Kilmer doubled, but we couldn’t get more than a Carreno sac fly for the game’s first run after Pellicano whiffed. The Pacifics in turn got singles in the second from David Reid and ex-Coon Tony Romero, but Toohey hammered out Reid trying to go first-to-third, ending the bottom 2nd for them.

Top 4th, Kilmer hit another double, then with one out and nobody on and to left-center. Pellicano walked behind him this time, but Carreno’s spanker was intercepted by Reid for a 5-4-3 double play. Jackson struck out three (five total) in the inning, pitching around a single by .393 murderer Juan Benavides. Jackson bunted Ricky Jimenez to second base after the third-sacker opened the fifth with a walk, and Jimenez reached third base when Scott fumbled Baskins’ comebacker for an error. Waters eeked out a walk to present Maldonado with the bases loaded in addition to his 1.033 OPS and the team lead in homers (8) and RBI (28). He also popped out to Mark Cahill on the 1-1 pitch. I snarled, but Bryce Toohey grinded out a full count against Scott until the lefty walked him, pushing in the second run of the game. And then Kilmer hit into a sad groundout… Carreno singled in the sixth, then was doubled off by Jimenez. Boys, easy watching this is not!

Both teams had four hits each through seven, with Jackson striking out as many. Both were also still going in the eighth; Scott allowed a pair of 1-out singles to Toohey and Kilmer to get another Critter into scoring position. Benavides snatched a Pellicano looper on the go, keeping the runners pinned, after which the Pacifics made the move to right-handed ex-Critter Dennis Citriniti and his 2.38 ERA (but 6 BB in 11.1 IP). The Raccoons sent Pat Gurney against the right-hander, sitting down Carreno. He hit a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a single. Toohey was sent for home plate against the Gold Glover Benavides’ arm, but the throw pulled David Alvardo off the bag. Toohey was safe, and Kilmer endeavored to take third, but now Alvardo’s throw pulled Reid off the bag, and everybody was safe on Gurney’s pinch-hit RBI single…! Manny hit for Jimenez and shot an RBI double to center, 4-0. That brought up Jackson, and the Raccoons considered a 4-0 lead good enough with how he was going. He flew out easily to Tony Romero to end the inning. With Gurney on first, Maldo on third, and Martell taking over second in the #8 hole, Jackson went back out on 86 pitches, allowed a single to Romero in the bottom 8th, but got through the inning. He got over 100 pitches, though, and the Raccoons turned to Zack Kelly in the ninth. He allowed a single to PH Mark Vermillion, then a bomb to Benavides – both lefty hitters. Cahill made an out, after which Josh Rella would face righty sticks. Reid and Alvardo both grounded out to give the game to Portland. 4-2 Raccoons. Toohey 1-2, BB, RBI; Kilmer 3-4, 2 2B; Carreno 1-2, RBI; Gurney (PH) 1-1, RBI; Jimenez 0-1, 2 BB; Fernandez (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Jackson 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, W (3-1);

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – C Kilmer – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – CF Pellicano – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Clark
LAP: 2B Bowman – CF K. Leon – RF Benavides – 1B Cahill – 3B D. Reid – C Alvardo – LF T. Romero – SS Jon Rodriguez – P LeMasters

Toohey came up with pairs on base in the first and third innings, driving in all the Coons’ runs in the early frames – zero. He hit into a 4-6-3 double play once, and flew out to Kenny Leon the other time. Meanwhile, the only Pacific with a hit off Clark the first time through was LeMasters, so that was that. The pinata was broken open only in the fourth with a leadoff jack to right by Manny Fernandez – somehow his first homer on the year, also owing to relatively little playing time against scores of southpaws with Derek Baskins scalding hot for most of April. The lead didn’t last – while Clark retired three right-handers in the bottom 4th, he allowed singles to the left-handers in the 3-4 spots. They went to the corners, and Reid hit a run-scoring groundout to tie the game at one. The following inning, L.A. went up 2-1 on singles by Romero and Brian Bowman.

Romero drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. Clark hung around to get a groundout from Jon Rodriguez, but then allowed an RBI single up the middle to Armando Luis Herrera, not to be confused with our Armando Herrera, who was on the DL and thus no great help right now. Moreno replaced him at that point, gave up a Bowman single and got Pellicano to catch a Leon fly to center. Chuck Jones then sorted out Benavides to get out of the inning. The Raccoons were down two runs on only three hits, and had not been on base in a while. Furthermore, the Pacifics brought in the bullpen now. Terry Weaver gave up a leadoff single to Waters in the eighth, then was replaced with Danny Tankersley. Waters was caught stealing, Kilmer struck out, and THEN Maldonado doubled. Toohey whiffed, ending the inning. Instead, Jon Craig was mopped up for two runs in the bottom 8th.

Top 9th, the Pacifics kept cycling through pitchers as the Raccoons unpacked three singles with one out, Pellicano and Carreno getting on before Baskins hit an RBI single in Jimenez’ spot off Eddie Sotelo. Gurney hit for the pitcher Craig against the right-hander and zinged another RBI single to center. Waters was less lucky, grounding to Bowman for a fielder’s choice. Kilmer fell to 1-2 before lobbing a ball near the leftfield line. Romero cut it off before Waters from first could get kinky, but it was another RBI single and the tying run (Waters) was at second for Maldonado. And Maldonado struck out. 5-4 Pacifics. Kilmer 2-4, BB, RBI; Maldonado 2-4, 2B; Baskins (PH) 1-1, RBI; Gurney (PH) 1-1, RBI;

It could be going weller…

Game 3
POR: CF Baskins – SS Waters – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 1B Gurney – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Wheatley
LAP: 2B Bowman – LF T. Romero – RF Benavides – 1B Cahill – 3B D. Reid – C Alvardo – CF Foss – SS Jon Rodriguez – P Wilkins

Baskins opened the game with a single, stole second, advanced on a Maldonado single, and was thrown out at the plate when Manny flew out to Tony Romero. Still better an inning than what Wheatley put into a bag and lit on fire, walking Benavides and Cahill before getting bombed to Baja California by David Reid for a 3-0 deficit. Pretty much the same thing occurred again in the bottom 3rd. Two walks to the 3-4 hitters, then an RBI single by Reid, and this time Cahill got disoriented on the bases and was caught in a rundown. But still – another ****** start from Wheatley.

He would labor through the middle innings without allowing another run, but that was merely damage control, and for no greater good at first glance. The Raccoons couldn’t put ANYTHING together for six innings, again finding only three base hits (so only one more than they had in the first inning). They only made it to the board in the seventh against Wilkins, on singles by Manny, Carreno, and Zarate, and with two outs. Gene Pellicano hit for Wheatley as the tying run, but flew out to center. Norris and Jones would pitch scoreless ball in relief, but at the same time the Raccoons had nothing to follow on Derek Baskins’ leadoff single in the eighth inning and stranded the runner. So it was Sotelo in the ninth again, with a 4-1 lead. Toohey led off and whiffed to continue his week of futility. Gurney doubled to left. Carreno struck out. Zarate grounded out. 4-1 Pacifics. Baskins 2-4;

In other news

May 3 – DEN INF Ronnie Thompson (.326, 0 HR, 12 RBI) would miss three weeks to heal out some shoulder soreness.
May 3 – DAL OF/1B/3B Ricky Correa (.356, 0 HR, 10 RBI) is out with a broken rib and would probably only return in early June.

FL Player of the Week: SFW RF Matt Diskin (.343, 4 HR, 17 RBI), raking .417 (10-24) with 4 HR, 14 RBI
CL Player of the Week: LVA OF/1B Matt Kinder (.228, 9 HR, 27 RBI), hitting .344 (11-32) with 5 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

First losing week, but even if we had scratched out that one rally on Saturday, even at 3-3 it would have been a terrible week. The pitching wasn’t there. The offense was spotty. Maldo and Baskins had hit everything out of sight for four weeks; they took a step back now. Toohey didn’t hit anything. Carreno barely only reached .200 by the end of the week.

But the pitching would be worse. Jason Wheatley corked both his games, Okuda and Clark booked their first losses of the year. They all deserved it (although Wheatley was dug out on Monday, which he didn’t).

I don’t know. I close my eyes and think of Wheatley, and I see Nelson Moreno. Then I cry.

The Crusaders had their bums on fire all week. They won seven in a row from Sunday to Saturday, including a 4-game sweep of the Arrowheads, to erase the gap. Only a combined 6-hit shutout by three Caps pitchers on Sunday stopped them from taking first place. These are the best two teams by record (New York tied with Denver) in the league. They have more offense and less pitching than us. The teams’ first clash is not that far away – we’ll play four starting the Monday after next week. That will be the third set on our upcoming homestand; also in are the Cyclones, Indians, and Falcons, but none of them before we have a day off on Monday.

Armando Herrera should rejoin the team on Wednesday, so that should help a bit with offense.

Fun Fact: When Nelson Moreno was yanked from the rotation, he was 30-30 with a 4.40 ERA and it was getting worse.

Jason Wheatley is 25-25 with a 3.97 ERA. And it is getting worse. He’s constantly getting on the snout. None of his individual stats are huge red flags, but he still constantly gets on the snout. That one good season he had he also had the best BABIP in the league. He got averagey BABIPs last year and this year, and he’s a huge sand drag to try to waltz through.

UNFORTUNATELY, Victor Merino left his last start with an injury and we’re just about to sort that one out, and even then had only a mediocre start to his AAA campaign, 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 5.5 K/9. Adam Capone, a #13 pick that somehow got forgotten about, is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 5 starts, with a 6.1 K/9. He also has a .196 BABIP going for him…

Somehow Bubba Wolinsky has the worst scouting report and the best stats, 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA and 6.8 K/9 (with a good, but not great BABIP).

Westheim · 09-26-2021, 06:13 AM

Raccoons (22-8) vs. Cyclones (15-15) – May 9-11, 2045

Good news, bad news – the Raccoons saw the Cyclones for the first time since sweeping them out of the World Series last October (and the first time in the regular season since 2042, when we had ALSO swept them). But since Nick Valdes had been robbed of his World Series parade on home ground when no Game 6 took place, he made sure to sneak his sleazy bum into the offices for the series opener and however long we’d get along with each other. (looks at pocket schedule) It’s a 2-week homestand. (demonstratively opens bottle of Capt’n Coma)

In baseball terms, Cincy sat third in the FL East, fourth in runs scored and runs allowed, and had a +22 run differential (Critters: +33). Their pen looked wonky, they had no speed on the bases (bottoms in stolen bases), but as a team were hitting a staggering .298 – they had a number of injuries, including starter Bill McMichael and outfielders Mike Gray and Celio Umbreiro.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (5-1, 3.46 ERA) vs. Chris Sulkey (1-2, 3.43 ERA)
Corey Mathers (4-2, 3.79 ERA) vs. Willie Gallardo (2-3, 2.66 ERA)
Jake Jackson (3-1, 3.29 ERA) vs. Melvin Lucero (4-2, 5.40 ERA)

Another southpaw for the Tuesday opener, then two right-handed pitchers. The Raccoons would not have another off day until the 25th, so I totally saw a bullpen game developing early on in this string…

Armando Herrera was ready to go again – but Tuesday was the 15th day of his DL stint; he could only come off on Wednesday.

Game 1
CIN: CF Mathes – 2B Strohm – 3B J. Burgos – SS C. Delgado – 1B V. Chavez – RF Meyer – LF Jay. Lockwood – C Rollin – P Sulkey
POR: LF Baskins – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – CF Pellicano – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda

Dan Mathes had missed the World Series, and tried to make up for it in one swing, flying out to Pellicano in deep center to open the game. Okuda then nailed Chris Strohm with an 0-2 pitch and was taken deep by Jesus Burgos, putting the Raccoons in a 2-0 hole anyway. Okuda would go on to strike out nobody *twice* through the Cyclones order, giving up a Dan Meyer solo homer the second time on the run, but was also the only Critter to reach base the first time our order. And yes, Nick Valdes was snapping by the fourth inning that they didn’t look much like they’d defend their title. – Well, I don’t know, Nick! Why do you always come in when they’re losing??

The Raccoons reached the board in the bottom 5th when Carreno hit a leadoff single, advanced on a bunt by Okuda, and scored on Derek Baskins’ 2-out RBI single, narrowing the gap to 3-1. Waters grounded out to Burgos to end the inning, and then the sixth began with Ricky Jimenez’ capital throwing error that gave Chris Delgado second base on an infield roller. Okuda, though, buckled down, struck out Victor Chavez, and got poor outs on pops from Meyer and Jayden Lockwood. The game remained tight without much hope for Portland to rally further, stuck on three base hits through seven innings. Okuda pitched into the eighth before giving up a solo homer to Delgado, 4-1. Left-handed Vic Chavez singled to knock Okuda from the game, and when Preston Porter came in he was taken deep by Meyer to put the game away. Jonathan Dustal hit a double in Porter’s spot in the bottom of the inning and was singled home by the valiant but futile Baskins, who was the last Raccoon to reach base in the game. 6-2 Cyclones. Baskins 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1, 2B;

But look, Nick, the Crusaders also lost, and we remain in first place!

Fine, be moping with Fairydust. I have my own toy raccoon to cuddle with while not talking to you! (grabs Honeypaws)

Gene Pellicano had hit .190 during his brief stint up and was returned to AAA.

Game 2
CIN: 3B J. Burgos – 2B Strohm – CF Mathes – SS C. Delgado – 1B V. Chavez – RF Meyer – LF Jay. Lockwood – C Sicco – P W. Gallardo
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – SS Martell – P Mathers

Strohm tripled to right in the first inning, but Dan Mathes popped out on the infield and Delgado flew out to the returning Herrera to keep that runner stranded. The Raccoons had only one base runner the first time through, Manny singling up the middle to begin the bottom 2nd before getting thrown out trying to get second base on a missed hit-and-run with Pat Gurney. The Cyclones then jumped on Mathers in the fourth inning, rapping out four hits for two singles, two doubles, and three runs. Meyer (on a groundout), Lockwood, and Sicco had the RBI’s at the bottom of the order. And the Coons? Maldonado doubled in the bottom 4th, but was stranded, and Gurney singled to begin the fifth, but was doubled up by Zarate.

While Valdes was explaining to Cristiano how to successfully restructure a group of failing corporate executives, Martell and Mathers began the bottom 6th with poor outs before Baskins drew a walk with two outs. He was in motion when Herrera hit a screamer to left for a double, and scored the Coons’ first run, 3-1. Maldo singled home Herrera, 3-2, but Manny struck out to end the inning. Mathers got through the 9-1-2 batters in the seventh to complete his day, and the Raccoons were close again at the seventh-inning stretch. Gallardo retired them in order afterwards, though. The Coons sent Chuck Jones into the eighth to get a groundout from Dan Mathes, but he failed to impress the right-handed Delgado and walked him. Dan Rollin pinch-hit for Chavez, taking away the lefty bat and bringing in Nelson Moreno in a double switch, Waters for Carreno; Moreno struck out Rollin and Meyer to end the inning, while Waters hit a 1-out double in the bottom 8th against Gallardo, but Baskins flew out to left and Herrera whiffed to strand the tying run in scoring position. Zack Kelly and Nate Norris pieced the ninth together for Portland, and then we brought up the meat of the order against righty Carson Jarvinen and his 2.16 ERA in the bottom 9th. Maldo struck out. Manny grounded out. Gurney flew out to left. 3-2 Cyclones. Maldonado 2-4, 2B, RBI; Waters 1-1, 2B;

Yes, Nick, they’re getting their money’s worth. – No, Nick, you’re not getting your money’s worth. – No, you never have gotten your money’s worth. – I agree, you should totally slash your budget in half, and if they don’t win tomorrow, fly home angrily.

You know, Nick, even if they do win, you should totally fly home angrily tomorrow, just to show us!

Game 3
CIN: 3B J. Burgos – RF Meyer – SS C. Delgado – CF Mathes – 2B Strohm – LF Jay. Lockwood – C Sicco – 1B Madrid – P Lucero
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – P Jackson

Maud made muffins, Valdes made complaints, and the Coons made it on the board first with a Herrera double and Maldonado RBI single in the bottom 1st. Jackson struck out four the first time through, but blew the lead in the third inning on a 2-out solo jack by Meyer, who hit his fourth on the year, and the third in this series. He then struck out nobody the second time through the Cyclones’ order, which was just the same, given that the Raccoons also were very resilient to get on base again; it was not their best series of the year. The game remained tied at one through five innings of futility, with the most enthusiasm Valdes could manage being bestowed on Maud’s muffins. I reluctantly had to agree.

Chris Delgado’s leadoff jack in the sixth was the sixth Cyclones homer in the series (Coons: zilch), and put them ahead 2-1 again. Herrera reached first to begin the bottom 6th thanks to an error by Alfonso Madrid, but three piss poor outs followed. Like the two pitchers before him, Jake Jackson fought through seven innings in a losing effort, while Lucero, the former Coons farmhand, was out after six innings of 4-hit ball. Righty Sean Yates walked Kilmer to begin the bottom 7th, then served up a bomb to Matt Waters that flipped the score the Coons’ way, 3-2. Well, *now* Valdes was suddenly grinning again. A tack-on run off Leborio Valdevesso was scored on a Baskins triple and Herrera RBI single with two outs. Porter logged one out in the eighth, with Jones putting in two more, not allowing a Cyclone on base. The Raccoons were no more successful in their half of the eighth. When the ninth broke, Chuck Jones remained on the mound with two left-handed batters coming up, trying to coax a righty pinch-hitter out of the Cincinnatians with Rella hot and ready in the pen. No pinch-hitter appeared against Lockwood, who struck out, and Valentino Sicco, who grounded out. With two outs and the right-handed .240 hitter Madrid up, Jones looked guessingly into the dugout, but the Raccoons were not going to make the change *now*. The pitcher was *behind* Madrid, and that would be the tying run. The spot didn’t come up – Madrid grounded out to Waters on a 2-2 offering. 4-2 Raccoons. Herrera 3-4, 2B, RBI; Waters 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Jackson 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (4-1); Jones 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (1);

The Crusaders completed getting violently swept by the Gold Sox, so this salvage W in the Thursday game extended our lead in the division to 1 1/2 games.

Nick Valdes went home angrily, but didn’t know quite why. On the way there he’d stop over at his logging business in the Yellowstone Timber Factory, which was conveniently on the way.

Raccoons (23-10) vs. Indians (8-27) – May 12-14, 2045

Caution! The Indians looked like a dead tree, but they came off a 3-game sweep of the Scorpions…! Yes, last in runs scored, yes, last in runs allowed – but three wins in a row. Oh, they were last in so many things – not stolen bases though. The few times they’d get on, they’d wreak havoc on the basepaths. We led the season series, 3-0.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (4-1, 2.50 ERA) vs. Ayden Cobb (1-3, 4.07 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (2-3, 4.41 ERA) vs. Chris Volk (1-3, 5.63 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (5-2, 3.83 ERA) vs. Jonathan Dykstra (1-6, 7.99 ERA)

All righties! – There were quite a few injuries to the Indians, but besides Brandon Nickerson, laboring on a torn flexor tendon for a full year now, they were position players: Vince Lutch, Nelson Galvan, Julian Diaz were all out. Sergio Riquenes was day-to-day with a back strain.

For Portland, Bryce Toohey was hitting .204 now. His last multi-hit game had been on April 22, the last homer on April 26, and same for the last multi-RBI game, and he had strings of 2-for-26 and 6-for-44 going. A lineup drop was in order.

Game 1
IND: SS Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – RF B. Quinteros – C Ebner – 3B Walley – 2B E. Vargas – CF Crocker – P A. Cobb
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 1B Toohey – 2B Carreno – P Clark

Brent Clark found more trouble for the troubled Raccoons, walking the bases full against the righty parade of Sean Ebner, Chris Walley, and Enrique Vargas in the second inning before giving up a grand slam to Nick Crocker. So, another game like this. ****. While Walley also singled home Danny Rivera in the third inning to extend the score to 5-0, the Raccoons brought up the minimum the first time through. Herrera hit a first-inning single. Maldo helped to double him up.

Clark was yanked in the fourth, down 6-0 after Russ singled home Enrique Vargas with two outs. Vargas had also been walked again. Jon Craig entered the game for garbage duty, while Russ was caught stealing by Kilmer to end the inning. Craig added two scoreless on his own volition after that, while Waters hit a solo homer in the fifth that ended a string of seven hostile homers on the homestand without even token Raccoons participation in the slugging. How comforting.

Bottom 6th. The #9 spot led off, with Dustal hitting for Craig and hitting a double to left. Baskins hit an RBI single, 6-2, and Herrera hit another double to left. That actually brought the tying run into the on-deck circle for the first time since what felt like last month. Maldo and Manny brought in the runners with a grounder and sac fly, respectively, but that also led to the rally petering out still down 6-4. Kilmer ended the inning with a deep fly out. Porter held the Indians in place in the seventh inning, while the Raccoons got a Toohey single with one out in the bottom 7th. Carreno popped out. Dustal had remained in the game, saw new pitcher Orlando Altreche, and hit *another* double to left, this one scoring Toohey from first. Baskins flew out to center, stranding the tying run on second, but Herrera doubled into the gap in left-center off Justin Johns to begin the bottom 8th, putting up another attractive target. Maldo popped out, though. Manny had been removed earlier, so Pat Gurney pinch-hit in the #4 spot, striking out. Kilmer grounded out. I popped open the Capt’n Coma. Josh Rella was used to keep the Indians pinned in the ninth, walking Vargas to get going, but getting a double play from Crocker and another groundout to get outta there. Right-hander Tommy Gardner was then up against the 6-7-8 batters with a 6-5 lead. Waters grinded out a 7-pitch walk to bring up Toohey as the winning run. Pinch-hitting for a 7-47 guy was tempting, but he still had those seven homers, and he was due one. He grounded to the left side, dangerously close to the Gold Glover Russ, but he missed it, and Toohey reached on a shy single – adding to the runners on base. Carreno was hitting .186 and was asked to bunt, which he did just fine. Dustal hit a comebacker for a non-helping second out. And Baskins flew out to Rivera. 6-5 Indians. Herrera 4-4, 2 2B; Toohey 2-4; Dustal (PH) 2-3, 2 2B, RBI;

(screams into a pillow)

Dustal this week: 3-for-4, 3 doubles. Give that man a start!

And Toohey? First multi-hit game since April 22 indeed.

Not that hopes were high for Saturday either. Wheatley was pitching after all. Half an hour before game time I strolled through the clubhouse, casually asking him whether he knew he was pitching for his life today. He gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look.

Game 2
IND: SS Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF B. Quinteros – RF Crocker – C Ebner – 2B D. Diaz – 1B S. Jennings – 3B Walley – P Volk
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – RF Dustal – 1B Toohey – 2B Martell – P Wheatley

Wheats struck out the first two in a 1-2-3 opening frame, so maybe I should emotionally torture the boys more often. The Raccoons then went up 2-0 on the Indians; Waters walked, stole second, and got home on a Herrera double. Zarate’s 2-out single brought in Herrera then. Wheatley gave up a run in the second, walking the leadoff man Crocker, who scored on Danny Diaz’ single. Wheatley also walked Russ in the third, which was ghastly to me. Russ stole second, his ninth bag of the year, and made for home on a Rivera single – but Herrera unleashed a rocket that got Russ thrown out at home, preserving the narrow lead for the time being. Bill Quinteros popped out to Toohey to end the inning.

Portland then opened the bottom 3rd with two outs before Maldo walked. Manny singled softly. Zarate hit another 2-out RBI single. And then Dustal unwrapped another double, this one in the right-center gap for two runs …! – Maud, I don’t know what he’s having, but I want some. I want to feel young again …! …

The middle innings were calm; nobody scored, while Wheats looked borderline competent, maintaining a 3-hitter through six on 84 pitches. Diaz hit a 1-out single off him in the seventh, and so did Jennings, shyly up the middle. Chris Walley was next and hit into a double play, which dissolved the inning rather well. The Coons opened the bottom 7th with a walk drawn by Waters. Herrera hit a blooper to center on the first pitch that bounced right in front of Quinteros, then hit off Quinteros’ wrist and bounced away for an error, putting two in scoring position with nobody out. The Indians coyly walked Maldo, the cowards, putting us into the death zone with three on and nobody out. Manny was next, struck out, but Zarate salvaged a run with a sac fly. Pitcher Tony Correa then fumbled Dustal’s grounder for another error. Toohey flew out anyway, stranding three. Wheats continued in the top 8th, nailed PH Logan Arnold, got a fielder’s choice out of Russ, and then departed with lefty power coming to the dish. Zack Kelly bailed out on two groundouts. The Indians would squeeze a run out of Norris in the ninth, but that was as close as they came. 6-2 Raccoons. Herrera 2-4, 2B, RBI; Zarate 2-3, 3 RBI; Wheatley 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (3-3);

Game 3
IND: SS Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – RF B. Quinteros – C Julian Diaz – 3B Walley – 2B Arnold – CF D. Diaz – P Dykstra
POR: LF Baskins – SS Waters – 1B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – C Zarate – CF Dustal – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda

Russ legged out an infield single to begin the game, stole second, but was thrown out trying to get to third by Zarate. Russ remained a pest, though, doubling home Arnold for the game’s first run in the top 3rd. But the Raccoons got to stir against another former farmhand of theirs in the bottom of the same inning, when Okuda led off with a single. Baskins grounded out, Waters walked, and Maldonado got hold of one and crammed it into the corner in rightfield with great noise. Okuda scored, half carried the last 50 feet by the pressing Waters, who went on contact. The 2-run double flipped the score, and Zarate provided another 2-out RBI single to get Maldonado home. Dustal dropped a single into center, but Carreno kept failing and grounded out to short to end the inning with a 3-spot and two stranded. Two more were stranded in the fourth when Baskins and Waters got on, but Maldonado grounded out. Dustal drew a 2-out walk in the fifth, stole second, and was again stranded on a Carreno grounded to short.

Okuda had silently ticked off batters for a few innings, but Miguel Barrientos opened the sixth with a double to right. The next two lefty hitters struck out, though, and Diaz popped out to Carreno on 2-2. Okuda then hit another single with one out in the bottom of the inning, another slapper into shallow center. Baskins hit a single to the same spot, and both advanced on Waters’ groundout to Walley. Maldo was walked with intent, an interesting choice with Dykstra not being replaced for a lefty hurler, either. Manny grounded out anyway, stranding three…

Okuda battled through seven innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball, retiring the Indians 1-2-3 in the seventh before retiring for the night on 113 pitches. Moreno allowed a double to Russ in the eighth, but Chuck Jones would help him out of the inning, getting a groundout from Rivera to end the Indians’ half of the eighth. Rella was in the game after the Raccoons stranded another pair in a mildly infuriating game. And Rella collapsed. He hit Quinteros, then walked the bags full with pinch-hitters Crocker and Jennings. Three on, no outs in a 3-1 game. Arnold popped out, but Diaz singled to center to narrow the score to 3-2. Sean Ebner hit a fly to deep left for a sac fly that tied the ******* ballgame. Russ flew out to Manny in right, and now the Coons had to get their sticks again after already sending them to the clubhouse in exchange for forks. Righty Cesar Suarez came on for Indy, then gave up a Manny double to right on the first pitch. There was the winning run in scoring position! Zarate grounded out, but advanced Manny to third base. Batting sixth after a few pitching movements was Pat Gurney, who was walked with intent. That brought up Rella. Jeff Kilmer was the last guy on the bench and batted for him. Kilmer fell to 2-2, but hit a fly to left then. Not too deep. Just barely deep. Manny went for home! The throw by Rivera …… late! Walkoff! 4-3 Raccoons! Baskins 2-5; Fernandez 2-5, 2B; Okuda 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K and 2-3;

In other news

May 8 – The Thunder ship #5 prospect SP Luis Copa and outfielder Adrian Ringel (.217, 0 HR, 2 RBI) to the Gold Sox for SS/LF/1B Ryan Cox (.232, 2 HR, 16 RBI).
May 9 – The Rebels acquire CL Kurt Crater (1-1, 3.46 ERA, 9 SV) from the Warriors, along with a prospect, for 1B Manny Liberos, who they had stashed away in AAA. Liberos hit .224 with 8 HR and 49 RBI last season.
May 9 – IND OF Danny Rivera (.276, 6 HR, 20 RBI) walks off the Indians with a 10th-inning grand slam off SAC MR Antonio Prieto (1-3, 6.06 ERA) after the game had been scoreless in regulation. The Indians win 4-0.
May 9 – CHA 1B/LF/RF Ed Haertling (.368, 4 HR, 18 RBI) hits a first-inning home run for all the offense in a 1-0 win over the Rebels.
May 12 – The Bayhawks pick up SP Chris “Tuba” Turner (2-3, 4.97 ERA) from the Titans for three prospects.
May 14 – A groin strain would keep LAP INF Brian Bowman (.275, 1 HR, 13 RBI) off the field until early June.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Juan Benavides (.420, 3 HR, 19 RBI), batting .542 (13-24) with 2 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL LF/RF Daniel Hertenstein (.315, 6 HR, 27 RBI), hitting .478 (11-23) with 1 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

It was not a great week, but we stayed in first at all times – the Crusaders were not doing any better. On Sunday, they were rained out in their rubber game with the damn Elks, which would be made up in June. We’re thus now one game up.

That will be tested starting on Monday, when the Crusaders will be in for four games, the first meeting between us this season. The Falcons will complete the homestand on the weekend then. A 2-week road trip will follow that will carry us into June.

Our two middle infielders are developing apart at this moment. Matt Waters strikes out quite a bit, but he’s also beginning to draw more walks (he leads the team with 19) and has a .376 OBP that is currently rising, which makes him more of top-of-the-order material again. Carreno however, can’t get any ball to fall in. He also can’t draw a walk. Somebody’s gotta bat eighth – but Al Martell might bat eighth more often pretty soon.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons bullpen has yet to pick up a loss this season.

We’ve lost 11 games, and they’re all on the rotation. The relievers are 5-0, with two wins each on Chuck Jones and Josh Rella, the latter of whom manufactured himself a W by blowing the save on Sunday.

For his career he’s still a rock, 11-4 with 2.64 ERA and 112 SV. He has blown eight saves in his career.

Westheim · 09-27-2021, 02:28 PM

Raccoons (25-11) vs. Crusaders (24-12) – May 15-18, 2045

The Raccoons met the Crusaders for the first time in 2045, and they needed a split at least to stay in first place for this 4-game series. The last three seasons the Raccoons had always taken the season series from New York, winning 12 of 18 games in 2044. And now the Crusaders were second in runs scored, third in runs allowed, had a better run differential than the Coons (by four runs), and the Portlanders had not really played sound baseball in the month of May, going 5-7 after a 20-4 April.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (4-3, 3.80 ERA) vs. Rich Willett (2-3, 3.80 ERA)
Jake Jackson (4-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. Carlos Malla (2-0, 3.93 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-2, 3.63 ERA) vs. Paul Paris (5-1, 3.39 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-3, 3.83 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (4-1, 4.13 ERA)

Malla was a 25-year-old Dominican left-hander the Crusaders’ scouting director had discovered in a holiday resort on Hispanola just this winter, throwing wayward beach balls back to tourists. It all sounded a bit too good to be true. All their other starters were righties.

Game 1
NYC: 3B Riario – LF Montes – SS Adame – RF Willie Ojeda – 1B Briones – C Alba – 2B Nash – CF Rico – P Willett
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – SS Waters – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Toohey – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers

Singles by Vittorio Riario and Andy Montes as well as a Willie Ojeda sac fly to center quickly put a New York run on the board, although Willett gifted the run right back to the Raccoons. Derek Baskins reached on a Mario Briones error, Armando Herrera singled, and Willett balked in the runner from third base. Willett then bobbled Matt Waters’ grounder for the second error of the inning. Manny Fernandez killed the inning partially with a 6-4-3 double play grounder; Herrera did score from third to take a 2-1 lead, but when Kilmer homered after that, nobody was left on base and he had to settle for a solo shot, 3-1. All the runs in the inning would be unearned. That lead in turn would run away from the Raccoons, also in unearned fashion, by the fifth inning. But first – Corey Mathers fooled absolutely nobody. Through five innings, the Crusaders tagged him for nine hits while striking out once. They made up a run in the third inning when Riario whacked a leadoff double to right and got moved around, while in the fifth the New Yorkers had 2-out singles from Willie Ojeda and Briones. Ojeda went to third base, Jimenez couldn’t come up with Manny Fernandez’ wayward throw, and Ojeda dashed for home plate to score the tying run. Fernando Alba grounded out, but Mathers allowed two more singles in the sixth to Randolph Nash, who was doubled up by Danny Rico’s grounder to short, and Willett, who ventured past first base and was tagged out on a precise throw by Manny. Mathers was yanked after that, conceding three runs (two earned) on 11 hits.

He left with the Raccoons loading the bags in the bottom 6th and nobody out, which certainly doomed him to a no-decision. Waters walked, Manny and Kilmer singled, and here came the struggling Toohey. He raked a high fly to left on Willett’s first pitch, but couldn’t get it outta here, or even past Andy Montes. It was a sac fly, though, good enough to take a 4-3 lead and thus better than nothing. Willett then bounced a ball under Alba’s leg for a passed ball that scored Manny from third base, then got taken into the gap for an RBI double by Arturo Carreno. Jimenez and Gurney made two outs after that, but the 6-3 lead was well defended by Nate Norris and Zack Kelly… at least until the latter walked Alba with two outs in the eighth. Josh Rella got an early entrance in a double switch with Jonathan Dustal, and got Randolph Nash to fly out to the same Dustal in center to end the top 8th. Rella retired the Crusaders in order in the ninth. 6-3 Critters. Kilmer 2-4, HR, RBI; Carreno 2-3, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
NYC: 3B Riario – LF Montes – SS Adame – RF Willie Ojeda – 1B Briones – C Alba – 2B Nash – CF Rico – P Malla
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – C Kilmer – 1B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson

As soon as he arrived on the mound, Jake Jackson looked like trouble. First time through, he was behind basically every hitter except those that whacked at the first pitch, walked two, nailed one, and gave up a lone hit, a 2-out RBI single to the Dominican club gigolo in the second inning. Bryce Toohey wiped the resulting 1-0 deficit with a solo jack in the bottom of the inning, his first homer in May. That didn’t make Jackson any better, but was a bit more comforting for my state of mind, being in a 1-1 game. The Crusaders had lone singles in each of the next two innings, but each time ran themselves out of it, with Alex Adame doubled off on a line drive, 4-3, in the third, and Nash caught stealing in the fourth.

