Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

December 4 – The Raccoons and Blue Sox strike a deal. Nashville receives righty reliever Paul Cooper (2-2, 3.14 ERA in ’82) for minor leaguers SP Francisco Trujillo, INF Bobby Holmes, and INF Nick Chandler. Trujillo and Holmes were round 2 draft picks, the former by the Blue Sox in ’81, the latter by the Crusaders the year before.
December 4 – Journeyman infielder and career .257 hitter Jose Delgado is dealt by the Buffaloes to the Knights for outfielder Rich Wright (.236 hitter), with prospects exchanged as well.
December 4 – 26-yr old fireball reliever Forrest Reid joins the Bayhawks, with 3B Chris Scott sent to the Thunder. Scott is a career .280 hitter, but only managed .254 last year. Reid strikes out almost 10 over nine innings.
December 4 – The Wolves send their catcher Carlos Gonsales to Boston for pitcher Bruce Wright. Gonsales is a contact hitter made expendable with the signing of Sam Murphy. Wright is a jack-of-all-trades on the mound, being able to start, relieve, and close.
December 5 – Former Raccoon Ken Clark is dealt to Denver after a .251 season with the Warriors. Sioux Falls receives MR Rick Gardner and minor league pitcher Rick Hughes.
December 6 – The Bayhawks send outfielder Thomas Martin and his 1,008 career hits to Topeka for 1B/3B Andre Long. At 37, Long’s best days are over, but he can still hit for power. He also hit .275 in 131 games for Cincinnati and Topeka last season.
December 7 – The Indians acquire C Mike Rodgers (.246, 2 HR, 32 RBI in ’82) from the Condors for average reliever Josh Bridges.
December 15 – Outfielder George Lynch (career .335 hitter with 44 homers) joins the Buffaloes for six years and $5M.
December 16 – Outfielder Juan Medine joins the Scorpions after an injury-riddled season in New York. The 35-yr old will make $2.37M over three years. His career average is .352, logging 614 hits and 76 home runs.
December 16 – Another former Miner and almost-champion signs elsewhere: OF Jose Pacheco went .318, 15 HR, 88 RBI in 1982. He signs a 6-yr, $4.56M contract with the Rebels.
December 17 – The Wolves ink middle infielder Ralph Nixon, 36, to a 2-yr, $1.43M deal. Nixon has 891 career hits, but his best days were with New York in the 70s.
December 17 – Lefty hurler Jason Gurston (formerly in Salem) joins Cincinnati on a 4-yr, $2.92M contract. He is 77-57 with a 3.11 ERA for his career.
December 20 – The Rebels sign closer Raffaele Antuofermo (163 SV in his career). He spent all of his career with the Thunder so far.
December 23 – The Indians sign the Aces’ former closer, Domingo Alonso. He has 175 career saves at age 25, including 33 last season for the last place team that shared the worst record (69-93) with the Gold Sox.
December 29 – Sacramento and Oklahoma City strike a huge deal: OF Leonardo Costa (.326, 1,143 H, 39 HR, 515 RBI lifetime) is sent to Oklahoma for SP Morton Jennings (73-64, 3.40 ERA). Both are 30 and could contribute for many more years.
January 7 – SP Luis Nunez takes his 98 career wins to San Francisco. He will get $3.2M over five years.
January 16 – The Raccoons sign infielder Winston Thompson, 29, to a 2-yr, $250k contract. Thompson spent his years in the Gold Sox organization, but never got a real chance at the major league level, where he is .111 with 4 RBI in just 27 AB.
January 27 – Bad news for all teams still looking for starting pitching (including us): three of the best remaining free agents are taken: Jorge Mora (60-46, 3.23 ERA), 26, joins the Rebels (formerly Falcons), former Rebel Victor Macias (96-69, 3.60 ERA), 30, dons a Cyclones uniform, and another former Rebel also finds a new home, as 29-yr old Cristo Negrón (62-53, 3.48 ERA) becomes a Buffalo. I was after all of them but Macias at some point this winter.
January 29 – The Raccoons take on 16-yr old Mexican pitching prospect Juan Martinez from Aguascalientes.

The trade that sent away Paul Cooper was a potentially big win for the Raccoons. Trujillo was a 18-yr old Dominican that was still in A ball, going 11-13 in 1982, but for a notoriously low scoring team. He finished with an ERA a sliver under 3. It also relieved the crowd pressure we had in the pen as far as right-handers were concerned. Behind Gaston, Cunningham, and Kelley, Paul Cooper had been #4 at best and was a 1-inning guy, making him unsuitable for long relief. He had been a solid guy, but we had a couple of younger relievers at AAA, pushing up.

That was the only trade we made during the winter meetings. I built on a deal with the Cyclones that would have landed us 1B/2B Max Reynolds on a slightly too huge contract, which would have included interesting outfield prospect Pedro Ortíz. But we could not come to terms on which players would go to Cincinnati, and the deal fell through.

Thompson was brought on as sixth infielder. The Gold Sox parked him at AAA, but my new scout is highly enthusiastic about him. He can play all infield positions well. Of course, Mark Dawson is our 3B starter with Alex White new to RF, so Thompson is more like a seventh infielder. He could also be a pinch runner for our slower sluggers like Green and Workman in tied ninth innings. Whatever. He will sure find ways to be useful, and if not, the second year is a team option with zero buyout. You not hit .240, you gone.

This has been by far the most busy offseason in the league yet. The Knights f.e. have dealt away (or lost to free agency) a total of 16 players up until Christmas. Most teams parted with at least ten players, the Raccoons with nine.

It’s February 3, the official start of the pre-season. I am still looking for a quality backup outfielder that has to be able to play centerfield well. The lefty reliever issue also has not been resolved, I don’t think Justin Neubauer will hold up over a full season. I also need another starting pitcher, and have two offers out there for quality righties, including one current World Champion.

I am making a very bold statement now: the addition of Alex White alone should make the Raccoons not also-rans, but a serious force in the (weakling) CL North, and maybe even contenders against the Canadiens and the seemingly improved Titans. And they will turn a winning record for the first time as well! If not, I will ... I will ... I will eat a lot of cookies and be very angry!

[Westheim]

February – Speedy slugger Tad Willis, 26, is signed by the Scorpions for a 2-yr, $818k contract. Willis was a key piece of the pennant-winning Miners in ’82.
February 5 – After month-long talks and considerations taken by all involved, 29-yr old RH SP Shayne Nealon signs for four years and $2,575,000 with the Portland Raccoons. Nealon has a 34-30 record and 3.72 ERA lifetime. The Canadian was with the Aces and Condors before becoming a free agent. This forfeits the Raccoons’ third round pick to the Condors.
February 13 – The Raccoons’ #1 starter from ’77 is back in the CL North, as Alex Miranda joins the Indians. Miranda (77-85, 3.66 ERA) comes off his age 27 season with 18 wins for Tijuana and Salem, but his command issues have never been resolved. He’ll make $3.7M over six years in Indy.
February 13 – The Wolves shell out a total of $3.5M to sign both righty reliever Willis Sims and CF Felipe Hernandez, both very productive players. Sims has a 1-yr, $404k deal, Hernandez is signed for six years.
February 16 – Keep ‘em comin’! The Raccoons sign current World Champion SP Kinji Kan (67-61, 4.14 ERA), who won 18 games with the Canadiens in ’82, to a 2-yr, $750k contract. Kan, 31, has had his best season last year, and whether he will hold up, will be of high interest. This forfeits the Raccoons’ fourth round draft pick to Vancouver.
February 23 – The Raccoons add Jason Short, 30, as outfield backup. Short has 815 career hits (.262), but struggled during his stint in New York. His best days were in 1977-78 in Sacramento. He gets $163k for one year.
February 23 – SP Jonathan Knapp (64-72, 3.70 ERA) is signed by the Warriors for 3-yr, $1M. He was injured for significant amounts of time in both of the last two seasons with the Buffaloes.
February 24 – CL Lance Parsons (197 SV) signs a 1-yr, $612k contract with the Gold Sox. He is #4 in all time saves.
February 25 – The Raccoons add former Miner MR Burton Taylor, 28, as lefty specialist. He has a career 3.83 ERA and fans just under nine over nine innings. Taylor signs a 1-yr, $125k contract.
February 27 – The Raccoons and Titans exchange AAA level players. MR Jorge Rodriguez goes to Boston, while INF Roy Rollins heads east. Both are in their mid-20s and neither has made the majors yet.
March 10 – Four minor league players are swapped between the Raccoons and Blue Sox: AAA MR/CL Gary Simmons and MR Tony Lopez head for Nashville, with A INF Victor Castillo and AAA 3B Brian House going the opposite way.
March 29 – Aces reliever Matt Sims will start the season on the DL with a torn rotator cuff and will possibly rejoin the team in May.

Nealon gives me the #3 starter that neither Romero (early in ’82) nor Ackerman (late in ’82) were. He is scouted with the “fragile” tag, and has had shoulder inflammation before, although the only significant injury in the last three years were some not too serious knee problems. With Charles Young penciled in as #4 starter, this gives me the freedom to decide between Yoelbi Maurinha and Jerry Ackerman for #5 duties, and the former clearly has the upper hand here. His first few starts of his major league debut were awful, but after that he got his ERA all the way down to 3, while Ackerman got worse as the season progressed. Ackerman is 23 and has three option years left. He can go to AAA for another season. It’s not that he was terrible, he made some very good games, but occasionally he was just blasted, like that one 5-run, 0-out game in September. A season in AAA would do him good.

The Nealon signing added another +4.9 WAR for the Raccoons, after already gaining +5.0 through Alex White. At that point, we were far ahead (once again…) in the offseason development table thingie…

Of course, I had another offer out there, for SP Kinji Kan, who won the World Series with the Canadiens. He came rather cheap compared to his ’82 season, but of course that was his only stellar season on record. It is kind of a gamble, but I’ll take it. I had now the ability to choose whom to send down to AAA.

With that February 16 trade, I was mostly set. I had two more offers out there, with one of them for Jason Short. The Crusaders used him as leadoff hitter or at #2 if I remember right, and that is not what he is. But he can contribute to the team once Borjón falls into a hole like last September where he dinked his low AVG by another 20 points. The other was for Burton Taylor, since I just had not the confidence that Neubauer would be good enough as lefty specialist with no other alternative in the pen. The Taylor signing completed the roster.

The trades after that were made to remove dead weight from the 40-man roster while getting something in return. There were a lot of relievers in AA and AAA, while I had lost a number of infielders to free agency.

I especially wanted to get rid of Tony Lopez, who was due to make $112k this year for contributing *nothing*. He was 34 and it was five years since we’ve signed him as international free agent. Five years of constant nightmare. It turned out I had to give up some potential to get him off my back, and Gary Simmons was what the Blue Sox wanted. They swallowed Lopez to get Simmons, who had had a fine season at AAA in relief and closing after losing 21 games as starter in the majors in 1981. Castillo is a prime shortstop prospect with batting abilities. House was bonus. The Blue Sox had also had a Korean 2B prospect at AA with an unpronounceable name, but would give up him *and* Castillo for Lopez and Simmons. The only downside was that Castillo was on the 40-man roster, where I still only had one open spot now.

By the way, Jorge Romero went unsigned and we did not receive a supplemental round pick.

If this team holds up, it has two years to achieve greatness. All the pieces are either under club control, arbitration eligible or signed through at least 1984, when Mark Dawson, Ramón Borjón, and Kinji Kan will be eligible for free agency again. That’s when everything will start to fall apart, which will happen after the 1985 season at the latest, when I will have to re-sign Daniel Hall and Logan Evans, who are employed at major bargain until then.

Two years to get going.

Let’s go.

[Westheim]

1983 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set shows 1982 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Christopher Powell, 34, B:L, T:R (18-6, 2.37 ERA | 78-74, 3.27 ERA) – without a doubt the ace on the staff. Took a couple of 1-0 losses last year, and was 2nd in ERA behind “Mauler” Correa. Remains long ball prone, but makes up for that by hardly walking anybody to keep the bags clear before surrendering a homer.
SP Logan Evans, 27, B:L, T:L (16-13, 3.26 ERA | 43-46, 3.33 ERA) – he never really found solid ground last season and his command issues will never be resolved, but he turned a winning record for back-to-back seasons.
SP Shayne Nealon *, 29, B:R, T:R (13-11, 3.25 ERA | 34-30, 3.72 ERA) – signed as free agent, last with the Condors. Struggled with command early in his career, but had about 2 K/BB in his last two seasons.
SP Kinji Kan *, 31, B:L, T:R (18-7, 3.27 ERA | 67-61, 4.14 ERA) – won the title with the Canadiens in his most awesome season. Now he just has to repeat.
SP Yoelbi Maurinha, 29, B:L, T:L (5-8, 3.58 ERA | 5-8, 3.58 ERA) – made his debut in 1981 and after a few rocky outings was very solid in the #5 spot.

MU Carlos Morán, 27, B:S, T:R (6-10, 3.50 ERA | 14-24, 3.71 ERA, 1 SV) – started ’81 in the rotation, but was moved back to mopup in the summer after a string of heavy losses. He won three games in long relief after that, where he seems to fit much better after all.
MR Burton Taylor *, 28, B:L, T:L (4-2, 3.71 ERA | 18-21, 3.83 ERA, 34 SV) – our new situational lefty, won the FL pennant with the Miners last year, reaches 2.5 K/BB for a nice 1.34 career WHIP.
MR Jason White, 24, B:R, T:R (0-1, 2.20 ERA | 0-3, 4.20 ERA) – keeps coming and going because he is so unreliable. Has only 60 IP to his majors career in parts of three seasons.
MR Fletcher Kelley, 24, B:R, T:R (1-4, 4.09 ERA | 2-4, 4.23 ERA) – melted away late in the season, ruining his record and ERA. He is actually very reliable.
SU Richard Cunningham, 23, B:R, T:R (3-2, 2.45 ERA, 3 SV | 4-5, 2.28 ERA, 3 SV) – was most awesome in his first full season; can also do long extra inning stints; struck out 9.5 per nine innings.
SU Wally Gaston, 26, B:R, T:R (1-6, 3.20 ERA, 3 SV | 23-29, 2.85 ERA, 82 SV) – continues to take more losses than he deserves by pitching a lot in late tied games going into overtime. He is mostly deadly and under long term contract. He also is the last remaining Raccoon from the 1977 season opener.
CL Grant West, 26, B:L, T:L (1-0, 1.25 ERA, 32 SV | 5-0, 1.59 ERA, 47 SV) – he’s not nicknamed “Demon” for no reason, was automatic in 1982.

C Enrique Sanchez, 29, B:R, T:R (.247, 9 HR, 66 RBI | .260, 33 HR, 229 RBI) – could not live up to expectations in his first season in Portland, but was still one of the most solid catchers in the league.
C Spencer Dicks, 30, B:R, T:R (.190, 1 HR, 6 RBI | .194, 2 HR, 43 RBI) – very weak at the plate, even for a backup, while his catching abilities were better than Sanchez’.

1B Matt Workman, 27, B:L, T:L (.288, 19 HR, 78 RBI | .284, 21 HR, 86 RBI) – had an awesome rookie season and is our 1B starter. His defense was not as great as his batting with 16 errors.
1B/2B/SS/3B Winston Thompson *, 29, B:L, T:R (did not play | .111, 0 HR, 4 RBI) – has 27 AB with the Gold Sox in ’79, that’s it. My scouts talked me into signing him. Worst case, he’s a defensive replacement or pinch runner.
1B/2B/3B/SS Jayson Bowling, 23, B:L, T:R (.238, 0 HR, 14 RBI | .249, 0 HR, 15 RBI) – has zero power, but is a nice fielder and contact batter. Has 225 AB in parts of two seasons.
1B/3B/RF/LF Mark Dawson, 29, B:R, T:R (.244, 25 HR, 90 RBI | .251, 116 HR, 522 RBI) – 3B starter; in his first full season in the CL, he tied for the home run title, and is 3rd on the all time home run table. He also functions as fifth outfielder in which case Green would start at third.
3B Cameron Green, 26, B:R, T:R (.255, 11 HR, 54 RBI | .239, 22 HR, 115 RBI) – was leadoff hitter with a .376 OBP due to 94 BB in 1982, but loses his 3B starter job with Alex White coming on board.
1B/3B/SS/2B/RF/CF Steve Walker, 23, B:R, T:R (.248, 7 HR, 39 RBI | .263, 12 HR, 113 RBI) – his batting did not keep up with his numbers in Sioux Falls, but his ability to play everywhere and everything makes him an incredibly valuable asset. He starts at second.
1B/SS/3B Edgardo Gonzalez, 29, B:S, T:R (.239, 1 HR, 24 RBI | .237, 2 HR, 120 RBI) – slumped late in the season, was batting over .250 into August as a starter at short. He will be the starting shortstop.

