Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (8-10) @ Thunder (7-12) – April 24-26, 2057

After an off day on Monday, we were to meet the Thunder for the last three games of the endless road trip – but hey, at least maybe it will have rained itself out in Portland by now! – meeting up with a last-place team that was coughing up even more runs than the Raccoons, which seemed genuinely hard to do. These teams were 10th and 11th in runs allowed in the CL so far, and 7th and 6th in runs scored in turn. The Thunder had already lost key components Matt Cox and Ed Soberanes to injury, too. The Thunder had won the season series last year, 5-4.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (0-1, 5.93 ERA) vs. Aaron Harris (1-2, 3.86 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (1-3, 4.07 ERA) vs. Tan Brink (2-1, 3.42 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (1-2, 4.56 ERA) vs. Garrett Guistino (1-3, 5.85 ERA)

Three right-handers lined up from Oklahoma City.

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – LF Brassfield – 2B Allred – C Chavez – P Kniep
OCT: SS Lira – C Korfhage – 3B M. Harmon – 1B Worthington – CF H. Thomas – 2B Ban – RF Buras – LF D. Guzman – P A. Harris

Kyle Brobeck was promoted to the cleanup spot and cleaned up right away in the first inning after Abercrombie hit a soft 2-out single, smashing a homer to right to give the Coons a 2-0 lead. Two more runs scored in the second inning, where the Raccoons slapped out five singles, including four straight starting with Allred. Kniep drove in Allred, and Lonzo singled home Chavez with one out to get to 4-0, but Abercrombie grounded into a force at the plate and Brobeck grounded out to first base. Kniep struck out the first three Thunder of the game, and five batters the first time through the order, but also walked Will Buras to begin the bottom 3rd, swiftly followed by Danny Guzman singling. A strikeout by PH Tim Weant, a pop to short by Omar Lira, and Mitch Korfhage’s liner to Allred stranded the two runners, though. The Thunder put two more on in the fourth, including David Worthington getting plunked with a 1-2 pitch, but didn’t score again. Instead, Pucks ran the score to 5-0 with his first homer of the season. That was in the fifth; in the seventh, Pucks followed Brobeck’s left-center gap triple with a soft RBI single of his own, tacking on another run.

Kniep pitched into the eighth inning while maintaining a shutout. There, Korfhage drew a 1-out walk. Kniep hung another K on the left-handed Mike Harmon, then was lifted for Mike Lane, who got Worthington to fly out to right. He’d put down four in a row to finish the game, but in between Pucks had his paws in another run scored in the top 9th, drawing a 2-out walk off Kevin Daley. Brassfield was down 0-4 on the day and Solorzano batted for him against the righty, driving an RBI double to left-center. 7-0 Coons! Brobeck 2-5, HR, 3B, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Solorzano (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Allred 2-5; Kniep 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 8 K, W (1-1) and 1-4, RBI;

This W actually gave us a +1 run differential, which was astonishing given that it meant that the offense was managing to out-swat *this* pitching staff…!

Wednesday’s opponent changed to another right-hander, swingman Eric Barnes (1-0, 4.00 ERA). Jonathan Ban (.397, 1 HR, 10 RBI) had left the opener of the series late with a bum shoulder and was ruled out for the rest of the series, so the Thunder were now a guy short on the bench.

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – LF Brassfield – 2B Allred – C Chavez – P Adkins
OCT: SS Lira – C Korfhage – 2B London – 1B Worthington – CF H. Thomas – 3B M. Harmon – LF Weant – RF Buras – P E. Barnes

Lonzo doubled in the first, but was left stranded, and then him and Allred *both* made an error behind Adkins in the first inning to concede an unearned run to the Thunder. Lonzo was on base again in the third inning with a 2-out single, but also was caught stealing, putting his success rate this season at a terrible 50%. The Thunder went to the corners in the bottom 3rd, but Adkins got a K in on Harley Thomas to end that inning. Allred drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and was caught stealing, too, and apart from that, offense was most miniscule for both teams. Both sides scattered four hits through six innings, and the Thunder still remained up 1-0.

The Raccoons had two hits in the seventh inning, singles by Pucks and Brass, but the former was caught stealing before the latter got a turn on the plate, which put the Raccoons at 0-for-3 in the thievery game against Korfhage. Adkins was still pitching in the bottom 7th, retired Tim Weant and Will Buras, then had Brobeck throw away Barnes’ grounder for a 2-base error, which was also the third of its kind for Portland in this game. Adkins hung around for Omar Lira, another lefty stick, gave up an RBI double, then was removed. Mancilla replaced him, walked Korfhage, gave up an RBI single to Mike London, and then finally had Worthington pop out. Top 8th, hits sent Chavez and Callaia to the corners. Lonzo hit a sac fly to Weant, but that was the only run the Raccoons got from that situation as Abercrombie then grounded out. Kevin Daley retired Brobeck and Pucks to begin the ninth inning, then offered 2-out walks to Brassfield and Allred, placing the tying runs on base in a 3-1 game. Chavez, however, struck out. 3-1 Thunder. Lavorano 2-3, 2B, RBI; Allred 1-2, 2 BB; Adkins 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, L (1-4);

All runs were unearned. Yaaay. (hangs fuzzy ears)

Game 3
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – 2B Bribiesca – CF Solorzano – C Zamora – P Taki
OCT: SS Lira – C M. Castillo – 1B Worthington – RF D. Guzman – 2B London – LF Weant – CF Buras – 3B H. Thomas – P Brink

Lonzo was caught stealing *again* in the first inning of the rubber game, and somehow the Thunder seemed to know before the Raccoons runners were to go before they themselves did…! The Raccoons struggled on from there; drawing two leadoff walks in the fourth inning got them nowhere with three meager outs following, none of them advancing the runners Abercrombie and Brobeck. Taki in turn didn’t allow a hit for the first 11 outs registered, but when he did, quickly gave up not only a double to right to Danny Guzman, but also an RBI single to center to London and fell behind 1-0. After the Coons failed to score Callaia (walk) and Lonzo (nailed) with two outs in the fifth, Will Buras knocked a leadoff triple in the bottom half of the inning, and scored quickly on Thomas’ groundout, 2-0…

The tying runs were on base right away in the sixth as Brobeck singled and Pucks drew another walk off an all-over-the-damn-place Tan Brink, who was now on five free passes and six strikeouts. Bribiesca hit into a fielder’s choice on a 3-1 pitch, which wasn’t great, and the only run scoring in the top 6th did so on a wild pitch by Brink… The Coons had Lonzo on base again in the seventh inning with a 2-out single, and called the hit-and-run with Brobeck. Brobeck flailed and missed, and Lonzo was thrown out at second base AGAIN.

Taki would complete eight innings on 110 pitches without allowing any more permanent damage, and the Raccoons had just one run to make up in the ninth inning to take him off the hook. Thing was, they’d have to get the bottom of the order on base against lefty Tim Abraham. Pinch-hitters Royer, Espinoza, and Brassfield made straight outs. 2-1 Thunder. Lavorano 2-3; Taki 8.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, L (1-3);

I would like to retract my statement about the offense being able to out-swat this pitching staff.

Raccoons (9-12) vs. Indians (9-12) – April 27-29, 2057

These teams tied for last place in the North at the end of April, which was perhaps not the thing I had expected from the Raccoons at least. Indy was second from the bottom in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed. Their -28 run differential hinted at them probably going to sink deeper rather quick, but they had won two of three games from the Critters to start the season.

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (3-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Shane Fitzgibbon (1-1, 2.83 ERA)
Roberto Oyola (0-3, 8.82 ERA) vs. Jeremy Fetta (2-0, 1.96 ERA)
Craig Kniep (1-1, 3.80 ERA) vs. Fernando Salazar (0-3, 9.00 ERA)

The Indians had been off on Thursday, so changes were possible. We were guaranteed the lefty Fitzgibbon to start the series, though. No Bill Quinteros – he’d be out for another week, which took pretty much all the sting out of the lineup. Antonio Rios (.341, 1 HR, 13 RBI) was still there… and that was about *it*.

Game 1
IND: 3B A. Rios – SS Mullen – 1B K. Price – CF Oldfield – C Villafan – LF Perry – RF Briggs – 2B Bahena – P Fitzgibbon
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 2B Bribiesca – CF Royer – C Chavez – 3B Espinoza – P Sweeton

While Trent Brassfield tried to hit himself out of a slump with a first-inning solo jack to right, the Indians took a 3-1 lead in the third inning. Sweeton walked three batters, and Dan Mullen, the old Elks foe, hit a 3-run homer to left somewhere in between. Brassfield had another RBI his second time up, driving in Callaia and his earlier double with a 2-out single in the bottom 3rd, shortening the gap to 3-2, but Abercrombie then grounded out. The score got tied the inning after; Bribiesca hit a gap triple leading off, and while Royer failed while popping out foul, Marcos Chavez singled to center to get us even at three.

Lonzo was on base in the fifth inning, but him and Brass managed to end the inning in strike-‘em-out-throw-‘em-out fashion, at which point I was wondering whether Lonzo was somehow tipping off batteries when he was about to make a dash for it, but I rewatched some video with Cristiano during the sixth, and we didn’t see anything special: before every attempt, he’d clap his frontpaws together twice, yell “ho!”, and then count to three before running – same as the last seven years!!

The Indians retook the lead, 5-3, in the sixth inning with four singles off Sweeton, who was selectively terrible in those two miserable innings, but allowed only two base runners in the other four innings he pitched. Maybe the Coons could string some hits together as well, though. Bottom 7th, Fitzgibbon allowed a 1-out single to Espinoza. Brobeck pinch-hit for Tanizaki and singled, and then Callaia looped a single over Antonio Rios to drive in Espinoza from second base. The tying run was now at second with Brobeck, but Lonzo grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play… It was Abercrombie who tied the game, smacking a game-tying homer off Bill Dewan in the bottom 8th. Ivan Ornelas had logged the last out in the top 8th and hung around in the ninth, but allowed a leadoff single to Kevin Abel. Two outs later, the go-ahead run was at third base. Matt Walters came in at that point against the left-handed Kevin Price, but gave up an RBI double to right before popping out PH Juan Llampallas… Bottom 9th, the Raccoons faced righty Randy Slocum. Chavez singled to left leading off, then was run for with Solorzano, who stole second while Espinoza struck out – the first successful theft of the week. Allred struck out, Callaia grounded out. 6-5 Indians. Callaia 2-5, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-4, RBI; Brobeck (PH) 1-1;

(bites lip)

Game 2
IND: 3B A. Rios – SS Mullen – 1B K. Price – LF Abel – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – CF Briggs – 2B Bahena – P Fetta
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – LF Brassfield – 2B Allred – C Chavez – P Oyola

Rios’ double and Kevin Price’s RBI single scored a quick run off Oyola, but the Raccoons answered with a Callaia single, an Abercrombie RBI triple over the head of Chris Briggs, and the go-ahead run came home on Brobeck’s groundout. Pucks and Brass went to the corners with another pair of 2-out singles, but Allred popped out to Dan Mullen to strand them. Abercrombie and Brobeck would then take the corners with a pair of leadoff singles in the third inning. Pucks got an RBI with a sac fly, and Brassfield got two with his team-leading third home run of the year, 5-1.

Of course, a 4-run lead with Oyola around was like a 2-run lead with anybody else. Oyola scattered four hits and a walk through three innings, and had two double plays turned in 4-6-3 fashion behind him to clean up the bases for him. Willie Villafan’s single and Chris Briggs’ double put a pair in scoring position with two outs in the fourth, and normally we’d walked Bernie Bahena intentionally now, but Fetta was ripe for pinch-hitting. Oyola got to 0-2 on Bahena, then gave up a scorcher – but right at Lonzo to end the inning. Singles by reliever Jeff Caldwell (…) and Antonio Rios made it 4-for-the-last-5 for the Indians in the top 5th, and Oyola got a stern talking-to on the hill. Somehow that worked; Mullen flew out to Brass in shallow left and the pitcher at third base didn’t dare to go, and then Kevin Price smacked into the third 4-6-3 of the day. Oyola continued with a 1-2-3 sixth inning (!!!!), came back for the seventh, gave up a single to Briggs, struck out Bahena, and then was removed when left-handed Cory Oldfield pinch-hit in the #9 spot. Herrera and Mancilla each got one out to get to stretch time.

Mancilla pitched a clean eighth, while the Coons loaded the bases in the same inning with Chavez, Bribiesca, and Abercrombie, but Brobeck then flew out to left to end the inning. The Coons then sent Brobeck to the hill for the ninth. He allowed a double to Will McIntyre, then walked Villafan. Exit Brobeck, enter Walters – strikeout, strikeout, and a flare to left from Jason Perry that Abercrombie caught. 5-1 Raccoons. Bribiesca (PH) 1-1; Abercrombie 3-4, BB, 3B, RBI; Brassfield 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Allred 2-4; Chavez 2-3, BB, 2B;

The Indians sent righty Bill Lawrence (1-2, 7.11 ERA) into the rubber game. The 29-year-old was mostly used as reliever at the major league level, but had made 32 starts for the Aces in 2055, and 15 for the Indians between this year and last.

Lonzo, 0-for-4 on Saturday, looked like he could use a day off. With seven games next week, everybody was scheduled for a day off at some point or other anyway, and – to heck with it – Lonzo got his turn first. We’d see two left-handers against the Titans next week, so Callaia, Abercrombie, and Pucks were all expecting a day off then.

Game 3
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B K. Price – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – LF Bahena – CF Oldfield – P B. Lawrence
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Bribiesca – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – 3B Espinoza – C Zamora – P Kniep

Kniep had a scoreless first with a strikeout before Callaia reached on a Rios error, Bribiesca singled, and Abercrombie walked, filling the bases with nobody out in the bottom 1st. The Raccoons’ 4-5 pair each got home a run with a grounder and a sac fly, respectively, but Allred grounded out to leave Abercrombie stranded. A 2-0 lead, and here came Kniep – he walked one, he walked two, he walked three in the top of the second, and then Bernie Bahena emptied the bases with a double off the wall in right-center. Lawrence would drive in Bahena for a fourth run in the inning, and I was despairing of our rotation once more. Even Honeypaws was covering his eyes with his tail!

At least the offense tried to out-hit the shambles on the hill on this particular day. Bribiesca singled in the bottom 3rd, Abercrombie forced him out, but Brassfield walked, and then both Pucks and Allred socked 2-out RBI knocks, a single and double, respectively. There was a pair in scoring position in the 4-4 game with Espinoza at the plate – who had no RBI on the year, and didn’t get one here either, for Lawrence drilled him in the ribs. Espinoza dragged himself to first base, bringing up Ruben Zamora, batting .100 with 1 RBI, and grounding out to short.

Kniep didn’t go deep, walking five in six innings before being excused further embarrassment. Eloy Sencion got the seventh, striking out two and getting a double play turned behind him to clean up Matt Kilday, who reached base when Zamora couldn’t hold on to that strike three, and also retired Price on a fly to rightfield to begin the eighth inning, still in a 4-4 tie. Rios singled off Tanizaki with one out, but was stranded by McIntyre and Villafan. The Raccoons put the go-ahead run on base to begin the bottom 8th against Lawrence as Brassfield singled to center. Pucks chomped a 3-2 pitch in the ground near the plate, but it rolled into no man’s land between home, hill, and third base, and Pucks legged out an infield single. Here, Indy brought Bill Dewan for Allred, but the Raccoons sent Kyle Brobeck to pinch-hit. He fell to 0-2, then flicked a blooper over the head of Kilday and in front of McIntyre’s feet, but since it was a close play, Brassfield had to be cautious and could not make an attempt for the plate. Three on, nobody out, and the no-ribs part of the lineup approaching – swell! Espinoza grounded a 2-1 pitch to Llampallas, and the shortstop fired home to kill off Brass, keeping the game tied. Lonzo batted for Zamora – and that was the correct move! Lonzo hit a ball into the right-center gap for a 2-run double, and the Coons took the lead! Chavez added a sac fly when hitting for Tanizaki, and Callaia drew a 2-out walk off right-hander Tim Jacoby, but Bribiesca then grounded out, sending the game to Walters – except, no, the Coons, who never used him, now had already used him two days in a row, and that looked fishy to us. Lane got the ball against the bottom of the order. Llampallas hit a 2-out single in the #9 hole, but Lane struck out three to put the game away. 7-4 Critters. Bribiesca 2-5; Puckeridge 2-3, 2 RBI; Brobeck (PH) 1-1; Lavorano (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI;

In other news

April 25 – NYC SP Ben Seiter (3-1, 1.98 ERA) strikes out 11 Aces in a 4-hit shutout to claim an 8-0 Crusaders win.
April 25 – The Condors fall to the Indians, 3-2 in 15 innings. TIJ 1B Harry Ramsay (.377, 1 HR, 10 RBI) pokes five singles, including one for the go-ahead run to score in the top 15th, but the Indians come back for two runs in the bottom 15th to render the effort moot.
April 26 – The Scorpions trade SS/2B Matt Knight (.351, 1 HR, 4 RBI) to the Rebels for RF/LF Andres Velasco (.219, 0 HR, 4 RBI) and a prospect.
April 27 – The Condors trade right-hander Bill Quinn (1-1, 2.73 ERA, 1 SV) to the Thunder for three prospects, including #172 RF/CF Tom Straub.
April 28 – CHA 3B Bobby Anderson (.262, 2 HR, 14 RBI) homers for the only run in the Falcons’ 1-0 win over San Francisco.
April 29 – The Pacifics would be without CL Jason Posey (2-1, 1.10 ERA, 7 SV) for a month, as the 31-year-old was laboring on shoulder soreness.
April 29 – TOP INF/RF/LF Eric Miller (.260, 1 HR, 8 RBI) is expected to miss four months after fracturing his ankle.

FL Player of the Week: NAS OF/1B Tony Roman (.321, 4 HR, 11 RBI), hitting .429 (9-21) with 4 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB LF Grant Anker (.333, 6 HR, 15 RBI), batting .500 (12-24) with 3 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The fun part of the Anker award is that by the time the league announced the honors on Sunday night, Anker had already been reassigned to AAA Baton Rouge.

The Portland So-Sos remain … so-so, and it will be interesting to see what will happen first – will the offense die or will the pitching finally get its crap together? In any case, I feel like we need a right-handed outfield stick and Caballero is out for another month at least. And if possible, don’t let it be Prospero Tenazes, who at age 30 was still hanging out in St. Pete, because apparently he had no other home.

Also not offering any production for the Alley Cats: the catchers; so Ruben Zamora wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. SP Ryan Wade however was now 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA and 31 K against nine walks. (looks at Oyola) Just sayin’.

Four with the Titans next week, then three games with the Warriors on a brief road trip. We will then have a 2-week homestand starting on the Tuesday after.

Fun Fact: Raffy de la Cruz is a Chesapeake Wanderer now.

That’s the Falcons’ AAA team. We traded him to the Wolves after he refused a minor league assignment, but he did the same to them and ended up being released. The Falcons signed him to a minor league deal with a $250k bonus later in the offseason, and even briefly promoted him to the majors again. In three games he walked five and struck out two across 4.2 innings, then was handed back to the AAA Wanderers.

My heart bleeds.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (11-13) vs. Titans (13-11) – April 30-May 3, 2057

The Titans had dropped from 13-5 to here. They were allowing the fewest runs in the CL, but also scored the third-fewest. That still worked out to a +20 run differential… and a 6-game losing streak. Even with the best pitching in the league, there was a clear chasm between the #1 rotation and the bullpen that was getting blasted to the tune of a 6.15 ERA – worst in the league. The Raccoons had gone 5-13 against Boston last season.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (1-4, 3.19 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (1-2, 4.03 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (1-3, 3.98 ERA) vs. Kenneth Spencer (2-2, 5.03 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (3-0, 3.41 ERA) vs. Medardo Regueir (2-2, 1.59 ERA)
Roberto Oyola (1-3, 6.75 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (2-2, 2.76 ERA)

Right, left, left, right – at least until tremendous rains washed out the Monday opener and moved the game to a May 1 double-header. At least the Raccoons were less concerned about a rainout and double-header without an off day to buffer after the series. With Kyle Brobeck and Ivan Ornelas there were two starter options on the roster to reset everybody to regular rest.

Since the Titans split handedness for their starters between the two Tuesday games, the Raccoons spread out their lineups as far as possible – everybody would get a start on Tuesday.

Game 1
BOS: RF I. Santiago – 3B B. Andrews – C Burkart – SS Sowell – LF Y. Valdez – CF Ma. Gilmore – 2B J. Watson – 1B M. Navarro – P Musgrave
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Chavez – CF Solorzano – P Adkins

Adkins saw the minimum the first time through, striking out four while giving up a single to Brent Andrews, who was then doubled up when Bruce Burkart grounded to short for a 6-4-3; the Raccoons also took a lead for him in the second inning, where Kyle Brobeck stretched a leadoff double beyond the reach of Israel Santiago, then came around on Allred’s grounder and Marcos Chavez’ sac fly. Brobeck came to the plate in the bottom 3rd with two outs after Abercrombie singled and Pucks drew a walk, but his fly to left was tracked down by Yoslan Valdez. Brobeck came up with two out and two on again in the bottom 5th – after Abercrombie had singled home Callaia for a 2-0 lead – and then grounded out to Jonathan Watson.

On the other side of the box score, Santiago opened the fourth with a single to right that then hit Pucks in the wrist on the bounce and got away for an extra base and an error charged on the Critter. Adkins took care of the problem himself, though, and struck out the next three batters that came up – what was this? Was Adkins finding back to form after all? Prior to this game, he had struck out only 13 batters in 31 innings, and now 7 K in four innings! He got only one K in the next two innings, and that was on Musgrave, but hit a sixth-inning, 2-out single after Solorzano drew a walk, allowing Gaudencio Callaia to come up and flick an RBI single to center. Lonzo flew out to center, keeping the score at 3-0. No more strikeouts after that for Adkins either, but he kept it together and scattered five hits through eight innings of shutout ball, and I would merrily take that! Matt Walters completed the shutout with three strikeouts of his own … buuuuut not without walking Santiago and Burkart in the ninth inning to bring the tying run to the plate… 3-0 Critters. Abercrombie 3-4, 2B, RBI; Adkins 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K, W (2-4) and 1-3;

Walters was the only reliever used by either side in the game; Musgrave pitched a complete-game 8-hitter in a losing effort.

Game 2
BOS: 2B J. Watson – LF Ma. Gilmore – SS Sowell – RF Y. Valdez – 3B B. Andrews – CF A. Cruz – C Arviso – 1B M. Navarro – P K. Spencer
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 2B Bribiesca – 1B Puckeridge – C Zamora – 3B Espinoza – P Taki

The Titans then immediately put the hurt on Taki, who walked Matt Gilmore, then gave up a single to Ken Sowell and a 2-run double into the corner to Valdez. Portland answered with one run on two singles by Lonzo and Abercrombie in the bottom 1st. The first three Critters in the bottom 2nd all reached; Pucks walked for the third time on the day, and then scored the tying run on singles by the struggling Ruben Zamora and Daniel Espinoza, the latter getting his first RBI of the season. Taki bunted badly then, getting Zamora thrown out at third base by Spencer, but Royer singled home Espinoza for a 3-2 lead with a ball into left-center. The throw to the plate allowed the trailing runners to reach scoring position. Lonzo missed the RBI chance with a pop to Watson, but Trent Brassfield stuck a 2-out, 2-run single into right-center. Abercrombie appeared to be grounding out, but that ball was thrown away. Bribiesca ended the inning with a fly to center instead.

And now, Taki again – it wouldn’t be the first time that five runs wouldn’t be enough for him, but he would get through five innings on 66 pitches, conceding just two more base runners, and one of them on an error by Lonzo, and no runs. Andrews was put on base in the sixth on catcher’s interference, but also stranded. The score remained 5-2 into the bottom 7th when Pucks drew yet another walk off lefty Donovan Little, and then Zamora crunched a 2-run homer to create some more distance.

Taki faced three more batters in the eighth inning. Watson singled, and Lonzo fumbled Gilmore’s potential double play ball for his second error of the evening. Sowell struck out, but then the Coons went to Sencion. Valdez grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Andrews struck out, and the Titans didn’t score. Sencion and Mancilla combined for the last three outs in the ninth inning. 7-2 Raccoons! Royer 1-2, 3 BB, RBI; Brassfield 2-5, 2 RBI; Zamora 3-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Espinoza 2-4, RBI; Taki 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (2-3);

Zamora’s start to the season however had been so rotten that even a 3-3 day now only got him up to an even .200 clip.

Game 3
BOS: CF I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – SS Sowell – RF Y. Valdez – C Burkart – 2B J. Watson – 3B W. de Leon – 1B M. Navarro – P Regueir
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Brobeck – 1B Callaia – C Chavez – P Sweeton

First time facing back-to-back left-handers on the year, the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on consecutive 2-out doubles by Brass and Abercrombie. That remained the score through the early innings, with Sweeton scattering three hits and a balk, but no runs through four frames for Portland. Regueir got outs from the first two batters in the bottom 4th, but then conceded soft singles to Bribiesca and Brobeck. The ball that Callaia then drove into the right-center gap was considerably less soft; it ran all the way to the fence, both runners scored, and Callaia reached third base with a stand-up triple. Chavez was walked intentionally, but Sweeton plopped a 1-2 pitch into play so softly that Willie de Leon from third base couldn’t reach it in time to make a play – it became an RBI infield single! Royer ended the inning with a fly to right. The Raccoons tacked on a run in the fifth when Regueir glitched out and walked three, including Brobeck with the bases loaded, before Callaia chopped a ball into an inning-ending double play.

Retiring the 6-7-8 in order in the fifth got Sweeton’s ERA under three. It remained under there when the Titans scored in the seventh inning because they did so in unearned fashion. Whilst Valdez and Burkart reached base with singles, it was Lonzo to throw away de Leon’s grounder with two outs, allowing Valdez to score. Mario Navarro then popped out to strand a pair in the 5-1 game. That was the only run Boston got off Sweeton, who lasted eight inning on just over 100 pitches. He was hit for in the bottom 8th after right-hander Xavier Caston walked Marcos Chavez. He also walked Solorzano in the pitcher’s spot, then Pucks batting for Royer, filling the bases with one out and giving Lonzo a chance to put the game to bed. He grounded a 1-0 pitch to the left side. Sowell dove and contained it, popped up and then had it flub out of his hand before he could throw it. He was charged an error for that, while a run scored. Brassfield put an RBI single into center, while Abercrombie hit a fly to center that Santiago caught. Pucks went for home, Santiago threw the ball away, and the trailing runners also advanced on that error. The inning then fizzled out, and Ivan Ornelas finished the game with the worst scoreless inning ever witnessed, nailing leadoff man Sowell, throwing a wild pitch, offering a walk to Burkart, and giving up two rockets that were caught with a paw’s reach from the fence… but somehow the Titans stranded them on the corners. 8-1 Critters! Brassfield 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Sweeton 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (4-0) and 1-3, RBI;

Oyola would get the ball on Thursday, which was getaway day from both teams. One player was not at the ballpark at all; Kennedy Adkins had caught a stomach bug overnight and was trapped in his bathroom as it came out alternatingly through one hole or another. He was questionable to make his next scheduled start on Sunday now – but the Raccoons could just as well use Taki in Sioux Falls.

I know, Ken, I know. It’s always the 15th donut that’s somehow rotten, huh?

Game 4
BOS: CF I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 3B B. Andrews – 2B J. Watson – 1B M. Navarro – P Glaude
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Chavez – P Oyola

Oyola was as good a chance as ever for the Titans to stave off the sweep, but they didn’t get a base hit off him in the first three innings, only Burkart drawing a walk in the second, and when they did get Gilmore on base with a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, the struggling Eric Whitlow doubled him off right away with a grounder to Allred. The Raccoons didn’t score either in the first two innings, getting two shy singles, and nobody into scoring position. That changed in the bottom 4th when Abercrombie hit a ball into the rightfield corner to begin the inning, but he mis-stepped around first base, twisted his knee, and more hobbled than ran to second base after that, giving everybody a good ******* scare. Luis Silva checked him out and he was removed from the game for Solorzano, but we soon got the news that there didn’t seem to be any great damage. A grounder by Brass and Pucks’ sac fly to Gilmore got Solorzano around to score for a 1-0 lead, so the pain hadn’t been all for nothing.

Brassfield singled home Lonzo and his 1-out double to double the lead in the second inning, while Oyola was somehow still holding a 1-hit shutout against Boston. In the seventh, Sowell and Burkart made meek outs on the first pitch, and Andrews floated to shallow right and Pucks for the third out. When the Titans then got to him, they got to him quick. Watson opened the eighth with a single, Navarro whacked a screaming double to right and Watson scored, and Oyola was yoinked as soon as Yoslan Valdez popped his head out of the dugout to pinch-hit for Glaude with the tying run in scoring position. Sencion came in, struck out him and Gilmore, and barely survived an in-between drive by Santiago to the warning track in left that Brassfield snatched. The Raccoons would not answer with an insurance run in the bottom 8th. Lonzo hit a 2-out single off Bryan McDuffie and stole his first base in 11 days, but was left on by Solorzano. Whitlow then struck a leadoff double to left against Walters in the ninth and I waved the sweep goodbye. But, how inconsiderate of Walters’ abilities of me! He struck out Sowell, popped out Burkart, and then carved Andrews for bacon with high heat for another strikeout, that one completing the four-game sweep! 2-1 Critters! Lavorano 3-4, 2B; Oyola 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (2-3);

Raccoons (15-13) @ Warriors (15-12) – May 4-6, 2057

The Warriors were sixth in runs scored and runs allowed in the FL, but after the Titans had presented the worst pen in the CL, the Warriors had the best relief corps in the FL. Their starting pitchers were more middling, although we’d see their ace Ricardo Montoya to begin the series. Their offense produced the most stolen bases in the league. These teams last met three years ago, when the Raccoons won two of three games in the regular season, and four of the five in the World Series. The Coons had won the last five sets in a row, not including the World Series.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (1-1, 4.28 ERA) vs. Ricardo Montoya (2-3, 2.72 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (1-1, 19.29 ERA) vs. Jay Gunderson (1-1, 5.47 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (2-3, 3.69 ERA) vs. Bubba Wolinsky (2-2, 4.60 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday with Bubba! He was not the only former Raccoon in that rotation; they also had Victor Salcido (3-3, 4.33 ERA) and Phil Baker (1-1, 3.93 ERA), but those had started their last two games with the Wolves and were not available.

Kennedy Adkins did not travel to Sioux Falls (and Monday afterwards would be off). Josh Abercrombie was principally available, but would sit on Friday to nurse the bum knee, so we’d have to try and win one with a 23-man roster.

Game 1
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Callaia – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – 3B Bribiesca – C Zamora – P Kniep
SFW: 2B DeFusco – SS Moriel – 1B M. Medina – LF Marroquin – 3B Dilly – CF E. Maldonado – C Sanches – RF N. Fox – P R. Montoya

Pucks had drawn quite a few walks against the Titans, but when Callaia and Brass drew 2-out walks ahead of him in the first inning, he knew that something else was needed and brushed a 3-run homer over the edge of the fence in right-center for a rather quick 3-0 lead, all of which would be fudged away by Kniep in the bottom 1st. You never knew what you’d get from Kniep on any given day, and this Friday the Coons got horse **** from him. He walked three and gave up two singles in a pathetic first inning, giving up three runs before Nick Fox finally struck out on the 33rd pitch of the inning. The Warriors then took a 4-3 lead two innings later on a long homer by Jose Marroquin, and Mike DeFusco’s triple and a Julio Moriel single with two outs in the fourth added another run for the Warriors.

That was all for Kniep, also thanks to an hour-long rain delay, as if his pitching hadn’t been awful enough. Ornelas got the ball in the bottom 5th, then with the deficit down to one run after a Royer triple and Lonzo sac fly, both to centerfield, in the top 5th. Ornelas walked Medina, Marroquin singled, and runs scored on Steve Dilly’s groundout and Elmer Maldonado’s double to right. Herrera and Tanizaki threw scoreless innings in their first appearances of the week, while the Raccoons killed one inning when Callaia hit into a double play, and another when they had two on, but couldn’t bat for either Allred or Zamora and choked between the 6-7-8 batters in the top 8th. Finally, Josh Wall singled and Mike Allen homered off Mike Lane in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away for good. 9-4 Warriors. Puckeridge 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Bribiesca 1-2, 2 BB; Espinoza (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – P Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Chavez – 3B Espinoza
SFW: LF Marroquin – SS Moriel – 1B M. Medina – 3B Dilly – 2B DeFusco – CF E. Maldonado – C F. Rivera – RF M. Allen – P Gunderson

Lonzo walked (!) and stole second base, then scored on a Brassfield single in the first inning for a quick lead, but a 1-0 lead with Brobeck felt like a 3-run deficit. To be fair, Brobeck had only thrown 4.2 innings out of the pen so far, so yes, his stats were all outta whack, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cut that ERA in half with a semi-decent outing. All that waffling, and then he went out, threw 27 meatballs in the first inning, and gave up two runs on shy singles to Moriel and Dilly, a Mike DeFusco double with two outs, and finally a wild pitch to Elmer Maldonado, and that was with Abercrombie racing back to track down the actual loud knocks by Marroquin and Medina… Perversely, his ERA went down by nearly a quarter of a run… It did the same in the second inning, but the Warriors wrecked him for another two runs on three mostly loud hits. The Coons *tried* to keep up; Callaia, Abercrombie, and Brassfield socked three hits, two singles surrounding a double, and the latter two got RBI’s to narrow the score to 4-3 in the third inning. Brobeck gave up another two hits in the bottom 3rd, and was disposed of thereafter, having thrown nearly 70 pitches, not one of them decent.

The funny bit was that he got a no-decision once Ornelas held the Warriors away in the fourth and the Coons loaded the bags against Gunderson in the fifth. Espinoza, Lonzo, and Abercrombie all reached, and with one out, Brassfield’s sac fly to Maldonado tied the score at four. Pucks flew out to right to end the inning, while Ornelas then doubled to lead off the sixth… and was stranded on three consecutive measly outs from the bottom of the order. A ground-rule double mashed by Maldonado and a pinch-hit 2-out knock by Alvin Huerta gave the Warriors a 5-4 lead to put Ornelas on the hook instead in the bottom 6th. Another futile attempt was made in the eighth inning. Right-hander Levi Harre saw Pucks reach on an error, then walked Royer in the #6 spot, but Allred killed the inning grounding into a double play. Top 9th, Zack Stahl struck out Chavez to begin the inning. Solorzano batted for Espinoza and flicked a single into center, however, then advanced on a wild pitch to put the tying run into scoring position. Callaia hit the very next pitch through the right side for a single, and Solorzano had been going early and scored easily when Mike Allen’s throw remained with the cut-off man. Tied game! …but strikeouts to Lonzo and Abercrombie ended the inning, and the Raccoons sent Ricky Herrera back out after a scoreless eighth inning, and it didn’t end well at all. Mike Allen singled. Esteban Sanches walked. Marroquin grounded out, moving the winning run to third base with one out, and Josh Wall’s clean single to left ended the game. 6-5 Warriors. Callaia 2-5, RBI; Abercrombie 2-5, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-2, BB, 3 RBI; Solorzano (PH) 1-1;

(sigh!)

Game 3
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 1B Callaia – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza – P Taki
SFW: LF Marroquin – SS Moriel – 1B M. Medina – 3B Dilly – 2B DeFusco – CF E. Maldonado – C F. Rivera – RF Huerta – P Wolinsky

Pucks doubled home Brass and once again the the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Taki even held up for the first two innings, not allowing a base runner, and the Coons then managed to tack on when Bubba brushed Lonzo with a pitch, then threw away a pickoff attempt for an error that sent Lonzo to second just in time for a Brassfield single to right-center, on which he scored to extend the lead to 2-0. Chavez hit another single in the inning, but Callaia found a 4-6-3 double play inning-ender.

Taki threw just 27 pitches in three innings, then brittled into bits and blew the lead in the fourth inning. Dilly’s 1-out double, a DeFusco triple in the right-center gap, and Maldonado’s groundout were enough to tie the game at two. With his evil work done, Taki settled in again and had two clean innings afterwards. Lonzo socked a double to left in the fifth, but was stranded, then fouled out himself to strand Royer’s 2-out double in the seventh inning. Fine, thought Taki, if you’re not winning it, I’m at least not hanging around. After Felix Rivera drew a leadoff walk in a 3-2 count in the bottom 7th, he threw away Huerta’s grounder for a 2-base error, putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Andy Hudson’s grounder and Jose Marroquin’s sac fly to right both plated a runner and the Warriors went up 4-2.

The Raccoons managed to get a leadoff double from Brassfield, and then did that one very annoying trick again and made three outs against three relievers, who didn’t even match ******* handedness with the batters, to choke that runner all to ******* death at second base. Our problem? We were trying to do it without Josh Abercrombie. That would change in the ninth, where Zack Stahl first put Ryan Allred on base to begin the inning when Allred batted for Bribiesca, retired Espinoza, but then faced Abercrombie batting for Eloy Sencion in the #9 spot and got blasted some 425 feet to dead center to tie the game…!

Just like on Saturday, however, a lead was not in the cards, and so Matt Walters remained in the pen and instead Mancilla got the ball for the bottom 9th. Sanches, Huerta, and Allen all grounded out, giving us extra innings for the first and only time this week. Levi Harre had gotten the final out in the ninth, but offered a leadoff walk to Brassfield in the top 10th. Chavez walked with one out, and Callaia hit a scratch single that DeFusco came quite close to as it flew over the bag into centerfield, so Brass had to dive back into second base initially, and then could only make it to third. Allred batted with three on and one out, struck out, and Espinoza flew out to Huerta to waste all the runners. Marroquin grounded out on a 3-0 pitch by Mancilla to begin the bottom 10th, after which Harre – Sioux Falls was out of bench bits – singled to left. I sighed loudly, but Miguel Medina then found a double play to hit into and the game went on.

It got worse for the Warriors then when Abercrombie led off the 11th inning with a deep drive to left. Marroquin made a running catch, leaping into the wall to save an extra-base knock – which he did! …but then he also crumbled onto the warning track and finally rolled on his back. He had to leave the game with an apparent injury (a strained rib cage muscle as it turned out later that night), and now the Warriors had to put Friday’s starter Ricardo Montoya in leftfield to make up the numbers. When play resumed, Ruben Zamora batted for Mancilla in the #1 hole and drew a walk off Harre, and Lonzo singled to center. The Choke remained on, though, with a K to Brass and Pucks’ fly to right being easily taken by Huerta.

There was not much left in that pen of Portland now. Walters could go two innings from here, but all leftover relievers (Tanizaki, Ornelas, Herrera) had thrown in both of the last two games, and only Tanizaki looked like he had an inning left in him. We’d be dry by the 14th at the latest, Adkins was not in town, and so Sean Sweeton, Wednesday’s starter – this week and next, we hoped – went down to the pen between innings. Not that the Warriors were in a better situation – they clung to Harre in the 12th, because they only had Brian Shan left in the pen and after that it was probably Victor Salcido or a forfeit. Shan was in the game after a leadoff walk to Chavez in the top 12th, and the Raccoons never made it past first base in the inning. The starting pitchers never got in the game. Nick Fox drew a leadoff walk from Walters in the bottom 12th, then advanced on a bunt by Montoya. Shan *also* bunted, but Walters fumbled that one for an error, putting runners on the corners with one out. Medina then ended the misery with a single over the head of Allred. 5-4 Warriors. Lavorano 2-5, 2B; Brassfield 2-4, 2 BB, RBI; Abercrombie (PH) 1-2, HR, 2 RBI; Mancilla 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

In other news

April 30 – Gold Sox OF Jake Frederick tearfully announces his retirement after struggling to recover from post-concussion syndrome. The 26-year-old batted .318 with 17 HR and 167 RBI after making his debut in 2052, when he got a ring for appearing in 24 games when the Gold Sox ended up winning the championship.
May 1 – LAP SP Chad Shultz (3-0, 1.88 ERA) throws a 2-hit shutout against the Scorpions. He strikes out seven in the 1-0 squeaker.
May 1 – Incumbent CL Player of the Year ATL 2B/SS Willie Acosta (.256, 0 HR, 12 RBI) has his slow start to the season get even slower – he would miss two weeks with a case of shoulder tendinitis.
May 1 – The Loggers beat the Crusaders, 13-3. The margin of victory just fits into the 10-run fourth inning the Loggers unleash on the New Yorkers.
May 2 – Six weeks on the DL is the prescribed cure for SFB RF/CF Aaron Walker’s (.321, 2 HR, 10 RBI) case of shoulder soreness.
May 4 – ATL LF/RF Tony Rodriquez (.322, 1 HR, 17 RBI) will be out for six weeks with a groin strain.
May 4 – MIL RF/LF Perry Pigman (.400, 6 HR, 28 RBI) is so raging hot and the Loggers so notoriously unlucky that nobody is particularly surprised that he has to hit the DL with a strained hamstring and will miss six weeks.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B Steve Wyatt (.309, 5 HR, 16 RBI), mashing .455 (10-22) with 3 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA SP Josh Clem (3-1, 1.99 ERA), going 2-0 with 17 scoreless innings, 10 K

FL Hitter of the Month: TOP INF Alex de los Santos (.378, 2 HR, 16 RBI)
CL Hitter of the Month: MIL RF/LF Perry Pigman (.387, 6 HR, 26 RBI)
FL Pitcher of the Month: SAC SP C.J. Harney (5-0, 1.79 ERA)
CL Pitcher of the Month: VAN SP Bruce Mark jr. (4-0, 1.80 ERA)
FL Rookie of the Month: SFW 1B/C Felix Rivera (.309, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
CL Rookie of the Month: VAN INF/RF/LF Jacob Goldstein (.545, 0 HR, 8 RBI)

Complaints and stuff

The highest highs and the lowest lows were lived through this week with a sweep of the Titans (20-4 in runs scored!), and then a complete choke job on the weekend, going 0-for-3 in Sioux Falls. That we were outscored only 20-13 was little consolation then.

No idea what’s wrong with Brobeck pitching, but as long as he’s hitting .310/.372/.488 he maintains some sort of job on this roster… really, **** pitching, and **** defense, if he can hit for a 138 OPS+ and get replaced with Espinoza in the last inning or two on a regular basis, I’ll buy into that.

Two weeks at home coming up. After an off day on Monday, we’ll play 13 straight with the Cyclones, Elks, Loggers, and Aces.

Kennedy Adkins should have stopped barfing by now; at least we didn’t hear any live updates past Saturday, so he’s either good now or dead… Let’s just say his spot in the rotation for the Cincy opener is written with pencil.

Fun Fact: It was not a great month for Lonzo Lavorano…

Only eight stolen bases and six errors in the field. The eight bags in five weeks were enough to overtake both Martin Ortiz and Alex Adame (who stole two, including one off the Critters), and to move from 16th to 14th on the career steals leaderboard. The pair of Scorpions around Lonzo was also not inactive: Omar Gonzalez also took two bags by force and remained 12th, while Chris Navarro scooped five and moved into a tie with Cookie Carmona for 19th place.

9th – Hugo Acosta – 476
t-10th – Jesus Banuelas – 474
t-10th – Jon Ramos – 474
12th – Omar Gonzalez – 461 – active
13th – Diego Rodriguez – 460 – HOF
14th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 458 – active
15th – Martin Ortíz – 457 – HOF
16th – Alex Adame – 454 – active
17th – Alex Torres – 445
18th – Chance Bossert – 437
t-19th – Ricardo “Cookie” Carmona – 428
t-19th – Chris Navarro – 428 – active

New on the horizon was Hugo Acosta, who played until very recently and looked like a shoe-in Hall of Famer once he’d appear on the ballot. He hit .333 with 30 HR, 1,141 RBI, and 3,055 base hits in his career. In over 10,000 plate appearances, he struck out just 371 times. Four batting titles with the Stars in his 20s, and two stolen base titles in his age 22 and 23 seasons. He set the single-season record for 76 stolen bases in the latter season (2038), which Lonzo came close to two years ago with 73 bags, but couldn’t quite reach.

So with the slump of form Lonzo wasn’t going to make the top 10 by the end of May either – he turned 30 this week – but he could still get as high as 7th this year. That wouldn’t even mean 500 SB for his career yet.

Only one active player was in the top 10th, Alex Vasquez with 570 stolen bases, but he had taken just two bases in April before hitting the DL with a shoulder ailment and wasn’t expected back before June. He currently tied Rich de Luna for fifth.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (15-16) vs. Cyclones (13-19) – May 8-10, 2057

The Raccoons had faced the Cyclones in both of the last two seasons, beating them two games to one each time. Cincy was struggling in every regard, scoring the second-fewest runs in the Federal League, but giving up the most, for a very unhealthy -59 run differential (Critters: +13). There was a lot of bottoms about this team: bottoms in OBP and homers, second from the bottom in starter and bullpen ERA (both over three), and they weren’t in the top half of FL teams in any meaningful category. On top of all that, they had a bunch of injured regulars, including Juan del Toro, Juan Ojeda, and Greg Gill, and Gabriel Keller, plus young rookie Andy Bradley. The pitching staff was all healthy, however.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (2-4, 2.54 ERA) vs. Cory Ellis (1-4, 9.23 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (4-0, 2.72 ERA) vs. Noah Hollis (3-2, 4.46 ERA)
Craig Kniep (1-2, 5.17 ERA) vs. Jordan Ramos (4-1, 2.93 ERA)

All right-handers lined up for Cincy, also only one left-hander in the pen in Brandon Smith (0-0, 4.96 ERA).

Game 1
CIN: SS M. Tovar – CF Volker – 1B G. Brown – RF MacDonnell – C Wheat – 3B Medlock – LF G. Perez – 2B D. Gonzales – P C. Ellis
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Allred – P Adkins

The 4-5-6 batters were the only ones with more than 4 RBI on the year (all 13+) for Cincy, indicative on how ravaged that already mediocre lineup was by injuries. Adkins put the first two batters on base, but Gabriel Brown found a double play and John MacDonnell struck out in the first inning, while the Raccoons got Callaia on to start their half of the first inning, and then Trent Brassfield showed Ellis the way to the upper deck in leftfield with a 2-out, 2-run homer. Brobeck drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 2nd, then scored on singles by Chavez and Allred. The inning unraveled, however, with a bad bunt by Adkins that erased the lead runner at third base, and the Coons stranded a pair from there. On the hill, Adkins was shockingly wobbly. He got another double play after a leadoff single hit by Tom Wheat in the second, then gave up a double to Ellis and a single to Mike Tovar in the third inning. They were on the corners, but erased themselves on a strike-em-out-throw-em-out with a K in a full count on Tony Volker.

Ellis kept bleeding runs, though. Brass and Pucks got on base with one out in the bottom 3rd, and Brobeck then cracked a 3-run homer to right to double the score to 6-0. Gabe Brown’s leadoff double, a grounder, and Tom Wheat’s sac fly gave Cincy a run in the fourth as Adkins continued to look highly flammable. Ellis was gone after three innings, but the Raccoons still scored a 2-out run off Keith Thompson when Brass singled home Lonzo. In the fifth – the first inning in which Adkins didn’t put the leadoff man on base – the Raccoons added another run, and it was Adkins with a sac fly, bringing home Brobeck. The Cyclones didn’t put up a zero until the sixth, ironically despite leadoff singles for Lonzo and Abercrombie off Justin Ball. The next three batters made meek outs then.

Adkins pitched into the seventh, but then put the first two batters on base again. Stephen Medlock singled, Gerardo Perez walked, and they advanced on David Gonzales’ groundout. Ricky Herrera came on for left-handed pinch-hitter Eric Cirelli, and while I still wondered who all these weird people were, walked him on four pitches. He struck out Tovar, then was lifted for Mike Lane against Volker with three stacked and two down. Three pitches for three strikes killed the threat, and Mancilla and Tanizaki pitched scoreless innings thereafter. 8-1 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-5; Abercrombie 2-4; Brassfield 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Brobeck 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Chavez 2-4; Royer (PH) 1-1; Bribiesca (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
CIN: CF Volker – LF Colwill – 1B G. Brown – RF MacDonnell – C Wheat – 3B Medlock – SS Cirelli – 2B D. Gonzales – P Hollis
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Allred – P Sweeton

Another shaky beginning on Wednesday, as Sweeton walked Volker, drilled Rick Colwill, and gave up an RBI single to MacDonnell before Tom Wheat crashed into a double play to end the inning. Sweeton didn’t allow another base hit for a while thereafter, but the Raccoons were also having some tough chewing with Hollis, and Lonzo in particular was reduced to rubble on liners to first baseman Gabe Brown. He was doubled off first in the opening frame when Abercrombie lined out to Brown, and then lined out to Brown himself with two out and a pair on base in the bottom 3rd, which left the Raccoons shut out at that point. Abercrombie also lined out to Brown to begin the fourth inning, and the Raccoons thereafter went down rather quietly for the rest of the middle innings.