Nobody else scored until the fifth inning when another Critter on the struggle bus hit a solo homer to left; Ricky Jimenez was hitting .154 before adding 13 points with his fourth homer of the year, which also gave the team a 2-1 lead. Jackson settled down a little bit in the middle innings, but walked to begin the top 7th. Nash grounded out, Rico struck out, but when the Crusaders hit for Malla with left-hander Josh Garris, it ended both pitchers’ days. Chuck Jones came on and got a groundout from Garris, ending the top 7th. Jones would collect two more outs from Riario and Montes in the eighth, then yielded for Nelson Moreno, who came on in a double switch to facilitate a 4-out save with Rella having been out two days in a row, and three of four. Adame lined out to Herrera in center to end the inning. Portland didn’t tack on in their half of the eighth; Derek Baskins, who had entered with Moreno, reached base with two outs, stole second, but was stranded when Waters flew out to deep left. But Moreno remained on his post, getting three grounders to the right side for three outs in the ninth to keep the Raccoons in first place throughout this series. 2-1 Critters! Baskins 1-1;

Very good, boys! Very good!

Now make it better and win two more!

Game 3
NYC: 3B Nash – LF Montes – SS Adame – RF Willie Ojeda – 2B Briones – C Alba – 1B D. Hernandez – CF Rico – P Paris
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 1B Toohey – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Clark

Brent Clark had been pretty bad the last time out, but added a few shovels worth of coal to the suck train. The first seven Crusaders all reached base – the first four tagged him for singles on just eight pitches for a 1-0 score before he walked in a run against Briones. Alba doubled in two, Dave Hernandez singled home a run, and Rico hit a sac fly before Paris struck out and Nash grounded out to short – it was a 6-run massacre. It didn’t get any better in the second inning. Single, single, walk, sac fly, nailed batter – yoink! Jon Craig got the ball, gave up two runs on a Rico single, 9-0, and I gave up on the game and turned my attention towards Capt’n Coma and the spiked flail I hoped to use for penance to appease the baseball gods. I did not like to use it – not because of the pain or all the blood, but because Maud found my exposed furry old man back extremely unappealing.

The Coons scored a 4-spot in the bottom 2nd that didn’t exactly get them near contending again. Toohey hit a 2-out jack again, and then Paris was bopped around for five more singles, including one by Craig, and three runs. Then Manny was on in the bottom 3rd, and Toohey hit another homer to left-center, his 10th of the year. Suddenly it was a 9-6 game. Paris was yanked for a pinch-hitter in the fourth, but Joe Graf spanked into an inning-ending double play with Jon Craig pitching pretty badly, allowing five runners for five outs up to that point, but nothing that actually mattered on the scoreboard.

Clark pitched 3.1 innings in long relief, while the game calmed down noticeably in the middle innings. After the 15-run riot of the early innings, both teams saved themselves for better times, and nobody scored. Toohey hit a double in the sixth, but was stranded. When a team scored again, it was the one from New York, overcoming Preston Porter in his second inning of work for a Montes single, Adame double, and a well-placed groundout by Ojeda, 10-6 in the eighth. And for the Raccoons, only Bryce Toohey didn’t seem done – he hit another homer to left-center off Aaron Hickey in the bottom 8th, but again a solo deed. It was also his third in the game! Zarate then ended the inning with a groundout. After a scoreless Norris appearance in the ninth, Carreno hit for Martell and opened the bottom 9th with a double off lefty Mike Lynn. Kilmer grounded out for Norris, moving Carreno to third. Baskins popped out. Herrera flew out. The Coons went under. 10-7 Crusaders. Toohey 4-4, 3 HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Carreno (PH) 1-1, 2B; Craig 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K and 1-2, RBI;

Well, Bryce. (pats on shoulder) You tried.

He *did* take over the lead in homers in the CL though.

Game 4
NYC: 3B Riario – LF Montes – SS Adame – RF Willie Ojeda – 1B Briones – C Alba – 2B Nash – CF Graf – P J. Johnson
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – SS Martell – P Wheatley

Wheats and a depleted (sort of) pen against Jeff Johnson in the fourth game – I held on tight to Honeypaws from the start, but I was annoyed to find that Maud had hidden the spiked flail away. He allowed one runner in the first two innings, walking Alba, then descended into horror and madness again in the third. Joe Graf singled, which was just a thing. But Johnson bunted badly to get the runner forced out, which should steer the inning towards a good outcome, but then Riario singled to left, Baskins butchered the ball for an error, and a run scored on Montes’ groundout. Adame reached on an infield single, Ojeda was nailed, and somehow, anyhow, Mario Briones didn’t hit a slam, but grounded out to Carreno to strand three runners. The Raccoons at this point had two singles and as many double play grounders (Maldo, Manny), while Maldonado also hit a leadoff double in the bottom 4th, then was stranded right on second base by the next three pokers.

Nope, Wheatley didn’t pitch badly, going through seven innings of 1-run ball, and apart from that one damn inning pitched really, really well, but the rest of the litter seemed hellbent on making him a loser on that lone run he had given up. Johnson scattered five hits and a walk through six innings, and the Raccoons never even set paw on third base. Kilmer (forced out by Martell) and PH Matt Waters hit singles in the bottom 7th, but Ojeda snagged a harmless fly by Baskins to end that inning. Nelson Moreno held the fort in the eighth, with Johnson still out there in the bottom of that frame. Herrera singled softly. Maldo grounded hard to right, Briones couldn’t reach the ball, and it ran away for Ojeda for a bit, giving the Raccoons a double, some sod on third base, and the go-ahead run in scoring position, too, all with nobody out! They barely got Wheatley off the hook as Toohey popped out, Manny hit a sac fly to center, and Kilmer was rung up. At least the game was tied, and Chuck Jones kept it tied against the 6-7-8 batters in the ninth inning, surviving even two right-handed pinch-hitters. Johnson returned again for the bottom of the ninth, now with the Coons’ bottom of the order up. Carreno raked a leadoff single at 3-1, the ball ticking off Adame’s reaching glove. There was then a longer standoff with Johnson repeatedly stepping off the rubber against the stolen base threat. Carreno would still get the better off him, but only got to second as Al Martell struck out. He would reach third on Pat Gurney’s groundout, but Baskins’ groundout sent the game to extras.

The 10th brought in Josh Rella, who got two outs, conceded a single to Montes, and then rung up Adame to keep the Crusaders from taking the lead. Mike Lynn was sent by the Crusaders for the bottom 10th with the ball finally wrestled from Johnson’s tired paw. Herrera opened with a bloop single, and Malonado was brushed by a pitch, moving the winning run to second base with nobody out. Toohey hit into a double play, 5-4-3, Manny walked, and the suspense was unbearable. Kilmer struck out, and instead Willie Ojeda homered off Rella to open the 11th. With Lynn retiring Carreno, Dustal, and Jimenez in order in the bottom 11th, Rella was thus stuck with the loss. 2-1 Crusaders. Herrera 2-5; Maldonado 3-4, 2B; Kilmer 2-5, 2B; Waters (PH) 1-1; Wheatley 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K;

****.

Raccoons (27-13) vs. Falcons (22-19) – May 19-21, 2045

Final opponent on the homestand; the Falcons ranked ninth in runs scored but had allowed the fewest runs of all the teams in the CL, which might be a challenge for us right now. They had the best rotation by ERA, with a top 3 bullpen to boot. We had been up on them last year, 6-3.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (5-2, 3.51 ERA) vs. Adam Messer (5-2, 2.52 ERA)
Corey Mathers (5-3, 3.88 ERA) vs. Evan Henshaw (2-2, 2.88 ERA)
Jake Jackson (5-1, 2.94 ERA) vs. Oscar Flores (5-2, 2.87 ERA)

Certainly no weak spots here. Also no southpaws.

Game 1
CHA: C Kokoszka – 3B Watanabe – CF Besaw – SS Aparicio – 1B Haertling – RF Turley – 2B Sandoval – LF Case – P Messer
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Okuda

Base hits by Archie Turley and Seth Case gave Charlotte a 1-0 lead in the top 2nd, while I was with great concern glancing both at our lineup and at the skies above, which both looked pretty bleak. Messer glitched the bags full in the bottom 2nd though, walking Toohey and Carreno around a Waters single, and bringing up Zarate with one out. He was the perfect player for a 6-4-3, and hit into a 6-4-3. Case scored Turley with another 2-out single in the fourth inning, going up 2-0, as the Raccoons kept looking on intently. Zarate meanwhile got the single we would have needed in the second inning only in the fifth inning, then with nobody on base. He was bunted to second for the second out, and Baskins legged out an infield single. Herrera fell to 1-2 before hitting a grounder to left. Tony Aparicio intercepted the ball deep at short, but had no play – a run scored on the Coons’ second consecutive 2-out infield single. And then Maldo grounded out…

The Falcons answered with four hits and two runs off Okuda in the sixth, knocking him out of the inning, and again the bottom of the order was well involved. In another ****** loss, the Raccoons could find neither pitching, nor timely hitting, but at least got to waste more homers, like Waters’ solo shot in the bottom 6th that narrowed the score to 4-2. The tying run came to the plate with one out in the eighth only, then after Maldonado doubled off right-hander Kyle Conner, who threw a wild pitch, then gave up the run on a sac fly to Toohey, but that still kept the Falcons on top, 4-3. The Raccoons’ pen held up at least, and that gave the Raccoons a chance for a comeback in the bottom 9th against righty Emmanuel Lizarraga, who had 16 walks in 16.1 innings. Waters would lead off, raked at the 1-0 pitch to make me wail, but at least hit a double to center on it, promoting the winning run to the plate. Carreno had more patience, drawing the walk. Dustal hit for Zarate to stay out of the double play, and hit into a ******* double play. Kilmer would hit for Norris with Waters on third and nobody else on base anymore. He grounded out on the first pitch. 4-3 Falcons. Herrera 2-4, RBI; Waters 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI;

The Crusaders won against the Aces, tying up the division.

Honeypaws, Maud hid the rope, too. Help me find it.

Game 2
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – C Kokoszka – SS Aparicio – 1B Haertling – 3B Sandoval – CF Case – RF Farfan – LF D. Vasquez – P Henshaw
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers

The Raccoons had another first inning from hell, with Mathers allowing singles to the first three batters he faced to load the bases, then surrendered runs on Ed Haertling’s sac fly, and singles by Seth Case and Jose Farfan with two outs, falling behind 3-0. In other words: Ballgame. The Raccoons had one runner the first time through. Bryce Toohey hit a single, then was picked off first by Henshaw.

The Raccoons went on to shed Carreno in the fourth inning with shoulder discomfort; Martell took over at second base. Waters opened the same inning with a double to right, which was the most offense in a while. Herrera flew out lazily, but Maldonado caught up with a hanging curveball and mashed it over the Columbia for a 2-run homer, cutting the gap to one run on his ninth homer of the year.

Mathers needed 80 pitches through five innings, then did his royal best to short-circuit the offense in the bottom 5th. Martell was nicked, Jimenez walked, and Mathers failed to get a bunt down, striking out eventually. Waters then singled to left, but that only filled the bags and didn’t tie the game now… I predicted doom to Honeypaws, Slappy, and whoever else would listen, especially with Herrera falling behind 1-2, but the rather expensive import then jabbed an RBI single over Aparicio to tie the game. Maldo ran a full count, held out on a pitch outside, and pushed home Jimenez with the go-ahead run, 4-3. Toohey struck out, but Manny came through, knocking a liner up the rightfield line for a bases-clearing double. That was the end of Henshaw’s game, with Kilmer getting pretty close to a 2-run homer off Felix Castano afterwards, but only flew out to the fence in left to end the inning. Castano was then the second player to leave the game accompanied by the trainer in the next inning, while Mathers pitched on until rain broke in the seventh inning and forced a rain delay just after PH Shintaro Watanabe had popped out to shallow center to open the inning.

After about 40 minutes of rain, the game resumed, Portland needing eight outs without blowing a 4-run lead. Norris got three in various ways, while Kelly struck out two to complete eight innings. Manny added a solo jack off Matt Schwartz to his earlier heroics in the bottom 8th. Jon Craig retired the side in order with two more strikeouts in the ninth then. 8-3 Coons. Waters 2-4, 2B; Fernandez 2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Gurney (PH) 1-1; Jimenez 1-2, BB; Mathers 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (6-3);

Now the bad news: Arturo Carreno will miss six weeks at least with a partially torn labrum.

I doubt that he’ll find his hitting swing while on the DL.

It was time for a debut: 2041’s #17 pick, 2B John Castner, who had been through his own grisly injuries in years past, was hitting .320/.374/.392 in AAA to win promotion. He was a typical singles, slapping, glove-first second baseman, but could also engage in the stealing game.

Game 3
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 3B Watanabe – CF Besaw – 1B Haertling – RF Turley – C Kokoszka – SS Sandoval – LF D. Vasquez – P O. Flores
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Jackson

Martinez opened with a triple to right that got stuck in the corner, costing Toohey extra time, and scored on a Watanabe single. Well, the Raccoons get behind early. What else is ******* new? The Raccoons couldn’t score with Manny and Gurney on the corners in the bottom 2nd, which hardly was, while the Falcons whacked Jackson around for three more hits and two runs in the third inning. David Vasquez doubled, Martinez and Watanabe singled to score a run, and Joe Besaw hit a sac fly to go up 3-0. Bottom 4th, we opened with Maldo getting hit (like Manny earlier) and Toohey hit a single, bringing up the tying run. Two groundouts scored one run before Kilmer lined out to Miguel Martinez…

While Jackson bumbled on, laden with a 3-1 deficit, the Raccoons had leadoff singles in the sixth by Herrera, who was left in on-base desolation, and Gurney in the seventh. The runner advanced on a balk and a groundout by Martell after Kilmer popped out pathetically, after which Baskins hit for Jackson with the runner on third base. He grounded up the middle, through the defenders, and the Raccoons had an RBI single and a 3-2 deficit. Waters struck out, ending the seventh. Moreno got around a leadoff single in the eighth, before Armando Herrera became the next Raccoon to land a leadoff hit off Flores, this time a gapper in right-center for a leadoff triple, putting the tying run just 90 feet away. I was ready to sacrifice Cristiano and/or his wheelchair, but not quite Honeypaws yet for a clutch… heck, sac fly! And Maldonado popped out on the first pitch. *** ******* *******!!! Maud looked on concerned, but thankfully Toohey dropped a single into left to get Herrera home before I could throw something or somebody through the plastic glass window overlooking the field. Manny found a double play, 6-4-3, though…

Rella was out in the ninth, striking out the 8-9 before Martinez grounded out. That gave us a walkoff chance in regulation, with right-hander Kyle Conner back out for the 6-7-8. Gurney singled to right, but was forced out by Kilmer. Martell found a double play. Yay, extra innings. The 10th saw Haertling single off Rella, but that was with two outs and nobody else did anything for the Falcons. Rella’s spot led off the bottom 10th, John Castner making his major league debut as pinch-hitter against Conner. He grounded out on his first major league pitch, but Waters singled and stole second. Herrera popped out. Maldonado walked. We needed a hit …! Toohey struck out, and the game dragged on. Zack Kelly held the tie in the 11th while the Falcons hung with long man Conner. Manny opened with a single, the 58th leadoff hit the Raccoons got in this game, scoring negative eleven runs doing so. Gurney couldn’t get a bunt down. Despaired, we called a run-and-hit at 0-2, which saw Gurney chopping out, but at least Manny got to second base, which had been desired all along. Kilmer was walked with intent then, and Martell crashed into ANOTHER ******* DOUBLE PLAY.

At this point we ended up with Chuck Jones facing righty bats galore. He walked Seth Case in the #9 hole, got a grounder, then yielded a single to Watanabe that put runners on the corners. Besaw scalded a liner to right that Toohey snagged on the run – Case made for home anyway! The throw home – OUT!! Oh boy…! Bottom 12th, Brad Blankenship took over pitching for the Falcons. The righty got Zarate and Waters before Herrera singled to center with two outs. Maldo hit a double to center, but it was not enough to get Herrera around with Besaw making a nice play. Toohey was up with first base open, but the Falcons pitched to him, not having a lefty to face Manny with the bases loaded. It was the wrong move – Toohey pulverized a changeup to end this week’s worth of baseball, a 399-footer to right-center! 6-3 Furballs! Herrera 3-6, 3B; Toohey 3-6, HR, 4 RBI; Gurney 3-5, RBI; Baskins (PH) 1-1, RBI; Rella 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

In other news

May 15 – The Aces and Falcons play a two-in-one, with the Aces walking off for a 6-5 win in 18 innings. LVA 2B/SS Brandon Owen (.333, 1 HR, 13 RBI) hits his first home run of the year against CHA MR Luke Moses (0-2, 5.25 ERA) to end the game and send everybody home.
May 19 – SFB 2B/SS Sergio Quiroz (.314, 2 HR, 24 RBI) has five hits in the Bayhawks’ 12-6 win over the Loggers, including a double and a grand slam for his only four RBI in the game.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B/LF/RF Eddie Moreno (.353, 16 HR, 39 RBI), raking .464 (13-28) with 6 HR, 12 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR RF/LF/1B Bryce Toohey (.243, 12 HR, 37 RBI), cracking .375 (9-24) with 5 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Thursday was our first extra-inning game this year. And right away a stinker! Yay.

At least we won the second one on Sunday, sponsored by Toohey, who after a 2-week slump had a real breakout this week, mashing a pawful of homers. And even then he still managed three oh-fers this week. He hit 9-for-24 with three walks, a double, five bombs, and drove in 11.

In turn, Baskins turned dull, so he no longer has the automatic #1 slot assigned. Waters is far from perfect in there, and we might go to Herrera after all. Waters can still hit second after him.

We also fell into a tie on Friday and stayed there through the rest of the weekend. With a difficult 4-city road trip up, I won’t guarantee that we won’t dip down to second at one point… Atlanta, Oklahoma, San Fran, and Boston are up on the trip, which includes at least two cities where nothing good ever happens to the Raccoons…

Fun Fact: Bryce Toohey became the first Raccoon to hit three home runs in a game in a losing effort.

The previous four all won their games – Ben Simon in 1977, Craig Bowen in 2007 (the league’s sole 4-homer game still!), Kevin Harenberg in 2026, and Troy Greenway in 2038. Three of them did the feat against the Loggers, only Greenway’s came against the Titans. No Raccoon has ever homered three times against a team out of their division.

There is another parallel to this game though, with another 10-7 loss in a Raccoons-Crusaders game on offer in which a player hit three bombs – Greg Ortiz of the New Yorkers on August 12, 2037, the third Crusader to go yard thrice against Portland (Gabriel Ortiz, Jesus Ramirez), and the only one to leave the field on the losing side.

Two of Ortiz’ homers in that 2037 game were off Bernie Chavez. The third came off Francisco Pena.

Westheim · 09-29-2021, 02:16 PM

Raccoons (29-14) @ Knights (24-19) – May 22-24, 2045

Off to the road, the Raccoons were meeting up with the Knights starting on Monday. The Knights were fifth in runs scored and seventh in runs allowed, having a rather mediocre run so far. They were hitting .253, third-worst in the CL, but their starters had the second-best starters’ ERA. They were also playing the worst defense. Atlanta had won six of nine games between the two teams in 2044.

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (4-3, 5.44 ERA) vs. Bill Nichol (5-3, 4.08 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-3, 3.45 ERA) vs. Bobby Freels (0-2, 6.53 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (5-3, 3.75 ERA) vs. Brad Santry (4-4, 2.86 ERA)

Only righty pitchers facing the Critters in this set, which was also the last one in a string of games before a much-needed day off on Thursday.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Clark
ATL: SS Venegas – RF Marz – 1B Delagrange – LF Hester – 3B Crim – CF Melendez – 2B Sprague – C Krumholz – P Nichol

The Raccoons scattered a few hits early on, while Bryce Toohey, last week’s Player of the Week in the CL, hit two deep fly balls off Nichol his first two times up, but into two deep outs, the first time with Herrera and Maldonado on base. Brent Clark started well, allowing one hit and whiffing four in the first three innings before having another vexing meltdown in the fourth of a scoreless game. John Marz opened with a single before Clark walked the bags full against Chris Delgrange and Billy Hester. Joe Crim was nailed, Bill Melendez doubled in two, and somehow the inning ended with a double play before the Knights could pile on another umpteen runs. Down 3-0, the Raccoons brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out in the sixth inning; Waters hit a double, Herrera hit a scratch single, and the big boppers were coming up. They hit into a run-scoring double play and whiffed, ending the inning with the Portlanders still down 3-1. Derek Baskins would hit a leadoff single in the eighth before being doubled off by Waters, just before Armando Herrera hit a double. Maldonado grounded out, and in the bottom of the inning Preston Porter was taken apart for three hits, including a pair of RBI doubles from Joe Crim and Glenn Sprague, that put the game away. 5-1 Knights. Waters 2-4, 2B; Herrera 2-4, 2B; Gurney 2-3; Baskins (PH) 1-1;

Clark pitched seven innings and whiffed eight. More of those 8 K performances and we can start selling at the deadline…

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – LF Baskins – C Zarate – 2B Castner – P Wheatley
ATL: SS Venegas – RF Marz – LF Hester – 1B Delagrange – C Horner – 3B Crim – CF Melendez – 2B Sprague – P Freels

Two ropes past Toohey for an RBI triple for Billy Hester and an RBI single for Delagrange, and the Raccoons trailed timely again on Tuesday, 2-0 after the first inning, with the Knights having opened with an Anton Venegas single. The Coons faced a pitcher with an ERA over six and didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning, which was nothing new – Manny hit a single with Toohey already on base after walking, but there were also two outs in the inning, and Derek Baskins grounded out to Sprague to make it all moot. While offense was an alien concept for the Critters, the Knights kept whacking hits off Wheatley. They stranded two runners in the second, same in the third, and one more in the fourth. Adam Horner had enough and socked a homer to right in the bottom 5th, extending Atlanta’s lead to 3-0. Bill Melendez then reached on a Wheatley error, Glenn Sprague singled to left, and while Bobby Freels was down 1-2 with two outs, he still managed to whack a 2-run double to left against the hapless Wheatley, who was then excluded from further playtime. Jon Craig conceded the runner on a Venegas single, burying the Raccoons six runs deep. And that was more or less the entire ballgame. Craig and Norris pitched garbage innings after Wheatley’s early departure, while the Raccoons didn’t get a second base knock until John Castner hit his first career single in the eighth inning… and was left on first base. Pat Gurney reached on an error in Maldonado’s place in the ninth inning, then scored on a Toohey double; as pointless a run as there had ever been. 6-1 Knights.

It's not often that a season has ended in May, but this one just might.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda
ATL: SS Venegas – RF Marz – 1B Delagrange – LF Hester – 3B Crim – CF Melendez – 2B Sprague – C Krumholz – P Santry

For something new, the Raccoons took a lead. (looks confused) Waters singled, Baskins doubled, and after Herrera fanned, Toohey mastered a run with a sac fly to center. Manny Fernandez knocked in the second run before the top 1st ran out of juice and before Okuda blew the lead at once, walking Delagrange and getting bombed by Hester in the bottom of the inning. The Knights’ second hit of the game would also be for extra bases and for a run; Venegas hit a triple to the base of the fence in centerfield in the third inning for a 1-out three-bagger, then scored on John Marz’ sac fly, giving the Knights a 3-2 lead.

Santry countered with a pair of walks to Manny and Kilmer with one out in the fourth, then surrendered the tying run on Al Martell’s clean single through the right side. And then Ricky Jimenez continued to do as much damage to his own team as a $3M salary legally entitled him to, and hit into a 4-6-3 double play. The Coons went on to hit straight singles with their 1-2-3 hitters in the fifth inning… but Waters had already been caught stealing before Baskins and Herrera reached, and nobody scored. Joe Crim instead singled home Venegas with two outs in the sixth to establish another 1-run lead for the Knights in a 3-hit inning against Okuda. It also began to rain in the sixth and a 40-minute rain delay would knock out Okuda – but not Santry, who returned for the top of the seventh, at least until Herrera singled with two outs. Mike Lechowicz then struck out Toohey to sit down the Critters.

Down 4-3 in the eighth, Manny hit a leadoff single off lefty Aaron Curl. Martell drew a 1-out walk before right-hander Sam Heisler (10.00 ERA) entered the game for Atlanta. Pat Gurney batted for Jimenez, who was as useful as a burning paper bag full of dog poo, but grounded out to first. Maldonado batted for Nate Norris in the #9 spot, but his fly to center ended up with Melendez. The top of the order was then up against ex-Raccoon Josh Livingston in the ninth inning. Waters grounded out. Baskins was called out on strikes, slammed his bat on the ground, and was ejected. It didn’t matter, because the rest of the team was done with the game just four pitches later, with Herrera also out on strikes. 4-3 Knights. Waters 2-5; Baskins 2-5, 2B; Herrera 2-5; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Martell 2-3, BB, RBI;

Bleakness.

And an off day spent staring into the abyss.

Raccoons (29-17) @ Thunder (26-21) – May 26-28, 2045

The Raccoons, at this stage 9-13 in May and officially in trouble, went on to Oklahoma, where the Thunder had a 7-game winning streak, so things immediately promised to get worse rather than better. They also were seventh in both runs scored and runs allowed with a -5 run differential, but similar numbers had not helped us against the Knights, either. They were top three in OBP, but bottom three in power and speed. Their pen and defense were tough as nails, though. The season series was led by Portland, 2-1, so far….

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (6-3, 3.92 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (2-4, 5.94 ERA)
Jake Jackson (5-1, 3.05 ERA) vs. Ignacio del Rio (4-5, 4.77 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-4, 5.21 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (2-4, 4.66 ERA)

Not even the prospect of Southpaw Sunday could lighten my mood at this point.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – LF Baskins – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Mathers
OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS R. Cox – 1B S. Henderson – 3B B. Simon – LF Phinazee – 2B C. Vega – P M. Peterson

Manny’s leadoff jack in the second inning put the Raccoons on the board first, but also meant that Baskins had stranded a pair in Manny’s more usual #5 spot in the first inning. Like Okuda on Wednesday, Mathers blew the lead immediately, and then some. Sterling Henderson doubled, was singled home by Brad Simon, who reached second base on a throw to home plate, and then scored as well on two productive outs, and the Raccoons were trailing again, 2-1…

Peterson left with an injury in the third inning, bringing on their Jon Craig in relief. Their Jon Craig had a decent ERA, and I’d try to exchange them subtly on the way out of here on Sunday, but ours was white and theirs was black and I was afraid they’d notice. The Thunder tacked on a run in the bottom 3rd, which began with Mathers nailing Angelo Zurita. Cullen Tortora singled, and Zurita eventually scored on Ryan Cox’ sac fly. Top 4th, though, the tying runs were in scoring position with nobody out after Craig walked Manny and Kilmer whacked a ground-rule double in left-center. The Thunder elected to put Martell on intentionally, giving three on with nobody out to the pitcher, an insult so grotesque I was snapping in my suite and wishing so bigly on a Mathers grand slam that I almost broke my thumbs in my clenched fists. Mathers hit a sac fly, which was as much as the Raccoons would get. Waters struck out. Herrera lined out to Carlos Vega. In turn, Brad Simon singled, Mal Phinazee doubled, and the Thunder hit two sac flies to score two more runs, going up 5-2 after four.

Maldonado hit a leadoff double in the fifth, but was stranded on second base as the next four batters divined to strike out three times between them; only Manny reached base with a 2-out walk against Craig. Mathers in turn was yanked in the same inning after walking and beaning the bases loaded, with Cox knocked from the game after getting drilled with a fastball and replaced with Jonathan Ban. Brad Simon singled in two against Kelly as the Raccoons continued to make sinking noises. A dropped pop by Toohey and two singles off the brown-hatted Jon Craig gave the Thunder another run in the bottom 6th, as if they needed any more; on the other paw, reliever Bill Dickinson was the third Thunder player to leave the game with an injury, doing so after putting on Herrera to begin the top 7th. He’d be charged with a run after righty Sean Green gave up hits to Maldo and Manny, but Kilmer popped out in foul ground to strand the pair. Vega made up that run with a homer off Craig in the bottom 7th. The Coons got a pointless run off Alan Fleming in the ninth inning, Maldonado hitting another double and being scored by Baskins for no great reason at all. 9-4 Thunder. Maldonado 4-4, BB, 3 2B; Fernandez 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – RF Dustal – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Jackson
OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS Ban – 1B Phinazee – 3B B. Simon – LF C. Greer – 2B C. Vega – P del Rio

For the third game in a row the Raccoons scored first, putting up a pair in the first inning this time. Herrera singled, Maldo was nailed, and Manny and Gurney found more singles before Dustal fouled out and Zarate flew out to Tortora to strand two in scoring position. When Jackson retired the Thunder for only a 2-out walk to Jesus Adames in the bottom 1st, he became the first Raccoons tosser to finish an inning while in the lead this week. But, oh, it was only Saturday…! Blowing the lead became harder (but our hurlers are feisty and know all the tricks…) with a 2-out rally in the top 2nd, as Waters and Herrera reached and Maldo bent a 3-run homer around the foul pole to go up 5-0.

Jackson scattered two hits and two walks in the first three innings, but managed to dodge the actual bullets. His luck ran out in the fourth inning, though, with a leadoff walk to Ban and a 1-out single by Simon. Jackson had them on the corners, but he also waived for attention from Dr. Padilla, who dutifully trudged out, engaged in polite conversation, and then returned to the dugout with Jackson. Hu-wheee! Bullpen game! … The Raccoons readied Preston Porter, who gave up a run on a single to Chad Greer, nailed Vega, and gave up another run on PH Ethan Moore’s infield grounder for the second out. The next move was to bring in Chuck Jones – Zurita was the tying run and there were four lefties in the top 6 in the order – in a double switch in the farthest-removed lineup spot, which was Manny’s. Baskins took over leftfield. Zurita hit an RBI single at 1-2, but Tortora made the final out as things had taken a turn for the worst yet again.

Jones would log five outs, and our Jon Craig threw in two to get through six innings with a 5-3 lead. There was no tack-on offense to speak of in the middle innings, but against Ray Thune in the seventh inning the Coons put three on with two already out. Dustal, Zarate, and Martell were hoping for a good knock by Derek Baskins, who came through on the right side on the 2-1 pitch, singling home a pair. Waters grounded out to end the inning. The pen remained stingy – Kelly got two outs in the seventh, and Moreno pitched the Coons through the completion of eight, without allowing a Thunder on base. Josh Rella was up for the ninth anyway – he had not been active all week (how would he have been?) and apart from him only Norris was unused. Carlos Vega hit a single off him in the ninth. That was it. 7-3 Raccoons. Herrera 2-5; Fernandez 2-3, RBI; Zarate 2-4, BB; Baskins 1-2, 2 RBI;

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Baskins – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Clark
OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS R. Cox – 2B C. Vega – 3B B. Simon – LF C. Greer – 1B Phinazee – P V. Marquez

Herrera and Maldonado got to the corners in the first inning, and Bryce Toohey got to hit into a double play to make them all go away. At least Brent Clark wasted no time pretending, gave up a hit, a walk, and a 3-run homer to Adames in no time, in a bid for another pathetic loss. Clark was crap to start the game, continued to be crap, and never became anything other than crap. On the other paw, the Raccoons couldn’t do ******* anything against Marquez, and were on two hits and no runs after five innings, and down 5-0, thanks to more inept shenanigans by Clark, who could not be yanked early on after the Raccoons had already engaged in a bullpen bonanza on Saturday. He tossed six innings for five hits, five walks, five strikeouts, and five runs, but only the one loss, somehow. The Thunder would lift Marquez after a leadoff walk to Waters in the eighth inning, but Herrera popped out and Maldonado hit into a double play against Thune, who struck out three in the ninth inning. 5-0 Thunder.

In other news

May 22 – The Cyclones beat the Scorpions, 3-2 in 16 innings, on a walkoff homer by CIN LF/CF Jayden Lockwood (.265, 4 HR, 16 RBI). It is also a come-from-behind home run, as the Scorpions had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning.
May 23 – The Bayhawks lose SP Rafael Pedraza (5-4, 3.72 ERA) for the season. The 32-year-old is diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff.
May 24 – Warriors LF/RF Mario Villa (.389, 7 HR, 25 RBI) would miss two weeks with an oblique strain he suffered while roughhousing with his dogs.
May 27 – Gold Sox OF Sandy Castillo (.330, 7 HR, 34 RBI) will miss a month on the DL owing to an oblique strain.
May 28 – A broken finger will cost WAS LF/RF Eduardo Avila (.231, 1 HR, 13 RBI) at least a month on shelf.

FL Player of the Week: SFW 2B Hugo Acosta (.366, 2 HR, 31 RBI), hitting .522 (12-23) with 1 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: LVA 3B/2B Doug Richardson (.333, 7 HR, 18 RBI), batting .455 (10-22) with 4 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

What we have, isn’t working. Not even close.

I also have no idea how to dial around on it. By the way, those were not even the cities were nothing good ever happens to the Raccoons.

The offense was ****, the pitching was *******. What do we have on offer? Victor Merino might come up anyway if Jackson is hurt, and Brent Clark is begging or a demotion to Siberia. Jeremy Baker has a 1.89 ERA in AAA, but also way too many walks. Adam Capone (who?) might be an option. There’s also some bullpen material available. Offensively? Not a whole damn lot. 2041 seventh-rounder Ben Coen was a casual defender on the infield, but hitting for an .821 OPS in AAA without warning. He had been a .223/.320/.334 wheezer in Ham Lake last year. Apart from that it was mostly Van Anderson, and we had no room to play Van Anderson, or Ricardo Bejarano… at least for guys hitting for an .800 OPS, and Anderson was doing it in under 70 at-bats.