LF/RF Daniel Hall, 27, B:R, T:R (.273, 18 HR, 71 RBI | .267, 66 HR, 256 RBI) – played his first season without hitting the DL and a good one on top of that. Has batted between .270 and .280 for three years now, and has good power and defense. He is our starter in left.
LF/CF/RF Ramón Borjón, 32, B:L, T:L (.208, 15 HR, 64 RBI | .264, 117 HR, 498 RBI) – his first season in Portland was his worst at the plate, batting 60 points below his career average. He starts at center, but has Short in his rear view mirror. Borjón's main asset is his good defense and his power: he's 2nd all time in home runs in the ABL.
LF/CF/RF Jason Short *, 30, B:L, T:L (.235, 7 HR, 44 RBI | .262, 47 HR, 331 RBI) – free agent signing and backup, he was used in all possible roles by the Crusaders the last four years with varying success. The K is his biggest enemy.
LF/RF Alex White *, 28, B:L, T:L (.354, 8 HR, 60 RBI | .345, 58 HR, 593 RBI) – starts in right, career .414 OBP, quick, prototypical leadoff hitter, signed as free agent. Is one of the most popular players in the nation. If he doesn’t bat over .300 in Portland, nobody ever will.

I came up with the following lineups for opening day:

Vs. RHP: RF White – 1B Workman – LF Hall – 3B Dawson – CF Borjón – 2B Walker – SS Gonzalez – C Sanchez – P Powell
Vs. LHP: RF White – LF Hall – 1B Workman – 3B Dawson – 2B Walker – C Sanchez – SS Gonzalez – CF Borjón – P Powell

The Raccoons have added a staggering +13.8 WAR this offseason, leading the ABL by far. Next in the Top 5: Indians (+8.9), Miners (+2.0), Cyclones (+1.9), Gold Sox (+1.4); biggest losers: Warriors (-5.7), Pacifics (-6.3), Stars (-6.5), Thunder (-6.7), Loggers (-6.9);

I repeat: 90+ wins is a must for this team, especially with the Loggers, Canadiens, and Crusaders all bleeding some talent this offseason.

We won’t have to wait for long for our first true test, we’ll play the Canadiens at home to start the season.

[Westheim]

Last words before the season: the Raccoons have the 9th best ranked development program (rather shabby for a team constantly picking first in the draft) and have four players in the Top 200: SP Carlos Gonzalez ranks 13th (starts in AA again after his season-ending injury, round 1 pick in 1980), OF Alejandro Lopez 18th (starts A again after a terrible rookie season with injuries, round 1 pick in 1982), MR Juan Martinez 81st (signed in Mexico this winter, A ball), and INF Carlos Miranda 190th (AA ball, supplemental round pick in 1982);

Owner Carlos Valdes expects the team to finish .500 – come on Carly, that’s poor. They have to win *90 OR MORE*.

And herewith we entrusted the ball to Christopher Powell to start the 1983 season. Let’s do this!

Raccoons (0-0) vs. Canadiens (0-0)

Christopher Powell’s season began with an infield hit to Ramon Gonzalez, but that was all the Canadiens mounted in the first. The first Raccoon on base was Daniel Hall with a 2-out walk. This was followed by Mark Dawson with a home run to left and the Raccoons led 2-0. Powell had the Canadiens under control through six, but was ripped apart in the seventh for four runs. Through eight, the Raccoons were held to two hits, Dawson’s homer and a single by Gonzalez. Jason White struck out the side in the top 9th, and Hall started with a single to center in the bottom 9th, but Borjón grouded into a double play and the Raccoons lost 4-2.

Logan Evans got behind on a wild pitch in the top 2nd of game 2 (of 2) in this opening series, but the Raccoons turned three in the third to get on top. Single runs made it 4-2 in the fifth, with Dawson hitting his second homer of the season already. Evans went seven before handing over to the pen. Cunningham gave a 1-out homer to Shimpei Iwamoto to cut the lead in half, but Gaston (0.2 IP) and West (1 IP, SV #1) went the rest of the way without further damage to get home the 4-3 win. Dawson 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Walker 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Alex White had his first hit for the Raccoons, but is 1-6 so far.

Splitting the series against the reigning champions ain’t that bad. I would have hoped for some more offense, though. Our 1-2-3 hitters have not come to live yet, and Sanchez and Borjón batted zero in this short 2-game set. Six runs scored ranked last in the CL, but no panic yet, though.

And we could’ve won both, I should have pulled Powell earlier. Two line drives in a row did him in, I should have ended it after the first in a tied game.

Raccoons (1-1) vs. Knights (1-2)

We had owned the Knights the last two seasons (12-6 total), but this was a heavily revamped ball club with about a dozen new players. Two mainstays were known however: RF slugger Engjell Vulaj and their murderous closer Jon Butler. You better don’t enter the ninth trailing against the Knights. But there was a golden opportunity here: Vulaj was down with a nasty fever and would most likely not be able to play in the series at all!

We started Jason Short over Borjón in CF in game 1, while Shayne Nealon made his debut for the team, and had the Knights well under control. He went six frames on three hits, whiffing five (three K’s alone on LF Sean Bergeron, to which Carlos Moran added a fourth in the eighth inning), while the Raccoons led 4-0 after five, before Dawson launched another 2-run homer, which marked the final score, 6-0 Raccoons. Cunningham pitched the ninth with his ERA of infinite (0.0 IP, 1 ER), and allowed two hits to start it. I talked to him on the mound, upon which he struck out two and got a popout to end the game. Aren’t I a good talker? Workman 3-5, 2 RBI; Dawson 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Walker 3-5; Short 1-2, 3 BB; Nealon 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K;

This win marked the 400th time the Raccoons had emerged victorious from a game. Compared to 575 losses …

Next day, next debut, Kinji Kan’s. He got early support with three runs in the bottom 1st, including a homer run by Daniel Hall, but Edgardo Gonzalez dropped a double play ball in the top 2nd. Next, SS Tom Welch tripled to center and the game was tied. Gonzalez’ major blunder was followed by an earned run on Kan and the Knights led 4-3. After that early barrage no team seemed to be able to score. Kan went six frames and struck out seven, but remained on the hook. Cunningham pitched to four batters and struck them all out! But the Knights added a run in the ninth off Gaston to make it 5-3. Enter Jon Butler. It was over before you could blink twice. 5-3 Knights. Sanchez 3-4, 2B, RBI;

The Raccoons took advantage of four walks given up by Carlos Asquabal in the bottom 1st and again took an early 3-0 lead. 2-run shots by Jose Delgado and Tom Welch got Yoelbi Maurinha behind 4-3 in his season opener. He struggled a ton against an all-righty lineup, while Asquabal struck out nine following his weak first inning and nailed the Raccoons to the ground. Raccoons lost again, 4-3. Dawson 2-4, 2 2B, RBI;

Well, that went badly and unexpected. I don’t want to imagine the outcome if the Knights had had Vulaj instead of weak replacement Michael Root.

Obviously, the hitting was not there yet. 18 runs scored ranked 11th in the CL, and only tied for it. Mark Dawson had basically provided all the offense going .350 with 3 homers and 8 RBI. White, Hall, and Workman all batted significantly below expectations, but I would wait another 3-game set before making any major shuffles. Borjón continued to hit zero, which was especially alarming. Our infield bench warmers (Thompson, Green, Bowling) combined for zero as well (0-7 with a walk).

Raccoons (2-3) vs. Aces (4-3)

We tried Bowling in for Gonzalez, with Walker at short, to start the series. Powell went up in game 1. The Raccoons scored two in the bottom 4th to break the scoreless tie, the first run batted in by Bowling. Hall walked in the second, before he added a 2-run blast in the sixth to make it 4-0. Powell surrendered a run in the seventh, but White and Workman both went yard in the bottom 8th to put the game away. Moran surrendered a leadoff jack to Jose Alomar in the top 9th, but the Raccoons won convincingly, 8-2. Workman 2-5, HR, RBI; Sanchez 2-4, 2 2B; Short 2-4; Bowling 3-4, RBI; Powell 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K;

Logan Evans had one of those wild days on which I hate him in game 2. Through three innings only, he walked five and was 2-1 behind. Mark Dawson unloaded for three in the bottom 3rd and another run scored to give him a lead. Evans struck out the side in the fourth (way to go…!), then issued a leadoff walk to Alomar in the fifth. Do we go there again? No, Alomar was removed on an inning-ending double play. Evans was bad, but the Raccoons were good at the plate. Workman’s 3-run blast in the sixth made it 9-2 already. The Raccoons entered the top 9th seven runs ahead – and Moran and Kelley were shredded to tiny little pieces. All of a sudden, the game was 9-8 only, and only one down. Grant West blew the save with a homer to Brian Lloyd. Shock and disbelief throughout the ballpark. I blacked out when the Aces tied it, 9-9. I missed entirely the bottom 9th, where Walker and Sanchez singled to lead off. Bowling bunted them over and I brought Short for Borjón. They walked him and Cam Green grounded a single into the glove of Teo Colón far behind third. 10-9 Raccoons, walkoff win, but I would have much preferred the score after eight. My poor heart! Workman 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Hall 1-3, 2 BB, 2B; Walker 3-5, 2B, RBI; Sanchez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Green (PH) 2-3, RBI;

That was one awesome bullpen performance in the ninth… Kelley and Moran were screamed at as they deserved. The whipping in front of their teammates was scheduled for Monday.

Game 3 featured two pitchers with 0.00 ERA’s after their only game, Shayne Nealon against Hubert Gaines. Nealon’s ERA was out of the window quickly with three singles and a walk to start the game. The inning continued to go awful with a grand slam by Luis Romero and the Raccoons found themselves 6-0 behind early on. Nealon was not yanked until another homer in the third that made it 7-2 Aces. Enter the pen, while the Raccoons plated three in the bottom 3rd. Down 7-5, maybe there was still air in this game. Either way, they had to cover six innings with a pen already tired. But this would also be true for the Aces: Hubert Gaines was removed from the game after giving a 2-run homer to Daniel Hall in the fourth, and the game started anew at 7-7. Still in the fourth, a sac fly by Sanchez made it 8-7 Raccoons. The Aces turned the game on Burton Taylor with a 3-run shot by Chris Lynch. Another homer was on Cunningham, and the Raccoons lost 11-9. White 2-5; Hall 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Workman 3-5; Dawson 2-5, 2B; Sanchez 2-4, 2B, 5 RBI; Borjón 2-4, BB, 2B;

Is this a team destined for greatness?

Raccoons (4-4) vs. Titans (5-4)

There was no bullpen available at all to start this series over four games. Only then there’d be an off day. We needed good outings by Kinji Kan and Yoelbi Maurinha at any price.

The good news: Kan went eight frames and the pen somehow fumbled the ninth together with a run across. The Raccoons won 5-2. Dawson hit homer #5. The bad news: Daniel Hall was injured on a catch on the warning track.

Game 2 was never in doubt. Boston’s Kevin Williams fanned seven and pitched a 3-hitter, while Maurinha allowed 13 hits in 7.1 innings and took the 5-0 loss. At least he was not shelled like Nealon two days earlier. Gaston was the only fully rested guy in the pen and got the last five outs.

Powell was ravaged for four runs in the first inning in game 3, the lefty battery in the Titans lineup was chewing him up in a rather ugly way. He retreated, head down, to the clubhouse in the fifth, charged with seven runs. The Raccoons had absolutely nothing going for the second day in a row and were trashed, 8-0, while Ruben Lopez threw a 5-hitter.

Daniel Hall was out for six weeks with back spasms. Devastation.

The Raccoons ended their 21-inning scoreless streak with a pair of runs in the bottom 1st of the last game of the series. Logan Evans was nowhere near the top of his game. The Titans loaded the bags with nobody down in the third. Juan Valentin sent a slow roller along the right foul line. Evans hustled to make a play at home, fell flat on his face, and Sanchez still got another out at first. Matthew Beck sent the next ball flying to deep left, but Dawson JUST caught it, subbing out there for Daniel Hall. Somehow, nobody knew how, Evans made it through 6.2 innings without a run across and still 2-0 ahead. Jason Short made fantasticularistic (there ain’t a proper word to tell the truth) catches to end both the seventh *and* eighth innings with the bags full. The Raccoons scored an unearned run in the eighth and won 3-0. Whether they deserved it? I don’t know. Sanchez 2-3, 2 BB; Dawson 2-4;

In other news

April 6 – For Gold Sox starter Wilson Martinez, the season basically ends in his first start with a torn back muscle. He won 27 games between the last two seasons.
April 10 – Charlotte’s star CF Michael Watson is out for five weeks with an oblique strain.
April 10 – WAS LF Ron Morgan misses the cycle by a home run, going 5-6 in a 7-4 win over Denver.
April 14 – WAS MR Dave Paul goes down to shoulder inflammation. He was one of the four players dealt by the Raccoons to Washington to get Ben Simon prior to the 1977 season.
April 15 – Charlotte’s 1B Irwin Webster brings his hitting streak dating back to 1982 to 20 games with a single in a 4-1 loss to Oklahoma City.

Complaints and stuff

Hall just went to the DL, which is why there’s a player missing on the roster below. I don’t even know whom to call up …

Alex White’s been a train wreck so far, as has been most of the rotation. Powell’s inability to get outs is alarming. Offense has been contributed from a few unlikely sources like Enrique Sanchez.

Next: 2-week road trip to New York, Charlotte, San Francisco, and Vancouver;

Is it falling apart yet?

[Westheim]

With Hall out until May, we had to revise some stuff. White moved to left, and Dawson to right, since that was the better wing for both of them. Green was now in at third, but slumping early on. We also called up Fernando Perez from AAA ball to fill that roster spot.

Raccoons (6-6) @ Crusaders (6-6)

Mario Garcia started the game for the Crusaders, who had been signed as international free agent by the Raccoons last winter, but never played for them, being traded to Oklahoma right away. He gave hits to White and Workman right away. Sanchez homered to left. Nobody out, 3-0 Raccoons. But don’t cheer to early. Shayne Nealon also started by giving away three straight hits, but only one run scored in the inning. Nealon was awful early on, but settled in after the third. Dawson homered for a 5-2 lead and the Raccoons scored another one. Moran was in to pitch the last two innings, but stalled in the ninth. With the bags full and two out, West came in to get an out from Dan Younger. 6-2 Raccoons. The first five in the lineup all had multiple hits, the rest ain’t got nothing. White 3-5, 2B; Workman 2-5; Sanchez 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Walker 2-5;

Game 2 was a scoreless tie through five. In the sixth, the Raccoons filled the bags with nobody out. Dawson scored one on a sac fly (close call at the plate), and they made it 2-0 after that. Kinji Kan pitched six scoreless, before the pen took over. Calamity struck in the seventh for the Raccoons: Steve Walker doubled to center, but sprained his thumb sliding into the base. Gonzalez took over at short. The Raccoons scored a run in the ninth, before West came in. The Crusaders were on the verge of taking the game to extra innings, until Borjón nailed a runner at the plate to end the game, 3-1 Raccoons. White 2-5; Sanchez 2-5; Walker 4-4, RBI;

Steve Walker was out for approximately three weeks and sent to the 15-day DL. That was … bad. He had been hitting .358 and getting higher. Hall down, Walker down. Who’s next? (shivers) Either way, we added SS/2B Brandon Roland to the 40-man roster (filling it up) and the major league roster. He’d slowly worked his way through the Raccoons system. Now was his chance.

The Raccoons scored two in the top 1st, only for Maurinha to give one away immediately. The Raccoons made an unusual 8-5-4-6 putout to end the second, when Alexander Avery was caught between second and third. We were never more than two runs ahead in that game and led 5-3 in the bottom 8th with Wally Gaston pitching. He loaded the bags with nobody out, and then struck out Ben Browning, slugger Dan Younger, and Avery to keep the scoreboard clean. Grant West was not available to close, and so Burton Taylor and Richard Cunningham pieced together the ninth. 5-3 Raccoons. White 2-5, RBI; Sanchez 2-4; Bowling 3-3, 3B, RBI; Green 2-3, BB;

The sweep put the Raccoons atop the CL North! They led the Indians by half a game.

Next were the struggling Falcons, whose starting rotation had been roughed up even more than the Raccoons’. Even “Mauler” Correa had a 6.33 ERA!

Raccoons (9-6) @ Falcons (7-9)

Kent Doyle (0-1, 7.11 ERA) was the opponent for Christopher Powell (1-2, 6.00 ERA) in game 1. Both were really good pitchers, neither had found his groove yet. Workman homered to get the Raccoons up 2-0 in the first. Bowling and Powell hit back-to-back RBI triples (!) in the fourth, 4-0. Powell held on to the lead and left after six. The Raccoons won 5-2. Sanchez 2-5; Workman 2-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Gonzalez 2-4; Jason White got the 4-out save. Plus, they also killed Irwin Webster’s hitting streak at 25 games, having him go 0-5.

Logan Evans and Virgil Arnold engaged in who could line up the most zeros on the scoreboard. Evans fanned eight in seven innings and left in a scoreless tie. Kelley took the 1-0 loss in the bottom 8th, while the Raccoons only got three hits in all game long. Mark Dawson lined out hard to left with Alex White on third to end the game. It broke a 5-game winning streak.