Sweeton didn’t allow another base hit until the seventh inning, when Cirelli flicked a 2-out single to center. He advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on Gonzales’ wallbanger double that extended the score to 2-0. The Raccoons finally stirred again in the bottom 7th. Brassfield drew a 1-out walk, then was forced out by Pucks. Brobeck’s single to right-center sent Pucks to third base with two outs, and Chavez flicked a 2-2 pitch over the second base bag for an RBI single, narrowing the score to 2-1. Allred struck out, though, ending the inning. Sweeton offered a leadoff walk to Volker in the eighth and was removed then. Sencion and Ornelas inched out of the inning, eventually stranding Colwill and MacDonnell on the corners, the latter having drawn a 2-out walk from Sencion. Ornelas got a fly to right from Wheat that Pucks snared to strand the runners. Bribiesca entered in a double switch with Ornelas, singled to begin the bottom 8th, but was stranded on first base hard. Hollis went eight, then was replaced with right-hander John Scott and his 5.40 ERA for the bottom 9th, with Brass leading off. Full counts saw Brass ground out to short, but Pucks drew a walk, bringing up Brobeck as the winning run. Brobeck indeed ended the game – with another hard shot at Gabe Brown. 3-6-3 went the double play. 2-1 Cyclones. Bribiesca 1-1; Sweeton 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, L (4-1);

Pitching change for the rubber game: the Cyclones decided to go with a different righty, Cameron Parks (0-6, 5.08 ERA).

Game 3
CIN: SS M. Tovar – LF Colwill – 1B G. Brown – RF MacDonnell – 3B Medlock – CF Volker – C Lefebvre – 2B D. Gonzales – P Parks
POR: RF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – 2B Allred – CF Solorzano – C Zamora – P Kniep

After Craig Kniep had his head beaten in on a pair of 2-run homers smashed by David Gonzales and Gabe Brown in the third inning, the Raccoons loaded the bases on absolutely nothing in the home half of the inning to get the tying run to the plate. Solorzano and Kniep both reached on errors, while Steve Royer drew a walk. That brought up Lonzo with one out, but his groundout scored only one run, and Abercrombie’s pop to Gonzales scored nobody whatsoever. Kniep threw just one more equally awful inning, conceding a single to Medlock and a homer to Lefebvre, and the Raccoons prepared to send Brobeck out to the mound for the fifth inning and beyond in the 6-1 game. He gave up an unearned run in the fifth inning, with a leadoff walk offered to the ******* opposing pitcher, who then scored when Allred threw away Colwill’s grounder for two bases.

Brobeck offered another leadoff walk in the sixth, while Parks made not one, but two errors in the inning, first putting Lonzo on base with one out, and then threw away a pickoff throw to move Lonzo to second. Abercrombie’s grounder moved Lonzo to third, and Brassfield’s grounder to short stranded him. Instead Brobeck gave up a 2-spot in the top of the seventh, walking three batters and being generally ****. Parks remained in the game until a shoulder complaint took him out in the eighth inning after Lonzo had just tripled home Royer. After Abercrombie popped out and Brassfield walked, Lonzo scored on Pucks’ pinch-hit groundout, but that was as much rally as the Raccoons would get in the inning against right-hander Josh Carlisle. 9-3 Cyclones.

(blows)

Raccoons (16-18) vs. Canadiens (21-12) – May 11-13, 2057

Elks! (gnashes teeth as he presses out the word) Elks!! … They ranked first in runs scored, which didn’t bode well with our pitching, and ninth in runs allowed in the CL. Their run differential was +29, which wasn’t *that* much better than ours, but they were still 5 1/2 games ahead in the middle of May. We had won two of three games from them earlier in Elk City.

Projected matchups:
Roberto Oyola (2-3, 5.46 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (2-3, 5.35 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (2-3, 3.52 ERA) vs. Jesse Lausch (1-1, 4.91 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (3-4, 2.38 ERA) vs. Bruce Mark jr. (5-1, 3.15 ERA)

Another set of all-righties. Infielder Rick Price was day-to-day with a sore shoulder, but was expected to play through the pain.

Game 1
VAN: 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – RF Magnussen – C Waker – CF D. Moreno – 1B Yamamoto – SS R. Price – 3B Lundberg – P Kozloski
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza – P Oyola

The Coons scratched out a first-inning run with Lonzo reaching on an error by the bum-shouldered Price. He stole second, his 10th bag of the year, and scored on Brass’ 2-out single, the same on which Brass was also thrown out trying to reach second base. This was after a first inning in which Oyola appeared to have a 1-2-3 frame until Bribiesca dropped Adam Magnussen’s pop. Tristan Waker then doubled, Damian Moreno walked, and the inning appeared to spiral out of control until Shuta Yamamoto, the unloved Coon-turned-coonskinner flew out easily to Pucks to strand the full set of runners.

The Coons would not have another base hit until Oyola finally blew the lead in the fifth inning. He had allowed two hits through four innings, but gave up three more in the fifth; first, a homer to Tyler Lundberg to even the score, then a double to Kozloski (…) and an RBI single to Kyle Hawkins to give the Elks a 2-1 lead. Magnussen forced out the lead runner with a grounder, and Waker flew out to Abercrombie to end the inning. The Elks put up another 2-spot against Oyola in the sixth inning: Yamamoto homered (there we go…), Price doubled, and Lundberg hit an RBI single. Price was removed after the inning for Jorge Uranga, however, so perhaps the balking shoulder finally took its toll. The Coons got their second base hit when Royer batted for Oyola to begin the bottom 6th, singling to center. Callaia hit another single, and Lonzo hit a sharp grounder to Lundberg, who stepped on third base and then got Lonzo at first for a 5-3 double play which completely derailed the inning. Abercrombie flew out easily. Brassfield hit another leadoff single to center in the bottom 7th. Pucks’ grounder moved him to second, and he finally scored on Marcos Chavez’ single to right-center, narrowing the score to 4-2. Bribiesca and Espinoza made meek outs, though, and the inning ended. The Elks shrugged, Damian Moreno homered off Eloy Sencion, and they had that run right back in the eighth. Moreno and Hawkins then smashed a pair of 2-run homers against Alex Mancilla in the ninth inning. Ruben Zamora answered with a pinch-hit, meaningless home run off Dan Lawrence in the bottom 9th. 9-4 Canadiens. Callaia 2-4; Brassfield 2-4, RBI; Zamora (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Royer (PH) 1-1;

Roster move on Saturday: Carlos Solorzano (.238, 0 HR, 1 RBI) was sent to the Alley Cats for Todd Oley, who had pretty much the same skill set. Oley was not hitting much of anything in AAA, but with a terrible BABIP, and he was drawing a few walks. The Raccoons would give him regular playing time over the next two weeks, which might to some degree come out of Pucks’ at-bat allotment giving that he was also in a deep slump. Oley was the #186 prospect in the league, and the #8 prospect on our farm.

Game 2
VAN: 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – RF Magnussen – C Waker – CF D. Moreno – 1B Yamamoto – SS Goldstein – 3B Lundberg – P Lausch
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Oley – 2B Allred – P Taki

Taki had his meltdown in the second inning this week, giving up straight singles to Moreno, Yamamoto, and Jacob Goldstein to begin the inning, filling the bags, then walking in the tying run against Lundberg. Lausch gave himself a 2-1 lead with a sac fly before Stevens and Hawkins both struck out. The Raccoons had originally gone up in the first inning with a walk drawn by Callaia and Abercrombie’s RBI triple, but Brass and Brobeck had failed to bring in the second runner from third base.

Bottom 4th, Abercrombie hit a leadoff single his second time up. He advanced on a passed ball charged to Tristan Waker, then Brass’ groundout. Brobeck came through, singling to center to drive in the tying run. Taki survived a free pass to Yamamoto in the fifth inning, while the Raccoons got Allred to draw a leadoff walk in the bottom 5th. Taki dropped a bunt, Lundberg hustled in, and flung the ball off-target. The ball glanced the running Taki’s back and caromed away into foul ground, allowing the Raccoons to take two bases and put a pair in scoring position with nobody out. It wasn’t exciting, but the Raccoons would get a pair of RBI groundouts by their 1-2 batters for a 4-2 lead. Abercrombie also grounded out, ending the inning.

Taki pitched into the seventh, where he retired Goldstein and Lundberg before Sadafumi Taniguchi and Erik Stevens went to the corners as the tying runs on a pair of 2-out singles. The Raccoons sent Sencion, and the Elks answered with Kevin Weese and his righty stick in place of Hawkins. Sencion got to 1-2, then a floater out to left that Abercrombie caught without issue, ending the inning. Bottom 7th, Allred got on base to begin the inning, after which the Elks went from Lausch to lefty Gabriel Casanova, who got two outs, then gave up a single to Lonzo. Allred scored from second base on the ball to left-center, 5-2, and Casanova went on to nick Abercrombie. Brassfield flicked an RBI single over Stevens’ head, after which Edwin Sopena came out for Brobeck, getting a groundout to end the inning. Sencion got the Elks’ 3-4-5 batters in order in the eighth inning, and Tanizaki held up in the ninth. 6-2 Raccoons! Abercrombie 2-3, 3B, RBI; Taki 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (3-3);

Todd Oley went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his debut before being replaced with Royer in the double switch that brought on Sencion when the tying runs were on base.

Matt Walters had not pitched all week so far and was once again completely forgotten and left to reading comic books of Jørgen, Destroyer of the Universe to pass the days.

Game 3
VAN: 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – C Weese – CF D. Moreno – 1B Yamamoto – RF Magnussen – 3B Lundberg – SS Goldstein – P Mark jr.
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – CF Oley – 2B Allred – P Adkins

A proper pitching duel broke out in the rubber game, although neither of the two struck out a lot of batters early on. Adkins allowed two hits and struck out as many, but got mostly easy contact from the Elks, while the Raccoons saw Callaia smack a leadoff double in the bottom 1st, but he was then stranded on third base and the Raccoons did not get a base hit again until the fifth inning, when Mark made a mistake to Pucks and it was hit some 390 feet to right for a 1-0 Critters lead. Mark shrugged it off, retired Oley and Allred to end the inning, and then got around another Callaia double in the sixth inning, seeing out Lonzo’s grounder and hanging a K on Abercrombie. Kevin Weese hit a 1-out single off Adkins in the seventh inning, but he was not greatly fazed, struck out Moreno, and made it out of the inning without major panic. Adkins collected another three groundouts in the eighth, nursing the 1-0 lead through eight, and Matt Walters was now getting ready – Jørgen, Destroyer of the Universe had to wait when there were the damn Elks’ hopes and dreams to destroy instead!

The Coons were still batting though, and Todd Oley earned his first time on base with a leadoff walk drawn off Mark, which also knocked out the starter. Allred grounded out, moving the insurance run to second base against Kellen Lanning. Brassfield grounded out as well in Adkins’ spot, but Callaia shoved an RBI single through the right side to get Oley home. Callaia was caught stealing, and that brought in Walters. Struck out Taniguchi. Struck out Stevens. Got Hawkins to two strikes before getting too fine and running the count full… but Hawkins grounded out to Allred, and the Raccoons took a second series from the damn Elks! 2-0 Critters! Callaia 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Adkins 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W (4-4);

In other news

May 8 – NAS SP James Powell (2-3, 3.15 ERA) has been diagnosed with a frayed UCL and will miss at least 12 months for Tommy John surgery.
May 8 – The only run in the Bayhawks’ 1-0 win over the Gold Sox scores on a ninth-inning walkoff home run by outfielder Gunner Epperson (.381, 4 HR, 21 RBI).
May 9 – PIT SP Rafael Mendoza (2-1, 3.68 ERA) might miss the rest of the season with some seriously bad shoulder inflammation.
May 10 – The Titans trade SP Kenneth Spencer (2-4, 6.75 ERA) and cash to the Aces for scarcely-used outfielder Jonathan Harris (.294, 1 HR, 2 RBI).
May 10 – SFW 3B/LF/RF/1B Steve Dilly (.250, 2 HR, 19 RBI) misses the cycle by a double while driving in three runs in a 4-for-5 game and 9-8 loss to the Falcons.
May 12 – Bayhawks 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.354, 5 HR, 20 RBI) rakes the Aces for 15 bases in a 5-hit, 2-homer, 2-triple game, driving in three runs in San Fran’s 7-6 win.
May 13 – The Condors beat the Knights, 4-3 in 15 innings. The Knights score a run on two singles in the top of the last inning, but the Condors answer with two runs on three singles to walk it off.

FL Player of the Week: CIN Gabriel Brown (.200, 2 HR, 9 RBI), bashing .478 (11-23) with 2 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.358, 5 HR, 21 RBI), streaking .478 (11-23) with 2 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

3-3 week, but we beat the damn Elks two outta three again, which makes it *feel* like a winning week!

23 runs allowed this week, with most of that bunched into two 9-run routs. We scored 24 runs, so it wasn’t like we were robbed in a particular way.

Things will start to get rougher and louder from here. The Raccoons started to try and pick the roster apart on the weekend. Mancilla was shopped (to nobody showing an interest, quelle surprise) after his blow-up in the ninth on Friday, and he also refused an assignment to St. Petersburg.

Seven more home games coming up next week against the Loggers and Aces.

Fun Fact: After a rough start to the season, Kennedy Adkins is now second in ERA in the CL.

He allowed 11 earned runs in his first four starts in 24.1 innings for a 4.07 ERA. In his four starts since, across 29 innings, he has allowed only one earned run, making for an 0.31 ERA. I’ll take the aggregate 2.02 any day of the week!

Adkins of course won the 2055 CL Pitcher of the Year trophy with a 1.64 ERA before effectively missing an entire season after elbow surgery. His strikeouts are down, however. He struck out 7.3/9 in 2055, but so far sits at a rather pedestrian 4.9/9 this season. He also allowed only two homers in his POTY season, but reached that mark in April with ease.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (18-19) vs. Loggers (21-16) – May 14-17, 2057

We had not played the Loggers yet this year. This matchup had not seen a definitive winner in two years, as both in 2055 and 2056 the matchup had ended with nine wins for either side. The Loggers were well out of the gate, though, having a .286 team batting average and scoring the third-most runs. Unfortunately they were also giving up the third-most runs, so their pitching needed help. They actually had a worse run differential (+8) than the Raccoons (+14).

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (4-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. Julian Dunn (5-2, 4.64 ERA)
Craig Kniep (1-3, 6.11 ERA) vs. Roberto Alvarado (0-0)
Roberto Oyola (2-4, 5.55 ERA) vs. Sam Geren (3-0, 5.82 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (3-3, 3.42 ERA) vs. Adam Foley (0-5, 6.47 ERA)

Tyler Riddle had gone down to injury last week and the Loggers were going to replace with Alvarado at *some* point during this series, it looked like. These were all right-handed; we looked like we’d miss left-hander Sam Webb (3-2, 5.53 ERA).

Game 1
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – 1B D. Robles – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – LF Okano – C Dye – SS Gaxiola – P Dunn
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – C Zamora – P Sweeton

Sean Sweeton was behind in the count to virtually every batter in this game and wouldn’t last very long with that. The Raccoons dragged him through two scoreless innings, left leadoff singles by Brass and Brobeck on the plate in the bottom 2nd, and then slowly disintegrated. Steve Valenzano hit a 2-out single in the third inning, then stole second base. Corey Garmon flew to center, Abercrombie clonked the play, and Valenzano scored with an unearned run before Dave Robles struck out in a full count. The fourth was well worse, though. Leadoff walk to Ryan Bishton, and then a mound conference which only fanned the flames. Doug Triplett, Yuki Okano, and Jonathan Dye all hit singles, Dye driving in the 2-0 run, with Triplett scoring on a wild pitch and Okano on Robby Gaxiola’s grounder. Julian Dunn reached on an error by Lonzo, Valenzano hit a sac fly, and Garmon hit another single before Robles finally struck out again to end the ******* inning, with the Loggers now up 5-0. Three runs were earned, and Sweeton wasn’t seen again. Brobeck went to the hill for the fifth inning, with Daniel Espinoza filling in at third base again. Brobeck pitched three innings, allowing leadoff walks in the first two, and a solo homer to Robles in the third. Since the Raccoons were still sitting on their two second-inning singles, none of it really mattered.

Or did it? The Raccoons, still up against former Critter Dunn, started the eighth like they started the second, with a pair of singles, now by Espinoza and Callaia. Lonzo hit into a fielder’s choice, but then stole second base to put a pair in scoring position. Abercrombie obliged and hit a 2-run single to center, and then Dunn slowly failed the bases full – but when Ryan Allred came up with three on and two out, he popped out rather easily to second base. The useless Mancilla allowed a run in the ninth inning, which was matched by Ruben Zamora with a solo shot in the bottom 9th against Brett Lillis jr. – more ex-Coons! – but that was it for rallying. 7-3 Loggers.

Lonzo, fresh off an 0-for-5, had the day off on Tuesday.

Game 2
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – 1B D. Robles – 3B Triplett – C Mi. Gilmore – LF Konecny – RF Okano – SS Gaxiola – P R. Alvarado
POR: 1B Callaia – 2B Allred – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – SS Bribiesca – CF Oley – 3B Espinoza – P Kniep

It was the season debut for the 30-year-old Alvarado, and he took a 1-0 lead to the hill for Kniep just kept imploding. Garmon singled, Robles walked, and Triplett singles home a run in the first inning before Mike Gilmore found a double play. While the Raccoons would make up the deficit in the bottom 1st, they did so only on a run-scoring throwing error by Gaxiola, who fired away Marcos Chavez’ 2-out grounder with Allred and Abercrombie at the corners. That wasn’t all – Arturo Bribiesca then socked a rather surprising 3-run homer to right-center, giving Kniep a 4-1 lead by going deep.

Kniep remained atrocious, however. The 2-3-4 batters reached base with one down again in the third inning, then on a single, walk, and Espinoza error – which meant it wasn’t *all* Kniep’s fault, but *mostly*. Gilmore ran a 3-1 count before sending a ball to the warning track in left for a sac fly, 4-2, and then Kniep immediately walked Kelly Konecny on four pitches. Okano struck out, somehow, ending the inning. But never mind – send Bribiesca to the rescue. He came up in the bottom 3rd after Chavez singled and hit ANOTHER homer! 6-2 Coons, and five runs came from Bribiesca bombs!

Todd Oley also got his first major league hit after starting his career 0-for-6, singling after the second Bribiesca blast. Espinoza also singled, but Kniep made the last out of the inning, but Abercrombie socked a 2-piece off Josh Costello in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-2. Kniep held that lead through six innings and 107 pitches, but the jitters never really stopped as he added two more walks, another wild pitch, and even with a 6-run lead I felt consistently queasy with him on the hill. It didn’t get much better with Ornelas in the seventh, as the Loggers got a single, a walk, a double steal, and no runs mostly for Doug Triplett lining hard into Espinoza’s glove with one out. Herrera and Tanizaki had calmer innings to close out the game after that. 8-2 Raccoons. Abercrombie 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Bribiesca 3-3, BB, 2 HR, 5 RBI; Oley 3-4, 2B; Espinoza 2-3, BB;

Abercrombie and Callaia would get days off on Wednesday, which took care of all the mosly-every-day players.

Game 3
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – 1B D. Robles – 3B Triplett – LF Okano – C Dye – RF Konecny – SS Gaxiola – P Geren
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Oley – RF Royer – P Oyola

The Raccoons got obliterated in a duel of pitchers with ERA’s over five. There were 13 base hits in the first five innings for both teams combined; 11 of them for the Loggers. The Raccoons had two singles and two double plays, which was utterly depressing, and also Pucks drew a walk and then was immediately picked off first base, which was even worse. Oyola in turn got consistently whacked around, going down 2-0 in the first inning on a Garmon bloop and a Robles blast, and then was raked for another three runs (two earned) in the fifth, where Robles and Triplett singled to begin the inning, Jonathan Dye reached on Brobeck’s error, and Kelly Konecny singled home a pair with one out. Gaxiola flew out, and Geren got an RBI single in, although Konecny was thrown out at home plate to end the inning. That was all the damage Oyola could pack into his weekly start. Valenzano and Garmon whacked back-to-back doubles off Mancilla for an extra run in the sixth inning. In the meantime the Raccoons were SO BAD, Sam Geren had a 3-hit shutout through seven innings on *57* pitches. Chavez and Oley made for a few longer at-bats in the bottom 8th (and also outs), and the Coons used Matt Walters for two outs in the ninth inning just to keep him awake during games. He got two strikeouts. Royer made a first-pitch out in the ninth against Geren, who was two outs away on as little as 71 pitches. Callaia and Bribiesca then put out two singles before Lonzo ran a full count… and then bounced into a 6-4-3 double play… 6-0 Loggers. Bribiesca 2-4; Callaia (PH) 1-1;

Shut out by SAM GEREN on 84 pitches.

Woof!

Interlude: Trade

Roberto Oyola (2-5, 5.75 ERA) would not make another start for at least a week due to the off day next Monday coinciding with his turn, and it turned out he would not make another start for the Raccoons at all. On Thursday, we swung an aw-shucks trade with the Cyclones for their closer, right-hander John Scott (0-1, 5.03 ERA, 10 SV). Fastball, cutter, mediocre changeup for the longtime Falcons swingman. He had a 4.01 career ERA in 253 games (46 starts). We did not intend to use him as a starter, though.

Raccoons (18-19) vs. Loggers (21-16) – May 14-17, 2057

Game 4
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – 1B D. Robles – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – LF Okano – C Dye – SS Gaxiola – P Foley
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – P Taki

Taki fell down 1-0 in the second inning with a leadoff walk to Bishton, who stole second, and a 2-out RBI single by Dye, who was then thrown out at home plate to end the inning on a Gaxiola double, which went only partway into describing the rockets the Loggers were hitting off Taki in the early going. With two down in the third inning, Garmon tripled, Robles doubled, and Bishton flew out to Brass on the warning track. The Coons had two singles the first time through, including a leadoff single for Allred in the bottom 3rd, and even though Allred stole second and moved to third on Taki’s fly to rightfield, neither Callaia nor Lonzo could get him home from there…

Portland made the board on a Brobeck solo homer in the fourth, 2-1, and Allred was left in scoring position again in the fifth inning. Taki appeared to have sorted himself out in the middle innings, but then walked Triplett with two outs in the sixth and gave up that run on hard singles by Okano and Dye before Gaxiola hit a drive out to Brassfield for the third out. Brass narrowly missed a homer in the sixth, which counted for no runs, and Taki put two more runners on base with soft singles in the seventh inning. Valenzano and Garmon were in scoring position with two outs and the #4 spot up. The Coons went to Sencion, and the Loggers answered with switch-hitter Mike Gilmore, who drove in two runs with a sharp first-pitch single, establishing slam range for Milwaukee. Triplett grounded out then, but Ornelas gave up one more run in two innings of garbage duty. Foley pitched a complete-game 5-hitter, same as Geren the day before. 6-1 Loggers. Brobeck 2-4, HR, RBI;

Raccoons (19-22) vs. Aces (13-27) – May 18-20, 2057

Two teams in disarray met for the weekend, with the Aces playing .325 ball with the fewest runs scored, the most runs allowed, and a -47 run differential coming in. They had also lost key players Jim White (early and for the season), and Ken Hummel (.326, 6 HR, 21 RBI) just on the way in; Hummel was their only player hitting better than .282; they were however able to punk homers, sitting third in the CL in that category with 29 shots. Last year, we won five of nine games from them.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (4-4, 2.02 ERA) vs. Scott Evans (3-4, 5.19 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (4-2, 3.02 ERA) vs. Kenneth Spencer (2-5, 7.04 ERA)
Craig Kniep (2-3, 5.44 ERA) vs. Jorge Quinones (3-3, 2.47 ERA)

Right, left, left – Southpaw Sunday! …maybe. They had been off on Thursday and had juggle room in the rotation. Vegas had also won three of their last five games, which probably counted as hot for them.

Game 1
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – 1B Jacinto – C Mathews – 2B Welter – LF Rickey – P S. Evans
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – P Adkins

Pucks and Allred were on base with two outs in the bottom 2nd for Adkins, who managed to flick a blooper behind Miguel Veguilla to load the bases for Callaia, who wasn’t exactly hot at this junction, but bolted a drive over a leaping Alex Alfaro and up the line for a bases-clearing triple! Lonzo struck out to leave Callaia stranded, but the Raccoons then began the bottom 3rd with an Abercrombie double to right. Brass hit a scratch single, Brobeck popped out, but Marcos Chavez hit an RBI single to right-center to extend the lead to 4-0. Pucks’ sac fly made it 5-0, while Allred flew out to Jose Ambriz to end the inning.

Adkins showed steady paws, allowing two hits and striking out four in four innings, but then stumbled over a pair of singles in the fifth inning hit by Jeremy Welter and George Rickey. Nick Thayer pinch-hit into a fielder’s choice at second for the first out, but Ambriz’ groundout plated Welter with the Aces’ first run, narrowing the score to 5-1. Veguilla struck out to leave Thayer on base. I was just thrilled to see a well-pitched game for once. Aubrey Austin hit a leadoff single in the sixth, but was doubled off without doing damage, and the same happened with the leadoff walk that Kyle Mathews drew in the seventh inning, both in 4-6-3 style.

Adkins went into the eighth, but retired nobody as both Ambriz and Veguilla reached base before he was replaced with Mike Lane, who could hardly have been more useless. He walked the bags full against Austin, then gave up a 2-run single to Alfaro. Gustavo Jacinto popped out, and Mathews’ grounder brought in another run to get the score to 5-4. Herrera came in with the tying run on third base to see after Welter, but was met with right-handed pinch-hitter Tony Villarreal – but struck him out anyway. Thankfully for my nerves and general constitution and Honeypaws’, too, as I was squeezing him hard while rocking back and forth, the Raccoons rallied in the bottom 8th. Allred got on, and then Gaudencio Callaia took Danny Bethea deep for a 2-run homer. Matt Walters retired the Aces in order in the ninth inning to put the game away. 7-4 Critters. Callaia 2-5, HR, 3B, 5 RBI; Abercrombie 2-4, 2B; Brassfield 2-4; Puckeridge 1-2, BB, RBI; Allred 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Adkins 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W (5-4) and 1-3;

There’s no such thing as an easy W with this team.

Game 2
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – 1B Jacinto – 2B Villarreal – LF Thayer – C Mathews – P K. Spencer
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – 1B Callaia – CF Royer – C Zamora – P Sweeton

The Raccoons had already beaten Spencer once this month, when he had still been with the Titans. Spencer, who had lost four straight, was all over the place, offered three walks the first time through the Raccoons’ lineup, but we lacked the base hits to cash in anything of value. Sweeton in turn struck out six batters in three innings, but did so rather uneconomically, and needed over 50 pitches to get that far. Bottom 3rd, Brass and Abercrombie got 1-out singles, and Austin’s bad throw to third base in a vain attempt to stop Brass from going there also allowed Abercrombie into second base and took off the double play for Brobeck, who rolled a meek grounder to the left side, but it just eluded BOTH of Alex Alfaro and Miguel Veguilla and giggled its way into shallow leftfield for a 2-run single…! Callaia singled to move Brobeck to third, and from there he scored on Royer’s sac fly to Ambriz before Zamora grounded out.

The Aces loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, getting a walk and two meek singles before Mathews finally grounded out to end the inning without them getting on the board against Sweeton, who instead scored himself in the same inning. He snuck a leadoff single through the infield, got to second on Bribiesca’s walk, and ultimately scored on a 2-out single hit by Abercrombie. Brobeck flew out, leaving runners on the corners in the 4-0 game. Ambriz doubled with one out, stole third base, and scored on Veguilla’s groundout in the fifth to narrow it down to 4-1 again. Portland answered with three on and nobody out in the bottom 5th: Callaia and Zamora singled, while in between Royer reached on an error by Veguilla. Left-hander Justin Rocco struck out Sweeton, but Bribiesca flicked an RBI single to left. Lonzo lined into a double play to short, Zamora getting doubled off second base, to end the inning…

Rocco walked the bags full in the sixth, bringing up Royer with one out, walked him as well to force home a run, 6-1, and was yanked after Zamora hit an RBI single. Sweeton probably didn’t have much left, but batted for himself against righty David Zaragoza. He popped out to second and Bribiesca was out on a deep fly to Ambriz, who made the catch, but also left the game after that with an intercostal strain. He was replaced with Oscar Vega. Sweeton faced two batters in the top 7th, nicked Thayer and allowed a single to Mathews, and was then lifted. Sencion came on, nailed PH Butch Weiss, and now the bags were full with nobody out and me opening a bottle of Capt’n Coma. Vega grounded into a run-scoring double play, and Tanizaki whiffed Veguilla to end the inning with “only” one run across. Bethea gave that run back in the bottom half of the inning; Abercrombie hit a 2-out single, advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on another single by Brobeck.

Bottom 8th, Andy Younge pitching for Vegas. The righty nailed Royer to begin the inning, walked Zamora, and allowed a soft single to Pucks to fill the bags with nobody out. He balked in a run, then gave up another on Allred’s pinch-hit single. Lonzo’s sac fly made it three, and was the last run in the game… for the Coons. Ivan Ornelas was always good for a run, and Nick Thayer scored one in the ninth with a leadoff double and an RBI single by Jeremy Welter. 11-3 Raccoons. Allred (PH) 1-1, RBI; Abercrombie 3-4, 2 BB, RBI; Brobeck 2-4, BB, 3 RBI; Callaia 2-4, BB; Zamora 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Puckeridge (PH) 1-1;

We had 15 hits – all singles. Add it nine walks, and even the Raccoons could put up a crooked number.

Game 3
LVA: CF Thayer – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – 1B Jacinto – 2B Villarreal – LF O. Vega – C Mathews – P Quinones
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Abercrombie – C Chavez – 1B Puckeridge – 3B Espinoza – CF Oley – P Kniep

The Coons desperately needed to see something good from Craig Kniep, but early on they mostly saw their offensive players make some marks. Brass hit a homer in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, which was extended to 3-0 in the second as the Raccoons got Chavez and Pucks on with leadoff hits, a single and a double, then brought them in with Espinoza’s sac fly and Oley’s RBI single. It was the first career RBI for Oley, who also added his first stolen base, but was left on by Kniep and Bribiesca.

Speaking of Kniep, he needed 52 pitches through three innings, walking three and throwing a wild pitch, which wasn’t exactly up to “something good”. Vega and Mathews hit 2-out singles in the fourth, but a K to Quinones ended the inning. The fifth began with a disputed play at first base on what the Aces claimed was an infield single by Thayer, but the umpires ruled that Kniep had his hindpaw on the base when he barely snatched a bad throw by Pucks whilst in the middle of falling over. That was the first out, and another one would be hard to come by. Veguilla singled, Austin reached on an Espinoza error, and Alfaro drew another ******* walk. With the bases loaded, Kniep gave up an RBI single to Gustavo Jacinto, a sac fly to Villarreal, and then got Vega to ground out to limp out of the inning with a 3-2 lead and the Aces steaming even more than they had after the call on Thayer hadn’t gone their way. 88 pitches through five messy innings for Kniep, by the way…. Then he had an 8-pitch sixth with a K to the opposing pitcher. Up and down, up and down. Mostly down, though.

He left with a 3-2 lead though, because his spot came up unexpectedly and undeservedly against Quinones in the bottom 6th. Chavez, Pucks, and Oley had reached on an uncaught third strike, a single, and a full-count walk, respectively. There were two outs, and one struggling pitcher replaced another as Kyle Brobeck grabbed a stick. He flew out to left rather easily on the first pitch…

…THEN went to the hill…! Brobeck retired the 2-3-4 in order with two pops, and that was as much as the Raccoons would tease the baseball gods with a 3-2 lead in this game. Ricky Herrera had another 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, which saw two lefty hitters and the Raccoons had kinda overused Eloy Sencion in the last few days. Walters got the ninth inning without any further offensive heroics by the brown-clad team in this homestand-ending game. Mathews struck out to begin the ninth. Erik Bush popped out foul to Espinoza. George Rickey whiffed. Ballgame! 3-2 Furballs. Puckeridge 2-4, 2B; Oley 1-2, BB, RBI;

In other news

May 15 – The Caps deal SS/3B Jesus Nunez (.288, 5 HR, 18 RBI) to the Buffaloes for MR Tim Betty (0-0, 7.04 ERA) and #137 prospect SP Trevor Justesen.
May 16 – 20-year-old rookie wonder LF Grant Anker (.315, 9 HR, 22 RBI) of the Bayhawks has suffered a torn hammy and will miss at least six weeks.
May 17 – A strained ACL might cost RIC 1B Mario Delgadillo (.303, 4 HR, 21 RBI) six weeks on the DL.
May 18 – The Knights beat the Loggers, 3-2 in 16 innings.
May 19 – Thunder 2B/SS Jonathan Ban (.381, 2 HR, 20 RBI) is not tiring at 35 years old, and puts out his 2,500th career hit in an 8-7 loss to the Indians. The milestone hit for the career Thunder with a .319/.378/.408 slash, 81 HR, and 915 RBI through 1,980 career games (eight Gold Gloves should be mentioned as well) is a game-starting home run off IND SP Chris Kaye (3-1, 2.49 ERA), who leaves the game with an injury before finishing the inning.
May 19 – Crusaders SP Joel Luera (3-3, 2.83 ERA) throws a 1-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over the Condors. He strikes out seven, while allowing nothing outside a first-inning single by the Condors’ Luis Chapa (.248, 0 HR, 10 RBI).
May 19 – ATL OF/1B Jon Alade (.315, 2 HR, 26 RBI) could miss four months with a broken kneecap.
May 20 – SAL SP Pablo Paez (3-2, 3.63 ERA) spins a 2-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over the Cyclones.
May 20 – ATL SP Enrique Ortiz (3-1, 3.10 ERA) 3-hits the Loggers in a 6-0 shutout.
May 20 – NYC INF Zach Suggs (.320, 8 HR, 32 RBI) will miss three weeks at least with a strained hamstring.
May 20 – A bad hip strain spells the of the season for TIJ RF Jamie Harmon (.247, 4 HR, 15 RBI).

FL Player of the Week: SAL OF/1B Noah Caswell (.343, 4 HR, 20 RBI), batting .483 (14-29) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: OCT LF/RF Danny Guzman (.265, 8 HR, 29 RBI), peppering .385 (10-26) with 4 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Winning week, barely, at 4-3… but when you lose a series to the Loggers you always feel kinda soggy inside.

The Loggers…!

What was not noticed by many during the week is that when the Raccoons disposed of Roberto Oyola, they also tried to assign Mancilla to AAA again, and he refused a second time, and he was also shopped around again with no takers. Oyola had a surprising amount of offers coming in, nine different teams offering up mostly has-beens. The Loggers would even have left Ryan Bishton with us, but we *really* didn’t need a lefty-hitting outfielder. In any case, Mancilla hasn’t pitched since (and John Scott hasn’t pitched since being acquired), and I wonder whether he will ever pitch again for the Coons.

We will need a fifth starter again next Saturday on our road trip to the Condors and Falcons, but we have enough ho-hum swingmen on the roster (Brobeck, Ornelas) to just about get by. I wouldn’t know whom to call up from AAA; Josh Mayo went on the DL and Ryan Wade got no the snout two games in a row, exploding his ERA to 5.40…

John Scott meanwhile has more saves than Matt Walters, although the Cyclones won fewer games than the Raccoons. I have not figured it out yet, but I’m brainstorming with Honeypaws and Chad – only the brightest suffice! – to bring some logic to that madness.

Fun Fact: This week led to a switch in the category of best-winning-percentage-against, all-time for the Raccoons.

Sweeping the Aces got us to 396-327 (.548) against them, while we sagged to 791-654 (.547) against the Loggers.

We have a winning record against all CL teams – except the DAMN ELKS (720-726, .498).

[Westheim]

The Raccoons started the week by sending Oscar Caballero on a rehab assignment to AAA, hoping to get him up to speed within the week, and then buggered off to Mexico.

Raccoons (22-22) @ Condors (21-24) – May 22-24, 2057

The Condors ranked tenth in runs scored and fifth in runs allowed, with a -7 run differential. They had the #2 defense in the league, but they struggled to get on base, having the third-lowest team OBP. Losing Jamie Harmon to injury would also not help them much going forward. The Raccoons had won the season series three years in a row, 5-4 in 2056.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (3-4, 3.79 ERA) vs. Steve Hawkins (3-5, 3.65 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (5-4, 2.24 ERA) vs. Travis Odon (2-1, 3.82 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (5-2, 3.02 ERA) vs. Miguel Batista (2-3, 4.06 ERA)

With the common off day on Monday, the Condors might skip the rookie Odon, who was second in line, but it would not matter for handedness – all candidates to pitch for them in this series were right-handed, and they also had only one left-handed reliever.

Harry Ramsay meanwhile had found his mojo again, hitting .326 for the Condors, but not his power, just two home runs entering play on Tuesday.

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – P Taki
TIJ: 3B Chapa – 2B D. Mercado – LF T. Duncan – C Samuel – 1B Ramsay – SS N. Fowler – CF Fish – RF Frasher – P S. Hawkins

Taki threw 24 pitches in the first inning, most of them balls, including walks to Luis Chapa, Nick Samuel, and Rams, but then Nick Fowler flew out to Brass to leave the bases loaded. Nobody in the game would find a base hit until Luis Chapa singled to right to begin the bottom 3rd. Domingo Mercado then soon legged out an infield single, and Taki looked like he was in trouble. Tim Duncan flew out to left, advancing Chapa to third base, but crucially not Mercado, who was doubled up on Samuel’s grounder to Lonzo, 6-4-3, to end the inning. The Raccoons had to go to the fourth to get a 2-out single from Brobeck, which shifted Brassfield from first-to-third. Brass had forced out Abercrombie just before that, and Abercrombie had only reached on an error by Fowler, so the Coons’ offense was totally roaring. Chavez popped out to second to leave everybody stranded. The Condors would eventually go up 1-0 in the fifth when Chapa drew 1-out walk, stole second base, reached third on a throwing error by Chavez, and then scored on Mercado’s sac fly to Brassfield. The run was earned; Duncan doubled to right after that, but was stranded.

The Raccoons also made up the deficit before making an out in the sixth. Callaia softly singled to begin the inning, but Lonzo found the left-center gap for a double, giving Callaia ample time to score from first base. Brass would single home Lonzo for a 2-1 lead. Hawkins walked Brobeck in a full count, and both runners kicked it into fifth gear when Marcos Chavez launched a screamer down the leftfield line. The ball bounced barely fair, then hit off the sidewall and duped Duncan, who had to reverse when the ball snickered back into fair territory. Both runners scored, and Chavez stopped at second with a 2-run double, 4-1. Pucks would get on base, but Ryan Allred found a double play to hit into to end the 4-run inning. Taki threw over 100 pitches through six and led off the seventh, so that was the end of his day. Royer smacked a leadoff triple to right in his place, Callaia walked, and Lonzo singled to center to get to 5-1. That was the end for Hawkins, but Callaia’s run would score on a sac fly by Abercrombie against lefty Jesus Chacon.

The Raccoons brought Ricky Herrera in to begin the bottom 7th. He missed grossly all over the place, allowing a leadoff walk to Tyrese Sheilds, then was collected by Luis Silva. Turned out, he had suffered a mild abdominal strain warming up with stretchies, and he had to leave the game. John Scott then made his Coons debut, allowed a single to Chapa, but then got a comebacker for a double play by Mercado and rung up Duncan to end the inning. Scott, Sencion, and Ornelas would combine for the last two innings without giving up any more runs as well. 6-1 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 2-4; Royer (PH) 1-2, 3B;

Ricky Herrera was listed as day-to-day, but should not be affected too long or too badly. Unless the middle game went 17 innings, however, we’d steer clear of him.

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – 2B Bribiesca – C Chavez – CF Oley – P Adkins
TIJ: CF Hildebrand – 2B D. Mercado – LF T. Duncan – C Samuel – 3B Frasher – SS Chapa – 1B Rosenstiel – RF Groom – P M. Batista

Portland was on the board quick on Wednesday, with singles by Callaia, Lonzo, and Brassfield to go up 1-0. Duncan’s throw to home plate was late, but allowed both trailing runners into scoring position, and Brobeck obliged and hit a 2-run single to right-center to get to 3-0 right away. Adkins took that lead and ran with it, but not with high octane or anything. He lacked stuff, got few swings-and-misses, but the Condors made an excessive amount of weak contact. While he took 62 pitches through five innings, he allowed only one base hit, but also walked a pair. The Condors didn’t even get close to scoring through five, however. Nor did the Raccoons after the early attack, but Brobeck opened the sixth with a single to left, and then Bribiesca found the gap in left-center for an RBI triple. Chavez’ groundout made it 5-0, and ended Batista’s day.

Just when I felt comfy, Adkins got on the snout in the bottom 6th. The Condors suddenly slapped him for four hits and three runs, starting with a Danny Hildebrand single and soon continuing with Duncan’s RBI double, Samuel’s RBI single, another double by Eric Frasher, and one run scoring on Chapa’s grounder, before the inning somehow ended mercifully. In the seventh he put left-handed batters Tyrese Sheilds and Danny Hildebrand on the corners with one out, which was slightly concerning. Tanizaki replaced him, got a comebacker from the pinch-hitting Rams for a force at second base while Sheilds held at third, then walked Duncan. Nick Samuel knocked the 1-0 hard – but the liner went to Bribiesca and the snag was made, and the Condors stranded a full set in the seventh…! Woof!

Tanizaki got one more out in the eighth and Sencion got two more to nurse the 5-3 lead to the ninth, after which no insurance was coming forward against the Condors as the 6-7-8 went in order. Matt Walters then entered the bottom 9th along with Espinoza and Pucks for defense. He faced PH Manny Poindexter in the #9 hole, gave up a drive to the fence for a double, and then slowly started to get going. K to Hildebrand, then a cozy pop from Nick Fowler. Duncan rolled over to Bribiesca to end the inning. 5-3 Raccoons. Brobeck 2-4, 2 RBI;

Game 3
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – 2B Bribiesca – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – CF Oley – P Sweeton
TIJ: 3B Chapa – 2B D. Mercado – LF T. Duncan – C Samuel – 1B Ramsay – SS N. Fowler – CF Hildebrand – RF Groom – P Odon

It was Caught Stealing Day in Tijuana, as in the first five innings Lonzo, Bribiesca, and Hildebrand were all thrown out trying to steal second base, and nobody successfully made it. Offense was at a premium overall; the Condors started their game with Chapa and Mercado singles, got a 1-0 lead on Samuel’s sac fly, and that was about it. The Coons scattered four hits through five innings, not reaching third base even once – but they did finally get through in the sixth inning, tying the game on doubles by Lonzo leading off and Brobeck with one out. Bribiesca tried to kill Ramsay with a hard shot that bounced at the edge of the infield dirt and then struck Ramsay in the stomach. No play was made, and Rams was charged a tough-**** error, while the Coons were now on the corners, but Marcos Chavez found his way into a double play to kill the effort.

Chapa answered with a leadoff jack in the bottom 6th, so the Condors were up 2-1 again. Top 7th, Oley hit a 1-out double to knock out both pitchers; Odon was replaced with Fernando Soto, who walked Allred batting for Sweeton. Callaia narrowly missed a diving Nick Fowler’s glove with a sharp grounder up the middle that became a single instead of at least an out at second base. Oley was waved around third base and scored the tying run. Lonzo grounded out to third, Abercrombie flew out to center, and the Raccoons stranded a pair, however. Ricky Herrera was as good as new out of the bullpen and retired all five Condors he faced, with Mike Lane getting Duncan out after entering in a double switch with Espinoza.

Top 9th, right-hander Cody Sears before long had runners on the corners and nobody out as Pucks and Oley opened the inning with a pair of singles. Espinoza got ahead 3-1 in the count, but poked the fifth pitch into shallow center for an RBI single and a 3-2 lead, which sure beat loading the bags with nobody out and then withering on the vine. We got *there* with another single by Callaia. Lonzo hit a sac fly, 4-2, but Abercrombie and Brassfield then made another two outs without getting another run home. Walters was back on the hill then in the bottom 9th. He struck out Samuel, then fumbled Callaia’s feed to first base on Rams’ grounder for an error. Fowler whiffed. Frasher whiffed. Sweep! 4-2 Critters! Callaia 2-4, BB, RBI; Lavorano 2-4, 2B, RBI; Bribiesca 2-4, 2B; Oley 2-3, BB, 2B; Espinoza 1-1, RBI; Herrera 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Raccoons were still in fourth place in the North on Thursday night, but they were close enough to first place (two games out) that if 12 dominoes fell the right way for them on the weekend, they could get at least a share of the lead.

Would require beating the crap out of the Falcons, however.

Raccoons (25-22) @ Falcons (25-20) – May 25-27, 2057

Charlotte was second in the South, but 3 1/2 games behind the Knights on Friday morning. They had the third-fewest runs surrendered, but were only eighth in runs scored in the CL, with a +9 run differential (Coons: +26). They had a very good rotation, third in ERA, but the bullpen was full of holes and was pushing an ERA of five… but you had to get there first. The season series was awkwardly tied at one with a rainout from Portland that would not be made up until September.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (3-3, 4.94 ERA) vs. Art Schaeffer (6-1, 3.15 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (1-1, 10.20 ERA) vs. Josh Clem (5-1, 2.39 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (4-4, 3.58 ERA) vs. Esteban Duran (3-3, 4.71 ERA)

We would not see the Falcons’ sole southpaw starter Alfonso Jewel (2-2, 2.47 ERA) in this series.

Brobeck making the spot start meant that he would not appear at third base throughout the series.

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – 3B Bribiesca – RF Puckeridge – C Zamora – 2B Allred – P Kniep
CHA: LF K. Fisher – C L. Miranda – RF D. Ceballos – 1B Schaack – 3B B. Anderson – SS Woodrome – 2B T. Edwards – CF J. Ward – P Schaeffer

Straight singles loaded the bases with nobody out in the top 1st on Friday, after which Trent Brassfield narrowly missed a slam to left, hitting a ball off the top of the wall. The Raccoons had to settle for two on the double, but Bribiesca singled home the other two runs with a firm single to center. He reached second base on Jayden Ward’s throw home, which was considerably late. Schaeffer then retired the next three batters to get out of the inning after a 4-run assault. With Kniep on the mound, however, there was tremendous rally potential for the Falcons. Speaking of… Kniep walked Kyle Fisher and Luis Miranda to begin the bottom 1st, had Pucks pick a plum peppered by Ceballos at the fence, Allred snag a liner by Jason Schaack, and then got a breathtakingly calm grounder to short from Bobby Anderson for the third out. Oh, my old heart can’t take this sort of pitching anymore…!

The Falcons made up three runs in the bottom 2nd then… Leadoff walk to Ian Woodrome, booming homer by Travis Edwards. The third run would score with considerable help of a 2-base throwing error by Bribiesca, but Kniep walked even the ******* pitcher, for crying out loud!! The Raccoons did as best as they could, getting 2-out RBI’s from Pucks (doubling home Bribiesca) and Zamora (single to score Pucks) in the third inning, 6-3.

Kniep outlasted Schaeffer, who was dumped after three innings… but only narrowly. He didn’t make it through the fourth. Walk to Miranda with two outs, and then straight singles by the 3-4-5 batters scored a run and loaded the bases, and yes, two hits were bloops, and he wasn’t hit hard a lot, but GOOD ******* GRIEF!! Mike Lane replaced him, got a (loud) fly out to Pucks to end the ******* inning, and we were up a messy 6-4 after four innings.