Nope, the Raccoons are in trouble.

Fun Fact: 21 years ago today, Tijuana’s Pat Sanford hit three home runs in a 9-8 Raccoons win.

Ha, kids! When we still won games from time to time…! The olden days.

The catcher Sanford played 15 years in the majors, the first half of those with Tijuana. He won two Gold Gloves behind the dish, but apart from that was a fairly steady league-average hitter, poking .250/.321/.401 with a 104 OPS+ for his career, with 176 HR and 761 RBI. He had 1,374 hits in total, making 100+ starts only six times in his career, while often serving as a backup. He never led the league in anything worth recounting.

Westheim · 10-01-2021, 07:34 AM

Raccoons (30-19) @ Bayhawks (24-24) – May 29-31, 2045

Second 2044 CLCS rematch of the year, and both teams were crisis-stricken at the close of May. While the Raccoons had swept the Baybirds the first time up this year, they were also posting a 10-15 May and generally looked like a work of Picasso. The Baybirds had never found ANY traction so far, were hogging .500 and only fourth in the South. They were eighth in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed, and with the Coons’ losing streak their +11 run differential was at least almost half of ours (+25).

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (3-4, 3.66 ERA) vs. Noe Candeloro (1-4, 3.91 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (5-4, 3.95 ERA) vs. Kevin Nolte (3-3, 3.60 ERA)
Corey Mathers (6-4, 4.67 ERA) vs. Chris Turner (4-3, 3.75 ERA)

The starters for all three games would display opposite-handedness, and the Critters would thus face two more lefties on Monday and Wednesday.

We were still carrying the ailing Jake Jackson on the roster; his next regular turn would have been Thursday, which was an off day, but I had hope that Dr. Padilla would come up with a diagnosis before we’d tumble into Boston on the weekend.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Wheatley
SFB: RF Kristoff – 1B D. Riley – CF McGuigan – C Suggs – SS Quiroz – 3B R. Sifuentes – LF Platero – 2B M. Gibson – P Candeloro

Candeloro lasted five batters and four outs before leaving the game with an injury, upon which Matt Hose took over with his right wing and a 9.00 ERA, but only finished the inning before being pinch-hit for in the bottom 2nd, in which Jason Wheatley fell behind 1-0 on three singles hit by the 5-6-7 batters, all of which he had had two strikes on when they struck their single… Waters and Herrera hit singles off lefty Ryan McConnell in the top 3rd, but Maldonado spanked a ball at Ramon Sifuentes for a 5-4-3 double play to kill the effort. Wheatley didn’t get out of the fourth, getting incinerated in a doubles barrage started by Sean Suggs and continued by Sifuentes and Mike Gibson. There was a walk to Sergio Quiroz in between, and singles by McConnell (…) and Justin Kristoff thereafter. He was yanked down 5-0, with two on and only one out from Jose Platero. Zack Kelly wiggled out of the inning, not that it mattered. The Raccoons were absolutely obliterated by the Bayhawks’ pen, which combined with the brief effort of Candeloro for a 6-hit shutout. The Raccoons’ pen fought valiantly, but the whole effort was as pointless as the Nashville campaign of ’64… 5-0 Bayhawks. Gurney 1-1; Norris 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

I’d yank Wheatley and Clark from the rotation right now, but first we need to figure out Jackson. – Oh, you do, Dr. Padilla? – Good news? – Medium news? – Oh. I … I don’t want to hear the bad news.

(loudly sings LA-LA-LA while Dr. Padilla explains how Jake Jackson was out for the season with a torn rotator cuff)

The Coons would turn to Victor Merino, who was 5-2 with a 2.73 ERA and 47 K against 18 BB in St. Petersburg, and who had just won a spot in the rotation for the rest of the year. He had pitched on Sunday, so taking over the slot for the Friday game in Boston would not be a problem.

More of a problem: our 20-inning scoreless streak…

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – RF Dustal – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Okuda
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – LF Platero – RF Hennessy – 3B R. Sifuentes – C J. Hill – 2B Quiroz – CF McGuigan – 1B D. Riley – P Nolte

Manny ended the bleak streak with a double over Jamie McGuigan in the first inning on Tuesday, plating Herrera from third base and sending Maldo exactly there from his start at first base; those two had opened with a pair of singles. Pat Gurney drove in two with a single through the left side, while Dustal grounded out. Jeff Kilmer drew a 4-pitch walk, bringing up Martell, who was at 2-2 with two on and two outs, then singled past Jorge Gonzalez for a fourth run. Okuda, who had started the season 5-0 before sucking his way to 5-4, batted before he pitched, hit a single to right, Bobby Hennessy overran the ball, and Kilmer scored. Waters hit an RBI single, 6-0, before Herrera grounded out to third base to end the barrage. I had a hunch that it would be the day’s scoring for the team…

Okuda immediately came up with a 24-pitch first inning that began with a Gonzalez double, then got two outs, then got bogged down. Sifuentes singled home a run, Maldo committed an error, and Quiroz drew a walk. Somehow, McGuigan popped out to keep the Coons up 6-1. Portland countered with two unearned runs, both occurring thanks to two throwing errors by John Hill in the top 2nd, and would later add a run when Waters scored on a Maldo sac fly in the fifth, but that could barely cover for Okuda, who pitched as rotten as an apple could be. Hennessy took him deep for a run in the third, but he also peppered the bases with runners in every inning, giving up eight hits, two walks, and a hit batter (Hennessy the next time up) in five innings, and getting strafed for four runs, two occurring on a Hill single in the bottom 5th. It was a 9-4 game, and it was actually ghastly.

A pretty bad game of baseball in general continued with another Bayhawks run in the sixth, although this was unearned on Okuda thanks to a Maldonado throwing error. In turn Maldonado reached on a Dan Riley error in the seventh, which made for four Bayhawks errors in the game. The Coons clung to Okuda with their depleted pen, netting them a leadoff walk by Hill in the bottom 7th, a Quiroz triple, and a McGuigan single to narrow the score to 9-7. Riley popped out before Moreno came on for the pinch-hitter, ex-Coon David Harroun, who hit into a double play to end the damn inning. In turn, Kilmer singled and Al Martell tripled off the fence in left-center against Matt May in the eighth, extending the lead again to 10-7. The Coons then also expertly stranded that runner on third base with nobody ******* out. Toohey lined out to May, Waters popped out, and Herrera flew out to center. Anti-baseball continued when the Bayhawks got two singles off Moreno in the bottom 8th, but Hennessy made the third out at third base when he was thrown out by Toohey on a first-to-third attempt. Rella retired the 5-6-7 in order to cap an absolutely miserable game. 10-7 Coons. Waters 2-6, RBI; Herrera 2-6; Maldonado 3-5, RBI; Fernandez 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Gurney 2-4, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Kilmer 3-3, 2 BB, RBI; Martell 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI;

Every positional starter had a mention-worthy game. Okuda not so much.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Baskins – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Mathers
SFB: RF Kristoff – 1B D. Riley – CF McGuigan – C Suggs – SS Quiroz – 3B R. Sifuentes – LF Platero – 2B M. Gibson – P C. Turner

Anybody on this team that can pitch a quality start? Probably not Mathers, who pitched two scoreless innings before having his tail lit on fire in the bottom 3rd. Mike Gibson singled, Kristoff singled him home after “Tuba” Turner’s bunt, and Dan Riley hit a home run to right to put the Coons in a 3-0 hole once more. He was further torn apart in the fourth inning, conceding another three runs on a barrage of hits, including a 2-out RBI single by Turner when the team was already down 5-0 and I had given up all hope and pretense. The Coons got nothing off Turner until the sixth inning when they loaded the bases on two walks and a single… and with nobody out… AND bringing up the crap brigade at the bottom of the order. But Jimenez hit an RBI single and Castner drew a full-count walk for his first career RBI, and that promoted PH Manny Fernandez to the plate as the tying run. He also drew a walk in a full count, pushing home Kilmer with another run. And then both Waters and Herrera popped out on the infield with Turner in the ropes, and Maldo’s fly to center was caught by McGuigan. ******* hopeless.

Turner was not back for the seventh, which saw Toohey drew a leadoff walk from Matt May. Baskins was denied at the fence by the roaming McGuigan, and Kilmer grounded out. Jimenez showed another sign of life though, hitting a 2-run homer to left that narrowed the deficit to a single run. Jon Craig pitched a scoreless seventh, then was hit for by Gurney to begin the eighth. Nelson Garcilazo walked him, putting the tying run aboard, then was immediately replaced with Mike Mihalik. Waters struck out, Herrera hit into a double play. Moreno kept the Baybirds in place for the bottom 8th, which meant it was righty Jeremy Mayhall against the meat of the order in the ninth inning. Maldo grounded out to the catcher Suggs. Toohey popped out to Gibson. Baskins grounded out to Quiroz. 6-5 Bayhawks. Waters 2-5; Baskins 2-5; Jimenez 3-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI;

…

Raccoons (31-21) @ Titans (23-29) – June 1-3, 2045

The worst road trip ever would conclude in Boston, where nothing good had ever happened to the Critters. The Titans had yet to win a game against Portland, having contested six so far, but that was soon to end… They were in the bottom three in both runs scored and runs allowed, with a -41 run differential, not sparking much hope for a good season.

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (0-0) vs. Victor Mondragon (3-2, 4.24 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-5, 5.47 ERA) vs. Lachlan Clarke (4-4, 4.66 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-5, 4.25 ERA) vs. Justin Kaiser (1-7, 5.15 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday! Kaiser was the only one of their three lefty starters we were scheduled to meet. Meanwhile, looking at our own pitching array, I had a sense of foreboding…

That aside – two Victors on Friday, two Clark(e)s on Saturday. We’ll just call Wheats Justin this weekend, and call it a day…*

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Toohey – SS Waters – 2B Gurney – C Kilmer – P Merino
BOS: LF J. Miranda – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – SS C. Jimenez – 2B J. Rodriguez – CF T. Lopez – P Mondragon

Merino was 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA in two cups of coffee, but the 24-year-old was openly invited to stay for the next four months. Just don’t suck more than Justin Wheatley.

The Coons started with a Baskins double and Herrera single to left, but Mondragon fiendishly hit Maldonado to give the Critters three on, nobody out, and major issues coping with that. Manny flew out to centerfielder Tony Lopez, which was at least a sac fly and the early lead. Toohey flicked a duck snort single on an 0-2 pitch, bringing home Herrera. Waters hit into a fielder’s choice, but Gurney came through to right, and with through I mean over the wall for a 3-run homer…! And Merino? Walked Javier Miranda to begin his big league season, and conceded the run on a Carlos Cortes knock in the bottom 1st. He issued another leadoff walk to Chris Jimenez in the second, Juan Rodriguez singled, and Tony Lopez was turned away for a 5-4-3 double play before Merino fell to 3-0 on Mondragon, who then popped out. More miseryball. Nice.

Mondragon held out until the fifth before a string of hits to begin the inning by the 3-4-5 hitters knocking him from the game after Toohey’s RBI double. Waters hit an RBI single, then was forced out on a run-scoring fielder’s choice that Gurney hit into, all against lefty Brian Jackson, who fanned Kilmer and Merino after that. The Titans had the leadoff hitter aboard in each of the first four innings, but only scored him in the first. Lopez grounded out in the fifth, but Dan Whitley drew another leadoff walk off a wonky Merino in the sixth. Merino also walked Ivan Lugo in the inning, but again wound himself off the hook with a K to Jimenez and a Rodriguez grounder to short. Merino would have a 1-2-3 seventh to close out his day, which was a major turnaround for a team used to bringing in the pen in the fifth now…

The Raccoons reached double digits in the eighth, getting Gurney and Kilmer on before Ricky Jimenez hit into a double play in Merino’s spot. David Barnes plated Gurney with a wild pitch before he walked John Castner, batting for Baskins. Herrera doubled home the rookie infielder. Maldo struck out. Pat Gurney found a sac fly in the ninth inning for the final maker on the board. 11-1 Critters. Herrera 2-5, 2B, RBI; Toohey 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Waters 2-5, 2B, RBI; Gurney 1-3, BB, HR, 5 RBI; Merino 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, W (1-0);

Game 2
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Toohey – SS Waters – 2B Gurney – C Kilmer – P Clark
BOS: LF J. Miranda – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – 3B I. Lugo – SS C. Jimenez – 2B C. Jimenes – CF T. Lopez – P Clarke

Brent Clark remained painful to watch despite lining up zeroes at the start of the game, while Baskins drove in Kilmer for a third-inning run for Portland. But it was mostly the defense that held Clark together; Baskins made two great catches and Herrera threw one in too in the early inning to keep Clark in one piece while he allowed two hits and two walks. He walked two more to begin the fourth inning, Lugo and Chris Jimenez, then struck out Carlos Jimenes, Tony Lopez, and Lachlan Clarke in order to weasel his way out himself, then walked Miranda to begin the fifth again… Whitley doubled home the runner, Cortes singled, and Lugo walked, and Clark was shanked after 92 pitches, 4.1 innings, and another six ******* walks. Amazingly, Nate Norris wiggled out of the jam, although Jimenez lined out to Maldo and Jimenes went down on strikes to strand all the runners and keep the game tied at one through five innings. The sixth began with a Lopez single, Maldo made an error on Clarke’s bunt, but Norris came back with two strikeouts and Whitley’s groundout to short.

Porter held out in the seventh, but Moreno didn’t in the eighth, getting ticked for a run when Lopez, Kyle Templeton, and Miranda all reached in order, the latter putting Boston in front with an RBI single. Righty Danny Tirado would get the assignment in the ninth in a 2-1 game, facing the top of the order. Baskins, Herrera, Maldonado made outs in order. 2-1 Titans. Norris 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

You couldn’t have saved some runs on Friday, no?

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 3B R. Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Wheatley
BOS: SS J. Rodriguez – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – LF Liceaga – 3B I. Lugo – 1B S. Ayala – 2B B. Carter – CF C. Jimenez – P Kaiser

Manny singled home Maldo in a little 2-out rally in the top 1st; Maldo had doubled and Toohey had walked to go to the corners, while Zarate grounded out to strand a pair. Justin Wheatley put Joe Ritchey on base in the bottom 1st, then survived a Whitley drive to the fence that Manny caught. Ricky Jimenez opened the second inning with a jack to center, which gave him six on the year, and a wild .184 batting average. Castner singled, was bunted over, and scored on Waters’ double to left. Waters came home on a massive throwing error by Bobby Carter that put Armando Herrera on second base. Toohey cashed Herrera with a 2-out single over second base, the final mark in a 4-run second inning. And oh, if only I could have any confidence into Wheatley with a 5-0 lead…!

The ******* bases were loaded by the time the Titans had one out in the bottom 3rd. Kaiser singled (!) to begin the inning, Ritchey singled, and Whitley was nailed. Danny Liceaga struck out, which was *something*, and Lugo hit a mile-high pop that Castner meandered under long enough to grab a pizza and wolf it down, but eventually made the catch on, stranding three Titans. The game then entered a snooze period, which was always better for the leading team; nobody scored in the middle innings, and only the Coons came close, with Waters being on base, stealing second, and being stranded on third in the fourth. The sixth ended when Herrera was caught stealing. Justin Wheatley maintained a 3-hitter through six, while Kaiser had left the game with some malady in the fifth inning. He was on 88 pitches though, so a shutout was not really in the cards. Sal Ayala opened the seventh with a single to right, but Wheatley struck out Carter and got a double play from Jimenez for seven shutout innings…! On 98 pitches he batted for himself and singled in the eighth, partly to see what the Titans would cart up for a pinch-hitter in the bottom 8th, when their #9 spot led off. Carlos Cortes was the go-to guy, so Wheatley hung around for the righty batter, who popped out. In fact, the side went down in order in just FOUR pitches in the inning, giving Wheats 102 for the day. Okay, **** it – Wheats was back for the ninth, but we’d have no patience with him, and relief was ready in the pen. Dan Whitley grounded out to short. Danny Liceaga struck out. Ivan Lugo hit a 1-0 pitch to deep left. Jonathan Dustal back … looking, reaching … and catching! 5-0 Furballs! Waters 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 2-5, 2B; Toohey 2-4, BB, RBI; Wheatley 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K, W (4-5) and 1-3;

In other news

May 31 – Aces closer David Williams (2-3, 2.28 ERA, 8 SV) will miss most of June with a herniated disc.
June 3 – Streaking SFW RF Matt Diskin (.424, 10 HR, 37 RBI) has chained together a 20-game hitting streak with a home run off Marcos Nabo (3-4, 5.13 ERA) in a 4-3 loss to the Stars.
June 3 – Loggers SP Jose de Lucio (4-5, 4.84 ERA) and two relievers combine for a 1-hit shutout of the Crusaders in a 2-0 Milwaukee win. INF Randolph Nash (.292, 3 HR, 21 RBI) hits a double off de Lucio for the only Crusaders entry into the hits column.
June 4 – The Warriors come out on top, but SFW RF Matt Diskin (.417, 10 HR, 37 RBI) doesn’t, posting an oh-fer to end his 20-game hitting streak in a 2-1 win over Dallas.

FL Player of the Week: WAS 1B Jamie King (.355, 5 HR, 21 RBI), whacking .619 (13-21) with 2 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.267, 5 HR, 32 RBI), hitting .591 (13-22) with 1 HR, 4 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SFW RF Matt Diskin (.411, 8 HR, 32 RBI), hitting .454 with 8 HR, 29 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: LVA 3B/2B Doug Richardson (.333, 8 HR, 22 RBI), batting .346 with 8 HR, 22 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: DAL SP Arthur Pickett (8-0, 2.27 ERA), hurling for a 5-0 mark with 1.73 ERA, 35 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: TIJ Gabe Butler (6-4, 3.14 ERA), spinning a 4-1 record with 1.62 ERA, 29 K
FL Rookie of the Month: NAS OF/1B Mike Harmon (.277, 3 HR, 25 RBI), batting .283 with 2 HR, 18 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: CHA INF/LF/CF Shintaro Watanabe (.293, 4 HR, 31 RBI), batting .333 with 2 HR, 19 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Watanabe is a rookie in name only – the boy’s a mere 30 years old.

Looks like you have to insult Justin Wheatley to get the max out of him. Sunday was his first career shutout, and his third complete game in 82 attempts! He’s 27-27 with a 3.90 ERA. Still dangerous Moreno territory to get booted to the pen.

Jackson’s demise and everybody else’s continued blow-ups combined with the shutout also suddenly made Wheats the ace on the staff. (blinks)

If Clark doesn’t stop his antics, we have more young pitchers in AAA poking up… meanwhile, Ricky Jimenez has a bad rep, but he also has a bad BABIP. His BABIP is a staggering .137 – I knew a lot of gypsies that cursed a lot of players, but he’s something else. There is no natural or supernatural explanation for THOSE struggles.

The Raccoons will now try to shake off the nightmares of the 4-8 road trip with a new homestand. Unfortunately that will only be seven games, four of which will feature the damn Elks starting on Monday. Warriors after that. We’ll trip to the east coast the week after, playing in Richmond and New York. The latter series will neatly coincide with the draft being held in town as well, so I don’t have to be separated from my beloved (cough!) team.

Fun Fact: Three years ago today, Armando Herrera hit for his second 6-hit game with the Wolves.

They have both come against the Miners. I wonder whether he can do it against somebody like the Loggers while wearing the brown shirt. The last Raccoon with a 6-hit game was Jimmy Wallace in ’33.

+++

*That was a third-rate pun for German readers only. Justin was a very popular name for boys in Germany around 2000, but largely only with lower classes. Justin over here has become a stereotypical name for a dumb, misbehaving boy. In my head it lined up nicely with his pitchcraft… That being said, I retract everything and claim the opposite.

Westheim · 10-03-2021, 07:14 AM

2045 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS

First of all, the Raccoons had signed away their top pick (#22) in the upcoming draft when they inked Armando Herrera away from the Wolves, so the whole point of a hotlist of a dozen or so prime players to find in the upcoming draft was kinda moot, but we’re routineers at going through the motions over here, so I had Scout Pat Degenhardt compile one anyway.

Our first pick would not come up until #37, the compensation pick for Sal Ayala, and then we’d only get another turn at #70 …!

Meanwhile, this was very much a position players draft. We had 116 players on the shortlist, of which only 40 were entered as pitchers (and two more Josh Rella candidates that were entered as hopeless hitters). There were a few very interesting pitchers in the draft, none of which would fall to us, which was entirely regrettable, because I’d have loved nothing more than a top prospect named Jameson “Midnight Toaster” Monk. Sigh! At least we got a ring for our bothers …!

The hotlist (players with * are high school boys):

SP James Powell (12/15/10) *
SP Jameson Monk (13/15/12) * – BNN #6
SP Cory Ellis (12/12/13) * – BNN #1
SP Mike Kipp (11/13/11) *
SP Jameel Williams (12/12/14) * – BNN #5

CL David Pittard (17/13/10)

C/1B Jason Schaack (10/15/10) * – BNN #2

SS/3B Prince Gates (13/8/9) – BNN #3
1B David Worthington (12/15/10) – BNN #7
1B Willie Kersh (9/13/11) *
2B Rich Seymour (13/4/12) *

LF/RF Adam Magnussen (12/14/17)
LF/RF Tim Duncan (16/13/8) * – BNN #10
OF Alberto Cabazos (11/18/12) * – BNN #9

Weirdly, most of these swatting prospects appeared to have only token defensive capabilities. The exception was perhaps Prince Gates, who instead had plenty of attitude. He wasn’t even a major leaguer yet, and was already sporting a thick (probably fake) gold chain with a paw-sized dollar sign on it, which was even weirder for a kid from provincial South Dakota.

Plenty of interesting kids there – and, well, we still only have the #37 pick.

I’ll try to produce the next weekly update during the simultaneous deathmatch in MLB tonight (but there is the threat of running into my bedtime…). Rooting for a 4-way tie in the AL, and for the damn Elks to be quiet while in Portland…

Westheim · 10-03-2021, 04:43 PM

Raccoons (31-21) vs. Canadiens (27-27) – June 5-8, 2045

Home, sweet home. Maybe. No idea yet what the over-under was on hosting the damn Elks for four. The Raccoons had dropped two out of three games in Elk City in April. The Elks continued to be all about big numbers: their offense had them, and their pitchers had them, too. They led the CL in runs scored, but were also giving up the third-most markers, for a +15 run differential (Raccoons: 3rd, 2nd, +36). They had also shed a bunch of pitching in Matt Sealock, David Arias, and Michael Donovan, and also had Kenichi Saito and Chris Robinson on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (6-4, 4.34 ERA) vs. John Roeder (3-4, 4.35 ERA)
Corey Mathers (6-5, 5.21 ERA) vs. Mario Godinez (6-4, 4.75 ERA)
Victor Merino (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Alexander Lewis (5-3, 5.06 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-5, 5.22 ERA) vs. Omar Uribe (3-0, 3.92 ERA)

Left, right; left, right. They had issues. We had issues. They had two southpaws lined up. We offered three.

Game 1
VAN: RF J. Becker – 2B O. Aguirre – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – 1B Zuazo – LF V. Vazquez – SS Price – P Roeder
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Baskins – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Okuda

Okuda’s first three pitches were put in play for two outs and a Jerry Outram single before Julio Diaz grounded out. The Raccoons put their first three batters of the game on base on 15 pitches by John Roeder, two of which nailed Waters and Maldonado. Armando Herrera singled in between. Bryce Toohey cleaned up, belting a drive to deep left on a 1-2 pitch – GRAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!! … Yes Maud, that was quick – I didn’t even have time to wrap Honeypaws and myself into our comfort blanky!

Dan Hutson took Okuda deep to begin the top 2nd, but Derek Baskins pulled that run back with a 2-out triple, driving home Herrera the inning after that. The damn Elks didn’t get all that much off Okuda, four hits through five innings, and most of that was on Outram. The Raccoons tacked on in the bottom 5th, hitting a 1-out jack to left, his first as a Raccoon, and then Toohey hit a solo blast to left in the same inning. Real trouble only brewed for Okuda in the eighth after he walked Oscare Aguirre and allowed another single to Jerry Outram, all with one out. Julio Diaz would be his last batter, since no matter how many rings we’d ever win, I remained allergic to switching lefty-for-lefty. Hesitation paid off, with Diaz hitting into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Norris and Kelly had a bit of a fumble in the ninth inning, though. Norris put them on the corners before yielding to Kelly with one out. Rick Price hit an RBI single for the damn Elks, but PH Tim Phillips found his way into a game-concluding double play. 7-2 Raccoons. Herrera 3-4, HR, RBI; Toohey 3-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI; Okuda 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (7-4);

Good, good, boys! Now let’s keep the old knee right there on the throat…!

Game 2
VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – 1B Zuazo – CF Outram – 3B Hutson – LF J. Becker – C T. Phillips – RF van der Zanden – SS Price – P Godinez
POR: LF Baskins – SS Waters – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – CF Dustal – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Mathers

Fanning Oscar Aguirre to begin the game put Mathers on 50 K for the year, when the number we’d actually hope he’d reach sooner rather than later was the 4 to begin his ERA again… He had a scoreless first in any case, and then the Raccoons had another 4-spot in the first. Matt Waters opened with a homer, before Maldo and Manny reached the corners with singles. Jonathan Dustal’s 2-out gapper plated them both, and he scored on Jose Zarate’s single. Also identical to Monday: Dan Hutson’s leadoff jack in the top 2nd. Mathers then angrily struck out the next three. And then he walked the bases full for Outram with one out in the third. You didn’t have to beg the chief Elk twice for damage, and he promptly hit a 2-run single to narrow the Coons’ lead to 4-3. Hutson struck out, but Justin Becker singled to right, with Alvin Zuazo rounding third base to make for home – where he was thrown out by Manny Fernandez to end the inning. Nevertheless the bases were loaded AGAIN in the fourth inning, with singles by Phillips and Arnout van der Zanden, then another walk to Aguirre. Now Zuazo was batting with two outs, but flew out to Dustal in deep center to strand everybody.

The Raccoons did a whole lot of nothing for a pretty long time, but finally stirred again in the bottom 5th. Baskins led off with a single, advanced on a wild pitch, and also on a flyout by Waters, and scored on Maldo’s groundout, 6-3 on the field, 5-3 on the board. Godinez threw another wild pitch in the bottom 6th, this time with Dustal and Zarate on the corners and thus scoring a run for Portland. Al Martell hit a single, Pat Gurney hit a sac fly in the #9 hole, upon which the remains of Drew Johnson, ex-Critter, took the ball. Martell stole second off him, then scored on a Baskins single to left, 8-3. Waters grounded to second, which should have ended the inning, but Zuazo dropped Aguirre’s throw for an error. Maldonado grounded to second, which should really end the inning this time, and did. Mathers had only pitched into the sixth inning, but the Raccoons put up 3.2 perfect innings between Jones, Porter, and Craig, and put another W in the books. 8-3 Raccoons. Baskins 2-5, RBI; Dustal 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Zarate 2-4, RBI; Jimenez (PH) 1-1; Porter 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Unfortunately the Crusaders were also winning and we remained stuck in second place.

Game 3
VAN: RF J. Becker – 2B O. Aguirre – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – 1B Zuazo – LF van der Zanden – SS Price – P A. Lewis
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Merino

The Raccoons took a lead in the first, but only one run at this point; Waters hit a single, advanced on a grounder, and then scored when Maldo singled up the middle. Toohey then cleaned up again, but in double play form. Oh well, at least Merino held Hutson to a single the first time through. The second time around, with two outs and nobody on in the top 4th, Hutson drove another ball to the wall in leftfield, but this time had it caught by Manny Fernandez to preserve a 1-0 lead for the home team. The damn Elks got only two hits off Merino in the first five innings while striking out four times. Not that the Raccoons were much more productive: they had only one addition hit in the four innings after their first-inning blip.

Justin Becker tied the game with a homer in the sixth, sending the Critters back to the drawing board. Could somebody reload our catapult that had worked so well in the first two games? Merino opened the bottom 6th with a single to right, for what it was worth, but then got doubled up by Matt Waters. Seven innings of 3-hit ball didn’t seem good enough for a W now, at least until Toohey and Manny unfurled back-to-back doubles in the bottom 7th to take a 2-1 lead. Toohey went into the gap, Manny went up the rightfield line, then was stranded by Kilmer and Jimenez. Merino went back out and retired left-hander Rick Price and pitcher Alex Lewis to begin the eighth before yielding for Nelson Moreno, who retired nobody as he put the 1-2 batters on the corners with a pair of 2-out singles. With Jerry Outram, the .370 plague, angrily wiggling his twig in the left-handed batter’s box, Chuck Jones was brought in. In an anticlimactic development, Jones balked in the tying run, walked Outram, and then somehow got an out from Diaz to end the bedeviled inning. Portland did nothing in the bottom 8th, and Josh Rella retired the 5-6-7 in order in the ninth, setting up Sebastien Parham against the 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom 9th, with Rella in the #5 hole after Jones had originally entered in a double switch. Hutson fudged Herrera’s grounder for an error, putting the winning run on base. Pat Gurney was sent to hit for Maldonado, but flew out to center. Toohey found the shortstop for a double play and extra innings.

While Cristiano explained to me how Toohey was costing us wins with groundballs, none of which I wanted to know in the 10th inning of any game, Rella had another clean frame to keep the game tied, then was hit for by Dustal against new pitcher, right-hander Matt Fries. He ended the game with one stroke, hitting a fastball over the fence in right. It’s a walkoff…! 3-2 Critters. Fernandez 2-3, 2B, RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; Merino 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and 1-2; Rella 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (3-1);

Come on boys! One more!

Not ignoring the 103 games left after that, of course.

Game 4
VAN: LF Escobido – 2B O. Aguirre – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – 1B Zuazo – RF J. Becker – SS Price – P O. Uribe
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – LF Baskins – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Martell – P Clark

No Maldo, no Toohey on Thursday, as both got a day off, leaving only Waters go give a rest to. He was penciled in for Friday. Also, no first-inning lead this time, and instead a second-inning deficit as Brent Clark continued his unsettling decay. He walked three the first time through, including Hutson and Zuazo to begin the top 2nd. Becker hit into a double play, but Rick Price found a hole for an RBI single to put the Elks on top. Portland countered, though, even before I could get my snout wrapped around a bottleneck. Kilmer hit a 1-out double to right in the bottom 2nd, and Jimenez worked a walk in a full count. Al Martell jabbed a single over the shortstop, with Kilmer turning the corner at third base and Angel Escobido’s throw cut off by Uribe, but not before the other runners also took an extra base in a tied game. Clark gave himself a lead with a groundout to second base, scoring Jimenez, and while Waters stranded Martell, Clark at least made it through one inning without giving the 2-1 lead back.

Then it grew in the bottom 3rd, with Herrera and Manny on base and Pat Gurney fooling Outram with a fly to center. Outram first made a step in, then realized his mistake, but now couldn’t catch up with the drive on the way back. Gurney got a 2-run triple out of it, and Portland zoomed out to a 4-1 lead. A Kilmer single made it 5-1 in the inning. I grabbed Honeypaws tight, waiting for Brent Clark’s inevitable collapse.

The Elks had two hits in the fourth, but a stunning grab-and-toss on the run by Ricky Jimenez retired Rick Price to end the inning with runners on the corners. Clark then reached base on an Aguirre error in the bottom 4th and scored an extra run on a Herrera single, 6-1. A clean fifth dipped his ERA under five, and Al Martell homered off Juan Dias with Kilmer and Jimenez (pair o’ walks!) on base to blow the doors off the damn game, 9-1. Like Herrera already in this series, he hit his first bomb as a Raccoon therewith.

Just when Clark found a groove, retiring 10 in a row to end his start, he ran into the 100-pitch barrier. He ended up going seven innings of 3-hit ball, holding on to the 9-1 lead. Nate Norris added a scoreless inning in the eighth before the Raccoons insisted on some selfmade kerfuffle in the ninth inning; between Kelly and Craig they walked the bases full, although the only Elks run scored on a wild pitch… Price struck out to end the game and complete the sweep. 9-2 Raccoons! Castner (PH) 1-1; Herrera 3-5, RBI; Baskins 2-5, 2B; Kilmer 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Martell 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (5-5);

…and it still wasn’t enough! Just like the Raccoons swept the damn Elks, the Crusaders blew away the Titans in four games in a ruckus series that saw them outscore Boston “only” 34-22.

Raccoons (35-21) vs. Warriors (29-31) – June 9-11, 2045

The Warriors were both the team the Raccoons had their worst all-time record against, but also the team they had not faced in the longest time, with the last meeting occurring in 2039. The Raccoons had not WON a series from the Warriors since *2020*. It was about ******* time then! They were fifth in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed in the Federal League. Their rotation was second-worst with a 4.92 ERA, while the pen was even over the 5 mark. Their defense was questionable, but they also had the second-highest team OBP, and could hit both homers and steal bases off you. Some injuries, though, with middle infielders Hugo Acosta and twice-a-Critter Tony Hunter on the shelf.

Projected matchups:
Jason Wheatley (4-5, 3.66 ERA) vs. Juan Arrocha (2-6, 4.52 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (7-4, 4.03 ERA) vs. Sal Chavez (7-4, 3.86 ERA)
Corey Mathers (7-5, 5.20 ERA) vs. Casey Pinter (3-5, 5.50 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday? Pinter was at least scheduled for then, but they had been off on Thursday and had leeway in terms of wiggling a righty into the spot.