The offense was 9th at this point of the season. Kan and Evans were 1-2 in ERA among starters. But with Hall and Walker out, we clearly had some issues. 5-6-7-8 in the lineup were all guys batting .230 or less: Gonzalez, Bowling, Green, Short, Borjón – none of them was doing very well at the moment. Dawson also slumped. After bashing six homers early on, he had dropped below .300 now.

One game was still left, and it was Shayne Nealon’s. His ERA was 5.52. His opponent was Juan “Mauler” Correa. His ERA was 6.33. It surely looked like he had suffered a rough start to the season, surrendering nine runs in less than five frames against the Titans, and seven runs in 7.2 innings in his next start in San Francisco.

Nealon was torched from the start, giving up four in the first inning, walking in two. I was foaming violently. The game was still 4-0 Falcons when Nealon left after the fifth inning. The Raccoons had absolutely nothing going. Thompson came in to lead off the sixth, pinch hitting for Nealon and out of the blue homered to center, only the Raccoons’ second hit of the game. A sudden spark. Before Juan Correa knew what had happened, the Raccoons had torched him as well, six hits and five runs in the inning. Correa was an iron man and pitched into the ninth, but surrendered a sixth run there, and the Raccoons piled on two more. Moran pitched an uneven ninth, but Dawson and Dicks nailed Bryan Stephenson at the plate to end the game, 8-4 Raccoons. Workman 2-4; Sanchez 2-5, RBI; Dawson 3-5, 2B, RBI; Borjón (PH) 1-1, BB, RBI; Thompson (PH) 2-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI;

Despite being awful since his second game and sporting a 5.95 ERA, Shayne Nealon is 3-0, which is more or less a mystery.

We would again play 14 straight games after an off day. There were many issues with the roster as it was, of course torn up with the injuries to Hall and Walker.

Raccoons (11-7) @ Bayhawks (8-10)

CF Ricardo Gonzalez hit a 2-run home run off Kinji Kan in the bottom 1st and added in the fourth. Kan was lifted for Cam Green to pinch hit with the Raccoons down 5-2, bags full and two out in the fifth, but Green struck out. He was just awful this April. This was true for many of the Raccoons, like Carlos Moran, who gave up two more runs. The Bayhawks won 7-2. Bowling 2-4, 2B, RBI; Thompson 2-4;

We skipped Maurinha’s turn in the rotation and brought up Christopher Powell. At 2-2 and a 5.25 ERA he matched up pretty well against the Bayhawks’ Claudio Sanchez (2-2, 5.32 ERA). The game quickly got out of hand of Powell. He was not able to fool anybody and surrendered five runs over six innings. The Raccoons had nothing against Sanchez and only scored against the pen. They lost 7-2 again. Gonzalez 2-3, BB, 2B;

Logan Evans got himself into trouble with another wild game. Through five, the game was tied 3-3, and all Bayhawks runners that scored had reached on walks. Alex White and Matt Workman got the team up 4-3 with back-to-back doubles in the top 7th. Cunningham got into trouble in the eighth. Grant West struck out the last batter with runners on the corners, then got two runners on in the ninth, but finally fanned Bob Strickland for a 4-out save. 4-3 Raccoons. White 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Workman 2-5, 2B, RBI;

This was only the second series loss for the team this season, but they are really awful at the moment. All starters were in trouble in one way or the other. Powell, Nealon, and Maurinha were rapped hard and could not get anybody out. Evans was walking scores. Kan was the most solid throughout, but also had been blasted in this series. They led the CL North as the only team in there with a winning record.

Raccoons (12-9) @ Canadiens (10-11)

The Raccoons took a 3-0 lead in the fourth just before the rains came down in game 1. I was uncertain whether to send out Nealon again after the rain had stopped. He wanted to. The trainer let him, so I let him, too. Three Canadiens reached base to start the bottom 4th, then Nealon was yanked. Cunningham held the damage to one run by getting a double play, then went 3.2 innings, before surrendering a solo home run. The Raccoons led 4-2 after seven, and Kelley and West held on to it. White 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Workman 2-5, 2 RBI;

Ace Robbie Campbell took the mound in game 2 for the Canadiens (3-1, 1.91 ERA) and was quickly saddled with two runs. From there, an intense game developed, where the Raccoons failed to muster any more against Campbell. Kinji Kan in turn dominated his team as well and pitched seven scoreless innings of 3-hit ball. Wally Gaston pitched a 2-inning save, as the Raccoons scored two in the top 9th of the Vancouver pen. Gaston was at his finest, striking out the final four batters to save the 4-0 win. White 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

Sweeping the Canadiens in Vancouver would be awesome, but game 3 had to be played without Enrique Sanchez, who really needed a day of rest. His bat had been awesome so far, but this was Dicks’ turn. Piecing together the infield remained a challenge, too.

Yoelbi Maurinha pitched. The first three innings were scoreless, before Bowling doubled in Dawson in the top 4th, but Seitaro Ogawa misplayed that flyball in the first place and only made it a double. Maurinha pitched five scoreless, but walked two in the sixth and was taken out with one out, but the runners scored against Jason White and the game was tied, 2-2. I mismanaged my pen here and was left with Gaston, Cunningham, and West (all not rested) and so far horrible Carlos Moran to enter the eighth. He walked one, then was taken deep by Gabriel Torres and the game was out of the window. They scored one in the ninth but the tying run died at third. 4-3 Canadiens. Still, series won against the defending champions. Thompson 2-3, 2 BB; Dawson 2-3, BB, 2B; Dicks 2-3, BB, 2 2B, RBI;

In other news

April 21 – Irwin Webster’s streak goes to 25 games with two singles in a 4-0 win by the Falcons over the Bayhawks.
April 23 – Scorpions outfield star Larry Marshall not only suffered from a slow start to the season, batting only .262, now he also suffered from an oblique strain and would be out until the end of May.
April 24 – Thunder outfielder Guy King is out for a week with elbow contusion. He’s normally a .290 hitter, but so far is only .230 this season.
April 24 – Mike Clarke (2-1, 2.18 ERA) pitches a 3-hitter, as the Gold Sox beat the Miners 7-0.
May 1 – LAP SP David Burke tosses a 1-hitter against the Wolves, taking the 2-0 win. He walked six and fanned four in the game.

Complaints and stuff

Raccoons, Stars, Blue Sox, and Aces lead the divisions. Seems like everything’s upside down. None of those four teams has ever made the playoffs.

They are scoring a slice over four runs per game. Hall and Walker are missing everywhere, I can’t put a strong infield together. Edgardo Gonzalez played short for most of these two weeks, but he’s not cutting it in the field or at the plate at the moment. Green is also very bad. One of the has to play, because Brandon Roland won’t cut it for sure, he doesn’t even cut it at AAA.

Most surprising is the performance of Winston Thompson so far, batting .300 after being taken on as sixth infielder. He’s playing second for the moment.

Walker and Hall will come back somewhere in the second half of May, Hall more towards the end of May. We need more production from the infield. Bowling’s been another pleasant surprise, but I’m concerned if he can hold it up.

Alex White finally started to hit during these games and got as high as .323 before going 0-5 in the last game and dropping again.

The rotation remains rather wonky. Christopher Powell’s performance is of highest concern here. He doesn’t fool anybody at the moment and gets ravished each and every game. It hurts me, personally, because he is one of my favorites, really.

With the sorry exception of Carlos Moran, the pen has performed very well so far. Burton Taylor blew that one game against the Aces, he has been good since. White and Kelley have their lapses, nothing out of the ordinary. That area is covered, but I may be forced to look at the AAA level for a replacement at mopup. Moran will get another chance or two, he better uses them.

Next: Indians at home for four, then interleague, Capitals (away) and Stars (home), with another home series against the Crusaders after that, which will end on May 15, when the draft pool will come out. The Raccoons will have only two picks in the first 30, then nothing until way past #100.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (14-10) vs. Indians (12-13)

The series started with Christopher Powell (2-3, 5.70 ERA) facing the so far unknown (to us at least) lefty Todd McKenzie (1-1, 2.35 ERA), whom my scouts described as a marginal back end of rotation starter at best. The Raccoons took an early 2-0 lead in the first two innings, which Powell held on to, until the sixth. An error by Bowling helped the Indians to plate three and Powell suddenly was on the hook. His team missed all their chances to score a sufficient amount of runs. Powell surrendered a homer to Esteban Hernandez and Fletcher Kelley added another home run and the Raccoons lost 5-3. White 2-3, 2 BB; Workman 2-5, RBI; Dawson 2-5, 2B; Powell 6.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K;

Logan Evans walked the bases full before he ever got an out to start game 2. One run scored to get the Indians 1-0 ahead. I was already foaming. Evans then added seven zeros to the scoreboard. The only problem was that the Raccoons were zeroed through seven entirely. Bottom 8th: Jayson Bowling doubled for only the third hit of the team in the game. Green would have been next, but was yanked for Borjón, who pinch hit an RBI double to right center and tied the game, but Dicks (PH for Evans) and Alex White could not score Borjón. The game went to extra innings. Wally Gaston was on the verge of losing it in the 10th, but battled through, then walked two in the 11th and was taken out for Grant West. He walked the bases full, then struck out the next two batters to keep the Indians off the board. West pitched two more innings (with only Moran ready and rested) and finally picked up the win, when Enrique Sanchez homered to center in the bottom 13th, 2-1 Raccoons. Only nine hits for the Raccoons in the entire game. Borjón (PH) 2-2, BB, 2B, RBI; Evans 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K; West 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W;

Now that our lame offense had made Gaston and West unavailable for days, we could enter the last two games of the series happily knowing we were about to get slaughtered. Shayne Nealon (3-0, 5.56 ERA; you have to admire those numbers) was up. Green batted .135, but remained in. Borjón was back in for Short. Of course, would it matter? The opponent was ace Billy Robinson (3-2, 2.20 ERA), whose command was not quite there yet this season.

No, Robinson was not quite the Robinson from the last few years. The Raccoons put a big fat 8 on the scoreboard in the second inning on five hits and three walks. To be fair, only one run was earned. Angelo Duarte had made a critical error on a double play ball early on in the barrage. Never mind, the Raccoons led 8-0. Nealon batted in a run in the third and 1-hit the Indians through six, with the only run against him unearned after a passed ball, but then jammed in the seventh. He hit a batter to bring in a run and was gone. Taylor and Cunningham got out of the jam with another run across, but the Raccoons still led 10-3. Cunningham had an unusually shoddy outing, walking three over 1.1 innings. Moran surrendered a home run in the ninth. Raccoons won, 10-4. Workman 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Dawson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Thompson 2-4; Bowling 2-4, RBI;

Kan faced Alex Miranda in the last game. In a 1-1 game, Borjón was thrown out at the plate to end the bottom 4th. Alex White doubled in Kan, who had reached on an error, in the bottom 5th. Up 3-1 in the ninth, I still sent out West, who was clubbed with a 2-run shot by Orlando Torres. The Raccoons would pay big for this over the next days, since it set up a marathon extra-inning struggle. Moran pitched three scoreless innings. Gaston pitched four scoreless innings. Then we were done and had to bring Yoelbi Maurinha. Maurinha and the Raccoons lost it, 4-3, in the 19th inning. Nine hits in 19 innings.

The offense was awful. They lost the division lead to the Titans and completely wrecked the pen for the next games.

We needed another arm in the pen for the next few days. Jerry Ackerman was called up for Brandon Roland. The latter had gotten a start in this fourth game and had batted in a run, but overall had gone 1-7 and I *needed* another arm.

Raccoons (16-12) @ Capitals (15-14)

We had not played the Capitals since 1979 and were a total of 2-4 against them.

Maurinha was unavailable for his scheduled start, and we went back to the top of the rotation and Christopher Powell. The Capitals had the worst rotation in the Federal League with an average ERA of 5.01, but they had a good pen and a strong offense, and that last point was especially worrying.

Powell was shelled for three runs in the first. Why? I don’t know. The Capitals hit line drive after line drive and then Seitaro Ine hit a looper right between three onrushing fielders to score the last two runs. Powell was again battered, six runs in 5.2 innings. The Raccoons lost 6-4, Ackerman pitched the last 2.1 innings in relief. White 2-3, BB;

Dawson was not hitting anything, Workman was not hitting anything, Sanchez and White were cold, the infield sucked big time, and Powell was getting raped week in, week out. How they were still over .500 was a mystery. But this was interleague play, and they had always been terrible in interleague play: 40-69 (.367) overall, even below their poor .414 overall record;

Evans went against Dave Miron in game 2, a guy with an ERA over seven, who walked six in his outing, and they still didn’t get a lead. The game was 2-2 after six. Dawson had runners on the corners with one out in the seventh. He sent a slow grounder to second, but the Capitals could not execute properly and a run scored when Dawson was safe at first. West saved the 3-2 win in an intense bottom 9th, where Jeffery Brown led off with a bunt base hit. Brown got all the way to third on groundouts. Ron Morgan launched a shot to deep center, which Borjón JUST got his glove on. White 2-4, BB, 2B; Sanchez 2-5, RBI;

Winston Thompson injured his hand on a play and was day to day for at least a few days. This removed a .304 bat from the lineup, just what I needed.

Game 3, another guy with an ERA over seven, Albert Villa (1-3, 7.76 ERA). Neither Villa, nor Nealon got past the fourth inning, with the Raccoons holding a tiny 5-4 lead. Fletcher Kelley surrendered a homer to Jesse Whiteaway in the sixth and the lead was no more. The top 9th got the Raccoons a big chance. They loaded the bags with nobody out. Bowling dipped a single into shallow left. Green struck out (trouble…), but Gonzalez walked, 7-5, and they scored four more in the destruction of the Capitals pen (which had been supposed to be great). 11-5 Raccoons. Jason White got the win in relief. White 2-4, 2 BB; Workman 2-4, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Sanchez 3-5, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Bowling 2-5, RBI; Dicks (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Raccoons (18-13) vs. Stars (21-10)

The Stars were awesome. They had four players hitting .319 or more. They were top 5 in the Federal League in all offensive categories. The average pitching could not keep them under .500, they had the best record in baseball going into this series – this was a major test for the true strength of those Raccoons.

We made another roster move. Carlos Moran (0-1, 7.94 ERA) was sent to AAA and we called up INF Bob Davis. Davis was best at first, but could play all infield positions well. We had claimed him off waivers by the Knights three years ago, but he had never made it to the major league roster.

Talk about average pitching. Kiyohira Sasaki took a no-hitter for the Stars into the seventh, until Mark Dawson singled to center. The team was down 1-0 by then. They lost 2-0 in a complete game outing by Kan, and got the winning run to the plate in the ninth, but ultimately were left to three hits. Dawson 2-4;

Steve Walker came off the DL and replaced not-hitting outfielder Fernando Perez on the roster. Since Bowling was suited better to play second, Walker entered the lineup playing shortstop.

The second game was scoreless through four (and with only one hit, too). The Raccoons got two on with one out, and the Stars failed to get an out on Yoelbi Maurinha’s bunt. Next, Alex White worked a walk and the Raccoons were ahead, but scored only that one run. Maurinha’s bid on a no-hitter went down the drain in the sixth with a double to left center. The next hit off Maurinha was a 2-run shot by Bobby Brewster. The Raccoons were done. They had the bags full with one out in the bottom 8th and as always didn’t score, and then Gaston and White were mauled for five runs in the ninth. Hits: 9-7 Raccoons; Runs: 7-1 Stars. Bowling 3-4;

Powell was in for game 3, and that didn’t mean any good things this year. Sanchez homered in the first to get the team 1-0 ahead, but Powell also surrendered a home run to tie in the second. The game remained tied and the Raccoons botched big chances to score in the sixth and seventh innings (corners, one out, or worse). Errors by Bowling and Green in the ninth almost cost the game there. The Raccoons walked off in the 11th on a moon shot by Mark Dawson, 3-1 Raccoons. White 2-5, 2B; Workman 2-5; Walker 3-4, 2B;

This was our fourth interleague series against the Stars. The Raccoons have lost all of them. Maybe a .324 team was more theirs to beat?

Raccoons (19-15) vs. Crusaders (11-23)

Even a .324 team was too much for them. Evans took the loss in the first game, 3-1 Crusaders. Walker had three hits, the rest of the team also had three, they didn’t get anything together.

Our $2.575M man Shayne Nealon was destroyed for five runs in the first inning of game 2. That was already more than enough damage to lose that game as well. 6-3 Crusaders, although the Raccoons even had more hits than them. Still, they didn’t get their runners in. Nobody was hitting clutch, and the pitching was mediocre at best.