Lane also pitched the fifth, but the Raccoons needed length – and remember, probably no Walters today, which would be the third straight day for him – and went to Ivan Ornelas in the sixth, hoping for at least two innings without blowing the lead. He actually retired six straight, while the Raccoons tacked on a run when Brass bombed Mario de Anda for solo shot in the seventh. Tanizaki collected three outs on two grounders, a pop, and just eight pitches in the bottom 8th, and while the Raccoons were still up by three in the bottom 9th, the ball went to John Scott rather than Walters. Kyle Fisher hit a leadoff single to left, but Miranda grounded out to first. Danny Ceballos then singled to left as well; Fisher went for home, but Brass’ throw was gold and Fisher was slapped out by Zamora at the dish. Ceballos moved up to second, but the tying run stayed in the on-deck circle. Jason Schaack then popped out foul to end the game. 7-4 Raccoons! Lavorano 2-5; Abercrombie 3-5; Brassfield 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Lane 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (3-0); Ornelas 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Seven in a row!

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – P Brobeck – 2B Bribiesca – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 3B Espinoza
CHA: LF K. Fisher – C L. Miranda – RF D. Ceballos – 3B B. Anderson – 1B Schaack – SS Woodrome – 2B T. Edwards – CF J. Ward – P Clem

The best way to describe Brobeck’s day was “nope”. Fisher singled, stole his way to third base, and scored on Ceballos’ single, and Ceballos also stole second. Bobby Anderson hit an RBI double, Schaack walked, and Woodrome smacked an RBI single. Edwards was out on a comebacker, Ward walked, and Clem struck out to end the ******* inning, but whatever happened to Brobeck’s pitchcraft was a mystery to everybody involved. But since the Raccoons made absolutely no rallying moves, hitting into two double plays in five innings, and getting Lonzo picked off first base at one point to cull down their five base hits off Clem, the Raccoons stayed with Brobeck for as much as his arm had to give, which eventually amounted to five horrendous innings of nine hits, four walks – but no more runs; the score remained 3-0 through five, though the horrors I witnessed made it feel like 8-0.

The Coons sent Mancilla into the game for the first time in over a week, since it felt like an L anyway. He pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, and then Bribiesca hit into another double play in the seventh. Mancilla gave us two scoreless, Scott and Sencion navigated through the eighth for a couple of singles and a walk to Ceballos, but Anderson grounded out to short to leave the bases loaded for Charlotte, and the score remained 3-0 into the ninth inning, where Abercrombie singled off Portland discard Steve Watson, who nailed Royer with two outs, bringing the tying run to the plate. Ryan Allred batted for Bribiesca in that spot, but struck out. 3-0 Falcons. Brassfield 2-3; Royer 1-1; Mancilla 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

Bit of a lineup shakeup for the rubber game, getting most of the bench involved.

Game 3
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – C Zamora – 2B Allred – RF Oley – 3B Espinoza – P Taki
CHA: LF K. Fisher – C L. Miranda – RF D. Ceballos – 3B B. Anderson – 1B Schaack – SS Woodrome – 2B T. Edwards – CF J. Ward – P E. Duran

First innings by Taki were tiresome again this year; after the Coons left a Lonzo single and stolen base on the plate in the top 1st, Taki gave up a single to Fisher, then a pair of RBI doubles to Ceballos and Anderson to fall 2-0 behind rather quickly. Not that the second was much better. Edwards and Ward reached with a single and a walk, were bunted over into scoring position, and driven in by Fisher for a 4-0 score. The Critters were absent again, getting only that Lonzo single for base hits until Ryan Allred hit his first jack of the year, a solo homer to left, in the fifth inning.

Taki didn’t get out of the fifth, as the Falcons punched him for another 2-spot with Miranda and Ceballos singles to lead off, then a 2-run double by Schaack. Herrera would surrender a seventh run on a 2-out hit by Travis Edwards as the Coons drowned, badly. Herrera added a scoreless sixth, and Ornelas did the same in the seventh, after which Lonzo reached on an error in the eighth and Brassfield knocked out Duran with a 2-run homer, but that barely got the Raccoons into slam range. Josh Penington got Pucks to ground out to end the inning, Tanizaki had a 1-2-3 eighth, and then the Coons faced former Raccoons catcher Chris Gowin’s brother Joe in the ninth. Joe Gowin was struggling with lots of walks and a 5.70 ERA, but Zamora, Allred, and Callaia made outs in order to end the game. 7-3 Falcons. Brassfield 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Allred 1-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI;

In other news

May 22 – SFB INF/LF/RF Adam Peltier (.263, 3 HR, 25 RBI) hits a walkoff single to give the Bayhawks a 2-1 walkoff win in the 14th inning against the Loggers.
May 22 – The Scorpions beat the Miners, 2-0 in 11 innings. Nobody scores all game until Steve Wyatt (.280, 7 HR, 27 RBI) and Prince Gates (.312, 1 HR, 27 RBI) hit back-to-back, 2-out RBI singles for Sacramento in the top of the 11th inning.
May 26 – PIT INF Victor Corrales (.341, 8 HR, 39 RBI) has pieced together a 20-game hitting streak. In Saturday’s 11-7 win over the Pacifics, Corrales chips in three singles.
May 26 – Thunder LF/RF Danny Guzman (.260, 11 HR, 38 RBI) wrecks the Canadiens with two homers, including a slam, and 7 RBI in Oklahoma City’s 13-4 win. OCT OF/1B Mike Harmon (.280, 3 HR, 25 RBI) isn’t too far back with four hits and as many RBI, missing the cycle by the triple.

FL Player of the Week: CIN 1B Gabriel Brown (.254, 5 HR, 21 RBI), smashing .450 (9-20) with 2 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC OF Chad Williams (.309, 8 HR, 34 RBI), raking .478 (11-23) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Well – I wasn’t wrong! If the Raccoons would have punched the Falcons, they could have tied for a share of first place. Instead, we lost the last two games and now sit in fifth, virtually tied for fourth, and somehow only two games out in a very “eh! (expressive shrug)” division.

Five wins in a row for Adkins, although the last two games were less dominant. Sweeton is holding his ground nicely enough, but the rest of the rotation is doing my head in. Taki’s oscillating between baller and butcher is driving me up the wall, and Kniep would be on his way back to St. Pete if we had any replacements readily lined up. There are no words for Brobeck… He’s given up more earned runs (but less runs in total) than Adkins, who has 333% of Brobeck’s innings.

The kits in AAA, then?
Ramon Carreno: 5-4, 3.72 ERA, 17 BB, 38 K in 67.2 IP
Chance Fox: 5-2, 3.95 ERA, 35 BB, 39 K in 66 IP
Josh Mayo: 5-1, 2.49 ERA, 21 BB, 38 K in 43.1 IP (but just coming back from the minor league DL)
Ryan Wade: 4-4, 5.90 ERA, 31 BB, 58 K in 61 IP (and currently getting bombed every time out)
Cameron Argenziano: 1-1, 5.09 ERA, 9 BB, 17 K in 17.2 IP (has not started a game all year)

You’d hope that Mayo makes a good start on the comeback and then can slot into the #5 spot o the roster. Here we are, such a playoff contender, banking on a 27-year-old with one career win in the majors to finally get his crap together in AAA…

We have another 2-week homestand coming up with the Knights, Indians, Crusaders, and Wolves. There are days off on Monday and then the Thursday the week after, and also on the Monday after the homestand ends, so we will need just one start from #5 in that sequence and then one more in a 9-game string from June 12-20 to cover the next four weeks. Shouldn’t that somehow be possible??

After that it gets more complicated… but if it was easy and we’d figure it out to win every week, we wouldn’t maintain a pristine-condition bobblehead of Clyde Brady, Avatar of Losing, in the display case, would we?

Then again… who scheduled a double-header with the Crusaders in the middle of the long pre-All Star Game string with no off days??

Fun Fact: Craig Kniep was fourth in walks allowed in all of the ABL.

Nobody in the Federal League had more walks (38) than Kniep (in just 51 innings). The three guys with more walks were MIL Sam Webb (46), SFB Mark Jacobs (45), and ATL Enrique Ortiz (45). All of them had thrown more innings than Kniep, 56, 58.2, and 71.2 respectively. Only the first two had a worse BB/9 than Kniep (6.71).

[Westheim]

2057 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS

The Raccoons had done the hard work again and nibbled their way through the entire draft pool, ultimately finding out that it was very much a pitchers’ year. There were interesting batters, but there were a lot more promising pitchers on offer. We had 118 players on the shortlist, and precisely half of them were pitchers, which was unusual; normally, position players would make up 60% or even more of the list.

The Raccoons also had a few good picks available, thanks to finishing rather poorly in 2056. We held the #9 pick in every round, and also the #27 pick, compensation in the supplemental round for the loss of Chris Kirkwood.

New scout “Banjo” Pigg had also put together the annual hotlist of the dozen-or-so players we had a big black googly eye on, and those, very much so, were primarily pitchers (*high school players):

SP Evan Stanley (14/13/13) * – BNN #3
SP Melvin Guerra (16/12/13)
SP Jason Fick (15/13/14) – BNN #9
SP Justin Kent (12/13/13)
SP Aaron Chiara (11/15/12) * – BNN #10
SP Tyler Roe (13/13/9) – BNN #7
SP Antonio Pichardo (12/11/12)
SP Brett Cotton (12/13/12) * – BNN #2
SP Rich Read (12/13/15) *

CL Craig Scarberry (12/12/12)

C Joe Robertson (10/8/14)
1B Mike Davis (12/12/9) *

OF/1B Matt Desando (11/13/9) *
OF Dave Wright (11/11/16) * – BNN #4
OF Scott Laws (15/1/7) – BNN #8

These weren’t just nine starters so I could afterwards at least claim any one of them and go to bed happy. Any one of those would make a valid first-round pick, even in the first half of the first round. Some of them were even better ranked by OSA, and BNN had their own favorites, of course. BNN’s top selection, lefty SP Adam O’Neill, didn’t even make the hotlist, and he wouldn’t have been a terrible first-rounder either! The two outfielders Wright and Laws were the only position players on BNN’s top 10, so we weren’t completely outta whack with our initial assessments here.

Actual favorites? Kent was the only southpaw among those nine starters listed, although I wasn’t too picky about handedness. The only starters that weren’t getting more from OSA than “Banjo” were Pichardo and Read, and with Read there was a bit of a concern about his third pitch, so he probably wasn’t gonna be it unless eight other teams made me. Between the rest it was genuinely hard to make up my mind. One of the first three.

Nope, I can’t make up my mind.

Yes, we’re definitely taking a starting pitcher at #9.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (26-24) vs. Knights (32-19) – May 29-31, 2057

The Knights were doing well with the second-most runs scored and the fewest runs allowed in the Continental League, which gave them first place in the South, despite having lost two of three to the Raccoons in the teams’ first meeting of the season. The Knights had lost a bunch of outfielders to injury, though, with neither of Jon Alade, Chris Morris, and Tony Rodriquez available for this series.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (6-4, 2.43 ERA) vs. Morgan Aben (4-3, 3.84 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (5-2, 3.02 ERA) vs. Jose Arias (6-1, 2.56 ERA)
Craig Kniep (3-3, 5.12 ERA) vs. Matt Weber (2-5, 6.45 ERA)

Arias was the only lefty pitcher in the Knights rotation. Should they decide to skip the struggling Weber with the aid of the Monday off day, we’d see Enrique Ortiz (4-1, 3.77 ERA) instead, and Thursday would be a walkfest for sure.

Todd Oley would make one last start against a right-handed pitcher and then be exchanged back to AAA for Oscar Caballero, who would return from his rehab assignment.

Game 1
ATL: CF Mayes – 1B Wheeler – C M. Nieto – 2B W. Acosta – LF Wada – 3B Russ – SS Wartella – RF Munn – P Aben
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Allred – CF Oley – P Adkins

Adkins had his moments in this game, like in the second inning, when the Knights initially got Jushiro Wada on base with a leadoff single, but he then also walked both Matt Wartella and Danny Munn (waves hi to the former Furball) on eight straight balls, giving me a bit of a sweat. Aben and Mike Mayes struck out though, and on six pitches then, too. Marco Nieto in the third and Andrew Russ (hiss!!!) in the fourth inning would both hit a single, and then both got doubled up by the next guy in line, respectively, Willie Acosta and Matt Wartella. The game was scoreless through five innings, as the Raccoons also didn’t particularly fall over each other to be the first to deliver some offensive heroics. Brobeck and Allred hit singles in the sixth inning, but when Todd Oley had a chance to stake a claim to be irreplaceable, he flew out to Jayden Baldwin in rightfield quite easily, ending the inning.

Ninety pitches got Adkins through seven shutout innings, and he was hit for when his spot led off the bottom 7th against Aben. Royer clanked a double to center in his place, but Callaia was walked intentionally, Lonzo popped out, and Brass bounced into a double play. Royer never even reached third base, let alone scored… John Scott held the Knights away in the top 8th; while Marco Nieto hit a 2-out single, he was also caught stealing to end the inning. The Raccoons then loaded the bases against Aben in the bottom 8th. Abercrombie and Brobeck opened the inning with singles, but Chavez whiffed. Allred drew a walk. Pucks did *not* bat for Oley, but marched into the on-deck circle behind him. He would hit into an inning-ending double play against Ruben Mendez, but that was AFTER Oley had knocked out Aben with a 2-run single through the right side…! The Raccoons thus went to Walters for the ninth and I gathered up all my crap to go home, because … well, Walters, what’s there to wait for? What’s those loud noises outside, Maud? – What do you mean, Acosta and Wada hit back-to-back homers????

Play resumed after Walters was blasted over the leftfield fence, twice, with a 2-2 score in the bottom 9th and Mendez still pitching to the top of the order – and with rain starting to fall and picking up briskly. Callaia opened with a groundout, but Lonzo whooped a double to right to bring about – a rain delay.

The rain and the corresponding delay lasted for the rest of the night and through it, but at least Lonzo was smart enough to go inside with everybody else rather than cling to second base with the winning run through 15 hours of rain. The game would be resumed an hour before Wednesday’s scheduled game. Todd Oley got to hang around the team for a day longer. Lucky boy!

Game 1 (resumed)
ATL: CF Mayes – 1B Wheeler – C M. Nieto – 2B W. Acosta – LF Wada – 3B Russ – SS Wartella – RF D. Rivera – P R. Mendez
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – P Walters – LF Abercrombie – 3B Espinoza – C Chavez – 2B Allred – CF Oley – RF Puckeridge

The Raccoons frittered away the winning run in scoring position on a grounder and a fly to right, but then got a leadoff triple in the tenth inning from Danny Espinoza, who had originally replaced Kyle Brobeck for defense in the top 9th, as was our habit. David Hardaway gave up that triple, then stared at Chavez, who had a couple of punchouts and nothing to show for it otherwise – until he flicked a 1-2 pitch through the right side to walk off the Raccoons. 3-2 Blighters. Lavorano 2-5, 2B; Abercrombie 2-5; Brobeck 2-4; Espinoza 1-1, 3B; Allred 2-2, 2 BB; Royer (PH) 1-1; Adkins 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K;

The W went to Tanizaki for a scoreless top 10th, and then Oley (.250, 0 HR, 3 RBI) was actually removed from the roster for Caballero to start in Game 2.

Game 2
ATL: CF Mayes – 1B Wheeler – 2B W. Acosta – LF Munn – 3B Russ – SS Wartella – C Almaguer – RF Wada – P J. Arias
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – RF Caballero – CF Royer – P Sweeton

The Raccoons drew little but blanks the first time through the order while Sweeton allowed two hits, two walks, but struck out nobody and needed 59 pitches through four gluey innings. The brown team broke through, however, in the bottom of the fourth. Brassfield, Abercrombie, and Chavez all mashed extra-base hits to all the fields, two doubles and a home run, for a 3-0 lead through four.

Sweeton didn’t get any more effective afterwards; he’d be held to six innings on 95 pitches due to taking forever to remove batters, and he also gave up a run in the sixth on a Mayes single and Acosta’s RBI double, but the main reason was yet another rain delay of some 45 minutes that broke out in the middle of the sixth and made sure Sweeton’s start ended for real. When play resumed, Abercrombie took Eli Dupuis deep to right for a 4-1 lead, but then the rain picked up again. Ivan Ornelas put Russ (growls and flicks tail menacingly from side to side) on base with a leadoff single in the seventh, but didn’t make it further than Pedro Almaguer fouling off the first 1-out pitch he got before the umps called *another* rain delay. This, too, passed in under an hour, along with most of the fans in attendance and my will to live through another Portland summer.

Ornelas resumed pitching after the rain delay, since he had thrown only 11 pitches, walked Almaguer and got Wada to pop out, but then waved for the attention of Luis Silva, and another delay commenced, this time for a medical consultation on the mound, at the end of which Silva left the field with Ornelas, and Eloy Sencion got the last out from PH Danny Rivera. The Coons loaded the bases against Felix Alvarez in the bottom 7th, as Caballero and Royer singled, and Pucks drew a walk in the pitcher’s spot. More runs scored on another walk to Bribiesca and a Lonzo sac fly before Jeff Miss took over pitching duties. He allowed a single to Brassfield that filled the bases again, then a run-scoring fielder’s choice grounder to Brobeck before a grounder to short from Abercrombie ended the inning. The 7-1 lead then went to Mancilla to please end the game, although he loaded the bases in the eighth with general ********** before Wartella was kind enough to pop out to short on a 3-1 pitch for the third out. The ninth was only mildly calmer. 7-1 Coons. Brassfield 2-3, BB, 2B; Abercrombie 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Royer 2-4; Sweeton 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, W (6-2);

Game 3
ATL: CF Mayes – 1B Wheeler – C M. Nieto – 2B W. Acosta – LF Wada – 3B Russ – SS Wartella – RF D. Rivera – P Weber
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – C Zamora – P Kniep

It took Kniep four batters and 16 pitches to load the bases, and another four bases to walk in the game’s first run against Jushiro Wada. Russ, the miserable specter of a cicada’s ****, drew another walk, and Wartella hit an RBI single with Willie Acosta being thrown out at home plate. ANOTHER walk to Danny Rivera, then Weber graciously ended the inning. While the Coons made up a run in the bottom 1st on leadoff hits by Callaia and Lonzo, then Brass’ sac fly, Kniep offered a single, a balk, and a walk in the second inning, but that was somehow not enough for the Knights to tack on. Wartella and Rivera hit singles in the third before Weber bunted into an inning-ending double play started by Kniep – his only heroics on the day – but the Coons had also had one of their three long relievers injured, one had thrown two endless innings the day before, and the other was penciled in to start on Saturday. Mike Mayes drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and was caught stealing. This was six free passes offered by Kniep, who made a serious bid to become the first Critter to walk eight opponents in a game TWICE.

It didn’t get that far, mostly because Kniep was yanked when he walked Mayes again – number seven – in the sixth inning with Rivera already on second base and one out. Eight hits, seven walks, and five runs once Scott gave up a screaming 2-run double to Jeff Wheeler. Wada also drove in Wheeler as the inning dragged on, as they all did on this day, extending the Knights’ lead to 6-1. The Raccoons made up a pair in the seventh, which Brobeck opened with a double to right, then moved to third on Pucks’ single and scored on Allred’s sac fly. Wada’s bad throw allowed Pucks into second base, and to score from there on Ruben Zamora’s single to center. The Knights countered with an unearned run off Lane, Callaia dropping a fine throw from Lonzo to allow a 2-out run home from third base. Somehow Matt Weber pitched through ALL of this madness, until giving up three singles in the bottom 8th. The first one hardly counted – Lonzo was caught stealing before the rest of the team kicked into gear – but Brass also singled off Weber before he was replaced. The Knights then rushed to empty their pen; Jeremy Baker gave up a single to Abercrombie, Dupuis one to Brobeck, and Amari Walker another one to Pucks – THAT one finally scoring a ******* run, 7-4 with the bases loaded. Bribiesca pinch-hit for Allred, spawning Felix Alvarez from the pen, and the fifth pitcher of the inning finally got the double play the Raccoons were trying their darndest to hit into. Tanizaki gave up another run in the ninth, walking a pair to add to the general misery, but Alvarez retired the side in order in the bottom 9th. 8-4 Knights. Lavorano 2-4; Abercrombie 2-4; Brobeck 2-4, 2B; Puckeridge 2-3, BB, RBI;

Boy…

20 walks in his last 21 innings and 7.2 per nine innings for the whole season (2056: 4.6) ended Craig Kniep’s tenure on the roster in the week of his 26th birthday. Yay, another failed baseball life story on the Alley Cats…!

IF he made it there. He had no options – but we also had no options, because he was walking everything with arms and legs or without any of those, and it couldn’t go on like that!

Somehow, Kniep’s demise yoinked Brobeck from Saturday’s start, since Ornelas was still out injured and blocking a roster spot and the Raccoons thus went for a spot (?) starter in Josh Mayo, who lined up with Saturday *perfectly* and kept Brobeck in reserve. That also meant Brobeck remained in the lineup. So, in essence, Kniep pitching like arse cost Danny Espinoza about ten at-bats on the weekend.

Baseball. It makes no sense. But please keep coming for those $35 hot dogs you crave so much!

Raccoons (28-25) vs. Indians (26-25) – June 1-3, 2057

The Portland Clueless hosted the Arrowheads on the weekend, who ranked seventh in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed in the league. They had a -17 run differential. Somehow, they were only three games out. The season series was even at three.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (4-5, 4.26 ERA) vs. Jeremy Fetta (4-4, 5.33 ERA)
Josh Mayo (0-0) vs. Fernando Salazar (3-4, 6.28 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (6-4, 2.20 ERA) vs. Bill Lawrence (4-4, 4.55 ERA)

The Indians had played a double header on Tuesday, and Thursday had been off, meaning they had two regular-rest options for Sunday. One was Lawrence, the other was Juan Vasquez (1-1, 4.40 ERA). All four candidates were righties; the sole southpaw in that rotation, Shane Fitzgibbon (3-5, 3.61 ERA) had pitched on Wednesday.

Game 1
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Oldfield – 3B A. Rios – LF O. Ramos – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – P Fetta
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – P Taki

Four batters into the bottom 1st the Raccoons had a 3-0 lead. Callaia had drawn a walk, and Lonzo and Brass both flicked singles, the latter bringing home Callaia with a run. A double steal attempt led to a throwing error by freshly made Rookie of the Month Willie Villafan, Lonzo scored, Brass went to third, and then came home on a deep sac fly to center by Abercrombie. The score remained true through the middle of five; Taki had one of his finer outings, scattering four singles while also getting two double play grounders, and struck out six batters through five. The Raccoons loaded the bases with the 2-3-4 batters to begin the bottom 5th against Fetta, who was on five walks and a clueless expression on the hill. True to form, the Coons got a Brobeck sac fly to go up 4-0 and absolutely nothing else. Brobeck brought home Lonzo again in the sixth, though, this time with Lonzo drawing a walk, stealing second, and reaching third base on Brass’ fly to center. Abercrombie was walked intentionally before Brobeck singled through the right side, 5-0. Chavez nearly took righty Jeff Caldwell deep to right, but had his drive picked at the fence by Orlando Ramos, and Pucks grounded out. A 1-out double to right by Matt Kilday as about as much threat as the Indians had put up all day, and it came in the eighth inning. Dan Mullen grounded out poorly to prevent an advance, but Bill Quinteros jammed a 1-2 pitch into play with an emergency hack, then legged it out for a single. The Raccoons protested that the ball first bounced in the batter’s box, but to no avail. Cory Oldfield then grounded out to third base on Taki’s 99th pitch for the third out of the inning. Just seven more pitches sealed the deal in the ninth inning. 5-0 Furballs! Lavorano 2-4, BB; Brassfield 2-4, RBI; Abercrombie 0-1, 2 BB, RBI; Taki 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (5-5);

This was Taki’s fifth career shutout and 16th complete game, and his second complete game this year.

No more shutouts this year for Ivan Ornelas (0-1, 5.26 ERA), however – the 28-year-old was diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow that needed scraping out and was likely done for the season. He was off to the DL. The Raccoons brought up the next master of disaster in line: Colby Bowen.

All of this while we were opposite a true barrel burster from last season, Fernando Salazar, who would totally throw a 3-hit shutout against the Coons now. Abercrombie and Lonzo had a day off.

Game 2
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Abel – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – LF O. Ramos – P F. Salazar
POR: 1B Callaia – 2B Allred – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Caballero – RF Puckeridge – SS Espinoza – P Mayo

The game didn’t get going all to well for the Brownshirts, and not because of Mayo, who allowed a single to Quinteros in the first, but bigger pitchers had been hurt worse by Quinteros in the last 15 days… No, it was a leadoff double by Callaia that brought trouble about. Allred struck out, but Brassfield singled to center, and Callaia went for home, but stumbled with 20 feet to go and then fell hard into catcher Willie Villafan. The noisy collision left Callaia lying on the ground on his back and getting punched out by the umpire. It took two people to get Callaia off the field, and the Raccoons eventually moved Brassfield to first base, Caballero to left, and entered Steve Royer into centerfield. Brobeck then singled home Brassfield, who had reached second base in the commotion at home plate. Josh Mayo drove in a run before he gave one up, hitting a sac fly in the bottom 2nd after a Pucks double and an error by Antonio Rios on Espinoza’s grounder had put a pair on the corners with one out. Caballero mashed his first homer of the year – well, with six weeks on the DL – in the bottom 3rd, a 2-piece to right to double the score. Mayo singled in the fourth, but was forced out by Royer. Allred and Brass got on base, bringing up Brobeck with three on and two outs. Salazar soon got to two strikes in the at-bat, then left a hanger in the zone and Brobeck drilled it for a bases-clearing double. Right-hander Matt Green replaced Salazar, but gave up his eighth run with an RBI single to Chavez. It was the third and final inning in a row that the Raccoons doubled the score in this game.

Mayo had been nice through four, but then walked Orlando Ramos to begin the fifth inning, then mishandled Green’s bunt, trying to get an out at second base and getting no out at all. Matt Kilday grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Dan Mullen singled in a run and Mayo balked home another to narrow the score to 8-2. Mayo barely made it through six innings, offering two walks in his last frame and leaving the bases loaded when he put the K in Kilday, but then Indy’s Jeff Caldwell also failed the bases full in the bottom 6th. He struck out Espinoza for the second out, but Abercrombie singled in a pair batting for Mayo. An 8-run game sounded like the perfect environment for Colby Bowen to pitch in, and he put up two scoreless while putting two Indians on base, one with his awful pitching and one with his awful defense. Straight doubles by Pucks, Espinoza, and Lonzo put two more runs on Indy’s Chris Edwards in the bottom 8th, but Alex Mancilla (grumble grumble) gave a run back in the ninth with two hits by Indy. 12-3 Furballs! Callaia 1-1, 2B; Brassfield 2-4, BB; Brobeck 3-4, BB, 2B, 4 RBI; Caballero 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 3-4, BB, 2 2B; Abercrombie (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Lavorano (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Bowen 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Callaia was in discomfort on Sunday and was not in the lineup. Judging Luis Silva’s concerned look that could become a more permanent situation.

Game 3
IND: C Villafan – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Abel – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – 2B Bahena – LF O. Ramos – P B. Lawrence
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 1B Puckeridge – 2B Allred – P Adkins

Adkins was trying to put the sweep into the books, but walked Villafan to begin the game on Sunday. Mullen found the double play, but Quinteros singled and the inning only ended with a K to Kevin Abel. The Raccoons dragged their hindpaws initially, but Allred and Royer reached the corners in the third inning just in time for Lonzo to put a 1-0 lead on the board with a sac fly to right. Brassfield grounded out. Allred singled in the 2-0 run with two outs in the fourth after Brobeck and Pucks had drawn walks from Lawrence. Adkins struck out, however. He also struck out on the hill – six Indians through five innings – although after three calm frames the fifth saw Rios open with a single and then Will McIntyre drew a walk, all with nobody out. Bernie Bahena’s grounder, Orlando Ramos’ pop, and a K to Lawrence ended the inning without a run scoring.

But everything fell to pieces once more in the sixth inning. The Indians found singles from Villafan, who was forced out by Mullen, and Quinteros, and then Rios rammed a 2-out double through Brobeck to score both runners and tie the game. McIntyre grounded out to third base after that.

When Pucks was at second base with one out in the bottom 7th, Adkins was not pinch-hit for this time. He also struck out, but Royer got the go-ahead run home with a single to right-center, 3-2. Lonzo whiffed to leave Royer on, but Adkins went to town on the 1-2-3 batters in the eighth inning, striking out Villafan and Mullen and popping out Quinteros to Allred to complete his day’s work. Lefty Bill Dewan walked Brass and allowed a single to Brobeck in the bottom 8th to put a pair on the corners with one out. Caballero and Pucks both popped out rather unhelpfully, and so Walters was in the ninth without a cushion for the first time since blowing a 2-0 lead on Tuesday very loudly. This one, he didn’t, ending with a K to PH Kevin Price after two grounders to Lonzo and a Bahena single. 3-2 Critters. Royer 2-4, RBI; Brobeck 2-4; Allred 1-2, BB, RBI; Adkins 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, W (7-4);

In other news

May 28 – WAS C Chris Gowin (.204, 3 HR, 24 RBI) leads the charge in the Capitals’ 20-5 win over the Warriors, dishing out six hits, including a homer and a double, and driving in a whopping eight runs to hopefully overcome early-season struggles.
May 28 – RIC OF/2B Manny Cooke (.218, 5 HR, 20 RBI) lands a double for the Rebs’ only base hit in a 5-0 loss to the Pacifics’ Andy Overy (5-3, 1.57 ERA) and Jason Posey (2-1, 1.04 ERA, 7 SV).
May 29 – The 21-game hitting streak of Miners INF Victor Corrales (.339, 8 HR, 40 RBI) ends with an 0-for-3 day in a 4-3 win over the Wolves.
May 29 – The Blue Sox beat the Stars, 10-8 in 15 innings, while elsewhere in the Federal League, the Rebels walk off against the Pacifics, 7-6 in 14 innings, on a home run by RF/LF Willie Sanchez (.340, 11 HR, 29 RBI).
May 30 – Falcons SP Art Schaeffer (7-2, 3.35 ERA) strikes out nine and throws a 1-hit shutout against the Indians for a 7-0 win.
June 1 – Shoulder soreness sends DEN SP Terry Herman (7-3, 3.53 ERA) to the DL for the next two months.
June 1 – The Warriors acquire outfielder Rick Colwill (.289, 1 HR, 14 RBI) from the Cyclones for MR Juan Rivera (3-1, 3.41 ERA).
June 2 – ATL SP Enrique Ortiz (4-1, 3.76 ERA) could miss two weeks with back soreness.

FL Player of the Week: LAP RF Matt Diskin (.381, 8 HR, 32 RBI), hitting .538 (14-26) with 1 HR, 3 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL CF Steve Valenzano (.260, 3 HR, 30 RBI), scattering .500 (10-20) with 1 HR, 7 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: RIC RF/LF Willie Sanchez (.343, 12 HR, 33 RBI), bashing .342 with 9 HR, 21 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: CHA RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.356, 9 HR, 33 RBI), hitting .377 with 6 HR, 13 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: LAP SP Andy Overy (5-3, 1.57 ERA), going 4-1 with a 0.93 ERA, 34 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: POR SP Kennedy Adkins (6-4, 2.20 ERA), putting down a 5-0 mark in 6 games, with 1.48 ERA, 29 K
FL Rookie of the Month: DEN C Andre Monroe (.296, 3 HR, 9 RBI), hitting .325 with 1 HR, 6 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: IND C Willie Villafan (.263, 3 HR, 24 RBI), flicking .315 with 2 HR, 16 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons went almost undefeated this week and snuggled up into second place, two games behind the Crusaders – who are also next to ring the doorbell here at Raccoons Ballpark for three games starting on Monday. The Wolves will pay a visit on the weekend.

Craig Kniep went unclaimed and was assigned to AAA on Sunday. I wish I could claim I had a plan going forwards but I very much have not. Ornelas had been an option I liked to fling on the board just to say something, but that’s off the table with him having gotten his elbow sliced up on Saturday. Brobeck is atrocious. But we need a warm body to start against the Crusaders, and we need it Tuesday. There’s the rumor going round that Ramon Carreno, a $24k signing out of Venezuela in ’51, will make his ABL debut on Tuesday. All I can say for now is that he’s been yoinked from his scheduled start for the Alley Cats *today*. The only other (rested or restable for Tuesday) options would be Ryan Wade (5+ ERA)… and does anybody remember Cameron Argenziano…?

Also, yes, we’re only two games out. It feels like we have way more trouble than a team two games out.

Also, yes, I have noticed Gaudencio Callaia’s limp on the way to the snack cabinet. Don’t – … I don’t want to talk about it.

Let’s talk about something nicer, like Lonzo scooping bases! …although his success% this year was everything but great (57%)… But he nipped nine bases in the last four weeks, which jumped him two spots on the leaderboard, including over active Omar Gonzalez, who stole three. Alex Adame got two.

7th – Oscar Mendoza – 494
8th – Moromao Hino – 485
9th – Hugo Acosta – 476
t-10th – Jesus Banuelas – 474
t-10th – Jon Ramos – 474
12th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 467 – active
13th – Omar Gonzalez – 464 – active
14th – Diego Rodriguez – 460 – HOF
15th – Martin Ortíz – 457 – HOF
16th – Alex Adame – 456 – active

Hino spent all of his 15-year career in the Federal League with the Cyclones and Stars, winning five Gold Gloves and seven stolen base titles. His season-high was 53 in 1996, but he wasn’t a very great batter, mostly hitting for pedestrian averages with the occasional pop, mashing 20+ homers twice in a season. He had an excellent eye, however, drawing triple-digit walks a few times, which made him a quite elite leadoff man.

Oscar Mendoza, playing from 2028 through 2041 for the Pacifics and then a scattering of teams in his last years, was from the same mold, but with an even better .384 career OBP. He stole 63 bases in 2031 for his career-high, and won the FL stolen base title three times. He also took two Gold Gloves, three Platinum Sticks, and three championship rings. He somehow managed to lead the league in walks AND strikeouts several times – once even in the same year! In 2031, he had 317 true outcomes, batting .255/.408/.376 with 12 homers, 143 walks, and 162 strikeouts.

Lonzo doesn’t have 143 walks FOR HIS CAREER.

Fun Fact: Last week’s 4-2 win over the Condors was the franchise’s 6,800th regular season win.

Sean Sweeton pitched six innings of 2-run ball for that.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (31-25) vs. Crusaders (33-23) – June 4-6, 2057

Don’t know how our mess of a team made it to second place in the division at this point, but here we were, hosting the New Yorkers for a 3-game series that would require us to sweep them to take over first place. Given that our rotation now had two placeholders, I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high, though. The Crusaders ranked second in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed in the CL, and had a +37 run differential (Coons: +40). They arrived without Zach Suggs, batting .320 but out with a hammy, but we arrived without a starter for Tuesday, so there’s that.

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (6-2, 2.88 ERA) vs. Jose Ortega (3-5, 5.87 ERA)
TBD vs. Joel Luera (4-3, 2.78 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (5-5, 3.78 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (7-3, 2.41 ERA)

Only right-handed opponents as we kept dancing around southpaws. And was that *really* a bad thing with our lineup…?

Options for Tuesday were Kyle Brobeck (1-2, 9.00 ERA) and – in AAA – potential debutee Ramon Carreno, a tender 22-year-old righty from Venezuela and the #116 prospect in the league. Kyle Brobeck was not in the lineup on Monday.

Also not in the lineup was Gaudencio Callaia, who was shipped off to the DL with a strained posterior cruciate ligament, which sounded dreadful, but once you thought about you realized that it could have come much worse. He would miss the entire month, still, and the Raccoons brought up Pedro Rojas from being average at best in AAA, which sounded a bit like displacement activity.

Game 1
NYC: CF Pfeifer – RF C. Williams – 2B O. Sanchez – SS Buss – 1B Sevilla – LF Ogawa – C R. Salas – 3B Adame – P J. Ortega
POR: 2B Allred – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – C Chavez – CF Caballero – 3B Espinoza – P Sweeton

The Crusaders stole three bases and scored two runs in a first inning in which they batted for about 200 feet of actual base hits, but Sweeton started with a 4-pitch walk to Mike Pfeifer, and **** was steaming pretty much from there. Pfeifer stole second, scored on a single by Omar Sanchez, Jeff Buss also singled, and after a double steal, Raul Sevilla brought home another run with a sac fly. Ikuo Ogawa grounded out to short to end the damn inning. After singles by Allred, Abercrombie, and Pucks in the bottom 1st scored only one run before the Raccoons hit enough foul pops to get the other team to bat again, New York loaded the bases in the second inning on NOTHING. Leadoff walk to Raul Salas, a capital throwing error by Espinoza on Ortega’s 1-out bunt, and then another walk to Pfeifer. It was like Craig ******* Kniep out there, except that Sweeton got out for only one run brought home by Chad Williams before ending the inning with a K. Sweeton then piled up nine strikeouts by the end of the sixth inning, none of which helped with the three runs already on the board, or with the Coons’ offense not doing much rallying at all. Ortega allowed those three singles in the first for one run, two singles in the fourth to Chavez and Caballero for no runs, and then … nothing else. The Coons got scoreless relief by Ricky Herrera in the seventh and John Scott in the eighth, and then saw Colby Bowen give up an insurance run to the Crusaders in the ninth inning, which was dandy, because then I wouldn’t have any qualms with sending him back to AAA after the game. The Raccoons *did* get the tying run to the plate in the bottom 9th against Ryan Sullivan, even if just in unearned fashion. Abercrombie drew a leadoff walk, but was forced out by Brass. Pucks popped out and Chavez would have made the last out to Jeff Buss, but the ball was bungled for an error, and Caballero came up to bat once more… but only to strike out on three pitches. 4-1 Crusaders.

Out with Bowen (0-0, 3.00 ERA) – make it smell like rookie in here!

Game 2
NYC: CF Pfeifer – C Seidman – 2B O. Sanchez – SS Buss – 1B Sevilla – LF Ogawa – RF C. Williams – 3B Adame – P Luera
POR: 2B Allred – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – CF Caballero – C Zamora – P Carreno

Ramon Carreno got his first major league out on a single pitch as Pfeifer grounded out to Ryan Allred to begin the game, but then also took 26 pitches to get even out of the first inning. The Crusaders didn’t score, but there were four long counts and a Sanchez single and a walk to Buss before Sevilla struck out in a full count. Carreno retired the side in order in the second inning, then fell down an elevator shaft in the third inning. Luera and Pfeifer opened with singles, Brass clonked the second single for an extra base with a fudged pickup, and Mike Seidman pressed a first-pitch, 2-run double through under Pucks’ glove right after that. Then it got even worse with another three full counts. Sanchez and Sevilla hit singles to plate a third run before the inning eventually ended, but by then I was already going through my Flops™ minor league trading cards to see what else we had in store.

Carreno made it through five innings with those three runs on seven hits, whiffing five, while Luera had yet to give up much outside of a single to Pucks and nursed a 3-0 lead rather convincingly. The Raccoons shrugged and put Brobeck on the hill to eat garbage innings, not knowing that Brobeck would drive in the tying run in the bottom 6th. Luera nicked Lonzo with one out, after which Abercrombie doubled to center, Brass singled on the infield to get the team on the board, and Pucks plated a second run with a groundout. Brobeck then rushed a drive to the fence in deep right, where it clonked off the fence just above a desperately leaping Chad Williams. Caballero’s groundout ended the inning, while Brobeck held out for two innings, but then gave up hits to Sanchez and Buss to begin the eighth and failed to keep at least the leading Sanchez on base with a lack of stuff – he struck out nobody in those three innings. He came back for the ninth to receive a pop to second from Alex Adame, then yielded for Sencion with Mario Villa in the #9 spot. Sencion got a K on that batter, then walked the 1-2 batters before finally getting Sanchez to pop out. Weird sight then for the bottom 9th, as right-hander Austin Guastella got the ball against the 5-6-7 batters. Pucks smacked a leadoff double to center, putting the tying run in scoring position, but PH Arturo Bribiesca grounded out poorly to third base. Caballero found the whole on the left side, however, and hit a single to left. Mario Villa’s arm had lost a lot of power over the decades – he was 36 but looked like 63 – and Pucks easily scored from second base on the single. Caballero even reached second base when the throw ended in the middle of nowhere. Zamora was walked intentionally, but Chavez struck out batting for Espinoza, and Allred grounded out, sending the game to extras. Tanizaki promptly gave up a run in the top 10th, conceding a leadoff single to Buss and then a 2-out RBI double in the left-center gap to Williams before whiffing Guastella. The Crusaders’ bench was empty, but that wouldn’t help the Raccoons, who still had Steve Royer available, if they didn’t make up the deficit pronto. Guastella went 1-2-3 on Lonzo, Abercrombie, and Brassfield, ending the game without Royer becoming a factor. 5-4 Crusaders. Puckeridge 2-4, 2B, RBI; Zamora 0-1, 3 BB;

(sigh)

The Raccoons would not need a fifth pitcher again until the 16th of the month, so there was no need to keep Carreno around for the moment – he’d just gobble up service time. We’d much rather have … I don’t know? Somebody that can ******* hit? Richard Anderson was hitting .286/.360/.492 in AAA this year, so maybe he could be less than useless this time around. He batted 2-for-18 in some late-season service last year.

Game 3
NYC: CF Pfeifer – C Seidman – 2B O. Sanchez – SS Buss – 1B Sevilla – RF C. Williams – LF Kirkwood – 3B Adame – P Seiter
POR: 2B Allred – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – CF Royer – 3B Anderson – 1B Rojas – P Taki

An Adame error in addition to Allred and Pucks singles gave the Raccoons an unearned 1-0 lead in the first inning on Wednesday, and Anderson hit a leadoff single in his first at-bat of the season, then was stranded, so there was that. Taki allowed no hits the first time through, allowing only a walk to Williams, then another walk to Omar Sanchez in the fourth. Taki also hit a single with two outs in the bottom 4th after Rojas drew a walk, but Allred popped out to Buss to end the inning. Chris Kirkwood took off the no-hitter in the top 5th with a double to right, but at least Adame and Seiter made calm outs to end the inning without getting that tying run home.

The duel continued into the late innings, despite Taki putting Sevilla and Williams on base in the seventh inning. Mario Villa batted for Kirkwood and battled for nine pitches, but then popped out to Allred, and the inning ended with the runners stranded on first and second after Adame also popped out and Seiter – not batted for! – whiffed. Compared to that ordeal, the 1-2-3 batters went down rather easily on nine pitches in the eighth inning. That was it for Taki in the game, while the Raccoons filled the bases in the bottom 8th. Lonzo singled and stole second, while Abercrombie walked and Pucks scratched out an infield single with one out. Replacing Royer, Brass batted brashly into an inning-ending double play, and on the first pitch, too… Matt Walters at least got three strikeouts around a 2-out single by Chad Williams in the ninth to salvage that one skinny win. 1-0 Blighters. Abercrombie 1-2, 2 BB; Rojas 0-1, 2 BB; Taki 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, W (6-5) and 1-2;

Raccoons (32-27) vs. Wolves (30-31) – June 8-10, 2057

Oregon’s other team was in fourth place in the FL West and already out by double digits behind soaring Scorpions and pounding Pacifics. Salem was fourth in runs scored with a strong OBP and little in terms of power and speed, but only seventh in runs allowed, with a +12 run differential. These teams had also met last season, with a sweep for the Raccoons.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (7-4, 2.20 ERA) vs. Bryce Sparks (1-5, 3.31 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (6-3, 2.89 ERA) vs. Brian Fuqua (4-4, 4.31 ERA)
Josh Mayo (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Pablo Paez (5-3, 3.62 ERA)

In another example of weird timing, the Raccoons would again bypass the resident southpaw starter Jeff Boyce (2-3, 4.83 ERA) and see three right-handers.

Game 1
SAL: RF T. Lopez – 3B F. Marquez – CF Caswell – 1B Fresco – C Fuller – LF Calhoun – SS Crist – 2B G. Vazquez – P Sparks
POR: 2B Allred – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – C Chavez – CF Royer – 3B Anderson – P Adkins

Adkins struck out three in the first inning, but three others also reached base and put a run together as Noah Caswell and Tim Fuller hit singles around a 2-out walk drawn by Belchior Fresco, Fuller getting the RBI. It only got worse from there, with no offense in response from the home team, and then a barrage in the third inning by the Wolves, who put Tony Lopez and Felix Marquez on the corners with a pair of singles, and then got both of them home on a Caswell double to center. Caswell scored on a wild pitch and a groundout, making it 4-0 visitors. Sparks retired the first ten Critters in order before Lonzo found a single in the fourth inning, but was then promptly stranded. Bottom 5th, Sparks gave up three singles to Pucks, Chavez, and Royer, then faced Anderson with nobody out. I expected the worst right up to the 3-1 pitch to Anderson, which he swung at and popped out to Tom Crist on. I snorted, then opened the nearest bottle, which turned out to be prune juice, which I found disgusting enough to spit it into the flower pot next to the bobblehead cabinet, then opened a *proper* bottle, one with a dead cartoon rat with X-ed out eyes on the label. Oscar Caballero batted for Adkins and grounded out, which got *a* run home, but Allred struck out and the inning ended in disgrace.

The Coons fooled around with creditable relievers Scott, Lane, and Herrera for two innings to hold a 4-1 lead, still couldn’t find any ******* offense, and then resorted to shrugging and putting in Mancilla, who immediately fudged the Wolves a run together in the eighth. Sparks pitched seven innings of 5-hit ball, and James Murdock then shut out the Raccoons for the last two frames. 5-1 Wolves.

Game 2
SAL: RF Monson – 3B F. Marquez – 1B Fresco – C Fuller – LF Calhoun – SS Crist – CF M. Roberts – 2B G. Vazquez – P Fuqua
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Bribiesca – C Chavez – 1B Rojas – P Sweeton

Royer walked and stole second in the bottom 1st, as if that was enough to score a run with this lineup. It wasn’t, and when the Coons opened the bottom 2nd with a Bribiesca single and a double from Chavez, that led to barely ONE run on Rojas’ sac fly. Sweeton meanwhile sure looked on and without a doubt had to be, keeping the Wolves off the bags altogether through four innings with three strikeouts, then hit into an inning-ending double play with Chavez and Rojas on base in the bottom 4th, and then went back out to the hill and got licked by the flames rather quickly. Aidan Calhoun drew a walk, Tom Crist and Mike Roberts hit singles, and the game was tied with runners on the corners just like that. A strikeout to Gerardo Vazquez and a pop by the opposing pitcher to second base stranded those, but it would surely take 21 innings for the Raccoons to score another run…

…or maybe one. Lonzo singled, stole second, and then scored on Pucks’ 2-out single in the bottom 5th to re-establish a 2-1 lead for Sweeton, who gave up a double to 44-year-old Felix Marquez – struggling with the .200 mark this year! – in the sixth, but with the better end for Sweeton, who stranded that tying run on base while Marquez left the game in the same inning with a sore back. Old man pains, ain’t them!? (makes the stretchies that Luis Silva ordered him to do between innings)

A Lonzo double in the seventh also didn’t lead to a run, and Sweeton continued with the 2-1 lead for two outs in the eighth until he walked Jason Monson at the top of the order. With the former Critter representing the tying run and replacement third-sacker Noah Caswell batting left-handed, the Raccoons replaced Sweeton with Walters, because why wait? A strikeout ended the inning, and the Raccoons failed (the sentence should really just end there) to tack anything on, or even get on base, against Victor Mondragon in the bottom 8th. This time Walters gave up TWO 2-out singles in the ninth inning to Calhoun and Crist, but Mike Roberts then flew out moderately calmly to Royer to end the game. 2-1 Blighters. Lavorano 2-4, 2B; Puckeridge 2-4; Chavez 2-4, 2B; Rojas 0-1, BB; Sweeton 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (7-3);

What lineup to even set anymore??

Game 3
SAL: RF Monson – 3B F. Marquez – 1B Fresco – C Fuller – SS Crist – CF M. Roberts – LF T. Lopez – 2B Aparicio – P Paez
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Puckeridge – RF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Allred – P Mayo

The skies looked threatening for the rubber game, and Mayo managed to get taken deep by a baseball senior with back problems for an early 1-0 deficit, but the Raccoons rallied with singles by Lonzo, who stole his 20th base of the year, and Pucks and Brass to tie the game back up. The Wolves growled, put Tonys Lopez and Aparicio on base in the second inning, and then took a 3-1 lead on Monson’s triple into the leftfield corner with two outs. Marquez walked, but Fresco struck out to leave ‘em on the corners.