Game 1
SFW: LF M. Villa – C Clemente – RF Diskin – 1B Liberos – CF Krabbe – SS Lara – 2B Kaufman – 3B Arris – P Arrocha
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – 2B Gurney – C Zarate – SS Martell – P Wheatley

Wheats came off his first career shutout last Sunday, allowed leadoff singles to Mario Villa and former Elk Timóteo Clemente to begin the game, but somehow retired Matt Diskin, Manny Liberos, and Clay Krabbe in order on the infield to keep the Warriors from scoring. While Carlos Lara hit another leadoff single in the second, the Warriors were turned away again in that inning, and instead the Raccoons had a 1-0 lead from the bottom 1st, with Herrera singling, advancing on a grounder, and scoring on Toohey’s 2-out single. Bottom 4th, Jose Zarate drew a leadoff walk, then scored on Martell’s triple to center for a 2-0 lead. Wheatley struck out for the first out in the inning, Baskins walked, and Herrera singled, but by then Martell had already scored on a wild pitch. Maldo hit into a 1-6-3 double play to kill the inning after that.

The fifth brought rain, a 25-minute delay, a leadoff walk to Villa before that intermission, and a 2-out Liberos RBI single afterwards. While the bullpen was stirring, the Raccoons put them on the corners to begin the bottom 5th, Toohey and Manny finding center for a double and a single, respectively. Pat Gurney hit into an unhelpful fielder’s choice, Toohey holding, but Zarate hit a wheezer on the infield that three Warriors would converge on, and none of them would have a play anywhere, giving Zarate an RBI single…! Martell grounded out, advancing the runners, but there were two outs for Wheatley and – … and Wheats! Single to right, two runs score, 6-1 …! (jumps up and down on the old brown couch while patting Slappy’s arm with both paws) Wheee! Wheeeats!

Wheats did 6.2 innings on 101 pitches, departing with Mario Villa on third after a 1-out triple in the seventh inning. Kelly came in for Matt Diskin, who was hitting well north of .400 with his lefty bat, but grounded out to Toohey to strand the runner. Then Kelly retired absolutely nobody in the eighth. Liberos doubled to right, and he walked the bases full after that before being yanked for Moreno, who was on again after his lapse on Wednesday, struck out Brian Kaufman, conceding a run on a David Arris sac fly, and then getting a pop on the infield from Jose Rivera to stand the remaining pair of runners. The bases were also full in the bottom of the eighth inning, Maldo and Toohey singling, Manny forcing out the latter, and Kilmer drawing a walk in Moreno’s place in the #6 hole. Jimenez hit for Zarate, notched a sac fly, and that would be the only marker for the Raccoons, too. Martell grounded out. Preston Porter put the 5-run lead away in the ninth. 7-2 Coons! Herrera 2-4; Maldonado 2-5; Toohey 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, BB; Martell 2-5, 3B, RBI; Wheatley 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (5-5) and 1-3, 2 RBI;

The Raccoons reached a tie for first with this win… but only because the Crusaders were rained out against the Stars. They’d play two on Saturday.

Game 2
SFW: LF M. Villa – 2B E. Stevens – RF Diskin – 1B Liberos – C Urfer – CF Krabbe – 3B Kaufman – SS C. Lara – P S. Chavez
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Gurney – C Kilmer – P Okuda

The Warriors took the lead in the first, getting both Villa (single) and Erik Stevens (walk) on against Okuda. Diskin hit into a double play, which caused everybody to blink, but Manny Liberos found the hole on the right for the RBI single. The Coons pulled even in the second; Manny Fernandez ripped a leadoff double into the corner in right, then scored on two well-placed groundouts. Then, a double-whammy in the third: Stevens homered to center to put the Warriors on top again, and by then the Raccoons had already replaced Waters with Al Martell, after the starting shortstop seemed to have hurt himself on a routine grounder hit by Sal Chavez. The Raccoons then put six runners on base in the bottom 3rd through 5th, but also hit into two double plays. While Okuda whiffed seven in a mostly fine start through five innings, he only managed to get back into a tie when Derek Baskins singled home Kilmer in the bottom 5th, and no more. Diskin got him for a leadoff single in the sixth, but was doubled up by Liberos. Rick Urfer then singled, but Clay Krabbe was out on strikes, keeping it 2-2.

Mario Villa’s sac fly broke the tie with the second out in the seventh inning, bringing in Kaufman to put the Warriors up 3-2. Craig replaced Okuda after that and got PH Jose Rivera to pop out. In turn, Sal Chavez put them on the corners with nobody out in the bottom 7th, allowing a leadoff walk to Gurney and a single to Kilmer. Dustal struck out, while Baskins walked the bases loaded. I was whipping back and forth in agony, until relieved by a Herrera knock to right-center. It fell between Diskin and Krabbe, tying the game for sure. Kilmer was sent around, Diskin’s throw was late and off the line, and the Coons took the lead, 4-3 …! The trailing runners advanced as Urfer contained the ball in foul ground. Maldo added a sac fly before the inning fizzled out. Jones walked Diskin, Moreno walked Krabbe, but PH Clemente grounded out to Maldonado to strand the tying runs in the eighth then. Portland did not tack on in the eighth, but we had Rella, right? I can just as well get my keys. Hubris was something the baseball gods liked to punish, and so Herrera fumbled Carlos Lara’s fly to center for a 2-base error to begin the ninth. Rella got a K, then a running catch by Herrera on a soft Mario Villa fly, neither of which advanced the runner. Victor Acosta was hitting in the #2 hole and ran a full count, behind that was Matt Diskin, all .417 of pain he represented. Diskin didn’t get a chance – Acosta swung over a 3-2 pitch to end the game. 5-3 Raccoons. Baskins 3-3, BB, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 2B; Kilmer 2-3, BB; Okuda 6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

The Crusaders got a split from the Stars – but that meant that the Raccoons took sole possession of first place on Saturday!

No news on Waters so far. Dr. Padilla somehow went out of my way when I wanted to inquire about the injury.

Game 3
SFW: LF M. Villa – C Clemente – RF Diskin – 1B Liberos – CF Krabbe – SS C. Lara – 3B Kaufman – 2B V. Acosta – P Pinter
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – SS Maldonado – 1B Toohey – C Kilmer – RF Dustal – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Mathers

The ruffled Raccoons lineup loaded the bases with Kilmer, Dustal, and Jimenez, as well as nobody out in the bottom 2nd of a scoreless Southpaw Sunday showdown. That brought up the .148 non-revelation of John Castner, who grounded to third base. Kaufman tapped the base, then fired to first in time. Oh well, at least a run scored….. Mathers grounded out to complete the inning, then walked Acosta to begin the third. Bunt, infield single, Toohey error, walk… This was not a great inning for the Raccoons…! Liberos found the hole on the left side for an RBI single, followed by a sac fly and a run-scoring wild pitch. Down 4-1, Castner fielded Lara’s grounder for the third out… but didn’t return for the next inning, needing to have a sore paw checked out. – Cristiano, make him also check out the hoverbus’ timetable to St. Pete, be so kind…

Maldo pulled the Coons to within one, hitting a homer to left with Herrera on base in the bottom 3rd. Toohey singled, but Kilmer found a double play. Mathers kept grinding his pokey black nose on the Warriors, holding them in place for the next pair of innings before opening the bottom 5th with a singe to left. Pinter lost Baskins on balls, but Acosta got him on a fielder’s choice on Herrera’s grounder. The tying run reached third base, with Maldo back at the dish, and he got Mathers home with a slow grounder between the hill and third that only allowed Brian Kaufman to go to first base…! Pinter walked Toohey, but rung up Kilmer to end the fifth, the score even at four.

Mathers managed another 1-2-3 sixth inning, then was hit for with Jimenez on third base and two outs. Manny Fernandez fell to 1-2 against Pinter, but then jabbed a ball through the right side for an RBI single…! Baskins grounded out, while Craig got two outs in the seventh before yielding a double to Clemente. Chuck Jones came out for Diskin again, and this time prevailed, getting a bouncer to end the inning and preserve the 5-4 lead. Maldo socked a homer off Rafael Zacarias in the bottom of the seventh, adding an insurance run, but the lead went bust in the eighth anyway. Liberos and Krabbe hit singles off Jones, and Jose Rivera hit a 2-out, 2-run single off Norris to tie it all up at six. Rella this time did run into Diskin, but didn’t take damage, despite a leadoff walk to Clemente. Diskin and Liberos grounded out, Krabbe struck out, and the Coons had a chance for a walkoff. It would be on the top of the order against right-hander Philip Wise and his ERA over seven. The 1-2-3 went down in order, and Rella continued… right into annihilation. Lara opened with a double in the 10th. Acosta singled him home with one out, and Villa hit a 2-out double. And then the real meltdown began. Run-scoring balk, walks to Clemente and Diskin, and then a bases-clearing double to left from Liberos. Zack Kelly struck out Krabbe – well too late. 11-6 Warriors. Maldonado 3-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Dustal 2-4, BB; Fernandez (PH) 1-1, RBI;

In other news

June 6 – SAC SP Keith Black (2-6, 3.72 ERA) would miss a full year to repair elbow ligament damage.
June 6 – A throwing error by WAS INF Cody St. Peter (.256, 6 HR, 15 RBI) ends the Capitals game against the Buffaloes in a 6-5 walkoff loss, allowing both the tying and winning run to score for Topeka.
June 8 – Blue Sox SP Tim Steinbach (7-3, 3.53 ERA) allows two hits in a complete-game shutout of the Rebels. NAS CF/RF Jim Price (.269, 6 HR, 34 RBI) hits a home run for the only scoring in the game, a 1-0 Blue Sox win.
June 9 – The Capitals trade 1B Jamie King (.343, 5 HR, 22 RBI) to the Stars for two prospects.
June 9 – The Thunder acquire OF/2B Alfonso Cedillo (.258, 6 HR, 20 RBI) from the Scorpions, parting with five prospects, four of them appearing to be relief pitchers.
June 10 – Knights LF/RF Billy Hester (.312, 3 HR, 27 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak with a first-inning single in Atlanta’s 6-3 win over the Gold Sox.
June 10 – Sacramento expects to be without LF/RF/1B Nate Culp (.233, 2 HR, 17 RBI) for two weeks; the 26-year-old is down with a quad strain.
June 11 – The hitting streak of Atlanta’s Billy Hester (.307, 3 HR, 27 RBI) ends with an 0-for-4 day in an 8-4 loss to the Gold Sox.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Armando Luis Herrera (.367, 7 HR, 36 RBI), hitting .393 (11-28) with 4 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB LF/CF Jamie McGuigan (.270, 7 HR, 40 RBI), batting .516 (16-31) with 2 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

A four-game sweep of the Elks! At home! Had I had any faith beforehand, I would have bought a barrel of honey to cover myself in and then run around the ballpark naked with! We dropped the damn Elks 27-9 in terms of runs scored.

And then came the Warriors series, another two injured middle infielders and a giant bullpen blowup on Sunday to end a 7-game winning streak. We allowed 14 runs total in those seven games, then 11 on Sunday, five on Rella in the 10th inning. That was in a game where we ended up with a 3-man bench and running out of bullpen, too. Porter would have been available. Maybe we should have gone to Porter…

What’s next? Hoping Matt Waters can be screwed back together, firstly, and then we’re off to the east coast, visiting the Rebs and Crusaders. The draft will also take place on Thursday, which is an off day.

Fun Fact: Manny Fernandez is the Raccoon longest on duty, in his 13th season, all with Portland.

He has also reached second place in RBI for this little mom-n-pop franchise with 986. Only Matt Nunley has driven in more runs than Manny, having plated 1,053 runners (including, 172 times, himself). Manny has an additional homer over Nunley, sitting third in homers for the Critters behind Daniel Hall and Mark Dawson, who have 223 and 221, respectively.

He has yet to break the top 5 in hits, trailing with 1,864 behind Berto (2,474), Nunley (2,457), Cookie Carmona (2,299), Neil Reece (1,983), and Dan The Man (1,886). You can’t blame Manny – all those guys played 16+ seasons for the Raccoons and had more opportunities.

Manny Fernandez is *signed* for a 16th season, though.

Westheim · 10-06-2021, 05:05 AM

Raccoons (39-23) @ Rebels (39-23) – June 12-14, 2045

The Raccoons embarked on a road trip with only three and a half guys on the bench, which was a bit of an issue; Matt Waters was yet being processed and undiagnosed, while the non-too-useful John Castner had a “sore paw”, whatever that whining was about. Meanwhile, we faced the Rebels in Richmond, having lost two of three to them in the last meeting in 2043. The Rebs were seventh in runs scored and second in runs allowed. They had the best rotation in the FL, and were second in stolen bases, but were remarkably average in most other categories. At least they had no injuries to worry about…

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (1-0, 1.23 ERA) vs. Omar Lara (8-4, 2.76 ERA)
Brent Clark (5-5, 4.80 ERA) vs. Steve Miles (4-5, 3.16 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (5-5, 3.44 ERA) vs. Bill McDermott (1-2, 4.67 ERA)

Lara was the only southpaw on staff for the Rebels – that included the bullpen! Only righty relief to come on for them.

Game 1
POR: C Kilmer – CF Herrera – SS Maldonado – 1B Toohey – LF Fernandez – RF Dustal – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Merino
RIC: CF G. Cabrera – RF de Luna – LF P. Gonzalez – C K. Duncan – 3B Frazier – 1B A. Marquez – 2B L. Harrison – SS A. Aguilera – P O. Lara

Pablo Gonzalez and Alex Marquez hit homers off Merino – both in the first inning and with two outs, with Kyle Duncan and Josh Frazier reaching in between, giving the Rebels a quick 4-0 leg up. With that, the Raccoons for the most part decided that they hated Mondays and went back to bed. Castner reached on an infield single and scored on a Herrera single for a token run in the third inning, but apart from that and a few Toohey and Manny hits, never in a way that added up to anything, they were just not really engaged, while Merino was kept in for length after a rough weekend on the bullpen, getting lit up for another three runs by the time he finished six innings. He was unlucky in it, too – the Rebels only ever got six hits off him, but made seven hits out of that, two walks, and a hit batter. The pen – consisting of Porter (who notably was not sent to Josh Rella’s rescue in the 10th on Sunday) and Kelly – would put up two scoreless at the end, but in a game that was long lost by then. 7-1 Rebels. Toohey 2-4; Fernandez 2-4;

Dr. Padilla, what’s with Waters? – You still don’t know?? – Well, but he *is* still breathing, right? – Right?

Game 2
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – 2B Gurney – C Zarate – SS Martell – P Clark
RIC: 2B L. Harrison – RF de Luna – LF P. Gonzalez – 3B J. Frazier – 1B A. Marquez – CF Mejia – C K. Morris – SS Guillory – P S. Miles

Miles lasted less than one inning, putting the Coons’ 3-4-5 on with two outs in the first, including two walks where he lost command from one moment to the next. The trainer checked him out twice, removing him only after the walk to Manny Fernandez. Right-hander Larry Thompson would replace him, having more walks than strikeouts on the year in 15.1 innings, but also carrying a 2.35 ERA. He walked Gurney with the bases loaded, allowed a single to left to Zarate, then a double to right to Al Martell, amounting to four runs in total. Clark struck out to keep it there before taking the 4-0 lead with him into battle. Brent Clark looked like the same hot garbage he was most of the time this season in the first two innings, but put up zeroes despite two hits and a walk, with kind assistance from the defense. He then hit a 2-out RBI double off J.J. Hendrix in the third inning, extending his lead to 5-0. That was the fourth Coons hit in the inning, but Manny Fernandez after singling and stealing second had been thrown out at home plate on a Zarate single.

Lance Harrison and Rich de Luna opened the bottom 3rd by getting on base, but Pablo Gonzalez popped out and Josh Frazier found Martell for a 6-4-3 double play. Two more reached base in the bottom 4th, Marquez and Kevin Morris, but Landon Guillory whiffed and Ernesto Hernandez popped out to keep them on. At least it got better after that. He put on only one batter each in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings – although he also didn’t finish the seventh, whiffing Lance Harrison after a leadoff walk to Gil Cabrera before being replaced with Jon Craig, who got a pop and a grounder from the 2-3 batters to end the inning. The Raccoons in the meantime were asnooze for a very long time, before starting to twitch their whiskers in the ninth inning against Allen Faber. The right-hander allowed straight singles with one out to Gurney, Zarate, and Martell for a tack-on run, 6-0. Kilmer grounded out hitting for Chuck Jones, but Derek Baskins raked a 3-run homer to right to break the game wide open. Porter followed on Craig and Jones for a scoreless ninth, finishing off a combined 7-hit shutout. 9-0 Raccoons! Maldonado 2-3, 2 BB; Toohey 3-5; Gurney 2-4, BB, RBI; Zarate 3-5, RBI; Martell 2-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Clark 6.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K, W (6-5) and 1-4, RBI;

The Crusaders lost on Tuesday, ensuring the Raccoons to stick in first place ahead of the big meeting on the weekend, now up by 1 1/2 games.

Dr. Padilla gave up – he declared Matt Waters to be suffering from elbow soreness, and that was to be it. He was however to be sat for the rest of the week.

This put us into more of a pickle. He was already out since the 10th, but a DL stint would lose him for almost a further week. Since we weren’t keen on losing his bat for longer than ABSOLUTELY necessary, we’d have to swallow the bitter pill and keep going with the short bench up to and through the coming Crusaders series.

Still beats amputation.

Game 3
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – 2B Gurney – C Kilmer – SS Martell – P Wheatley
RIC: CF G. Cabrera – 2B Gould – 1B A. Marquez – C K. Duncan – SS A. Aguilera – LF P. Gonzalez – 3B Guillory – RF Mejia – P McDermott

Wheats made the start in the rubber game, and also a mess in the second inning, which began with a Duncan double, a walk to Alvin Aguilera, and continued with a 2-run triple by Gonzalez. He did strike out two and got McDermott to pop out after that, but the Raccoons would have to work out of a hole. Pat Gurney would get the job done with a 2-out, 2-run homer in the fourth, collecting Manny on base to get us all even at two. The Rebels shrugged, Aguilera hit a single, and then Gonzalez hit a total blast to center for some 440 feet. They also chewed up Wheatley for 101 pitches in a 5-inning clunker, and well hadn’t he been due for one?

Down 4-2, the Raccoons loaded the bases with Herrera (forced by Maldo), Manny, and Gurney, which knocked out McDermott with two outs. In came the pen in person of J.J. Hendrix, and the pen gave up a bases-loaded walk again to Kilmer, narrowing the score to 4-3. Al Martell fell to 1-2 against the righty, but then lobbed a ball over the head of Thomas Gould and into the shallow end of the right-center gap. With two outs, the Coons went on contact and two runs scored to flip the score…! Wheatley was thus hit for while in line for the W, but Jimenez struck out to strand a pair. Zack Kelly got the ball for the bottom 6th, and with his first pitch gave up a game-tying homer to Gonzalez. Landon Guillory singled, and Norris gave up a 2-out RBI double to Gil Cabrera that put Richmond on top again. Gould walked, but Marquez lined out to Gurney.

Top 7th, Herrera hit a 1-out single. Maldo walked, and Hendrix threw a wild pitch, moving the tying run to third base. Hendrix then came back to strike out both Toohey and Manny to cause me some internal deflation. Top 8th, leadoff double for Gurney up the leftfield line…! The Rebels sent righty Kurt Crater, who only faced Kilmer, who grounded out, moving the tying run to third base. Martell was in the key spot against Faber, but hit a poor groundout to keep the runner pinned. Dustal then popped out, making for consecutive innings with the tying run stranded at third base. It would thus be the top of the order in the ninth, facing right-hander Jesse Beggs and his 5.00 ERA (but 32 K in 27 innings). Baskins singled over the shortstop to begin the inning, but Herrera flew out to center, and Maldonado grounded into a force at second base. Toohey was 0-for-4 in the game, but also the best shot for a good outcome, and singled to left. Maldo stopped at second base, with Manny coming up. He grounded out to Harrison. 6-5 Rebels. Herrera 2-5; Gurney 3-3, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI;

With that it was off to New York. After all the fun that a draft without a first-round pick could offer [see next post], the Raccoons got to play the Crusaders in a potentially pivotal series.

Raccoons (40-25) @ Crusaders (38-26) – June 16-18, 2045

Boys – don’t get swept. Please. We were 2-2 with New York this year, and they had lost their last five games to allow a non-too-hot Coons outfit to slip past them into first place again. They were second in runs scored and third in runs allowed, with a +45 run differential, while for the Coons it was the other way round (third and second, respectively), and with a +58 run differential after some lopsided routing of the damn Elks the week before. The New Yorkers had some injuries, although only Andy Montes (broken finger) was an actual loss; although, Willie Ojeda was day-to-day with groin tightness and we weren’t quite sure how much that would bother him. Of course the Raccoons were still without Matt Waters and thus short on the bench, too.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (7-4, 4.03 ERA) vs. Rich Willett (3-5, 4.07 ERA)
Corey Mathers (7-5, 5.03 ERA) vs. Carlos Malla (3-3, 4.22 ERA)
Victor Merino (1-1, 3.92 ERA) vs. Paul Paris (7-2, 4.10 ERA)

Starters’ handedness would be opposite for all games, so the Raccoons would face a lefty in the middle game between two right-handers.

Boys – don’t get swept.

Game 1
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – SS Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda
NYC: SS Adame – C Alba – 2B Briones – RF Willie Ojeda – 1B D. Hernandez – 3B Nash – CF Rico – LF Graf – P Willett

The Raccoons had four base hits the first time through, and scored nobody. Maldo singled with two outs in the first and was forgotten about by Toohey, while Manny opened the second with a single and was doubled off by Kilmer. Martell singled and Jimenez doubled to left, but they were stranded in scoring position when Okuda was rung up. Instead, the Crusaders took the lead on their first hit of the game, a Fernando Alba single in the bottom 3rd on which Joe Graf, on with a leadoff walk, went aggro to third base. Manny threw the ball past Ricky Jimenez, and Graf scored on the error. Mario Briones then grounded out to Martell to keep Alba at second. Before long, Jimenez made his own error in the fourth, which was doubly concerning behind an Okuda that was obviously having nothing – zero strikeouts in four innings – and Joe Graf was out of the game, hurting himself pursuing a Martell fly in the fifth. He made the catch, though, then was replaced with Angel Villarreal, who drew a leadoff walk to begin the fifth – the third leadoff walk given up by Okuda in the game. Willett bunted badly to force him out and the runner never got off first base, but my discontent with the game was growing.

Singles by Baskins and Maldonado in the sixth put runners on the corners with one out – these were in fact the Raccoons’ first base knocks since the four in the first two innings that led absolutely nowhere. Toohey tied the game with a grounder to Randolph Nash, which was at least *something*, but Manny struck out to end the inning. New York took the lead right back in the bottom 6th: Briones opened with a double to center, and was driven in by Dave Hernandez. Vittorio Riario ran for Hernandez, but was caught stealing to help Okuda out of the inning.

Okuda went seven, without a strikeout, while the Coons made three errors behind him (Toohey joined the wicked fun), then was hit for down 2-1 to begin the top half of the eighth. Gurney flew out in his spot and the Coons went down 1-2-3. Norris did the same to the New Yorkers in the bottom 8th, which brought up lefty Mike Lynn with no cushion against the 3-4-5 batters. Maldo took it all away at once, homering to left on the first pitch of the inning! The next three went down in order, though, and the Crusaders got Nash on with a leadoff single against Jon Craig in the bottom 9th, but could not drive him in, sending the game into overtime. Marcus Goode offered a leadoff walk to Al Martell, who reached second when Jimenez grounded out on a hit-and-run to short. Dustal flew out, but Derek Baskins came through, up the middle, for an RBI single! That was not the last 2-out single in the inning: Herrera hit one, so did Maldo for an RBI, then stole second, and Toohey singled home two to smash Goode into little pieces. PH John Castner popped out for Craig, ending the top 10th with a 4-run lead and sending in Preston Porter, with Rella backing him up in the pen. Josh Rella came in with two outs after an Alex Adame single to begin the inning and a 4-pitch walk to Ojeda. He struck out Riario to put the game away. 6-2 Raccoons! Baskins 2-5, RBI; Herrera 2-5; Maldonado 3-5, HR, 2 RBI;

That K to Riario was only the second strikeout for a Coons pitcher in that game. Riario also fanned against Norris in the eighth.

Then there was NO left-hander on Saturday. Sensing urgency, the Crusaders skipped Malla and went straight to Paul Paris – both teams had been off on Thursday, so this was an available option to them.

Game 2
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – 2B Gurney – C Zarate – SS Martell – P Mathers
NYC: SS Adame – C Alba – 1B D. Hernandez – RF Willie Ojeda – 2B Briones – LF Garris – 3B Nash – CF Rico – P Paris

Mathers got socked right out of the gate, with Adame, Hernandez, Ojeda, and Josh Garris all hitting singles off him for three runs in the opening frame. While Paris retired the Coons in order the first time through, Mathers’ struggles went on with having the bases loaded with one out in the bottom 3rd. Walks to Dave Hernandez and Mario Briones had piled up with dropping Toohey’s feed for an error on Willie Ojeda’s grounder to right. Garris grounded out to score a run, 4-0, and Nash popped out to Zarate, but the Raccoons were a bit despondent with some of their starters…

Portland scored two in the fourth, with Baskins and Herrera opening with singles, taking off for a double steal, and having Alba throw away the baseball into leftfield. Baskins scored, Herrera went to third, then came home on Maldo’s sac fly, which was Maldo’s 50th RBI on the year, one behind Toohey.

None of it helped. Mathers was bombed from the game with back-to-back jacks by Alba and Hernandez in the bottom 5th, and we were trailing 6-2 for it. The Coons did not get another hit until the eighth inning, when Martell hit a 2-out double, which went nowhere with Dustal grounding out behind him. Paris went into the ninth on a relatively low pitch count, retiring Baskins and Herrera before Maldo hit a double to left. Toohey went down on strikes to end the game. 6-2 Crusaders. Jones 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

The runs on Paris were unearned, too… He finished with a 4-hitter.

By Sunday, the Crusaders new that Joe Graf (.326, 2 HR, 12 RBI) was out for the year with a broken elbow, while the Raccoons got Matt Waters back at least one day earlier than expected. He jumped right in for the rubber game.

And we knew that the rubber game would also be a Southpaw Sunday, with Malla up against Merino.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Merino
NYC: SS Adame – C Alba – 2B Briones – RF Willie Ojeda – 1B D. Hernandez – 3B Nash – CF Rico – LF Riario – P Malla

Portland struck first, although technically Malla struck first, brawning Toohey with a fastball after a Maldonado single. Manny slapped a 2-out RBI single past Alex Adame for the game’s first run, but Kilmer struck out, and the Crusaders made up the run right away with a leadoff double by Adame, an infield single for Alba, and Briones’ groundout. The Raccoons then failed to score both on a 2-base throwing error by Adame in the third, as well as 2-out singles by the runts of the litter, Castner and Merino, in the fourth. Instead, the New Yorkers went up 2-1 on a Briones leadoff jack in the bottom 4th…

Like Okuda on Friday, Merino apparently also couldn’t strike out anybody or anything. He also didn’t walk anybody through five, but was whacked around for eight hits, including a Briones RBI double with two outs in the fifth inning that extended the Crusaders’ lead to 3-1. Hernandez struck out in the sixth against Merino, which would be his only K, while the Raccoons remained toothless against Malla. A Toohey single in the eighth at least brought the tying run back to the plate, and Manny reached on a bloop single in front of Riario to get the tying run on base, all with one out. Kilmer ran a full count before flying out, after which the Crusaders went to righty John Steuer. Jimenez was called back at once and Derek Baskins would pinch-hit, but grounded out. Kelly and Moreno (mostly Moreno though) held the Crusaders at their distance in the bottom 8th, after which Lynn was back up. But there was no faith in John Castner, who was hit for with Gurney, who singled to right, so that was that. Dustal struck out for Moreno, but Matt Waters livened up an oh-fer with a deep fly to left – high! – gone!! Second game-tying, ninth-inning homer for the Coons in this series! But Lynn also got the next two, while Norris got into a 3-0 count against Garris to begin the bottom 9th, before Garris stupidly grounded out.

This helped Nate Norris to a 1-2-3 ninth, sending yet another game to extras, where Toohey drew a leadoff walk from Lynn, and Manny singled to left to push him to second base. Lynn walked Kilmer, putting three on with – oh, **** – nobody out. Also, with lefty hitters coming up. Only Martell (no help in particular here) and Zarate were left on the bench. Baskins struck out against Lynn, who seemed to reel himself in, but then threw a fat pitch to Pat Gurney that got raked over Nash and down the third base line for extra bases. Toohey in! Manny in! Kilmer waved around and sliding in safely! BASES-CLEARING DOUBLE FOR PAT GURNEY!! After John Landrum restored order for the Crusaders, the 3-run lead went to Josh Rella. Alba grounded out to Gurney. Briones whiffed. Ojeda – uh… hit a homer to center. But Hernandez flew out to Baskins, and the Raccoons grabbed the rubber game with both paws…! Uh, all four paws! 6-4 Raccoons. Toohey 1-2, 2 BB; Fernandez 3-5, RBI; Gurney (PH) 2-2, 2B, 3 RBI;

In other news

June 12 – DEN SP Roberto Pruneda (6-5, 2.86 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over the Indians.
June 13 – The Falcons’ LF/CF Joe Besaw (.336, 10 HR, 46 RBI) puts together a 6-hit game in a 10-8 win over the Blue Sox. Besaw profits from the fact that the game goes 15 innings, getting the sixth and final hit, also the game-winning hit, in the 15th inning.
June 16 – IND OF/1B Bill Quinteros (.227, 4 HR, 11 RBI) singles home 1B Miguel Barrientos (.221, 5 HR, 16 RBI) to walk off the Indians against the Titans, notching a 1-0 win that took 13 innings to complete.
June 17 – Aces 3B/2B Doug Richardson (.333, 9 HR, 33 RBI) has four hits and as many RBI in a 15-2 wonking of the Falcons.
June 17 – The Blue Sox walk off in 15 innings against the Buffaloes, the clincher being a sac fly by CF/RF Jim Price (.270, 6 HR, 43 RBI).
June 18 – SAC LF/RF Mike Preble (.332, 9 HR, 32 RBI) is a triple shy of the cycle in a 5-hit, 1-RBI battering of the Wolves, who go down 4-1.

FL Player of the Week: NAS INF/LF/RF Felix Marquez (.312, 6 HR, 29 RBI), hitting .519 (14-27) with 2 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL 1B/LF/RF Aaron Brayboy (.323, 12 HR, 42 RBI), batting .464 (13-28) with 2 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Edgy series win against the Crusaders there, increasing our refound lead in the division to 2 1/2 before returning home. It wasn’t dandy, but at least we got two clutch homers by Maldo and Waters to tie it in the ninth twice, and then found a way to win quickly in the tenth.

The offense … mostly works, unless they run into Paul Paris. The pitching remains a concern. I have an urge to trade for an ace in the coming weeks, with Jackson out for the year, Mathers and Clark inefficient, and Wheats being highly chimeric. Some days he’s the goat. Sometimes he’s some scaly animals’ ***.

Maybe we should check out Tony Negrete first. He has a 2.07 ERA in St. Pete, and is on the 40-man anyway after making an emergency start last year. The 23-year-old lefty could easily switch places with Merino for the moment, while I work out a smart solution.

Knowing my luck with trades for stars, the smartest solution would be to get somebody involved who knows what the **** he’s doing. – (looks at Honeypaws)

I sincerely doubt the Raccoons have ever had two players with 50+ RBI in their 67th game of the season. Toohey was on pace for 121 RBI right now, which would be amazing, and also tie for a top 5 season in RBIs in franchise history. Tetsu Osanai got 121 RBI twice for fifth place, and there were only four more productive seasons: Troy Greenway drove in 132 on 42 homers in ’38, Hugo Mendoza had put in 133 in ’20, and Tetsu had a paw in the tie for the franchise’s high-water mark, 140 RBI in 1989, later matched by Rich Hereford in a blazing 2028 campaign.

And next? Quick home series with the Arrowheads, then a weekend trip to Mexico that will somehow already begin the 17-game stretch before the All Star Game. We will have a week at home there, then a week on the road before the break. Falcons, Elks, Loggers, Titans coming up there, and of course the Loggers again right after the break.

Fun Fact: The only other Falcons player to get a 6-hit game was Barend Kok, putting that many on the Bayhawks in a 15-1 rout in 2024.

The Dutch Antillean Kok played 15 seasons in the majors, with 2024 actually being his debut year. He was the silently productive type, never leading the majors in any category, never winning an award, not even making the All Star Game. But he also had 11 out of his first 12 seasons with an OPS over 100, and hit 20+ homers five times in his career, which was also riddled with injuries. He played more than 128 games only three times.

For his career he batted .270/.334/.432 with 204 HR and 780 RBI.

As far as Dutch Antilleans go, Kok is the second-best offspring of the island by WAR (17.4), behind Piet Oosterom (26.6). The Elks’ Arnout van der Zanden would have a chance to stir it up with those two in the future, but had less than 5 WAR so far (at age 23!).

Westheim · 10-06-2021, 05:06 AM

2045 AMATEUR DRAFT

For once, the draft took place in New York with the Raccoons already in town, and it was our day off, too. No great haul was expected, given that we had signed away our first-round pick to the Wolves and had to settle for the #37 and #52 picks, compensation for the loss of Sal Ayala.

I said in the other post that we would not pick until #70 after #37, forgetting about the extra second-round pick, and, oh, #70 is also wrong. Well, I suck!

We had 116 players on the shortlist, including the following boys on the hotlist, and while I still held out hopeless hope for a top prospect named Jameson “Midnight Toaster” Monk, scout Pat Degenhardt did his royal best to convince me that he wasn’t available…

The hotlist (players with * are high school boys):

SP James Powell (12/15/10) *
SP Jameson Monk (13/15/12) * – BNN #6
SP Cory Ellis (12/12/13) * – BNN #1
SP Mike Kipp (11/13/11) *
SP Jameel Williams (12/12/14) * – BNN #5

CL David Pittard (17/13/10)

C/1B Jason Schaack (10/15/10) * – BNN #2

SS/3B Prince Gates (13/8/9) – BNN #3
1B David Worthington (12/15/10) – BNN #7
1B Willie Kersh (9/13/11) *
2B Rich Seymour (13/4/12) *

LF/RF Adam Magnussen (12/14/17)
LF/RF Tim Duncan (16/13/8) * – BNN #10
OF Alberto Cabazos (11/18/12) * – BNN #9

The #1 overall pick was the Condors’, and they went for outfielder Tim Duncan with that. The Loggers were next and took … (heavy sigh!) … “Midnight Toaster” Monk with the #2 pick. While I was wincing and rocking back and forth, the Warriors took Jason Schaack at #3. The Blue Sox (Magnussen), Capitals (Ellis), Crusaders (Gates), and Rebels (Powell) continued to feast on the hotlist, while the Titans took outfielder Manuel Arellano at #8.