Mark Dawson provided some offense with two home runs in the last game of the season that got the Raccoons up 5-3 with Kinji Kan on the mound. With the way the pen had been abused the last week or so, Grant West came out to pitch two innings for a save – but didn’t get it. A Jayson Bowling error wrecked everything, two runs scored in the ninth. Steve Walker walked the Raccoons off in the ninth, 6-5, but still … still … White 2-5, 2B, RBI; Workman 2-4, BB, RBI; Walker 3-5, RBI; Dawson 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Short (PH) 1-1, 2B;

That was already Grant West’s third blown save this year. He was not as automatic as last year, although this crap here had not been of his making.

In other news

May 2 – The Knights are 3-hit in a 7-0 loss to Oklahoma City and their starter Ken O’Hoey (2-0, 1.06 ERA).
May 2 – The Stars chop through the Scorpions, 13-8, greatly aided by their CF Gabriel Cruz. The 25-yr old logged six hits in the game, including four doubles for 7 RBI.
May 2 – Cyclones infielder Jeremiah Carrell just can’t stay healthy: the 31-yr old is out with shoulder tendinitis. A perennial .330+ hitter, he had a slow start at .280, 0 HR, 11 RBI.
May 8 – Last season’s CL MVP, ATL OF Engjell Vulaj, 28, is out for a month after suffering a wrist injury in an on base collision. Vulaj is batting only .240 with 2 HR and 17 RBI this year.
May 10 – The Aces blank the Capitals 5-0. Their starter Matt Carter (4-1, 3.94 ERA) tosses a 3-hitter.
May 14 – NAS SP Robert Sawyer (3-1, 3.28 ERA) hurls a 2-hitter in a 4-0 win over the Buffaloes.

Complaints and stuff

These were two awful weeks… the 6-7 record didn’t tell the truth. They have an incredibly hard time to score runs. They scored 3.8 R/G the last two weeks. But this included two routs of the Indians and Capitals, a collapsing pen once, and the other was a defensive disaster aided by three walks in an 8-bash inning.

The rotation is terrible. Maurinha is inconsistent, but Powell and Nealon get outright raped on the mound. And it just does not get better.

Loggers, Thunder, Condors, Aces are next, all except Oklahoma City on the road. The Loggers are just resurging after a slump. The Raccoons are slumping.

Next: draft pool;

[Westheim]

The draft pool consisted of 288 players this year, enough for 12 rounds, since the supplemental round encompassed 43 picks this time. The Raccoons had forfeited their second, third, and fourth round picks with their offseason buying spree, and would have the #6 and #30 (or #7 and #31?) picks. (I am unsure how the game will sort out their tied record with the Loggers in ’82. Their next pick would not come until #141, so it was unlikely we’d get more than two worthwhile players.

If any, of course, our last few first round picks had been shots in the foot:
1980 – SP Carlos Gonzalez: 1-4, 5.29 ERA @ AA
1981 – 3B/2B Orlando Lantán: .234, 6 HR, 25 RBI @ AA
1982 – LF/RF Alejandro Lopez: .230, 2 HR, 11 RBI @ A

For some strange reason, quite a few of the most interesting fielders were catchers, but the occasional outfielder was in there. The best pitchers were all relievers, although there might be some that could be converted to starters. There was not a single guy in there that immediately slapped you in the face and screamed to take him, at least in the eyes of my new scout.

OF Claudio Garcia probably stood out the most among the fielders, with a 18/12/18 projection, but there was also some Canadian catcher named John Fleury with a rumored 18/15/19 bat and high accolades for his work behind the plate.

Among a group of four or five pitchers the two most likely star starters (if any) were Scott Wade (17/15/14) and Christian Whitney (18/12/10). But since the Raccoons picked sixth (or seventh), it was entirely likely that all of those four mentioned here would be gone by then.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (20-17) @ Loggers (16-20)

One more game without Daniel Hall. Bob Davis got a start at third to open the series. Yoelbi Maurinha pitched and was unable to throw strikes. Workman, Dawson, and Borjón had gotten the Raccoons up 2-0 with three doubles chained together, Maurinha tied it in the fifth on a wild pitch, then lost it in the sixth with a home run to light hitting SS Tracy Winters. 4-2 Loggers. Workman 2-4, 2B;

Daniel Hall came off the DL for game 2. Bob Davis was waived since he was out of options. Hall entered the lineup in #3 and LF, White was back to RF, Dawson went to 3B, which eliminated the pinch of bad hitting in the infield. Thompson remained in at second, although he was slumping now as well. Walker remained at short. I celebrated the return of a .241 hitter before his injury as if he could save us and lead us to the holy land.

Daniel Hall homered in his second at-bat off the DL. But the Raccoons already trailed 2-0 by then. Powell remained awful. For unknown reasons, opponents were hitting line drives in unheard of numbers against him. The first run was a homer by Alex Garcia, another one of those light hitting guys. Jason White surrendered another three runs in relief, and the Raccoons lost 5-1, on only three hits.

I don’t get it. Powell’s striking out more than before, he’s not walking any more, he only gets burned each outing. This was his sixth loss – as many as he had in all of 1982, and this was May 17.

Game 3 had Logan Evans (4-1, 2.01 ERA) vs. John Douglas (2-2, 7.38 ERA) – guess who’d score first. The Loggers went up 2-0 in the first on a Marvin Mills home run. Douglas walked two in the second, Evans came up with two outs – and homered to right center. That’s the spirit! If your lame ass offense can’t pull three runs a game outta their arses, you have to go DIY. By the third inning, the Loggers led 5-3. Four of their runs were unearned after three errors by Borjón, Gonzalez, and Dawson. Douglas walked TEN batters in the game, and the Raccoons STILL could not get ahead!! The game was tied 6-6 in the top 6th, bases loaded, when Bowling pinch hit for Evans. He struck out. The Raccoons lost 8-7 despite the winning run on base in the top 9th.

That was the low point, right? 13 walks, ten hits, and they lost on three errors. They left 16 on base. 35 individually. It can not possibly get any worse, right?

The sweep was up for grabs for the Loggers in game 4. Dawson and White needed rest after playing every game since the start of the season. Why not now? Green and Short played. Shayne Nealon: 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K; reads like a winner’s line, right? That run was a homer to Marvin Mills, and he was on the hook for the loss when he was pinch hit for. Hall singled in a runner in the eighth to at least tie the game, but Walker grounded out with Short (who had been nailed, which was what it took for him to reach base) on third. The same scenario came up again in the 10th: Short on third, Hall on first, Walker at the plate, but this time he managed to pull a single out of his – you know. Thompson pinch hit for Bowling to score Hall and West saved the 3-1. Sweep narrowly avoided. Hall 3-5, 2B, RBI;

Now that was fun. Not. The series dropped the team to 55-57 overall against the Loggers, which leaves no CL team they are .500 (or let alone better) against.

Now please enter the team with the best record in baseball.

Raccoons (21-20) vs. Thunder (29-13)

The Thunder offense was humming, 207 runs in 42 games. That’s almost five in a game, the Raccoons had long dipped below four.

Maybe Kinji Kan had a chance. He lined up zeros on the scoreboard in game 1. Hall got the Raccoons up with a groundout RBI in the fourth, and Bowling added a sac fly in the fifth. Workman and Hall had hits in the sixth and Dawson ripped away at a pitch by ace Ralph Hoyles into deep, deep, gone left, 5-0 Raccoons. They loaded the bags in the eighth with nobody out – and hadn’t reliever Hervé Ben walked in a run, they wouldn’t have scored. Kan entered the ninth, but gave up two hits and was removed. Now: the bullpen explosion. Four runs scored against the pen, before Grant West could end it. That left the Raccoons with a tainted 6-4 win. White 2-4; Workman 3-4, 2B; Hall 2-4, RBI; Kan 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K; Dawson had his 11th home run here already, 127 total, only five away from the Condors’ Michinaga Yamada, who leads the all time leaderboard.

Next up was Maurinha. I had left the tissues in the clubhouse, since I was mentally fine with losing this game. Maurinha struck out the first three Thunder, then pitched seven more shutout innings, and drove in the go-ahead run for the Raccoons in the fifth, then scored on a Workman double. That was all the offense. Cunningham saved the game against strong righty opposition and because West had worked himself up unnecessarily the day before. 2-0 Raccoons, six hits, no player had more than one. Maurinha 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K and 1-3, RBI;

Powell allowed a first inning run in game 3. Are we going there again? The first five Raccoons all reached base in this game for a 2-1 lead, that became 4-1 in the fourth. Powell was scooting until the seventh, when two Thunder got on. Jason White was tasked with getting out righty Jonah Frank – both runs scored on a zipper up the middle. Ackerman ended the inning, but allowed a runner on second in the eighth. Gaston struck out Sam Dadswell to end the inning, still 4-3 ahead. C’mon boys, save old Chris that W! Wally Gaston lost it in the ninth. 5-4 Thunder. No W for old Chris.

Raccoons (23-21) @ Condors (20-24)

The Condors had the worst rotation in the league, but come on, who doesn’t have issues with his rotation? (sour look)

The Raccoons scored first in the opener, 1-0 in the top 3rd. Hall got on with a 1-out double and advanced on Dawson’s groundout. Walker had already struck out with runners in scoring position in the first, and did so again. But the catcher had the ball spin away from him, Walker dashed to first and Hall scored on the uncaught third strike. Logan Evans walked five in an effort to lose the game, which he accomplished. 6-3 Condors, two on Kelley in the eighth, another one of those morons.

Daniel Hall was injured on a play in that game. It turned out to be a mild calf strain and he was only handicapped for a few days, but nevertheless didn’t take the field in this series again.

As was good old custom for the Raccoons this season, Shayne Nealon had to be his own run support. He doubled in two in the fourth inning to get the Raccoons ahead. That was all the offense already. Nealon pitched well enough to wiggle through 6.2 and the pen somehow mangled the rest together for a 2-1 win. Sanchez 2-3, BB; Thompson 2-4; Nealon 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K and 1-2, BB, 2B, 2 RBI;

Kinji Kan was up in the rubber game, entering 2nd in ERA in the CL. Well, he got that stat over with. The Raccoons gave him a 3-0 lead and he blew it. They gave him a 5-3 lead and he was removed before he could blow that as well, with a run across. Cunningham held on to the lead in the seventh, before the ‘coons overcame the Condors pen for four runs in the eighth. Then Cunningham loaded the bags with one out in the eighth, and he ended up with three runs charged against him. At least Grant West knew how to pitch and saved the 9-7 win. White 2-4, BB, RBI; Workman 2-4, BB, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Borjón 2-4, 2B; Short 2-4, BB;

Raccoons (25-22) @ Aces (26-22)

The Aces of 1983 were not the Aces that had finished rock bottom in 1982 (and never above fifth) anymore. They had Chris “Missing” Lynch, who had tied Mark Dawson for the home run title last year, and they had more sluggers in Brad Brown, Jordan Archer and Teo Colón. Most of them were speedy and good defenders, too. If they lacked anything, it clearly was pitching, both in the rotation and the pen, but they were able to outscore most trouble.

Daniel Hall was held out of the lineup for one more day to ensure full recovery and game 1 – Dawson played left and Green third. Damn Cameron Green was batting sub .150, it was a nightmare. Amazingly, he hit safely three times in the game, but it didn’t matter. The Aces chewed through our pitching staff, the game was hardly ever in doubt after the fifth. 9-5 Aces, Maurinha had been shelled thoroughly. Sanchez 2-5, 2B; Green 3-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Hall (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Hall was back to start in game 2, and we faced the weaker part of the Aces rotation now. Chances to score! Of course, the Raccoons sent out poor Christopher Powell, so this game could easily end 16-13 one way or the other…

The Raccoons opened with a 4-spot on Hubert Gaines, including a 3-run blast by Mark Dawson (#12, we’re already counting here; the HR record for the ABL is 31). They had another 4-spot added to that in the eighth, where Dawson missed a grand slam by about ten feet, instead hitting into Chris Lynch’s glove for a sac fly. Powell needed every bit of support, giving up four through five frames after no-hitting the Aces through three innings. He left after six, 9-5 ahead. The pen actively tried to cough up a comeback for the Aces. One across in the seventh, one across in the eighth. But “Demon” West got two groundouts to Dawson and struck out Colón to end it, 9-7 Raccoons. Borjón 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; no other Raccoon had more than one hit. Once they had killed Gaines, they had not mounted much more.

Game 3, another 4-spot to start with, crowned by a 440ft grenade by Dawson for two runs. They added a few runs, as they saw fit in an 8-0 win over the Aces. Logan Evans went the distance, allowing five hits, three walks, and fanned seven, taking 122 pitches! Hall 3-5, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Dawson 3-4, BB, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Sanchez 2-5, 2B, RBI; every player (including Evans) had one hit or more, and the starting nine finished the game;

Logan Evans had his fourth career shutout in this game, and the first since 1981, which is the year he pitched the previous three. It was his “worst” shutout in terms of baserunners with eight, but he has never had less than five in his shutouts. For comparison: six pitchers have tossed a total of 15 shutouts for the Raccoons; Christopher Powell has seven of them (none of the other four guys with single shutouts are with the team anymore), and has twice come within two runners of a perfect game, and has a 1-hitter to his credit. Of course, this does not count for much this year.

What the heck! “Crazylegs” Evans tossed a shutout against the #1 offense in the Continental League! IT’S A PAR-TAY!!

In other news

May 16 – SAC SP Jeff Thompson (3-3, 3.57 ERA) 2-hits the Wolves in a 4-0 win.
May 17 – Vancouver’s star shortstop Eddy Bailey is out for a few weeks with a knee contusion. His .292 performance this season is his worst ever.
May 19 – A torn UCL puts Titans starter Kevin Williams on ice until next summer. Williams had gone 2-2 with a 2.50 ERA to start the season.
May 22 – Season over for DEN SP Laurentij Mlotkovsky (5-2, 2.51 ERA). The 27-yr old is sidelined by shoulder inflammation. “Haystack” Mlotkovsky was once part of the trade that made Christopher Powell a Raccoon, back in ’77. He is 30-44 with a decent 3.94 ERA for the Gold Sox in the major leagues.
May 22 – Rebels LF Matt Mason cracks three home runs in a 9-8 win over the Gold Sox, batting in four. These are his first home runs of the season.
May 29 – Rebels outfielder Albert Smith goes 5-5 in a 9-7 loss to the Scorpions, missing the cycle by the triple.

Complaints and stuff

I am man enough to admit that I cried a little during that Loggers series, which was as pathetic as this team has been during the last six season. I thought this was a winning team, and in fact they were still 21-20 after that series, but the offense had zero going. ZERO.

In German, a common expression to describe groups of people that may be highly paid but contribute zero (like baseball players, or in Germany commonly soccer players) is a disgusted “Flaschen!”, which translates to “bottles”. Empty ones, of course. I said that about 20 times during the Loggers series, which I, personally, conceived as lowest lows they could reach.

As all my dignity is already out of the window with my statement two paragraphs above, I also admit that I winced pretty badly and begged my laptop not to make Daniel Hall’s injury too harsh in that Condors series.

On the shutout stats given after the last Aces game… the pitchers besides Chris Powell (7) and Logan Evans (4) to shut out the opponent over nine frames are:
- Jack Pennington (1981) tossed a 6-hitter against the Falcons in his second game for the team; he’s now with the Miners
- Jerry Morris (1979) is credited with a shutout on the history page, but his profile does not come up with it and I don’t remember him tossing one (although I prefer not to remember 1979 at all) – since being released by the Raccoons, he’s pitched for the Rebels in their minor league system
- Jorge Romero (1978-1982) also shut out the Falcons, on five hits, in 1978; after going unsigned in the offseason, he has now retired. Goodbye, Jorge. :-(
- Juan Berrios (1977-1980) is of course the most (in)famous one of the group. He no-hit the Loggers on May 3, 1977 for the first no-no in ABL history, but wound up going 26-59 for his career with Portland. Since being released in 1980, he was in the Vancouver system, was released, was signed by the Gold Sox for their minor league teams, and was released; he is currently unemployed

I’m starting to think that Morris thing might be a bug or something? He pitched a shutout *against* the Raccoons, when he was with the Titans. But that was the year before.

Huh.

Next games: one week at home with the Falcons and Canadiens, then a trip to Boston for four, and then we’ll have interleague again against the Warriors and Buffaloes. The latter series ends June 15, and we’ll also have the draft then.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (27-23) vs. Falcons (24-26)

Served up first for us was Juan Correa (6-4, 4.22 ERA), which was scary, but didn’t matter, since while Correa was still doing his warmup tosses, Shayne Nealon was already battered to the tune of five runs in the first, although the defense also made two errors to escalate the inning. Because the game was lost anyway, Nealon completed six innings in the 6-0 loss. Correa 3-hit the Raccoons, which was only the cherry on top of his month of May, where he went 5-1 with an 1.15 ERA en route to a Pitcher of the Month title.