How much fail could the Raccoons pack into a week? Lonzo and Abercrombie were on the corners with one out in the bottom 3rd, but Pucks lined out to Fresco, who tapped first base coolly to double off an inattentive base runner. Brobeck and Chavez hit 1-out singles in the fourth, and Allred tried to shake off The Suck. Down 1-2, he finally got something he could hit and ticked it through the left side for an RBI single, 3-2. Mayo grounded out, advancing the runners like a bunt would have, and Royer grounded a ball to 43-year-old Tony Aparicio for what a 24-year-old second baseman would have turned for the third out, but Aparicio had to dive for the ball, and once he had fallen down, couldn’t get back up. Royer’s infield single tied the game, and Lonzo’s clean single up the middle brought in Allred with the go-ahead run, 4-3. Abercrombie hit another one of those to right before Pucks flew out to end the inning after six singles and four runs.

That wasn’t enough for a W for Mayo, who walked the tying runs on base in Fresco to begin the fifth and Crist with one out. Roberts flew out to left, threateningly deep, for the second out, and the Raccoons went to the pen – Mayo could hardly feel robbed, having thrown 105 pitches for just 14 outs. Mike Lane got the third out on a first-pitch grounder by Tony Lopez to Allred. That was the only pitch he threw in the game, since his spot came up with Brass and Allred on the corners and two outs against ex-Coon Raul Medrano (don’t make me actually remember his antics…) and Bribiesca pinch-hit for him. The infielder lashed an RBI single to right, but Royer popped out to end the inning. By the sixth it was raining when the Raccoons put the 2-3-4 batters on base with nobody out against lefty Dave Robinson. Brass popped out, but Brobeck bashed a bases-clearing double to right-center before being himself thrown out trying to make it a bases-clearing triple. Marcos Chavez socked a 2-out homer to left after that, putting the Coons into double digits for the day after they hadn’t scored ten runs for the last five games combined. A Caballero double and a Brass RBI single in the eighth would give them an 11th run on the game while both Tanizaki and Brobeck pitched two shutout innings each to put the game in the books. 11-3 Raccoons. Royer 2-5, RBI; Lavorano 4-5, RBI; Abercrombie 3-4, 2 RBI; Caballero 1-1, 2B; Brassfield 2-4, BB, RBI; Brobeck 4-5, 2B, 3 RBI and 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Chavez 2-5, HR, RBI; Bribiesca (PH) 1-1, RBI; Tanizaki 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

In other news

June 4 – TOP SS/3B Jesus Nunez (.292, 6 HR, 24 RBI) gets five base hits, three singles and two doubles, and walks in the walkoff run in the 10th inning of the Buffaloes’ 9-8 win over the Rebels. The game-winning bases-loaded walk marks his only RBI on the day.
June 4 – The Knights beat the Falcons, 2-1 in 14 innings.
June 6 – The season of LAP CL Jason Posey (2-1, 0.89 ERA, 7 SV) ends with a partially torn UCL.
June 6 – The Buffaloes beat the Rebels, 2-1. All runs score in the 11th inning, including both Buffos runs on a walkoff homer by Armando Caban (.253, 3 HR, 23 RBI).
June 8 – The Loggers trade OF Yukinari Okano (.330, 1 HR, 7 RBI) to the Cyclones for infielder Bill Sostre (.250, 0 HR, 0 RBI) and #5 prospect CL Alex Flores.
June 8 – It takes 12 innings for the Canadiens to put a run together on three singles to beat the Rebels, 1-0.
June 10 – The Gold Sox run riot around the Titans in a 17-0 dismissal. DEN 1B Bill Joyner (.328, 10 HR, 37 RBI) drives in six runs in the three hits.

FL Player of the Week: DEN 2B/3B Ivan Villa (.284, 18 HR, 47 RBI), smashing .367 (11-30) with 5 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA INF/RF Travis Edwards (.296, 6 HR, 32 RBI), batting .407 (11-27) with 1 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

This week was maddening and a prime example while I from time to time claim that a team with great pitching and no offense is way less fun to watch than a team with great offense and no pitching. This week, we scored two runs or less FOUR times, and somehow even went 2-2 in those games. Praise be to Taki and Sweeton.

Not really sure what to do with the offense, either. There’s no player with a cheat code on the back on his AAA trading card in the organization and … (waves stack of cards) … I checked all of them!

Mayo is not a solution to the question of what we do if it *doesn’t* rain for two straight days, either, and by now we’re getting a bit short for options. We have Monday off, then play nine games. We will need three starts from somebody other than Adkins, Taki, and Sweeton, and to be honest… beats me!

To be concise, we face the Blue Sox and Loggers on the road, then go home for a single 3-game set against the damn Elks before a trip to San Fran and Vegas, so at least the travel for the rest of the month could be so much worse.

Unrelated, it’s the draft on Friday, and I hope I won’t find the single pitcher in the eight or nine we listed that will have his arm come off two minutes after we take him at #9.

Fun Fact: Sunday saw Mike Lane get to 4-0 for the season, with two of those wins coming on two pitches or less.

He threw one pitch on Sunday to complete the fifth inning behind inefficient Josh Mayo, while on May 24 he threw two pitches to complete the eighth inning before the Raccoons took the lead in the top of the ninth for a 4-2 win over the Condors. All in all, his four wins came on a total of 30 pitches.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (34-28) @ Blue Sox (35-27) – June 12-14, 2057

The Sox were trying to rally from six straight losing seasons and 96 losses the year before, but had lost four straight games coming into this series, the last one before the draft. They were slugging their way to the top of the FL East with the league’s most longballs to make up for some pedestrian team OBP and bullpen numbers. They still had the second-most runs scored and allowed the third-fewest runs on the board, with a +50 run differential (Critters: +42). SP James Powell and OF Tony Roman were missing on the DL, but apart from that they had most of their team together. The Raccoons had won two of three games in the most recent meeting in 2054.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (6-5, 3.43 ERA) vs. Richard Castillo (4-4, 3.07 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (7-5, 2.49 ERA) vs. Travis Baker (7-2, 2.98 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (7-3, 2.73 ERA) vs. Coby Strutz (2-3, 1.60 ERA)

What was that? TWO left-handers in one series? Well, maybe. We’d see what the Monday off would do to their rotation. Baker and Strutz would be the southpaws, one being a signing out of independent ball five years ago, and the other having been taken in the 10th round in the draft at about the same time. Baker was established, while Strutz had only five career starts so far after starting the season in the bullpen.

Game 1
POR: 2B Allred – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 1B Rojas – P Taki
NAS: 2B Bratlien – CF Crumble – SS Nye – 1B Metz – C D. Johnson – 3B Webler – LF E. Flores – RF D. Montero – P R. Castillo

Get in your seats, folks, quick, because Seisaku Taki’s first-inning fireworks are back! The Blue Sox tore him a new one in the bottom 1st on Tuesday, as Jacob Bratlien, a distant scion of old Swiss nobility, found all the holes in the Coons’ defense at once and whacked a leadoff triple to begin the game. He scored on a grounder by Malik Crumble – and wasn’t that a name for a Raccoon!? – but Taki also failed Andy Metz on base before giving up back-to-back blasts to leftfield to David Johnson and John Webler for a rather briskly attained 4-0 deficit. The Sox would put six runs on Taki in all, getting another one on a Diego Montero homer in the fourth and hits by Nick Nye and Metz in the fifth, while the Raccoons plainly didn’t take place. Through five innings, we had a single by Abercrombie, and that was *it*. When Rojas and Brassfield managed to open the sixth inning with a pair of singles, Ryan Allred fanned and Lonzo found the shortstop for a 6-4-3 double play… Chavez went on to hit into another inning-ending double play – our specialty – in the seventh inning, but that was after a leadoff walk to Abercrombie and a Pucks double and Caballero single had driven in at least two runs against a heretofore dominant Castillo. Allred fudged into another 6-4-3 to end the eighth without the benefit of seeing some runs scoring first…. In the ninth we were then turned away rather unemotionally by Kevin Hitchcock, he of many rings, to end the game. 6-2 Blue Sox. Rojas 2-3; Brassfield (PH) 1-1;

That was just one of those terrible games…

Game 2
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – RF Caballero – CF Royer – P Adkins
NAS: 2B Bratlien – CF Crumble – SS Nye – 1B Metz – C D. Johnson – LF D. Gonzalez – 3B Webler – RF D. Montero – P T. Baker

Arturo Bribiesca hit a leadoff jack on Wednesday for a quick 1-0 lead, but after that the team loaded the bases with some soft contact, somehow, but left them loaded quite definitely when Oscar Caballero grounded out calmly to waste the 4-5-6 runners on base. At least no double play; Lonzo hit into that in the second inning after Royer reached on an error, stole second, Adkins walked and was forced out by Bribiesca, and a pair was on the corners with one out, but on Lonzo’s grounder, 5-4-3 went the play. In turn, Dave Gonzalez’ 2-out double in the bottom 2nd was followed by Webler singling to center, but Gonzalez was thrown out at home plate by Royer, so things somewhat evened out there. Adkins held out for a little while, but wasn’t on top of his game, and ultimately ran face-first into his own 4-run slapping in the fourth inning. He walked Crumble to begin the inning, which was a big red flag right away. Nye singled, but it was the catcher Johnson who socked a huge 3-run homer to left. Hits by Gonzalez and Montero then scored another run with two outs. Adkins would not make it out of the fifth inning, which was a true splatter movie if I had ever seen one on the field. Bratlien first reached on a clumsy error by Abercrombie, who dropped a looper in shallow left, and that run came in on Nye and Metz singles with one out. But when Johnson hit a comebacker to Adkins, that ball too was completely forked by Adkins, who first dropped it, then flubbed it through his pitiful paws TWICE before giving up, seeing himself surrounded by Sox on all sides. That was the end of him. Eloy Sencion gave up a run on a Gonzalez single before ending the inning, Portland now down by five.

And yet, two innings later Oscar Caballero bashed Jameel Williams for a bases-clearing triple to give the Coons the lead. The Coons’ 7-run seventh began with a soft single by Caballero to left, after which Royer doubled. Espinoza pinch-hit for Tanizaki in the #9 hole and grounded to second, but Bratlien botched the play for the first error of the inning, allowing a run to score, 6-2. Bribiesca singled in Royer, but was forced out by Lonzo. Brass whiffed, but with two outs and runners on the corners, Baker waved in another run by throwing away a pickoff attempt on Lonzo, who wasn’t going anyway against a left-hander with a career in the circus, who had the most impossible moves, having formerly been billed as The Great Travistoni, Snake Man. This scored Espinoza, 6-4, and Brobeck then singled home Lonzo from second, 6-5. This was where the righty Williams came in, allowed a single to Abercrombie, walked Pucks, and then had his first pitch to Caballero tucked into the right-center gap for a bases-clearing triple that put Portland up 8-6.

That became 8-7 in the bottom 7th with Gonzalez’ 2-out RBI double to score the pesky Nye against John Scott, while the Raccoons got singles from Bribiesca and Brassfield before eating a mouthful of ashes when Brobeck grounded out haplessly to end the inning. The 1-run lead was held by Herrera in the bottom 8th, then went to Walters for the ninth, with Rojas and Anderson in the game for defense on the corners. That worked so well when Anderson corked Nye’s 1-out grounder to put the tying run on base with the game’s sixth error, split evenly between two inept teams. Walters rung up Metz, however, and got through the inning on a fly out by PH Alan Leitch. 8-7 Critters. Bribiesca 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Brobeck 3-5, RBI; Abercrombie 3-5; Caballero 2-5, 3B, 3 RBI;

This was one of those games where you tried to be merry with the W, but in your mouth it tasted like a full ashtray.

Surely the rubber game would be less horrible, right?

Game 3
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – RF Caballero – CF Royer – 1B Puckeridge – C Zamora – P Sweeton
NAS: 2B Bratlien – LF D. Gonzalez – SS Nye – 1B Metz – C D. Johnson – 3B Webler – CF E. Flores – RF D. Montero – P Strutz

If nothing else, the Raccoons took a 2-0 lead in the first inning with singles from their 2-3-4 hitters, Brobeck bringing home Lonzo, and then a Royer sac fly after Webler was kind enough to bungle Caballero’s grounder for a bases-filling error. Pucks, blind against left-handers, grounded out to leave two on, and Sweeton gave all of that 2-0 lead away in the first inning with three factors combining: Nye being impossible to keep off base with a 2-out single, Brassfield overrunning the ball to give him an extra base, but that didn’t matter anyway since Andy Metz hit a fastball clean to Kentucky to tie the game. Things only got worse; Lonzo and Brobeck hit singles in the third, but Caballero jammed into the inning-ending double play, while in the fourth inning the Coons had the bases loaded with two outs, but Dave Gonzalez made a quarter-mile-long sliding catch it seemed on a Lonzo liner to strand the bases loaded. In turn, the Sox hit two ******* bloop singles off Sweeton to take a 3-2 lead with two outs in the bottom 4th on Montero’s single.

Caballero did single home Brassfield with a firm shot to right-center, cut off by Montero, with one out in the fifth, tying the game at three again, but the Blue Sox just copied our inning in their go in the bottom 5th. Leadoff double for Bratlien – as it had been for Brass – and then a 1-out RBI single for ******* ********* Nick Nye. The Coons went on to strand pairs on base in the sixth and eighth without scoring, which was so comforting, while the Sox tacked on an insurance run in the bottom 8th with a pair of doubles. Lane got bopped by the right-handed-hitting Johnson, and Sencion by the left-handed pinch-hitter Jose Cantu. Hitchcock in the ninth wasn’t bopped by anybody, striking out Brass and Brobeck and then getting an entry-level groundout from Caballero. 5-3 Blue Sox. Lavorano 2-5; Brassfield 2-5, 2B; Brobeck 3-5, 2B, RBI; Zamora 2-4;

What a series of pure, unadulterated horror. Let’s get outta here and … well, the boys go to Milwaukee, but I have to go to New York for the draft on Friday and then join them for the last two games with the Loggers. [but see the separate post after this one for the draft]

Raccoons (35-30) @ Loggers (34-31) – June 15-17, 2057

Second and third place in the North would go at each other on the weekend. Both teams were doing… well, alright? Sometimes we played quite well! Sometimes the Loggers did, like when they played the Raccoons, beating them three out of four times in the year’s first meeting. Milwaukee ranked seventh in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed in the CL.

Projected matchups:
Josh Mayo (1-0, 4.22 ERA) vs. Julian Dunn (8-5, 4.56 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (1-2, 7.46 ERA) vs. Adam Foley (3-6, 4.30 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (6-6, 3.83 ERA) vs. Sam Webb (4-4, 4.16 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday, maybe – the Loggers had been off on Thursday, they had time and resources to juggle things. The Raccoons were scratching the bottom of the barrel, just to make up the numbers.

Game 1
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 1B Rojas – 3B Anderson – P Mayo
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – 3B Triplett – RF Bishton – C Mi. Gilmore – SS Gaxiola – P Dunn

Brass singled home a pair in the top of the first after Bribiesca reached on balls and Lonzo on an error by Robby Gaxiola, which seemed to be the extent of offense on offer for the Raccoons on Friday. Mayo was doing quite well for a while until he started walking people in the fourth. He struck out four Loggers against two soft singles in the first three innings, but offered two free passes to Dave Robles and Ryan Bishton in the fourth, and then a 2-out RBI single was lobbed into shallow left-center by Mike Gilmore to cut the score to 2-1. Gaxiola flew out to Abercrombie, ending that inning.

Two hits through six for the Coons still meant a 2-1 lead in the bottom 6th, but that inning was started by Perry Pigman with a single to left. Dave Robles drew another walk, but Doug Triplett struck out and then then Loggers took off for a double steal, but Chavez threw out the trailing Robles to get the second out, with Pigman holding the tying run at third base. Mayo only had to remove the left-handed hitting Bishton, but gave up a game-tying single. Gilmore popped out, concluding the sixth. The Raccoons remained woeful at the plate, but the Loggers made four outs in four attempts against Mike Lane after Mayo left following the sixth inning. Ricky Herrera then came in to walk Perry Pigman, but Tanizaki got a double play grounder to end the eighth inning and keep the game tied at two.

Brett Lillis jr. then had a scoreless ninth, which used to be a good thing, but now not so much. The Raccoons had to go to Mancilla in the bottom 9th, which probably meant that everybody would get to go home on time – but actually Doug Triplett and Ryan Bishton grounded out to the middle infielders and then Gilmore struck out to send the game to extras. The same two pitchers had scoreless tenth innings, which included Pucks noisily bouncing off the wall in rightfield in chasing down Steve Valenzano’s drive to the fence to end the bottom 10th. Ryan Dow pitched a 1-2-3 11th for Milwaukee, and the Raccoons probably had one more inning in Mancilla, and then the tough choice of who to burn: Brobeck, tomorrow’s starter, Sencion and Scott, who both had already pitched two days in a row, or Walters, the closer in a tied game in extras on the road. Great! Pigman looked like he might make the point moot with a 1-out double to right, but then was inexplicably caught trying to steal third base for the second out of the inning. But the Raccoons were still spared a no-winners decision: Dave Robles hit a walkoff blast with two outs. 3-2 Loggers. Brassfield 2-4, BB, 2 RBI;

Sheesh. At least I didn’t miss a great game in New York.

Mike Lane then bowed out of the rest of the series after developing quite the flu overnight. He had pitched two days in row now, however, so he wouldn’t have been a likely option for at least Saturday anyway. Nevertheless, given Brobeck’s well-documented struggles with pitching this year, the Raccoons made a roster move and sent Pedro Rojas (.300, 0 HR, 1 RBI) away for an extra arm, Reynaldo Bravo, who had a 2.05 ERA in 22 games in AAA and had just turned 26.

Game 2
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – P Brobeck – C Zamora – 3B Anderson – CF Royer
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – SS Gaxiola – C Dye – P Foley

Foley faced the minimum in the first three innings, then singled up the middle to lead off the bottom 3rd for the Loggers against Brobeck, who had yet to get taken apart, but then was betrayed by Lonzo, who fudged Valenzano’s double play grounder, then gave up another single to Corey Garmon to fill the bases. While I expected a big inning, Pigman’s sac fly to left was the only run the Loggers got out of the charade, with Robles popping out to short and Bishton flying out to Pucks. Triplett and Gaxiola drew leadoff walks in the fourth, but Jonathan Dye’s pop, Foley’s bunt, and a K to Valenzano kept the Loggers from scoring. Brassfield led off the fifth with a shot to right that had length, but not direction, bending the wrong way round the foul pole. Brassfield settled for a single eventually, and the Raccoons settled as a whole on not scoring in the inning.

…and then Brobeck was lashed for another walk, three sharp hits, and three runs as the Loggers assaulted successfully in the fifth inning, extending their lead to 4-0 after all. Richard Anderson opened the sixth with his first career and also a pointless homer, while the Raccoons decided to just use up Brobeck in a lost game. He would go seven innings, walking six batters against two strikeouts, being overall rather awful. Same, really, for the offense, which amounted to a ninth-inning stray homer by Brassfield off Lillis, but pretty much nothing else. 4-2 Loggers. Brassfield 2-4, HR, RBI;

That dead-from-the-hips-up performance dropped the Coons all the way to fourth place. Worse, we were even robbed of Southpaw Sunday when the Loggers preferred to send Roberto Alvarado (1-3, 5.04 ERA), another right-hander.

Game 3
POR: RF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 2B Allred – 3B Anderson – P Taki
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – SS Gaxiola – C Dye – P R. Alvarado

The Loggers won the game in the second inning on Bishton and Gaxiola singles. The former stole second base in between, and the latter drove him in with two outs for a 1-0 Loggers lead. Sealed, wrapped, and delivered. Gaxiola was caught stealing to end the inning, as if more runs and runners would have changed the final result.

It wasn’t quite that bad, because Brassfield tied the game with another solo homer in the fourth inning, but in between Taki had walked Dye to begin the bottom 3rd and had then given up a single to Alvarado into shallow left. A big inning was beckoning until Valenzano grounded out sharply to Anderson, who picked, stepped on third base, and got the lumbering pitcher with a zinger to second base for a 5-4 double play, and the Loggers would not score in the inning. In the fourth, Pigman singled, stole second, and then was thrown out trying to steal third base for the second time in the series. Instead, the scrubs put a 2-1 lead together for the Raccoons. Allred got on base, stole second, and scored on an Anderson single to take the lead…! However, the Loggers tied the game again immediately with a triple bashed by Gaxiola to begin the bottom 5th. He scored on a passed ball, of all things, on the very next pitch. (groan)

The score remained locked at two through eight. Neither team mounted much of a threat for those three passing innings, but the Loggers were in their pen by the seventh, while Taki went eight and was ready to go nine if prompted. He was when the Coons went 1-2-3 in the ninth inning, giving up a leadoff single to Pigman before getting a double play grounder, 5-4-3, from Dave Robles, and this game also went to extra innings. Doug Triplett socked a leadoff double off John Scott in the bottom 10th, but Scott struck out the next three batters to extend the game. The Coons remained very stubborn in not getting on base, while the Loggers did get Pigman on base when he legged out an infield single against Tanizaki with two outs in the bottom 11th, but also hurt himself on the dash to first and was replaced by Ryan Wright, an infielder and their last guy off the bench. Robles grounded out to Lonzo to end the inning, and the game continued.

Oscar Caballero became consecutive base runners for the Coons with a 1-out single in the 12th against Ryan Dow. He had previously singled in the sixth against Alvarado. In between, the Coons had gone 0-for-17. Marcos Chavez tried to hit into a double play, but Dow actually threw that ball away, giving the Coons second and third with one out and Bribiesca batting. He whiffed, and Anderson popped out, and nobody ******* scored. Ruben Zamora opened the 13th with a single to left, hitting for Ricky Herrera, who had gotten his turn on a scoreless inning in just before. Pucks hit into a fielder’s choice and the Coons never got the go-ahead run off first base. In the 14th, induced by Reynaldo Bravo also turning in a scoreless frame, the Raccoons got a free runner in scoring position again on Bill Sostre’s 2-base throwing error, putting Caballero on second with one out and Roberto Navarro pitching. The Loggers walked Chavez intentionally, which was a bit weird, but then got a double play grounder from Bribiesca, while I was getting a thick neck. The Loggers won it then against Eloy Sencion, who walked Bishton, who stole second, and then scored on a Triplett single to right-center. 3-2 Loggers. Caballero 3-6; Zamora (PH) 1-1; Taki 9.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K;

In other news

June 12 – PIT SP He Shui (6-4, 4.17 ERA) could miss up to three months with a particularly bad hamstring strain.
June 12 – The Knights acquire the rights to CL Tommy Gardner from the Capitals. The 36-year-old right-hander went 6-8 with a 2.92 ERA and 37 saves in 2056, but had yet to pitch in 2056 after being hit with an 80-game suspension in the offseason, of which 20 games were still remaining. The Capitals receive two prospects including #187 SP Mike Dargis.
June 15 – CHA RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.371, 11 HR, 45 RBI) singles home a run in the ninth inning in a 5-3 win over the Aces, extending his hitting streak to 20 games just before the game ends.
June 17 – 43-year-old Wolves 2B Tony Aparicio (.231, 0 HR, 3 RBI) collects his 3,000th career hit in a 7-5 win over the Stars. He becomes the 21st player to reach the milestone in league history.
June 17 – ATL SP Jos Arias (6-2, 2.40 ERA) has blown out the flexor tendon in his elbow and is definitely out for the season.

FL Player of the Week: DEN RF/1B/LF Angel Angulo (.243, 4 HR, 27 RBI), hitting .542 (13-24) with 1 HR, 3 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC OF Chad Williams (.327, 11 HR, 49 RBI), mashing .545 (12-22) with 1 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Well, wasn’t that a ****** week. The offense refused to do anything, and the pitching was spotty at best. The bullpen actually did some commendable work, pitching all those extra innings without coming apart entirely, but you can only count on relief pitching to keep you in a tied game for so long.

At some point you should probably ******* score, especially if the other team formally begs you to do so by repeatedly throwing the ball away for two bases. JESUS H. CHRIST.

We’re in no condition to face the damn Elks starting on Monday, but they’ll be in anyway. It will be a trip to Baybird land and Vegas after that. Maybe I can trade some of the suckers to the casinos as professional greeters or something.

Fun Fact: Dallas rookie Alex Quevedo (0-0, 5.96 ERA), who gave up Tony Aparicio’s 3,000th base hit on Sunday, wasn’t even born when Aparicio made his major league debut.

Quevedo, 10 weeks short of his 22nd birthday, was born on September 3, 2035, while Aparicio made his debut for the 2035 Falcons in July. The best of Tony Aparicio’s 23 major league seasons was 2053, his age 39 season, when he won the CL Player of the Year award.

He was a filthy Elk that year, but most of his career was spent with the Falcons actually. He posted an OPS+ of 127 or better for a staggering *18* seasons in a row, a streak that only ended last year. For his career, he has hit .289/.393/.439 with 295 HR, 1,568 RBI, and 157 SB. He never led the league in anything but in homers, RBI, and slugging and OPS in ’53, but won a Gold Glove, four Platinum Sticks, and was an All Star 14 times.

[Westheim]

2057 AMATEUR DRAFT

The Raccoons were off to Milwaukee on Friday, while I was sparing myself the inevitable Josh Mayo fireworks and went to New York with new scout “Banjo” Pigg to grab some young pitching. The annual hotlist of the dozen-or-so players we had a big black googly eye on was dominated by pitchers and I had conveniently plonked nine of them on the list just so I was assured of getting one with the #9 pick. I’m the smartest cookie in the bag, aren’t I?

And here was that hotlist again (*high school players):

SP Evan Stanley (14/13/13) * – BNN #3
SP Melvin Guerra (16/12/13)
SP Jason Fick (15/13/14) – BNN #9
SP Justin Kent (12/13/13)
SP Aaron Chiara (11/15/12) * – BNN #10
SP Tyler Roe (13/13/9) – BNN #7
SP Antonio Pichardo (12/11/12)
SP Brett Cotton (12/13/12) * – BNN #2
SP Rich Read (12/13/15) *

CL Craig Scarberry (12/12/12)

C Joe Robertson (10/8/14)
1B Mike Davis (12/12/9) *

OF/1B Matt Desando (11/13/9) *
OF Dave Wright (11/11/16) * – BNN #4
OF Scott Laws (15/1/7) – BNN #8

In practice, the actual return depended of course on the eight teams that had picks ahead of us. The Indians were first on the call and went with Melvin Guerra. The Blue Sox took Jason Fick, and the Stars selected Evan Stanley, so there were the top 3 right off the board within the first three picks. I made a brave face. The Loggers drafted Dave Wright at #4, so that was an outfielder off the board, but the Bayhawks went right back into that pitching fountain and drafted Aaron Chiara at #5. Matt DeSando went #6 to the Cyclones, and it remained pitchers and outfielders from there to our pick: the Buffos took Justin Kent and the Aces went with Scott Laws with the next two picks, and then it was the Raccoons’ turn.

All four remaining starter options – the bottom four in the hotlist – were right-handed, so there was no fiddling around with “oh I want a lefty”. There were none. Tyler Roe was much older than the other three, turning 23 in August, but had insisted on getting his degree in Advanced Biomass Redudancy Solutions, whatever the heck that was. He apparently believed in finishing things off. He had a well-rounded four-pitch arsenal, but his stamina wasn’t the best. Antonio Pichardo and Rich Read were the two that OSA wasn’t huge on, and Read had only two and a half pitches at this point and still putting his arsenal together. Brett Cotton was just about to turn 19, also had four pitches going for himself, and had better stamina than Roe. He was a groundballer, and I told myself that by the time he’d be major league ready, we’d have tired of Kyle Brobeck and have good defense again. I was initially going to go with Roe, but the 7 stamina as assessed by Banjo soured me a bit on the idea. Cotton had a more sturdy 12, and no obvious red flags to navigate around, either. Brett Cotton was the Raccoons’ #9 pick in the 2057 draft!

Tyler Roe was taken by the Condors at #11. And after that, it was crickets in regards to the hotlist, to the point where the first-round proper was nearing its end and I was looking back and forth between our hotlist and the draft board and wondered where we’d actually get a second selection with our supplemental round pick. We did – but it wasn’t Pichardo, whom the Indians took at #25 – that was 13 in-between picks not off the hotlist later. That almost made you wonder whether there was any value to Rich Read, who was the sole leftover from those nine starters. Or would Scarberry be a smarter solution? Him, Joe Robertson, and Mike Davis were also all still available. But uh-uh – switching tracks now would be like admitting that there had been an error in our thought process. Full steam ahead into the abyss, conductor! Coons take Rich Read!

Here was where it got a bit concerning as to the quality of the remainder of the hotlist. 50 selections in, Scarberry, Robertson, and Davis were still on the board. The Raccoons got to make a *third* selection from the hotlist, which normally only happened after a complete sellout of the team and the entire roster being turned over for minimum-wage random faces in the offseason. Or, if you stack your hotlist with lint. (looks at Banjo with a raised furry eyebrow) In the hope that we hadn’t drafted a surfeit of homers yet, we went with Mike Davis for the second-round selection.

Craig Scarberry ended up being the #63 pick by the Rebels. And Joe Robertson ended up the #78 pick by the Raccoons, but at that point it was too late to even consider potential mis-analysis.

We would make shortlist selections then up to and including the Nick Brown Memorial Pick in the 11th round, and the Scorpions emptied the shortlist entirely by taking outfielder Ryan Parker with the #280 pick. After that your best chances to get drafted by the Raccoons were a funny name or a stupid face.

+++

2057 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#9) – SP Brett Cotton, 18, from Port St. Lucie, FL – well-rounded four-pitch mix on this right-handed groundballer, and nothing to really complain about; should get outs by the bushel, and maybe even within a few years’ time.
Supp. Round (#26) – SP Rich Read, 19, from Inwood, FL – right-handed finesse pitcher with primarily a fastball and curveball still looking to expand his arsenal, but he has very advanced command for his age
Round 2 (#54) – 1B Mike Davis, 19, from Atlanta, GA – movement-challenged first baseman with the prospect to hit both for average and oomph.
Round 3 (#78) – C Joe Robertson, 20, from Henderson, TX – pretty ordinary catcher in terms of a lack of speed, but with a keen eye at the plate and some power to make himself worthwhile; nothing extraordinary in his catcher ability, though.
Round 4 (#102) – SS Ben Henry, 18, from Topeka, KS – slick shortstop with some speed and a balanced bat, good for a solid average with some gap and home run power to spice it up a little bit
Round 5 (#126) – SS/2B Justin Richard, 19, from McHenry, IL – very good eye and good base running speed, and also a very good glove for a middle infielder; the question was whether he’d ever hit anything at all or would only get on base with walks…
Round 6 (#150) – SP Latrell Young, 18, from Hampton, VA – left-hander with a devious curveball, but seriously lacking in control and a third pitch of any quality to speak of
Round 7 (#174) – OF/1B Ellis Brown, 17, from Malden, MA – hard-working kid from a dirt-poor family; not much power in a guy looking to play a power position, but there was some contact potential and an innate ability to steal bases, his skills to run away from trouble honed in his formative years through helping out in the family’s shoplifting business
Round 8 (#198) – MR Chris McDowell, 20, from Stanton, KY – shy right-hander with a gorgeous slider and a 94mph heater, but no stamina whatsoever
Round 9 (#222) – CL Jalen Canady, 23, from Cheltenham Township, PA – another right-hander with a fastball/slider combo
Round 10 (#246) – 2B/SS/LF/CF Danny Safranek, 17, from Logansport, LA – tries to do many things, and few of them are very good, but if he gets his bum down he could be something like a middle-infield on-base terror with base-stealing potential with semi-solid contact and eye potential
Round 11 (#270) – MR Billy Laun, 20, from Sioux Falls, SD – left-hander with a fastball/slider combo; it felt like we were collecting those this year!
Round 12 (#294) – CL D.J. Spitler, 21, from New York, NY – Banjo’s notes say that Spitler is as dumb as a brick but throwing hard like one, and my interest is piqued. Righty with a fastball/curveball combo. Where’s your slider, D.J.?
Round 13 (#318) – SP Steve Zuercher, 17, from Baltimore, MD – last in the draft pool alphabetically, Zuercher claimed to have a four-pitch arsenal, but pro scouts opined that the left-hander was just tossing them up there somehow

+++

All new draft picks were assigned to Aumsville, while the Raccoons also cleaned out the minor league rosters to make room for the new arrivals. Among the players handed their papers were two that had made brief and terrible cameos in the majors for the Critters, lefty Jesus Guzman, a 2047 international free agent signing that made a single start for Portland two years ago, and Luke Ostler, who made a pawful appearances out of the pen a few years back. The right-hander had been a fourth-round pick in 2048. The only other minor league pitcher mentioned ever before was 2053 ninth-rounder Tyler DeFilippo, but several scouting discoveries and trash heap pickups were also dismissed.

For position players, we kicked out quite the bust in 2054 third-rounder 2B Mike Fernandez, who never made it out of Aumsville, and was batting .225 in over 1,000 at-bats there since being drafted regrettably high in that draft. Infielder Mike Stern had done even worse in four years since being taken in the sixth round in ’53. And don’t get me started on 2054 second-rounder LF/CF Justin Monnin, who couldn’t be farther from the single-A league average in OPS if he was watching the games from home.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (35-33) vs. Canadiens (36-31) – June 18-20, 2057

I really, really didn’t want the Elks to be in town, but … eeeh… well, there were a few bright spots. So far we still led the season series, 4-2, and the Elks had somehow accumulated the worst starting pitching in the league with a 4.70 ERA. You had to get them early though, because later they had the #2 bullpen in the league. They were third in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed, with a +8 run differential (Portland: +33, somehow).

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (7-5, 2.77 ERA) vs. Ernie Gomes (3-8, 5.38 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (7-4, 2.95 ERA) vs. Gabriel Casanova (3-0, 2.68 ERA)
Josh Mayo (1-0, 3.78 ERA) vs. Bruce Mark jr. (6-4, 2.89 ERA)

Casanova was a scheduled left-handed spot starter, while the other two were right-handed regular starters.

Speaking of paws, the Raccoons had just taken 34 innings to score six runs against the Loggers, so there was no hope, really, and thus, for starters I had a bottle of Capt’n Coma in my right paw and holding onto Slappy’s hand with my left paw to get some sort of comfort level going.

Game 1
VAN: 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – 1B Yamamoto – CF D. Moreno – C Weese – RF Magnussen – 3B Lundberg – SS R. Price – P E. Gomes
POR: CF Caballero – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Allred – P Adkins

To say that Adkins and Chavez weren’t on the same page would be a mild understatement. In just three innings, the pair committed a passed ball and a wild pitch each, Chavez caught Adkins so clumsily that the latter didn’t get any sort of borderline calls and walked a pair, the Elks had two singles, and at one point with Kevin Weese on first base in the second inning, the two were so at odds that Adkins angrily raised both arms as if to categorically challenge Chavez to call the ******* changeup, but had the hindpaw still on the rubber and was called out for a balk. Somehow, that level of mess resulted in no runs amidst four stranded base runners for the Elks. Adkins started to throw right down the middle to allow everybody to get on with life, which somehow yielded better results, while the Raccoons through five innings scattered four singles, never more than one in an inning, and left everybody on base, without ever getting as far as third base.

Ernie Gomes didn’t even strike anybody out through five innings, but then got back-to-back K on Lonzo and the slumping Aberzombie in the bottom 6th. Brassfield hit another one of those 2-out singles, then got into scoring position on a passed ball charged to Kevin Weese. Pucks then finally broke the ice with a double to center, driving in Abercrombie with the game’s first run. Brobeck added an RBI single, Chavez also singled, and Allred hit another RBI single, but the lunkheaded Chavez was thrown out trying to go first-to-third on the play, but at least that was after Brobeck had already crossed the plate with the third run of the inning. Adkins pitched one more shutout inning, then was pinch-hit for in the bottom 7th. Bribiesca walked, stole his first base of the year, but was stranded. Lane had a scoreless eighth, while Walters gave up a 1-out triple to Damian Moreno in the ninth inning, and then had to concede the run on Weese’s grounder to second base, but put the game away nevertheless. 3-1 Raccoons. Brassfield 3-4; Puckeridge 2-4, 2B, RBI; Chavez 3-4; Adkins 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (8-5);

Game 2
VAN: CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – LF Magnussen – C Waker – LF K. Hawkins – 1B Yamamoto – 2B E. Stevens – 3B Lundberg – P Casanova
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – LF Caballero – RF Puckeridge – CF Royer – C Zamora – P Sweeton

The game started like the last one with no offense worth pointing out, until Bribiesca fudged Rick Price’s leadoff grounder in the fourth inning for an error. Price was forced out at second base on Adam Magnussen’s grounder, but then scored on singles by Kyle Hawkins and Shuta Yamamoto to give the damn Elks an unearned 1-0 lead. Erik Stevens popped out to short to leave two on base. The Elks added an earned run in the fifth inning thanks to a leadoff triple by Tyler Lundberg and Casanova hitting a ball out to Caballero that was just deep enough for a sac fly. And the Raccoons would sure soon find their batting pants against the spot starter on the hill, I was sure.

Bottom 6th, Bribiesca’s double to left and Lonzo’s single to center put the tying runs on the corners with one out. Here we go! …maybe. Brassfield hit a liner over the head of Price at least, which fell for a 1-out RBI single and shortened the score to 2-1, and Kyle Brobeck found the hole on the left to single home Lonzo with the tying run five pitches later. Brass reached third base with the go-ahead run, but Caballero grounded a ball to the Gold Glover Price… it wasn’t very fast though and Price tried to get two the artsy-fartsy way by just flinging the ball to Stevens with his glove. He missed, was charged an error, and the Coons still had two on and one out with a 3-2 lead. Discombobulated, Casanova walked Pucks on four pitches to stuff the bags, and the Coons scratched out another run on Zamora’s sac fly to right. Right-hander Jameson Monk then retired Sweeton to end the inning. Then the tying runs reached scoring position on two pitches in the seventh as the bedeviled Yamamoto singled and Stevens doubled. Sweeton got a grounder from Weese, but when left-handed Sadafumi Taniguchi pinch-hit for Monk in the #9 spot, lining up four straight lefty bats, the Raccoons chose to go to Eloy Sencion with the tying runs in scoring position. Taniguchi hit a single up the middle anyway; Yamamoto scored, and Stevens was sent around – but thrown out by Steve Royer! Moreno then struck out to keep the Coons 4-3 ahead at the stretch. Sencion then axed the Elks quite quickly in the eighth, and Matt Walters got ready again, and again gave up an extra-base hit, a 2-out double to left to Stevens. It was all fine though, because the Raccoons had removed Brobeck for defense at third base, and that was precisely where PH Jacob Goldstein hit bouncer to Daniel Espinoza, who – threw the ball away for two bases and the tying run scored. (dead-eyed stare)

Walters struck out Danny Garcia to end the top 9th, but now the Raccoons had to resume poking against right-hander Kellen Lanning. Espinoza, who had **** to make up for, hit a 1-out double to left in the #9 spot against Lanning, putting the winning run in scoring position. Allred batted for Bribiesca and singled to center, but Espinoza was held at third base as a shallow-playing Damian Moreno was on the ball really quick. Lonzo then? No, first Allred was picked off first base by Lanning as the Coons piled up yet more stupidity, and then Lonzo struck out to send the game to extras. Ricky Herrera held the Elks away in the tenth inning, while the Raccoons made three straight outs in Lanning’s second inning. John Scott then got the ball. Hawkins hit a leadoff single, while Yamamoto walked. Stevens hit a comebacker to the mound, which Scott fumbled while trying to spin for a double play, and ended up getting nobody with. Three on, nobody out, and my bottle was ******* empty. When Goldstein popped out, the Coons were suddenly alive again, however, because the Elks were out of pinch-hitters – Lanning had to bat and struck out! Damian Moreno grounded to first base for the third out of the inning and all their runners were stranded. Hah!! Lanning, a former starter, was still going in the bottom 11th and got Pucks to fly out to right, but Abercrombie singled to right, then stole second base accidentally on a missed hit-and-run with Zamora. The catcher whacked the next pitch, however, into left-center, and for a walkoff double! 5-4 Critters. Allred (PH) 1-1; Brassfield 2-5, RBI;

Beating the Elks will never not be fun, but I’m sure it would also work with less panic, boys.

Damn Elks.

Game 3
VAN: 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – 1B Yamamoto – CF Moreno – C Weese – RF Magnussen – 3B Lundberg – SS R. Price – P Mark jr.
POR: CF Caballero – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Allred – P Mayo

There was no beating the damn Elks on Wednesday, however, since Josh Mayo had his numb skull caved in right in the first inning, getting blasted for five runs on just 28 pitches. To say that he didn’t fool anybody would have been a mild understatement. Two walks, including leading off against Stevens, and two homers to score all the runs, a 2-piece by Hawkins and a 3-piece by Tyler Lundberg with two outs. That one was unearned because Mayo had also ****** up a defensive play, and the Elks had also seen Yamamoto thrown out at the plate by Abercrombie, trying to score from second base on a Weese single, and from there Mayo was mostly employed for more innings because the Coons weren’t gonna rally out of a 5-run hole before the weekend anyway. He made it a 6-run hole by the third inning, nailing Moreno with the first pitch of the inning before giving up a single to Weese that sent Moreno to third base, and then a wild pitch that allowed Moreno to score uncontested.

The Coons were invisible until the fifth, when Bruce Mark jr. walked Pucks and Brobeck to begin the inning, and gave up RBI singles to Chavez and Caballero, but even then the score was barely dented; also, Brobeck had taken over tossing duties after Mayo’s demise after three innings, so the gap was bound to get bigger eventually. Daniel Espinoza replaced him at third base, made another error in the sixth inning, and I was making angry noises while flailing my paws. Brobeck finally gave up two runs in the eighth, his fifth inning of work, when he started to walk people after four treacherously good innings of 1-hit ball. Caballero and Abercrombie pulled a run back with a pair of doubles in the bottom 8th, but it wasn’t like that covered for all the damage already received… 8-3 Canadiens. Caballero 2-4, 2B, RBI; Brobeck 1-2, BB, 2B and 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Bribiesca (PH) 1-1;

The Raccoons then had Thursday off and had enough time to clean house. The Josh Mayo (1-1, 4.58 ERA) experiment ended with him punching a waiver and being designated for assignment, while Espinoza (.239, 0 HR, 5 RBI) had gone 0-for-4 with an error in that last game, and I decided that we really didn’t need TWO right-handed, non-hitting third basemen on the roster.

Raccoons (37-34) @ Bayhawks (36-35) – June 22-24, 2057

San Francisco ranked second in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed. They were third in the South, six games out, which wasn’t entirely dissimilar to the Raccoons’ own position. The Bayhawks notably were the power kings of the CL with a leading 67 taters, but also had a mellow rotation, third from the bottom in ERA. Given that the Coons had just been content with 11 runs against the worst rotation in the league, I didn’t get my hopes up all too far. San Fran also led the season series, 2-1, and nothing good had ever happened at the Bay.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (6-6, 3.67 ERA) vs. Salvatore Calderon (3-4, 5.71 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (8-5, 2.57 ERA) vs. Bill Grau (2-2, 4.70 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Milt Cantrell (7-3, 3.05 ERA)

Grau was a *second* left-hander we’d see this week. Whoah! Where were they all coming from??

Meanwhile, the Raccoons had obviously added Ramon Carreno back to the roster, and he’d go on Sunday on an extra day of rest, while Brobeck didn’t get a start here after going five innings on Wednesday. There was also the added challenge of no further off days before the All Star Game, but a scheduled double header (!?) against the Crusaders on Thursday.

…and then we’d also have a debut on Friday, as the Raccoons called up 22-year-old INF (but realistically: 2B) Paul Labonte, a left-handed batter mashing .333 with 5 HR, 37 RBI in AAA. Labonte had been a third-rounder taken at #71 in the 2053 draft. He was a weird character in that he had great speed but no timing for base stealing, and he was Canadian but brash and ill-tempered.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Royer – P Taki
SFB: LF X. Reyes – C Mittleider – 1B P. Fowler – 2B A. Montoya – RF Epperson – 3B Peltier – SS Sherrick – CF A. Walker – P S. Calderon

Labonte began his major league career with a pop to Armando Montoya, but hit a single to right his second time up with one out in the top 3rd, which allowed Lonzo to hit into an inning-ending double play in the scoreless game. It also remained scoreless for a while longer. There was no shortage of base runners, with both Calderon and Taki each putting seven runners on base through seven innings – Calderon with only hits and Taki with five hits and two walks – but neither team managed to pile enough of them into a single frame to gain some traction on the scoreboard. The game was still scoreless going into the eighth inning. The Coons went down 1-2-3, but Taki gave up a 1-out single to Jon Mittleider, and then a gapper for a triple to Pat Fowler. Montoya’s grounder scored Fowler with the game’s second run, which was also the last one. 2-0 Bayhawks. Brassfield 2-4; Puckeridge 3-4; Taki 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, L (6-7);

Nothing good, like I said.

Game 2
POR: LF Caballero – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – RF Abercrombie – CF Royer – P Adkins
SFB: SS X. Reyes – C Mittleider – 2B A. Montoya – RF A. Walker – LF Lindauer – 3B Peltier – CF Gough – 1B P. Fowler – P Grau

When Adkins had the Coons’ first hit with a third-inning single on Saturday, then was swiftly doubled up by Caballero, I double-facepalmed so loudly in the middle of the row of suites in the upper deck that it was audible on both teams’ broadcasts. Adkins lined up three scoreless innings, then got bopped for a 3-run fourth on three straight knocks. Aaron Walker singled, Jeremy Lindauer hit an RBI double, and former Coons farmhand Adam Peltier smashed a homer to left, because who else would? I was suffering noisily in the suite, to the point where the youngest daughter of some of the Bayhawks’ business partner or other asked her mother whether that weird old man was dying. And I hoped so.

Adkins gave up another run in the fifth, while Brassfield singled home Caballero in the sixth for a token run for the cruddy Critters. That aside, the team only shone with stupidity, such as when Marcos Chavez opened the seventh inning with a double to left… and was thrown out trying to make it a triple. Plonkers, all of them. And yet, scoreless relief by Scott and Bravo held the Bayhawks to their four runs off Adkins in six innings, and the Raccoons brought the actual tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, and with two outs, after Dave Lister walked Brass and gave up a single to Chavez. Pucks pinch-hit in the #6 spot occupied by Reynaldo Bravo and lunged at the first offering he got from Lister – and blasted it over the fence in left!! Tied ballgame!! Huaaaahh!! – No, Ma’am, I’m fine. – Yes, this is normal. – You may try to call security, but (shows off his visiting team badge) I am here in an official capaci- (is dragged out of the suite by two cupboard-sized goons)

While I was put outside on the street and then immediately employed Raccoon skills and clambered into the rear-facing visitors’ clubhouse through an open window on the second floor, Abercrombie grounded out against Darren McRee and Ricky Herrera got the game to extras, then offered a leadoff walk to PH Jamie Sherrick in the bottom 10th, but Tanizaki retired the 3-4-5 batters to keep the game going. The Coons’ offense showed only its worst behavior again in extra innings and didn’t mount even the slightest threat against the Baybirds’ pen before Alex Mancilla entered the bottom 12th and gave up hits to Xavier Reyes and Armando Montoya to lose the game… 5-4 Bayhawks. Chavez 2-4, BB, 2B; Puckeridge (PH) 1-2, HR, 3 RBI;

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – RF Puckeridge – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – CF Caballero – SS Bribiesca – C Zamora – P Carreno
SFB: LF X. Reyes – C Mittleider – 1B P. Fowler – 2B A. Montoya – RF Epperson – 3B Peltier – SS Sherrick – CF Lindauer – P Cantrell

Carreno flew out to Lindauer in center to end the second inning with Caballero and Zamora on base, then gave up a bunch of hits in the bottom 2nd; Armando Montoya was caught stealing, but Jamie Sherrick drove home Adam Peltier with a double to give the Baybirds a 1-0 lead. The Raccoons went on to strand Labonte and Brassfield on base in the third inning and had Bribiesca and Zamora on the corners after an intentional walk to the latter in the fourth, when Carreno whiffed and gave the stick to the next rookie in line, Labonte. A firm liner over the head of Montoya fell into shallow right-center and scored the tying run from third base, but Pucks then grounded out to Pat Fowler to strand another pair.