The hotlist fleecing continued from pick #10, with the Thunder’s selection of David Worthington, followed by Cabazos going to the Buffos at #11, and the Miners taking Kersh at #12. David Pittard went to the Pacifics at #14, Jameel Williams to the Blue Sox at #16, and the Loggers, who inherited our old #22 pick from the Wolves, took pitcher Jose Osorio with that.

Two hotlist players remained after the first round proper, thus: southpaw Mike Kipp and second-sacker Rich Seymour. The Blue Sox snatched their third hotlist guy at #27 when they took Kipp. But Seymour fell all the way to #37! Now, was that a good thing or nah? We’d know in a few years, but we sure as heck took him.

+++

2045 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Supp. Round (#37) – 2B Rich Seymour, 18, from Lawrence, MA – steady-handed righty-hitting second baseman with good contact abilities and considerable gap power, and also quite some speed to be an on-base annoyance. The only downturn we can readily see is his lack of home run power.
Round 2 (#52) – SP Danny Bethea, 20, from Foley, MN – right-hander with good control and three good pitches in development, a 93mph heater with a changeup and a forkball; also throws a curve, although we’d rather wish he didn’t throw it so often.
Round 2 (#66) – LF/RF Jerry Sterenberg, 21, from Albuquerque, NM – right-handed hitter with ho-hum defense and a power stroke… which seems to have considerable holes.
Round 3 (#90) – SP Danny Hall, 20, from Vincent, AL – left-handed groundballer, more of a soft tosser, but he needs better control to become a successful corner nibbler. At least throws three-and-a-half pitches.
Round 4 (#114) – INF Mike Berger, 18, from Irving, TX – right-handed, wide-ranging infielder with strong throwing arm, and a good hitting profile throughout; problem is he’s a lazy bum, bad enough to be a D-level student despite being anything but dumb. Needs to have a drill sergeant assigned.
Round 5 (#138) – C Jeff Raczka, 21, from Newark, NJ – able behind the dish, good with hurlers, hard worker, reasonably intelligent… he’s just not hitting all that much. Somebody’s gotta bat eighth?
Round 6 (#162) – 1B Mark Watts, 20, from Cincinnati, OH – considerable power potential, but also patience to wait for a pitch in the wheelhouse… sometimes too much such patience…
Round 7 (#186) – SP Kevin Beck, 21, from Richmond, VA – left-hander with short stamina and only two real pitches, so a future as a starter is probably not in the cards, but he could become a very serviceable reliever.
Round 8 (#210) – LF/RF Ben Kupferberg, 19, from Denver, CO – lefty hitter that plays a power position with no power potential, also slow, with the hindpaws and the head. (Side note: Kupferberg is German for Copper Mountain and a semi-common place name in Germany, including one about 10 miles from where I live )
Round 9 (#234) – C Jamal Bright, 20, from Brooklyn, NY – good eye and some power potential, but otherwise doesn’t know how to impress a lot
Round 10 (#258) – INF/RF/LF Bryan Lenderink, 21, from Prairie View, TX – quirky defender with speed, but the Raccoons dislike his hitting profile a lot. We are much keener on seeing him become a righty pitcher with a 91mph fastball and a scoopy curve
Round 11 (#282) – SP Pat Moen, 18, from Colonial Heights, VA – left-hander (duh!) with a 87mph fastball that has room to grow and a curve and slider; stamina on the low end, as is control.
Round 12 (#306) – LF/RF Aaron Weyrick, 18, from Iowa City, IA – token defense on a solid contact bat with little power; he’s also a bit dense.
Round 13 (#330) – SP Dustin Ramsey, 18, from Detroit, MI – starting with the 85mph fastball, there is REALLY not much to see here on this left-hander.

+++

And yes, we did dump a number of players around this time, too. For pitchers, these included from AA Eric Tracy and Ian McGuire, the 2041 and 2042 sixth-rounders, both walking almost eight batter per nine innings, and 2039 eighth-rounder Hector Periera, who was just hopelessly stuck.

Among position players (other than the odd scouting discovery or trash heap signing) we released INF Brian Maloney (2043, 12th Round) and LF/1B Dustin Klein (2044, 9th Round), both hitting nothing in Aumsville. Where outfielders were concerned, lightning struck LF/CF Jordan Gonzalez, an end-of-bench afterthought in AAA at age 28, who had batted .208 with 1 HR, 6 RBI in 164 PA for the Coons from 2040 through 2044. He had been the 2034 sixth-rounder. 2040 eight-rounder Ali McLeish was released from Ham Lake, where he had been dwelling since ’42.

Westheim · 10-08-2021, 03:03 PM

Raccoons (42-26) vs. Indians (21-48) – June 19-21, 2045

The Raccoons were 5-1 against the badly drowning Indians this season, with nothing, but really nothing going right for them. They were bottoms in runs scored, third from the bottom in runs allowed, and had run up 21 1/2 games of gap to the first-place Coons and a -100 run differential by the middle of June. The only offensive thing they managed to do was stealing bases – if they ever got on base. Their rotation was wretched, their defense was clunky, and their pen was… decent! But that was not enough to salvage the rest of the clown troupe …

Projected matchups:
Brent Clark (6-5, 4.38 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (3-10, 4.01 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (5-5, 3.69 ERA) vs. Jonathan Dykstra (2-11, 7.24 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (7-4, 3.92 ERA) vs. Willie Gonzales (2-5, 3.86 ERA)

All these clowns were right-handed.

Game 1
IND: 3B Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – RF B. Quinteros – 2B A. Avila – SS Huber – P Drury
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Gurney – C Zarate – P Clark

Matt Waters drew a walk with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom 1st before Gurney’s pop stranded three other runners. But Brent Clark, speaking of clowns, struck out five the first time through the order and didn’t allow a hit until Miguel Barrientos hit a leadoff single in the top of the fourth. Clark went on to nail Danny Rivera – perhaps the lone Indians hitter not beyond salvation – with an 0-2 pitch, but got Nelson Galvan to hit into a double play. Julian Diaz then made the third out to short. But of course, this was Brent Clark. The clown allowed a triple to Andres Avila in the fifth, then walked Adam Huber, all with one gone. Drury popped out, but Andrew Russ doubled home the runners, and the Indians took the lead, 2-1. Waters pulled it back with a 2-out single, driving home Herrera, who had reached on an Avila error in the bottom 5th, and sent Maldonado first-to-third. Gurney grounded out to strand multiple Raccoons again.

Clark continued to rampage, beaning Diaz from the game in the sixth – Sean Ebner replaced him – then bunted badly to force out Zarate in the bottom 6th when the Coons catcher reached on an error by Russ. Clark made it through the seventh, somehow, then even got in line for the W when Drury got bombed to center by Bryce Toohey to open the bottom 7th. Rivera would counter with a 1-out single off Nelson Moreno in the eighth, but was forced out on Galvan’s grounder. On the same grounder, which went 6-4-and-nothing-more from a defensive standpoint, Gurney jerked awkwardly to catch a bad feed from Waters at second base, and was soon hauled in after making grimaces towards the dugout. John Castner took over, while Moreno ended the eighth by fanning Sean Ebner.

Top 9th, Josh Rella struck out Bill Quinteros, struck out Nick Crocker, and Adam Huber grounded to – oh, and … and nobody played that one. Infield single. Steven Jennings hit another one. Andrew Russ, the annoying **** hit a ball into the gap on 2-2, driving in both runners with a double. Barrientos singled him in. Rivera walked. I sunk into the cushions. Somehow Preston Porter found out of the inning, but not until after the Arrowheads had put up three runs. The Raccoons went down meekly against Tommy Gardner in the ninth. 5-3 Indians. Baskins 4-5, 2B; Toohey 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Waters 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K;

(looks bleached)

With this latest Rella meltdown, the Raccoons became a lot less likable.

Also, Pat Gurney was headed for the DL with an oblique strain and would probably not return until after the All Star Game. The Raccoons reached into their AAA team again and pulled up Omar Gutierrez, hitting .284 with a homer down there.

Game 2
IND: 3B Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – RF B. Quinteros – 1B Barrientos – 2B D. Diaz – C Ebner – SS Huber – P Dykstra
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Wheatley

Straight 1-out singles gave the Raccoons a 1-0 lead in the bottom 1st, Toohey driving in Herrera after Manny Fernandez, who was up next, had picked a Quinteros drive off the top of the fence to bail out Wheats in the opening half-frame, and before Manny Fernandez cranked a 3-piece over that same fence to extend the lead to 4-0. They tacked on a run when Baskins reached base, stole second, and scored after a Herrera single and a Maldonado double play grounder in the second.

5-0 it was then, while the Indians had a guy in scoring position each of the first three innings, but were suffocated by Wheats nicely in the middle innings. There was a chance for a shutout – Wheatley was on 76 pitches through six innings, having whiffed four. The 5-6-7 went down on 12 pitches in the seventh, not reaching base, but Russ would single on his 100th pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. Rivera grounded out, closing out the eighth. Wheats batted for himself in the bottom 8th, singling with nobody out to move Martell and his leadoff double from second to third. Baskins hit an RBI single to left, the first run scored by either team since the second inning. Herrera flew out, and Maldo plated Wheatley with a groundout, extending the lead to seven runs before the Raccoons’ batting parts were (hopefully over). Wheats began the ninth on 104 pitches, and the meat of the order was up. Galvan flew out to center on five pitches. Then he walked Bill Quinteros on four pitches. Yellow alert, at least – he’d have one more chance against Barrientos. He rung him up! Danny Diaz would be Wheat’s last batter – and he singled to left, on his 117th pitch. And that was enough. Jon Craig ended the game with a K. 7-0 Coons. Baskins 2-5, RBI; Herrera 2-5; Toohey 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 3 RBI; Martell 3-3, BB, 2 2B; Wheatley 8.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (6-5) and 1-4;

Game 3
IND: 3B Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – RF B. Quinteros – C Ebner – 2B A. Avila – SS Huber – P W. Gonzales
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda

Season debut for Omar Gutierrez, who had been reasonably far down the depth chart, but, eh, the nature of injuries! He would not be around for long, with Arturo Carreno already on the horizon, anyway.

Him and the remaining Raccoons had no hits the first time through, and by the time Maldonado hit a single in the bottom 4th, they were behind 2-0 on an Avila RBI double, scoring Ebner, from the second inning, and a Rivera homer in the fourth. Okuda would grind away at the Arrowheads for seven and two thirds, allowing five hits before being lifted for Nate Norris to get the last out in the eighth from Galvan, with Barrientos on second base. He also left the game trailing, 2-0, with the Raccoons getting 3-hit by unassuming looking Willie Gonzales. It was then Gutierrez to reach scoring position to begin the bottom 8th, dropping a bloop single between Huber and Rivera, with the sliding Huber forcing Rivera to peel off and the ball getting behind both of them for an extra base, Adam Huber being charged a hard-nosed error. Toohey hit for Norris and walked, putting the tying run on base. That flipped the lineup over to Derek Baskins, and only now did the Indians’ pen spring into action with bends and stretches. It was no use – Baskins flew out on the first pitch, and Herrera found the shortstop for a double play, allowing Gonzales out of the inning. Zack Kelly had a scoreless ninth, with Gonzales remaining in the game against the 3-4-5 of the Raccoons in the bottom 9th. Maldo flew out to center, but Manny hit a jack to right to blow up the shutout and bring in Tommy Gardner, who had sawed off the Critters on Monday already. He struck out Waters, but Dustal hit for Kilmer and hit a sharp grounder to left. Huber cut it off deep on the dirt, but had no play – 2-out infield single. But Ricky Jimenez dipped his batting average to .169 with another whiff, and the Raccoons lost the series to the abysmal Indians… 2-1 Indians. Dustal (PH) 1-1; Gutierrez 2-3; Okuda 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, L (7-5);

The Crusaders gained one game on us during this series, splitting a double header with the Elks on Monday, winning on Tuesday, and being rained out for the joy of another double header in September on Wednesday. Thursday, we were both off.

Raccoons (43-28) @ Condors (33-40) – June 23-25, 2045

We’d meet another last-place team to look like total fools against, with the Condors ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed, with only a -31 run differential. They also had a bottom three rotation, coupled with one of the worst defenses in the league. They didn’t excel at anything, really, ranking consistently in the bottom half in almost all important categories. We had swept them in the first meeting with them this season.

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (1-1, 3.90 ERA) vs. Mario de Anda (6-2, 3.29 ERA)
Brent Clark (6-5, 4.22 ERA) vs. Gabe Butler (7-7, 3.39 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (6-5, 3.31 ERA) vs. Ryan Porter (3-9, 5.33 ERA)

The series would begin with two southpaws from the Condors’ side. Only right-handers left after that.

The Coons skipped Corey Mathers (5.33 ERA and melting) on their off day. Not that more Merino and Clark were advised right now…

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Merino
TIJ: 2B M. Lopez – 3B Barcia – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – CF J. Clark – SS Clary – P de Anda

Manny singled home Maldo for a first-inning run, the latter having doubled and Toohey having drawn a walk in between. Meanwhile there was a sole lefty bat (Jacob Clark) opposing Merino, who nevertheless got through the first couple of innings alright before the Raccoons tacked on with a 3-run third; Herrera and Maldonado opened with singles before de Anda struck out the next two. Kilmer, however, jabbed an RBI single to right, and Jimenez whacked a gapper for a 2-run double. Castner was walked intentionally to get the third out from Merino, who allowed a Sergio Barcia double in the bottom 3rd, but little else of note all the way through the seventh inning, maintaining a 3-hit shutout … but on 100 pitches, he would not get the chance to go the distance. The last two innings were picked up by Norris and Craig, while the offense laid low and conserved energies for Saturday, or so I’d hope… 4-0 Raccoons. Maldonado 4-4, 2B; Jimenez 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Baskins (PH) 1-1; Merino 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, W (2-1);

With that, Arturo Carreno came off the DL for Saturday. The Raccoons reconsidered and sent John Castner (.184, 0 HR, 1 RBI) back to AAA, thus keeping the extra lefty bat that Omar Gutierrez offered.

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P B. Clark
TIJ: 2B M. Lopez – 3B Barcia – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Oliver – SS Clary – P G. Butler

Nate Rossi drove in a run with a groundout when the Condors had the bases loaded and one out in the bottom 1st, with Alex Zacarias’ groundout keeping the remaining runners on base. Eric Clary hit a blast to right in the second, extending the Condors’ lead over Clark to 2-0. The Raccoons? They weren’t hitting, literally. Butler carried a no-hitter through four before Ricky Jimenez hit the shiest of singles through the right side. Carreno flew out weekly to ex-Coon Rikuto Ito, while Clark couldn’t get the bunt own, then popped out on 0-2. Waters singled past Clary to move Jimenez to second, but Herrera’s grounder was handled by Barcia, and the inning ended.

IT didn’t look like Portland had a chance, and Clark then pissed it all away for good in the bottom 6th, failing to retire any of the 5-6-7-8-9 batters with one out. Oliver singled home a run, and Butler (…) singled in two before Clark was yanked. Porter appeared on the mound, struck out Miguel Lopez, then had his own string of not getting any of five consecutive hitters out, getting ravaged for four runs on his furry tush (never mind another two on Clark that he surrendered), before Chuck Jones came on to get a ******* out from Brian Oliver. The Condors had piled up nine in the inning, and the game was over as a contest. Gabe Butler finished the game without breaking much of a sweat, 4-hitting the miserable Critters. 11-0 Condors.

It’s not going well.

(applies Dr. Blossom’s Pain-Be-Gone! Powder to his furry tush)

Game 3
POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Martell – P Wheatley
TIJ: 2B M. Lopez – RF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Ito – C T. Black – 3B Barcia – LF Reidinger – SS Clary – P R. Porter

Ricky Jimenez had his odd biweekly clout to centerfield that reminded us, oh yeah, we’re not burning those $3M, we’re actually getting a hit every fortnight. This was a 3-run homer in the fourth, chasing home Waters and Kilmer for the first runs in the rubber game. Wheats was fine the first time through, facing one over the minimum, then allowed a single to Nate Rossi and a walk to Ito in the fourth. However, Zacarias hit into a double play and Ito was caught stealing, meaning it somehow still was a 1-2-3 inning. Terry Black found a clean leadoff single to left in the fifth, but was doubled up by Marty Reidinger after Barcia popped out. Porter and Lopez hit singles up the middle in the sixth, but Rossi’s cozy fly to right and Zacarias’ grounder up the middle ended the inning. There was a weird calmness around Wheats all of a sudden, and he began to encroach on the 3.00 ERA mark, reaching 3.10 in the sixth.

Al Martell opened the seventh with a single to right, then stole second. Wheats swung, grounding out, moving the runner to third base, where Baskins and Herrera stranded him with poor outs. It wasn’t the Raccoons’ week, huh? Well, maybe Matt Waters could put the game away. He found Manny on base in the eighth inning, then hit a homer to right, his ninth on the year, to extend the lead to 5-0. But – no shutout for Wheats this time either! Marty Reidinger took him deep to right to open the eighth inning, which he finished, but which would also be his last in the game.

And it was not a save situation either for Josh Rella in the bottom 9th, but he simply made it one, putting Ito on base, and giving up a bomb to Terry Black to get the Condors within two. With Moreno getting warm in a hurry, Barcia and Reidinger made the last two outs to eek out the series win. 5-3 Coons. Waters 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Wheatley 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (7-5) and 1-3;

In other news

June 19 – LVA SP Oscar Valdes (5-5, 4.24 ERA) 2-hits the Condors in a 4-0 shutout.
June 19 – A torn rotator cuff puts VAN SP Mario Godinez (7-5, 5.36 ERA) on the DL for the rest of the 2045 season.
June 20 – Denver’s SP John Kennedy (7-6, 2.98 ERA) spins a 1-hitter in a 10-0 rout of the Pacifics. LAP OF Tony Romero (.272, 2 HR, 18 RBI) has the only L.A. hit, a second-inning single.
June 20 – MIL SP Mackenzie O’Toole (6-4, 3.12 ERA) pitches a 2-hit shutout against the Titans. The Loggers win 3-0.
June 20 – Canadiens infielder Kenichi Saito (.248, 6 HR, 26 RBI) will miss the rest of the season, heading for Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL.

FL Player of the Week: CIN 3B Jesus Burgos (.361, 6 HR, 44 RBI), batting .500 (13-26) with 1 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN OF Jerry Outram (.388, 8 HR, 45 RBI), hitting .522 (12-23) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Not Player of the Week: Wheats, who pitched 16.2 innings for 12 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 11 strikeouts. Screw you, Jerry Outram! Wheats would face Outram on the coming weekend… For his last five games, Wheats is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA, and with a WHIP of 0.88! … Clunker incoming, I fear.

We need a new closer. Rella wasn’t even unlucky. He is just getting pummeled now. I am highly dismayed by it.

Also, we need to take a good look at ourselves, and wonder how we played the two last-place teams in the CL this week and barely made it out 3-3, and with a -1 run differential at that. We weren’t unlucky in losing three; we were just mediocre.

Maldo put a 12-game hitting streak together, but that one died in the same game as Rella’s prestige on Sunday, where Maldo hit 0-for-4 with a K. In a real slump: Armando Herrera, batting 5-for-36 in his last 8 games. ‘tis but a scratch, I hope.

Next week we’re back home to face the Falcons and the damn Elks, the latter coming in for four games.

Pitching depth took a hit this week, with Tony Negrete hitting the minor league DL with a sprained ankle. He would have been the first guy up in case Brent Clark or whoever needed defenestration.

Fun Fact: We won the Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday games this week, and lost the Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday games – same as last week.

In other words, we’ve done one step forward and one step back for 12 straight games now. That is another way to be mediocre.