Kinji Kan and Joe Ellis zeroed each other for five innings. Ellis had somehow managed to lose eight games despite a sub-2.90 ERA. The Falcons struck first in the top 6th with one run, but the Raccoons connected big in the bottom 6th, with a grand slam by Daniel Hall to center. That was all the scoring, but credit to Hall, who also made two awesome plays to end both the eighth and ninth with the Falcons threating a comeback. The ninth was not West’s fault. The game was basically over, but Workman dropped a ball that would have been the final out, and only then did things get out of hand a bit. Still, 4-1 Raccoons. Workman 2-4, 2B; Hall 1-4, HR (SLAM!), 4 RBI; Thompson 3-3; Kan 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K;

Jerry Ackerman got the start in the rubber game over Maurinha, who had been torched again in his last start. I had wanted to do this for a while now, but always needed Ackerman out of the pen and he never was rested.

Mark Dawson had just been named Batter of the Month on the strength of power, and he added a 2-run blast in the bottom 1st of the rubber game. This was #14 this season, getting him half way to Ben Simon’s Raccoons record of 28, and almost half way to the all-time record of 31 by the now retired Don Sullivan. This set a pace, where the Raccoons scored in each of the first three innings, which was necessary to pick up the struggling Ackerman. He just fulfilled the bare minimum of a quality start with 6.0 IP and three runs across. Raccoons won, 8-3. White 2-4, RBI; Hall 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Workman 2-5; Dawson 3-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Green (PH) 1-1;

This was the fourth straight series taken by the Raccoons, all by 2-1 wins.

Raccoons (29-24) vs. Canadiens (30-21)

This was a big 3-game set now. Losing it would mean to drop 3 or even 4 behind the Canadiens. If we were seriously playoff bound, then we had to extend our streak to five series. I would be perfectly fine with a 2-1 series.

Unfortunately, Powell was beaten up – once more. He surrendered a 3-run shot to 1B Tetsu Osanai in the first and the Canadiens hit three doubles in a row over Borjón’s head in the sixth to lead 5-1. The Raccoons crawled back in, though, with one in the sixth, and Dawson doubled in two in the eighth. The winning run was on second in the bottom 9th, but Cam Green struck out. Alex White went to a full count with two down. Then he singled to left to get Powell off the hook. Hall came up but flew out. Extra innings. The Raccoons were on the verge of walking off twice while Cunningham pitched inning after inning, until he was exhausted. Daniel Hall then led off the bottom 14th with a triple to the wall in right. Workman was walked, Dawson also walked, but it took a 1-out flyout to right by Sanchez for Hall to get a chance: he tagged up and made a run for home – and scored! The Raccoons walked off, 6-5. Dawson 3-5, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Cunningham 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K;

THAT … was a BIG win! Wow, I had sweated my heart out there! Whooo!! (pumped up a bit here)

Daniel Hall put the Raccoons well ahead with a 3-run shot in the first inning the next day. Two runs scored against Evans in the third on three hits and two steals, where the defense did not look any good. In turn, they recovered the two runs in the bottom 3rd, 5-2 Raccoons. Dawson made it 6-2 with a solo homer in the bottom 4th. But that game was far from over. Evans was battered for three runs in the sixth. Still leading 6-5 in the top 8th, Burton Taylor walked two. Gaston came on with two out, and walked the bases full. He went to a full count on RF Jorge Diaz – then struck him out. Top 9th, still 6-5 Raccoons. West got two quick outs, before the Canadiens had two scratch hits and put runners on the corners. I made a call not to pitch to 3B John Harris, a lefty, despite West matching up with him. Harris was walked to get to Brad Fleming, who had struck out thrice in the game – West put another K on him! 6-5 Raccoons!! Hall 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-4, BB, HR, RBI;

Oh, those sweats! Two 6-5 wins over the Canadiens, c’mon boys, make it three!!

But they didn’t. They ran into SP Robbie Campbell and the bat of Seitaro Ogawa. The former pitched seven frames of 3-hit ball, while latter homered twice for six runs in the 8-3 Canadiens win. At least Mark Dawson also launched one, even if it was way too late in the bottom 9th. Hall 2-4; Walker 2-4, 2B;

But they had taken two games of the series, for the fifth matchup in a row. That is something!

Raccoons (31-25) @ Titans (29-28)

This was another extremely important 4-game set. The Titans were tied for third with the Indians in the division, and we could not afford to lose the series. Of course, the rotation was still troubled. Nealon had lost the last game against Vancouver and that was more or less characteristic of how big parts of our rotation performed.

But Kinji Kan surrendered three in the first inning of game 1. The Raccoons got two back in the third, but otherwise couldn’t hurt Ruben Lopez, and lost the game, 3-2, on only six hits.

Game 2 saw a strong outing from Jerry Ackerman, but still fruitless. The game went to extra innings, tied 1-1. Grant West pitched in a tied game and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 12th when Gonzalez tripled. Bowling tripled as well and was brought in by Workman, 3-1 Raccoons. Now, whom to send out to close? On rested relievers I had only lefties, and went with Burton Taylor. He had been an occasional closer for the Titans from 1977-79, so he entered not too unfamiliar territory – and he made the save, but an error by Dawson scored a run. Still: 3-2 Raccoons. Ackerman 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K;

Two Raccoons were thrown out at home in game 3 of the series. Powell only pitched five before being pinch hit for to get the go-ahead run in, 2-1, in the top 6th. The problem now was a heavily depleted pen, which had to cover the last four frames. They didn’t make it. Maurinha surrendered a leadoff double in the eighth and the runner scored against Cunningham. That struggle also went to extra innings, where the Raccoons put runners on in the 10th, 11th, 12th … never scored. It took a throwing error in the top 13th to score a runner. Thompson produced a pinch hit 2-run single for a 5-2 lead in the bottom 13th. Of course, we were out of arms. Grant West had to come out after having pitched three of the last four days for significant lengths. One runner got on, but he struck out Tony Burns to end the game, 5-2 Raccoons! They topped the Titans in hits: 19-7, but had no clutch hitting in this game. Hall 3-6, BB, 2B; Walker 4-6, BB; Sanchez 3-6, BB, RBI; Bowling 3-6, BB, 3B, RBI; Thompson (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI;

The team had had to cover 12 extra innings in just six days, which had wrecked the pen in addition to the early exits of some starters. They had been rewarded with the division lead, but the pen was toast. I needed another arm. Carlos Moran was not performing well at AAA, but I needed him. And I had to demote somebody, who really didn’t deserve to be demoted. It was Fletcher Kelley, who had gotten better into the groove recently, but it was either Kelley or an infielder and then it would be Thompson. Both had the bad luck to have options available.

We still needed a long outing from Logan Evans in game 4 of the series. But this was prime opportunity to stuff the Titans further down the division! Their starter? Roman Ocasio (1-3, 5.05 ERA), who is just all too well known to Raccoons fans, going 10-20 in the brown uniform between ’79 and ’81.

But the Raccoons got behind 1-0 in the first, an unearned run after a bad throw by Dawson and two walks. Evans’ control was pretty bad, but the Raccoons stuck three to Ocasio in the fourth to take the lead, but Juan Valentin homered off Evans and brought in the tying run in the seventh. Evans left in the tied game and Moran pitched the eighth. Alex White drew a 1-out walk in the ninth and was tripled in by Hall. The Raccoons scored two more in the inning, and Cunningham came out for the save, 6-3 Raccoons!! Hall 2-4, BB, 3B, 2B, RBI; Dawson 2-4, BB, RBI; Walker 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Sanchez 2-4, 2 RBI; Thompson 2-5, RBI; Moran picked up the W with a solid eighth.

In other news

June 7 – For the third time this season, Jeremiah Carrell goes down to an injury, a strained hamstring. The Cyclones infielder is hitting .307 in very limited exposure.

Complaints and stuff

WE ARE THE KINGS OF THE WORLD!!

Well, for now at least. Six series wins in a row. I still remember vividly what kind of series we started last year right around this time.

Originally I wanted to include the interleague week in the next update, but this seems like the perfect point for a break. After a slump in early-to-mid May, the team has rebounded. The offense is scoring more runs per game (4.9 in June) and the pitching is not great, but good enough to keep the team running (4.1 R/A in June!).

We have now beaten both of the toughest (as I see it and already said before the season) teams in the division right after each other, despite a chewed up pen for the Titans series. The Canadiens dropped behind us because they could not recover: despite an off day after the series against us they have been swept by the Indians! (Never count out them Indians!) We went from three losses behind the Canadiens to three wins ahead of them, which is a big swing!

Mark Dawson earned accolades as Batter of the Month of May for the Continental League. He went .284 with 7 HR and 27 RBI! He’s clearly a cornerstone to every team, although he’s incredibly streaky. He quickly launched six dingers at the start of the season, then nothing for weeks, before bashing seven from the second week of May onwards.

Dawson was then named Player of the Week for the week ending June 5, on the strength of a 12-23, 3 HR, 11 RBI performance. He was glowing bright red and hot.

Next: interleague with the Warriors and Buffaloes, then home week against the Loggers and Crusaders, but we should be cautious – we’re only 5-5 against those back markers so far, the Loggers rubbed us badly the last time we faced them.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (34-26) vs. Warriors (26-33)

The Warriors had major problems on the mound, both with their rotation and pen, neither of which ranked better than 10th in the FL. On the other hand, our pen was still aching. We needed two good outings by our starters, seven frames plus. Big plus, that is. Shayne Nealon has one complete game to his career (99 starts).

Nealon was one of those off season acquisitions that now blew up in my face. He surrendered ten hits and seven runs in 3.1 innings. Moran and Maurinha were battered further in a 13-3 blowout that sure helped to cool off any high emotions fans in Portland might have had after the Canadiens and Titans series. To add insult to injury, the team had 13 hits and hardly scored on them. Workman 2-5, 2B, RBI; Hall 2-5, RBI; Dawson 3-4, BB;

Game 2 was nothing for those with weak hearts. The Raccoons put up an unearned 4-spot after a terrible error by LF Joe Simmons in the second, which was already much of their offense that day. Hall added a run later, but the Warriors chipped away. The Raccoons led 5-3 in the eighth with Taylor walking two. Jason White surrendered a double that scored a run, then got a popout, but he had to pitch the ninth as well. Three fast groundballs, three outs, 5-4 win for the Raccoons. Workman 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Hall 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Sanchez 2-4;

This made for an interesting rubber game. Since Chris Powell had only thrown 70 pitches in his last start, he was available for game 3. Besides Grant West no lefty in the pen was ready for the game. But those Warriors were batting very well and he would probably get shelled. Hmmmmmm. Those tough calls.

Ackerman was skipped, Powell went out for the rubber game. Plus, Steve Walker and Enrique Sanchez needed some rest, bringing in Bowling and Dicks, so this could probably go wrong.

Powell pitched a highly atypical game, surrendering four walks. But the main point: he only gave up two hits and no runs over seven frames, before he was removed after 93 pitches. He probably didn’t have the gas to finish the shutout anyway on short rest, better don’t take risks. The Raccoons led 5-0 at that point, all scored in the first three frames off Jonathan Knapp. I wanted Ackerman to finish the game, but he was beaten in the ninth and Grant West had to come out and get the final out in the 5-2 win. Workman 3-4, RBI; Powell 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K and 1-3, 2B, RBI;

Matt Workman had slumped the week before, but was now back, it seemed. This series could have gone wrong after that terrible start, but the team pulled two W’s out of their pockets to bring our series wins string to seven. Still, the Indians were only one game back now.

Raccoons (36-27) @ Buffaloes (31-32)

The Buffaloes were average throughout, ranking 4th to 6th in all categories like runs scored, runs against, average, and ERA’s. So, we still needed our best game.

But we didn’t bring it. Logan Evans was out-pitched in the first game. Despite a leadoff jack by Alex White the Raccoons lost 2-1, unable to get their runners on third in on two occasions. The Buffaloes of course, did get them in. Sanchez 3-4, 2 2B;

Next for the Buffaloes was Mark Copeland (2-5, 4.99 ERA), who had seen better days. Still, the Raccoons started Shayne Nealon, so the string of seven series bagged was about to end here. Borjón hit his first long ball of the season for a lead, but Nealon got behind 2-1 in the sixth. Walker tied the game with a long ball, before the Raccoons finally broke through the defenses of Topeka with three in the eighth. Grant West surrendered three hits and a run in the ninth, but the Raccoons won 5-3. Borjón (PH) 2-3, HR, RBI; Workman 2-5; Walker 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

Alex White suffered a fractured finger catching one of the stinging line drives launched off Nealon. He was out until the All Star game, at least. To be honest, he’s been a giant disappointment, hitting just over .260 – he went .350 with the Cyclones, for crying out loud. And imagine: all minor league outfielders on the 40-man roster were injured or day-to-day. It would be at least five days before anybody could join the team. (facepalm)

And that was not even the lowlight of the day, as Mark Dawson grounded into three double plays. Still, sometimes a win is a win. Take your win and shut your pie hole.

We pieced together the lineup for game 3 with Dawson in right and Green at third, and after the draft that evening we had an off day to contemplate roster moves. Steve Walker batted leadoff. It didn’t work too well. Kinji Kan no-hit the Buffaloes into the fifth, before they got a single in. Next, Green threw a ball away to get two runners into scoring position, but Kan wiggled through. The Raccoons needed a wild pitch by Cristo Negron to get Matt Workman (who’d been plunked to reach base in the first place) into second, from where Bowling brought him in with a liner to center. Kan was then removed after 6.1 innings for Burton Taylor to go after tough lefty Cecil Ward with a runner on and one out. But the Buffaloes countered and sent in righty A.J. Achber. He worked a walk, and Taylor struck out the next batter to bring up the pitcher, Cristo Negrón, a righty. Two out, two on. I bring a righty, I risk them bringing a lefty pinch hitter. Go Burt! Negrón flew out harmlessly to Dawson. The Raccoons missed a chance in the eighth, then Cunningham put runners on the corners with two out in the bottom 8th, although Bowling misplayed a lampooning ball that should have been caught, honestly, but it was scored a hit. I brought in Gaston to get out Dermott Watkins. Another bullet dodged! Grant West held on to it, 1-0 Raccoons!! Bowling 2-4, RBI;

Sometimes, one run is enough. But that happens not too often. (sharply looks at sluggers Hall, Dawson, Workman)

In other news

June 14 – VAN 2B Melvin Greene has strung together 20 consecutive games of hitting safely. He is batting .373 with 9 RBI in just 102 AB’s.

Complaints and stuff

I woke up at 4am today and couldn’t go back to sleep thinking about the Raccoons and how they were hanging on to the division lead. That’s how much of a freak I am.

They have now won eight series in a row – but never swept one! Six times they lost the first game of the contest, only to rally for two after that. That’s some strange numbers.

The roster below is still a player short due to the injury to Alex White. We will recall Fletcher Kelley for Carlos Moran, though, after the draft, although I’m not sure whether I’d better banish Kelley to A ball. In three games in AAA, he went 2.2 innings, surrendered three homers and managed a healthy 13.50 ERA. (raises eyebrow)

Many are wondering whether the Raccoons are there to stay. And to be honest, there are some signs that could spell trouble sooner or later. Last year, they were like .333 in 1-run games and were 12 under their Pythagorean record. Through 66 games this year, so roughly 40% of the schedule, they are 12-8 in 1-run games and three over the Pythagorean record. They are 1.5 ahead of Vancouver now, but would be 1.5 behind them that way, and 2.0 behind the Indians.

(shakes fist) Keep goin’, boys!! (sweats)

Next: DRAFT! Then: home series against Crusaders and Loggers (I hope for a 6-0 week, but …), then a long and hard road trip to Atlanta, Oklahoma City, and Boston.

[Westheim]

1983 AMATEUR DRAFT

The Raccoons had the #6 and #30 picks, then nothing for over 100 more. That was not a great base to get a lot out of this draft, and it made the two picks much more difficult to choose. I know about that, I have chronic brainlock.

I had a very small pool of four guys I would pick first from, hoping at least one remained until the first pick for the fur balls. The #1 overall pick was made by the Las Vegas Aces, they took outfielder Carlos Garcia, strong defense, enormous stick. He was on my list. The other three remained.

Now get me that crystal ball!

1983 Raccoons draft picks:
Round 1 (#6) – MR Scott Wade, 21, from Ottawa, KS – he has it all, a monstrous right arm, strong control and a lotta movement to drive batters nuts, and he also can go long distances and could be a starter
Supp. Round (#30) – C Miguel Carrasco, 18, from Texcoco, Mexico – projects as an elite hitter and good, solid catcher with a powerful arm
Round 5 (#145) – LF Wilson Martinez, 21, from Amina, Dom. Rep. – good contact bat and eyes, but plays only one position in the outfield
Round 6 (#169) – LF/RF Ned O’Crouley, 20, from River Road, NC – average bat and defense projected, but little power potential
Round 7 (#193) – SP Ray Whitfield, 17, from Tulsa, OK – has a few nice features like a good assortment of pitches (all raw, of course), and could surprise, maybe … or maybe not
Round 8 (#217) – 1B/3B Jose Lopez, 17, from San Juan, Puerto Rico – bat work has potential, but he can do little else
Round 9 (#241) – SP Will Brock, 17, from Gaithersburg, MD – pure scrap to eat innings
Round 10 (#265) – MR Ronnie Savage, 18, from New York, NY – was picked for being a lefty; and to eat innings

There were only the sorry scraps of my shortlist remaining when we came to pick in the fifth round. That’s what an offseason buying spree apparently costs. By my round 9 pick even only scrap pitchers remained (which I saw coming and picked a scrap infielder in round 8).