Carreno fought valiantly, though, and retired the Birds in order in the fourth before giving up a leadoff double to the base of the wall in the bottom 5th, hit of course by the inevitable Adam Peltier. The bottom of the order croaked for the Bayhawks, though, and Carreno scurried out of the inning without conceding the go-ahead run. The top three in the San Francisco order then made out on three pitches in the sixth inning, which sounded better than the noise Pat Fowler’s bat made when he flew out to Abercrombie right at the fence in leftfield. And yet, the offense denied him any sort of support, and then Carreno gave up a leadoff jack to Montoya in the bottom 7th. Epperson and Sherrick hit singles after that and the Raccoons moved on to Herrera, who got a groundout from Sam Witherspoon, then walked Eric Cobb in the #9 hole. Tanizaki then got PH Aaron Walker out to Bribiesca at short to strand the bases loaded.

Top 8th, Abercrombie drew a leadoff walk against right-hander Travis Julien, then stole second base. Brass whiffed, but Brobeck hit a scratch single, then was run for with Lonzo, who stole second base and took off the double play. Which didn’t keep Caballero and Chavez from striking out, the latter batting for Bribiesca. (bites into clenched fist)

And yet, the dismal Critters tied the game again with two outs in the ninth against Dave Lister, and it was again Pucks to drive in the tying run, Zamora, with a 2-out knock to rightfield; Zamora had hit a leadoff single against Lister. This time we even took the lead – after Abercrombie drew a 2-out walk, Brass doubled to left. Pucks scored, Abercrombie was thrown out trying, and Matt Walters retired Peltier, Sherrick, and John Gough in order to snicker outta here with a win. 3-2 Blighters. Labonte 2-5, RBI; Puckeridge 2-5, 2B, RBI; Zamora 2-3, BB; Carreno 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K;

In other news

June 19 – TOP SP Bill Hernandez (7-4, 3.89 ERA) is rear-ended in his car while waiting at a red light and hits the DL while suffering from whiplash and bruising, but is expected to return after 15 days.
June 19 – The Blue Sox acquire MR Matt Pickel (2-2, 4.06 ERA, 4 SV) from the Cyclones for two prospects.
June 19 – Condors reliever Jose Jacinto (0-1, 1.93 ERA) loses the Condors’ game against the Knights, 6-5 in 10 innings, when he drills OF Jayden Baldwin (.214, 0 HR, 5 RBI) with the bases loaded, pushing the winning run across the plate.
June 19 – The Capitals also have a weird 10th-inning walkoff win, 3-2 against the Miners, when PIT 1B Alex Abecassis (.238, 10 HR, 41 RBI) drops a throw to his base for what would have been the third out of the inning, instead allowing Washington’s Sergio Quiroz (.158, 0 HR, 1 RBI) to score from third base.
June 20 – The Pacifics beat the Gold Sox, 6-3, when LAP C Chris Maresh (.206, 5 HR, 36 RBI) socks a walkoff grand slam against Denver’s Jim Cushing (0-6, 3.16 ERA, 18 SV).
June 21 – The hitting streak of Falcons RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.368, 11 HR, 47 RBI) ends at 24 games in a 4-1 loss to the Thunder. Ceballos walks twice in the game, but goes 0-for-2 when actually swinging.
June 23 – Indians RF/LF/1B Bill Quinteros (.298, 5 HR, 29 RBI) drops his 2,000th career hit, but is left moping an 11-2 loss against the Knights. Quinteros, age 36, doubles off ATL SP Vic Harman (10-3, 2.78 ERA) to reach the milestone. The career Indian and former #1 pick in the 2042 draft has piled up six Platinum Sticks and 8 All Star nominations in his career, batting .271 with 270 HR and 1,052 RBI. He also stole 207 bases in his younger years.
June 23 – The Wolves beat the Rebels, 9-3. All the Wolves’ runs score in a 9-run ninth inning, including a grand slam by OF Noah Caswell (.303, 10 HR, 36 RBI).

FL Player of the Week: PIT 1B Alex Abecassis (.262, 13 HR, 48 RBI), batting .524 (11-21) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.339, 13 HR, 47 RBI), hitting .480 (12-25) with 2 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Since I was already hissed at because of it, it’s pronounced Pohl La-bon-té, not whatever you thought. He’s Quebecois, whatever that means. It can’t be edible; I’d know if it was edible.

For pitching next week, we either use Brobeck as the extra starter on Thursday or use him in order on Tuesday and then get a spot starter from AAA. Any pitching plan that doesn’t involve Brobeck in some capacity probably involves forfeits. And no, Craig Kniep has not found his mojo again in St. Pete so far; he’s walking eight batters per nine innings.

Speaking of pitching, we still have three very good starting pitchers, and if the offense keeps being comatose like this, then those three good starting pitchers will all be traded in the next five weeks and we’ll suck our way to 90 losses for a good draft pick again. The mix on paw is obviously not working, and it’s a bit depressing, not gonna lie.

We move on to Vegas, then home for a 5-game (…!) set with the Crusaders, and even more home games against the Titans and Indians in the week before the All Star Game.

Fun Fact: The Crusaders are 16-5 in June and 24-9 for their last 33 games.

They are running away with the division quite obviously now, with the Raccoons being a paltry 10-11 in June, and a respectable but insufficient 19-14 for their own last 33 games.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (38-36) @ Aces (27-48) – June 25-27, 2057

The Aces were bottoms in runs scored, bottoms in runs allowed, bottoms in the South, and bottoms in the entire league – in other worse, a tough nut to crack for the Strugglecoons, although we had swept Vegas in the first meeting of the season.

Our rotation for the week was a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, but the dog had eaten all the corner pieces. The trick was to somehow arrange Sweeton and Taki for this series with some spot starter or other, while knowing that we had Adkins on regular rest in the opener for the Thursday double-header with the Crusaders, and Mr. X in the second game, then Carreno on regular rest on Friday. Since we were not using Kyle Brobeck at third base on days before or after he was scheduled to start or threw a substantial amount of innings in relief, we didn’t want Brobeck to start on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. An additional complication was that the guys in AAA that could reasonably be asked to start a game in the majors without getting thrown off the nearest cliff inside three innings were all rested *now* on Monday, and that team had to keep playing too and couldn’t not use half its starting staff…

In a bid for the dumbest possible solution the Raccoons ended up waiving and designating Ryan Allred for assignment on Monday to free up a roster spot, then added Craig Kniep for a spot start on Monday – not that he deserved it! – while penciling in Kyle Brobeck on Tuesday, pushing Sweeton to Wednesday, and Taki into the second game of the double header.

On Monday, thusly, the Raccoons had 14 pitches on the roster and only 11 position players.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (3-4, 5.43 ERA) vs. Scott Evans (3-10, 6.17 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (1-3, 6.51 ERA) vs. Jorge Quinones (3-6, 3.35 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (7-4, 2.95 ERA) vs. Kenneth Spencer (5-7, 6.59 ERA)

Two pushovers and two left-handers, the latter being Quinones and Spencer. Not that I trusted our offense with much of anything right now.

We would face another left-hander, David Concha (7-6, 4.09 ERA) in the Crusaders series, so the Monday opener was as good a chance to give Trent Brassfield a day off as we’d get for this week.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Puckeridge – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 3B Anderson – RF Royer – P Kniep
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B Welter – LF Hummel – 1B Jacinto – 2B Villarreal – C Mathews – P S. Evans

Caballero’s double with Abercrombie and Pucks on the corners drove in a first-inning run, but Jose Ambriz threw out Pucks at the plate trying to make it two, and the inning ended. Caballero later on singled home Lonzo, who had singled and stolen second base to begin the top 3rd, before Abercrombie got nicked, and sat in the batter box wincing for a time, but the inning ended when Chavez rumbled into a double play after that, but at least the Aces hit into their own inning-ending double play with Gustavo Jacinto and the bases loaded to end the bottom 3rd against a reasonably terrible Craig Kniep, who gave up five hits, two walks, and somehow only one run in three chaotic innings until then. Well, what did YOU think we’d need 14 pitchers for…?

Kniep went only five innings, offering another walk to Kyle Mathews in the fourth. He had perhaps room for another inning, but his spot came up in the top 6th with Caballero and Chavez in scoring position after two singles against Scott Evans to begin the inning, and two outs. Brassfield grounded out to Miguel Veguilla, and that was that. Mancilla got the 2-1 lead in the bottom 6th since our lead had a death wish, allowed a single to Ken Hummel and a walk to Jacinto, but then somehow got three outs from the bottom of the order without conceding the tying run.

Paul Labonte then whacked his first career home run, a leadoff jack in the seventh, to extend the lead to 3-1. Mancilla responded with a leadoff triple served up to Ambriz and an RBI single to Veguilla before being disposed of. Aubrey Austin hit into a double play, and Jacinto hit into another double play in the bottom 8th against Mike Lane, after Ruben Zamora had singled home Marcos Chavez for a tack-on run, pinch-hitting with two outs in the top 8th. Matt Walters meanwhile kept throwing meatballs, giving up a pinch-hit homer to Tim Burkhart in the bottom 9th. In good news he at least hadn’t walked the bags full beforepaw and the Aces never got the tying run into a meaningful position. 4-3 Raccoons. Labonte 2-5, HR, RBI; Puckeridge 2-5; Caballero 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-5; Royer 2-3, BB; Zamora (PH) 1-1, RBI;

The Raccoons returned Craig Kniep (4-4, 5.14 ERA) to the Alley Cats after this game and brought up C Matt Stanton, who was batting .242 in AAA, just to get an extra right-handed bat involved. There was a pinch in the rotation, there was a pinch on the bench, and there was a pinch on the 40-man roster, and Stanton was *an* option for a few days. He’d probably be optioned again for an extra arm on Thursday.

Probably.

Game 2
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – P Brobeck – CF Caballero – 3B Anderson – C Zamora – RF Royer
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B Welter – LF Hummel – 1B Jacinto – 2B Villarreal – C Mathews – P Quinones

Like against Kniep on Monday, the Aces scattered plenty of early runners, hitting four singles and getting a walk off Brobeck while not getting a run across in the first three innings. Veguilla was caught stealing in the first inning, and the other four were stranded, two on third base, while Brobeck struck out three batters, but didn’t exactly look invincible. Quinones in turn walked Anderson but didn’t allow a hit the first time through the Coons lineup. Lonzo hit a leadoff single in the fourth, however, stole second, and eventually scored on an error by Mathews. Whatever works, boys, whatever works. The singles approach sure didn’t work for the Aces, who got singles from Ken Hummel and Tony Villarreal in the fourth inning, and then had Mathews hit into a 6-4-3 double play to take off the threat.

Zamora homered to extend the lead to 2-0 in the fifth, and the Raccoons began the sixth with Lonzo getting brushed by Quinones and then Brassfield reached on Jeremy Welter’s error. Abercrombie flew out to Aubrey Austin, but Brobeck’s scratch single filled the bases. Caballero’s sac fly was the only run in the inning, however, as Anderson grounded out to Welter for the last out. The Aces also had the bags full in the bottom 6th as Austin awed with a single, Welter walked, while Brobeck went on to pummel Hummel with a fastball. Oh, and there was nobody out. Jacinto popped out to first, which removed the lefty bat from the box for no gains, after which the Raccoons removed Brobeck from the hill – also for no gains. Lane got Villarreal to line out softly to Anderson, but then blew all of the 3-0 lead on singles by Mathews and the ******* opposing pitcher with two outs. Ambriz flew out to Abercrombie to end the ******* inning.

The Critters from there left the go-ahead run on third base in the seventh inning, when Zamora and Lonzo were on the corners and forgotten on Brassfield’s fly to Ambriz, and the eighth, when Labonte doubled from the #5 spot with one out, but following advance to third on Caballero’s groundout was left there when Anderson popped out. While the Coons squeezed out what they could find in the pen to hold the tie, the offense created another scoring opportunity in the ninth against righty Hyeok Kim, who walked Royer with one out, then saw Chavez batting for Tanizaki in the #1 hole. Chavez struck a double to left-center, but Royer was stopped at third base. Lonzo chose chickening out by drawing a walk (!), which filled the bases for Brassfield, who struck out, and then Abercrombie, who grounded out to short. (bites into clenched fist) – (spits out hairs)

Reynaldo Bravo pitched two scoreless innings in the ninth and tenth as the game extended longer than welcome, which was a disturbing regularity lately. His spot came up in the top 11th after southpaw Jose Cintora had given up a 1-out single to Royer. Pucks drew a full-count walk to push the go-ahead run to second base for Lonzo, who grounded out, and Brassfield lined out to short, leaving a pair in scoring position. It was the FOURTH time in five innings that the Coons left a guy on third base without ever scoring and I was beginning to feel my main artery pumping in my neck. John Scott kept the game going in the home half of the inning, and Abercrombie drew a leadoff walk off Cintora in the 12th, then stole second base after Labonte popped out. Caballero grounded out, moving the runner to third, and Anderson struck out, leaving him there for good. (fuzzy ears start to poke outwards and the brows furrow)

Scott struck out five in two innings, then had his spot (#3) up with Zamora on second and Pucks on first and two gone in the 13th against lefty Justin Rocco. Matt Stanton was the last warm body no the bench, hit a fly to deep left… and Hummel caught the bloody thing. Sencion got the ball for the bottom 13th and Sean Sweeton went to the bullpen to warm up at this point, because the only other relievers technically available were Walters and Mancilla. They didn’t pitch – because Eloy Sencion saw Lonzo fumble Austin’s grounder to lead off the bottom 13th, and then gave up a 2-out walkoff double to Jacinto later. 4-3 Aces. Chavez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Puckeridge (PH) 1-1, BB; Lavorano 2-5, BB; Brobeck 2-3; Zamora 3-6, HR, RBI; Bravo 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Scott 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K;

This team.

Game 3
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Caballero – C Chavez – RF Puckeridge – 3B Anderson – CF Royer – P Sweeton
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B Welter – LF Hummel – 1B Jacinto – 2B Villarreal – C Mathews – P K. Spencer

I bitterly begged the baseball gods for seven innings from Sweeton on Wednesday; not even a W, just seven innings please, not aware of the loophole that I could be granted seven from Sweeton, and then another seven in a 14-inning neckbreaker with the double-header coming up. I got a 4-0 lead in the first inning, with Bribiesca and Lonzo taking to the corners to begin the game. Brassfield’s fielder’s choice removed Lonzo, but scored Bribeisca, while Caballero also got on base before Pucks smacked a 3-run homer. But Sweeton wasn’t doing badly either; he struck out six Aces in the first four innings while giving up only two hits and no runs despite a leadoff double by Austin in the fourth inning. The fifth was quick for Sweeton (as it was for the Raccoons’ batters, who after taking a 4-0 lead considered their day’s of work done and demanded snacks), but Ambriz hit another double to right in the sixth. He was then also caught stealing, so the problem sorted itself out. Sweeton was then hit with a fastball by Andy Younge to begin the seventh inning, which the brown-clad team did not appreciate and bickered ferociously from the dugout, some even with full snouts, spitting crumbs onto the field. The umpires kept order, and Bribiesca forced out Sweeton with a grounder to get him off the field, but Lonzo then singled. The two runners took off for a double steal out of spite, Mathews threw the ball away, and Bribiesca scored to extend the lead to 5-0. Lonzo was on third base, but only scored after Brass whiffed and Caballero walked, when Chavez singled to left.

Pucks’ grounder ended the inning, while Sweeton went back to the hill on 80 pitches. Up by six, it was really his own call whether he could get to the ninth, but a full-count walk to Ken Hummel in the bottom 7th didn’t help as it blossomed the inning to 21 more pitches, so 101 for the day. It became apparent how desperate the Raccoons were for extra outs from their starter when Sweeton batted for himself in the top 8th, singled with two outs and nobody on, and then was even brought in to score with two more singles from Bribiesca and Lonzo, 7-0. Sweeton got two more outs, a K on Nick Thayer and a fly to center from Ambriz, before Veguilla dropped in a single on the 113th pitch of the game, and here the Coons went to the pen. Mancilla and Labonte entered in a double switch that gave Lonzo the last inning and small change off. Austin grounded out to Labonte on second base to end the eighth and close Sweeton’s line, while David Zaragoza was bopped for two more runs in the top 9th with leadoff knocks by Chavez, Pucks, and Anderson. 9-0 Critters! Bribiesca 2-5, BB; Lavorano 3-5, RBI; Chavez 2-5, 2B, RBI; Puckeridge 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Anderson 3-5, 2B; Sweeton 7.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W (8-4) and 1-2;

Praise be! Praise be! (eagerly kisses the bare feet of his pocket idol of Igor, the tiniest and meanest of all the baseball gods)

Raccoons (40-37) vs. Crusaders (47-30) – June 28-July 1, 2057

From the worst team in the CL to the best, the Crusaders had the most runs scored and the third-fewest runs allowed. Their rotation was almost the best in the CL, and they held upper-echelon ranks in most meaningful stats… except for their bullpen, which ranked tenth with a 4.58 ERA. So far that factoid had not helped the Raccoons a lot; we were down 2-5 in the season series against New York.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (8-5, 2.77 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (8-5, 2.21 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (6-7, 3.56 ERA) vs. David Concha (7-6, 4.09 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (0-0, 3.97 ERA) vs. Joel Luera (5-3, 3.78 ERA)
TBD vs. Kyle Turay (8-3, 3.91 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (1-3, 6.33 ERA) vs. Jose Ortega (7-6, 4.15 ERA)

Concha was a left-hander in the second game of the Thursday double header, and the only one we expected to see in this series.

The Coons put Matt Stanton in the lineup for the opener, which gave us the option to exchange him for a throwaway reliever between games of the double header if the situation required. Both Alex Rios and Colby Bowen had been summoned to Portland to stand by.

Saturday’s starter was up in the air entirely at this point. There was nobody on the roster that could start that game on regular rest, that much was known.

Game 1
NYC: CF O. Sanchez – 3B Adame – SS Z. Suggs – 2B Buss – 1B Sevilla – LF Ogawa – RF C. Williams – C R. Salas – P Seiter
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – CF Caballero – 3B Anderson – C Stanton – P Adkins

Adkins faced the minimum the first time through the order, aided by Alex Adame cleaning up Omar Sanchez’ game-opening single to right with a 5-4-3 double play he hit into. Portland was hitless through three, however, and thus when Adame hit a double to left and Zach Suggs homered to left in the fourth, it gave New York a 2-0 lead and also sugged pretty dramatically. The Raccoons responded in the bottom 4th with singles by Abercrombie and Brassfield. And that was it, the runners were stranded.

That was already about as much resistance as the team would muster against Seiter, who for the most part just clicked them off. After the pair of 1-out singles he popped out Pucks and got Ikuo Ogawa to track down a Caballero fly in left, and from there sailed rather smoothly onwards. Adkins lasted eight innings, but gave up another run on singles by Raul Salas and Omar Sanchez in his last inning. Jeff Buss and Raul Sevilla reached, but were stranded against Bravo in the ninth, but despite not adding to their 3-0 lead, the Crusaders stuck with Seiter for the bottom 9th, with the Coons sending the 2-3-4 batters. Lonzo grounded out to short, but Abercrombie doubled to center. Still no closer in sight, Brass flew out to center on a full count. Seiter was an out short of a shutout – and he remained an out short of a shutout. His 108th pitch of the game was ticked for an RBI single by Pucks, and Ryan Sullivan came in the game with the tying run at the plate. Caballero singled. Chavez batted for Anderson – and singled. Pucks scored, and Caballero carried the tying run at second base. Steve Royer batted for Matt Stanton… but flew out to Sanchez. 3-2 Crusaders. Abercrombie 3-4, 2B; Chavez (PH) 1-1, RBI; Adkins 8.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (8-6);

Between games, Matt Stanton (0-for-4) was optioned indeed for Colby Bowen (0-0, 3.00 ERA).

Game 2
NYC: 2B O. Sanchez – 3B Adame – SS Z. Suggs – RF Buss – 1B Sevilla – LF Ogawa – CF C. Williams – C Kissler – P Concha
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 3B Brobeck – RF Royer – P Taki

When Brass doubled home Lonzo for a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the only run of the inning, it gave him 50 RBI in the team’s 79th game – Maud, Maud! We have somebody on pace for 100 RBI!!! (makes giddy kit noises)

50 became 52 in the third inning, in which a pair of homers by Bribiesca and Brassfield extended the lead to 4-0; Brassfield found Abercrombie on base to make it a 2-piece for him. At that point Taki had a no-hitter on 29 pitches and four strikeouts, but Jeff Buss knelled a homer for New York in the fifth inning to take care of those hopes. The Crusaders would also get Ogawa and Aaron Kissler on base in the inning, prompting them to pinch-hit for Concha, but Mario Villa flew out to end the inning. Taki went on to walk Ogawa in the seventh before getting taken deep by Chad Williams, whittling the lead down to just 4-3, while the Crusaders’ bullpen had already been in the game for two innings and had spontaneously done very well for itself. Taki was hit for with Anderson, who doubled, in the bottom 7th, but Bribiesca and Lonzo failed to get that runner home before the inning ended against lefty Ben Lussier. The Coons used Sencion and Scott to get through the eighth inning, while Lussier gave the Crusaders a second scoreless inning himself. Thankfully Malt Walters had all his pitches in order in the ninth inning and did away with the Crusaders’ Buss, Chris Kirkwood, and Raul Salas in little time, but with two strikeouts. 4-3 Critters. Bribiesca 2-4, HR, RBI; Brassfield 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Anderson (PH) 1-1, 2B; Taki 7.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (7-7);

Game 3
NYC: 2B O. Sanchez – 3B Adame – SS Z. Suggs – RF Buss – 1B Sevilla – CF C. Williams – LF Pfeifer – C R. Salas – P Luera
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Royer – P Carreno

Luera pitched on short rest, but had been roughed up for just 47 pitches the last time out, so that was that. He would go to the hill with a 3-0 lead sponsored by Jeff Buss taking Carreno monstrously deep to left in the first inning after Sanchez and Adame had reached base to begin the inning. Brass bashed a ball to the wall, but not over it in the bottom 1st, and Mike Pfeifer even made it back to make the catch to end the inning with Abercrombie left on first base. Buss came up with two on again in the third inning, then with Adame and Suggs on the corners, and singled home a run with a ball over the head of Labonte, which sugged. Raul Sevilla hit into a double play, but the score was already 4-0, all RBI’s on Buss.

Carreno dragged himself through six messy innings while keeping the score to 4-0. The Crusaders had only five hits, but also drew three walks off him, and the defense did a lot of work to keep the damage to what it already was, which was a lot of words to express that the Raccoons had another rookie that was getting on the snout. Luera meanwhile pitched a 1-hitter at the point Carreno got his pat on the fuzzy bum, but then wouldn’t make it out of the bottom 6th. He nicked Lonzo with one out and Lonzo stole second base, but with two outs and on third base was waiting out Brass drawing a walk. Pucks then snuck a soft RBI single to right before Brobeck barreled a double off the wall to drive in two runs. Suddenly the tying run was in scoring position and the Crusaders yoinked Luera for righty Mike Vance, who walked Chavez, but got a groundout from Steve Royer and the inning ended…

After Mike Lane fudged the pinch-hitters Kirkwood and Kissler on base and his way around that and out of the inning in the top 7th, Lonzo and Abercrombie reached for the Coons against Vance in the bottom 7th, but with two outs. Brass drove a ball deep to left-center, but Chad Williams came racing and picked it on the run to end the inning. The evil fiend! Tanizaki and Ross Mitchell exchanged scoreless eighths before Portland stumbled over its own bullpen in the ninth. Bravo came in only to walk leadoff man Salas on four pitches, and Ricky Herrera wasn’t much better, giving up singles to Mario Villa and Sanchez that scored Bravo’s runner. After Shane Larsen struck out, John Scott barely restored order, getting Suggs to pop out in a full count before walking the bags full with Buss. Sevilla grounded out to leave the bases loaded, but now we were looking at a 2-run deficit in the bottom 9th, with Royer leading off against Sullivan. A leadoff walk brought the tying run to the plate, but Caballero pinch-hit into a fielder’s choice at second base. Labonte socked a double to left-center, however, which put the tying runs in scoring position with one out for Lonzo, who flew to left on an 0-2 pitch. Villa made the catch near the warning track, and it was an open secret that his throwing arm was trash at this point and Royer casually jogged home with a meaningless run. Labonte, however, scurried eagerly over to third base to be 90 feet away with two outs for Abercrombie. But Abercrombie grounded out, and the Raccoons lost yet another oh-so-close game… 5-4 Crusaders. Puckeridge 2-4, RBI;

We had just five base hits in the game. Shambles.

Reynaldo Bravo (0-0, 1.29 ERA) was optioned after the game to make room for a spot starter on Saturday. Did anybody say Cameron Argenziano?

Game 4
NYC: CF O. Sanchez – 3B Adame – SS Z. Suggs – 2B Buss – 1B Sevilla – LF Ogawa – RF C. Williams – C R. Salas – P Turay
POR: 3B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 1B Puckeridge – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Argenziano

I wasn’t sure what was less surprising – that Argenziano gave up his first run in a way that involved a single by Kyle Turay, or that the Raccoons were still not on the board when he did so. Actually, that Crusaders run only occurred in the FIFTH, but when it did was worthy of facepalms, as they strung together 2-out singles by Salas, Turay, and Sanchez to go up 1-0. Adame drew a 2-out walk, but Suggs grounded out to Lonzo to strand a full set. Despite that superficially good run, Argenziano had needed 90 pitches with an unhealthy dose of balls to get even that far, and the defense had helped out here and there as well. The Coons, meanwhile, had a Brassfield single off Turay, and that was about it. Labonte hit another single in the bottom 5th, but was stranded.

Argenziano returned for the sixth, but gave up a 1-out single to Sevilla. Ogawa walked, but the switch-hitting Williams struck out. Tanizaki came in for Salas, fell to 3-1, then got a grounder to Bribiesca before it could get really ugly. Tanizaki was further dispatched for a Turay single (…) and a pinch-hit bomb by Kissler in the seventh, as the Crusaders built their lead up to 3-0, then 4-0 in the eighth as Sevilla hit a 400-foot smacker off Colby Bowen. Since the game looked hard like another L, Bowen also pitched the ninth. The Crusaders hit two fly balls to the warning track, but didn’t tack on, but did it matter? Turay was *dealing*.

…until he wasn’t. Abercrombie flew to left to begin the bottom of the ninth, but Ogawa dropped the ball for an error, and then Brass snuck a single through the hole on the left side. Suddenly, there were two on, and Ross Mitchell replaced Turay, only to offer a walk to Pucks. The Coons now had three on, nobody out, and the tying run approached the plate in … uh, Bowen, after an earlier double switch. Kyle Brobeck was available to pinch-hit, however, and drew a walk, but didn’t get an RBI; Mitchell had thrown the 2-0 well past Salas’ reach and Abercrombie had already scored on that wild one. But Brobeck now carried the tying run, while Chavez was up next. He ran a full count, then singled through between Buss and Suggs, and everybody went station to station. Richard Anderson pinch-ran for Chavez, the winning run. Labonte hit a sac fly to right, which got Pucks home, but didn’t move Brobeck to third base. Royer grounded to Buss, who took the out at second base, removing the pinch-runner and keeping the winning run on first. Brobeck was at third, however, and there he remained once Bribiesca grounded out to Shane Larsen at the hot corner. 4-3 Crusaders. Brassfield 2-4;

Sometimes, you just know that it doesn’t matter what you do. If you have **** on the paw, you have **** on the paw.

Next roster move: Colby Bowen (0-0, 3.60 ERA) was sent back to AAA again, and the Raccoons brought back Gaudencio Callaia from a brief 3-game rehab assignment with the Alley Cats.

As if that was gonna fix the team.

Game 5
NYC: CF O. Sanchez – 3B Adame – SS Z. Suggs – 2B Buss – 1B Sevilla – LF Ogawa – RF C. Williams – C R. Salas – P J. Ortega
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Puckeridge – CF Caballero – P Brobeck – 2B Labonte – C Zamora – 3B Anderson

Brobeck had quite the first inning, striking out a pair in the top of the first inning before bashing a 2-run homer in the bottom of it. It was a real onslaught against Ortega in the bottom 1st, with the right-hander getting bombed for five runs by the Coons. Callaia walked in his return from the DL, Lonzo singled and stole second, and those runners scored on a balk and a sac fly, respectively. Pucks then walked, Brobeck hit a 2-run homer, and Labonte singled, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on Zamora’s single to get to 5-0. Ortega would not make it out of the third inning when Labonte tripled home Brobeck with two outs to extend the lead to 6-0. Devin Crawford then popped up Zamora to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Brobeck not allowing a run through three didn’t mean he was pitching great, because the Crusaders were hitting balls all over the damn place. In the fourth, Buss hit a sharp leadoff single on a 3-2 pitch, Sevilla walked, and Chad Williams singled home a 1-out run to get New York on the board, even though poor outs by Salas and Mike Pfeifer then ended the inning with a pair stranded in scoring position, only for Omar Sanchez to whack another sharp 3-2 single to begin the fifth, but he was doubled off by Adame. The sixth began with another full count and a walk drawn by Buss, and then Sevilla and Ogawa cracked singles to narrow the score to 6-2. Brobeck held out against Williams, who grounded out, and Salas, who whiffed, then was lifted when Mario Villa pinch-hit for the pitcher. He would fly out to left against Eloy Sencion.

The Raccoons answered with a run in the bottom 6th against Vance, who nicked Labonte and gave up a single to Zamora, then finally a sac fly to Gaudencio Callaia, 7-2. The seventh was uneventful, but the idea to get a few outs from Mancilla was immediately met with a barrage of singles by the New York players, who bashed him for two runs before Ricky Herrera wiggled out of a jam. On the bright paw, the Raccoons could then use the excuse of having the lead whittled down to three runs to bring in Matt Walters in the ninth inning, and he struck out three in a row to end the game…….. after he allowed singles to Adame and Suggs, which sugged! 7-4 Raccoons. Caballero 2-4; Brobeck 2-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Labonte 2-3, 3B, RBI; Zamora 2-4, RBI;

In other news

June 25 – ATL INF Andrew Russ (.310, 0 HR, 35 RBI) finds a single in a 2-1 loss to the Loggers to reach 2,000 career hits.
June 25 – TOP UT Brendan Snyder (.261, 2 HR, 14 RBI) not only hits his first career home run in an 8-3 win over the Stars, but goes ham with a pair of home runs and a double, plus 3 RBI, in a 5-hit day.
June 25 – The Condors out-clobber the Crusaders, 19-14, whilst TIJ OF Mario Estrada (.375, 1 HR, 6 RBI) on the winning and NYC INF Zach Suggs (.341, 13 HR, 48 RBI) on the losing side exchange 5-hit games.
June 26 – Every player in the Loggers lineup has a base hit and either an RBI or a run, but nobody has more than three of any sort, in a collective team effort, 16-2 rout of the Knights.
June 27 – While they’re at it, the Loggers trade 3B/1B Doug Triplett (.263, 2 HR, 27 RBI) to the Knights for 2B/SS Matt Wartella (.277, 2 HR, 27 RBI). It’s no help for the Knights who get ravaged again on Wednesday in a 14-5 loss.
June 27 – LAP SP Chad Shultz (7-4, 2.98 ERA) has his season cut short due to radial nerve compression in his elbow.

FL Player of the Week: NAS LF/CF Malik Crumble (.297, 8 HR, 23 RBI), hitting .500 (13-26) with 3 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL 1B Dave Robles (.285, 14 HR, 59 RBI), swatting .467 (14-30) with 2 HR, 9 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DEN 2B/3B Ivan Villa (.290, 24 HR, 62 RBI), smashing .314 with 12 HR, 27 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: MIL 1B Dave Robles (.283, 14 HR, 59 RBI), batting .317 with 6 HR, 27 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SAC SP Mike McCaffrey (11-4, 1.51 ERA), dominating for a 4-1 record, 0.92 ERA, 57 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: CHA SP Josh Clem (10-2, 2.01 ERA), hurling for a 4-1 mark, 1.79 ERA, 26 K
FL Rookie of the Month: TOP UT Brendan Snyder (.257, 2 HR, 16 RBI), hitting .280 with 2 HR, 9 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: LVA INF/RF Tony Villarreal (.229, 1 HR, 14 RBI), hitting .271 with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

This week of the Portland 4-3’s was mildly exhausting. We used 30 players, and barely made it through. The team is fading from competition from first place – losing games to the Crusaders all the time isn’t helping in that regard – and the question is whether we can even fix the roster in July for the hot trade season.

For now, it’s one more week to the All Star Game, and we play seven more home games against the Titans and the Indians. We also need one more start from a fifth starter this week, and then we can go without a fifth starter for a while afterwards.

Fun Fact: Andrew Russ has been a major leaguer for 17 seasons, and has been vexing the Critters for just as many.

He reached 2,005 hits by Sunday night, batting .281/.344/.361 for his career, with just 14 homers and 584 RBI, but 410 stolen bases. Of those stolen bases, 564 have come against the Raccoons…..

Speaking of stolen bases, Lonzo took ten of those this month and scooped his way into the career top 10! Omar Gonzalez behind him took three, while ahead of him, the active leader in stolen bases, Alex Vasquez of the Miners, had not swiped any because of a shoulder and then a finger injury. He had just three sacks on the year, having missed all but 22 games.

4th – Alberto “Berto” Ramos – 677 – HOF
5th – Alex Vasquez – 571 – active
6th – Rich de Luna – 570
7th – Oscar Mendoza – 494
8th – Moromao Hino – 485
9th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 477 – active
10th – Hugo Acosta – 476
t-11th – Jesus Banuelas – 474
t-11th – Jon Ramos – 474
12th – Omar Gonzalez – 467 – active

How much introduction do the 4-5-6 stealers even need? Rich de Luna had retired after the 2054 season at the age of 40, stealing 15 bases even in that last season while hitting .294 with 42 HR, 781 RBI for his long and storied journeyman career that saw him play for 13 different teams. Vasquez, 31, was a career Miner, so hadn’t crossed the Raccoons’ path very often so far, but he had won seven straight stolen bases titles in the Federal League from 2047 through 2053, his first seven full seasons in the league. Since then, injuries have started to take him apart. Between the last three seasons, he has already missed 152 games after not missing more than eight in a year in any of his first eight years. Accordingly, his stolen base totals have started to plummet, with just 54 in the last three years.

And of course, “Berto” needs not many words for Raccoons fans. He was ours from 2053 through 2042, and stole all of his 677 bases with the team before trying to hang on with the Buffos in 2043, but he never started a game and was relegated to pinch-hitting because the body told him no. Along the way, Berto won six stolen base titles, a batting title, the Rookie of the Year award in ’26, two rings, and three Platinum Sticks. He batted .299/.388/.362 for his career, putting out 2,478 hits, 20 homers, and 703 RBI. He hit his final career home run at age 28, before he even got his final stolen base title. His career ended perhaps earlier than it had to because he slowly turned into a blob despite all the healthy food options we always had around here (points at the pile of steaks Lonzo and Pucks were digging through with their paws right now) and had to shift from shortstop to third base, and ultimately was a defensive black hole unless the batted ball hit him right in one of the belly pouches.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (42-40) vs. Titans (36-46) – July 2-5, 2057

Last week before the All Star Game, and the Raccoons would begin it by hosting the last-place Titans in the first half of this year’s four-and-four. Boston ranked second from the bottom in runs scored with a pathetic .235 team batting average, and sixth in runs allowed. Somehow that added up only to a -17 run differential. The key to scoring was to get their starters out of the game, since their pen was basically a collection of holes and fireworks, with an ERA almost a full run worse than the starters. The Raccoons had swept the Titans in the first meeting of the year, four games to zip.

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (8-4, 2.73 ERA) vs. Kodai Koga (7-6, 3.02 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (8-6, 2.81 ERA) vs. Victor Scott (2-3, 6.45 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (7-7, 3.58 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (5-7, 4.31 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (0-1, 4.67 ERA) vs. Medardo Regueir (6-6, 3.07 ERA)

Scott and Regueir were left-handed pitchers, just to mix it up a bit.

Game 1
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – CF Weir – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 1B I. Santiago – 2B B. Andrews – P Koga
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – 3B Anderson – P Sweeton

While Sean Sweeton faced the minimum the first time through despite giving up two singles – Ethan Torrence got himself caught stealing and Brent Andrews was doubled up by Koga swinging with two strikes – the Raccoons would score 2-out run(s) in each of the first three innings against Koga, beginning with Brassfield’s RBI triple to drive in Abercrombie in the first inning. In the second, Chavez and Labonte got on base with leadoff singles and Gaudencio Callaia drove in Chavez with a 2-out single, while in the third it was three quarters of a natural cycle with two outs as Pucks singled, Chavez doubled him home, and then Labonte ripped another 2-out RBI triple to extend the lead to 4-0. Boston walked Richard Anderson intentionally, and Sweeton grounded out.

Through four, Sweeton had hardly any trouble, then spontaneously walked the bases full with Hector Weir, who stole two bases, Ken Sowell, and Bruce Burkart. But last-place teams are gonna last-place, huh? Israel Santiago popped out to Pucks in shallow right, and then both Andrews and Koga went down on strikes to strand all the runners. Koga responded with leadoff walks to Chavez and Labonte in the bottom 5th, and the Raccoons made a 2-out run from that with another RBI single by Callaia, but Lonzo grounded out, getting to 0-for-4 in just five innings as his slump deepened radically. The Coons kept scoring regardless; Koga was knocked out after a leadoff single to center by Abercrombie in the sixth, and against Jim Peterson the runner stole second and then came home on a Brassfield double, 6-0. Walks would however not quite leave the Coons staff alone in this game; Sweeton would offer five in total across seven shutout innings, and Ricky Herrera walked Eric Whitlow and Weir with two outs in the eighth. Mike Lane replaced him, fell to 3-1 against Sowell, but the shortstop then flew out to the warning track in leftfield and Abercrombie. 6-0 Raccoons! Callaia 2-5, 2 RBI; Abercrombie 2-4, BB; Brassfield 3-4, BB, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Labonte 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Sweeton 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K, W (9-4);

Game 2
BOS: LF Weir – 3B B. Andrews – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 2B J. Watson – 1B Ma. Gilmore – CF Torrence – P V. Scott
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – RF Royer – P Adkins

Brobeck came close to a 3-run homer in the first inning, but Whitlow noisily crashed into the fence in rightfield and made the catch to end the inning, and instead the Titans went up in the top of the second, getting straight singles from their 8-9-1 hitters against Adkins, who had already been wonky in the first inning, went on to nick Andrews, and then barely escaped when Whitlow popped out to Callaia in foul ground to end the inning. Arturo Bribiesca homered the game tied in the bottom 2nd, but the Titans scored two unearned runs in the top 3rd. Adkins not having it was one thing, but Brobeck starting the entire inning with a 2-base throwing error to put Ken Sowell on second base led to a bit of a cascade and RBI singles for Jonathan Watson and Ethan Torrence. Adkins would only pitch five innings, taking 105 pitches to make it that far, and had the bases loaded again in the fifth before Scott stranded everybody with a pop to Bribiesca. Adkins gave up seven hits and three walks against three strikeouts in a forgettable outing.

Bottom 5th, 1-out singles by pinch-hitter Richard “Dean” Anderson and Callaia put runners on the corners. Lonzo obliged to at least get a run home with a grounder to second base, but full counts to Brassfield and Caballero after that yielded only a walk and a strikeout and no decisive breakthrough. It was still a 3-2 game when Caballero came up with two outs again in the bottom 7th, this time with Callaia doubling and Brass drawing another walk against Scott, who was still pitching to Caballero, but this time gave up a game-tying single on a 2-2 pitch, which ended his day. Southpaw Matt Otte then rung up Brobeck to end the inning.

Tanizaki got five outs and Sencion collected four more in the meantime to hold the game close, and the latter got in line for the victory in the bottom 8th. Otte retired Chavez on strikes, but gave up a single to Bribiesca. Sencion was batting eighth and replaced with Abercrombie, who grounded out, but Pucks, inserted earlier into the #9 spot in a double switch, snuck a single through the right side to send Bribiesca home to score from second base. Matt Walters then had little trouble to end the game in the ninth inning. 4-3 Coons! Callaia 2-4, BB, 2B; Bribiesca 2-4, HR, RBI; Anderson (PH) 1-1; Puckeridge 1-2, RBI;

Game 3
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – CF Weir – SS Sowell – 1B I. Santiago – RF J. Harris – C Arviso – 2B J. Watson – P Musgrave
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Bribiesca – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Labonte – C Zamora – P Taki

Abercrombie’s 2-out triple in the bottom 1st came with nobody on and without Brassfield doing anything with it, and then Taki was torn an entirely new ******* in the second inning as the Titans opened with Jonathan Harris and Jorge Arviso singles, got a run on Watson’s groundout for a 1-0 lead, but didn’t stop there at all. Musgrave doubled for a 2-0 lead for himself, Torrence hit a sac fly, and Gilmore and Weir whacked even more RBI doubles before Sowell scored from second base on a throwing error by Zamora on his stolen base attempt. Sowell struck out, ending a 6-run frame. Taki returned for the third inning, gave up a 2-run homer to Watson, and was then disposed of in the dumpster behind the ballpark.

The Coons scored three in the bottom 3rd with a leadoff single by Bribiesca, Abercrombie reaching on an error, and a 2-run double to right by Brassfield, who then scored on productive outs, getting home on Brobeck’s sac fly to center. But the Raccoons were still down five and had six innings to pitch. Brobeck was not available on two days’ rest, so we picked one inning from Ricky Herrera when the fourth aligned perfectly with the left-handed bats in the 1-2-3 spots of the Titans order, and then went to Mancilla, who pitched three fine innings in garbage relief, giving up only one base hit, but that was of course to the opposing pitcher…

No rallying took place on Mancilla’s watch, while Musgrave went seven-plus, only getting knocked out when Abercrombie drew a leadoff walk and Brassfield singled in the bottom 8th. Otte came on with nobody out, popped out Pucks, but walked Brobeck in a full count. We weren’t keen on hitting for Labonte, since Lonzo had already pinch-hit for Herrera earlier, and the only infielder left would be third-sacker Richard “Dean” Anderson. But it wasn’t like we were leading the game or anything. What was there to lose? Caballero pinch-hit for Labonte, with right-hander Bill Drury replacing Otte. Caballero singled up the middle on the second pitch, and everybody advanced 90 feet, making Ruben Zamora the tying run in the box. He struck out. Marcos Chavez then batted for Scott in the pitcher’s spot – and struck out. Oh well, we tried…. 8-4 Titans. Brassfield 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Caballero (PH) 1-1, RBI; Mancilla 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Taki, Taki, Taki…

Game 4
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 1B I. Santiago – CF J. Harris – 2B J. Watson – P Regueir
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – RF Royer – P Carreno

The Titans got a run on Torrence, Whitlow, and Burkart singles in the first inning, while Brobeck’s second-inning thumper to left-center tied the game at one, and that was basically all the hits through the middle of the fifth inning, not that either pitcher looked particularly strong. Carreno was in long counts all the time and walked a pair between the second and fifth, while Regueir gave up a number of long flies besides the Brobeck home run, but those were all caught. He walked Chavez in the bottom 5th, but Bribiesca popped out for the second out. Steve Royer to the rescue – he tripled into the left-center gap to chase home Chavez and give the Coons a 2-1 lead before Carreno popped out.

Carreno then collected five more outs, which was already more than I had dared to wish for; three groundouts in the sixth, then a pop from Burkart to second to begin the seventh inning. Israel Santiago grounded out, but Jonathan Harris legged out an infield single with two outs, and with the left-handed Willie de Leon having replaced an injured Jonathan Watson earlier, the Raccoons jumped on the chance and replaced Carreno (98 pitches anyway) with Eloy Sencion. The Titans answered with Brent Andrews to bat for de Leon – he walked in a full count – but then didn’t bat for Regueir and he grounded out to Lonzo. (blinks confusedly)

Both Sencion and John Scott gave up hard drives to left in the top 8th, but both somehow ended up with Abercrombie on the warning track, and the Raccoons dragged their 2-1 lead onwards. Bottom 8th, Abercrombie hit a 1-out single off Regueir from the #9 hole, having entered in a double switch earlier. He was in motion when Callaia pushed a ball into the left-center gap for an RBI double, 3-1. That was the last run of the game; Lonzo and Brass made outs, and the Raccoons hung with John Scott for the ninth and he retired the three right-handed batters in order. 3-1 Raccoons. Brobeck 2-3, HR, RBI; Abercrombie 1-1; Carreno 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1-1);

First career W for Ramon Carreno!

Raccoons (45-41) vs. Indians (40-45) – July 6-8, 2057

Three more games and then we had the break upon us. Indy had been a sore for the Raccoons in recent years, but this time we led the season series, 6-3. The Arrowheads had lost four in a row, and ranked tenth in both runs scored and runs allowed, for a -52 run differential.

Projected matchups:
Cameron Argenziano (0-1, 1.59 ERA) vs. Fernando Salazar (5-7, 5.49 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (9-4, 2.55 ERA) vs. Marcus Wilkins (2-2, 4.63 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (8-6, 2.77 ERA) vs. Jeremy Fetta (5-7, 4.50 ERA)

Should Adkins make the All Star Game, Kyle Brobeck (2-3, 5.96 ERA) would be tapped for the start on Sunday, so he wouldn’t be in the lineup on Saturday. The Indians had no such worries with their three right-handers.

Game 1
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Abel – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – LF Oldfield – P F. Salazar
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Argenziano

Well, those were our best-laid plans at least. Everything went out the window when Argenziano’s forearm tightened up after five pitches and a Matt Kilday single on Friday. The ninth-string starter left the game, and the Raccoons ended up having Mike Lane pitch in the first inning. Lane, who had thrown only 25 innings so far this year, was not exactly a long guy. We hoped for three innings from him, and then would sniff the air to see which way the wind would blow by then. But we didn’t get even that much from Lane, who threw 31 pitches in two perfect fine innings, and then got axed in half when the third inning began. Salazar doubled, Kilday and Dan Mullen both tripled, and Bill Quinteros chipped in an RBI single. Lane was yanked with nobody out, down 3-0, then was dug out by Tanizaki, who popped out Kevin Abel, allowed a soft single to Antonio Rios, and then got a 5-4-3 double play from Will McIntyre. Brobeck started that, and while the ball was still flying from Paul Labonte to Callaia dashed out to the Coons bullpen to hurriedly get warmed up for as long as possible – at least the bottom 3rd began with Labonte batting, so Brobeck wouldn’t bat until warm, and in fact not at all since Labonte, Anderson, and Callaia went down 1-2-3 against Salazar.

The Raccoons made no attempts to rally in the near future. The closest we came to a run through five innings was about five feet, which was the margin by which Pucks was short and thrown out at home at to end the bottom 5th by McIntyre after trying to score from second base on Labonte’s single to right. It took four shutout inning from Brobeck (!) until Abercrombie hit a leadoff jack to right against Salazar in the bottom 7th. The tying runs were on the corners with one out as Salazar walked Pucks and gave up an 0-2 single to the busy bee Brobeck. Chavez struck out and Labonte popped out foul on a 3-2 pitch to render the effort moot. Brobeck pitched into the eighth, got Rios out, but then lost both McIntyre and Willie Villafan in full counts. Herrera came in when Rick Price was announced as left-handed pinch-hitter, got a grounder from Price and then survived a loud Bernie Bahena fly to right which Pucks caught.

Bottom 8th, Anderson dinked a flimsy single over Antonio Rios’ glove and into shallow left against Bill Dewan. Callaia’s grounder to second forced Dean out at second base. Right-hander Dave Corrao came in for Lonzo, but gave up a howling RBI triple down the leftfield line, and suddenly the tying run was at third base with one out. Righty Matt Green replaced Corrao, and both Abercrombie and Brassfield made ****** outs, leaving Lonzo destitute at third base and the Raccoons a run short.