09-08-2021, 01:42 PM	#3721
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	November 16 – The Raccoons trade LF/CF/1B Mal Phinazee (.234, 72 HR, 317 RBI) back to the Thunder for 1B/RF/LF/2B Pat Gurney (.280, 61 HR, 288 RBI). November 16 – The Crusaders trade 27-year-old 1B Dan Riley (.271, 73 HR, 265 RBI) to the Bayhawks for 31-yr old SP Garrett Sutherland (49-43, 3.63 ERA), a prospect, and $1.52M in cash. November 18 – The Indians pick up right-handed swingman Justin Johns (16-29, 5.25 ERA, 6 SV) from the Capitals, parting with a prospect. November 19 – Sacramento picks up 3B/SS Joe Lockwood (.271, 14 HR, 102 RBI) from the Capitals in a trade for LF/RF Pat Stipp (.135, 1 HR, 4 RBI). November 23 – The Warriors splash big with the addition of ex-DAL/TIJ 2B Hugo Acosta (.345, 25 HR, 743 RBI), who signs a 6-yr, $21.84M contract. November 23 – The Gold Sox add 39-year-old veteran closer Yeom Soung (44-44, 2.72 ERA, 259 SV) on a 2-yr, $4.88M deal. Soung was with the Warriors for the last three years. November 26 – Former Canadiens 2B Dan Schneller (.293, 288 HR, 1,182 RBI) signs a 2-yr, $8.08M contract with the Miners. The 37-year-old had spent four-and-a-half seasons in Vancouver. November 27 – The Pacifics’ former closer, 28-year-old John Steuer (33-41, 3.62 ERA, 162 SV), signs a 2-yr, $2.44M deal with the Crusaders. November 28 – The Miners also snatch up ex-ATL SP Jerry Banda (131-105, 3.60 ERA), who signs a 2-yr, $8.8M contract. November 28 – The Loggers trade OF Adam Borchard (.288, 3 HR, 53 RBI) to the Knights for a prospect. November 29 – The Aces receive right-hander Andy Pedraza (6-15, 5.81 ERA, 22 SV) from the Condors for MR Pedro Quinonez (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 6 games) and a prospect. November 30 – Sioux Falls adds ex-VAN C/1B Timóteo Clemente (.265, 128 HR, 585 RBI). The 34-year-old signed a 4-yr, $7.58M contract. November 30 – The Loggers spend $2.7M over three years on right-handed MR Tim Hale (65-68, 4.01 ERA, 20 SV). December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: 12 players are taken across two rounds. The Raccoons are not affected. +++ Divesting ourselves of Mal Phinazee was almost disturbingly easy – the Thunder took him right back after sending him to Portland in the summer, then for a prospect. It was actually the third time the Thunder spun a trade involving Phinazee in this calendar year after picking him up from the Condors in February. Not that Phinazee had been horrendous – after a slow start he had come around late and he had been clutch in October when he came off the bench – but he wasn’t what the Raccoons were looking for at this stage. The Raccoons were looking for a left-handed batting first baseman to sprinkle in to spot Maldonado and/or Toohey, and Gurney was exactly that. He had arrived in Oklahoma mid-season after years with the Aces. He had a bit of power, hitting 19 bombs, a career-high, in 2044, and he had pretty appealing OPS values as a whole. He also didn’t come with $5M+ in future salaries attached – he had not outgrown arbitration yet and thus wouldn’t eat up budget space by default later on. For mainly a first baseman he was lightning quick, too, stealing 18 bases in ’44, also a career-high. Overall he had batted .283/.344/.450 for Vegas and Oklahoma. His main counterpart at first base would be Maldonado and not Toohey as previously thought. We had come up with a new scout in Pat Degenhardt, who had been the head scout in New York for a couple of years before house was cleaned there after last season. Degenhardt had written some nasty reports on our infielders once he had arrived, including Toohey, and was not too thrilled of the idea of him as a regular first baseman. No such concerns were raised about Maldonado, and thus Maldo was penciled in at first base going forward, with Toohey remaining in right. Elsewhere the damn Elks had three type A free agents, but signed one of them (Sebastien Parham) back themselves. Dan Schneller was picked up by Pittsburgh for a second-round pick, while the Warriors hauled in Timóteo Clemente. Other Critters with new jobs? So far only Alex Ramirez, who signed a 2-yr, $664k deal with the Cyclones; Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-10-2021, 02:39 PM	#3722
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	December arrived, and the Raccoons were not ultra-active on the market… except that they hung on Armando Herrera’s tail. Everybody around the office could easily tell whenever his agent called again, because I would then whine and whimper at max volume for at least an hour, and Maud was busy running back and forth and making fomentations for me. It was A LOT of money that the Herrera camp was asking for. But we had to have him – he was the perfect fit, and we had already dumped Ayala for him … speaking of Ayala… +++ December 2 – The Titans ink ex-POR 1B/LF/RF Sal Ayala (.271, 94 HR, 554 RBI) to a 1-yr, $1.62M contract. The Raccoons receive a second-round pick and a supplemental round pick for compensation. +++ Well, that sucked. Especially since we’d – what is it, Maud? Please don’t tell me they’re on the phone yet again …! – I don’t have any more millions to promise!! +++ December 3 – The Raccoons sign ex-SAL CF Armando Herrera (.314, 21 HR, 552 RBI) to a 6-yr, $28.2M contract. The Raccoons forfeit their #22 pick in the 2045 draft to the Wolves for the 30-year-old centerfielder. December 3 – Denver inks ex-LAP SP Roberto Pruneda (168-127, 3.66 ERA) to a 2-yr, $9.2M contract. December 3 – The Bayhawks add left-handed closer candidate Jake Bonnie (32-34, 3.60 ERA, 63 SV) in a trade with the Wolves that sends two prospects to Salem. +++ Our #22 and Denver’s #24 pick were in fact the first first-round picks to be signed away this offseason. The first six type A free agents to sign all did so for bottom-half teams that forfeited second- or even third-round picks. Guess what, the Loggers got hung with a third-round pick once again… …and while I tried to sneak a team option into Armando Herrera’s contract for the 2050 season, his camp had none of it. All the dosh had to be guaranteed! And so the Raccoons signed him for six slates of $4.7M and prayed their dearest he would run head-first into a fence before the end of April… Paying $4.7M for a centerfielder was bad enough. Paying $4.7M for a centerfielder in a wheelchair was even worse. Cristiano, what’s the glare for? +++ December 5 – The Crusaders sign 32-yr old ex-TIJ/DAL RF/1B Willie Ojeda (.321, 182 HR, 1,063 RBI) to a 4-yr, $17.6M contract. December 6 – The Titans add ex-NAS/ATL 2B Juan Encinia (.262, 6 HR, 183 RBI) on a 1-year, $1M contract. December 8 – The Indians acquire 2B/1B Logan Arnold (.276, 26 HR, 226 RBI) from the Rebels, along with cash, for MR Aaron Iten (5-6, 4.55 ERA, 3 SV) and a prospect. December 9 – INF Chris Rose (.289, 5 HR, 84 RBI) is traded from the Condors to the Loggers for MR Cesar Perez (46-37, 4.37 ERA, 50 SV) and a prospect. December 14 – The Wolves deal 3B/SS David Reid (.279, 11 HR, 73 RBI) to the Pacifics for a pitching prospect. December 15 – Former Blue Sox 1B Chris Delagrange (.267, 245 HR, 1,002 RBI), an 11-year veteran, joins the CL for the first time in a 2-yr, $7.92M contract with the Knights. December 22 – Dallas takes in former Scorpions RF/LF Joreao Porfirio (.268, 138 HR, 567 RBI), signing the 31-year-old for 6 years and $20.64M. December 24 – The Condors sign ex-SAC LF/SS Jesus Banuelas (.293, 46 HR, 476 RBI) for $22.84M over seven years. December 24 – The Bayhawks come to terms with ex-DEN SP Matt Hose (128-116, 3.96 ERA) on a 3-yr, $9.4M contract. December 24 – 35-year-old SP Bill Quintero (150-153, 3.64 ERA), also last with the Gold Sox, signs a 2-yr, $8.76M deal with the Pacifics. [b]December 24 – The Raccoons add former Thunder INF Al Martell (.257, 48 HR, 324 RBI) to a $500k contract for the 2045 season. +++ Martell gets us a backup infielder that might actually hit. I tried to find somebody in a trade for a veteran reliever, but nobody really bought into the idea of, say, Jon Craig. So a cheap free agent it was. Martell had been a regular on the Thunder when he was just 21, but had been pretty much sorted to the side by 27. He was definitely glove-first, but he was also hitting lefty, which gave us another option to tilt the lineup against righty hitters (in Jimenez’ spot f.e.). With that, de Wit and Gutierrez were out of luck for a roster spot in 2045. In the outfield, it looked like we’d send Van Anderson and Gene Pellicano back, and apart from that we looked pretty much set. Ruben Gonzalez would also go back to AAA. The only thing I was still working on was maybe a bullpen shake-up. I wasn’t hellbent on it, though. Who else? Jonathan Dykstra, a Coons farmhand that was traded for Kurt Wall a decade ago, returned to the CL on an $870k deal with the Indians; Cosmo Trevino signed with the Pacifics for $500k; Also, the Hall of Fame ballot is out. Find all the Titans on it that vexed us for a good decade or so. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-12-2021, 06:30 AM	#3723
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	December 25 – The Knights snatch former Miner and Crusader RF/1B/LF John Marz (.277, 165 HR, 672 RBI). The 31-year-ol will bag $11.2M over four years. December 25 – The Scorpions acquire C Anton Mercado (.272, 9 HR, 71 RBI) from the Miners for right-handed swingman Raul Cornejo (18-24, 4.82 ERA). December 26 – Tijuana gets ex-ATL OF Brian Oliver (.275, 89 HR, 460 RBI) for 3-yr, $3.96M. December 31 – Former Wolves closer Rico Sanchez (55-64, 3.44 ERA, 309 SV) is taken on by the Miners on a 3-yr, $7.8M contract. January 6 – 1B/2B Dustin Fruman (.233, 13 HR, 117 RBI) is acquired from the Warriors by the Canadiens, who part with a prospect in the exchange. January 15 – More infielders for Vancouver: INF Kenichi Saito (.227, 16 HR, 79 RBI) is acquired from the Bayhawks, along with an infield prospect, for SP Paul Medvec (50-38, 4.10 ERA). January 19 – Ex-MIL INF/RF Ted Del Vecchio (.275, 86 HR, 598 RBI) signs a 2-yr, $3.76M contract with the Wolves. January 30 – Ten years after first pitching there, ex-BOS SP Ignacio del Rio (147-159, 4.00 ERA) returns to the Thunder for a 3-yr, $8.64M engagement. January 31 – Vancouver needs yet more infielders: they sign 34-yr old ex-Titan 2B/SS Oscar Aguirre (.230, 91 HR, 605 RBI) to a 3-yr, $3.36M contract. January 31 – Former Bayhawks 1B/C Jeff Wilson (.270, 89 HR, 434 RBI) gets a 4-yr, $5.76M contract from the Scorpions. +++ Since Del Vecchio was a type A free agent, the Wolves signed away the #22 pick they got from us to the Loggers. Themselves, the Wolves meanwhile got a fourth-round pick from the busily shopping Miners for their troubles with losing Rico Sanchez. Former Raccoons with new trash bins to topple? Tony Hunter signed a $350k deal with the Warriors; Jesse Stedham got $462k from the Scorpions; Terry Garrigan made it onto the Buffaloes for 2-yr, $1.62M; +++ The Hall of Fame received four new denizens in the most recent election, three of whom went in on the first ballot, with one holdover from last year. The top vote getter was legendarily enduring and endearing Pablo Sanchez, who hit .339/.434/.467 with 4,476 base hits, 163 homers, 1,688 RBI, and 721 stolen bases over a career spanning 27 seasons and seven teams (but more than half of it with the Scorpions, for whom he debuted at 19), including a World Series ring (2020 Scorpions), three Player of the Year awards (2019, 2021, 2023), four batting titles, two stolen base crowns, and numerous other accolades and achievements. The Venezuelan, who played until he was 45 years old, retired as the all-time leader in games played (3,453), at-bats (13,189), runs (2,364), hits, total bases (6,157), singles (3,414), triples (293), stolen bases, caught stealing (410), and walks (2,047), leaving only doubles, homers, the rate categories, RBIs, and WAR untouched for commonly tracked offensive metrics. His legacy, including hitting .326 while falling just 8 at-bats shy of a qualifying season with the 2037 Bayhawks at age 43, will live on. Dave Christiansen spent his entire career with the Pacifics, debuting at 21 in 2024 and holding out until the 2039 season, when he was moved to the bullpen amid a breakdown of stuff. The iron man never hit the DL in his major league career, led the league in innings pitched five times, in wins six times, in strikeouts three times, and in ERA once, but didn’t put a triple crown together. He did pitch a no-hitter against the Miners, and won three rings with the Pacifics (2027, 2030, 2032), while also taking the FL Pitcher of the Year award in 2026 and 2030. For his career he was 244-154 with a 3.32 ERA and 27 saves. He struck out 2,906 batters in 3,617.2 innings. He was also a respected batter, winning the Platinum Stick for FL pitchers a whopping ten times, hitting .290/.327/.416 for his career with 18 HR and 190 RBI. His career .743 OPS give him an OPS+ of 107. Not always loved by his rivals for some persistent attitude, 3B Shane Sanks nevertheless put a great career together which spanned 19 seasons, of which the majority came with the Condors, for whom he is inducted, although his career started with the Bayhawks and ended with a backup year on the Capitals. He hit .260/.391/.456 with 2,359 hits, 1,846 walks, 379 homers, and 1,471 RBI in his career. He won the 2029 World Series with the Condors, the year he won his only Gold Glove, and was the CL Player of the Year five times between 2028 and 2035. He never won a batting title, but led the league in OBP four times, as well as in homers three times, and RBI and doubles once each. He contributed 70+ extra-base hits several times amidst 100+ walks in 10 of 11 seasons from 2026 through 2036 (with a naughty 98 in ’30, when he missed 33 games). The fourth Hall of Famer also started his major league career on the Bayhawks before being traded to the Raccoons, for whom he is inducted, with another newcomer on the Hall of Fame ballot (Matt Huf) involved in that trade. Mark Roberts was a 12th-round pick (#294) by the Aces in the 2012 draft that became a minor league free agent, and nevertheless blossomed into a strikeout artist that led the league in K four times, and in K/9 four times as well. He took the triple crown and Pitcher of the Year award with the 2025 Raccoons, followed by two of his four rings in 2026 and 2028. The others came with the 2033 and 2034 Warriors. He faded in his mid-30s, but kept pitching until he was 43, his 20th major league season, playing for five teams in seven years after his Raccoons tenure ended. If there was a weakness to his game, it was giving up homers, in which he led the league three times in his Portland days, earning him the “Launchpad Roberts” moniker. For his career, he was 209-145 with a 3.27 ERA and 1 SV. He struck out 2,859 in 3,258 innings. He is the second Raccoons starting pitcher Hall of Famer taken deep in the #200s in the draft after Nick Brown (who was a #293 pick). Full voting results: SAC RF Pablo Sanchez – 1st – 99.2 – INDUCTED LAP SP Dave Christiansen – 1st – 96.8 – INDUCTED TIJ 3B Shane Sanks – 1st – 96.8 – INDUCTED POR SP Mark Roberts – 2nd – 85.7 – INDUCTED TIJ SP Jeff Little – 3rd – 21.8 MIL SP Chris Sinkhorn – 7th – 18.7 SFW SS Jamie Wilson – 10th – 9.5 – DROPPED TIJ 1B Kevin McGrath – 1st – 8.3 TIJ SP George Griffin – 1st – 7.1 ??? C Mike Burgess – 2nd – 7.1 SFB SP Matt Huf – 1st – 7.1 SFW CF Pedro Cisneros – 2nd – 6.3 PIT C J.J. Henley – 5th – 6.3 BOS SP Adam Potter – 1st – 4.4 – DROPPED TOP CL Mike Baker – 8th – 3.6 – DROPPED BOS 2B Rhett West – 1st – 3.2 – DROPPED ??? 1B Kevin Harenberg – 3rd – 3.2 – DROPPED OCT SS Alex Serrato – 3rd – 2.4 – DROPPED ATL C Steve Garcia – 1st – 2.0 – DROPPED BOS MR Julio San Pedro – 2nd – 2.0 – DROPPED OCT RF Luis Sagredo – 1st – 1.6 – DROPPED WAS SP Johnny Nelson – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED LAP MR Chris Cooper – 1st – 0.0 – DROPPED BOS SS Keith Spataro – 1st – 0.0 – DROPPED Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-13-2021, 12:18 PM	#3724
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	Was it the most exciting of offseasons? No. Was it a successful one? Sorta. We got Herrera, which was all we really wanted. No offense to Pat Gurney intended. (Pat Gurney looks up from his food bowl, pretty offended) +++ February 6 – The Warriors ink ex-IND/LVA SP Sal Chavez (117-98, 3.97 ERA) on a 1-yr, $1.96M contract. March 3 – The Gold Sox add C Pacio Torreo (.271, 90 HR, 470 RBI), formerly of the Scorpions, on a 3-yr, $3.42M deal. March 6 – The Loggers acquire INF Ricky Espinoza (.252, 29 HR, 110 RBI) from the Condors for 3B Tomas Ruiz (.303, 10 HR, 41 RBI) and a prospect. March 27 – 38-year-old SP Raymond Pearce retires from baseball as a result of the torn rotator cuff he suffered the prior May. Pearce pitched to a 41-33 record with a 4.41 ERA and 4 saves in 241 games (96 starts) for five teams in the ABL, mostly the Canadiens. +++ The Raccoons have another $2.6M in budget space that wasn’t used, so we have to do some renovations around here to use up all the money before Nick Valdes takes it back at the end of the season. I have already started. (opens and points at his snout with four shiny golden new canine teeth) What else about former Critters? The Knights gave Jose Cruz $530k for his services in ’45; and that’s about it, it seems. __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-14-2021, 05:32 PM	#3725
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	2045 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2044 stats, second set career stats; players with an * are off season acquisitions): SP Sadaharu Okuda, 29, B:L, T:L (15-8, 3.37 ERA \| 15-8, 3.37 ERA) – Japanese import signed on the cheap and throwing three pitches, including a 92mph fastball and a neat curve. He easily did the best of all our starters in ’44 and was thus assigned as the new recipient of the alive-and-well Opening Day Curse. Only 5.6 K/9, but he makes it up with few walks allowed and keeping homers to a minimum. SP Corey Mathers, 26, B:R, T:R (10-11, 3.92 ERA \| 36-40, 3.67 ERA) – Mix of four pitches, groundballer, 93mph fastball, and quick riser from being the #20 pick in the ’39 draft, and somehow nobody talks about Mathers at all as you know, the young right-hander in the 2042 rotation that actually got people out (most of the time). He looked like he might win 20 games in ’43, then barely won 10 in ’44, getting the worst run support in the rotation. SP Jake Jackson, 32, B:R, T:R (14-7, 3.79 ERA \| 75-84, 3.80 ERA) – groundballer with three good pitches, including a 95mph fastball, who got befallen by our Opening Day starter curse in ’43 but recovered nicely for his career-best record, a high in 6.8 K/9, and a low in 2.8 BB/9. SP Brent Clark, 30, B:L, T:L (12-12, 3.75 ERA \| 38-38, 3.60 ERA, 11 SV) – after three and a half years in the bullpen with decent success, Clark was a full-time starter for the first time in 2043 and had a few bright spots and a few not so bright spots, which translated into 2044 with relative ease. Walks were quite high for a starter at 4.3/9 although he did lead the league with 8.3 K/9. SP Jason Wheatley, 24, B:R, T:R (9-6, 4.69 ERA \| 23-22, 3.94 ERA) – boy, was it a struggle for Wheats in his second full season; he never got untracked, gnawed his way through the summer, and was getting bombed with no reservations by September, limiting him to one relief outing in the postseason. He has five pitches, some very good, and he added a full two strikeouts per nine innings in ’44 (to 7.6/9), but he also had a very low BABIP in his first full season and a rather ghastly one last year (.315 at least). MR Chuck Jones, 33, B:L, T:L (3-1, 1.94 ERA, 4 SV \| 26-13, 2.93 ERA, 19 SV) – lefty specialist that should be kept away from right-handers; if handled properly, can get his walks per nine innings under three, when he walked upwards of five in previous employments when he wasn’t handled with care. Middle year of a rather expensive 3-year deal that has yet to backfire on us. MR Zack Kelly, 29, B:L, T:L (3-2, 4.85 ERA, 1 SV \| 15-5, 3.49 ERA, 6 SV) – left-handed fifth-year pitcher with balanced splits, throws 96 with a nasty curve to complement it. Was largely competent until coming apart in the last quarter of the season, although his 28 earned runs in ’44 include an 8-run soaking in abortive long relief when the team was already mentally at the next game. Also suffered from a horrendous .370 BABIP that is almost unfathomable, while striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings. MR Preston Porter, 23, B:R, T:R (1-1, 1.57 ERA \| 3-1, 1.77 ERA) – the only young one that found a spot, Porter replaced Alex Ramirez during the 2044 season and quickly proved stinginess despite lacking obvious velocity (90mph), but keeps it on the ground and has a very nice curve; also exceptional control – he walked three batters in 28.2 innings in the majors … and four in 25.2 innings in AAA last year. MR Nate Norris, 29, B:R, T:R (10-3, 2.91 ERA \| 21-19, 4.35 ERA, 18 SV) – part of the Baskins trade with the Buffaloes, Norris had a really good season, coming out as a clutch piece in the pen and somehow won 10 games, all in relief. MR Jon Craig, 30, B:R, T:R (2-5, 4.21 ERA, 1 SV \| 11-11, 3.40 ERA, 9 SV) – right-hander with basic competence that was the Pointless Deadline Acquisition #2 in 2041, when the Coons were * half-in, * half-out in the second half of July. He was ho-hum then, and was ho-hum for much of 2044, too after a strong 2043. Was offered to other teams in the winter, but nobody was particularly interested. The Raccoons would lose him on waivers if they tried, so he remains with the team, while younger talent is sent to AAA again as injury reserve. SU Nelson Moreno, 26, B:R, T:R (8-4, 1.99 ERA, 1 SV \| 39-36, 4.11 ERA, 1 SV) – sic transit gloria mundi; the Raccoons’ previous diamond-grade pitching prospect had a third season that was boundless horror from beginning to end, and was relegated to the bullpen in September 2042, then missed almost all of 2043 with shoulder inflammation. Finally found his groove in 2044 and pitched very well in a setup role and in tied games (as his record will attest to). CL Josh Rella, 28, B:R, T:R (3-1, 2.33 ERA, 38 SV \| 8-4, 2.60 ERA, 100 SV) – look… we also don’t know how he does it with just 46 K in 54 innings, but he tied for the most saves in the CL in ’43 and went 7-for-7 in saves in our 8-0 postseason sweep. He’s got something figured out. Groundballer throwing 96 with a slide piece that was drafted as an infielder in the fourth round in 2039. C Jeff Kilmer, 33, B:R, T:R (.230, 8 HR, 51 RBI \| .253, 77 HR, 384 RBI) – continues to hit a little less every year, but also continued to be paid $2M a year through next season. Will more or less split the time rather evenly with Zarate behind the dish. C Jose Zarate, 32, B:R, T:R (.286, 6 HR, 54 RBI \| .293, 12 HR, 81 RBI) – strong defensive catcher that was stuck in AAA for the Loggers for all his 20s and didn’t get triple-digit at-bats in a season until last year’s excursion with the Scorpions. Picked up in a minor deal that gave us a 121 OPS+ hitter with sturdy defense behind the dish. Will probably go to arbitration for the rest of his career. 1B/3B/RF/LF/SS/CF Jesus Maldonado, 31, B:R, T:R (.323, 14 HR, 79 RBI \| .296, 93 HR, 580 RBI) – It’s hard to forget this one: .411/.431/.571 and a 2037 World Series MVP award while playing on the losing team. He finally got the ring, too, just without the MVP title, but he doesn’t seem unhappy. Ten seasons into his career, his defensive versatility is breaking down, and the Raccoons will look to only appoint him to the corners anymore. Hit for a 138 OPS+ or better four out of the last five seasons, but also missed more than a season’s worth of games over the stretch, so maybe the reduced wear at first will help him be even more productive on offense. 2B Arturo Carreno, 25, B:R, T:R (.253, 3 HR, 46 RBI \| .264, 11 HR, 98 RBI) – after two full seasons it’s safe to say that Carreno is a good defensive second baseman that will probably hit like a good defensive second baseman, but is at least easy to work with and can challenge for the stolen base title. 3B Ricky Jimenez, 27, B:R, T:R (.263, 5 HR, 43 RBI \| .268, 23 HR, 135 RBI) – was signed for a risky $3M a year out of Cuba, came, saw, and conquered the Rookie of the Year title. That was in 2043. Was stuck in the quagmire for four months in ’44 and only started hitting late after seeing diminished playing time for long stretches of the season; somehow rallied to a 104 OPS+. There is no Jose Cruz for competition this year, but if he struggles again, we have alternatives again. SS/2B Matt Waters, 24, B:S, T:R (.246, 15 HR, 68 RBI \| .244, 16 HR, 75 RBI) – good defensive shortstop that unexpectedly hit 15 homers in his first full season even though the leadoff package didn’t quite come together. Also stole 29 bases; is definitely a keeper, although the Raccoons would really wish for him to draw more walks. Him or Carreno. Somebody. Please. 1B/RF/LF/2B Pat Gurney , 27, B:L, T:R (.283, 19 HR, 86 RBI \| .280, 61 HR, 288 RBI) – traded for with the Thunder for Mal Phinazee, Gurney is a surprisingly speedy corner guy that figures to get most of his playing time against right-handed pitching. Also has double-digit power when employed as a regular. 2B/3B/SS Al Martell , 29, B:S, T:R (.267, 0 HR, 1 RBI \| .257, 48 HR, 324 RBI) – versatile infielder with solid defense and a lefty stick that was a Thunder regular at 21, then fell by the wayside by age 26. Picked up on the cheap as free agent. LF/RF/CF Manny Fernandez, 35, B:L, T:L (.266, 11 HR, 66 RBI \| .284, 170 HR, 961 RBI) – as close to a 5-tool player as the Raccoons could ever find, especially in a draft. 2036 Player of the Year! Also won an RBI title in 2040, which totally saved our season (not). Signed a new 4-year deal with the Raccoons this winter, which might lead to him retiring him as a Career Critter eventually. He seems destined to take over the franchise record in RBI, which he could do with 93 RBI this season. He trails only Matt Nunley and Daniel Hall in that regard anymore, while having played several hundred fewer games than any of those two. CF Armando Herrera , 31, B:R, T:R (.315, 4 HR, 53 RBI \| .314, 21 HR, 552 RBI) – the Raccoons’ eye-wateringly expensive star acquisition won eight Gold Gloves in nine seasons with the Wolves, so he’s got defense ticked off for sure. Has already won two rings and maintains that he has ringless paws left that need ringing. Elite hitter (without power though), that would work in the leadoff spot, although the Raccoons would REALLY like him to hit second behind someone quick(er), although Herrera himself also steals double digits every year. RF/LF/1B Bryce Toohey, 29, B:R, T:R (.282, 26 HR, 89 RBI \| .275, 78 HR, 282 RBI) – steady defensive rightfielder that continued a power outburst the last two seasons at ages 27/28 before he was acquired from the Condors. Hit a career-high 26 in ’44, not including the one in the 14th inning that claimed the Raccoons’ fifth World Series title. LF/CF Derek Baskins, 29, B:L, T:R (.312, 4 HR, 34 RBI \| .294, 43 HR, 434 RBI) – strong defender, quick enough to steal a bunch of bases, and hit .300 quite a few times for the Buffos. Now if only he hadn’t missed 66 games on the DL… LF/RF/CF Jonathan Dustal, 27, B:S, T:L (.308, 0 HR, 5 RBI \| .266, 29 HR, 134 RBI) – adept fifth outfielder that was picked up prior to 2044, but lasted only 27 games and 52 at-bats before busting his knee for the season. Switch-hitter to help balance the lineup when needed. On disabled list: Nobody. Otherwise unavailable: Nobody. Other roster movement: SP Victor Merino, 24, B:L, T:L (2-2, 3.10 ERA \| 4-2, 2.70 ERA) – optioned to AAA; hasn’t amounted to more than two cups of coffee so far. A struggling team would happily stuff this young lefty into the rotation right now, but the Raccoons are not struggling – he is on his final option now, though. MR Bob Ibold, 24, B:L, T:R (1-0, 2.77 ERA \| 2-0, 6.20 ERA) – optioned to AAA; up-and-coming righty with 14 strikeouts in 13 innings in ’44, but we just didn’t find a spot on the roster for him. MR Steven Johnston, 25, B:L, T:L (1-0, 3.52 ERA \| 1-1, 3.55 ERA) – optioned to AAA; left-hander that’s rough around the edges, with two cups of coffee in consecutive Septembers. C/1B Ruben Gonzalez, 23, B:R, T:R (.191, 0 HR, 6 RBI \| .191, 0 HR, 6 RBI) – optioned to AAA; didn’t hit much in his two call-ups which amounted to 47 at-bats, but the Raccoons are convinced that he’ll be on the roster next April. He does bring pretty good defense and a fine throwing arm, and he hit for a .760 OPS in AAA in his age 22 season – the boy can’t be all rotten. 3B/LF/2B Jay de Wit, 28, B:S, T:R (.217, 1 HR, 5 RBI \| .238, 6 HR, 70 RBI) – optioned to AAA; Aruba’s Finest played the whole season with the Critters twice, never hitting for even a .600 OPS, and was as a consequence upgrade upon a while back. 2B/3B/SS/LF Omar Gutierrez, 30, B:L, T:R (.210, 1 HR, 5 RBI \| .273, 7 HR, 48 RBI) – optioned to AAA; versatile lefty-hitting infielder that never made the majors in a stuffed Wolves organization until somehow flopping onto the Raccoons at age 27, but lost his bench spot last season when the team needed an actual threat with the stick. RF/CF/LF Van Anderson, 27, B:L, T:L (.349, 1 HR, 6 RBI \| .239, 5 HR, 38 RBI) – optioned to AAA; kind of a ho-hum player, flexible defensively, but not hitting much at all – at least not in the long run. RF/LF/CF Gene Pellicano, 25, B:R, T:R (.286, 6 HR, 28 RBI \| .286, 6 HR, 28 RBI) – optioned to AAA; good defensive outfielder with a surprisingly productive first partial season in the majors. He actually hit more with the Critters than with the Alley Cats, which contributed to his return to AAA in fact. Everybody not mentioned by now has already been waived or reassigned during the offseason. OPENING DAY LINEUP: I liked our lineup last year, and not that much will change about it! (Vs. RHP: 2B Carreno / SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters / 3B Jimenez – 3B Jimenez / 2B Carreno – P) Vs. LHP: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Note that there’s not a lot of lefty bats in that lineup against right-handers. But there are many variations possible with Gurney, Baskins, an Martell on the bench (even Dustal), and more often than not one or more of those will actually be in the lineup over one or the other regular. OFF SEASON CHANGES: The Raccoons won last year’s offseason according to BNN in terms of WAR gains, then also won the championship – I’m good with that. This year, we’re more middling, coming 7th of the 24 teams, with +2.3 WAR, but also added only three players, two free agents and one trade acquisition. Most of the stuff that wins rings is already here! Top 5: Warriors (+10.2), Miners (+7.9), Crusaders (+6.2), Bayhawks (+4.6), Thunder (+3.6) Bottom 5: Knights (-4.9), Rebels (-5.3), Blue Sox (-5.6), Condors (-6.7), Wolves (-8.7) The remaining CL North teams are 9th (VAN, +1.1), 13th (IND, -0.3), 18th (BOS, -2.9), and 19th (MIL, -3.5); PREDICTION TIME: The prediction last year was that the Raccoons would win 95 games, win the North, and ended up more or less doing that, winning 96 in the regular season (and leading by 10-ish games for most of the last four months), and another eight in the playoffs for the team’s first title since Alberto Ramos (now trying his luck as a first baseman in the Loggers’ system…) was a young and hot thing! With the team mostly sticking together, with the notable exception of Sal Ayala, I don’t see where we’d go wrong. Also, the remainder of the division lacks a serious threat. The Indians won’t hit, the damn Elks (now without Dan Schneller) won’t pitch, and the Crusaders had a couple of great players, including Raccoons scourge Willie Ojeda, they had too many holes at this stage to be a dangerous competitor. The team should thus win another division title, perhaps as convincingly as last time, and maybe even reach for 100 wins this time. Since I’m a perpetual miser, though, I’ll say they stop at 98. PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: For a seventh straight season, the Raccoons take a top 3 position in the pre-season farm rankings, but dropped from first place to third place. Which is not something to be upset about – we lost f.e. our top prospect in Matt Waters (#5 last year) to major league maturity … AND won the World Series. There’s no ring for leading the farm rankings. There’s only rings for the World Series. Last year we had 11 ranked prospects, of which six sat in the top 100. The number is down to 9 ranked prospects this year, but seven are in the top 100. Who besides Waters does no longer count against our farm bounty? #97 Gene Pellicano exceeded rookie limits, while four others, including three outfielders, that were ranked outside the top 100 are simply no longer ranked this year. The list includes #145 CL Brad Barnes, #172 RF/LF David Sanders, #184 RF/LF Matt Glodowski, and #197 RF/LF Daniel Wright. 6th (new) – A SP Victor Salcido, 19 – 2042 international free agent signed by Raccoons 14th (+2) – AAA SP Tony Negrete, 22 – 2038 international free agent signed by Raccoons 41st (+24) – AAA SP Adam Capone, 25 – 2040 first-round pick by Raccoons 80th (+8) – AAA C Ruben Gonzalez, 23 – 2038 international free agent signed by Raccoons 90th (new) – INT 1B/LF/RF Alan Puckeridge, 17 – 2044 international free agent signed by Raccoons 95th (+32) – INT OF Arturo Romero, 19 – 2042 international free agent signed by Raccoons 99th (new) – AAA SP Bubba Wolinsky, 22 – 2041 first-round pick by Raccoons 158th (-143) – AAA SP Jeremy Baker, 23 – 2043 first-round pick by Raccoons 194th (new) – A 3B/SS/2B/LF Shane Honig, 19 – 2044 seventh-round pick by Raccoons The franchise top 10 would be completed by 23-year-old AA SS Josh Floyd, a seventh-rounder by us in 2042. The top 10 overall prospects this year are: 1st (new) – WAS AAA SP Bruce Mark jr., 23 2nd (+4) – DAL AAA LF/CF Juan del Toro, 20 3rd (new) – SFW AA 3B/CF/1B Randy Wilken, 21 4th (+7) – DEN INT SS Carmem Barrento, 19 5th (+2) – OCT AAA SP Luis Copa, 21 6th (new) – POR A SP Victor Salcido, 19 7th (+17) – DAL AAA SP Adam Middleton, 21 8th (new) – NAS AA SP Andy Overy, 19 9th (+8) – LVA AA C Ray DeFrank, 21 10th (new) – MIL A OF/1B Will McIntyre, 18 Wilken was the top pick in the 2044 draft, while Mark was selected at #2. McIntyre was the #12 pick by the Loggers. Overy comes from the same draft, but was taken at #33 in the supplemental round. So only two of last year’s top 10 are back – what happened to the rest of them? Mostly they firmly entrenched themselves in the majors and thus are no longer eligible. Twice-topper of the prospect rankings Mike McCaffrey pitched the whole season with the Scorpions, going 13-8 with a 2.94 ERA. Fellow pitcher Kevin Daley (#4) made 26 relief appearances for the Condors for a 5.49 ERA, but that was enough to erase his eligibility. Last year’s #10 prospect Ricky Contreras debuted for the Titans, making 13 appearances for an 0-1 record, 4.11 ERA, and a save, also enough to lose rookie eligibility. Among pitchers, the worst trajectory was described by the Capitals’ Sean Fowler, who remained in AA and dropped from #9 to #22 accordingly. For the four leftover hitters, The Miners Ed Soberanes debuted for 55 games and a .335 average with 2 homers and 16 RBI to lose rookie eligibility from the #2 spot. One behind was Denver’s super utility Eric Miller, hitting .252 with 5 HR, 29 RBI in 97 games (71 starts). The #8 prospect from a year ago, SFB catcher Sean Suggs, lost rookie status with another 20-ish games late in the year, hitting .256 with 1 HR, 9 RBI. The most success probably had the Raccoons’ Matt Waters, playing the full season as reigning #5 prospect, and hitting .246 with 15 homers and 68 RBI as well as 29 stolen bags, as well as a World Series ring. Next: first pitch. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-16-2021, 03:52 PM	#3726
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	Service announcement: Beware, incomplete week ahead. I started this week on Wednesday and played four games before getting very ill very fast. I will spare you the grisly details, but if someone wants to clear all the splatters from my barfroom … (drops apartment key on the table) … there you go. (pushes key a bit further to the reader with one claw) Anyway, I spent most of today dazed and confused and while I eventually watched last night’s Mets loss and the just finished game between the Reds and Pirates, I watched both mostly with my eyes closed and in bed, and Pete’s homer didn’t register with me at all (the non-homer did…). Since I’m currently not sure whether I can finish the week tomorrow, either, I’ll opt for the second-worst option, an incomplete week that will end very abruptly. Got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and I hope I get some of the good pills to sort this ** out. Regards, your temporarily incapacitated furry GM +++ Raccoons (0-0) vs. Titans (0-0) – April 4-6, 2045 Things were looking up in this matchup for the Raccoons recently, as we had won three season series in a row against the Titans, with a 13-5 performance in ’44. More of that, please! This series opened on Tuesday as playing on actual Opening Day was for peasants. Projected matchups: Sadaharu Okuda (0-0) vs. Chris Turner (0-0) Corey Mathers (0-0) vs. Justin Kaiser (0-0) Jake Jackson (0-0) vs. Lachlan Clarke (0-0) Here was something novel – like the Raccoons at one point a decade back, the Bostonians had four left-handers in their rotation. We still managed to draw the only right-hander for the opening series (Clarke). Game 1 BOS: 2B Encinia – RF Ritchey – C Whitley – 1B C. Cortes – LF Watt – 3B I. Lugo – CF T. Lopez – SS J. Rodriguez – P C. Turner POR: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda The Raccoons found themselves behind before Okuda logged a single out, briefly achieving an infinite ERA on a leadoff walk to Juan Encinia and Joe Ritchey’s 2-run homer to left. Huzzah! Okuda would walk Encinia again to begin the third inning, but then Ritchey hit into a double play, 5-4-3. The Raccoons had only two singles the first time through; Kilmer had one in the second that led nowhere, but Okuda hit a blooper for a single to begin the bottom 3rd. Carreno legged out an infield grounder to right for a single, but was then forced out when Herrera grounded to Encinia. Jesus Maldonado came through, singling over Juan Rodriguez to cut the gap in half, and “Tuba” Turner walked Toohey to fill the bases for Manny Fernandez. Manny had struck out the first time through, and thus had all of the $6M on his new contract to recoup, and fell to 1-2 again before hitting a grounder through the right side. Encinia dove and missed it, and two runs scored to flip the score, 3-2, before the inning fizzled out against the bottom of the order. Okuda kept walking Encinia, which was a bit of an annoyance. It happened again with two outs in the fifth, and Ritchey also drew a free pass after that. The Opening Day Starter Curse was already in full swing on Okuda, who conceded a single to left to Dan Whitley, and Encinia was sent around third base for home plate – where he was met by a perfect throw by Manny Fernandez and slapped out by Kilmer, ending the inning. Maldo and Toohey hit singles and Kilmer hit a sac fly to tack on a run for Portland the same inning, but ex-Coon Carlos Cortes socked a homer off Okuda to begin the sixth, 4-3. Derek Baskins batted for Okuda in the bottom 6th, in which Turner struck out two while going 1-2-3 on Portland, but Preston Porter returned the 1-2-3 favor in the seventh as the first Furball out of the bullpen, a performance then matched by Nelson Moreno in the eighth. There was the potential for a cushion in the bottom 8th: Todd Lush had already pitched an inning, but conceded singles to Kilmer and Matt Waters to begin the eighth. They went to the corners, but Ricky Jimenez failed to hack away at a 3-1 pitch, drew a walk, and with three on and nobody out the Raccoons surely wouldn’t score. Jose Zarate hit for Moreno against the lefty Lush, and managed a sac fly to center. Carreno whacked an RBI double to center, with Boston axing Lush for another southpaw, Chris Lulay, who got whacked for straight singles by Herrera (RBI!), Maldo (RBI!), and Toohey (loading the bases only). Manny whipped the fourth straight single off Lulay, a liner to Matt Watt’s feet for another run. Kilmer whiffed and Waters flew out to end the 5-spot. Jon Craig then put the game away. 9-3 Raccoons! Carreno 2-5, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 3-5, 2 RBI; Toohey 2-3, 2 BB; Fernandez 2-5, 3 RBI; Kilmer 2-3, RBI; Waters 2-5; Win! Game 2 BOS: 2B Encinia – RF Ritchey – LF Liceaga – 1B C. Cortes – C Whitley – 3B I. Lugo – SS J. Rodriguez – CF T. Lopez – P Kaiser POR: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers Like Okua on Tuesday, Mathers began his season with a walk to Juan Encinia, but at least got a double play from Ritchey rather than taken deep. Carreno walked to begin the Coons’ half of the first, but was caught stealing, and instead Mathers allowed a single to Cortes to begin the second, walked Whitley, and conceded both runs on a Juan Rodriguez single with one down. (sigh!) Portland didn’t get much put together in the early innings, but Kaiser nicked Manny with one out in the fourth, while Kilmer drew a walk. Matt Waters hit a liner over Ivan Lugo and up the line for an RBI double, only the Critters’ second hit in the game. The tying and go-ahead runs were in scoring position for an 0-for-4 Ricky Jimenez, who popped out to Tony Lopez in shallow center, a wholly unhelpful endeavor. Mathers also popped out, ending the inning. But things got better in the fifth; Mathers had a 1-2-3 inning, and a Maldo double and a Toohey homer to left-center flipped the score to Portland, 3-2, again. The lead was not secure though, because Mathers kept walking people, and with a walk drawn by Danny Liceaga and a Cortes double the Titans had two in scoring position with one gone in the sixth. Mathers struck out Whitley, then got an easy bouncer from Lugo to bail out of the jam. He continued in the seventh, got two outs, then walked Matt Watt in the #9 hole. The Titans tossed in Sal Ayala, recent Raccoon, to pinch-hit for Encinia, which prompted the Furballs to move to Chuck Jones against the lefty batter. Ayala grinded out the walk in a full count – which was what got him paid millions in the first place – and I closed my big black googly eyes and covered my striped face with a pillow while Jones pitched to the right-handed Ritchey (Liceaga behind was the target), who hacked himself out to end the inning. Jones struck out Liceaga in the eighth instead, and Moreno collected two more outs. The Portland offense had no late-inning magic to work on this Wednesday, so Josh Rella made his first appearance in a 3-2 game in the ninth. Lugo grounded out, but Rodriguez singled to right. PH Kyle Templeton zinged a double to left. Uh-oh. Those were the tying and go-ahead runs again in scoring position. Javier Miranda hit for the pitcher in the #9 hole. That count ran full, and Miranda struck out swinging on the sixth pitch. Which flipped over the lineup to reveal Carlos Jimenes, a 27-year-old Dominican infielder in his first ever ABL appearance, with two outs in the ninth inning and two runners in scoring position. Rella carved him up to put the game away. 3-2 Critters! Waters 2-4, 2B, RBI; Too close for comfort, but we’re 2-0, and I like when we’re 2-0. Game 3 BOS: 2B Encinia – RF Ritchey – LF Liceaga – C Whitley – 3B I. Lugo – SS J. Rodriguez – 1B S. Ayala – CF T. Lopez – P Clarke POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Jackson The weather was unpleasant, and I was getting a bit impatient with our starting pitchers, with Jackson making it 3-for-3 in opening the year with a walk to *** Juan Encinia. It got worse, though, with Liceaga singling, Whitley walking, and Lugo getting nailed to force in a run. The Titans added three more on singles by Rodriguez and Sal Ayala, then a Lopez sac fly. Clarke struck out to end the misery. Bottom 1st, after a Baskins fly to center, the Raccoons loaded the bases with straight singles, bringing up Manny as the tying run. He hit a comebacker to get Herrera forced out at home, but Matt Waters hit a 2-out RBI single. Carreno drove in two more, and when Zarate flew out to strand them on the corners, the gap was scrubbed down to 4-3. Then nobody scored for the next three innings, or was really close to scoring, until the rain started. Jackson was in many long counts and was held together only by the defense and generous application of duct tape between innings, but still managed ANOTHER leadoff walk to Encinia in the fifth. The runner moved up on Ritchey’s and Liceaga’s groundouts, but Whitley popped out to strand him. By the bottom 5th, the rain was so bad that the game went into a delay after only two pitches to leadoff man Derek Baskins, ending Jackson’s outing in any case. Since we were only in the fifth, we couldn’t lose the game outright (but could have won it outright if leading…), and play resumed about an hour later, with Clarke still in there. Baskins and Herrera hit singles to go to the corners with nobody out. All the Coons got was a game-tying sac fly from Toohey, with Maldo popping out poorly in particular. Top 6th, Zack Kelly retired two before Sal Ayala singled an was run for by Miranda. The Raccoons went to Preston Porter, who retired … nobody. Four up, four one went the Titans, loading the bases, getting a 2-run single from Encinia, 6-4, and Ritchey to draw a walk to fill the bases again. Then Nate Norris made his season debut with a K on Liceaga, ending the goddamn inning. Things didn’t get better after that, either. Portland went down in order in the bottom 6th, and Norris went down to a barking elbow in the seventh. Jon Craig and Al Martell arrived in a double switch at Carreno’s expense, with Rodriguez an unearned runner on first base. Miranda hit a ball to the fence at 1-2, but Baskins made the catch to end the top 7th. Baskins made another two catches like that in the eighth, which still wasn’t enough to get Craig out of the inning without scoring a run on a walk to Jimenes, an Encinia single, an Ritchey’s sac fly. Bottom 8th, Victor Mondragon pitched for Boston, but not all that successful. Maldonado had a hit, as had Toohey – a homer over the fence in left. That narrowed the score to 7-6 again. Mondragon also left with an injury. Still with nobody out, Manny socked a double to right off right-hander Aaron Durham, putting the tying run in scoring position. Waters struck out, and Pat Gurney batted for Craig in the #7 spot, drawing the attention of lefty reliever David Barel. Gurney grounded out. Zarate drew a 2-out walk. Martell whiffed. No, this was not the Critters’ game. They also ended up with Rella pitching in the ninth inning (the alternative was Jones against righties or Moreno on the third day in a row), and he got bopped for three singles and two runs, including two infield singles. The Raccoons brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out against Danny Tirado in the bottom 9th, though. Baskins singled, Herrera singled. Maldo was next – a booming shot to left! High! Long! Disappeared! Game-tying 3-run homer! (screams and throws Honeypaws in the air) Jubilations continued when Todd Lush replaced the fallen Tirado, immediately getting bombed by Toohey to end the game. 10-9 Bandits. Baskins 2-5; Herrera 5-5; Maldonado 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Toohey 3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI; (SCREAMS!) Our top four in the lineup combined for 14 hits, including three homers, and seven RBI. And that wouldn’t have been enough on this ho-hum pitching day. Nate Norris had a sore elbow, Dr. Padilla reported, and needed a week off, roundabout. That was too long to go with only six relievers, and the Raccoons put him on the DL, recalling Bob Ibold on the eve of AAA’s Opening Day. Raccoons (3-0) vs. Condors (1-3)** – April 7-9, 2045 Playing the CL South had not been the greatest of joys in the 2044 season when the Raccoons lost four of six season series, including the one to the Condors (4-5). Tijuana had lost three of four to the Falcons to begin the year, scoring only seven runs in the four games, while giving up 23, making an early bid to sit at the bottom of every category. They did have two stolen bases – the Raccoons went 0-for-2 in that regard in the Boston series against the army of left-handed hurlers the Titans carted in. Projected matchups: Brent Clark (0-0) vs. Juan Vela (0-0) Jason Wheatley (0-0) vs. Marc Hubbard (0-1, 3.38 ERA) Sadaharu Okuda (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Ryan Porter (0-1, 11.57 ERA) With Vela, we’d be 3-out-of-4 in terms of seeing left-handed starters to begin the year. The other two were right-handers. Everybody will get a day off here; Manny would start it on Friday against the southpaw, and then we’d do some more rotating against the right-handers on Saturday and Sunday. Game 1 TIJ: SS Banuelas – 1B Gibbs – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – CF Reidinger – 3B T. Ruiz – 2B M. Lopez – P J. Vela POR: 2B Carreno – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – LF Dustal – P Clark Brent Clark didn’t start his year with a walk to the leadoff batter. He started it with three straight singles by Jesus Banuelas, Ron Gibbs, and Terry Black, then walked Rikuto Ito to load the bases down 1-0, and walked Nate Rossi with the bases thus fully loaded. After some yelling-at by the pitching coach on the mound, he struck out three to get out of the inning… well, after walking in another run against Miguel Lopez with two outs. Clark then infuriatingly retired the Condors’ lineup in order in the second through fourth innings, while Portland sat on one measly base hit and couldn’t go anywhere. Did I mention the weather was moist? Herrera drew a walk to begin the bottom 4th, Maldo grounded out to move him to second base, and … rain delay. An hour later and with Clark disappeared into the clubhouse after throwing 73 pitches – most bad – in four soggy innings, the inning continued with a still fresh-looking (35 pitches) Vela retiring Toohey and Waters to keep Herrera stranded. Ibold was tagged for long relief, pitched two scoreless, but then was up as the tying run in the bottom 6th, just after Bryce Toohey had singled home Herrera to get the Coons on the damn board. Manny grounded out for him, ending the inning. No, the Raccoons couldn’t get to Vela in any meaningful way – nor could the moistness around. He pitched eight innings of 3-hit ball, then was lifted in the ninth inning for right-hander Ben Arner to close out proceedings. The Raccoons brought up the 3-4-5 part of the lineup, Maldo, Toohey, and a pinch-hitter. Maldo opened the inning well, belting a homer to left-center! Toohey struck out, though. Baskins batted for Chuck Jones and singled to right, which made Kilmer the winning run in the box. In pouring rain, he hit a 1-2 to deep left. It didn’t reach the fence, at least nobody jumped up in the stands. Where was the ball? The rain is so bad! It was a double apparently, but Baskins didn’t see the ball, either, and stopped at third base. The umps had enough – the tarp came on for a second time. For 22 minutes, I was whimpering and whining, and getting patted by Maud, mortally scared that the game would be called with the tying run on third base and one out. It wasn’t – the rain let up as soon as the tarp was secured, and play resumed after 22 minutes – with Arner on the hill, and Pat Gurney pinch-hitting for an 0-for-7 Ricky Jimenez (but with three walks). Gurney flew out to shallow left, with Baskins not daring to run on Nate Rossi. Two outs. I groaned in agony. Jonathan Dustal was also hitless on the season (in 4 attempts), but we only had Zarate left and would have trouble fitting a working defense if we sent him to bat here. It was Dustal, Arner, a 2-2 count, AND A SINGLE UP THE MIDDLE…!! Baskins in to score! Kilmer was being waved around – throw by Brian Oliver to home plate – Terry Black lunging into the sliding Kilmer – late! Safe! Walkoff!! Hhngg-yyaaahhh!! … 4-3 Raccoons. Baskins (PH) 1-1; Ibold 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; Boys. Boys. Boys, I like that you’re winning. But … can you start winning … a little bit earlier? Please? Thanks, your old, weak-nerved GM. Game 2 TIJ: POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Wheatley __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-18-2021, 02:57 PM	#3727
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated! +++ Raccoons (3-0) vs. Condors (1-3) – April 7-9, 2045 Game 2 TIJ: SS Banuelas – LF Rossi – 1B Gibbs – RF Ito – 3B Barcia – C Pasko – CF B. Oliver – 2B M. Lopez – P Hubbard POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Wheatley For something new, the Raccoons’ starter didn’t get torched right out of the gate, and, y’know, for a nice start, retired the leadoff man in a game, too. The Condors had 2-out singles in the first two innings, but with Brian Oliver also thrown out by Herrera in an attempt to stretch his into a double. Pat Gurney then became the first Critter to actually steal a base on the year, swiping second after a 1-out single in the bottom 2nd. He had certainly been an outside bet for that distinction. Unfortunately, Waters and Zarate went down meekly, but Derek Baskins would give the Raccoons the first 1-0 lead of the season with a third-inning jack off … Kevin Daley. Hubbard had left the game just prior to him coming back to the plate, apparently with some lower core issue. No issues with Wheats – he didn’t pitch with a runner on base between Ron Gibbs’ single in the first and Mark Pasko reaching on Wheatley’s own hard-luck error in the fifth. Oliver and Lopez both went own on strikes after that to end the inning and protect the 1-0 lead. We weren’t yet concerned when he walked Jesus Banuelas with one out in the sixth, but with two outs in the inning, Gibbs and the ex-Critter Rikuto Ito piled on two line drive hits to bring the runner around and tie the game. Sergio Barcia flew out to Baskins, stranding two. The Raccoons got on the lead horse again soon, however; Herrera opened the bottom 6th with a double to center, Maldo walked, and Manny hit into a double play, but that moved Herrera to third base, from where Gurney singled him home, 2-1. Waters singled to move Gurney to third base, which also ended the day of Daley after a valiant three innings in long relief. Bobby Klopotek got Zarate to ground out then, and another pair of runners were left on. Pasko singled in the seventh, and left-hander Tom Rudd would pinch-hit for Klopotek with two outs. The Raccoons called on Chuck Jones, who got the strikeout to bail out of the seventh. In turn, the Raccoons got Baskins on in the bottom 7th, he stole second, and was driven in on a Herrera single, 3-1. The extra run came in handy when Nelson Moreno was taken deep by Ron Gibbs in the eighth, which reduced the lead to a single marker, but that was still something that Josh Rella could save in the ninth – and did, retiring the Condors’ 5-6-7 like 1-2-3 for the W. 3-2 Critters. Herrera 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Gurney 3-4, RBI; Waters 2-4, 2B; Wheatley 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1-0); Could the Raccoons open the season with an undefeated week? I’d like that! Game 3 TIJ: SS Banuelas – 1B Gibbs – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – 3B Barcia – CF J. Sullivan – 2B M. Lopez – P R. Porter POR: 2B Carreno – CF Baskins – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – SS Martell – P Okuda Trailing almost came back in the third inning of the Sunday game, which Miguel Lopez opened by reaching second base on a throwing error by Al Martell. On Porter’s bunt, though, Ricky Jimenez pounced and tossed the ball back to third base where Lopez was slapped out by Martell, and even a wild pitch later, the Condors were no closer to a run than before. Banuelas walked, but Okuda struck out Gibbs, and Terry Black grounded out to Jimenez. The Raccoons weren’t doing much in the early innings, but Baskins opened the fourth with a double to right-center, only the second Critters hit in the game. A wild pitch advanced him to third base right away, so there was the go-ahead run with nobody out. Porter lost Manny on four balls before Toohey got the run home… unfortunately on a double play grounder that left the bags empty. That kept the Raccoons to a 1-0 lead, although they doubled it the following frame with a Kilmer single and a Martell triple, 2-0. Okuda, on a 2-hitter, appeared entirely solid until the seventh when Baskins had to chase after fly balls twice, but caught both Ito’s and Barcia’s drives to deep center. Boldly, Okuda hit for himself in the bottom of the inning with Gurney on second, Jimenez on first, two outs, and Porter staring down at him still, having whiffed him twice already. He didn’t get him three times, and didn’t even get him out. Okuda chopped a 2-1 pitch through the right side for a single, Gurney darted for home plate around third base, Ito threw a ball over Black’s head, and while the runner might have scored anyway, the trailing runners reached scoring position, too. That one came up costly on Carreno’s single to left, on which Nate Rossi fumbled the ball for another error, allowing two runs to score. Okuda, now ahead by five, got through the eighth without hiccups, and started the ninth on 101 pitches, as we’d wait and see how it would go. After a Banuelas single and a Gibbs homer, we judged it to be going badly and went to the pen. Rella wasn’t brought out after 65 pitches in four days; we went to Craig instead. Three Condors later,the game was over. 5-2 Raccoons. Baskins 2-4, 2B; Kilmer 2-4; Okuda 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2-0) and 1-3, RBI; In other news April 4 – The Miners score 16 runs in the fifth inning of a 17-4 win over the Rebels. Miners hurler Jesus Sanchez (1-0, 5.14 ERA) makes two of the three outs, once bunting, but also hits a 2-run triple. While 18 Miners reach base, none of them hits a home run. April 8 – SAC LF/RF/1B Nate Culp (.105, 0 HR, 0 RBI) will be out two weeks with a knee contusion. April 9 – DAL INF/CF Jose Rivas (.444, 0 HR, 3 RBI) slaps six hits in the Stars’ 21-4 rout of the Rebels, including two doubles and four singles, and drives in two runs. Rivas even has a chance for a seventh hit in the ninth inning, but grounds out. He is the sixth Dallas player to join the 6-hits-in-a-game club. FL Player of the Week: SFW C/1B Timóteo Clemente (.435, 3 HR, 7 RBI) CL Player of the Week: VAN C Julio Diaz (.435, 2 HR, 7 RBI) Complaints and stuff Undefeated! I didn’t quite see it coming, but we didn’t get put into the L column yet this season. Never mind that four wins were by one run and that a few of them were daytime TV drama material. Not everybody is raging hot at this point, but it’s only a week… Quite a few guys are still hitting zilch (or very close to it), with Jimenez and Zarate hitting a combined 0-for-16. We’re even 2-for-6 in stolen bases. The first (few) inning(s) has been a stepping stone pitching-wise. But we’re 6-and-*****-0, which counts for something! Fun Fact:** The Rebels have allowed 56 runs in six games this week, so even in non-routs, they were still pretty dim. I can’t remember any Raccoons week like that, and I don’t know whether that would be down to it never having happened or me having drunk my sorrows away successfully. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-19-2021, 02:40 PM	#3728
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	Raccoons (6-0) vs. Thunder (4-2) – April 10-12, 2045 The Thunder were fifth in runs scored and tied (with the Critters) for fourth in runs allowed after a week’s worth of games – but the Raccoons topped the CL in markers put on the board. The Thunder had swept the Bayhawks before a weekend of scuffling against the Titans. Last year, the season series had seen the Raccoons on top, 6-3, one of only two series against the CL South that we won – not including the CLCS, tee-hee. Projected matchups: Corey Mathers (1-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (0-0) Jake Jackson (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Rick Haugh (1-0, 7.50 ERA) Brent Clark (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (0-0, 1.69 ERA) The second-year pitcher at the tail end of the series here was the next left-hander in line. Marquez, 25, went 9-11 with a 3.14 ERA as a swingman in 2044, pitching 189 innings in 37 games (26 starts). Game 1 OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – 1B S. Henderson – 3B Simon – SS Rowell – LF Phinazee – 2B C. Vega – P M. Peterson POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – C Zarate – P Mathers The Raccoons scored first, and in the first, when Maldonado socked a homer over the centerfield fence with nobody on for a 1-0 edge. It was his third of the year, same as Bryce Toohey, and nobody else on the team had any so far. Zarate would drive in Carreno the following inning, doubling the lead, but while Mathers struck out five in three scoreless to begin his game, there were a few issues, besides the dark clouds overhead that had lingered over Coon City for most of Opening Week. He was getting ground down in numerous long counts and needed 57 pitches through just three innings. It got worse in the fourth, with a Rick Rowell single, an RBI double by Mal Phinazee, and him barely getting out of the inning when Peterson grounded out on a 3-0 pitch… On the other side of the box score, Peterson played with fire with leadoff walks to Manny and Jimenez in the bottom 4th. Carreno struck out in a dull count, while Zarate hit a shy single to load the bases… for Mathers. Well, there was no pinch-hitting for him with a lead in the fourth…! Before he could hit into an inning-ending double play, Peterson uncorked a wild 0-1 pitch to plate Manny Fernandez, 3-1. Mathers struck out, as did Waters, ending the inning. The score remained close, thanks to Angelo Zurita’s leadoff double in the fifth. Mathers threw a wild pitch, then gave up the run on Cullen Tortora’s drive to deep center that Herrera chased down close to the warning track. Sterling Henderson hit a 2-out double, but Mathers got Brad Simon to ground out; however, you couldn’t help but seeing him exit the game soonish. Bottom 5th, however, Herrera drew a leadoff walk from Peterson, then reached third with an early start on Maldo’s single to center. Nobody out, Toohey hit an RBI single through the left side, 4-2, Manny struck out, Jimenez walked, and the bags were full as the rain began to fall. Peterson was yanked, Chris Manley struck out Carreno, but with two outs Zarate got an 0-1 over the head of Rick Rowell for a 2-run single. Mathers hit for himself and struck out, ending the inning, mostly because a righty hitter was up to begin the sixth and we were now a slam ahead at 6-2. He retired Rowell, then left for Zack Kelly, who would get four outs from the Thunder before being sidelined by an hourlong rain delay. In between, Bryce Toohey hit his fourth homer, a 2-piece in the bottom 6th that stretched the score to 8-2. That pretty much put the game away – but the Thunder would rise a bit in the ninth inning. They had many left-handed hitters; and up by six, the Raccoons were not inclined to use Chuck Jones in a 6-run game with two more games coming against those lefty hitters. The result was a 2-run beatdown on Preston Porter on a walk and two RBI hits in the ninth. We still won by a bunch, though. 8-4 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4, HR, RBI; Toohey 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Zarate 3-4, 3 RBI; Game 2 OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS Ban – 3B Simon – LF E. Moore – 1B J. Aviles – 2B C. Vega – P Haugh POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Jackson Herrera was hit, Toohey walked, and Manny raised his depressed average to .200 with a 2-out, 2-run double to give the Raccoons another early lead. Unfortunately, Jake Jackson didn’t take well to a lineup in which only Jesus Adames would face him as a right-handed batter, and allowed one run in a chewy second inning, then crawled through the innings slowly, sloooowly, until the score got flipped on a 2-out, 2-run homer in the fifth by… Adames, of all people. He was hit for after six mostly miserable innings, down 3-2, Baskins batting with runners on the corners and two outs, but flying out to Ethan Moore to continue a stretch of offensive futility in which the Raccoons would get a runner on base in almost every inning, and never moved him all the way around. When Jon Craig was whacked around for two runs by the top of the order in the seventh inning, the game was more or less in the bin. The Raccoons were down 5-2 and still couldn’t chain two hits together – but they had eight hits through eight innings. Bob Ibold allowed two hits in the ninth, Zurita and Adames hitting singles, which was enough to get another run home on Jonathan Ban’s groundout. The Coons didn’t get more together in the ninth than a Herrera walk, and as a consequence cashed their first loss of the season. 6-2 Thunder. Fernandez 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4; Oh well. Shucks. You can’t win all of them. But at least we have Brent Clark in the rubber game, which should put that lineup under a bit more pressure from a splits standpoint. Game 3 OCT: RF Zurita – LF E. Moore – C Adames – 1B S. Henderson – SS Ban – 3B Simon – CF Phinazee – 2B C. Vega – P V. Marquez POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Clark The 3-4-5 hitters would face Clark right-handed, but only Moore reached on a single in the top 1st. The Coons put two on the board in the bottom 1st, with Herrera reaching on an error before scoring on Maldo’s triple. Toohey walked, Waters hit an RBI single, and Kilmer killed the effort with a double play grounder. Maldo went on to hit a jack in the third inning, a solo deed to extend the lead to 3-0, and ticking off the harder half of the cycle. Brent Clark on the mound looked rather resilient, at least when not sunk by his own defense – Matt Waters committed a 2-base throwing error to put Jonathan Ban on base to begin the fifth, and that run scored in unearned fashion on a 2-out single by Carlos Vega… No other Thunder reached base until Simon coaxed a walk in the seventh, with Phinazee whiffing and Vega lining out softly to Carreno. The Raccoons though had also stopped hitting, including Maldo grounding out in his at-bat in the fifth. Clark hit for himself in the bottom 7th, grounding out before whiffing two in a 1-2-3 eighth, which, with the very much not left-handed 3-4-5 batters up next would bring his day to an end (and he was on 100 pitches, too). Portland didn't add on, then sent Josh Rella into the ninth inning to see after that meat of the order. It didn’t go so well for him, with Adames reaching on a leadoff single, Henderson walking, and Ban only out on a fly to sizably deep center. There was the urge to twitch and send Chuck Jones – but there was Rick Rowell on the bench, in addition to backup catcher Ed Stedham, both righty batters. Instead, Rella got a good talking-to, then gave up a sac fly to Simon – but the tying run remained on first base. Two outs for Mal Phinazee, who hopefully held no grudges for being traded off a championship team. If he did, he didn’t show it, striking out in a full count. 3-2 Raccoons. Maldonado 2-4, HR, 3B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4; Clark 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W (1-0); Raccoons (8-1) @ Canadiens (6-3) – April 14-16, 2045 The first road series of the season was already into hostile, and this time of the year likely still frozen, territory. Oh well, we were 8-1 – what could possibly go wrong? I went home to my couch, taking no emotional support except for Honeypaws with me. We were going to be fine! The Elks were second in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed with a +14 run differential, same as the Critters, who were third in runs scored and allowed. Like I said, we were going to be fine. Just fine! … We won the season series last year, 11-7. Projected matchups: Jason Wheatley (1-0, 1.35 ERA) vs. David Arias (1-0, 2.19 ERA) Sadaharu Okuda (2-0, 3.21 ERA) vs. John Roeder (1-0, 3.00 ERA) Corey Mathers (2-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Michael Donovan (0-1, 5.06 ERA) Right, left, left. Where did all these southpaws suddenly come from? Game 1 POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Wheatley VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – SS K. Saito – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – 1B Zuazo – RF J. Becker – LF van der Zanden – P D. Arias For a slight mood dampener, Kenichi Saito and Jerry Outram went deep to right back-to-back against Wheatley in the first inning, and that after Oscar Aguirre reached base on a single. So that was an instant 3-0 deficit that … it would be fine. Honeypaws. Please. Make it fine. I’m begging you. No. Wheatley was awful, and Arias seemed very much on. The Raccoons had one hit through three innings, and the damn Elks had six, including an infield single by Outram and an RBI double by Julio Diaz in the bottom 3rd, which ran the score to 4-0. The Raccoons continued to mostly get swept under the rug in the fourth and fifth, adding a second hit, but not getting close to a run, and Diaz hit a solo home run to right to extend the damn Elks’ lead in the fifth, which also sent Wheatley to bed after the inning; his spot led off the batting parade in the sixth. Dustal flew out in his spot. Baskins singled, and that was it, again. A tremendous amount of hurt was then waiting for Bob Ibold, although it was all for not being able to retire the ***** pitcher with two outs. David Arias found Alvin Zuazo on third base, and singled him in. Aguirre walked, wild pitch, 2-run single for Saito. The Raccoons’ staff was the gift that kept on giving. Down by eight in the eighth, the Raccoons loaded the bases with nobody out. Al Martell singled from the #9 hole after coming on in a double switch just prior. Baskins landed a hit, and Herrera was nicked. Nothing more than a pair of RBI groundouts by Maldo and Manny was in it for the Critters, while the damn Elks went to town on Jon Craig, Nelson Moreno, and Preston Porter in the bottom of the inning. Chris Robinson hit a 2-run homer off Craig, who then put two more on. Moreno walked Outram, then gave up a slam to Julio Diaz. Free agent addition Dustin Fruman then singled off Porter and stole second base with a 12-run lead, which marked up Outram for a beaning on Saturday unless the Raccoons rallied. They didn’t. 14-2 Canadiens. Baskins 2-4, 2B; Gurney 3-4; (is rolled up under the couch, whimpering) Game 2 POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – SS Waters – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – C Zarate – P Okuda VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – SS K. Saito – CF Outram – 3B Hutson – C Julio Diaz – 1B Zuazo – RF V. Vazquez – LF J. Becker – P Roeder Saturday began with Raccoons on every base and nobody out after two singles and a walk off Roeder, who plated the first run on a wild pitch, while Toohey got another with a sac fly. That was also it, despite a Waters single, which moved Maldo from second to third; but Carreno whiffed and Jimenez grounded out. Up 2-0, Okuda allowed a 1-out single in the first, but then was part of the bases being loaded in the top 2nd. Jose Zarate opened with a single before both Okuda and Herrera reached on errors, putting three on with one gone. Maldo and Toohey both popped out on the infield to throw that chance away. The Elks made up a run in the bottom 2nd, but Carreno homered in the third to restore a 2-run lead at 3-1. Okuda was scuffling and somebody seemed constantly on base against him, but for the moment he held up, mostly. He also drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, in a full count. He advanced on Baskins’s groundout, then on Herrera’s single to right. A walk to Maldo filled the bases for the third time in four inning, and it was time to get a HIT in such a situation. Toohey struck out. Waters walked with a full count on him, and the damn Elks bitterly disputed the call, but Okuda was shoved across home plate, 4-1. Roeder was on 98 pitches in the fourth inning, ran another full count on Carreno, but the second-sacker flew out to Justin Becker to strand a full complement. The bottom 5th began with a single by PH Arnout van der Zanden, then walk drawn by Aguirre, which gave Okuda four walks against one strikeout in a shoddy start. Saito popped out, though, and he struck out Outram. Dan Hutson was hitting .196 but had skinned many a Critter in his Indians days, all batting right-handed – but taking out Okuda in the fifth after the bullpen massacre on Friday? That sounded very, very bold. Okuda was left to himself, lost Hutson on balls, and then gave up a long drive to left to Julio Diaz. Baskins racing back, on the warning track, jumping up – and picking the ball before it could hit eight feet high off a 10-foot wall …! Inning over. Said Honeypaws. My eyes were closed in horror still. Top 6th, leadoff single for Baskins, then a triple into the rightfield corner from Herrera to ran the score to 5-1. Maldo added the Herrera run with a groundout. Baskins singled home Zarate in turn with two outs in the seventh. That created some addition cushion, while Okuda went into full-on Japanese knife juggler mode in the following innings and grinded out eight innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball despite a shoddy start to the game. He got better as he got along; he was removed after eight only because he had reached 120 pitches. Ricky Jimenez added a solo homer in the ninth, and Preston Porter added a scoreless inning to finish off the game. 8-1 Coons. Baskins 3-5, RBI; Herrera 3-5, 3B, RBI; Zarate 2-5; Okuda 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, W (3-0) and 0-1, 2 BB; Okay, maybe don’t make a complete mockery out of the rubber game and then we can forget Friday ever happened… Game 3 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers VAN: 2B O. Aguirre – SS K. Saito – CF Outram – C Julio Diaz – 3B Hutson – RF C. Robinson – 1B van der Zanden – LF V. Vazquez – P Donovan The bottom 2nd began with four straight damn Elks reaching, sending me back under the couch while Honeypaws bravely weathered the storm on the furniture piece. Diaz singled, Hutson doubled, wild pitch (…), Robinson single, a walk to van der Zanden, and then somehow a 4-6-3 double play and a K on the pitcher, limiting the actual damage to two runs. It didn’t get much better after that – Mathers allowed a leadoff single to Aguirre in the third, then walked the 3-4-5 batters in order to force in the run. Somehow, Robinson and van der Zanden then both whiffed to leave three runners stranded. The Raccoons? Retired in order the first time through, and drowning in a 3-0 deficit. The Critters had isolated singles in the fourth and fifth, which couldn’t stink up to Vazquez’ solo homer in the bottom 4th, and Mathers was yanked from a 4-0 game in the fifth inning before he could do even more damage. Manny hit a triple in the seventh that came with two outs, nobody on, and nobody being much help behind him, either. Carreno walked, Kilmer flew out. The Raccoons didn’t score until the eighth when Baskins opened with a single for Ibold in the #8 hole, then scored on a 2-out single by Herrera. Maldo singled, but Toohey, then the tying run, struck out, ending the inning. Moreno and Kelly held it together in the bottom 8th, and Manny drew a leadoff walk from Sebastien Parham to begin the ninth, which moved the tying run to the on-deck circle for whatever that would turn out to be worth. Nothing much. Carreno popped out on a 3-1 pitch. Kilmer put the 1-0 in play, and went 4-6-3 on it. 4-1 Canadiens. Herrera 2-4, RBI; Baskins (PH) 1-1; In other news April 11 – The Canadiens sign a major extension with their last remaining star batter, OF Jerry Outram (.367, 2 HR, 8 RBI), who agrees to a 6-yr, $31.8M deal that will start in 2046. April 11 – TOP SP Josh Long (1-0, 0.00 ERA) 3-hits the Scorpions in his first start of the year, going all the way for his 3rd career shutout and 30th complete game in 449 starts. April 11 – DEN OF Sandy Castillo (.382, 1 HR, 6 RBI) provides the only offense in the Gold Sox’ 1-0 win over the Capitals, while DEN SP John Kennedy (2-0, 0.59 ERA) and CL Yeom Soung (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 2 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter. Only WAS RF/LF Eduardo Avila (.344, 0 HR, 3 RBI) enters the H column with a single off Kennedy. April 11 – LAP OF Juan Benavides (.400, 0 HR, 4 RBI) will miss the rest of the month with a calf strain. April 11 – Two days after a 6-hit game, DAL INF/CF Jose Rivas (.472, 0 HR, 4 RBI) lands five hits, all singles, and one RBI in a 10-5 win over the Miners. April 13 – DAL SP Orlando Leos (0-1, 9.00 ERA), who went 22-9 with a 3.17 ERA in 2044, is out for the season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. April 15 – The Wolves score a dozen runs in the seventh inning while shaking down the Warriors, 18-7. SAL RF/LF Jorge Quintanilla (.226, 3 HR, 8 RBI) drives in five runs on a pair of hits and a walk. April 16 – SFB SP Eric Weitz (1-1, 4.91 ERA) takes his 200th career win in a 7-5 victory over the Condors. The 37-year-old is 200-138 in total, with 2,300 strikeouts in 3,155 innings and an ERA of 3.39. He won the World Series twice, with the 2038 Canadiens and 2042 Wolves. FL Player of the Week: PIT C Giampaolo Petroni (.426, 5 HR, 16 RBI), hitting .435 (10-23) with 4 HR, 8 RBI CL Player of the Week: VAN C Julio Diaz (.479, 4 HR, 16 RBI), batting .520 (13-25) with 2 HR, 9 RBI Complaints and stuff Damn Elks. (spits on the ground to Maud’s annoyance) This week was a bit rougher compared to 6-0 cruise in … well, we didn’t cruise even then. Not all the moving parts are seamlessly linking right now, some batters aren’t hitting, and some pitchers are more tossing. The pen fell into a collective meatmincer, which is always such a thrill. Well, no reason to panic… yet. The Coons will travel via Indy before returning home, with the next homestand featuring the Baybirds and Aces. Fun Fact:** The Loggers are second in both runs scored and runs allowed. Which is not bad for a team that was second from the bottom in runs allowed and third from the bottom in runs scored last season and on paper shed personnel. We’ll see how they do in a longer string of games, but we won’t get to see them until early May. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