I am not too happy with the draft, but of course we had only two meaningful picks. Only two of our picks after round 4 has made it to majors so far (MR Jason White and OF Fernando Perez) and that’s not a lot (and Perez was sent down again after only a few AB's). All draftees were assigned to the A level team, including top pick Scott Wade. We made a couple of moves between levels but didn’t release anybody since a bunch of players was injured at the moment, but the next months some sorting out would have to be done.

[Westheim]

A little follow up on the feature from last season, where I complain about all my draft picks. Here's an update on the top 5 picks from every round.

1977

Round 1 - OF Daniel Hall – To date has 552 H and 72 HR in the major leagues for the Raccoons, with the latter rising steadily, he's in the top 30 in home runs now - all time that is.
Round 2 - SP Jaime Garcia – A total bust, he has never made it out of AA ball, and is bouncing between A and AA now for some time.
Round 3 - 1B Matt Workman – Made the majors two years ago and has instantly made him a key piece to the lineup there. His defense is not great, but he's wielding a .280+ bat with a good bit of power.
Round 4 - MR Miguel Bojorquez – Was with the Raccoons 1980-81 as situational lefty with a 7.25 ERA, and sent back to AAA. He is still there, but there are other lefties ahead of him now.
Round 5 - SP/MR Jorge Rodriguez – was traded to the Titans this winter and made his major league debut with them, but is back at AAA, where he has already spent some years.

1978

Round 1 - MR Richard Cunningham – He developed a killer arm with a slight tendency to go wild. Joined the Raccoons in late ’81 and is a murder 7th/8th inning guy. Has almost 9 K/9 in the majors so far.
Round 2 - SP/MR Gary Simmons – Was beaten up as a starter with the Raccoons in 1980-81, and was traded to Nashville this winter, where he is on the major league roster as reliever.
Round 3 - 1B Johnny Snow – Never progressed above AA ball - bust.
Round 4 - MR Marvin Large – Has spent years in AA, but has never gotten hold at the AAA level with a 6.30 ERA there.
Round 5 - C Eric Gregory – Is a good catcher, but too weak a batter to make it to the majors, plays AA ball at the moment.

1979

Round 1 - MR Grant West – Local boy from Portland, is the Raccoons' closer now. Has a 1.61 ERA and 65 SV in just over two years of work.
Round 2 - SP Pepe Acevedo – Was shipped off to Cincinnati in the Jack Pennington trade before the 1981 season, where he finally got into AA ball - total bust.
Round 3 - MR Fletcher Kelley – He has shredded the opposition on his way to the majors, which he made in ’81. He has a tendency to give up home runs, which is hurting his ERA and reputation.
Round 4 - LF/RF Gary Carter – Moved up to AAA in 1981, but hardly got playing time if not for injuries. Doesn't have the beef to make the majors.
Round 5 - C Dave Stewart – The “bit of power” we saw before drafting him has never materialized, his bat is very weak and he has never progressed past A ball.

1980

Round 1 - SP Carlos Gonzalez – Was mega-hyped after the draft as THE next pitcher, but can not get a decent ERA even in AA ball in his fourth year of trying.
Round 3 - SP Ray Willis – He has not gotten out of A ball yet and has been severely rated down by scouting departments since being drafted.
Round 4 - 1B/2B Darren Campbell – Has slowly moved up to AAA ball, where he is batting .250 and fielding well.
Round 5 - LF Jose Perez – Can not progress past the AA level, struggles at the plate.

1981

Round 1 - 3B/2B Orlando Lantán – Plays AA ball, but has been rated down by three different scouts now - BUST.
Round 2 - C Greg Thornburg – He is a genious catcher, but unfortunately can't bat for his life and can't even get out of A ball - BUST.
Round 3 - OF Kelly Weber – Moved up to AA late in ’81 and is playing very well there, but has not gotten over the hump where we'd be confident he can do it at the AAA level.
Round 4 - MR Pedro Vazquez – Has moved quickly to the AAA level after initially being overlooked. He is a right-handed fireballer with severe control issues, which if ironed out would allow him to join the majors.
Round 5 - CL Emerson MacDonald – Has also joined the AAA team quickly and performs well there, but is also a righty and you have to wonder if the majors pen can hold 'em all.

1982

Round 1 - LF/RF Alejandro Lopez - He had a terrible rookie season at the A level and is only slowly improving.
Supp. Round - INF Carlos Miranda - Quickly dashed through the A level; now at AA he is still refining his bat a bit, but his fielding is very good.
Supp. Round - OF Matt Olson - Bats a solid .250 clip at AA, but does not improve (he skipped the A level entirely).
Round 2 - MR Jason Bentley - Does a very good job as the AA team's closer, although his ERA is a bit high and he walks too many.
Round 3 - C Odwin Garza - Batted .295 in his rookie season in A; bats 100 points lower, still in A, this season.
Round 4 - 1B Mariano Duarte - Whatever we saw before the draft, it has not materialized yet in A ball.
Round 5 - RF/LF Paul Blake - He shot all the way up to AAA ball in his rookie season, but can't piece it together there yet, but he could be a future big leaguer.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I woke up at 4am today and couldn’t go back to sleep thinking about the Raccoons and how they were hanging on to the division lead. That’s how much of a freak I am.


(shakes fist) Keep goin’, boys!! (sweats)

Ok, now this is the kind of passion that the Raccoons need. I think you are going all the way this year. Of course, I am a silly homer.

[Westheim]

In the long run, it could have a bad influence on my sleep cycle and interfere with work and stuff, though.

Luckily, once I have ploughed through my five hours in the mines today, I will have 9 1/2 days off to devote to them fur balls.

[Westheim]

We called up Brandon Roland as an extra bat until we could make a better choice later in the week, due to all the minor injuries to our AAA outfielders.

Raccoons (38-28) vs. Loggers (28-37)

The Loggers had dropped the last five games, but they had a very potent offense. Their problem was pitching. We started Mark Dawson in right and Cam Green at third. Either that or play Borjón, and both were under .200 and struck out a lot.

The first game was entirely hitless until Daniel Hall homered to left in the fourth, 1-0 Raccoons. That was a lone spot of offense in a pitchers duel that didn’t even have much fire. Jerry Ackerman managed one strikeout, Gary Simmons two, but they had their opponents under control, although Ackerman struggled early with four walks in the first three innings. He was dialed in by the middle innings and clicked off batter after batter, and suddenly we were in the ninth and the Raccoons were still 1-0 ahead. Out of the blue I felt a strange trust in Ackerman and let him in there – he completed a 2-hit shutout of the Loggers, taking 109 pitches! The Raccoons had only three hits themselves, only 62 batters came to the plate in the whole game.

That made for back-to-back 1-0 wins. Now it is time for some oomph, boys.

A 1-0 win was made impossible by the Loggers in the fourth, when they scored first off Chris Powell. A Green error plated another run, and the Raccoons tied it in the sixth, where Powell was also pinch hit for and ended up with a no decision. Bottom 8th, still 2-2. With two on, the Loggers elected to give Daniel Hall a walk to face Dawson with one out. Dawson popped it up and was out, which brought up Bowling. Then reliever Mike Kelly threw a wild pitch and Steve Walker scored the winning run. Bowling grounded out harmlessly. West did his job, 3-2 Raccoons. Sometimes you have to take what you can get, and Walker took it here. Workman 2-3, BB, 2B;

Green was out at third, Dawson moved there and we tried Borjón in right, after Green hadn’t been able to do anything the last few days. Also, Steve Walker didn’t seem comfortable batting first. We sent Bowling there, one of the quickest guys on the team, but with a poor .256 OBP. That probably was not the best solution, but I didn’t have a speedy guy with high OBP other than Alex White. Who was injured. Or Daniel Hall. But I cherished him as #3 hitter. Huff. Those coices.

The Raccoons put up three early, while Logan Evans pitched a solid game, allowing one run over seven innings. Up 5-1 in the eighth, Matt Workman came to the plate and faced Matthew Green, who came in to make his major league debut. Workman had a mean day and homered to right. Wally Gaston was also taken deep in the ninth (by whom else than Marvin Mills, who always seemed to hit home runs against us, kinda like Boston’s Brian Adams), but the Raccoons won and swept the series, 6-2. Workman 3-5, HR, 3 RBI;

Nine series wins! Chained up next to each other! Yay!!

Raccoons (41-28) vs. Crusaders (27-42)

The poor offense came to light again in the first game. Despite numerous chances, the Raccoons plated only one run, while the Crusaders first chewed up Shayne Nealon (once more), then the bullpen. The Raccoons were shelled 10-1, and I had really seen enough.

The same night, the Raccoons placed Shayne Nealon, their second-biggest off season acquisition, with his 5.51 ERA on irrevocable waivers and designated him for assignment.

Because we were already on it, Yoelbi Maurinha was also put on waivers and designated for assignment. He was not getting anything done and had also blown up the game in relief. SP Charles Young and MR Carlos Moran were called up from St. Petersburg, our AAA affiliate.

Somebody got the message. The Raccoons led 8-0 after four frames in game 2. They won the game, 9-0, and although it rained on and off through the contest, and he didn’t have the greatest stamina, Kinji Kan completed the distance and tossed a 7-hit shutout. Dawson 2-4, 2B, RBI; Sanchez 4-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Borjón 2-4, 2B, RBI; Kan 9.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K and 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Kan tied the CL lead with the win, his 9th, and moved into the lead in ERA.

Game 3 saw Jason Short ejected early for arguing strikes, but also was a duel between Bernard Lepore and Jerry Ackerman. The latter pitched seven shutout innings with a 1-0 lead (again!), but this time was a bit less steady and took more pitches to get through the Crusaders as well. He was pinch hit for in the bottom 7th with Borjón on base. Bowling came out and homered to right – his maiden major league home run, and off a 81-game winner!! The Crusaders got one off Kelley in the eighth, but the Raccoons held on for a 3-1 win. Dawson 2-3; Sanchez 2-4, 2B; Bowling (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Ackerman 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K; Grant West got his 20th save this year, five behind the CL lead.

TEN series wins in a row (and the seventh after dropping game one)!

The Miners claimed Shayne Nealon off waivers. That was not, what I had wanted when I signed him to that expensive contract, but he had absolutely nothing going wearing the brown uniform and the coonskin cap. After the draft, most teams were over or close to their budget, and couldn’t take on the remaining $300k+ of his salary (for 1983 alone), and the Miners at first were not really interested in a trade. Well, they still took him.

I said before the home stand that a 6-0 would make me happy. Well, the 5-1 still made me happy, but the one loss still was sour. A Nealon on career average form would have been able to contribute a ton to the Raccoons. It was not meant to be.

We made another roster move, sending infielder Brandon Roland back to AAA in exchange for outfielder Gary Carter, who made his major league debut this way. He could play left and right, but we’d go slowly with him. He was our 1979 round 4 pick.

Raccoons (43-29) @ Knights (34-38)

The Knights were tied for last in the CL South, but they still scared the heck out of me, since they had a potent offense. Their pitching was troubled, but the Raccoons didn’t really score a lot in June.

They put up two in the first inning and let Powell cruise with it though. Chris Powell was hunting a shutout into the ninth, but when the first two Knights got on base and the 3-4-5 guys were coming up, I pulled him for Grant West, who retired them quickly for a 3-0 Raccoons win. Walker 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Powell 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K; Powell (5-6, 4.05 ERA) is now 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in his last four starts, and 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in his last nine starts. I don’t want to scream too early, but it looks like he is dialed in much better now.

That potent Knights offense I mentioned came to life in game 2, chucking five hits off our Logan Evans before they ever were put out somewhere. Five runs scored in the inning. Evans pitched four more frames, and Moran went from there without further damage, while offensively, they had the most terrible day ever. The left the bases loaded twice, and two on thrice, en route to 5-2 loss, and one of those runs was unearned then. Three hit batsmen by the Knights also was no sign of stellar pitching, but it was enough to overcome the Raccoons’ unclutchiness.

The rubber game was scoreless through three. Workman reached base on a throwing error by catcher Steve Wall, and Daniel Hall made him pay with a home run to left, 2-0 Raccoons. The next time Hall was up in the fifth – BAM! Another 2-run home run, 4-0. This inspired Enrique Sanchez, apparently: he hit a dinger for two as well, in the sixth, 6-0. A passed ball by Sanchez broke up the shutout in the ninth, but the Raccoons took this one with force, 8-1. Kan went seven frames. Thompson 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Hall 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Sanchez 2-4, BB, 2 RBI;

Kinji Kan continued to lead the majors in W’s (10) and ERA (1.94), the first tied with the Indians Billy Robinson.

ELEVEN series in a row taken now! (punches the table) Go for it, boys!!

Raccoons (45-30) @ Thunder (45-30)

This was the true test, who was for real, and who wasn’t. The Thunder led the league in scoring (the Raccoons were merely 7th) and had a comparable pitching staff.

It was bad timing, but Charles Young made his debut for the Raccoons against the Thunder in game 1. We also started with Sanchez getting rest. The fur balls had a terribly hard time hitting the ball properly against the Thunder’s starter, Hunter Frazier, who was nowhere close to strong this year. In the fourth they loaded the bags on an error and two infield hits, but only scored once before Dicks lined into a double play. Young held his ground in his debut and surrendered only a homer to Jonah Frank, leaving after six in a 1-1 tie. The Thunder walked off, 2-1, in the ninth. Taylor started the inning, but gave a singled to Guy King, before limping off the field. Wally Gaston gave a triple to Jonah Frank for a quick death here. Workman 2-4; the team had only six hits, all singles, hard to score then…

Burton Taylor had a strained hamstring and was out until mid-to-late August! And thus Yoelbi Maurinha returned quicker than anybody had anticipated… The experiment with Bowling in leadoff was also over. We tried Sanchez as leadoff batter now. He was nowhere near quick, but his OBP was .371 at the moment. Gotta feed those sluggers.

Dawson was one of them and he doubled in two (but not Sanchez) in the top 1st of game 2. The Raccoons never trailed from there, as Ackerman delivered another fine start and went seven innings of 1-run ball. Up 5-1, Wally Gaston came in the bottom 8th, and somehow the Thunder were not made for him. He got an out, but walked one, plunked one, then made a throwing error to load the bags. Cunningham got out of the jam with a double play. Kelley managed to make the 5-1 lead a safe opportunity for Grant West in the ninth. 5-2 Raccoons. Dawson 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Walker 2-5; Ackerman 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K and 2-3;

The Thunder sent six lefties against Christopher Powell in the rubber game, but he shut them down neatly in a pitchers’ duel with Ray Shaw that lasted seven frames of scoreless game. Shaw was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh, to no avail, and Powell started the eighth, but allowed a single and nailed a batter. Jason White came in with Gaston and Cunningham tired. He proceeded until he had enough on for a slam, then surrendered it. Raccoons lost, 4-0. They had only three hits all day.

The Raccoons had gone six weeks without losing a series, but every run ends somewhere, and it ended with the Thunder – fittingly, since the Thunder had been the first team beaten by us at the start of the streek. It ended with them.

But more important matchups were ahead.

In other news

June 16 – SFW 3B Luis Barrera (.259, 7 HR, 59 RBI) is out with a sprained finger, suffered in an on base collision in a game against the Dallas Stars.
June 18 – The 32-35 Falcons concede defeat: they trade SP Virgil Arnold (3-3, 3.02 ERA) to the Titans for Cuban reliever Ricardo Medina, who is tearing up the minor leagues.
June 19 – In only his fifth start for the Loggers, Buddy Hamilton tosses a 2-hitter against the Scorpions, 5-0.
June 20 – Vancouver’s Melvin Greene brings his hitting streak to 25 games.
June 22 – Sacramento’s Larry Marshall (.317, 3 HR, 24 RBI) is hurt yet again, landing awkwardly after making a play, he sprained his ankle. He won’t be back until after the All Star game.
June 26 – As if the Pacifics didn’t have it hard enough yet, their slugger 1B Juan Rivera is nailed in the foot by the Blue Sox’ Steve Thompson. The foot is broken, and Rivera is out with his .290, 5 HR, 34 RBI line.
June 26 – The Thunder bring the Canadiens to a screeching halt in an 8-0 mopup, including holding Melvin Greene hitless. He goes 0-5 and his streak ends at 29 games.
June 28 – Gold Sox 1B Francisco Lopez (.326, 17 HR, 62 RBI), who leads the home run races in the Federal League, is out for a week or so with back pains.
June 29 – DAL 1B Gabriel Cruz (.332, 16 HR, 67 RBI) goes down to a strained hamstring. He’ll miss four weeks. He’s second in homers in the Federal League. Talk about coincidences.