With the game not tied, Matt Walters did not come into the ninth inning, and the Raccoons did not keep the game close. Herrera allowed a single to Matt Kilday and a homer to Bill Quinteros, and when John Scott entered on his third straight day he walked Abel and gave up a smoked RBI double to Rios. 6-2 Indians. Abercrombie 2-4, HR, RBI; Brobeck 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K and 1-3;

**** my furry tush!! (noisily clonks half-empty bottle of Capt’n Coma on the table)

Luis, I don’t care whether Argenziano will be fine to pitch again in five days!! Who’s gonna ****** PITCH TOMORROW???

Still foaming from the mouth on Saturday, I had Argenziano dumped on the DL to free up a bitterly needed roster spot, and the first rested thing with an attached arm on the 40-man roster was recalled from AAA, which turned out to be Colby Bowen. Brobeck, who had thrown 84 pitches in relief, was of course no longer available to start on Sunday, either, so we had to play this one by fuzzy ear.

Best case, Sean… (pats starter on the back) …you pitch a complete game.

Game 2
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Oldfield – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – LF Abel – C A. Lara – P Wilkins
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 2B Labonte – C Zamora – 3B Anderson – P Sweeton

Sweeton threw 19 pitches in the first inning, Kilday reaching on an infield single before stealing second, advancing on a wild pitch, and somehow Sweeton also fit in a four-pitch walk to Oldfield without giving up a run, stranding the runners on the corners when Rios flew out to Brass in left. Callaia’s leadoff jack in the bottom 1st gave Portland the lead, but Sweeton wasn’t pitching like he’d make it through nine or even seven, and we were constantly on edge. In the third inning, he started with 3-1 counts to both Wilkins and Kilday, who both ended up grounding out. The fourth was disturbingly smooth, and the fifth then saw Kevin Abel whack a 1-out double to left. Angel Lara’s grounder to third was bungled by Anderson, putting runners on the corners, but Wilkins was kind enough to strike out trying to bunt for the second out. After a huddle on the mound, Sweeton struck out Kilday swinging, getting through five on 70 pitches and with a 1-0 lead.

But the offense kept failing forward through the innings, and the skinny 1-0 lead went bust in the sixth on another 1-out double by Quinteros, who was then singled home with a ball over Lonzo’s head by Rios. Bottom 6th, Brass and Pucks reached base to begin the inning and were stranded on first and second with nothing but misery on display from the 6-7-8 batters. Instead, Orlando Ramos drew a leadoff walk as pinch-hitter for Abel in the seventh inning, then was doubled home by Kilday with two outs in Sweeton’s last inning. Herrera and Tanizaki put a scoreless eighth together despite an error by Labonte. The Coons went in order in the seventh and eighth innings, then resorted to Matt Walters in the top 9th of a losing game to make ends meet, somehow. All for nothing – Randy Slocum retired Caballero, Anderson, and Bribiesca in order in the bottom 9th. 2-1 Indians. Brassfield 2-4;

(looks like three days’ rain)

Finally, Kennedy Adkins did NOT make the All Star Game. If he had gone, we might have been derelict enough to put in Colby Bowen for the start…

Game 3
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Abel – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – LF O. Ramos – P Fetta
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – P Adkins

…but unless Adkins went seven, there were solid chances that Colby Bowen would pitch in the game anyway. Rios homered and Adkins walked the pair right after that in the second inning before buggering out of the inning against Orlando Ramos and Fetta, while the Raccoons got Pucks and Caballero on base to begin their half of the second, then at least got the tying run home on successive groundouts by Brobeck and Chavez. Adkins wasn’t great by any stretch of the imagination, but Fetta was perhaps worse. Callaia drew a 1-out walk in the bottom 3rd after a 10-pitch battle, stole second, and Lonzo walked in another full count behind him. After a double steal, Brass’ sac fly plated Callaia and we took a 2-1 lead. More walks then, with Pucks and Caballero getting more free passes, four in the inning now, to load the bases. Brobeck walked, pushing a run home, and the same for Chavez! SIX walks in the inning from Fetta…!? He ran a full count on Bribiesca, but Bribiesca swung and missed on another 3-2, the *53rd* pitch of the inning. He returned briefly in the fourth, gave up two singles, and was yanked. Juan Vasquez surrendered three runs on Brass and Pucks singles to give the Coons a 7-1 lead.

…which was great, given that Adkins had thrown 71 pitches in four innings himself. He gave up a solo homer to Quinteros in the sixth, but the Raccoons answered with two runs against Vasquez and Jeff Caldwell in the bottom 6th, Caballero hitting an RBI single and Brobeck bringing home Pucks with a groundout. Adkins *did* finish seven innings on 104 pitches, which made it much easier to just plonk Colby Bowen on the hill for six more outs, please. Lonzo added a tenth run with a groundout in the bottom 7th, getting Bribiesca and his leadoff single off Tim Jacoby home. Bowen gave up a walk to Quinteros in the eighth and a single to McIntyre in the ninth, but no runs. 10-2 Critters. Brassfield 2-4, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, 3 BB, 2 RBI; Caballero 2-4, BB, RBI; Adkins 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (9-6) and 1-2; Bowen 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Ten singles, nine walks. Could just as well have ended 3-2 if Fetta hadn’t bunched six walks into one inning.

In other news

July 2 – Nashville LF/CF Malik Crumble (.308, 11 HR, 26 RBI) whacks three solo home runs in his first three at-bats against CIN SP Cory Ellis (5-9, 5.24 ERA) to lead the Blue Sox to a 5-2 win over the Cyclones. Crumble is the fourth Blue Sock with a 3-homer game, joining Jeffrey Matthews (2011), Jose Cantu (2049), and Alejandro Ramos (2052).
July 2 – The Crusaders beat the Loggers, 3-2 in 17 innings. Funnily enough the Loggers first take a lead in the top of the 17th inning, but the Crusaders walk off on two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
July 3 – NYC CL Ross Mitchell (2-1, 4.19 ERA, 11 SV) collects his 300th career save as he ends the Crusaders’ 5-4 win over the Loggers. Mitchell, 33, was new to the Continental League, but had won two Reliever of the Year awards with the Cyclones in 2047 and 2051, and had a career 3.19 ERA with a 97-68 record, also having worked two full seasons as a starting pitcher to decent success, winning 16 games once.
July 4 – The only base hit for the Thunder in their 4-1 loss to the Bayhawks is the second-inning RBI double by 1B Eddie de la Roca (.181, 2 HR, 12 RBI). SFB SP Milt Cantrell (8-4, 3.02 ERA) and CL Dave Lister (2-4, 5.71 ERA, 17 SV) combine for the 1-hitter.
July 4 – The Aces get smothered by the Knights, 20-6. Every starting position player on the Knights has at least one hit and scores at least two runs. Marco Nieto (.330, 2 HR, 41 RBI) and Chris Morris (.256, 1 HR, 17 RBI) lead the team with four RBI each.

July 5 – OCT SP Tan Brink (5-6, 3.22 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout against the Bayhawks, who lose 2-0.
July 5 – Condors catcher Nick Samuel (.232, 16 HR, 55 RBI) is expected to miss the entire month of July with a strained rib cage muscle.
July 5 – The Thunder get MR Dan Lawrence (0-1, 3.98 ERA, 2 SV) from the Canadiens for infielder Mike London (.313, 2 HR, 9 RBI).
July 5 – Rebels 3B Danny Espinosa (.243, 6 HR, 26 RBI) singles home C Henry Howie (.223, 7 HR, 33 RBI) to walk off the team in the bottom 10th of a gluey 1-0 win over the Capitals.
July 6 – DAL INF/RF Joe Humphries (.210, 4 HR, 16 RBI) hits a solo home run against Pacifics right-hander Omar Vargas (1-1, 2.54 ERA); it is the only Dallas hit in a 3-1 loss to the Pacifics, the swingman Vargas combining with Gustavo Chapa (3-4, 2.60 ERA, 3 SV) for the win.

July 7 – Condors SP Jay Everett (8-3, 2.83 ERA) spins a 3-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over the Aces, who strike out a staggering 13 times against the 24-year-old right-hander.
July 7 – The Crusaders lose key player INF Zach Suggs (.322, 14 HR, 53 RBI) to a broken kneecap; the 31-year-old slugger will miss the rest of the season.
July 7 – SFB LF Grant Anker (.290, 9 HR, 24 RBI) could be out for six weeks with a hamstring strain, derailing a solid rookie campaign for the 20-year-old.
July 7 – OCT 3B/SS/RF Ed Soberanes (.252, 9 HR, 32 RBI) goes yard to beat the Knights, 1-0.

July 8 – Another 3-homer game! LAP 3B Randy Wilken (.212, 14 HR, 49 RBI) misses the home run cycle by the grand slam as he socks three dingers for six RBI in an 11-0 rout of the Stars. This is the sixth 3-homer game for the Pacifics, and the first since Mark Cahill’s in 2045.
July 8 – PIT SP Jeff Crowley (6-9, 4.46 ERA), MR Cruz Madrid (5-4, 3.26 ERA, 1 SV), and CL Mike Lynn (5-2, 2.06 ERA, 15 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter against the Rebels for a 1-0 win. The only hit for Richmond is a single by SS/2B Matt Knight (.346, 4 HR, 29 RBI) off Crowley.
July 8 – The Wolves pound five home runs in a 14-0 rout of the Gold Sox, two of them by SAL 1B Belchior Fresco (.279, 8 HR, 48 RBI). SAL SP Blake Sparks (5-5, 2.68 ERA) also has the fireworks going, striking out seven in a 3-hit shutout.
July 8 – The Thunder beat the Knights, 8-7 in 12 innings, when Knights MR Eli Dupuis (1-4, 6.50 ERA) balks home the winning run home for a walkoff with two outs and two strikes in the inning.

FL Player of the Week: TOP 1B Eddie Moreno (.387, 6 HR, 13 RBI), swatting .393 (11-28) with 5 HR, 12 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL 1B/2B Jeff Wheeler (.282, 2 HR, 32 RBI), poking .448 (13-29) with 1 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Four All Stars on this team: Sean Sweeton, Takenori Tanizaki, Matt Walters, and Josh Abercrombie.

Abercrombie made his first All Star roster as a Continental Leaguer, but had twice been nominated with Pittsburgh. Similarly for Sweeton, who had once been a Scorpions All Star, but this was his first time as a Critter. It was the first nomination outright for Tanizaki, but Walters made his second consecutive (and overall) team.

Our four-game set with Boston was the only one in the CL North that didn’t end in a sweep; the damn Elks brushed the Indians away for four, and the Crusaders swept the Loggers in slow motion, three of the games being decided by one run. This doubled New York’s lead over the Loggers to eight games on Thursday night.

The International Free Agent signing window had opened last Sunday and the Raccoons offered a crisp $2,134,000 to a selection of six teenagers from the Americas’ soft underbelly in the initial going. Steve from Accounting turned slightly pale in the face, given that this was a multitude of the $737k soft cap and would come with a $1,397,000 tax payment and would lock us almost entirely out of next year’s IFA pool, and what would Nick Valdes say, and what would the Agitator say…!? I shrugged him off, because since when do those 16-year-old Dominicans that are usually the only hope of their remote mountain village to ever enter the civilized world of indoor plumbing settle for the first offer?

The first international to sign was SP Daniel Benitez, an 18-year-old Dominican right-hander that took $240k and then was assigned straight to Aumsville rather than the international complex in Santa Banana. I kept bidding on the rest, with Steve from Accounting begging me to be cautious because his books were well balanced so far and I was about to push the entire stack off the table.

By the weekend we added two more players, SP Victor Herrera and 2B Javier Banuelos, both more on the budget side. In total those three players cost $362k, while the Raccoons still had around $2M in the offers for three others. Steve from Accounting was constantly wiping his forehead with an equally wet handkerchief at this stage.

Three days off, then it’s back to the grindstone with the pokey black nose with four games in Boston. It will be the start of a 10-game road trip, also leading to Elk City and Oklahoma.

Fun Fact: Two 3-homer games in a week was rare, but twice before two 3-homer games occurred on the same day.

On May 8, 2014, SFW Jamie Wilson went deep three times against the Scorpions in an 11-2 win, and ATL Gil Rockwell (later a Coon) pounded out three deep balls in San Francisco, but the Knights lost that game anyway, 6-5.

On August 2, 2024, the Raccoons were involved, getting struck three by Alex Torres in a 6-5 loss in Portland. That wasn’t even the only 3-homer game by a damn Elk against Portland that season, as John Calfee would renew the feeling later in September that year in Elktown. Torres shared the spotlight with Boston’s Adam Braun, though, who whacked three longballs in a 9-1 win against the Indians on the same day that Torres showed the Coons’ future Hall of Famer, but certified launchpad, Mark Roberts, Jimmy Lee, and David Kipple around their own ballpark. Calfee also homered in that game, as did Ryan Holliman. Did I mention Mark Roberts was involved? That year was the first time he led the CL in bombs away (30), and he gave up 332 for his career.

It's not displayed that prominently on that gilded plaque of his, though.

[Westheim]

All Star Game

The Continental League beats the Federal League, 4-1, in the annual All Star Game. MVP honors go to the Aces’ Aubrey Austin, who hits a 2-run home run.

For Portland, Josh Abercrombie plays the entire game, batting 1-for-3. Sean Sweeton rescues Will Glaude from a sticky fourth inning, getting one out with the bases loaded to escape, while Takenori Tanizaki pitches a scoreless sixth, and Matt Walters picks up the save with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

+++

While all that was going on, the Raccoons signed international free agents RF/LF Jose Corral for $350k and SP Carlos Gomez for a whopping $900k, sending Steve from Accounting home with a headache. We had now blown well and truly through the soft cap, ensuring the max penalty for signing free agents next year, and since we were also 11 games out in the division with little hope of scratching our way back in, there was no reason why we shouldn’t blow the rest of the budget on the sixth player we’d been after, SP Franklin Hell, as well. That particular Venezuelan right-hander was still listening to offers as of the All Star Game.

Raccoons (46-43) @ Titans (39-50) – July 12-15, 2057

7-1 the Raccoons led the Titans this year, which sounded like a lot, and I had yet to work out why we were trouncing Boston so heavily in the last couple of years; it was 54-26 Raccoons since 2053, and that was with an actual losing effort last season. Right here and now, Boston was still batting a pathetic .235 as a team, ranked tenth in runs scored, and fifth in runs allowed.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (7-8, 4.02 ERA) vs. Kodai Koga (8-7, 3.27 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (9-6, 2.76 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (6-7, 4.21 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (9-5, 2.55 ERA) vs. Medardo Regueir (6-7, 3.09 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (1-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. Victor Scott (2-4, 5.65 ERA)

From the Titans: two right, two left.

The Raccoons carried only these four starters and Brobeck right now. Monday would be off, so a fifth-man solution would not be required until next Saturday, and who knows what the roster would look like at that point.

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Taki
BOS: 1B I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – CF Weir – C Burkart – 3B W. de Leon – SS B. Andrews – 2B J. Watson – P Koga

Portland pieced two runs together from three singles and two stolen bases in the first inning as Lonzo forced out Callaia with a grounder to short, but then stole his 31st base of the year before being singled home by Abercrombie, who stole second base himself with two down, then was driven in by Pucks. Taki was being Taki again, though, and gave back a run on three singles in the bottom 1st, and was generally whacked around a bit once more. Even though Gaudencio Callaia extended the lead to 3-1 with a home run in the third, Taki didn’t look remotely comfortable out there, gave up a leadoff single to Matt Gilmore in the bottom 3rd, and a 2-out RBI double to Bruce Burkart in the gap before even walking Willie de Leon. Brent Andrews then grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Coons tacked on runs in the fourth, when Pucks hit a leadoff single and with two outs was brought in from third base by Koga with a wild pitch; and in the fifth, which Lonzo led off with a single, and the bases filled up with Abercrombie’s infield single and a walk to Pucks before Brobeck hit a sac fly to Hector Weir in center. Many more runners were frittered away, just like most of the resulting 5-2 lead, when Burkart drove in Eric Whitlow and Hector Weir with a 1-out single in the bottom 5th when Taki gave up three knocks in a row again. The Titans tied the game for good in the sixth inning; Ethan Torrence doubled off Taki, who was then sent to his room to think about what he had done, and Gilmore singled in the tying run with two outs against Ricky Herrera.

Brass and Pucks hit leadoff singles against Matt Otte in the seventh inning before Brobeck, Chavez, and Bribiesca made three outs on four pitches, which was staggering, while singles by Burkart and Brent Andrews upended Tanizaki in the bottom 7th, the shortstop driving in the go-ahead run for Boston with two outs. That 6-5 lead was blown by four different relievers in the top 8th, however, as a parade of pitchers for the Titans put Callaia and Abercrombie on the corners before right-hander Bryan McDuffie gave up a 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run, 2-base knock over the head of centerfielder Antonio Cruz to flip the score around. Mike Lane held on in the eighth, but Matt Walters was taken deep by Whitlow in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings…

In overtime, the Titans’ previous loosey-goosey approach to bullpen management put starter Ryan Musgrave (6-7, 4.21 ERA) on the hill by the 11th inning. The Coons, on the other paw, had to work with Alex Mancilla by then, so I was not quite sure who had it worse now. The road team for sure struggled to get on base, although Marcos Chavez was on briefly in the 12th inning with a single, at least for a few seconds until he was thrown out trying to make it a double. Musgrave’s third inning, the 13th, began with a single by Steve Royer from the #9 spot, and the runner advanced on Callaia’s groundout. Lonzo came through with a single to left, sending Royer around third base to score and break the 7-7 tie. He then stole second base, and Abercrombie walked behind him. The snag: Mancilla was in the #4 spot, and there was only Ruben Zamora left on the bench, and the pen was thin, but if we weren’t going for it now, when then? Zamora hit into a fielder’s choice at second base, while Pucks walked, but Richard Anderson lined out to short to end the inning. Eloy Sencion then got the ball; it was him, Bowen, and the remaining starters at this stage. And it was Musgrave who led off the bottom 13th in the box… and singled to center. Bother! Sencion struck out Israel Santiago, while Gilmore hit into a fielder’s choice at second base. Whitlow ended the game with another K. 8-7 Critters. Callaia 2-5, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Abercrombie 3-6, BB, RBI; Brassfield 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, 3 BB, RBI; Chavez 2-6; Labonte 0-1, 2 BB; Mancilla 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2-2);

What a good way to come back from three days’ rest…

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – P Adkins
BOS: LF Weir – 3B B. Andrews – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 1B I. Santiago – 2B J. Watson – CF Torrence – P Regueir

Callaia reached second base on a throwing error by Andrews to begin the game, but after Lonzo singled to move him to third base, Callaia was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score on Brassfield’s fly to Weir. Caballero would get on with another single, but Brobeck flew out to end the top 1st. Adkins continued his pre-All Star Game trend of throwing too many pitches to not enough batters, needing 47 tosses for three scoreless innings, scattering two singles and a walk amidst a bunch of long counts. The Coons gave him a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Brobeck singled home Brass and Caballero as they whacked three straight hits off the lefty Regueir, while Adkins gave up a leadoff single to Whitlow in the bottom 4th, had to work around that, then spent the bottom 5th engorging himself with three long counts against the bottom of the order, walking Ethan Torrence to my annoyance. Andrews drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but was doubled off when Whitlow *smacked* a ball right at Callaia on the first pitch. An error by Brobeck in the seventh also didn’t help to speed things up, and while Adkins eventually had seven-and-a-third shutout innings on his ledge, if seven-and-a-third shutout innings ever deserved to be marked with an asterisk, it was these.

Regueir refused to give up anything much after the Brobeck knock for the Coons’ only two runs, and McDuffie added two shutout innings after Regueir’s seven fine frames to keep the Raccoons close. John Scott got two outs after Adkins departed, but this time the Titans didn’t bring up Eric Whitlow in the ninth against Walters, and were instead sat down orderly to end the game. 2-0 Coons. Caballero 2-4, 2B; Adkins 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, W (10-6);

Game 3
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – 2B Bribiesca – C Zamora – P Sweeton
BOS: 3B Torrence – 1B Ma. Gilmore – CF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – LF Y. Valdez – 2B B. Andrews – RF I. Santiago – P V. Scott

The Raccoons drew two walks in the first inning, but couldn’t get a knock to score anything. Boston instead went up on Yoslan Valdez’ homer in the second inning, 1-0, and while the Raccoons came back to tie the game right away with two outs in the third on Lonzo’s infield single and Brassfield’s gap triple, Sweeton kept struggling. He put runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom 3rd before striking out Whitlow … but not until after a wild pitch had already scored Santiago with the go-ahead run, and Ken Sowell’s leadoff triple in the fourth also led to another Boston run on Bruce Burkart’s sac fly to center. The Coons then reached peak pawpalm in the bottom 5th as Sweeton walked Vic Scott to begin the inning, Brobeck threw Torrence’s grounder to second base when he had no play there, and the free runners also came around to score on two groundouts (Scott) and Sowell’s 2-out single, 5-1.

Puzzled by the ’53 Critter Scott, the Raccoons ended up having Brobeck pitch in a lost cause in the seventh inning after Sweeton was dug out of a jam by Ricky Herrera in the sixth. Brobeck offered a bunch of walks in two scoreless innings, which was the sort of “oh well” pitching that we still tried to get used to halfway through the season. The Coons couldn’t touch Scott through eight innings of 4-hit ball, then came up against the lefty Otte in the ninth. Abercrombie hit a leadoff single… and that was as good as it got, with meek outs from Brobeck, Caballero, and Bribiesca afterwards. 5-1 Titans.

Game 4
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – 3B Anderson – P Carreno
BOS: 3B Torrence – 1B Ma. Gilmore – CF Whitlow – SS Sowell – LF Weir – 2B J. Watson – C Arviso – RF Y. Valdez – P Glaude

Will “How’s He Doing It??” Glaude (6-6, 1.93 ERA) struck out six in the first three innings and got a 2-0 lead in the bottom 1st when Carreno clumsily walked Matt Gilmore before giving up back-to-back doubles to Whitlow and Sowell. When Carreno wasn’t throwing meatballs he was actually halfway decent, striking out six Titans through five innings, even though that took him 77 pitches, and while the Raccoons were doing next to nothing against Glaude, who through five innings rung up eight Critters against three singles and a walk. The tying runs were on to begin the sixth though, with a walk to Callaia and Lonzo getting nipple-tickled with a wayward changeup. Abercrombie and Brassfield also ran 3-ball counts, using them to hit into a fielder’s choice and finally a double play.

Chavez’ double and Anderson’s RBI single in the seventh knocked out both pitchers, as the Titans went to Otte with two outs and the Raccoons sent Caballero to bat for Carreno, but he flew out to Whitlow and the tying run was left on base. Whitlow then homered off Tanizaki in the eighth, giving the Titans an insurance run. They sent out right-hander Alex Diaz for the ninth inning against the 4-5-6 batters. Two full counts resulted in Brass popping out and Pucks walking, after which Chavez was all too eagerly grounding into a 6-4-3 double play. 3-1 Titans. Callaia 1-2, 2 BB; Chavez 2-4, 2 2B;

In other news

July 10 – In one of the league’s more Dadaist moments in history, SFW 3B/SS Julio Moriel (.316, 0 HR, 26 RBI) slips and falls off the fan stage outside the ballpark at the All Star Game, messing up his shoulder in the process. He’s out for the season.
July 12 – MIL SP Julian Dunn (10-7, 4.10 ERA) throws a 3-hit shutout against the Crusaders for a 2-0 win, striking out eight batters.
July 12 – The Capitals trade INF Alejandro Silva (.301, 2 HR, 37 RBI) to the Wolves for a prospect.
July 12 – Wolves 1B Belchior Fresco (.277, 8 HR, 48 RBI) is going to miss a month with a broken thumb.
July 12 – The Thunder and Bayhawks have a 1-1 tie through nine innings, both score three runs in the 10th inning, another run in the 12th inning, and then silence holds lease until OCT OF/1B Mike Harmon (.239, 4 HR, 36 RBI) hits a walkoff RBI single for a 6-5 win in the 20th inning.
July 13 – Blue Sox SP Mike Chartrand (12-6, 3.23 ERA) strikes out nine Cyclones in a 3-hit shutout, claiming the 9-0 win.
July 14 – The Wolves acquire SP Alfredo Llamas (3-8, 4.30 ERA) from the Thunder while parting with five prospects. The highest-ranked prospect in the package is #141 SP Gabe Ortega.
July 14 – The Aces send 3B Jeremy Welter (.226, 1 HR, 17 RBI) to Los Angeles for two prospects including #193 ranked outfielder Steve Humphries.
July 15 – LAP RF Matt Diskin (.331, 11 HR, 47 RBI) is expected to miss six weeks with an oblique strain.

FL Player of the Week: SAL 1B Jose Campos (.429, 3 HR, 8 RBI), batting .538 (7-13) with 2 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN CF Damian Moreno (.270, 13 HR, 48 RBI), hitting .389 (7-18) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Uhm. Anybody remember Daniel Benitez, who we signed for $240k and sent straight to Aumsville last week? He did his first start that week, striking out nine Crestview Partisans in seven innings without allowing an earned run! … He also blew out his elbow and his out for the next 12 months.

Sometimes it’s just not your day, or your week, or your month or your year, huh?

Damn Elks and Thunder on the road next week.

Fun Fact: I have yet to tell Nick Valdes that we have already blown over $2M on the international free agent pool.

$2,487,000 to be exact, including $875,000 tax. The bidding war for SP Franklin Hell is approaching the million bucks mark.

Steve from Accounting has breathing problems. Won't anybody think of the books!?

[Westheim]

Raccoons (48-45) @ Canadiens (44-47) – July 17-19, 2057

While the Raccoons traveled to the frosty North, I stayed behind and went straight to Oklahoma City, although pretty soon I wondered *why*. It’s Oklahoma City…! There’s nothing to do!! Anyway, the Critters met with the league’s sixth-best offense and ninth-best pitching. They had a -9 run differential, scoring many runs with the CL’s second-most homers, and the very fewest stolen bases (16!). They had HALF a Lonzo’s worth of stolen bases. Their defense was all terrible, their rotation was mostly terrible (both ranked 11th in the CL), and we led the season series, 6-3.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (7-8, 4.20 ERA) vs. Bruce Mark jr. (8-6, 3.41 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (10-6, 2.60 ERA) vs. Ernie Gomes (5-10, 4.78 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (9-6, 2.80 ERA) vs. Anton Jesus (7-8, 4.71 ERA)

Those were three right-handers, but left-hander Gabriel Casanova (4-2, 3.81 ERA) was also an option for the Elks for this series.

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Taki
VAN: CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – RF Magnussen – C Waker – LF K. Hawkins – 1B Yamamoto – 2B E. Stevens – 3B Lundberg – P Mark jr.

The Raccoons scored a quick run with a Callaia double and Abercrombie single in the first inning, but it didn’t last thanks to a Rick Price single, and Adam Magnussen’s fly to center that went into and straight outta Abercrombie’s glove for two bases on the error. Tristan Waker’s sac fly then tied the game in the bottom 1st before Kyle Hawkins popped out to leave a guy on third base. Callaia then responded with a 2-out, 2-run double in the second inning, spanking a ball down the leftfield line to get Brobeck and Chavez home, and that wasn’t where the inning ended. Lonzo hit a bloop single, followed by Abercrombie doubling home a pair with a ball past Damian Moreno. Brassfield scratched out another soft single, and then Pucks found the gap in left-center for another two points on the board! Runs!! Brobeck lined out to Shuta Yamamoto to end the 6-run inning. Bruce Mark jr. was done, however, and was pinch-hit for in the bottom 2nd.

Even when Taki tried to have a meltdown, the Elks didn’t let him. Hawkins drew a leadoff walk, but was thrown out at the plate on a Yamamoto double to left in the fourth inning. Erik Stevens drew a walk after that, but Tyler Lundberg found Lonzo for a 6-4-3 double play. Taki made it to the sixth, then gave up a 2-out bomb to Hawkins and another double off the wall to Yamamoto, at which point Taki – already over 100 pitches, was removed for Mike Lane, who got the third out of the inning from Stevens. The Hawkins homer was answered with a Chavez chuck in the top 7th, and the Raccoons added two more runs singled home by Trent Brassfield in the eighth after ex-Coon Tony Negrete loaded the bases; *however*… Eloy Sencion also loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, and then John Scott very helpfully gave up a grand slam to ex-Coon Shuta Yamamoto. While I was gasping audibly watching in my hotel room in the lovely, slightly roach-infested Cimarron Inn, Paul Labonte replied with a solo home run to left in the ninth inning. Scott was kind enough to pitch the bottom 9th without ******* up even further. 11-6 Raccoons. Callaia 4-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Lavorano 2-5; Abercrombie 2-2, 3 BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Brassfield 2-5, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – P Adkins
VAN: 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – C Weese – CF D. Moreno – 1B Yamamoto – RF Magnussen – 3B Lundberg – SS London – P Casanova

Brobeck’s leadoff double in the second inning led to a run for the Critters on a scratch single by Caballero and Chavez’ run-scoring groundout, and Casanova didn’t exactly shine thereafter, either. He walked Adkins to lead off, plus Lonzo, in the third inning, then threw a wild pitch then move the runners into scoring position. Brassfield lobbed a single over Mike London, but Hawkins was right on the ball, and Lonzo was held at third base, then stranded when Abercrombie bungled into an inning-ending double play. Yamamoto also hit into a double play after a Kevin Weese single and a walk drawn by Moreno in the bottom 3rd, but Adkins kept putting runners on base, and often in full counts. Lundberg walked in the fourth, and Stevens opened the fifth with a single to center, but was then erased on Hawkins’ 4-6-3 double play. Adkins then went on to walk Weese on four pitches before Moreno flew out to right.

Brass bashed a bomb to begin the sixth inning, extending the lead to 3-0. Adkins however finally imploded in the bottom of the same inning. He loaded the bases with a walk and two singles, allowed a run on London’s groundout, and then was yanked for Tanizaki, who got a pop to first from Sadafumi Taniguchi, then gave up a game-tying triple and a go-ahead single to the 1-2 batters… Top 7th, Jesse Lausch gave up a 1-out single to Chavez, who got to second on a wild pitch, and then was doubled home by Arturo Bribiesca to knot the score at four. He was however left on second base by Pucks and Callaia. Compared to that the eighth was rather uneventful, but Caballero socked a triple over Moreno and off Bernardino Risso to begin the ninth inning, putting the go-ahead run on third base. What followed was an entirely predictable choke job. Chavez hit a comebacker to Risso to keep the runner pinned. Bribiesca whiffed. Steve Royer flew out to left. Caballero trotted back to the dugout from third base, without passing over home plate, nor Go! … Mike Lane then had a scoreless bottom 9th, because everybody wanted to see more of THIS……. Eloy Sencion had soiled his stat line on Tuesday already, but clearly not enough! In the bottom 10th, he gave up a single to Yamamoto and a walkoff homer to Jorge Uranga…. 6-4 Canadiens. Brassfield 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Caballero 2-4, 3B;

(gnashes teeth)

Game 3
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Sweeton
VAN: CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – RF Magnussen – C Waker – LF K. Hawkins – 1B Yamamoto – 2B E. Stevens – 3B Lundberg – P A. Jesus

The early innings were very much anti-baseball. The Elks hit into two double plays as Sweeton faced the minimum the first time through, but the Raccoons found a double play of their own (Brobeck), and Lonzo forced out Callaia and his leadoff single, then was caught stealing in the top 1st.

Brobeck doubled home Brassfield in the fourth, however, which marked the third time the Coons scored first in the series, and the Raccoons tacked on in the fifth, when Sweeton hit a leadoff double to left (!), Lonzo grabbed a soft single then *did* steal second base, and then Abercrombie singled home the pair for a 3-0 lead. All that did was make Sweeton walk Waker and give up a bomb to ******* Shuta Yamamoto in the bottom 5th, though, and the lead was back down to one skinny run.

Top 6th, Brobeck and Labonte got to the corners with one out, but Sweeton struck out. Gaudencio Callaia tacked on a much-needed run with a single, though, but Lonzo grounded out to leave a pair on, and the Elks put pairs on base against Sweeton in both the sixth and seventh innings. But Magnussen popped out to end the former, and Erik Stevens hit into a double play to kill the latter, while Chavez and Labonte hit singles to begin the top 8th. Caballero pinch-hit and whiffed, Callaia grounded out, and Lonzo was down 0-2 before flicking a sketchy single into center to get at least one run home before Abercrombie was retired by Negrete. With a 3-run lead, the Raccoons tried to go bold and use the two relievers that had yet to pitch in the series. One was Matt Walters, and the other was Mancilla, the bum. The trick was to yank Mancilla once he gave up a runner… which happened on Moreno’s 2-out single in the bottom 8th. Walters entered the game at once, struck out all four batters he faced from there, and eventually got a 4-run save since back-to-back extra-base knocks by Pucks and Brobeck added a run in the top of the ninth against Kellen Lanning. 6-2 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-5, RBI; Brassfield 3-4, BB, 2B; Puckeridge 2-5, 2B; Brobeck 2-4, BB, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-5; Labonte 2-5; Sweeton 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (10-6) and 1-2, 2B; Walters 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, SV (23);

The Raccoons made a roster move on the way to Oklahoma, sending 3B Richard Anderson (.213, 1 HR, 3 RBI) back to St. Pete for a spot start of Craig Kniep in the Friday opener.

Raccoons (50-46) @ Thunder (42-54) – July 20-22, 2057

The Thunder were well and truly out in fifth place in the South, 18 games adrift, which was exactly twice as much as what the Raccoons trailed by on Friday morning, although that number didn’t seem like anything a dose of Craig Kniep couldn’t enlarge. The Thunder had the #7 offense and the second-worst pitching in the CL, with a -34 run differential, but had two of three games from Portland earlier in the year. Outfielder and team home run and RBI leader Danny Guzman (.242, 17 HR, 55 RBI) was on the DL for them, while Ed Soberanes was day-to-day with a bum elbow.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (4-4, 5.14 ERA) vs. Tan Brink (6-6, 3.01 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (1-2, 3.60 ERA) vs. Garrett Giustino (5-8, 5.50 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (8-8, 4.08 ERA) vs. Aaron Harris (6-7, 3.83 ERA)

Looked like three right-handed pitchers to oppose the brown team this weekend.

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Zamora – 2B Labonte – P Kniep
OCT: RF Griggs – 3B Soberanes – 2B Ban – C Korfhage – 1B de la Roca – LF Weant – SS McNeal – CF Buras – P Brink

Kniep was taken deep by Soberanes, he of the bum elbow, after a leadoff walk to Jake Griggs, all but ensuring that Kniep would not lodge anywhere close to Oklahoma City and the roach-infested Cimarron Inn tonight. He threw 48 pitches in just two innings, which was atrocious, but the Coons for the moment made up the deficit. Brobeck tripled and scored on Ruben Zamora’s single in the second inning to get back halfway, and in the third inning Brink loaded the bases with the top of the order, then walked in a run facing Pucks, tying the score at two. Brobeck’s grounder to the right side was good enough for a 3-2 lead, but Zamora now struck out to leave two in scoring position.

Of course a 3-2 lead was nothing Craig Kniep couldn’t **** in half, and judging by the drives he gave up to the Thunder he must have been attempting to kill some of our own outfielders, too. The Coons held him together in the third inning, with diving catches by Brass and Pucks, but in the fourth he just noisily exploded, walking Will Buras before giving up doubles to Brink (!) and Jake Griggs, the latter flipping the score. Somehow he evaded a well-deserved L, thanks to a sixth-inning, unearned run that was entirely on Josh McNeal’s throwing error that placed Ruben Zamora on second base to begin the inning. Labonte and Caballero barely got him around to score with grounders to the right side.

Brink walked the bags full in the seventh inning, and to my great surprise was allowed to find his own way out of the inning, which he did without allowing a run, Zamora grounding out to strand a full set, ultimately, which was not a great surprise to me. Nor that the Thunder stomped Colby Bowen for the win in the seventh inning. Mike Harmon’s pinch-hit single, Jonathan Ban’s RBI single, and a homer by Mitch Korfhage put the Raccoons away for sure. Or did they? Labonte walked and Royer singles against Kevin Daley and Amando Estevens, respectively, in the too 8th, scoring on a Lonzo sac fly and Abercrombie single off Bill Quinn, narrowing the gap to one run again. Right-hander Dan Lawrence allowed the tying run to reach base in the ninth inning when he gave up a Bribiesca single to center, then walked Zamora with one out. But Labonte lined out to right, Royer grounded out to short, and the Raccoons lost after all. 7-6 Thunder. Callaia 2-5; Lavorano 2-4, RBI; Bribiesca (PH) 1-1;

As promised, Craig Kniep (4-4, 5.29 ERA) was disposed of right the same night, and Colby Bowen (0-1, 4.50 ERA) joined him right away. We brought up Reynaldo Bravo and Daniel Espinoza, mainly to kill time.

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Zamora – 2B Labonte – P Carreno
OCT: SS Lira – 3B Soberanes – RF M. Harmon – LF Weant – 2B Ban – 1B de la Roca – CF Martaranha – C M. Castillo – P Giustino

Carreno gave up three singles in the second inning, including the first of Bernaldin Martaranha’s career, but since Eddie de la Roca hit into a double play after Jonathan Ban got on, the inning led to no runs for Oklahoma once Giustino flew out to Brassfield. Neither team scored from their first four hits and one run through the order, but Omar Lira began the bottom 3rd with a triple to right-center, and then scored on Soberanes’ single, but Soberanes left the game after that with more discomfort and was replaced with McNeal. Martaranha and Manny Castillo hit more singles in the bottom 4th, and this time Giustino hit another single to left to score the rookie for a 2-0 lead. Lira then struck out, but that was one strikeout for Carreno against NINE hits allowed.

The Coons were on seven hits and no runs by the sixth inning when Abercrombie and Brassfield led off with yet more singles and Giustino walked Pucks to fill them up … with nobody out. Lo and behold – the 6-7-8 batters all drove in a run! Brobeck drew another walk, Zamora hit a sac fly, and Labone a run-scoring infield “single”, charitably called by the official scorer bot. It wasn’t much, but it was honest work, at least until the inning then fizzled out. Not so honest, Carreno: in the bottom 6th he walked de la Roca to get going, got two outs, and then ****** up the tying run on a 2-out, 2-strike bloop single whooped over the infield by Giustino. And I hated my very existence.

Sencion and Tanizaki resisted the urge to blow up in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, keeping the game in a 3-3 tie, which led to Kevin Daley putting three Coons on base in the top 9th. Callaia and Lonzo reached with one out, had a double steal, and then Abercrombie was walked more out of spite than anything to set up the double play. And *again* the Raccoons just had to hold still and wait for the Thunder to make the mistake, in this case a bases-loaded walk issued to Trent Brassfield. That pushed home Callaia with the go-ahead run, and then Pucks ran a full count. He stopped mid-swing on a borderline strike at 3-2; the home plate ump didn’t move, the Thunder appealed to the third base umpire, and he extended his arms rather slowly to make them even madder – another bases-loaded walk! Daley was then yoinked for Estevens, who got Brobeck to 0-2 before giving up an RBI single. Zamora struck out and Labonte grounded out to end the inning, but Matt Walters had a quick and easy ninth. 6-3 Raccoons. Callaia 2-5; Lavorano 2-5; Abercrombie 2-5, BB; Brobeck 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Labonte 2-5, RBI;

Ed Soberanes (.252, 12 HR, 39 RBI) was announced to miss at least a week now, but was not moved to the DL at this point, so the Thunder were a man short for the rubber game.

Furthermore, the Thunder traded C Manny Castillo (.261, 2 HR, 22 RBI) to the Aces for lefty Jorge Quinones (4-9, 3.93 ERA) between games.

Game 3
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – P Taki
OCT: SS Lira – 3B McNeal – CF Buras – RF M. Harmon – 2B Ban – C Korfhage – LF Weant – 1B de la Roca – P A. Harris

The Thunder ended up another guy short when Omar Lira sprained his knee on a slide into third base right in the bottom 1st, which was a steep price to pay even for getting to whack Taki around for four hits and three runs in the inning. When one of the things they couldn’t afford was to lose another infielder, they lost another infielder and ended up with the unqualified 2054 Raccoons corner outfielder Matt Cox at short. Of course Cox still turned the first ball coming his way, which wasn’t until the fourth inning, for a 6-4-3 double play on Marcos Chavez, erasing Brobeck, who had only reached on an error by Ban anyway…

Nope, the Raccoons had nothing! Two hits through four, and Taki didn’t even make it that far before getting shoved a giant firecracker up his *** and have it lit on fire. Bottom 4th, Korfhage singled, Weant singled and both runners advanced on an Abercrombie fielding error. Eddie de la Roca whiffed, but Harris doubled home two runs, and then scored on Cox’ single. McNeal hit another single, and at that point Taki was gone. Brobeck went to the hill and Espinoza to third base, where he promptly missed one of the two singles Brobeck allowed to Will Buras and Ban that added two more runs to the Thunder tally, 8-0. Bottom 5th, de la Roca singled, Cox walked, and Lonzo threw away McNeal’s inning-ending double play grounder to load the bases with one out instead. Buras singled home two, Harmon walked, and Ban singled home two. **** Brobeck, bring Mancilla. Korfhage hit another RBI single, and the Thunder had back-to-back 5-spots. That kinda game. I would have bitched more about Mancilla, but he actually finished the game despite more active sabotage behind him – Pucks overran a Tim Weant single for a fourth and final Furballs faux pas in the field – without giving up an earned run. Yay. Steve Royer then hit a meaningless home run he could have saved for later off Mike Zeigler in the ninth inning, and Zeigler collapsed even further to give away two more UTTERLY MEANINGLESS RUNS that I didn’t care a hot dog for… 13-3 Thunder. Abercrombie 2-5, RBI; Brassfield 2-5; Royer (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; Mancilla 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K;

Jonathan Ban (.315, 5 HR, 50 RBI) had 5 singles and 5 RBI in this game and got lots of High 5’s.

In other news

July 21 – The Condors trade unlucky SP Steve “Beefsteak” Hawkins (5-10, 3.67 ERA) to the Rebels in exchange for #24 prospect SP Santiago Morales and another unranked prospect. Hawkins is ejected after two innings in his first start for Richmond the same night for getting into a brawl with fellow pitcher SAC Joe Byrd (6-9, 4.36 ERA), who hits him in the shoulder with a pitch. Byrd is also ejected and both receive 4-game suspensions. The Rebels win the game, 11-1.
July 22 – Scorpions INF Prince Gates (.305, 4 HR, 52 RBI) goes yard in a 1-0 win over the Rebs.
July 22 – Gold Sox SP Raul Ontiveros (6-8, 3.67 ERA) and CL Jim Cushing (3-6, 2.20 ERA, 24 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter in a 2-0 win against the Miners, who get a single from Ryan Spehar (.266, 5 HR, 41 RBI) and absolutely nothing else.

FL Player of the Week: WAS OF Jason Light (.464, 3 HR, 10 RBI), in his first week back from AAA Modesto
CL Player of the Week: SFB 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.322, 20 HR, 64 RBI), bashing .385 (10-27) with 5 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Yikes.

In case you remember Ryan Harmer (1-2, 5.84 ERA), who the Stars selected from us in the Rule 5 Draft last December, he tore his rotator cuff this week and is out for the year. We don’t know yet whether Dallas will send him back to us out of spite.

The Raccoons bid until $1.125M for SP Franklin Hell, which would have come with a $2M penalty tax payment, but then Nick Valdes sent a telegram that just read “NO”, and thus I ceased and desisted. We are still in the maximum penalty bracket for next year and will only be able to sign scrubs after spending $1,612,000 on a $737,000 soft cap for an additional $875,000 tax payment.

Free swings for everybody on the Condors and Knights next week on our upcoming 6-game homestand.

Anybody know a good fifth starter? Or a … third starter?

Fun Fact: 23 years ago today, the Aces’ Nick Danieley no-hit the damn Elks in a 2-0 game.

This was before he also spent a season as an Elks starter in 2036, with 2034 being his only Aces season. Ten years he was on the Buffaloes roster, and then tingled around the leagues for six more, with two separate single-year stints each in Cincy and Salem. While a soft-contact pitcher in his prime, he did persistently issue way too many walks and one led the FL in the category, the only time he led the league in anything. He won no awards during his 16-year career, which saw him pitch to a 177-165 record and 4.10 ERA, with 2,223 strikeouts against 1,513 walks in 2,933 innings.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (51-48) vs. Condors (46-50) – July 24-26, 2057

Back home for six games with the CL South, starting on Tuesday the Raccoons hosted the Condors for a 3-game set, of which Portland had already swept one this year. Tijuana ranked second from the bottom in runs scored, but they were also only giving up the fourth-fewest runs in the CL. They had a whole host of injuries, missing Nick Samuel, Jamie Harmon, Miguel Batista, and a bunch of relievers.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (10-6, 2.70 ERA) vs. Jay Everett (8-4, 2.94 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (10-6, 2.79 ERA) vs. Juan Juarez (8-6, 3.52 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (1-2, 3.75 ERA) vs. Travis Odon (4-5, 3.77 ERA)

Another full set of right-handed pitchers was awaiting the Raccoons.

Game 1
TIJ: 3B Chapa – SS D. Mercado – C J. Morales – LF T. Duncan – 1B Ramsay – CF M. Estrada – 2B N. Fowler – RF Reina – P Everett
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Adkins

Lonzo singled in the bottom 1st and was trying to steal, but before he got a chance Abercrombie whacked a homer to right for a 2-0 lead. Pucks, Brobeck, and Chavez all hit 2-out singles in the inning to plate another run and to get Brobeck caught in another rundown, and while Adkins was lining up five scoreless innings with that early 3-0 wind, Gaudencio Callaia would hit a solo home run of his own in the fifth inning to get to 4-0 by then. Pucks’ single and Labonte’s triple added a run in the sixth. You could almost be inclined to think that the trade deadline was coming up, and the buggers all had cozy dens around the ballpark that they didn’t want to give up…

Adkins then dropped the hammer on ex-Critter Harry Ramsay’s forearm to begin the seventh inning, which gave the Condors a free runner, of which they hadn’t enjoyed too many so far. Manny Poindexter ran for Ramsay, who left the game with a bruised forearm. Juan Reina would also draw a walk in the inning, but Adkins managed to strand both runners and complete seven shutout innings. He faced one more batter, Luis Chapa, to begin the eighth inning, but gave up a bloop single to left, then was removed for the right-handed 2-3-4 group, who were retired in order by Mike Lane without Chapa advancing into scoring position. Bottom 8th, righty Marco Clemente didn’t retire any of the first four batters he faced. Chavez singled home a run with Brass, Pucks, and Brobeck filling the bases, but Labonte struck out. Caballero hit a sac fly, Callaia added an RBI single, and then Sam Turner restored order by popping out Lonzo to third base… and then Reynaldo Bravo corked the shutout by giving up a 2-out walk to Nick Fowler, a single to Reina, and a 2-run double to Tyrese Sheilds in the ninth… 8-2 Raccoons. Callaia 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Lavorano 2-5; Abercrombie 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 2-3, BB; Brobeck 2-4; Chavez 2-4, 2 RBI; Adkins 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (11-6);

Game 2
TIJ: C J. Morales – 2B D. Mercado – 1B Ramsay – LF T. Duncan – SS N. Fowler – 3B Chapa – RF Reina – CF Fish – P J. Juarez
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – CF Caballero – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Sweeton

The Coons had one hit in the first three innings, but that one was a 3-run homer by Marcos Chavez after Juarez had issued free passes to both Brobeck and Caballero. Sweeton, despite being all over the place, didn’t allow a run in the first three innings, but the runners kept accumulating and eventually Bobby Fish singled home Fowler in the fourth inning, in which Sweeton dropped two hits and a walk, same as in the fifth, in which Domingo Mercado singled, Ramsay walked, and Tim Duncan hit a single to center that should have scored a run, but Mercado was already trying to slide into third base before the third base coach changed his mind and then ended up being thrown out at the plate instead. Nick Fowler then hit another single to right. This time Rams scored from second base, and Duncan was caught in a rundown between second and third to end the inning, but the lead was whittled down to 3-2 now, and Sweeton had thrown exactly 100 pitches to make it even this far.