09-29-2021, 02:16 PM	#3734
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	Raccoons (29-14) @ Knights (24-19) – May 22-24, 2045 Off to the road, the Raccoons were meeting up with the Knights starting on Monday. The Knights were fifth in runs scored and seventh in runs allowed, having a rather mediocre run so far. They were hitting .253, third-worst in the CL, but their starters had the second-best starters’ ERA. They were also playing the worst defense. Atlanta had won six of nine games between the two teams in 2044. Projected matchups: Brent Clark (4-3, 5.44 ERA) vs. Bill Nichol (5-3, 4.08 ERA) Jason Wheatley (3-3, 3.45 ERA) vs. Bobby Freels (0-2, 6.53 ERA) Sadaharu Okuda (5-3, 3.75 ERA) vs. Brad Santry (4-4, 2.86 ERA) Only righty pitchers facing the Critters in this set, which was also the last one in a string of games before a much-needed day off on Thursday. Game 1 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Clark ATL: SS Venegas – RF Marz – 1B Delagrange – LF Hester – 3B Crim – CF Melendez – 2B Sprague – C Krumholz – P Nichol The Raccoons scattered a few hits early on, while Bryce Toohey, last week’s Player of the Week in the CL, hit two deep fly balls off Nichol his first two times up, but into two deep outs, the first time with Herrera and Maldonado on base. Brent Clark started well, allowing one hit and whiffing four in the first three innings before having another vexing meltdown in the fourth of a scoreless game. John Marz opened with a single before Clark walked the bags full against Chris Delgrange and Billy Hester. Joe Crim was nailed, Bill Melendez doubled in two, and somehow the inning ended with a double play before the Knights could pile on another umpteen runs. Down 3-0, the Raccoons brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out in the sixth inning; Waters hit a double, Herrera hit a scratch single, and the big boppers were coming up. They hit into a run-scoring double play and whiffed, ending the inning with the Portlanders still down 3-1. Derek Baskins would hit a leadoff single in the eighth before being doubled off by Waters, just before Armando Herrera hit a double. Maldonado grounded out, and in the bottom of the inning Preston Porter was taken apart for three hits, including a pair of RBI doubles from Joe Crim and Glenn Sprague, that put the game away. 5-1 Knights. Waters 2-4, 2B; Herrera 2-4, 2B; Gurney 2-3; Baskins (PH) 1-1; Clark pitched seven innings and whiffed eight. More of those 8 K performances and we can start selling at the deadline… Game 2 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – LF Baskins – C Zarate – 2B Castner – P Wheatley ATL: SS Venegas – RF Marz – LF Hester – 1B Delagrange – C Horner – 3B Crim – CF Melendez – 2B Sprague – P Freels Two ropes past Toohey for an RBI triple for Billy Hester and an RBI single for Delagrange, and the Raccoons trailed timely again on Tuesday, 2-0 after the first inning, with the Knights having opened with an Anton Venegas single. The Coons faced a pitcher with an ERA over six and didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning, which was nothing new – Manny hit a single with Toohey already on base after walking, but there were also two outs in the inning, and Derek Baskins grounded out to Sprague to make it all moot. While offense was an alien concept for the Critters, the Knights kept whacking hits off Wheatley. They stranded two runners in the second, same in the third, and one more in the fourth. Adam Horner had enough and socked a homer to right in the bottom 5th, extending Atlanta’s lead to 3-0. Bill Melendez then reached on a Wheatley error, Glenn Sprague singled to left, and while Bobby Freels was down 1-2 with two outs, he still managed to whack a 2-run double to left against the hapless Wheatley, who was then excluded from further playtime. Jon Craig conceded the runner on a Venegas single, burying the Raccoons six runs deep. And that was more or less the entire ballgame. Craig and Norris pitched garbage innings after Wheatley’s early departure, while the Raccoons didn’t get a second base knock until John Castner hit his first career single in the eighth inning… and was left on first base. Pat Gurney reached on an error in Maldonado’s place in the ninth inning, then scored on a Toohey double; as pointless a run as there had ever been. 6-1 Knights. It's not often that a season has ended in May, but this one just might. Game 3 POR: SS Waters – LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda ATL: SS Venegas – RF Marz – 1B Delagrange – LF Hester – 3B Crim – CF Melendez – 2B Sprague – C Krumholz – P Santry For something new, the Raccoons took a lead. (looks confused) Waters singled, Baskins doubled, and after Herrera fanned, Toohey mastered a run with a sac fly to center. Manny Fernandez knocked in the second run before the top 1st ran out of juice and before Okuda blew the lead at once, walking Delagrange and getting bombed by Hester in the bottom of the inning. The Knights’ second hit of the game would also be for extra bases and for a run; Venegas hit a triple to the base of the fence in centerfield in the third inning for a 1-out three-bagger, then scored on John Marz’ sac fly, giving the Knights a 3-2 lead. Santry countered with a pair of walks to Manny and Kilmer with one out in the fourth, then surrendered the tying run on Al Martell’s clean single through the right side. And then Ricky Jimenez continued to do as much damage to his own team as a $3M salary legally entitled him to, and hit into a 4-6-3 double play. The Coons went on to hit straight singles with their 1-2-3 hitters in the fifth inning… but Waters had already been caught stealing before Baskins and Herrera reached, and nobody scored. Joe Crim instead singled home Venegas with two outs in the sixth to establish another 1-run lead for the Knights in a 3-hit inning against Okuda. It also began to rain in the sixth and a 40-minute rain delay would knock out Okuda – but not Santry, who returned for the top of the seventh, at least until Herrera singled with two outs. Mike Lechowicz then struck out Toohey to sit down the Critters. Down 4-3 in the eighth, Manny hit a leadoff single off lefty Aaron Curl. Martell drew a 1-out walk before right-hander Sam Heisler (10.00 ERA) entered the game for Atlanta. Pat Gurney batted for Jimenez, who was as useful as a burning paper bag full of dog poo, but grounded out to first. Maldonado batted for Nate Norris in the #9 spot, but his fly to center ended up with Melendez. The top of the order was then up against ex-Raccoon Josh Livingston in the ninth inning. Waters grounded out. Baskins was called out on strikes, slammed his bat on the ground, and was ejected. It didn’t matter, because the rest of the team was done with the game just four pitches later, with Herrera also out on strikes. 4-3 Knights. Waters 2-5; Baskins 2-5, 2B; Herrera 2-5; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Martell 2-3, BB, RBI; Bleakness. And an off day spent staring into the abyss. Raccoons (29-17) @ Thunder (26-21) – May 26-28, 2045 The Raccoons, at this stage 9-13 in May and officially in trouble, went on to Oklahoma, where the Thunder had a 7-game winning streak, so things immediately promised to get worse rather than better. They also were seventh in both runs scored and runs allowed with a -5 run differential, but similar numbers had not helped us against the Knights, either. They were top three in OBP, but bottom three in power and speed. Their pen and defense were tough as nails, though. The season series was led by Portland, 2-1, so far…. Projected matchups: Corey Mathers (6-3, 3.92 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (2-4, 5.94 ERA) Jake Jackson (5-1, 3.05 ERA) vs. Ignacio del Rio (4-5, 4.77 ERA) Brent Clark (4-4, 5.21 ERA) vs. Victor Marquez (2-4, 4.66 ERA) Not even the prospect of Southpaw Sunday could lighten my mood at this point. Game 1 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – LF Baskins – RF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Mathers OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS R. Cox – 1B S. Henderson – 3B B. Simon – LF Phinazee – 2B C. Vega – P M. Peterson Manny’s leadoff jack in the second inning put the Raccoons on the board first, but also meant that Baskins had stranded a pair in Manny’s more usual #5 spot in the first inning. Like Okuda on Wednesday, Mathers blew the lead immediately, and then some. Sterling Henderson doubled, was singled home by Brad Simon, who reached second base on a throw to home plate, and then scored as well on two productive outs, and the Raccoons were trailing again, 2-1… Peterson left with an injury in the third inning, bringing on their Jon Craig in relief. Their Jon Craig had a decent ERA, and I’d try to exchange them subtly on the way out of here on Sunday, but ours was white and theirs was black and I was afraid they’d notice. The Thunder tacked on a run in the bottom 3rd, which began with Mathers nailing Angelo Zurita. Cullen Tortora singled, and Zurita eventually scored on Ryan Cox’ sac fly. Top 4th, though, the tying runs were in scoring position with nobody out after Craig walked Manny and Kilmer whacked a ground-rule double in left-center. The Thunder elected to put Martell on intentionally, giving three on with nobody out to the pitcher, an insult so grotesque I was snapping in my suite and wishing so bigly on a Mathers grand slam that I almost broke my thumbs in my clenched fists. Mathers hit a sac fly, which was as much as the Raccoons would get. Waters struck out. Herrera lined out to Carlos Vega. In turn, Brad Simon singled, Mal Phinazee doubled, and the Thunder hit two sac flies to score two more runs, going up 5-2 after four. Maldonado hit a leadoff double in the fifth, but was stranded on second base as the next four batters divined to strike out three times between them; only Manny reached base with a 2-out walk against Craig. Mathers in turn was yanked in the same inning after walking and beaning the bases loaded, with Cox knocked from the game after getting drilled with a fastball and replaced with Jonathan Ban. Brad Simon singled in two against Kelly as the Raccoons continued to make sinking noises. A dropped pop by Toohey and two singles off the brown-hatted Jon Craig gave the Thunder another run in the bottom 6th, as if they needed any more; on the other paw, reliever Bill Dickinson was the third Thunder player to leave the game with an injury, doing so after putting on Herrera to begin the top 7th. He’d be charged with a run after righty Sean Green gave up hits to Maldo and Manny, but Kilmer popped out in foul ground to strand the pair. Vega made up that run with a homer off Craig in the bottom 7th. The Coons got a pointless run off Alan Fleming in the ninth inning, Maldonado hitting another double and being scored by Baskins for no great reason at all. 9-4 Thunder. Maldonado 4-4, BB, 3 2B; Fernandez 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Dustal (PH) 1-1; Game 2 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Gurney – RF Dustal – C Zarate – 2B Martell – P Jackson OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS Ban – 1B Phinazee – 3B B. Simon – LF C. Greer – 2B C. Vega – P del Rio For the third game in a row the Raccoons scored first, putting up a pair in the first inning this time. Herrera singled, Maldo was nailed, and Manny and Gurney found more singles before Dustal fouled out and Zarate flew out to Tortora to strand two in scoring position. When Jackson retired the Thunder for only a 2-out walk to Jesus Adames in the bottom 1st, he became the first Raccoons tosser to finish an inning while in the lead this week. But, oh, it was only Saturday…! Blowing the lead became harder (but our hurlers are feisty and know all the tricks…) with a 2-out rally in the top 2nd, as Waters and Herrera reached and Maldo bent a 3-run homer around the foul pole to go up 5-0. Jackson scattered two hits and two walks in the first three innings, but managed to dodge the actual bullets. His luck ran out in the fourth inning, though, with a leadoff walk to Ban and a 1-out single by Simon. Jackson had them on the corners, but he also waived for attention from Dr. Padilla, who dutifully trudged out, engaged in polite conversation, and then returned to the dugout with Jackson. Hu-wheee! Bullpen game! … The Raccoons readied Preston Porter, who gave up a run on a single to Chad Greer, nailed Vega, and gave up another run on PH Ethan Moore’s infield grounder for the second out. The next move was to bring in Chuck Jones – Zurita was the tying run and there were four lefties in the top 6 in the order – in a double switch in the farthest-removed lineup spot, which was Manny’s. Baskins took over leftfield. Zurita hit an RBI single at 1-2, but Tortora made the final out as things had taken a turn for the worst yet again. Jones would log five outs, and our Jon Craig threw in two to get through six innings with a 5-3 lead. There was no tack-on offense to speak of in the middle innings, but against Ray Thune in the seventh inning the Coons put three on with two already out. Dustal, Zarate, and Martell were hoping for a good knock by Derek Baskins, who came through on the right side on the 2-1 pitch, singling home a pair. Waters grounded out to end the inning. The pen remained stingy – Kelly got two outs in the seventh, and Moreno pitched the Coons through the completion of eight, without allowing a Thunder on base. Josh Rella was up for the ninth anyway – he had not been active all week (how would he have been?) and apart from him only Norris was unused. Carlos Vega hit a single off him in the ninth. That was it. 7-3 Raccoons. Herrera 2-5; Fernandez 2-3, RBI; Zarate 2-4, BB; Baskins 1-2, 2 RBI; Game 3 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Baskins – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Clark OCT: RF Zurita – CF Tortora – C Adames – SS R. Cox – 2B C. Vega – 3B B. Simon – LF C. Greer – 1B Phinazee – P V. Marquez Herrera and Maldonado got to the corners in the first inning, and Bryce Toohey got to hit into a double play to make them all go away. At least Brent Clark wasted no time pretending, gave up a hit, a walk, and a 3-run homer to Adames in no time, in a bid for another pathetic loss. Clark was crap to start the game, continued to be crap, and never became anything other than crap. On the other paw, the Raccoons couldn’t do ***** anything against Marquez, and were on two hits and no runs after five innings, and down 5-0, thanks to more inept shenanigans by Clark, who could not be yanked early on after the Raccoons had already engaged in a bullpen bonanza on Saturday. He tossed six innings for five hits, five walks, five strikeouts, and five runs, but only the one loss, somehow. The Thunder would lift Marquez after a leadoff walk to Waters in the eighth inning, but Herrera popped out and Maldonado hit into a double play against Thune, who struck out three in the ninth inning. 5-0 Thunder. In other news May 22 – The Cyclones beat the Scorpions, 3-2 in 16 innings, on a walkoff homer by CIN LF/CF Jayden Lockwood (.265, 4 HR, 16 RBI). It is also a come-from-behind home run, as the Scorpions had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning. May 23 – The Bayhawks lose SP Rafael Pedraza (5-4, 3.72 ERA) for the season. The 32-year-old is diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. May 24 – Warriors LF/RF Mario Villa (.389, 7 HR, 25 RBI) would miss two weeks with an oblique strain he suffered while roughhousing with his dogs. May 27 – Gold Sox OF Sandy Castillo (.330, 7 HR, 34 RBI) will miss a month on the DL owing to an oblique strain. May 28 – A broken finger will cost WAS LF/RF Eduardo Avila (.231, 1 HR, 13 RBI) at least a month on shelf. FL Player of the Week: SFW 2B Hugo Acosta (.366, 2 HR, 31 RBI), hitting .522 (12-23) with 1 HR, 4 RBI CL Player of the Week: LVA 3B/2B Doug Richardson (.333, 7 HR, 18 RBI), batting .455 (10-22) with 4 HR, 11 RBI Complaints and stuff What we have, isn’t working. Not even close. I also have no idea how to dial around on it. By the way, those were not even the cities were nothing good ever happens to the Raccoons. The offense was , the pitching was ***. What do we have on offer? Victor Merino might come up anyway if Jackson is hurt, and Brent Clark is begging or a demotion to Siberia. Jeremy Baker has a 1.89 ERA in AAA, but also way too many walks. Adam Capone (who?) might be an option. There’s also some bullpen material available. Offensively? Not a whole damn lot. 2041 seventh-rounder Ben Coen was a casual defender on the infield, but hitting for an .821 OPS in AAA without warning. He had been a .223/.320/.334 wheezer in Ham Lake last year. Apart from that it was mostly Van Anderson, and we had no room to play Van Anderson, or Ricardo Bejarano… at least for guys hitting for an .800 OPS, and Anderson was doing it in under 70 at-bats. Nope, the Raccoons are in trouble. Fun Fact:** 21 years ago today, Tijuana’s Pat Sanford hit three home runs in a 9-8 Raccoons win. Ha, kids! When we still won games from time to time…! The olden days. The catcher Sanford played 15 years in the majors, the first half of those with Tijuana. He won two Gold Gloves behind the dish, but apart from that was a fairly steady league-average hitter, poking .250/.321/.401 with a 104 OPS+ for his career, with 176 HR and 761 RBI. He had 1,374 hits in total, making 100+ starts only six times in his career, while often serving as a backup. He never led the league in anything worth recounting. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