Complaints and stuff

Shayne Nealon was waived in the vain hope that some fool would take on his 4-yr, $2.575M contract. I wanted to keep Maurinha, but not on the major league roster. I succeeded a good way here, but had to take on Maurinha again, when Burton Taylor got hurt. He had done a very good job as situational lefty, and would be missed.

This marked the end of our run of consecutive series taken, but 11 is a very strong number. 11 is also an important number, since that many games remain until the All Star break. And those are incredibly important games: four in Boston, four against Indianapolis, and three against Vancouver, with four more in Indy right after the break. 15 games that will make or break our season. 46-32 is an improbably great run for the Raccoons so far. I said 90 wins was well in the reach of this team. They are playing 96-win ball so far. But those next 15 are really important.

But there is trouble. Daniel Hall is slumping a bit, dropping 30 points in average the last few weeks. Dawson has not homered in weeks. I have a strong top 6 there at the top of the lineup with Workman, Hall, Dawson as the key pieces and Sanchez, Walker around them and either Bowling or Thompson at 2B in #6. Neither Borjón nor Short are contributing an awful lot, and with the injury to White I have to piece third base together. Neither Green nor Gonzalez produce, and if we aim for a trade in July it should be an upgrade in the infield.

You see the Pacifics in last place, the Bayhawks in last place, the Scorpions 12 behind. California baseball’s seen better days.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (46-32) @ Titans (37-42)

The offense was just not there, it was just not there at the moment. The Raccoons had to scramble for every run and needed the aid of walks and whatever to get them. They clawed their way to a 3-2 lead through seven in the first game of the series, with Logan Evans pitching six good innings, only for Jason White and Fletcher Kelley to give up home runs and get them 5-3 behind. With two on, Sanchez hit into a double play in the ninth. Matt Workman came up and homered to tie the game. What could have been… the Raccoons then loaded the bags in the 11th, aided by a throwing error by star infielder Dimian Barrios, with nobody out – AND DID NOT SCORE. I was in shock. Meanwhile we wasted Grant West doing long relief. In the 13th we got a runner on second, and then a slow roller to second – AND BARRIOS THREW IT AWAY. Two terrible errors for a player of his caliber – just wow! West could not complete the 13th and we sent out an unrested Cunningham to get the save. 6-5 Raccoons.

Kinji Kan was tagged for three runs early on in the second game. With ace Ruben Lopez on the mound for the Titans, the Raccoons in their current slump at the plate had no right to hope for a comeback, but a Sanchez homer in the fifth at least got them to only 4-3 behind. They didn’t get their runners in from there, but with two flyouts at least scored a runner from second in the ninth to tie the game and get Kan off the hook. The Titans put two on against Yoelbi Maurinha, but Wally Gaston struck out Matthew Beck to force extra innings. Gaston loaded them up in the tenth, then struck out the next two to advance. Workman homered in the 12th, the lone spark of offense we had going in overtime. With the pen mostly used already, we suddenly looked at Grant West again, who had gone 3.1 innings the days before. He agreed to go out, if things went wrong, there was also Richard Cunningham (but also unrested) available. We didn’t need him. West got 1-2-3 through the Titans and the fur balls nipped that one as well, 5-4 in the 12th! Sanchez 2-6, HR, 2 RBI; Workman 2-6, HR, RBI; Hall 2-6, 2B; Bowling 3-6, 2B; Green 2-4, RBI; Kan 2-2;

What we needed now was a REALLY good outing from Charles Young, because all of the pen was aching badly. Cunningham and Moran were the only ones that could be more or less used.

Young was amazing and went the distance in game 3! Now the bad news: the distance was eight innings, and he took the loss, 3-2, all runs unearned, and all owed to Cameron Green’s throwing error in the very first inning, while afterwards the Raccoons batters couldn’t pull any runs out of their – furry rear ends. They scored one in the eighth, the runner was Young(!), and one in the ninth by pinch hitter Borjón. Young 8.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K – LOSS; Young is now 0-1 with an 0.64 ERA, so go figure about our offense. This is serious!

Cameron Green was benched after that boner, he was still batting .180, so we didn’t lose anything here. So, Green was on the bench, and the bench stood in Siberia.

We basically forfeited game 4 anyway, since Dawson and Sanchez were rested and we played Gary Carter, whose batting resume included K’s and nothing else, in right in that game. They sucked, had four hits, and lost 3-0. There is really little else to report about it. And that against Robert Sanchez, with an ERA far above five.

So, they tied this series, but in fact they lost it. The Titans had little going, and they couldn’t even score four runs a game. This was really a terrible performance by the batters here!

Raccoons (48-34) vs. Indians (41-41)

This is something like a do-or-die series. With the Canadiens on our heels, we have to hurt those Indians, but Hall is ice cold, Dawson is ice cold, and Workman can not pace the offense alone. Also, there was little in the form of support from the 5-6-7-8 slots in the lineup. This could do a lot of damage to the team in the next 11 games.

Hall was rested in game 1, but he didn’t bat for anything countable in the last two weeks anyway. Christopher Powell went up against Billy Robinson and hurled 7.2 innings of shutout ball. Maurinha came in in the top 9th in a scoreless game and instantly surrendered the game-winning home run to Jose Encarnacion. 1-0 Indians. The Raccoons managed four hits. They never even came close to scoring. Powell 7.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K;

And there it is. Falling to pieces. Everything. Broken.

Logan Evans walked seven in game 2 and left in a 1-1 game after only five innings. The run scored with the kind help from Alex Miranda and a wild pitch – of course, since Miranda was a former Raccoon. They somehow scored a run in the seventh with a pinch hit double by Cameron Green to start it, but Sanchez threw away a pickoff attempt in the eighth to score the tying run. By then I was slowly banging my head repeatedly against the concrete wall in the dugout. From the box score I later read about the heroics of my relievers as the game went into extra innings, while I was putting some ice on the giant swelling on my forehead. They lost it in the 14th, 3-2, they were not SCORING ANYTHING. Cunningham 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K; Moran 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K; two errors in the top 14th won the game for the Indians.

That was the first time they lost more than three in a row. They allowed 10 runs in those four games. They scored a whopping four.

And it continued in that manner. They lost game 3 by a score of 2-0. They even loaded up the bags once and had runners on the corners twice after walks and what not all. Nothing. They scored nothing. The whole team refused to bat. Daniel Hall has gone 11-77 in the last four weeks. And he’s not the only one.

Game 4 was even more of the same. The offense was Bowling, with a home run to right on the final out of the game. 6-2 Indians. Swept by the Indians. Everything is destroyed.

Destroyed.

Raccoons (48-38) vs. Canadiens (46-38)

This was all developing perfectly for the Canadiens to take sole position of first place before the All Star break. All they needed to do was a small sweep of those lousy bunch of suckers.

Extra whippings had been scheduled for the position players the night before the start of the Canadiens series. But the first innings were more of the same. Even more of the very same. Ackerman was behind after a 3-run shot by star Eddy Bailey in the third inning and the Canadiens made it 4-0 in the top 5th. Borjón homered to lead off the bottom 5th. Ackerman singled, Thompson (now in leadoff) walked. Matt Workman came up and went out to right, 4-4, and the ballgame started anew. Workman went on and batted in two more in the sixth, 6-4 Raccoons. Is there life in fur ball land? Canadiens reliever Manny Lopez balked in a run in the seventh, 7-4. The Canadiens got one run off West in the ninth after a long triple into the corner, but the Raccoons prevailed and snapped their winless streak at six, taking the opener 7-5. Workman 2-5, HR, 5 RBI; Sanchez 2-4;

This was golden chance to score. The Canadiens sent up Kevin Beimer (0-2, 7.40 ERA) in game 2. They missed that one, big time. They only got three runs off a terrible pitcher, who went 6.1 innings. Christopher Powell was shaky through six, but left with a 3-2 lead, which was blown by Steve Walker with a throwing error in the eighth, the game was tied. Borjón singled to start the bottom 9th, before Thompson and Hall drew 1-out walks. Workman struck out. Mark Dawson zinged a looper into short left, Borjón scored, and the Raccoons walked off, 4-3. It sure was not pretty, but the result was all that counted today, since it assured us to lead the division at the break – untied. Dawson 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Sanchez 2-4, 2B; Borjón 2-3, BB;

Daniel Hall’s average was down to terrible .240 (from a high .313) … he had options. This was tempting, to say the least. But Hall answered my thoughts with a big home run in the bottom 7th of game 3. The Raccoons had gotten three off Robbie Campbell in the first, of which Logan Evans gave back two. It was one of those games where neither he hit the strike zone nor the batters hit his pitches. He walked three and struck out eight over seven. The home run by Hall made it 4-2, an important insurance run against such a stud lineup, but Gaston and West needed no insurance, they surrendered the Canadiens quickly in the last two innings. 4-2 Raccoons, and a sweep! Hall 2-3, HR, RBI; Bowling 2-3, BB;

All Star Game

The Raccoons were showered with All Star nominations to SP Kinji Kan, CL Grant West, C Enrique Sanchez, and 3B Mark Dawson. Aces, Thunder, Canadiens, and Indians also all sent between three and five players. The Stars had four players on the more diverse Federal League team.

The Continental League prevailed, 10-9, in an intense 12-inning struggle. All four Raccoons only came on as replacements, none hit, only Sanchez drew a walk. Grant West got a blown save (uh-oh). Kan pitched a scoreless inning.

In other news

June 30 – Tijuana’s Randy Zimmerman (5-5, 4.85 ERA) hurls a 3-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Bayhawks.
July 5 – Big trade across the leagues: the Titans send star infielder Dimian Barrios (.295, 1 HR, 37 RBI) to Pittsburgh in exchange for outfield slugger Ronaldo Cabrera (.305, 9 HR, 23 RBI) and a minor leaguer.
July 5 – OCT SP Wilson Cordova (6-3, 3.41 ERA) 3-hits the Knights in a 3-0 win.
July 8 – Longtime Cyclones SS/3B Claudio Rojas and his 1,308 career hits (.319) are sent to San Francisco with a minor leaguer for SS Bob Potter and pitching prospect Manny Cintrón.
July 9 – Another trade with the Cyclones. They send pitcher Ray Lynch (5-4, 3.84 ERA) to Sacramento for outfielder Chad White (.331 in only 139 AB) and a prospect.
July 9 – Condors closer Domingo Rivera (4-1, 1.16 ERA, 31 SV), who leads the CL in saves, is out with a strained biceps until August.
July 10 – The Thunder ship off Jonah Frank to Nashville to get reliever Francisco Serrano and his 2.17 ERA. Frank was a consistent .280 batter with little power (but had homered against the Raccoons last month, of course).

Complaints and stuff

Something rare happened to Grant “Demon” West: he was chosen as the Continental League Pitcher of the Month of June 1983! That does not happen often to relievers. West went 13.1 IP of 2-0, 0.68 ERA ball, with 14 K’s, and was 9/9 SV/OPP!

I still pat myself on the shoulder for that first round pick in ’79.

Of course, that was on July 1. When the Raccoon world was still turning steadily, and everything was okay. Then they stopped hitting all together. And I mean it. Nobody has done any batting since July 2. This is how they lost all those games. They were 16 over .500, and then started this giant nosedive to throw everything into the trash.

It turned out, the Raccoons were a fluke after all.

Of course, that was before the Canadiens series, where the mood was so low, it was below surface. They didn’t play great in that series, but they used their good pitching to great effect, at least. But the bats have to pick up again if they want to be … FOR REAL!

Next: road trip to Indy, New York, and San Francisco. Then home games, Condors, Falcons.

-----

Oh, one thing about me: I am an idiot. I managed to set Ramón Borjón to pitcher making a double switch during one game in this set, and now he appears in the pitching register (although he never actually pitched). I made it through six and a half seasons before pulling that boner again. Anybody now how to remove him from the register, if possible at all? This is not a game breaking issue, but obviously he will lead the team forever with his 0.00 ERA (in 0.0 IP).

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I managed to set Ramón Borjón to pitcher making a double switch during one game in this set, and now he appears in the pitching register (although he never actually pitched). I made it through six and a half seasons before pulling that boner again. Anybody now how to remove him from the register, if possible at all? This is not a game breaking issue, but obviously he will lead the team forever with his 0.00 ERA (in 0.0 IP).

I don't know if this will work, but it won't hurt anything so worth a try. Turn on Commissioner Mode and use the editor on that player. Look for the section that shows experience at each position. Set the experience at pitcher to zero.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Orcin

I don't know if this will work, but it won't hurt anything so worth a try. Turn on Commissioner Mode and use the editor on that player. Look for the section that shows experience at each position. Set the experience at pitcher to zero.

Hum, it is already zero, and there's nothing else that seems like it can be changed.

Oh, well. I will find a way to cope with this.

Thanks.

[Westheim]

I did not really feel any desire to face the Indians yet again. They had ace pitching, and scored as many runs as the Raccoons, and they had just swept us for four. Now we played four at Indy. (shivers)

First we had to solve some logistical problems. Kinji Kan would have been next in the rotation, but he had been in the All Star marathon and was not a good option. Since I didn’t want to skip him entirely, I went instead back to the top of the rotation, and started the series with Christopher Powell.

Another point was the upcoming trade deadline. The Raccoons were again offensively challenged, to say the least. With neither Hall nor Dawson producing a lot in a month, they were scoring just around three runs a game, and that is a deadly quote. Alex White’s return from the DL didn’t excite me either, since he’s been a huge disappointment so far. Still, he returned to play right, while Dawson slotted to third, and Bowling and Thompson, who both played well enough for the backup roles I had intended for them, would share the middle infield with Walker.

Closing in on the deadline, we had $170k available after unloading Nealon. That was enough to shoulder the remaining part of a (approx.) $400k salary, or even more, if trading someone on a minimum contract or so. We’d have to see. Centerfield remains one area where we keep getting low production from, with neither Short nor Borjón hitting over .220 and with little power. Both were batting .216 entering the second half of the season. Short had a higher OBP and could steal a base or two, while Borjón had a higher SLG, having 40% of his hits for doubles.

Raccoons (51-38) @ Indians (46-43)

So, enter Chris Powell (5-7, 3.65 ERA) and Jesse Carver (4-9, 2.90 ERA), who apparently received even less run support than Powell. But it was enough this time. Powell surrendered home runs to Francis Bell (who passed Dawson with #17) and Bruce Cannon in a 2-0 loss, where he went eight innings. The Raccoons had nothing going, again, against the Indians. It was … I … I just want to scream. Bowling 2-4;

Logan Evans went 4.2 innings without major issues in a 1-1 game. Then he gave a 2-out single to opposing pitcher Alex Miranda (yeah, that one). Then he walked three in a row. The Raccoons ended up 4-1 behind, since Jason White found it necessary to give up a double, and Hall threw out the third runner at the plate. Top 7th, still down 4-1. Borjón singled to lead off, PH Green and Alex White walked. Bags full, nobody out. Matt Workman grounded into a double play, Borjón scored, and Miranda threw a wild pitch that allowed the slow Green to score. I told you it was that Miranda. Down 5-3, they led off the eighth with three singles. Again, bases loaded, nobody out. The Indians walked in one, and one scored on a sac fly, but no hits in these situation were about to kill us. They were killing us right now. With the intention to use the sturdy Cunningham in long relief here in the tied game, I sent him to the plate and he drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and when he advanced to second, I changed my mind and got out Jason Short as pinch runner. Bowling singled up the middle and Short dashed around to score the go-ahead run. Borjón singled on a misplay by the infielders to load the bags and FINALLY somebody had a big hit, with Cameron Green sending a double to the base of the left field wall. The Raccoons ended up scoring four on the pen here. Moran struck out the side, and the Raccoons came through, 9-5. Hall 2-5, BB, 2B; Sanchez 2-5, 2B; Walker 3-5, RBI; Bowling 2-5, RBI; Borjón 2-4, BB, RBI; Green (PH) 1-1, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Cam Green got over the .200 hump with his big double, and regained a tiny slice of my heart.

Kinji Kan surrendered two runs in six innings, after which he was chased by a short rain shower. The Raccoons – nothing. They had one hit through six, and Dawson added another one in the eighth, and that was it. Piss poor performance at the plate. 2-0 Indians. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for Kinji Kan, second in ERA in the league, playing for that awful batting corps(e).

Matt Workman was dropped to fifth in the lineup, with Sanchez batting #3 after White and Hall.