The Coons were not exactly rapping out the hits. Through seven innings we had only the Chavez bomb from early on, and two singles by Brass and Brobeck, not in any sort of temporal proximity and thus no extra runs. To be precise, the Condors were out-hitting us 9-3, and I had a hunch. Sencion and Tanizaki held up in the sixth and seventh, respectively, but Tim Duncan bopped a game-tying home run off John Scott in the eighth and that was the lead gone. No extra hits were collected by Portland through regulation, with Matt Walters pitching two scoreless innings in the ninth and tenth while waiting for Godot to arrive with the offense. Steve Royer pinch-hit for Walters to begin the bottom 10th, singled off Cody Sears, and first base was exactly how far the Raccoons offense reached in that inning. Ricky Herrera added a shutout top 11th, and Trent Brassfield offered another leadoff single in the bottom 11th, now against right-hander Blake Lewis, who walked Brobeck to move the winning run to second base. Third base was reached with a Caballero groundout, but Chavez wasn’t pitched to and Labonte came up with three on and one out. He won the Coons the game – by taking a fastball in the fuzzy tush. 4-3 Raccoons. Brassfield 2-5; Chavez 1-3, 2 BB, HR, 3 RBI; Royer (PH) 1-1; Walters 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Whatever ******* works.

Game 3
TIJ: RF Reina – 2B D. Mercado – 1B Ramsay – LF T. Duncan – SS N. Fowler – 3B Chapa – C Poindexter – CF Fish – P Odon
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – CF Caballero – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Carreno

Juan Reina upped his batting average to .197 with a leadoff jack off Carreno, and the Condors would get two more singles for a second run in the inning, and five hits total through three innings along with multiple more deep fly outs. It was like artillery was going off down on the field, so loud was the ball off the Condors bats against Carreno. The Coons would make up the deficit on an Abercrombie homer and a Brobeck single and Caballero triple by the third inning, but Callaia narrowly missed a homer and was robbed at the fence by Reina in the fourth when Labonte was on second base, and that inning ended without the Raccoons getting that runner home.

Carreno then moved on to sucking indefensibly by throwing nine straight balls in the fifth inning, walking Reina and Domingo Mercado before giving up a 1-0 RBI single to Rams, 3-2 Condors. Tim Duncan and Nick Fowler made poor outs to strand the other two, showing great impatience and swinging before the fourth pitch of the at-bat. I tried to make it add up counting on all my claws, but despite being utterly dismal, Carreno managed to pitch seven innings of 3-run ball. He was taken off the hook in the bottom 7th when hits off righty Hector Montenegro got Abercrombie and Brobeck to the corners, but then Caballero hit into a fielder’s choice that didn’t get Abercrombie home from third base; fear not, though, because Pucks came through with a single up the middle with two outs, tying the game after all. Montenegro then walked Chavez on four pitches, then gave up an RBI single over Mercado’s head for a 4-3 Coons lead. The Condors *now* moved to a left-hander, Jose Jacinto, and the Raccoons blindingly obviously answered with Brassfield, who rocked a 1-1 pitch down the leftfield line for a bases-clearing double! Huzzah! Brassfield! (tosses Honeypaws in the air and then almost fails to catch him)

After Callaia grounded out to end the seventh, Ricky Herrera gave up one run from our slam-sized lead with a Micah Groom double to center and then Manny Poindexter’s RBI single over the second base bag, but finished the eighth inning, and Walters did the ninth despite pitching two frames the day before, but would now definitely not be available on Friday. 7-4 Critters. Abercrombie 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Caballero 2-4, 3B, RBI; Labonte 2-4, RBI; Brassfield (PH) 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI;

Sweep!

We also reduced the gap to New York to eight games as the New Yorkers were swept by the Thunder, all in close games.

Great, now I don’t know whether we should trade FOR or AWAY a starting pitcher!

Slappy, you got some dice, don’t you?

(throws dice) Aw, tails!

Raccoons (54-48) vs. Knights (52-51) – July 27-29, 2057

The Knights had lost five straight games and the playoffs had receded a bit into the distance for them as they had sagged to 11 1/2 games out in the South. The #2 offense wasn’t enough to overcome the rather mediocre pitching staff, with a middling rotation and a fourth-worst pen. The defense was also charitably described as “creaky”, and they were bottoms in home runs with just 38 bombs, 12 of them by Danny Munn, who was hitting only .228; they had a .370 team OBP, but even then couldn’t put enough runs across. The Raccoons nevertheless had a 4-2 lead in the season series against the Knights, who were also without SP Jose Arias and a couple of key outfielders with Jon Alade and Chris Morris.

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (8-9, 4.52 ERA) vs. Enrique Ortiz (6-4, 4.59 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (2-3, 5.82 ERA) vs. Joe Napier (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (11-6, 2.57 ERA) vs. Morgan Aben (8-6, 3.74 ERA)

Three more right-handers, missing southpaw Amari Walker (2-4, 3.38 ERA) by one game. Napier was a 28-year-old AAA starter with a few relief outings in the last few years, but he had never made an ABL start. And Brobeck probably never should make another start, so wasn’t that a THRILLING matchup…!?

Game 1
ATL: CF Mayes – 1B Wheeler – C M. Nieto – 2B W. Acosta – RF Wada – 3B Triplett – LF Munn – SS N. Fox – P En. Ortiz
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 2B Labonte – C Zamora – 3B Espinoza – P Taki

Taki allowed just one hit the first time through, but you had to give him some time to have his scheduled blow-up. The Raccoons saw Espinoza reach base with a leadoff double in the bottom 3rd, and Callaia’s and Lonzo’s singles allowed him to score for the game’s first run. Abercrombie walked the bases full, but Brass whiffed; Pucks, though, chipped a single through between Willie Acosta and Nick Fox and drove in two more runs before the inning ended with Labonte’s easy fly out.

As if on command, Taki then tried to throw out the bathwater with all the kits in it, walking Marco Nieto in the fourth before giving up RBI knocks to Willie Acosta and Jushiro Wada to narrow the score to 3-2 right away. Mike Mayes would sock a double in the fifth, but be stranded at third with the tying run, but then Taki had two more solid innings and held the 3-2 lead, on 109 pitches, until stretch time.

Tack-on offense was once again hard to come by. The Raccoons had little in the middle innings, and when they had Espinoza and Royer on to begin the bottom 7th against Ortiz, on nothing but a walk and a hit batsman, mind, they quickly had a pop by Callaia and a double play hit into by Lonzo to tack on no runs whatsoever. Mayes singled off Tanizaki to begin the eighth inning, but was doubled up by Jeff Wheeler’s grounder to short, and Nieto grounded out to Espinoza to pass the inning. Instead, the Knights’ aforementioned pitching staff in a team effort offered four walks to the Raccoons in the bottom 8th. In between, Daniel Espinoza hit a 2-run single for some insurance before Mike Lane got the ball in the ninth inning, now with a 3-run lead. Wada hit a 1-out single, but apart from that the Knights went down rather meekly for their sixth straight defeat. 5-2 Coons. Abercrombie 1-2, 2 BB; Puckeridge 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; Espinoza 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Taki 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (9-9);

Maud, do you think we should trade for a starting pitcher?

Oh, Maud, you made cookies! Yum! (stuffs his snout completely full with cookies)

Game 2
ATL: CF Mayes – 1B Wheeler – C M. Nieto – 2B W. Acosta – RF Wada – 3B Triplett – LF Munn – SS N. Fox – P Napier
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – P Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza

Brobeck retired the pitcher… and nobody else. Single, walk, walk, hit batter and RBI… and it just continued from there. He allowed four hits, four walks, and had nine runs on his ledger in the end with some kind help from Alex Mancilla, who would be squeezed out for 3.2 innings of 1-run ball, as if that one more run still mattered, and then tortured Reynaldo Bravo – really not a long man – for three more innings of shutout ball (just barely), just to get to the late innings. Predictably, the Coons’ lineup had also gotten next to nothing off Napier, who pitched five innings of 1-run ball, and were still nine runs down. Willie Acosta homered off Scott in the eighth, and the Raccoons heroically rallied to make up that eighth-inning run against Jeremy Baker, getting a leadoff double from Brassfield and then a pair of productive outs from Pucks and Labonte, huzzah! 11-2 Knights. Lavorano 2-4, RBI; Brassfield 2-4, 2B; Mancilla 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K and 1-1; Bravo 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K;

I don’t think Kyle Brobeck WILL make another start.

Game 3
ATL: CF Mayes – RF Munn – C M. Nieto – 2B W. Acosta – 1B Wheeler – 3B Triplett – SS Russ – LF Wada – P Aben
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – 3B Bribiesca – CF Royer – P Adkins

There wasn’t a lot of Adkins’ fine form on Tuesday left to end the week, with the Knights hitting four, sometimes noisy hits, in the first three innings against him, and stranded a runner on third base in each of them without ever scoring. The Raccoons didn’t score either, and they only had one base hit in the early frames, either. In the bottom 4th we probably wouldn’t score either, getting Marcos Chavez and Paul Labonte on with leadoff singles, and then Bribiesca by an error by Andrew Russ (hiss!), which made three on with no outs. Royer brought in the game’s first run with a grounder to Acosta, which removed Bribiesca at second. He stole second base himself then, but Adkins whiffed and Callaia grounded out to strand a pair.

Adkins had given up a leadoff single to Jeff Wheeler in the fourth, got around that, then gave up another leadoff single, and to Aben to boot, in the fifth. Four balls to Mayes didn’t help much, but the Knights choked with Munn fanning, a Nieto grounder to first, and an Acosta grounder to short, which made it four runners left on third base in five innings. Did the boys all swap the uniforms? Wheeler hit a leadoff single (…) in the sixth, but was doubled off, and that was all we dared to have Adkins do to end the week.

Tanizaki retired the Knights in order in the seventh, but Sencion allowed a single to Nieto and walked Acosta with one down in the eighth, then was chased for Scott, who grabbed a double-play grounder from Wheeler to escape. Aben was still pitching on the losing end in the bottom 8th, but only walked Labonte and Bribiesca before being replaced with Tommy Gardner. Royer singled in a run, Caballero whiffed, and Abercrombie pinch-hit for the pitcher in the #1 spot for an RBI single. Walters then executed the Knights in order to put the W away. 3-0 Critters. Abercrombie (PH) 1-1, RBI; Brassfield 0-1, 2 BB; Chavez 3-4, 2B; Caballero (PH) 1-2; Adkins 6.0 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (12-6);

In other news

July 23 – Capitals CL David Williams (2-6, 3.68 ERA, 14 SV) saves his 300th game in a 3-0 win over the Condors. The right-handed journeyman is a 2-time All Star, but never led the league in saves in his career, for which he’s 71-71 with a 3.28 ERA.
July 24 – The Knights send SP Matt Weber (5-10, 6.78 ERA) to the Warriors for UT Nick Fox (.264, 3 HR, 25 RBI) and a prospect.
July 26 – Dallas acquires Buffaloes CL Roberto Ramirez (3-6, 3.47 ERA, 26 SV) for two prospects.
July 26 – UT Omar Sanchez (.331, 0 HR, 32 RBI), the (tied) CL stolen base leader and a key ingredient to the Crusaders’ success, will miss at least two weeks with a mild ankle sprain.
July 26 – Canadiens left-hander Gabriel Casanova (4-2, 4.39 ERA) is out for the year after tearing his labrum.
July 28 – RF/1B/LF Angel Angulo (.238, 5 HR, 35 RBI) is traded from Dallas to Denver with a bag o’ cash for infielder Phil Kunst (.235, 0 HR, 15 RBI) and a prospect.
July 29 – The Bayhawks get SP Mike Pohlmann (6-5, 5.02 ERA) from the Rebels, parting with a prospect.

FL Player of the Week: RIC C Henry Howie (.242, 11 HR, 49 RBI), bopped .471 (8-17) with 4 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN RF Adam Magnussen (.247, 11 HR, 57 RBI), bashed .500 (9-18) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

5-1 week, and if we actually had five starters, we might have gone 6-0.

We need to sort this out. AAA is depressing. So we need to trade for somebody in the next 48 hours. (looks around) Slappy, Honeypaws, you’re here. But we need our other experts to find the right pitcher. Mauuuuud! Chaaaaaad! Come here!

(sad Cristiano Carmona noises)

Omar Sanchez and Lonzo were even at 35 stolen bases for the CL lead (by seven over Steve Valenzano of the Loggers, and even more over the FL leader Chad Pritchett on the Stars) at the time Sanchez hit the DL on Thursday. Sanchez beat Lonzo 65 bags to 55 last year, the first time Lonzo didn’t win the CL stolen base crown in a full season in the majors.

The Crusaders then comforted themselves with trading for reliever Zach Alldred from the Warriors, but we shall comfort ourselves with peeking at how far Lonzo got this month on the stolen base leaderboard. He tied Moromao Hino for 8th all-time, stealing eight bases in three weeks and a half of baseball. Vasquez got four, while Gonzalez got five.

4th – Alberto “Berto” Ramos – 677 – HOF
5th – Alex Vasquez – 575 – active
6th – Rich de Luna – 570
7th – Oscar Mendoza – 494
t-8th – Moromao Hino – 485
t-8th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 485 – active
10th – Hugo Acosta – 476
t-11th – Jesus Banuelas – 474
t-11th – Jon Ramos – 474
12th – Omar Gonzalez – 472 – active

Fun Fact: Roberto Oyola has a 1.15 ERA since leaving Portland for Cincinnati.

Made only one start, however, and mostly pitched out of the Cyclones’ pen.

But … (sigh!) … it’s LITERALLY one FIFTH of his Raccoons ERA!!

[Westheim]

Raccoons (56-49) @ Bayhawks (52-51) – July 30-August 1, 2057

Day of Decision at the Bay, where the Raccoons had to play their last three games of the year against the Baybirds. San Francisco was second in the South, but 11 games out, even further than the Raccoons in the North, who were trailing by eight games and didn’t know whether to pounce or pout, and the trade deadline was a day away. San Fran ranked second in runs scored, but sixth in runs allowed. They led the season series 4-2, but were without rookie raker Grant Anker and ex-Coon Victor Merino, both on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (10-6, 2.82 ERA) vs. Bob Ruggiero (4-8, 4.90 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (2-2, 3.77 ERA) vs. Salvatore Calderon (6-7, 4.72 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (9-9, 4.43 ERA) vs. Milt Cantrell (9-6, 3.36 ERA)

So these were three right-handed starters offered by the Bayhawks. But more than ever, this lineup of pitchers should be taken with a grain of salt, or maybe two – for both teams!

Sweeton did take the mound on Monday night, which perhaps indicated that he wasn’t gonna be traded. Or was he…!? (cue dramatic music)

Also, Lonzo was not in the lineup on Monday – was this a scheduled day of rest or was this goodbye…!? (the dramatic violins get *really* screechy)

Game 1
POR: 1B Callaia – 2B Labonte – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – RF Puckeridge – SS Bribiesca – C Zamora – P Sweeton
SFB: 3B X. Reyes – C Mittleider – 1B P. Fowler – 2B A. Montoya – RF Epperson – SS Sherrick – CF A. Walker – LF Peltier – P Ruggiero

Gaudencio Callaia opened the game with a triple into the left-center gap and scored on Labonte’s sac fly, so that was a quick 1-0 lead for Sweeton, who was whacked around for four hits in the bottom 1st to give it right back. Jon Mittleider’s double play grounder after Xavier Reyes’ leadoff infield single helped keep the damage to only the tying run, but … eek! Adam Peltier (…) and Mittleider hit more singles in the bottom 2nd, but the inning ended with the miserable pest Peltier being thrown out at the plate, trying to score from second on the latter knock, the assist going to Abercrombie, who also doubled home Callaia to take a 2-1 lead in the third inning.

I didn’t know what was more peculiar – that Callaia had a 2-1 lead through four innings despite giving up TEN hits (nine singles), or that he threw only 59 pitches to get to that place. The Bayhawks then finally knocked him out in the bottom 5th with a single by Armando Montoya, Gunner Epperson’s game-tying double, and another soft single by Aaron Walker. 4.1 innings, 13 hits. Thanks, next. Mike Lane saw the Baybirds take the lead on Peltier’s sac fly, but then struck out Ruggiero to get out of the inning.

It looked though like the L would stick to Sweeton, because the Raccoons managed to get scoreless relief from a bullpen selection of Lane, Sencion, Bravo, and Tanizaki through the end of the eighth inning, but the offense was lackluster to say the least. The best chance was in the eighth inning, when with two outs Brobeck drew a walk, Lonzo pinch-hit and singled, and then Bribiesca grounded out sharply to Jamie Sherrick at short. The top 9th brought out righty Dave Lister with a horrendous ERA over six, and Steve Royer pinch-hitting for Ruben Zamora – and bombing the game-tying homer to left-center! Lister would not retire anybody, bleeding straight singles to Caballero, Callaia, and Labonte before being yanked down 4-3 and with two aboard. Travis Julien replaced him and restored order immediately, not allowing another run to score, and the Raccoons went to Walters in the bottom 9th. The Bayhawks rallied with a walk drawn in a full count by Keith Redfern, a Montoya triple into the rightfield corner, and after Jeremy Lindauer struck out, Sherrick’s walkoff single to right. 5-4 Bayhawks. Callaia 3-3, 2 BB, 3B; Lavorano (PH) 1-1; Royer (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI;

(sigh)

Armando Montoya (.330, 23 HR, 73 RBI) clipped three of the Bayhawks SEVENTEEN hits in the game, extending a hitting streak to 20 games.

Interlude: Trade

The Raccoons accepted the inevitable and went into rebuild mode on Tuesday morning by trading a number of players.

First to go was SP Sean Sweeton (10-6, 2.93 ERA), who along with AAA SP/MR Josh Mayo (1-1, 4.58 ERA) went to the Miners for ranked prospects AAA 1B Joel Starr and OF/1B Joey Christopher (.346, 0 HR, 5 RBI).

Starr, age 24, was the #42 prospect in the league, while Christopher was ranked #118, had already appeared in 28 games this year, but didn’t seem quite ABL-ready to us yet. He was just 21 years old. Both were assigned to St. Petersburgh.

Interlude: Another Trade

Also gone: SP Kennedy Adkins (12-6, 2.47 ERA) and OF Oscar Caballero (.291, 1 HR, 21 RBI), who were sent to New York for another pair of prospects, right-handed starting pitchers Justin DeRose (0-0, 15.43 ERA) and J.J. Sensabaugh. Caballero had played for the Crusaders before he signed with the Raccoons as a free agent.

DeRose, 23 years old, had made two relief appearances to run up that unsightly ERA, while the 24-year-old Sensabaugh had yet to appear in the Bigs, but was ranked #64 in the league. DeRose was not in the top 200, but the ninth-highest ranked prospect on the Crusaders before the trade, the first one outside the top 200.

Interlude: And one more Trade for the Road

The Loggers acquired SP Seisaku Taki (9-9, 4.43 ERA) and their former player OF/1B Gaudencio Callaia (.277, 6 HR, 38 RBI) in a trade for AA-level prospects 3B/SS Tony Benitez and OF/1B Matt Hamilton.

The 24-year-old Benitez was the #195 prospect in the league, but Hamilton was more of a shot in the dark. Benitez would move up to AAA, while the 22-year-old Hamilton was assigned to Ham Lake. Neither of these two was on the 40-man roster (but the other four acquisitions were).

Raccoons (56-49) @ Bayhawks (52-51) – July 30-August 1, 2057

Ramon Carreno, Tuesday’s starter, as the only starter left on the roster now. Well, and whatever the **** Brobeck was. Brobeck (2-4, 7.23 ERA) replaced Taki as starter for the last game of the series, because I couldn’t whoop up anything else on such short notice. The pair of pitchers from New York was brought up and lined up to make their first Coons starts in the Loggers series starting on Thursday, with DeRose ahead of Sensabaugh, who had started in AAA on Sunday, and who would make his ABL debut.

We further filled the roster with Cameron Argenziano (whee.), 26-year-old 1B Aaron Wade, batting .291 with 12 homers in AAA and a fourth-rounder four years back, and LF/RF Elijah Johnson, our lefty-hitting 2052 first-rounder, who had made it a habit to hit .270 with 10 homers in AAA, was shaky on defense, and would surely help to keep the level of Suck up…

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 1B A. Wade – 3B Espinoza – P Carreno
SFB: 3B X. Reyes – C Mittleider – 1B P. Fowler – 2B A. Montoya – RF Epperson – SS Sherrick – CF A. Walker – LF Lindauer – P S. Calderon

“Ace” Carreno fell 2-0 behind in the third inning for allowing a single to the opposing pitcher and getting taken deep by Jon Mittleider, while the Raccoons had only one base hit through three innings, but then loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth – but with some Baybird assistance. Lonzo singled and stole second, Abercrombie was nicked, and Brass’ grounder to short was thrown into Montoya’s legs by Jamie Sherrick, robbing the Birds of a chance for two… or even one out on the play. Pucks hit a sac fly to center, but Marcos Chavez raked a 2-run, score-flipping triple into the leftfield corner, after which Wade, a mighty 0-for-1 for his major league career, was walked intentionally. Annoyingly, that ploy even worked, as Espinoza hit a comebacker that was taken for an out at second base while Chavez had to hold, and then Carreno, 0-for-14 for his major league career, grounded out to short to end the inning.

Aaron Wade whacked a 2-run homer to left in the sixth inning to give me second thoughts about the wisdom of walking him intentionally with a runner on base. The Bayhawks didn’t do so with two outs in the sixth and Chavez having just singled, and they fell behind 5-2 for it. That was of course his first big league knock, and Carreno got his as well by leading off the seventh with a double to right. He was promptly stranded at second base, giving him a taste of how the position players on the team always felt. Through six on the hill he was pretty decent, but then put Sherrick and Jeremy Lindauer on the corners in the bottom 7th. The pinch-hitting Peltier peppered a pound to right, Pucks made a leaping grab, but took a tumble on the ground and remained on the grass face-down. The Bayhawks scored a run on the sac fly, 5-3, while the Raccoons got new players; Elijah Johnson replaced Pucks in right for his own ABL debut, and Mike Lane got a grounder to first from Xavier Reyes to end the inning. Herrera and Scott handled the last two innings without any more runs being scored, although Scott gave up a single to Lindauer with two outs in the bottom 9th. 5-3 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-3; Chavez 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; Bribiesca (PH) 1-1;

Carreno also killed the hitting streak of Armando Montoya in this game.

Everybody was invited to start a new streak on Wednesday, though.

Well, except for Pucks – he had ****** up his knee in his tumble and required surgery for a torn meniscus. His season was probably over. Todd Oley was called up from AAA to take the roster spot…

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – P Brobeck – C Chavez – 1B A. Wade – CF Oley – 3B Espinoza
SFB: 3B X. Reyes – C Mittleider – 1B P. Fowler – 2B A. Montoya – RF Epperson – SS Sherrick – CF A. Walker – LF Lindauer – P Cantrell

I was wishing for five innings from Brobeck, anyway, anyhow, but the early returns were not promising, with a leadoff single for Reyes and then two walks, a balk, and a hit batter the rest of the way once through the lineup. However, only Reyes scored early on, but Cantrell also held the Raccoons to just a Lonzo single, and Lonzo was caught stealing, so that was that. Abercrombie and Brass hit infield singles in the fourth inning, but were left on base with Brobeck grounding out and Chavez whiffing. San Francisco loaded the bags in the bottom 4th, but while Aaron Walker got a walk drawn against Brobeck, the other two runners, Lindauer and Cantrell, reached on a pair of 2-out errors by Daniel Espinoza, who had exactly ONE job on this roster: not being a disaster at third base! He failed even at that, but the Bayhawks didn’t manage to exploit the error when Reyes flew out easily to Abercrombie to end the inning.

Espinoza singled and Paul Labonte homered with two outs in the fifth to even flip the score on Cantrell, but the Raccoons had one of their collective brainfart innings in the bottom 6th. Gunner Epperson led off with a single to left, then was bunted to second with the tying run by Sherrick. Walker walked (cough! cough!), and then Chavez fired away a throw into leftfield on a double steal attempt, allowing the tying run to score and the go-ahead run into third base. Brobeck gave up a sac fly to Lindauer, then walked Cantrell (groan!) and was dismissed, finally. Bravo got a fly from Mittleider to Todd Oley to end the dismal inning, and between him, Sencion, and Mancilla the Raccoons would get scoreless relief through the end of the eighth inning, but couldn’t get back on the horse offensively.

But hey, Dave Lister appeared for the top 9th, so there was actual hope. Breathtakingly, as on Monday, Lister gave up a leadoff jack to get the game tied, this time to Trent Brassfield…!! Lister retired the next three, but Tanizaki retired six Bayhawks to get the game through the ninth and tenth innings tied. Top 11th, Darren McRee gave up a leadoff double to Abercrombie, Brass was walked intentionally, and Royer was plunked. Chavez gave Portland the lead with a sac fly to left-center, Bribiesca flew out without gains when he hit for Tanizaki, but Todd Oley came through in a big way with a gapper in right-center for a 2-out, 2-run triple! Elijah Johnson grounded out in Espinoza’s spot, while John Scott then got the ball for the bottom of the inning. He retired a pair, then gave up a triple to reliever Cody Lovett (…), and singles hit by Reyes and Mittleider. With the winning run now in the box in Pat Fowler, the CL Hitter of the Month for July, the Raccoons went to Matt Walters. Fowler grounded out easily to Brass at first base to end the game. 6-4 Critters. Labonte 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Lavorano 2-5; Abercrombie 3-5, 2B; Brassfield 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Tanizaki 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, W (5-1);

Raccoons (58-50) @ Loggers (57-51) – August 2-5, 2057

Things had not gone great for the Loggers against the Thunder, and they had fallen to third place in the North behind the Critters, despite the Critters throwing in the towel earlier. The Loggers ranked fourth in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed. They were near the bottom in home runs, but stole the most bases in the league, 138 bags in 108 games. They also owned our pelts this year, winning six of the seven games played against the Coons so far. Did I mention we have no rotation left?

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (0-0, 15.43 ERA) vs. Sam Webb (7-5, 3.93 ERA)
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-0) vs. Julian Dunn (10-8, 4.04 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (0-1, 1.59 ERA) vs. Adam Foley (8-9, 3.98 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (3-2, 3.81 ERA) vs. Tyler Riddle (7-9, 3.53 ERA)

We’d get left-handed pitchers at the ends of the series, and right-handers in the middle, but no Seisaku Taki (9-9, 4.21 ERA), who had thrown seven shutout innings for a no-decision in an eventual extra-inning loss, 4-3.

Close those big black googly eyes, and run through the licking flames?

Game 1
POR: 2B Bribiesca – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – CF Royer – 1B A. Wade – 3B Espinoza – P DeRose
MIL: CF Valenzano – 3B Gaxiola – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – RF Callaia – SS Wartella – C Dye – 2B Sostre – P S. Webb

As advertised, the Loggers ran rampant on the bases, on which they were regularly. Steve Valenzano led off with a single to left, stole second, was caught stealing third, but Perry Pigman also singled, stole second, and then was driven in by Dave Robles for a quick 1-0 deficit. DeRose never *really* settled in during this first career start, especially since as soon as a Logger was on base, they started dancing around and got under his fur. Nevertheless, the Coons tied the game in the fourth on their first hits of the game, a Lonzo single and Abercrombie’s 2-out RBI double. The bags then filled up with no outs in the fifth; Royer walked, Wade doubled to left, and Espinoza drew an intentional walk to get the pitcher to the plate. DeRose got the go-ahead run home… with a 6-4-3 double play grounder on a 2-0 pitch. Webb then rung up Bribiesca to leave a runner on third base, and the Loggers tried to answer in the bottom of the inning. Robby Gaxiola singled, Perry Pigman doubled to center, and Gaxiola tried to score from first base – but was thrown out by Steve Royer, and that was the third out of the inning! Milwaukee had the bags full in the bottom 6th thanks to Callaia and Matt Wartella singles, and a four-pitch walk to Jonathan Dye. The Raccoons, who had given up the thought of playing for anything, went out to talk to DeRose in a mound conference, and calmed down his twitching whiskers enough for him to get an inning-ending double play from Bill Sostre…!

DeRose was hit for after a 2-out knock by Espinoza in the seventh, but Elijah Johnson flew out easily. Herrera pitched a scoreless seventh, but Mike Lane corked the lead in the eighth with a leadoff single to Robles, and a walk offered to Gaudencio Callaia. Ryan Bishton pinch-ran for Robles at that point, the Loggers pulled off a double steal, and got the tying run home on Dye’s sac fly before Kelly Konecny popped out to short to end the inning. After Wade killed the top 9th with a double play after 1-out singles from Abercrombie and Royer, Lane went back for the bottom 9th. He got two outs, then more sand into the gears. Gaxiola singled to left, then was running when Pigman singled to right-center. Royer tried to get the winning run at third base, but his throw skipped past Espinoza, Gaxiola kept on chuggin’, and scored before the ball could be retrieved from foul territory. 3-2 Loggers. Abercrombie 3-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Espinoza 1-2, BB, 2B;

(groan)

Brassfield and Abercrombie would each get a day off in the middle games. I wasn’t keen on giving a lefty slugger a day off against a righty pitcher, but I was even less keen on having the entire replacement battalion hit lefty against a southpaw on Sunday.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Royer – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – C Zamora – RF Johnson – 1B A. Wade – P Sensabaugh
MIL: CF Valenzano – 3B Gaxiola – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – RF Callaia – SS Wartella – C Dye – 2B Sostre – P Dunn

Valenzano singled, Gaxiola walked, but then Sensabaugh found something, popped up Pigman, whiffed Robles, and got Callaia to fly out easily to Abercrombie. Nobody scored in the first three innings, but Sensabaugh singled off Dunn in his first at-bat in the majors; however, it also started to rain at the end of the third inning, and I wasn’t sure whether our bullpen could take all these long outings going forwards…

Rain fell in earnest in the fourth inning, and we had a 50-minute delay on our paws before long. Sensabaugh returned for the bottom 5th, but was toast and roughed up on a Dye single leading off, a pair of doubles by Sostre and Dunn, then walked Valenzano, and was lifted. Alex Mancilla was no help whatsoever, giving up a 1-out single to Pigman, then Robles and Callaia to fill the bases. The Coons couldn’t turn two on Wartella’s grounder to short, and in total the Loggers scored five runs, four on Sensabaugh and one on Mancilla in the ******* inning. Mancilla got flogged for four more hits and three more runs in the bottom 6th, making me finally remember that, oh yes, I wanted to banish his smelling bottoms to AAA months ago! The Critters didn’t score until the eighth when with two outs Dunn gave up a double to Labonte, a triple to Lonzo, and a single to Royer. Dunn still finished the game on a complete-game 7-hitter. 8-2 Loggers. Labonte 2-4, 2B;

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Oley – RF Johnson – 1B A. Wade – P Argenziano
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – 1B D. Robles – RF Callaia – C Mi. Gilmore – SS Wartella – LF Bishton – 3B Sostre – P Foley

Brass singled, Brobeck doubled, and for a change the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It didn’t even last an inning; Valenzano singled, stole second, scored on Robles’ double off the wall in left, and Callaia put Milwaukee on top with an RBI single, 2-1, against a rather unconvincingly tossing Argenziano. We should really bring up Prospero Tenazes from AAA. (scribbles note to remember later)

The sad-sack Coons could not make up the deficit in the third inning even when Argenziano socked a leadoff double to left, but then did so in the fourth on a string of 2-out singles by Oley, Johnson (first major league hit!), and Wade. The pitcher popped out to Corey Garmon, leaving two on base, but at least managed to stay in the 2-2 lead. The sixth inning again saw Brobeck and Chavez retired to begin the inning before Oley singled and Johnson was nicked to get a pair on base. Aaron Wade flew out to Valenzano, though, and another pair was left stranded. Gaudencio Callaia showed the Coons how it’s done in the bottom 6th, following up a Robles double with an RBI single to left, giving the Loggers the 3-2 lead they craved. Argenziano put a pair on base in the bottom 7th before being yanked, and Tanizaki had nothing better to do than to concede two runs on a Gaxiola single after walking Valenzano to fill the bases. Eloy Sencion was no better, failing the bases full with two hits by Wartella and Ryan Bishton in the bottom 8th, plus nailing Sostre, before Lonzo turned an inning-ending double play behind him to drag him off the hill without actually allowing a run to score… Abercrombie then batted for Sencion in the ninth inning as the tying run after Ramon Montes de Oca had invited both Todd Oley and Elijah Johnson on base. Abercrombie bashed a double to right-center, driving in both runs, and now the tying run was at second for Labonte, who was faced by another right-hander in Roberto Navarro, but slashed an RBI single to left anyway, but Lonzo then rolled into a 6-4-3 double play. John Scott’s scoreless bottom 9th gave the Coons what they needed most – extra innings. It was a brief overtime, however. The Coons got Brobeck on, and then a double play grounder from Chavez, while Scott gave up singles to Callaia, Mike Gilmore, and Bishton to end the game in the tenth inning… 6-5 Loggers. Labonte 2-5, RBI; Brobeck 2-5, 2B, RBI; Oley 2-3, BB; Johnson 2-3; Abercrombie (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI;

Interlude: Waiver Claim

The Critters claimed poor RF/LF Jake Griggs (.321, 0 HR, 10 RBI) off waivers by the Thunder on Sunday, getting another 27-year-old outfielder to toss into their existing mess. Griggs had 70 games of experience in the majors, going back to 2053, batting .288 with no homers and 16 RBI.

Elijah Johnson (.222, 0 HR, 0 RBI) was sent back to AAA to make room on the roster. Pedro Rojas (.300, 0 HR,1 RBI) was put on waivers to make room on the 40-man roster.

Raccoons (58-50) @ Loggers (57-51) – August 2-5, 2057

Game 4
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – C Chavez – RF Griggs – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza – P Carreno
MIL: CF Valenzano – 3B Gaxiola – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – SS Wartella – C Dye – RF Bishton – 2B Garmon – P Riddle

Four straight 2-out hits in the bottom 1st gave the Loggers a 2-0 lead on Sunday, with Pigman singling and scoring on Robles’ RBI double. Wartella singled home the second run, and Dye also singled off Carreno, who was all our hopes and dreams now. Griggs doubled in his first Brownshirt at-bat, but was stranded in the second inning, and that already described a substantial amount of the Raccoons’ offensive ambitions in the early innings. The Loggers would crunch Carreno’s – and my – soul with nine base hits through five innings… ALL OF THEM with two outs. They had two singles in the fourth for no runs, then another three hits for a run on a Wartella single in the fifth inning. Dye flew out to a hustling Griggs to end the inning, and Garmon hit a 1-out double in the bottom 6th to shake things up, and this was so much better…… Valenzano singled home the runner with a 2-out single, Gaxiola, the ******, lobbed another single, and Carreno was yanked. Herrera, the useless *******, walked the bags full, then gave up a 2-run single to Robles, 6-0…

And that was the game. The offense never stopped hitting the snooze button, and the pen just wobbled through the last few innings, with a total of 15 hits put out by the Loggers in this game. Riddle pitched a 5-hit shutout to rub it in. 6-0 Loggers. Lavorano 2-4;

In other news

July 30 – The Crusaders send INF/LF/RF Jeff Buss (.285, 10 HR, 68 RBI) to the Wolves for a strange selection of SP/MR Victor Mondragon (3-3, 2.48 ERA, 1 SV), age 37, and #31 prospect OF Tommy Branch.
July 30 – SP Noah Hollis (9-9, 3.68 ERA) goes from the Cyclones to the Miners in exchange for 3B/SS Jon Elkins (.232, 1 HR, 8 RBI) and cash.
August 1 – Rebels SP Steve Hawkins (6-11, 3.60 ERA) shuts out the Wolves in a 6-0 game on three hits and eight strikeouts.
August 1 – TIJ 1B Harry Ramsay (.317, 5 HR, 41 RBI) pokes two doubles and three singles for a 5-hit game in a 17-8 rout of the Canadiens, but somehow manages to not get an RBI.
August 2 – BOS SP Kodai Koga (10-7, 3.47 ERA) 3-hits the Canadiens in a 1-0 shutout.

FL Player of the Week: SFW 3B/LF/RF/1B Steve Dilly (.289, 8 HR, 58 RBI), batting .429 (12-28) with 2 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: LVA 3B/1B/RF Alex Alfaro (.257, 17 HR, 63 RBI), bashing .355 (11-31) with 4 HR, 11 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SFW OF Elmer Maldonado (.306, 7 HR, 49 RBI), hitting .314 with 5 HR, 18 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: SFB 1B Pat Fowler (.321, 22 HR, 72 RBI), raking .360 with 7 HR, 25 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: NAS SP Richard Castillo (11-6, 2.71 ERA), hurling for a 5-1 mark, 1.48 ERA, 35 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: NYC SP David Concha (12-7, 3.54 ERA), going unbeaten at 5-0, with 1.81 ERA, 32 K
FL Rookie of the Month: NAS C David Johnson (.263, 12 HR, 43 RBI), hitting .311 with 3 HR, 14 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: POR C Marcos Chavez (.262, 5 HR, 38 RBI), batting .304 with 2 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

(groan!)

I don’t know what is worse. The move to rebuild or that we managed to in just 11 games lose the season series against the Loggers.

The Loggers…!

Players that I tried to trade as well and who didn’t fit in any transaction included basically the rest of the outfielders, but also Tanizaki and other relievers. Royer as deemed overpaid (they probably had a point at $3.12M per year), and nobody wanted any piece of Pucks, which hurt me on a feelings level.

Not as much as purging (almost) the entire rotation and giving up on this season and probably the next. Abercrombie can still be traded in the winter. Brass was a hot commodity, but he’s also 24 and we’re not gonna let him go to pick up a 23-year-old.

SP Franklin Hell signed with the Falcons for $1.6M this week. The Raccoons had skipped out of the process roughly half a million ago. Since we had already blown through the soft cap in this IFA signing period, he would have cost double whatever he would have agreed to anyway.

Next week, the traveling circus bumbles on to Boston, then skips by L.A. on the way back home.

Fun Fact: Kyle Brobeck had the most street cred as an amateur amongst all the Raccoons’ current starters, being a #8 pick by the Condors in the day.

Beats DeRose (#26), Argenziano (#61), Sensabaugh (#169), and certainly Carreno, who cost just $24k in the July IFA period in 2051. Brobeck is 45-43 with a 4.52 ERA for his M.C. Escher career. The rest of the litter is 11-16 with a treacherously deceptive 4.26 ERA.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (58-54) @ Titans (52-60) – August 6-8, 2057

In their quest to toss themselves into last place in the division, the Raccoons crawled on to Boston after getting gobsmacked for four days in Milwaukee. We were up 9-3 in the season series against the Titans, but that just sounded like encouragement for the boys to try and find a way to lose an 18-game season series from here after all. Boston in turn had a league-worst .239 batting average, but with some dark magic still managed to score the ninth-most runs in the CL. They allowed the fourth-fewest runs for a -9 run differential (Coons: +39).

Projected matchups:
Kyle Brobeck (2-4, 6.71 ERA) vs. Medardo Regueir (7-10, 3.22 ERA)
Justin DeRose (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Kodai Koga (10-7, 3.47 ERA)
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-1, 9.00 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (7-10, 3.92 ERA)

The series opened with a southpaw, followed by two right-handed opponents. The Raccoons brought up three right-handed pinatas.

Game 1
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – P Brobeck – RF Griggs – C Zamora – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza
BOS: 3B Torrence – 2B B. Andrews – CF Whitlow – 1B Weir – SS Sowell – C Burkart – LF Y. Valdez – RF I. Santiago – P Regueir

Brobeck grounded out to short to strand Brass and Abercrombie on the corners in the first inning, and his pitching wasn’t any better. Ethan Torrence on a single and Brent Andrews on a walk reached base right away in the bottom 1st, and the Titans squeezed a run out of it, despite Jake Griggs immediately risking life and limb with a headlong dive and catch on an Eric Whitlow liner to get a crucial out. The Raccoons did tie the game in the third inning on an Espinoza single and a 2-base throwing error by Torrence, and little else, while the Titans kept finding tough-luck outs with runners on base against Brobeck until Bruce Burkart came through and doubled home Ken Sowell in the bottom 4th to give Boston a new 2-1 lead. Portland flipped the score in the fifth, though, with Regueir failing both Bribiesca and Espinoza on base to begin the inning, and conceding the runs on groundouts by Royer and Lonzo.

But the Coons left Brobeck in long enough to give up a game-tying homer to Yoslan Valdez, then see more batters reach as Israel Santiago reached on another Espinoza error, and then he walked Willie de Leon. Sencion was no help when he arrived from the pen, giving up the 2-out, go-ahead RBI single to Ethan Torrence that the Titans sought after. Brent Andrews flew out to Abercrombie to strand an unearned pair. Mancilla would go on to give up an insurance run in the eighth inning, serving up a leadoff triple to Bruce Burkart, who was brought in by Valdez, but the Raccoons weren’t rallying anyway. 5-3 Titans. Brassfield 3-4; Labonte (PH) 1-1; Espinoza 3-4;

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – C Chavez – CF Oley – RF Royer – 3B Bribiesca – P DeRose
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – 1B Weir – SS Sowell – C Burkart – CF I. Santiago – 2B W. de Leon – RF J. Harris – P Koga

Labonte and Lonzo started Tuesday’s game with singles and were both doubled home by Marcos Chavez with two outs, and DeRose held up his end of the 2-0 score in the early innings despite some long drives that Todd Oley had to chase down in centerfield, but he also struck out three and walked only one in three innings, and that alone sounded like major progress for the pitching staff. Hector Weir hit a leadoff single in the bottom 4th, but was caught stealing, which also helped, but Labonte also singled and was caught stealing in the following half-inning, which only helped to get everybody closer to going home. Things went pretty well until Steve Royer butchered Kodai Koga’s 2-out fly to right for an error that gave Koga and Willie de Leon, starting from first base, two bases and put the tying runs in scoring position. DeRose got Ethan Torrence to 1-2 after a pep talk, then gave up a liner to right, but this time Royer not only got himself into harm’s way, but also made the catch, ending the inning.

Without any additional offensive support, Justin DeRose went seven innings in this game. Bruce Burkart took him deep to left in the seventh inning, but that was the only run the Titans got and DeRose remained up 2-1 by the time he was pinch-hit for in the top 8th. Jake Griggs hit a leadoff single in his spot, but the Raccoons then found two fielders’ choices and while Lonzo stole a base with two outs, he was stranded nevertheless. Kodai Koga went the full nine innings for Boston, while Eloy Sencion retired the lefty 1-2-3 part of the lineup in order in the bottom 8th before handing it off to Matt Walters, who got to 0-2 against all of the 4-5-6 batters, but didn’t strike out any of them; but they went down on two grounders to Labonte and an easy pop to Royer anyway. 2-1 Critters. Labonte 3-4; Chavez 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Griggs (PH) 1-1; DeRose 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-0);

Not peak Jonny Toner, but a very laudable performance by the rookie!

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 1B Wade – CF Oley – P Sensabaugh
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – CF Whitlow – 1B Weir – C Burkart – 2B B. Andrews – SS W. de Leon – RF J. Harris – P Musgrave

Labonte doubled to begin the rubber game, was stranded, and then things went as close to a pitchers’ duel as I’d dare to label it with a second-start rookie on the hill. Sensabaugh allowed one hit through three innings, then walked Matt Gilmore to begin the bottom 4th in a scoreless game before also dropping Aaron Wade’s throw to first base on Weir’s 1-out grounder for an error. But with two aboard, the Titans couldn’t find a base hit; Burkart popped out, Andrews grounded out to Brobeck, and the inning ended without a run on the board for either side.

It took six innings for a run to score in the game, then on a pair of 2-out doubles by Abercrombie and Brassfield, giving Sensabaugh a 1-0 lead that he doggedly dragged through seven innings despite little in terms of actual stuff (1 K), but the Titans also only scratched three hits together in those seven innings, so there was that. The Raccoons were sniffing on an insurance run when Labonte led off the eighth with a triple to left-center. They also didn’t score that runner because Lonzo lined into a double play to Ethan Torrence while Labonte had both paws full with pieces of cake, munching merrily while failing to get back on base in time when the third-sacker made the snag, 5-unassisted. Next, Abercrombie was drilled out of the game when Musgrave hit his toe with a very breaking breaking ball. Jake Griggs pinch-ran and was caught stealing, which was one way to not score. Sensabaugh then gave up a leadoff single to Musgrave in the bottom 8th before being replaced with Ricky Herrera, who handled a Torrence comebacker for a force out at second base, but then gave up singles to Santiago and Whitlow to get the game tied before needing rescue from John Scott.

The game ended up in extra innings after a scoreless ninth, and the Titans ended up with backup catcher Jorge Arviso playing second base when Brent Andrews pulled a hammy running to first base in the bottom 9th (he’d miss a month). Todd Oley’s leadoff single in the tenth inning led to nothing, but Tanizaki kept the game going against the Titans. Bryan McDuffie gave up a leadoff double to Griggs in the 11th, and the Titans walked Brassfield intentionally. Brobeck whiffed, but a wild pitch advanced the runners, not that it helped one bit when Chavez and Wade also both struck out… Since Eloy Sencion had been in both of the last two games, the Raccoons ended up having Walters pitch in a tied game on the road by the bottom 11th to deal with the five straight left-handed batters the Titans had ended up with in their lineup. He wound up with a lead in the 12th, but not for another leadoff single by Oley, who was caught stealing, but for the 2-out bomb that Labonte hit off McDuffie to break the tie.

Luckily, this wasn’t a save that could go on Walters’ record if blown, because he blew it, and in the most spectacular fashion, giving up a 1-out triple to the ******* pitcher McDuffie, who was driven in by Torrence to tie the game again in the bottom 12th, and the band played on. Top 13th, more leadoff hits for Portland against McDuffie, as Griggs singled, Brass singled, and Brobeck’s and Chavez’ deep fly outs actually scored Griggs to take another lead. The Titans sent Xavier Caston to stop the bleed, but he walked Zamora batting for Walters, and Oley to fill the bases. Steve Royer reliably grounded out, and the Raccoons brought in Mike Lane to try and hold THIS 1-run lead. Whitlow nearly hit one out, but was caught five feet from the fence to begin the bottom 13th, but Burkart did reach with a 2-out single. Jorge Arviso struck out, though. 3-2 Blighters. Labonte 3-6, HR, 3B, 2B, RBI; Griggs 2-2, 2B; Brassfield 3-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Oley 2-5, BB; Sensabaugh 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; Scott 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K;

A single short of the cycle – Paul Labonte!

Also, this was the first W of the year for Matt Walters.

Yay.

Josh Abercrombie had quite the bruise on his big toe. He was ruled day-to-day and likely to not make it into the lineup on the weekend.

Raccoons (60-55) @ Pacifics (70-44) – August 10-12, 2057

The Pacifics were actually on a cold streak of having lost four games in a row, but the FL West leaders were getting medicine just in time as the Raccoons wobbled into town. I didn’t see us do too well against the Federal League’s #3 offense and #2 pitching, with a +89 run differential on that team. Their game was *hitting*, with a league-leading .274 team batting average. Good ranks in homers, OBP, speed – but they were tops only in batting average. A few pieces were also missing, including outfielder Matt Diskin and pitchers Chad Shultz and Jason Posey, their closer. Last time these teams played, in 2055, the Raccoons swept the Pacifics, and L.A. hadn’t won a series from the Raccoons since 2045.

Projected matchups:
Cameron Argenziano (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Ivan Torres (11-5, 3.27 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (3-3, 4.39 ERA) vs. Andy Overy (9-9, 3.04 ERA)
Justin DeRose (1-0, 3.52 ERA) vs. Jim Reynolds (9-5, 2.51 ERA)

Overy was a left-hander we knew well from the Continental League, mostly the Falcons. The other two were right-handed. Torres was already 28, but was currently getting better every year and might be putting together an award-worthy season soon.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Griggs – CF Oley – 1B A. Wade – P Argenziano
LAP: LF Cline – RF Sharpe – C Maresh – 3B Wilken – 2B Sweeney – SS S. Diaz – CF Wilks – 1B S. Rodrigues – P I. Torres

Lonzo singled, stole second, and scored on Brobeck’s 2-out single to give the Raccoons a quick 1-0 lead. From there it was pretty much a single per half-inning per side; the Coons had a leadoff single from Argenziano in the top 3rd, Lonzo also singled again, but Brassfield hit into a fielder’s choice at second and Brobeck whiffed to leave them on base. Argenziano held up on the hill, and the Raccoons loaded the bases in the fourth with a leadoff single on two strikes by Chavez, Torres offering a walk to Griggs, and then Oley squeezed a soft single through the right side. Three on, nobody out. Aaron Wade grounded over to Gold Glover Randy Wilken, who thought home, but then took the guaranteed out at first base, while Chavez was allowed to score, 2-0. Argenziano hit a sac fly to rightfielder Chris Sharpe, Labonte walked, and then Lonzo ended Torres’ day with a 2-out RBI single into shallow left. Right-hander Omar Vargas got Brass to fly out and end the inning with a 4-0 score.