10-03-2021, 07:14 AM	#3736
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	2045 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS First of all, the Raccoons had signed away their top pick (#22) in the upcoming draft when they inked Armando Herrera away from the Wolves, so the whole point of a hotlist of a dozen or so prime players to find in the upcoming draft was kinda moot, but we’re routineers at going through the motions over here, so I had Scout Pat Degenhardt compile one anyway. Our first pick would not come up until #37, the compensation pick for Sal Ayala, and then we’d only get another turn at #70 …! Meanwhile, this was very much a position players draft. We had 116 players on the shortlist, of which only 40 were entered as pitchers (and two more Josh Rella candidates that were entered as hopeless hitters). There were a few very interesting pitchers in the draft, none of which would fall to us, which was entirely regrettable, because I’d have loved nothing more than a top prospect named Jameson “Midnight Toaster” Monk. Sigh! At least we got a ring for our bothers …! The hotlist (players with * are high school boys): SP James Powell (12/15/10) * SP Jameson Monk (13/15/12) * – BNN #6 SP Cory Ellis (12/12/13) * – BNN #1 SP Mike Kipp (11/13/11) * SP Jameel Williams (12/12/14) * – BNN #5 CL David Pittard (17/13/10) C/1B Jason Schaack (10/15/10) * – BNN #2 SS/3B Prince Gates (13/8/9) – BNN #3 1B David Worthington (12/15/10) – BNN #7 1B Willie Kersh (9/13/11) * 2B Rich Seymour (13/4/12) * LF/RF Adam Magnussen (12/14/17) LF/RF Tim Duncan (16/13/8) * – BNN #10 OF Alberto Cabazos (11/18/12) * – BNN #9 Weirdly, most of these swatting prospects appeared to have only token defensive capabilities. The exception was perhaps Prince Gates, who instead had plenty of attitude. He wasn’t even a major leaguer yet, and was already sporting a thick (probably fake) gold chain with a paw-sized dollar sign on it, which was even weirder for a kid from provincial South Dakota. Plenty of interesting kids there – and, well, we still only have the #37 pick. I’ll try to produce the next weekly update during the simultaneous deathmatch in MLB tonight (but there is the threat of running into my bedtime…). Rooting for a 4-way tie in the AL, and for the damn Elks to be quiet while in Portland… __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

10-06-2021, 05:06 AM	#3739
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	2045 AMATEUR DRAFT For once, the draft took place in New York with the Raccoons already in town, and it was our day off, too. No great haul was expected, given that we had signed away our first-round pick to the Wolves and had to settle for the #37 and #52 picks, compensation for the loss of Sal Ayala. I said in the other post that we would not pick until #70 after #37, forgetting about the extra second-round pick, and, oh, #70 is also wrong. Well, I suck! We had 116 players on the shortlist, including the following boys on the hotlist, and while I still held out hopeless hope for a top prospect named Jameson “Midnight Toaster” Monk, scout Pat Degenhardt did his royal best to convince me that he wasn’t available… The hotlist (players with * are high school boys): SP James Powell (12/15/10) * SP Jameson Monk (13/15/12) * – BNN #6 SP Cory Ellis (12/12/13) * – BNN #1 SP Mike Kipp (11/13/11) * SP Jameel Williams (12/12/14) * – BNN #5 CL David Pittard (17/13/10) C/1B Jason Schaack (10/15/10) * – BNN #2 SS/3B Prince Gates (13/8/9) – BNN #3 1B David Worthington (12/15/10) – BNN #7 1B Willie Kersh (9/13/11) * 2B Rich Seymour (13/4/12) * LF/RF Adam Magnussen (12/14/17) LF/RF Tim Duncan (16/13/8) * – BNN #10 OF Alberto Cabazos (11/18/12) * – BNN #9 The #1 overall pick was the Condors’, and they went for outfielder Tim Duncan with that. The Loggers were next and took … (heavy sigh!) … “Midnight Toaster” Monk with the #2 pick. While I was wincing and rocking back and forth, the Warriors took Jason Schaack at #3. The Blue Sox (Magnussen), Capitals (Ellis), Crusaders (Gates), and Rebels (Powell) continued to feast on the hotlist, while the Titans took outfielder Manuel Arellano at #8. The hotlist fleecing continued from pick #10, with the Thunder’s selection of David Worthington, followed by Cabazos going to the Buffos at #11, and the Miners taking Kersh at #12. David Pittard went to the Pacifics at #14, Jameel Williams to the Blue Sox at #16, and the Loggers, who inherited our old #22 pick from the Wolves, took pitcher Jose Osorio with that. Two hotlist players remained after the first round proper, thus: southpaw Mike Kipp and second-sacker Rich Seymour. The Blue Sox snatched their third hotlist guy at #27 when they took Kipp. But Seymour fell all the way to #37! Now, was that a good thing or nah? We’d know in a few years, but we sure as heck took him. +++ 2045 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS Supp. Round (#37) – 2B Rich Seymour, 18, from Lawrence, MA – steady-handed righty-hitting second baseman with good contact abilities and considerable gap power, and also quite some speed to be an on-base annoyance. The only downturn we can readily see is his lack of home run power. Round 2 (#52) – SP Danny Bethea, 20, from Foley, MN – right-hander with good control and three good pitches in development, a 93mph heater with a changeup and a forkball; also throws a curve, although we’d rather wish he didn’t throw it so often. Round 2 (#66) – LF/RF Jerry Sterenberg, 21, from Albuquerque, NM – right-handed hitter with ho-hum defense and a power stroke… which seems to have considerable holes. Round 3 (#90) – SP Danny Hall, 20, from Vincent, AL – left-handed groundballer, more of a soft tosser, but he needs better control to become a successful corner nibbler. At least throws three-and-a-half pitches. Round 4 (#114) – INF Mike Berger, 18, from Irving, TX – right-handed, wide-ranging infielder with strong throwing arm, and a good hitting profile throughout; problem is he’s a lazy bum, bad enough to be a D-level student despite being anything but dumb. Needs to have a drill sergeant assigned. Round 5 (#138) – C Jeff Raczka, 21, from Newark, NJ – able behind the dish, good with hurlers, hard worker, reasonably intelligent… he’s just not hitting all that much. Somebody’s gotta bat eighth? Round 6 (#162) – 1B Mark Watts, 20, from Cincinnati, OH – considerable power potential, but also patience to wait for a pitch in the wheelhouse… sometimes too much such patience… Round 7 (#186) – SP Kevin Beck, 21, from Richmond, VA – left-hander with short stamina and only two real pitches, so a future as a starter is probably not in the cards, but he could become a very serviceable reliever. Round 8 (#210) – LF/RF Ben Kupferberg, 19, from Denver, CO – lefty hitter that plays a power position with no power potential, also slow, with the hindpaws and the head. (Side note: Kupferberg is German for Copper Mountain and a semi-common place name in Germany, including one about 10 miles from where I live ) Round 9 (#234) – C Jamal Bright, 20, from Brooklyn, NY – good eye and some power potential, but otherwise doesn’t know how to impress a lot Round 10 (#258) – INF/RF/LF Bryan Lenderink, 21, from Prairie View, TX – quirky defender with speed, but the Raccoons dislike his hitting profile a lot. We are much keener on seeing him become a righty pitcher with a 91mph fastball and a scoopy curve Round 11 (#282) – SP Pat Moen, 18, from Colonial Heights, VA – left-hander (duh!) with a 87mph fastball that has room to grow and a curve and slider; stamina on the low end, as is control. Round 12 (#306) – LF/RF Aaron Weyrick, 18, from Iowa City, IA – token defense on a solid contact bat with little power; he’s also a bit dense. Round 13 (#330) – SP Dustin Ramsey, 18, from Detroit, MI – starting with the 85mph fastball, there is REALLY not much to see here on this left-hander. +++ And yes, we did dump a number of players around this time, too. For pitchers, these included from AA Eric Tracy and Ian McGuire, the 2041 and 2042 sixth-rounders, both walking almost eight batter per nine innings, and 2039 eighth-rounder Hector Periera, who was just hopelessly stuck. Among position players (other than the odd scouting discovery or trash heap signing) we released INF Brian Maloney (2043, 12th Round) and LF/1B Dustin Klein (2044, 9th Round), both hitting nothing in Aumsville. Where outfielders were concerned, lightning struck LF/CF Jordan Gonzalez, an end-of-bench afterthought in AAA at age 28, who had batted .208 with 1 HR, 6 RBI in 164 PA for the Coons from 2040 through 2044. He had been the 2034 sixth-rounder. 2040 eight-rounder Ali McLeish was released from Ham Lake, where he had been dwelling since ’42. __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

10-08-2021, 03:03 PM	#3740
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,438	Raccoons (42-26) vs. Indians (21-48) – June 19-21, 2045 The Raccoons were 5-1 against the badly drowning Indians this season, with nothing, but really nothing going right for them. They were bottoms in runs scored, third from the bottom in runs allowed, and had run up 21 1/2 games of gap to the first-place Coons and a -100 run differential by the middle of June. The only offensive thing they managed to do was stealing bases – if they ever got on base. Their rotation was wretched, their defense was clunky, and their pen was… decent! But that was not enough to salvage the rest of the clown troupe … Projected matchups: Brent Clark (6-5, 4.38 ERA) vs. Bill Drury (3-10, 4.01 ERA) Jason Wheatley (5-5, 3.69 ERA) vs. Jonathan Dykstra (2-11, 7.24 ERA) Sadaharu Okuda (7-4, 3.92 ERA) vs. Willie Gonzales (2-5, 3.86 ERA) All these clowns were right-handed. Game 1 IND: 3B Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – C Julian Diaz – RF B. Quinteros – 2B A. Avila – SS Huber – P Drury POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – 2B Gurney – C Zarate – P Clark Matt Waters drew a walk with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom 1st before Gurney’s pop stranded three other runners. But Brent Clark, speaking of clowns, struck out five the first time through the order and didn’t allow a hit until Miguel Barrientos hit a leadoff single in the top of the fourth. Clark went on to nail Danny Rivera – perhaps the lone Indians hitter not beyond salvation – with an 0-2 pitch, but got Nelson Galvan to hit into a double play. Julian Diaz then made the third out to short. But of course, this was Brent Clark. The clown allowed a triple to Andres Avila in the fifth, then walked Adam Huber, all with one gone. Drury popped out, but Andrew Russ doubled home the runners, and the Indians took the lead, 2-1. Waters pulled it back with a 2-out single, driving home Herrera, who had reached on an Avila error in the bottom 5th, and sent Maldonado first-to-third. Gurney grounded out to strand multiple Raccoons again. Clark continued to rampage, beaning Diaz from the game in the sixth – Sean Ebner replaced him – then bunted badly to force out Zarate in the bottom 6th when the Coons catcher reached on an error by Russ. Clark made it through the seventh, somehow, then even got in line for the W when Drury got bombed to center by Bryce Toohey to open the bottom 7th. Rivera would counter with a 1-out single off Nelson Moreno in the eighth, but was forced out on Galvan’s grounder. On the same grounder, which went 6-4-and-nothing-more from a defensive standpoint, Gurney jerked awkwardly to catch a bad feed from Waters at second base, and was soon hauled in after making grimaces towards the dugout. John Castner took over, while Moreno ended the eighth by fanning Sean Ebner. Top 9th, Josh Rella struck out Bill Quinteros, struck out Nick Crocker, and Adam Huber grounded to – oh, and … and nobody played that one. Infield single. Steven Jennings hit another one. Andrew Russ, the annoying ** hit a ball into the gap on 2-2, driving in both runners with a double. Barrientos singled him in. Rivera walked. I sunk into the cushions. Somehow Preston Porter found out of the inning, but not until after the Arrowheads had put up three runs. The Raccoons went down meekly against Tommy Gardner in the ninth. 5-3 Indians. Baskins 4-5, 2B; Toohey 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Waters 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Clark 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K; (looks bleached) With this latest Rella meltdown, the Raccoons became a lot less likable. Also, Pat Gurney was headed for the DL with an oblique strain and would probably not return until after the All Star Game. The Raccoons reached into their AAA team again and pulled up Omar Gutierrez, hitting .284 with a homer down there. Game 2 IND: 3B Russ – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – RF B. Quinteros – 1B Barrientos – 2B D. Diaz – C Ebner – SS Huber – P Dykstra POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 1B Toohey – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 2B Martell – P Wheatley Straight 1-out singles gave the Raccoons a 1-0 lead in the bottom 1st, Toohey driving in Herrera after Manny Fernandez, who was up next, had picked a Quinteros drive off the top of the fence to bail out Wheats in the opening half-frame, and before Manny Fernandez cranked a 3-piece over that same fence to extend the lead to 4-0. They tacked on a run when Baskins reached base, stole second, and scored after a Herrera single and a Maldonado double play grounder in the second. 5-0 it was then, while the Indians had a guy in scoring position each of the first three innings, but were suffocated by Wheats nicely in the middle innings. There was a chance for a shutout – Wheatley was on 76 pitches through six innings, having whiffed four. The 5-6-7 went down on 12 pitches in the seventh, not reaching base, but Russ would single on his 100th pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. Rivera grounded out, closing out the eighth. Wheats batted for himself in the bottom 8th, singling with nobody out to move Martell and his leadoff double from second to third. Baskins hit an RBI single to left, the first run scored by either team since the second inning. Herrera flew out, and Maldo plated Wheatley with a groundout, extending the lead to seven runs before the Raccoons’ batting parts were (hopefully over). Wheats began the ninth on 104 pitches, and the meat of the order was up. Galvan flew out to center on five pitches. Then he walked Bill Quinteros on four pitches. Yellow alert, at least – he’d have one more chance against Barrientos. He rung him up! Danny Diaz would be Wheat’s last batter – and he singled to left, on his 117th pitch. And that was enough. Jon Craig ended the game with a K. 7-0 Coons. Baskins 2-5, RBI; Herrera 2-5; Toohey 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 3 RBI; Martell 3-3, BB, 2 2B; Wheatley 8.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (6-5) and 1-4; Game 3 IND: 3B Russ – 1B Barrientos – LF D. Rivera – CF N. Galvan – RF B. Quinteros – C Ebner – 2B A. Avila – SS Huber – P W. Gonzales POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda Season debut for Omar Gutierrez, who had been reasonably far down the depth chart, but, eh, the nature of injuries! He would not be around for long, with Arturo Carreno already on the horizon, anyway. Him and the remaining Raccoons had no hits the first time through, and by the time Maldonado hit a single in the bottom 4th, they were behind 2-0 on an Avila RBI double, scoring Ebner, from the second inning, and a Rivera homer in the fourth. Okuda would grind away at the Arrowheads for seven and two thirds, allowing five hits before being lifted for Nate Norris to get the last out in the eighth from Galvan, with Barrientos on second base. He also left the game trailing, 2-0, with the Raccoons getting 3-hit by unassuming looking Willie Gonzales. It was then Gutierrez to reach scoring position to begin the bottom 8th, dropping a bloop single between Huber and Rivera, with the sliding Huber forcing Rivera to peel off and the ball getting behind both of them for an extra base, Adam Huber being charged a hard-nosed error. Toohey hit for Norris and walked, putting the tying run on base. That flipped the lineup over to Derek Baskins, and only now did the Indians’ pen spring into action with bends and stretches. It was no use – Baskins flew out on the first pitch, and Herrera found the shortstop for a double play, allowing Gonzales out of the inning. Zack Kelly had a scoreless ninth, with Gonzales remaining in the game against the 3-4-5 of the Raccoons in the bottom 9th. Maldo flew out to center, but Manny hit a jack to right to blow up the shutout and bring in Tommy Gardner, who had sawed off the Critters on Monday already. He struck out Waters, but Dustal hit for Kilmer and hit a sharp grounder to left. Huber cut it off deep on the dirt, but had no play – 2-out infield single. But Ricky Jimenez dipped his batting average to .169 with another whiff, and the Raccoons lost the series to the abysmal Indians… 2-1 Indians. Dustal (PH) 1-1; Gutierrez 2-3; Okuda 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, L (7-5); The Crusaders gained one game on us during this series, splitting a double header with the Elks on Monday, winning on Tuesday, and being rained out for the joy of another double header in September on Wednesday. Thursday, we were both off. Raccoons (43-28) @ Condors (33-40) – June 23-25, 2045 We’d meet another last-place team to look like total fools against, with the Condors ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed, with only a -31 run differential. They also had a bottom three rotation, coupled with one of the worst defenses in the league. They didn’t excel at anything, really, ranking consistently in the bottom half in almost all important categories. We had swept them in the first meeting with them this season. Projected matchups: Victor Merino (1-1, 3.90 ERA) vs. Mario de Anda (6-2, 3.29 ERA) Brent Clark (6-5, 4.22 ERA) vs. Gabe Butler (7-7, 3.39 ERA) Jason Wheatley (6-5, 3.31 ERA) vs. Ryan Porter (3-9, 5.33 ERA) The series would begin with two southpaws from the Condors’ side. Only right-handers left after that. The Coons skipped Corey Mathers (5.33 ERA and melting) on their off day. Not that more Merino and Clark were advised right now… Game 1 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Castner – P Merino TIJ: 2B M. Lopez – 3B Barcia – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – CF J. Clark – SS Clary – P de Anda Manny singled home Maldo for a first-inning run, the latter having doubled and Toohey having drawn a walk in between. Meanwhile there was a sole lefty bat (Jacob Clark) opposing Merino, who nevertheless got through the first couple of innings alright before the Raccoons tacked on with a 3-run third; Herrera and Maldonado opened with singles before de Anda struck out the next two. Kilmer, however, jabbed an RBI single to right, and Jimenez whacked a gapper for a 2-run double. Castner was walked intentionally to get the third out from Merino, who allowed a Sergio Barcia double in the bottom 3rd, but little else of note all the way through the seventh inning, maintaining a 3-hit shutout … but on 100 pitches, he would not get the chance to go the distance. The last two innings were picked up by Norris and Craig, while the offense laid low and conserved energies for Saturday, or so I’d hope… 4-0 Raccoons. Maldonado 4-4, 2B; Jimenez 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Baskins (PH) 1-1; Merino 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, W (2-1); With that, Arturo Carreno came off the DL for Saturday. The Raccoons reconsidered and sent John Castner (.184, 0 HR, 1 RBI) back to AAA, thus keeping the extra lefty bat that Omar Gutierrez offered. Game 2 POR: SS Waters – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – 2B Carreno – P B. Clark TIJ: 2B M. Lopez – 3B Barcia – C T. Black – RF Ito – LF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Oliver – SS Clary – P G. Butler Nate Rossi drove in a run with a groundout when the Condors had the bases loaded and one out in the bottom 1st, with Alex Zacarias’ groundout keeping the remaining runners on base. Eric Clary hit a blast to right in the second, extending the Condors’ lead over Clark to 2-0. The Raccoons? They weren’t hitting, literally. Butler carried a no-hitter through four before Ricky Jimenez hit the shiest of singles through the right side. Carreno flew out weekly to ex-Coon Rikuto Ito, while Clark couldn’t get the bunt own, then popped out on 0-2. Waters singled past Clary to move Jimenez to second, but Herrera’s grounder was handled by Barcia, and the inning ended. IT didn’t look like Portland had a chance, and Clark then pissed it all away for good in the bottom 6th, failing to retire any of the 5-6-7-8-9 batters with one out. Oliver singled home a run, and Butler (…) singled in two before Clark was yanked. Porter appeared on the mound, struck out Miguel Lopez, then had his own string of not getting any of five consecutive hitters out, getting ravaged for four runs on his furry tush (never mind another two on Clark that he surrendered), before Chuck Jones came on to get a *** out from Brian Oliver. The Condors had piled up nine in the inning, and the game was over as a contest. Gabe Butler finished the game without breaking much of a sweat, 4-hitting the miserable Critters. 11-0 Condors. It’s not going well. (applies Dr. Blossom’s Pain-Be-Gone! Powder to his furry tush) Game 3 POR: LF Baskins – CF Herrera – 1B Maldonado – RF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Kilmer – 3B Jimenez – 2B Martell – P Wheatley TIJ: 2B M. Lopez – RF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Ito – C T. Black – 3B Barcia – LF Reidinger – SS Clary – P R. Porter Ricky Jimenez had his odd biweekly clout to centerfield that reminded us, oh yeah, we’re not burning those $3M, we’re actually getting a hit every fortnight. This was a 3-run homer in the fourth, chasing home Waters and Kilmer for the first runs in the rubber game. Wheats was fine the first time through, facing one over the minimum, then allowed a single to Nate Rossi and a walk to Ito in the fourth. However, Zacarias hit into a double play and Ito was caught stealing, meaning it somehow still was a 1-2-3 inning. Terry Black found a clean leadoff single to left in the fifth, but was doubled up by Marty Reidinger after Barcia popped out. Porter and Lopez hit singles up the middle in the sixth, but Rossi’s cozy fly to right and Zacarias’ grounder up the middle ended the inning. There was a weird calmness around Wheats all of a sudden, and he began to encroach on the 3.00 ERA mark, reaching 3.10 in the sixth. Al Martell opened the seventh with a single to right, then stole second. Wheats swung, grounding out, moving the runner to third base, where Baskins and Herrera stranded him with poor outs. It wasn’t the Raccoons’ week, huh? Well, maybe Matt Waters could put the game away. He found Manny on base in the eighth inning, then hit a homer to right, his ninth on the year, to extend the lead to 5-0. But – no shutout for Wheats this time either! Marty Reidinger took him deep to right to open the eighth inning, which he finished, but which would also be his last in the game. And it was not a save situation either for Josh Rella in the bottom 9th, but he simply made it one, putting Ito on base, and giving up a bomb to Terry Black to get the Condors within two. With Moreno getting warm in a hurry, Barcia and Reidinger made the last two outs to eek out the series win. 5-3 Coons. Waters 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Wheatley 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (7-5) and 1-3; In other news June 19 – LVA SP Oscar Valdes (5-5, 4.24 ERA) 2-hits the Condors in a 4-0 shutout. June 19 – A torn rotator cuff puts VAN SP Mario Godinez (7-5, 5.36 ERA) on the DL for the rest of the 2045 season. June 20 – Denver’s SP John Kennedy (7-6, 2.98 ERA) spins a 1-hitter in a 10-0 rout of the Pacifics. LAP OF Tony Romero (.272, 2 HR, 18 RBI) has the only L.A. hit, a second-inning single. June 20 – MIL SP Mackenzie O’Toole (6-4, 3.12 ERA) pitches a 2-hit shutout against the Titans. The Loggers win 3-0. June 20 – Canadiens infielder Kenichi Saito (.248, 6 HR, 26 RBI) will miss the rest of the season, heading for Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL. FL Player of the Week: CIN 3B Jesus Burgos (.361, 6 HR, 44 RBI), batting .500 (13-26) with 1 HR, 6 RBI CL Player of the Week: VAN OF Jerry Outram (.388, 8 HR, 45 RBI), hitting .522 (12-23) with 2 HR, 8 RBI Complaints and stuff Not Player of the Week: Wheats, who pitched 16.2 innings for 12 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 11 strikeouts. Screw you, Jerry Outram! Wheats would face Outram on the coming weekend… For his last five games, Wheats is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA, and with a WHIP of 0.88! … Clunker incoming, I fear. We need a new closer. Rella wasn’t even unlucky. He is just getting pummeled now. I am highly dismayed by it. Also, we need to take a good look at ourselves, and wonder how we played the two last-place teams in the CL this week and barely made it out 3-3, and with a -1 run differential at that. We weren’t unlucky in losing three; we were just mediocre. Maldo put a 12-game hitting streak together, but that one died in the same game as Rella’s prestige on Sunday, where Maldo hit 0-for-4 with a K. In a real slump: Armando Herrera, batting 5-for-36 in his last 8 games. ‘tis but a scratch, I hope. Next week we’re back home to face the Falcons and the damn Elks, the latter coming in for four games. Pitching depth took a hit this week, with Tony Negrete hitting the minor league DL with a sprained ankle. He would have been the first guy up in case Brent Clark or whoever needed defenestration. Fun Fact:** We won the Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday games this week, and lost the Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday games – same as last week. In other words, we’ve done one step forward and one step back for 12 straight games now. That is another way to be mediocre. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 91 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.