…but Argenziano…… Brobeck made an error on Steve Diaz’ grounder in the bottom 4th, but James Wilks then hit a *homer* to cut the lead in half, and Argenziano walked a pair before crawling out of the inning. Jesse Sweeney drew a 2-out walk in the fifth, and by then Argenziano was on six free passes and the bullpen was going double barrel while the top 6th was in progress, although Argenziano, up second in the inning, wasn’t batted for quite yet and took part in the Coons going down 1-2-3 to Vargas. It was worth it, because he then retired the bottom third of the Pacifics’ order just the same to end his day on 96 pitches. While the Raccoons considered four runs plenty, Tanizaki had a quick seventh, but Scott botched the bags full with a Wilken single, a walk to Sweeney, and then his own greed, trying to get the lead runner at third base on a Diaz grounder, which he decidedly didn’t. Jeremy Welter pinch-hit and lined out to Labonte, after which Sencion popped out the next pinch-hitter, Chris Rice. Pinch-hitter #3, Todd Eaton, saw the third pitcher of the inning, Mike Lane, who gave up a first-pitch drive to deep right – but it came down on the warning track and in Griggs’ mitten, but had been pretty close to a slam… At least Walters retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth! 4-2 Raccoons. Lavorano 3-5, RBI; Brobeck 2-4, 2B, RBI; Oley 2-4;

No southpaw on Saturday, as the Pacifics, who had been off on Thursday, moved up Jim Reynolds instead.

The Raccoons in turn got Abercrombie back in the lineup earlier than expected. He claimed to be fine, but that claw still looked kinda blue…

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Griggs – CF Royer – P Carreno
LAP: 2B Sweeney – CF McInnis – RF S. Rodrigues – 1B C. Rice – 3B Wilken – LF Cline – C Maresh – SS S. Diaz – P J. Reynolds

Carreno was tickled to death in the first inning with five singles clipped off him for three runs, two of them with two outs on Jake Cline’s ball through the left side that missed Lonzo’s glove by an inch. Jesse Sweeney, Matt McInnis, and Chris Rice hit more soft singles for a fourth run in the bottom 2nd, and more singles were hit off Carreno by Chris Maresh in the third and McInnis in the fourth, although the latter was at least doubled off by Salvatore Rodrigues to end the inning. The Coons had a miserable two singles in four innings before Marcos Chavez doubled into the left-center gap to begin the fifth against Reynolds, then scored on a Royer single to center. The throw home allowed Royer to second base, Carreno fanned, but Labonte got an RBI single through the left side, shortening the score to 4-2. Lonzo grounded out to end the top 5th. Carreno didn’t get through the fifth at all; Randy Wilken singled, Cline found the same gap as Chavez for an RBI triple, and while Maresh popped out, an intentional walk to Steve Diaz to get the last out from Reynolds backfired when Carreno lost the pitcher in a full count… Sweeney flew out to center against Ricky Herrera, so at least the score remained at 5-2, with a full dozen knocks against Carreno. After that, the two bullpens didn’t give up anything of substance for the rest of the game, with only one base hit surrendered by four different Coons relievers. 5-2 Pacifics.

Sunday dawned and it was a Southpaw Sunday! What could go wrong now!?

Game 3
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Griggs – C Zamora – 2B Bribiesca – P DeRose
LAP: 2B Sweeney – CF McInnis – RF S. Rodrigues – 1B C. Rice – 3B Wilken – LF Cline – C Maresh – SS S. Diaz – P Overy

Alex Mancilla was pitching in the first inning once more, because DeRose not only crammed three hits and two walks into 25 pitches, but also spraining his ankle and had to leave the game after recording just two outs. By then McInnis had 6-4-3’ed away Sweeney’s leadoff single, but two walks and Randy Wilken’s RBI single had given L.A. a 1-0 lead before Cline legged out an infield single, the one where DeRose lunged for the ball but had his hindpaw buckle out from under him. Mancilla walked Maresh on four pitches – strong! – before Diaz flew out to Griggs on a 2-0 pitch, maintaining a 2-0 score. Mancilla would somewhat redeem his pelt by throwing three scoreless innings after that while hitting a double in his only time at-bat, but of course that wouldn’t lead to a ******* run with this team, would it…!?

After a scoreless fifth from Sencion, Royer got on base to begin the sixth, was forced out by Lonzo, but the Raccoons managed to take to the corners with a 2-out single from Abercrombie, but then Brobeck grounded out to short to keep the tying runs stranded. Cline and Diaz singles off Reynaldo Bravo also got L.A. to the corners in that inning, but that wasn’t anything that couldn’t be settled with a K on Overy, which ended the bottom 6th. The Raccoons wrung out Bravo for a second scoreless inning to try and make ends meet – Brobeck as prime remaining garbage disposal man was required to start on Tuesday – while the offense wasn’t doing anything worth a hoot anyway. Overy had a 3-hitter through eight, although in the inning Lonzo drew a 2-out walk (!), stole second for his 40th bag of the year, and then was unceremoniously stranded on Brassfield’s pop to shallow left. Lane had a scoreless eighth, while left-hander Gustavo Chapa gave up a leadoff jack to Abercrombie in the ninth inning, reducing the score to 2-1. He dismissed Brobeck and Griggs, but Zamora lobbed a 2-out single to right. Espinoza pinch-ran, but got nowhere as Bribiesca grounded out to end the game. 2-1 Pacifics. Abercrombie 2-4, HR, RBI; Mancilla 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K and 1-1, 2B; Bravo 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

In other news

August 8 – WAS 1B Alejandro Ramos (.215, 12 HR, 44 RBI) could be out for six weeks after suffering a quad strain.
August 8 – The Miners manage to lose a game, 4-3, to the Buffaloes despite having 11 base hits to Topeka’s three. Buffalo Matt McLaren (.259, 16 HR, 47 RBI) hits a 2-run home run, but even the Miners have three doubles among their hits.
August 8 – The Falcons score 11 runs in the fifth inning in a 16-8 beatdown of the Condors.
August 9 – SFB SP Salvatore Calderon (6-8, 4.80 ERA) has torn his UCL and faces 12 months or more on the sidelines. Whether the 39-year-old right-hander returns to the league at all is highly questionable.
August 10 – Condors SP Juan Juarez (11-6, 3.41 ERA) 3-hits the Buffaloes in a 4-0 shutout.
August 10 – Warriors LF/RF Jose Marroquin (.277, 11 HR, 44 RBI) connects twice for a single and a home run in an 8-2 win over the Loggers, extending his hitting streak to 20 games.
August 11 – The Scorpions will be without ace Mike McCaffrey (14-5, 1.45 ERA) for the rest of the month; the 35-year-old was battling shoulder soreness.
August 11 – Gold Sox CF/RF Chris Lauterbach (.282, 9 HR, 31 RBI) goes yard for the only score in a 1-0 win over the Canadiens.
August 12 – Blue Sox LF/CF Malik Crumble (.289, 14 HR, 34 RBI) has season-ending shoulder surgery for a torn labrum.
August 12 – Season over as well for Wolves SP Pablo Paez (10-8, 3.38 ERA), who has suffered a high ankle sprain.

FL Player of the Week: DEN 1B Bill Joyner (.326, 19 HR, 73 RBI), hitting .462 (12-26) with 2 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 1B Pat Fowler (.322, 23 HR, 78 RBI), shooting .433 (13-30) with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons are now giving up fewer runs than they did before the entire rotation was disposed of on the nearest flea market. All of the kits are struggling, though, and we saw pretty good defense all week long except for that one ball that Royer bumbled that blossomed against Boston.

The offense remains yucky, scoring just 2.7 runs per game in August.

There really isn’t much else to say at this point. DeRose might miss a start, or he might not, with that ankle thing. Thursday is off, however, so there’s potential to shove a guy into next week, where we have another day off on Monday. I actually hoped to use that to not see Brobeck get bounced from wall to wall for two weeks. When the Raccoons *are* playing next week, they’ll face the Miners and Crusaders.

Fun Fact: The Capitals keep using Matt Waters on second base whenever they can pry him off the stretcher.

The longtime Critter hit a 3-run walkoff homer off the bench to beat the Rebels, 9-6, on Thursday. It put him at .223 with 7 HR and 27 RBI this year, in only 68 games. Some elbow woes, some generally creaky bones. There’s a reason why we usually don’t want 36-year-old second basemen. But I enjoyed rewatching that highlight on my holographic screen.

35 times.

(sigh)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (61-57) vs. Miners (61-58) – August 13-15, 2057

Last FL opposition of the year, and Pittsburgh was second in the FL East, eight games behind the Blue Sox. I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to catch up though, given that they were merely average in both runs scored and runs conceded, with a tiny +10 run differential. Even the Raccoons did better, with a +37 mark. There were some major injury problems for the Miners, who were without He Shui, Rafael Mendoza, Alex Abecassis, and Alex Vasquez at this point. The Coons had beaten them, two games to one, in series in both of the last two years.

Projected matchups:
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-1, 3.27 ERA) vs. Sean Sweeton (11-7, 3.01 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (2-5, 6.55 ERA) vs. Jeff Crowley (9-10, 3.85 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (1-1, 3.50 ERA) vs. Felix Castano (7-10, 4.23 ERA)

Only right-handed pitchers lined up to face the Raccoons, including Sweeton, who had gone 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA since being traded away at the deadline.

Game 1
PIT: 2B C. Jimenez – LF J. Garza – 3B Corrales – 1B D. Williams – SS Spehar – RF B. Rivera – C W. Gardner – CF Thomason – P Sweeton
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – RF Griggs – CF Royer – C Zamora – 3B Bribiesca – P Sensabaugh

The Raccoons loaded the bases in the bottom 1st, but failed to score when Royer grounded out and left Labonte, Brassfield, and Griggs stranded, while Sensabaugh managed to walk the bases full with nobody out in the second inning. Dustin Williams, Ryan Spehar, and Bobby Rivera were all lined up for the exclusively ex-Coon bottom third of the order, which of course didn’t end well for the Miners. Wade Gardner hit a sac fly, Nick Thomason hit into a double play, and Sweeton didn’t get a turn. Sensabaugh went on to test my patience further with a walk offered to Chris Jimenez in the third inning, but then picked off the runner to end the inning after a pop by Jose Garza. Bottom 3rd, bags full again, as Sweeton walked Lonzo (!) and Abercrombie, and Brassfield hit a scratch single, all with one out. At this point, both pitchers had issued four walks and had no strikeouts to their name. Griggs’ sac fly to center was as good as it got, however, and Royer grounded out to first to end the inning.

Ryan Spehar and Paul Labonte both hit 2-out RBI doubles in the fourth inning, plating their team’s third baseman, Victor Corrales and Arturo Bribiesca, respectively. Both teams put a pair on and stranded them in the fifth, as the score remained rigorously tied. Spehar singled in the sixth and Gardner hit a long drive to left, but Abercrombie picked the missile off the fence to end the inning. Instead, the Raccoons took the lead in the bottom 6th when an off-the-rolls Sweeton issued his sixth walk, leading off against Bribiesca, who was then doubled home after being bunted to second base, again by Labonte. Abercrombie singled home the extra run, 4-2, but Brassfield flew out to centerfielder Nick Thomason, who then opened the seventh with a jack to left. Sensabaugh got two more outs, then yielded for Ricky Herrera against Garza, who struck out to end the inning.

The Coons went on to get Griggs and Royer on base a the start of the bottom 7th, then made three miserable outs against lefty Matt Stephens to not score, whilst Tanizaki fudged up three hits to have Wade Gardner tie the score in the top of the eighth. After Tanizaki got an out from Jimenez to begin the inning, Walters kept the game tied in the top of the ninth inning, with Royer leading off the bottom 9th against right-hander Cruz Madrid, who registered three easy outs in order, two grounders to second base flanking a K on Zamora. Walters had a scoreless tenth, but the Coons couldn’t hit a bloody thing, and the game dragged on. Lane had a scoreless innings, Sencion had a scoreless inning, but still no Raccoons offense anywhere in sight, and so Sencion had to come back for the 13th inning and was taken deep by Spehar to break the tie. He then also failed the bags full with another single and two walks, but Jose Garza grounded out to Brassfield just in time to end the inning. Another ex-Coon waited in the bottom 13th, with the 5-4 lead going to Mike Lynn. Labonte led off with a single to right. Lonzo grounded out, advancing the runner. Abercrombie singled to center, scoring the runner. And we were tied again…! (neither his nor Honeypaws’ whiskers move)

Scoring the winning run now, despite a walk to Brassfield, would have been a bit much, so Griggs lined out and Royer grounded out to move the game to the 14th. Sencion gave the last bit he had for a third inning. Todd Oley pinch-hit for him and hit a 2-out single off Lynn, then stole second. Labonte walked. And Lonzo grounded out to short. And now what? Mancilla and Bravo had both pitched long outings on Sunday in that **** show AND two days in a row, so they were unavailable. John Scott took the ball as the last reliever on duty. Brobeck had been used to pinch-hit earlier, so he was no longer available. Thus, Argenziano was sent to the bullpen to warm up, which in this case was *fine*, since he was generally expendable anyway. In the event his arm came off from abuse, he wasn’t even insured for that. Because… it’s Argenziano!

Thomason singled and was caught stealing against Scott in the top 15th, while Abercrombie hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, but Brassfield mashed into a 6-4-3 double play. Scott found another inning in his arm, but that was gonna be that. The Miners were on Lynn’s FOURTH inning in the bottom 16th, and while he walked Zamora, Espinoza forced out the lead runner, and then Scott came to bat, because there wasn’t anybody left to pinch-hit, not even pretend players like Brobeck. He grounded out. Then came Argenziano, on two days’ rest. Oh it’s fine! Just pretend it’s a bullpen session! He sure did; Peter Bivens, playing rightfield for a few hours by now, hit a leadoff double, Spehar walked, and then Trevor Niemiec found a double play and Gardner grounded out to Lonzo. Speaking of Lonzo, he singled to knock out Lynn with one out in the bottom 17th, then stole second base. He moved to third on Abercrombie’s grounder against Dale Mrazek. Brassfield grounded up the middle; the ball was cut off by Spehar, and the throw to first was – not in time! Walkoff on an infield single…! 6-5 Blighters. Labonte 4-8, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Lavorano 3-8, BB; Abercrombie 3-7, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Oley (PH) 1-1; Walters 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; Scott 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

So that’s a W for Argenziano (2-1, 3.32 ERA), and two L’s for the Raccoons, who were now without a bullpen for Brobeck’s start and without a starter for Wednesday altogether. Argenziano’s reward was going on waivers because we needed a fresh arm, even if that fresh arm was Colby ******* Bowen.

Lonzo stole three bases in the game – more than we had extra-base hits, which was only the pair of Labonte doubles – but was sore on Tuesday and got a day off. No point in willfully breaking Lonzo. We’re already willfully breaking all our pitchers.

Game 2
PIT: RF Bivens – LF J. Garza – C Monaghan – 1B D. Williams – SS Spehar – 3B Henriquez – 2B Niemiec – CF Thomason – P Crowley
POR: 2B Labonte – RF Griggs – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – P Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Oley – SS Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza

When I told Brobeck that he wouldn’t come out of the game until he allowed seven runs, I meant it as a threat, not as a challenge. But he pitched his usual dreck, although admittedly the error made by Todd Oley, overrunning one of the three singles in the inning for extra bases, didn’t exactly help. The Miners took a 2-0 lead in the inning, then sat up camp in scoring position right away in the third inning. Jose Garza singled, Eric Monaghan doubled, two on and nobody out. Dustin Williams then lined out to first, Spehar popped out to second, and Jorge Henriquez grounded out to third for three outs in order, none of which got a run home. The Miners went up 3-0 in the fifth as Bivens drew a leadoff walk and scored on Williams’ 2-out single, while the Raccoons’ first hit was Brobeck’s leadoff homer in the bottom 5th, shortening his own hook to 3-1.

Brobeck lasted seven innings rather than seven runs, but the offense also mounted only three hits to the Miners’ three runs. Bravo pitched a scoreless eighth, though it wasn’t pretty with a walk and two flies to the warning track. The tying runs then reached the corners with singles from Espinoza and Labonte in the bottom 8th, and nobody out. Yes, boys, time for a choke job! Griggs grounded out to third base, with Henriquez hustling in and getting the out at first base. Espinoza scored, 3-2, but the big guns grounded out and whiffed to strand the tying run at third base. Scott held the Miners in place in the ninth, but the Raccoons amounted only to an infield single by Chavez against Leonardo Ramos in their half of the ninth and took a loss, but at least the loss was on ******* time. 3-2 Miners. Chavez 2-4; Brobeck 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, L (2-6) and 1-3, HR, RBI;

I’ll get hate mail from the Blue Sox for this, but if Colby Bowen (0-1, 4.50 ERA) is already here, why not start him in the rubber game? (Maud coughs)

He hasn’t started a game since 2054. (Maud coughs louder)

In Ham Lake. (Maud really strains her throat)

And that was just one game. (Maud throws a pillow)

Game 3
PIT: RF Bivens – LF J. Garza – C Monaghan – 1B D. Williams – SS Spehar – 3B Henriquez – 2B C. Jimenez – CF B. Rivera – P Castano
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – C Chavez – CF Oley – 1B A. Wade – 3B Espinoza – P Bowen

Right out of the gate, the Miners whacked five straight singles and scored three runs before getting derailed by a double play. Oh sorry, did I say Miners? I meant the Coons. Abercrombie drove in a run, Chavez plated a pair, and then Oley hit into the double play, but it was a 3-0 lead for Bowen after the first inning. It was also as good as it got with Bowen. Bobby Rivera doubled home Henriquez with a run in the second, and in the third inning the Miners got another run as Bivens drew a leadoff walk, although the 2-base throwing error that put a pair in scoring position with one out was on Espinoza (again!). Victor Corrales hit an RBI single, with Monaghan thrown out at the plate by Abercrombie, and Williams popped out to Labonte to end the inning.

Hits by Abercrombie and Brassfield in the third inning only led to them being stranded in scoring position, but Labonte had another RBI double in the fourth, scoring Espinoza from second base with two outs to extend the lead to 4-2. Lonzo popped out, giving the ball back to Bowen, who then fudged the bags full with an infield single by PH Craig Sayre, his own error to add Bivens to the bases, and then a walk with one gone to Monaghan. Corrales inevitably hit a grand slam to right on the very next pitch, irrevocably flipping the score. (sigh)

Or maybe not! Mrazek was pitching by the fifth and he gave up a scattering of singles, but no runs in the inning. He was still around for the sixth, though. Espinoza got on and was bunted to second base by Ricky Herrera, who was still required to pitch more… Labonte grounded out, but Lonzo poked a 2-out RBI single, narrowing the score to 6-5, then stole second base, his 44th on the year, and the fourth in the series. Abercrombie then crashed the Miners lead with a triple to right, getting the score flat at six. Brassfield rushed a single through the right side, plating the go-ahead run and dismissing Mrazek. Ex-Coon Josh Mayo then rung up Chavez to get out of the inning. The next two frames were scoreless, but we kept littering the bases. Through eight innings, the Raccoons led the Miners by 11 hits and one skinny run. Walters struck out a pair in a quick ninth inning to keep it that way. 7-6 Critters. Labonte 2-5, 2B, RBI; Lavorano 2-5, RBI; Abercrombie 3-4, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Brassfield 4-5, 2B, RBI; Espinoza 2-4; Royer (PH) 1-1; Herrera 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2-1);

I don’t know what you two want…! (is at odds with Colby Bowen, who clutches a pillow against his chest while rocking back and forth on the couch, and Maud, who is petting him between the fuzzy ears to make it all better)

We won the bloody ballgame…!

Colby Bowen (0-1, 5.40 ERA) was sent to the Alley Cats to finish his crying, and the Raccoons also returned Aaron Wade (.121, 1 HR, 4 RBI) for obvious reasons.

For the weekend set in New York, we brought up outfielder Elijah Johnson again along with left-hander Adam Harris, who had had a rough time at it in a cameo last year (8.10 ERA).

Raccoons (63-58) @ Crusaders (72-49) – August 17-19, 2057

The Portland Madhouse went on tour again, playing three gigs in New York on that weekend. We actually had three actual starting pitchers lined up. It was exciting. New York of course offered the league’s best offense and gave up the third-fewest runs, with a +115 run differential. They were up 8-4 for the season series. Key figures missing for them were Zach Suggs, which sugged for them, Chad Williams, and Austin Guastella.

Projected matchups:
Ramon Carreno (3-4, 4.80 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (14-7, 2.61 ERA)
Justin DeRose (1-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Kyle Turay (11-6, 3.55 ERA)
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-1, 3.57 ERA) vs. Joel Luera (8-5, 3.76 ERA)

We’d miss their two southpaws, including Kennedy Adkins (13-8, 2.56 ERA) – sniff! – who was 1-2 with a 3.32 ERA with New York, which sounded like numbers he also could have posted in Portland…

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – LF Johnson – CF Oley – P Carreno
NYC: CF Caballero – 3B Adame – 2B O. Sanchez – 1B Sevilla – RF Ogawa – LF Kirkwood – C Kissler – SS Larsen – P Seiter

Carreno loaded the bases ineptly in the first, but got a double play from Ikuo Ogawa to bugger out of there, but then gave up FIVE 2-out hits, four of them with two strikes, in the bottom 2nd to take a 3-0 deficit in the snout. Particularly aggravating was the second knock, Seiter’s double that plated Shane Larsen. Following Oley’s leadoff double in the top 3rd, however, Carreno got back with an RBI single of his own, which marked his first career RBI. Labonte singled to advance Carreno, who eventually scored on a 2-out error by Larsen, who bungled a Brassfield grounder. Brobeck whiffed, ending the inning. New York answered with two unearned runs, though, with Lonzo making another throwing error, but that only aggravated Carreno getting punched for another bushel of hits in the inning, including another Seiter hit, which was driving me up the wall. Omar Sanchez grounded out to first to strand the bases loaded. Ogawa, Chris Kirkwood, and Larsen stuffed Carreno for another three hits and a run in the fourth inning, and that was the game for that particular rookie.

A Brobeck homer in the sixth plated Brassfield, shorted the score to 6-4, and kinda got the Raccoons back into the race, but when Lonzo hit a leadoff single in the seventh, he was doubled up by Abercrombie, and that took the air out of it again just as Harris’ season debut did, giving up a leadoff double to Mike Pfeifer in the #9 spot in the bottom 7th, and that run scored as well, singled home Alex Adame. The eighth was uneventful, despite Alex Mancilla being involved, and then Ryan Sullivan faced the top of the order in the ninth. Two grounders and a fly to right retired the Raccoons. 7-4 Crusaders. Brassfield 2-4;

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – LF Johnson – CF Oley – P DeRose
NYC: CF Caballero – 3B Adame – 2B O. Sanchez – 1B Sevilla – RF Ogawa – LF Kirkwood – C R. Salas – SS Larsen – P Turay

Scratch singles by Oley and Labonte were just enough to get a run home in the third inning, but DeRose managed to blow the lead and then some just when he got the ERA back under four, serving up a pair 2-out jacks to Raul Sevilla and Ikuo Ogawa in the bottom 3rd. Brassfield in the fourth and Johnson in the fifth hit into double plays, and the Coons just couldn’t gain any sort of traction. DeRose kept soldiering on, pitching not that bad at all, although his fielding was less stellar. In the bottom 7th the Crusaders had put Larsen on with a single and Aaron Kissler pinch-hit for Caballero with one out. He grounded to first, Brassfield fed the ball perfectly fine to DeRose, but DeRose looked down to locate the bag, then missed the ball tossed to him, and Kissler was safe. Better be lucky than good, though, beause Alex Adame lined into a double play to Labonte to dissolve that New York rally.

Turay was still going in the eighth, but Oley and Griggs got soft singles off him. Labonte hit into a fielder’s choice, which moved the tying run to third base, and then Turay nicked Lonzo. Turay was yanked, but not after he walked in the tying run against Abercrombie, and then the Coons choked against the pen as Brass popped out and Brobeck grounded out to first base…. Eloy Sencion then walked Omar Sanchez to begin the bottom 8th, which was the ONE thing that was not advisable with Sanchez. Just returning from injury, Sanchez, the go-ahead run, swiped second base, which reduced Lonzo’s lead on the season to 44-36. He also reached third on a grounder against Mike Lane, hit by PH Dustin Huber. Ogawa struck out, and when Mario Villa pinch-hit for Kirkwood, Ricky Herrera came in and fanned *him*, starving Sanchez at third base! All that did was extend the game to extra innings, where the Raccoons still couldn’t hit a lick, and then sent Bravo for the bottom 10th. The silly prick allowed a leadoff single to Pfeifer, walked Sanchez, who stole second, and then walked Huber and Ogawa, too, allowing the Crusaders to walk off without much of a fight. 3-2 Crusaders. Labonte 2-5, RBI; Oley 3-4; Griggs (PH) 1-1; DeRose 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K;

(sigh)

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – RF Griggs – C Zamora – CF Royer – P Sensabaugh
NYC: CF Caballero – 3B Adame – 2B O. Sanchez – 1B Sevilla – RF Ogawa – LF Kirkwood – C R. Salas – SS Larsen – P Luera

When Caballero reached with an infield single and Alex Adame hit his first homer in 25 years, I should have gone home straightaway. But we hung around, saw Sensabaugh face another nine batters, and still not get out of the first inning. The Crusaders WHACKED him, and when Adame singled again in the same ******* inning, the rookie was dragged off the hill. John Scott retired Omar Sanchez to get out of the inning, also pitched the second inning (Monday was off anyway), and then we lined up the scrubs. Mancilla actually pitched the Raccoons all the way to the stretch then, giving up a run in four innings. By said stretch, the Raccoons had a Brobeck double … and nothing else. Adam Harris managed to give up a stupid run in the eighth on two 2-out walks and an RBI single by Adame. Lonzo reached base in the ninth – on an error – and then Abercrombie flew out and that was the entire ******* ballgame. 8-0 Crusaders. Mancilla 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K;

In other news

August 14 – Vegas OF Jose Ambriz (.234, 1 HR, 28 RBI) might miss a month with a herniated disc.
August 15 – The hitting streak of SFW LF/RF Jose Marroquin (.277, 13 HR, 49 RBI) ends after 24 games in a 6-5 win against the Aces. Marroquin goes 0-for-3.
August 15 – The Cyclones rout the Loggers, 14-1. The Cyclones score six runs each in the first and last innings, and 11 different Cincy players split 12 RBI between them.
August 18 – NAS INF Nick Nye (.335, 26 HR, 86 RBI) reaches a 20-game hitting streak in a 3-2 win over the Miners, in which he hits two singles.

FL Player of the Week: PIT INF Victor Corrales (.306, 16 HR, 79 RBI), batting .462 (12-26) with 3 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: BOS INF/LF Willie de Leon (.357, 2 HR, 29 RBI), poking .556 (10-18) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Trying week. F.e. we try to find enough pitching to get through the damn schedule. For the weekend, the Raccoons had NINE relievers on the roster, and still almost wound up tossing Brobeck into that last game in New York when Sensabaugh was beaten to within an edge of his senses for just two ******* outs.

It will be fun next week when we play the damn Elks and the Aces. “Fun”.

It’s August and we have already lost two of the season series against the CL North teams (Loggers, Crusaders), although we have also won another (Titans).

Lonzo tied Oscar Mendoza with 494 stolen bases, seventh-best all-time, with his Miners series, but then didn’t add in New York (getting on base would help…). We’ll look at the depressingly huge gap to sixth-place Rich de Luna (570 SB) after the end of the month.

We might bring up Ryan Wade to pitch some games down the stretch here. He can hardly do worse than the other Wade.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons have already had 12 different starting pitchers this year.

For the guys on the Opening Day roster, Kennedy Adkins started 23 games, and Sean Sweeton and Seisaku Taki made it 22 each. Craig Kniep started 13 games before and after banishment to AAA. Roberto Oyola was sold for a sandwich after seven games.

Our conundrum Kyle Brobeck has pitched nine mostly horrendous games as a starter (and 23 overall).

Leftovers from earlier years? We had them, Cameron Argenziano and Josh Mayo both starting four games.

The Youth of America? Ramon Carreno (11), J.J. Sensabaugh (4), Justin DeRose (4) are all represented.

Even ******* Colby Bowen.

Compared to that, only ten pitchers have pitched exclusively in relief for the Raccoons this year: Bravo, Harris, Herrera, Lane, Mancilla, Ornelas, Scott, Sencion, Tanizaki, Walters;

Potentially add Ryan Wade, and Chance Fox might get a look-at in September, too. Ornelas, if he returns in time…?

The last time the Raccoons used more than a dozen starting pitchers was 2040, although injuries played a role. Raffaello Sabre was the only pitcher reaching 162 innings with 33 games, answering every call. Bernie Chavez started 25 games, Nelson Moreno made it 22, Ryan Bedrosian 19, and it was just getting fuzzier from here with Angelo Montano (15), Sal Lozano (12), Kyle Dominy (12), Ian Wilson (11), Cory Lambert (4), Nelson Fonseca (4), Jared Ottinger (2, sigh), Jose de Leon (2), and Juan Zabala (1).

[Westheim]

Raccoons (63-61) @ Canadiens (55-67) – August 21-23, 2057

The Elks were in last place, which wasn’t something anybody had expected when the season began after they only lost the division title by inches to the Crusaders last year. But they combined an average offense with the second-worst rotation in the sport, which had given them a -57 run differential and a 4-8 record against the Raccoons this year, although as a creature of habit I expected the very worst to happen while the boys travelled to Elk City.

Projected matchups:
Kyle Brobeck (2-6, 6.17 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (5-14, 5.36 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (3-5, 5.06 ERA) vs. Bruce Mark jr. (10-9, 3.64 ERA)
Justin DeRose (1-1, 3.91 ERA) vs. Ernie Gomes (7-12, 4.41 ERA)

Only right-handed pitchers in sight for the damn Elks.

The Raccoons STILL carried nine relievers, because, well, look at what we’re rocking up with for a rotation…

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – P Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Oley – RF Royer – 3B Espinoza
VAN: CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – RF Magnussen – C Waker – 1B Yamamoto – 2B E. Stevens – LF D. Garcia – 3B Lundberg – P Kozloski

The rookie Kozloski gave up well over 11 hits per nine innings, but usually didn’t mix in many walks, only offering 32 free passes in 142.2 innings so far, but walked FOUR Critters in the opening inning. Labonte and Abercrombie were on base when Brass hit an RBI single, and Brobeck walked to fill the bases for Chavez, who laid off a ball in the dirt in a 3-2 count to push in a run. Todd Oley forced out Chavez at second base with a grounder to Erik Stevens, plating Brass, and with two outs Steve Royer and Daniel Espinoza hit near-identical RBI singles right over the second base bag. Labonte flew out to Danny Garcia in left, except that Garcia dropped the ball for a run-scoring error, but then caught Lonzo’s liner, who had already lined out to Tyler Lundberg for the first out of the 6-run inning. Kozloski only got six outs in the game, being removed after Oley hit a leadoff single in the third inning, but that runner was stranded on base.

I also wondered whether Brobeck would feel egged on to blow the 6-0 lead as quickly as possible, but the Elks sure took their time to get a hit. Through four innings they only drew one walk, with Shuta Yamamoto (who else) hitting a leadoff single in the bottom 5th for their first foray into the H column. Stevens doubled him up with a grounder to Lonzo before Brobeck true to form filled the bags with 2-out walks, only for Damian Moreno to pop out foul to end the inning. There wasn’t another score until the top 6th when Lonzo doubled and scored on Abercrombie’s single to right. The Raccoons got two more soft hits and two more runs against – and here was where it hurt – a completely washed Jason Wheatley, who had been a free agent for half the season, and judging by the results should have remained one…… and also Federico Purificao, who replaced him, but waved the last two runs of the inning around. Sic transit gloria mundi…

Brobeck pitched into the seventh, departing with one out after walking Stevens and Garcia and getting Lundberg to pop out. Adam Harris popped out Kyle Hawkins, walked Moreno, and then rung up Rick Price as the Elks stranded a full set of runners again. Herrera put a pair on base to begin the bottom 8th, but was rescued when John Scott got Yamamoto to hit into a double play. 9-0 Raccoons. Abercrombie 3-4, BB, RBI; Brassfield 2-5, RBI; Johnson (PH) 1-1; Oley 3-5, 2 RBI; Royer 2-5, RBI;

Brobeck allowed two hits and walked six without giving up a run. Yes, technically… but … SIX walks…!!

For Wednesday we got another rookie, 31-year-old Cuban right-hander Luis Arroyo (1-0, 3.34 ERA, 1 SV), who would make his first career start after six years on the Elks’ AAA team and 23 relief appearances so far for the big club.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – C Chavez – CF Oley – LF Johnson – 3B Espinoza – P Carreno
VAN: CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – RF Magnussen – C Waker – 1B Yamamoto – 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – 3B Lundberg – P Arroyo

Lonzo singled in the first, stole second, and was thrown out at the plate by Adam Magnussen on Abercrombie’s single to right, so the Critters were turned away in the first inning on Wednesday. The Elks were not, with singles by Moreno and Magnussen to score a run, to which Carreno also contributed a free base for Moreno with an errant pickoff attempt. Elijah Johnson’s first career homer erased that deficit in the top 2nd. While Carreno survived Hawkins’ leadoff double to left in the bottom of the inning by getting three pops on the infield after that, the Raccoons took the lead an inning later when Labonte got on, stole second base, and was this time driven in with a single to *left* by Abercrombie. Yes, Abs, hit it *there*!

The pair of rightfielders were involved in another out on the base paths in the fifth inning, which Moreno opened with a single for Elktown. Rick Price forced him out with a grounder to Lonzo, then tried to go first-to-third on Magnussen’s single to right. This time Abercrombie denied the Elks and threw out the runner at the desired base, and the inning ended with Tristan Waker flying out to Johnson. Magnussen then cashed a throwing error in the top 6th when Marcos Chavez hit a 1-out double and desired to advance to third base on Oley’s fly to right, which was caught – but Magnussen’s hammer throw to third base couldn’t be caught by Lundberg, and Chavez dashed home to score on the error, 3-1. The joy was short-lived, because the Elks rallied the game tied in the same frame; Yamamoto (who else) took Carreno deep to right, and a walk to Hawkins and a 2-out RBI single by the reliever Arroyo (gnashes teeth) tied the game. It was the fourth walk for Carreno, against zero strikeouts. Also the last one, because his spot led off the seventh inning. He got back into the lead when Brobeck reached on a Stevens error, advanced on Labonte’s walk and Lonzo’s groundout, and then scored on Abercrombie’s fly to Moreno in deep center. Two more singles by Brass and Chavez scored Lonzo, 5-3, and dismissed Arroyo for left-handed ex-Coon (12 years ago, but it still counts!) Tony Negrete, who faced Jake Griggs and got him to ground out on the first pitch, ending the inning.

Rick Price’s leadoff triple against Eloy Sencion helped the Elks reclaim a run in the bottom 7th, although Magnussen popped out and only Waker got him home with a grounder to Lonzo. Yamamoto grounded out against Tanizaki, and then Walters got warm and finished the game without major trouble.* 5-4 Raccoons. Abercrombie 2-4, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Johnson 2-4, HR, RBI; Walters 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (31)*

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – LF Johnson – CF Royer – P DeRose
VAN: CF D. Moreno – SS R. Price – RF Magnussen – C Waker – 1B Yamamoto – 2B E. Stevens – LF K. Hawkins – 3B Lundberg – P Mark jr.

The Coons scored first on Thursday, as Labonte singled, stole second, and after Lonzo’s groundout moved him to third base scored on a wild pitch by Bruce Mark jr. Abercrombie then hit a ball over the wall in left to make it 2-0 right away. DeRose responded by loading the bases with Price, Magnussen, and Waker, then saw Yamamoto’s fly bobbled by Johnson for an unearned run. Stevens’ pop to short and Hawkins’ undropped fly to Johnson ended the inning and left three on base. The game was still tied in the bottom 2nd; Lundberg led off with a wallbanger double… and eventually scored on a wild pitch, and then DeRose offered walks to Moreno and Magnussen to continue an annoying trend for starting pitchers, who in this series were now on 13 walks and ONE strikeout (Brobeck in the opener). K’ing Lundberg in the bottom 3rd did little to dilute that ****** statistic.

The fourth and fifth were uneventful except for Johnson picking a Yamamoto drive off the fence to end the bottom 5th. He was less fortunate in the sixth, narrowly missing Lundberg’s drive that went over the wall for a go-ahead, 2-out homer. The Raccoons answered, however: soft single by Brobeck to begin the seventh, then an infield single by Chavez when three Elks shooed each other off trying to play that dead quail. They paid for that on Elijah Johnson’s corner-rattling, score-flipping, 2-run triple! Royer’s sac fly made it 5-3, DeRose got his first career hit with a single off reliever Jameson Monk, but was left on base, then croaked in the bottom 7th. He struck out Moreno, then walked Price and gave up a double to Magnussen. Sencion faced Waker, gave up an infield single on his only pitch, and the bases were loaded for Mike Lane to face Yamamoto. I totally expected a slam and covered my eyes with Honeypaws back home on the couch, but instead the first pitch was shoved to Brobeck for a 5-4-3 double play and the Raccoons dazzled out of the inning, and after that the damn Elks didn’t get another chance to score with stingy innings by Lane and Walters to close out the game. 5-3 Furballs! Abercrombie 2-4, HR, RBI; Brobeck 2-4; Lane 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Sweep!! Hah!!

Raccoons (66-61) vs. Aces (49-78) – August 24-26, 2057

Next last-place team: the Aces had the worst overall pitching, the second-worst offense, and a rank -161 run differential in August. We had already won the season series, 5-1, and were eyeing a 6-0 week, since the Aces were also without two of their more reliable batters in Jim White and Jose Ambriz, although Aubrey Austin (.308, 15 HR, 68 RBI) and Alex Alfaro (.263, 18 HR, 72 RBI) should not be counted out.

Projected matchups:
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-2, 6.38 ERA) vs. Kenneth Spencer (9-10, 6.33 ERA)
Craig Kniep (4-4, 5.29 ERA) vs. Ray Benner (4-13, 4.66 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (3-6, 5.69 ERA) vs. Scott Evans (5-15, 5.46 ERA)

Spencer was the only southpaw coming up here. Speaking of southpaws… Craig Kniep was not on the roster *yet*, but it would happen after the opener. Adam Harris was likely going to be sent out.

Game 1
LVA: CF Thayer – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – LF Hummel – 1B Jacinto – C M. Castillo – 2B Chairez – P K. Spencer
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – RF Griggs – C Zamora – 2B Bribiesca – P Sensabaugh

Hummel homered to give the Aces a 1-0 lead in the second, but Sensabaugh had sense enough to hustle on his grounder to short with Brobeck, Zamora, and Bribiesca on base in the bottom 2nd and one out. The Aces failed to turn the double play, and Brobeck scored with the tying run. Royer walked, but Lonzo whiffed, leaving three on base in the inning. The defense then tried to hold Sensabaugh together while the Raccoons eked out a 2-1 lead in the fourth with a leadoff walk to Griggs, who stole second, Zamora’s groundout, and Bribiesca’s sac fly. Royer especially did miles in the outfield to shag flies surrendered by Sensabaugh, but the 2-1 lead even survived the seventh inning, in which the rookie walked Gustavo Jacinto and Manny Castillo with one out, then got a 4-6-3 double play inning-ender from PH Tony Villarreal, batting for Andy Chairez.

Bottom 7th, Lonzo was plunked by lefty Jose Cintora and stole second base out of spite. Brass walked, and Abercrombie hit an RBI single to right. Brass went to third, drew Austin’s throw, and Abercrombie hustled into second base while the ball seemed to hang in the air forever. Brobeck then cashed a 2-run single to center, ending Cintora’s attempts to be clever. Griggs tripled off right-hander Jim Woods, and Zamora’s RBI single marked the fifth and final run of the inning. Harris fudged the bags full in the eighth while getting only two outs, but Bravo rung up Hummel when he replaced him, and the Aces didn’t score. Bravo also finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth. 7-1 Raccoons. Royer 2-4, BB; Abercrombie 3-5, 2B, RBI; Zamora 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Bribiesca 2-3, RBI; Sensabaugh 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, W (1-2);

It wasn’t a worldie of a start, but it was Sensabaugh’s first career win, and while Royer especially deserved a share, it shouldn’t go unmentioned entirely.

Then, the switch, with Harris (0-0, 5.40 ERA) was headed to St. Pete, and it was the return of Craig Kniep.

Yay.

Game 2
LVA: C Mathews – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – LF Hummel – 1B Jacinto – CF O. Vega – 2B Chairez – P Benner
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – C Chavez – CF Oley – LF Johnson – 3B Espinoza – P Kniep

Kniep walked three in the first inning after an 0-2 leadoff single by Kyle Mathews, conceding the run on Alfaro’s sac fly, but the three walks were all stranded. Yay. Big success. The Raccoons roared into the lead in the same frame, though, despite two groundouts to begin the bottom 1st. Abercrombie singled, Brass socked a game-tying triple, and then Chavez bashed a home run to go up 3-1. The very next pitch by Benner was up and in to Todd Oley, who turned just in time to get drilled in the shoulder rather than the face, but in the next second tossed his bat, flung his helmet and raced out to rearrange Benner’s dentures. A mid-sized brawl broke out, at the end of which both Benner and Oley were tossed from the game. Royer took over centerfield, while righty Andy Younge got Vegas out of the inning, drew a walk from Kniep in the top 2nd (bites into his fist), and scored on Mathews’ single and a Miguel Veguilla sac fly.

Kniep singled home Daniel Espinoza to extend the lead to 4-2 with two outs in the fourth, but that was only after double plays had cleaned up messes behind him in both the previous two Vegas half-innings. He was an absolute mess (but had come off two decent outings in AAA). Hummel singled in the fifth, and the Coons turned ANOTHER double play behind him to get him through that inning, and then ANOTHER one in the sixth after a leadoff walk to Oscar Vega, Kniep’s sixth free pass of the ******* game. Tony Villarreal hit a 2-out single, Mathews walked (looks dead inside), and John Scott filled the bases by allowing a single to Veguilla when he finally ended the evil charade by appearing from the pen. Austin then whacked a 3-1 pitch high to left, but not very deep, and Elijah Johnson made the catch to strand three runners on base for no runs in the inning. Ricky Herrera then finally blew the ******* lead in the seventh, issuing a walk to Alfaro and a longball to Jacinto… Maud, I will need the blunderbuss. Did you hide it in the usual place?

Tanizaki held the game tied in the eighth before the Aces appeared to finally run out of pitching (although Younge had pitched into the fifth after entering in the first inning9. Bill McDermott walked Abercrombie and Brassfield with one gone in the bottom 8th, then gave up an RBI single to Chavez. Abercrombie scored quite eagerly from second base, surprising centerfielder Zach De Geest, who wasn’t even ready to throw the ball. Last-place team, huh? Royer and Johnson were axed, however, but Walters struck out three around a 1-out single by Hummel in the ninth to put the game away. 5-4 Critters. Brassfield 1-2, 2 BB, 3B, RBI; Chavez 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

Three games’ suspension for Todd Oley. – Maud, we will complain to the league office. Benner didn’t even have to visit the dentist or the emergency room after getting punched!

Game 3
LVA: CF Thayer – SS Veguilla – RF Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – LF Hummel – 1B Jacinto – C M. Castillo – 2B Chairez – P S. Evans
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – P Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Griggs – 3B Bribiesca – CF Royer

The game was scoreless until Brobeck started to stupidly walk people in the fourth inning, doling out free passes to Jacinto and Castillo before giving up an RBI single with two outs to Chairez. Not that the first three innings had been *awesome*, but at least he had allowed the defense to cover up for his shortcomings. Evans flew out to end the inning then, but the Raccoons had nothing much to show for against Evans either, except for the two double plays they hit into when they did get a runner on base after all. Brobeck failed his way into the sixth inning, where he gave up a single to Jacinto, a four-pitch walk to Castillo, and then even got Chairez popped out… and then surrendered an RBI single to Evans. He was purged, and Tanizaki retired Nick Thayer and Miguel Veguilla to get out of the inning with “only” a 2-0 deficit. And even after that only the Aces threatened. Tanizaki allowed two runners in the seventh, and Sencion allowed two runners in the eighth, none of whom scored. When the Raccoons put Bribiesca (single) and Lonzo (walk) on the corners in the bottom 8th it came as a bit of a surprise, but sure enough Abercrombie flew out to easily to Thayer and the inning ended. Bravo retired a hand of Aces in order in the ninth, while Evans was still nursing a 6-hitter (but mind all the double plays) in the bottom of the ninth inning. He oversaw Brassfield and Espinoza groundouts, then was cruelly yanked for Hyeok Kim, who struck out Chavez. 2-0 Aces. Lavorano 2-3, BB;

In other news

August 20 – The hitting streak of Blue Sox INF Nick Nye (.334, 27 HR, 87 RBI) makes it only to 21 games before being ended by an 0-for-4 day while the Buffaloes beat the Sox, 9-2.
August 22 – The Condors rout the Knights, 20-2, but nobody on the team gets more than three RBI. All position players in the lineup get at least one hit and score at least one run, however. TIJ RF/LF Micah Groom (.233, 1 HR, 12 RBI) overall perhaps does best with four hits, including a double, and two RBI.
August 23 – CHA C Luis Miranda (.248, 12 HR, 59 RBI) homers for the only run in a 1-0 win over the Thunder.
August 24 – VAN 1B Shuta Yamamoto (.240, 15 HR, 67 RBI) drives in five runs on two home runs and three walks in a 14-2 rout of the Falcons.
August 24 – Wolves OF/1B Aidan Calhoun (.260, 15 HR, 61 RBI) caps a 6-run ninth inning with walkoff grand slam for a 7-3 win against the Cyclones.
August 25 – DEN 1B Bill Joyner (.331, 20 HR, 78 RBI) is finished for this year after tearing ankle ligaments.
August 25 – LAP SP Ivan Torres (11-8, 3.91 ERA) is out for the season as well with a ruptured finger tendon in his throwing hand.
August 25 – Scoring takes ten innings to happen in Salem on Saturday, before a double by Ben Newman (.275, 4 HR, 15 RBI) and walkoff single by 44-year-old wonder Felix Marquez (.215, 6 HR, 34 RBI) walk off the Wolves for a 1-0 win.
August 26 – The Wolves bomb the Cyclones for 11 runs in the second inning for a 12-3 win.

FL Player of the Week: TOP LF/RF John Kaniewski (.328, 14 HR, 58 RBI), batting .520 (13-25) with 1 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN 1B Shuta Yamamoto (.244, 16 HR, 68 RBI), slapping .381 (8-21) with 4 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

This team! Can’t even go 6-0 against two last-place clubs! Bums!

Tougher scheduling will come, but next week the homestand continues with the Thunder and the Loggers, and that week will already bleed into September, which means our pains are soon over.

Shuta Yamamoto as a Raccoon in 2042-43: .223/.289/.349; he hit as many homers in all of 2043 (73 games after all) as he hit this week. He’s hit as many homers in all of 2043 as he’s hit against the Raccoons this year.

Todd Oley will spend his time off visiting the local boxing club so that next time he tries to crush a pitcher’s teeth through the back of his skull he’ll actually make the suspension worth it. He will be eligible again on Wednesday.

Fun Fact: This is the year that Felix Marquez has fallen off.

He hit .266/.402/.396 in 158 games for the Caps last year, but with the Wolves he’s only at .215/.365/.312; mind, that 93 OPS+ still beats half the Coons roster…

Turns out, he was best before he turned 44 years old!

+++

*I thought we were an inning further than we actually were. Whoopsie. German proverb of choice: He who can read has a clear advantage...