It sparked a bit in the last game of the series, in the top 1st. Hall was hit by a pitch from Billy Robinson, then doubled in by Sanchez. Robinson walked the bases full, but the Raccoons didn’t score more and were behind after four. Sanchez doubled in another run in the fifth, 2-2. The Indians got another one off a solid Charles Young, before Mark Dawson tied the game with #17, his first home run in SEVEN weeks. Of course, the chase for Don Sullivan’s record was long abandoned… Cunningham and West pitched as the game went beyond the ninth with neither team finding a way to score, although the Indians loaded the bags with one out in the 11th. West got a grounder to Walker, who threw out the runner from third at the plate, then struck out the next to keep going. Hall singled to start the 12th and was bunted over by Gonzalez, who was in after a couple of double switches. Dawson was waved through to first, but Dicks (same as Gonzalez) zinged one to left and the quick Hall scored. West struck out Francis Bell to split the series evenly, 4-3 Raccoons after 12. White 2-5, BB, 2B; Hall 2-5; Sanchez 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Dawson 2-5, BB, HR, RBI; Dicks (PH) 1-2, RBI; Cunningham 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K and 1-1; West 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W; Grant West now has six wins, more than f.e. Christopher Powell…

Since the Canadiens split their series in Milwaukee, too, the lead remained at four games here. For the next three weeks plus, we’ll play only teams around .500 or below it, until facing the Indians again in the second week of August. We have to make a move here, because the schedule is much more ugly from mid-August onwards. (We are also going to finish the season *in* Vancouver, so it would be neat to have a cushion, otherwise I could have a heart attack or two)

Raccoons (53-40) @ Crusaders (41-52)

What a mess the first game was. The Raccoons scored two early, but Ackerman was hit for three in the third, two after a throwing error. Alex White left the game with a strained back muscle and was out for another month. The Raccoons then moved in the fifth, Short singled, and Kyle Owens then walked three in a row to tie the game, with nobody out – they didn’t score from there. New York’s Avery and our Workman both went deep for two to get the game to 5-5 with lots of miserable pitching and fielding. Fletcher Kelley lost the game with his own miserable ways of pitching. 7-5 Crusaders. Workman 3-4, HR, 4 RBI;

Rain limited Christopher Powell to four innings – and four runs against. The Raccoons were outright pathetic, managed to load the bags once, but … were pathetic and lost 4-1.

They were scoring less than 3 R/G in July (after 3.6 in June). It was agonizing, because the Canadiens came closer any minute now. And they could not get some runs in… they led the division in doubles, home runs, walks, were second in K’s, and fourth in overall hits, and they DID NOT SCORE. There was the screaming again.

We sent Alex White to the DL (again) before game 3, and called up Dick Daughtery from AAA. He was a decent outfielder with a bit of power, and had no options, so we would lose him once we tried to get him back to AAA. He was sent to play right right away.

At the very least the team managed to hurt poor old Eric Edmonstone, putting up a 5-spot in the first inning. Logan Evans actively tried to lose it with malign wildness. Three runs scored off him in six innings, before I chased him to the clubhouse and beyond. Wally Gaston also tested by heart with 1.1 wild innings (yet scoreless). The Raccoons added three in the top 8th after bases loaded, nobody out. But they had no hits in that situation, only a wild pitch and two sac flies. 8-3 Raccoons was the final score. Dawson 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Workman 3-4, RBI;

I was messing with the lineup almost daily by now – from the perceived safety of my panic room of course. The trade deadline was less than two weeks away, and the Raccoons needed help at the plate.

Raccoons (54-42) @ Bayhawks (39-57)

The Bayhawks were the worst team in the Continental League by now. They had the Raccoons’ poor scoring, but added poor pitching to it. I actually felt confident for this series.

But Kinji Kan had learned from Evans how to walk people and executed his new knowledge five times in the first game of the series. A 2-run triple by Mark Dawson turned things around and Kan left after six with a 3-2 lead behind him. But that lead got away from Cunningham in the eighth after a long double by Ricardo Gonzalez and Jason White took the loss in the ninth. 4-3 Bayhawks. Sanchez 2-4; Dawson 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI;

Steve Walker was hit by a pitch in the hand in this game and was injured. The hand was broken. See you in September, Steve-O. Brandon Roland was shipped in from AAA for like the fourth time this season.

We faced Harvey Hardin (1-12, 6.83 ERA) in the middle game. He had been taken in the rule 5 draft from us this winter, and was obviously nowhere near major league class. And the Raccoons? They couldn’t hurt him. Hardin went to the ninth, with only two runs against him, both brought in by Workman. The rest of the team … sucked. Charles Young went eight innings of shutout ball and would have been allowed to do the ninth, but faced the 3-4-5 all-lefty part of the lineup. Grant West mowed them down, 2-0 Raccoons. Sanchez 2-5, 2B; Workman 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 2-4; Young had now gone five starts with the team and was 1-2 with a stellar 2.16 ERA.

They dropped the third game and the series with no offense. Ackerman went strong six innings, before being relieved, and the pen blew it. Borjón’s solo shot was all offense they managed. 2-1 Bayhawks.

Interlude: panic trades

July 25 marked an off day, as the Raccoons flew home from the Bay. It gave me time to close a deal with the Milwaukee Loggers that had been in the works for a week:

The Raccoons dealt outfielder Dick Daughtery and infielder Bobby Holmes to Milwaukee. Daughtery had gotten 2-14 in his short stint with the team, and we would not be able to send him back to AAA out of options anyway. Holmes had come on the last winter in the trade that had sent Paul Cooper to the Blue Sox. In return the Raccoons received outfielder Chris Smith and minor league first baseman Jorge Ramirez.

Who was Chris Smith? He was a 35-yr old outfield veteran, who had been with five teams already. The ’81 Thunder and ’82 Scorpions had used him as a backup only, but he had a .285 career average and 686 hits. He fielded his positions (all three in the outfield) very well, and had considerable gap power. His OBP was .338 and he hardly ever struck out. He was bound to be a free agent at season’s end, but I might be tempted to make him an offer.

For now, in the absence of any qualified leadoff hitter, he was slotted in to bat first.

After that, we still had a few bucks left over and I was looking for an upgrade in the pen, left-handed. Burton Taylor’s injury had ripped a hole that Yoelbi Maurinha just could not fill.

The Los Angeles Pacifics had something that pleased my eye: 27-yr old Texan lefty David Jones. A 1979 first round draft pick by the Gold Sox, he had made the majors in 1982. In 80 games for Denver and L.A. since then he had a 3.75 ERA, with 44 BB and 54 K. He had been used in long relief quite a bit. I wanted him as situational lefty, not more than one inning, better less.

Best about it: the Pacifics were ready to take on reliever Marvin Large, a career minor leaguer in our organization, and Eric McCullough. The latter had been with the Raccoons in ’82 as lefty, but had been terrible. They were satisfied with those, and that in turn satisfied me. The trade did not affect our budget, both McCullough and Jones made the minimum, and Large made nothing at all.

Jones replaced Maurinha on the major league roster.

Raccoons (55-44) vs. Condors (53-46)

Powell went out first. He gave up a home run to Moreno. He went six innings, but two got on to start the seventh and he was removed. The Raccoons led 4-1, and I brought on Wally Gaston. He walked the first batter, then proceeded to strike out the side – and everybody on a full count. I have never sweated that much – well since two days earlier, I think. The pen struggled as well, Cunningham walked in a run Jason White had left behind in the eighth, but then struck out two as well. Grant West got save #27, 4-2 Raccoons. Smith 2-2, BB, 2B, RBI; Sanchez 3-4;

Game 2 started off badly, with Logan Evans walking in a run in the top 1st. The lead changed hand three times from there, 2-1 Raccoons, 3-2 Condors, 4-3 Raccoons, then Evans left. The remaining three innings were the most intense scoreless struggle in recent memory. David Jones came out for the first time to strike out all time ABL home run leader Michinaga Yamada. I emptied almost the whole pen to hold on to that tiny 4-3 lead. West got another save. Hall 2-5, 2B, RBI;

Kinji Kan was sent out to finish it, and hopefully get a win. The Raccoons didn’t get many hits in against the Condors, they were held to just three – but they scored three runs with them. And what did Kan do? He shut out the Condors, giving away only four hits himself – Condors swept, way to go! Hall 1-3, HR, 2 RBI; Kan 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K;

Raccoons (58-44) vs. Falcons (49-51)

This was the last series before the trade deadline. I missed Steve Walker, but he’d be back somewhere in late August. Burton Taylor would be, and Alex white would be at some point. The rotation was holding his ground, most of the time. The pen was anchored by three killer guys in Cunningham, Gaston, and West, who all carried a huge load of innings. White was not shabby, but Kelley and Moran struggled at times. No, the problem remained the offense, and in his first series, Chris Smith had been on base quite a lot and that was an upgrade from before.

Unfortunately, Juan Correa went up first for the Falcons. Admittedly, at 10-8 and a 3.33 ERA, this was far from his best season, but he struck them out in scores. The Raccoons didn’t see any land against him for four innings, then Mark Dawson led off the fifth with a double, the first hit for the team in that game. Three more followed against a suddenly wonky Correa, for three runs. Charles Young now had a 3-0 lead, but gave up a home run and was removed. David Jones got a double play to escape that sixth inning, 3-2 Raccoons. Both teams had a runner thrown out at the plate in the eighth (Correa, that monster, and pinch hitter Dicks). An error by Matt Workman made even the ninth inning scary, but Grant West maintained control and saved the 3-2 win! YES!!! Six hits only, but they made just enough out of it.

Jerry Ackerman pitched game 2, but had troubles. The Falcons got the leadoff man on in five of the six innings he started, and scored three runs, getting over Mark Dawson’s first inning 2-run blast. The Raccoons rallied and moved ahead again on a 3-run homer by Daniel Hall in the fifth. Spencer Dicks added an insurance run with a solo homer in the eighth. Wally Gaston came to the plate and bunted into a double play, but I wanted him for a 2-inning save, which he completed, since West was not available. Only seven hits today, but enough oomph to win it. 6-3 Raccoons. Hall 3-3, BB, HR, 3B, 3 RBI; Daniel Hall missed the cycle by the double.

More and more I got the feeling that Chris Powell was not liked by his team mates – at all. Winston Thompson threw away an easy grounder in the top 2nd of the last game, which led to an unearned run. Powell and Joe Ellis clicked off innings in a pitchers’ duel, with two hits for the Falcons and one for the Raccoons through six. Matt Workman then finally made a move and slammed to right to tie the game in the seventh. Powell was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom 8th after hurling 3-hit ball – he was left unrewarded again. Mario Gonzalez homered off Cunningham in the top 11th. The Raccoons scrambled to get a runner to third with two down in the bottom of the inning, before Hall lobbed a ball between three defenders in short left and made it an RBI double, and we continued. Moran pitched three innings, then the Raccoons had two singles and a walk by Hall, Dawson, and Sanchez to start the 14th – now or never, but Brandon Roland was up, not exactly renowned for his hitting in his budding career. He worked a full count, the fans were antsy – the bottom fell out of Enrico Vazquez’ sixth pitch and Roland didn’t even flinch – he walked and forced in the winning run: WALK OFF WALK!! 3-2 Raccoons after 14 intensitastic innings. Hall 4-6, 2B, RBI; Powell 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K; Moran 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, WIN;

In other news

July 15 – LAP C Juan Martinez falls a triple short of the cycle. He went 5-5, with two homers off Sioux Falls’ Jonathan Knapp, and a double, batting in five. The Pacifics won 9-7.
July 15 – The Scorpions prevail to win 5-1 in Dallas behind Morton Jennings. It is the Scorpions’ 600th overall win, and they are the first team to get there.
July 23 – LVA C Tony Clark (.333, 10 HR, 37 RBI) is out with a broken finger and won’t come back until September.
July 25 – Falcons CF Michael Watson (.311, 1 HR, 22 RBI) has his rotten season continue. He is out for a month with a strained hamstring.
July 26 – IND starter Alex Miranda (7-5, 2.77 ERA) 2-hits the Falcons in a 10-0 rout.
July 26 – Sioux Falls infielder Luis Barrera (.273, 8 HR, 75 RBI) is hurt in an on base collision and is out for at least a week with a knee sprain.
July 28 – The seriously playoff bound Dallas Stars will be without the services of Felix Montalvo (.304, 14 HR, 52 RBI) for a while, after he has suffered a rib cage injury. He’s out for three weeks.
July 29 – Four trades are made, with the only significant ones being SP Stan Campbell (9-10, 3.73 ERA) being sent from Cincinnati to Salem for prospects, and with SP Jack Pennington traded from Pittsburgh to Nashville for aging 1B John Wendon, who’s only batted .208 in limited play time. Pennington’s decline is even more shocking: he’s 5-13 with a 4.42 ERA!
July 30 – The Stars keep adding, trading for WAS CF Ron Morgan (.337 in 243 AB) and a minor leaguer. They give up SP Brady Boyd out of their system, who is added to the Capitals big league rotation. He was their 1979 round 1 pick.

Complaints and stuff

THAT … was some intense baseball here. They have gone 10-6 since the All Star game, including taking the last six in a row. But they did it all on pitching, scoring more than four runs in only four of those games (and losing one of those). They scored 3.5 R/G and allowed 2.75 R/A since the break. Overall, they are at 3.84 R/G and 3.51 R/A. They are 21-14 in 1-run games (giant swing from last season) and 10-2 in overtime struggles, the latter undoubtedly a sign of a truly gritty back end of the pen!

But they are also four over their Pythagorean record, and would be third, 2.0 behind Vancouver in that category.

As we are already number crunching, the Blue Sox are fake as well with similar 1-run and overtime numbers as the Raccoons, and the Stars also have a stellar 1-run split, but would still lead their division by a bunch. The team to watch is Oklahoma, they have the best overall Pythagorean record.

For the first time ever, the Raccoons took the season series against the Falcons, and at 7-2 impressively so.

Next: two weeks on the road, going to Atlanta, Milwaukee, Indy, and L.A., then a short home stand against the Miners and Titans. More grittiness required.

KEEP ‘EM SLICING AIR!!

[Westheim]

The Raccoons entered the month of August topping the power rankings with a 116.6 value, a sliver ahead of the 116.4 Stars and 116.0 Blue Sox.

Raccoons (61-44) @ Knights (49-55)

Think worst defense, worst defense.

The series and the month started in terrible weather, it rained on and off throughout the first game. In those depressing dark grey surroundings, Logan Evans tried to develop a no-hit bid, but it ended in the fifth. He still went eight innings, after which a rain delay finally chased him (his pitch count would have allowed for a complete game easily). This way, Kelley was brought on with an 8-1 lead, which he almost managed to blow. Jason White had to get the last two outs in the 8-4 win. Workman 2-4, BB, 2B; Thompson 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Bowling 2-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Evans 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K;

But they could not hurt the Knights in the next game, scoring a lone run through seven. Kan was pitching a gem so far, but things unraveled in a hideously ugly way in the bottom 7th. A leadoff walk started it, but errors by Bowling and Green created a mess, the Knights tied it, had the bags full and nobody out. It also unraveled Kan, who surrendered a home run to Bob Goyer after the Knights had scored the 2-1 go-ahead run on a sac fly. Not a single of the five runs was earned, two hits, a walk, and two errors. 5-1 Knights. That’s a great way to butcher a playoff run.

Both Green and Bowling (who made two errors in the game) were removed from the lineup for Gonzalez and Borjón after that game. Luckily, the Indians and Canadiens had lost two already against the Condors and Thunder, respectively.

Game 3 was Young’s, but he left in the first inning with a thumb injury. Jason White came in with me hoping, he’d be able to cover five. He surrendered a 3-run homer to Michael Root right in that first inning. He settled in after that and was brought in line for the win by Daniel Hall with a 2-run shot in the top 5th that made it 4-3 Raccoons. Sean Bergeron hit a twisting triple to tie the game up in the eighth against Gaston. The game went to extra innings, where astonishingly the Knights pen collapsed first, and Bowling hit a 3-run double with two outs in the 11th. Bowling had been sorted out before the game, but came on as injury replacement for Winston Thompson, who was hurt catching a line drive in the 10th. West ended the game, but had already come up earlier and got a W instead of a save. 8-5 Raccoons. Smith 4-6, 3 2B; Hall 2-5, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Workman 2-5, BB, 2B; Dawson 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Bowling 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI; Borjón 2-5, 2B; J. White 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K; Cunningham 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

The injury to Charles Young was not dramatic, a sore spot on his right thumb, he would not cause any more problems but a strained pen heading into the next series. Winston Thompson on the other hand had sprained his ankle and was on the shelf for two weeks. Outfielder Fernando Perez was called up as replacement again.

The Canadiens and Indians ended up swept by their opponents to start the month, which gave the Raccoons a 6-game lead in the CL North.

Raccoons (63-45) @ Loggers (48-59)

This was a 4-game set against a team with strong offense, they were 3rd in the league in runs scored.

That was also why you shouldn’t put on more of them than absolutely necessary. The Raccoons led 1-0 in the third, when Brandon Roland made a throwing error, which ultimately escalated for four runs (three unearned) in the inning. Jerry Ackerman ended up surrendering two home runs after that and the Raccoons were soundly beaten, 7-4. Defense ought to be our strength, but the infield was creating a mess on almost a daily basis now. Steve Walker was missing everywhere.

We looked at our old closer/reliever Kevin Hatfield to start the second game of the series. He was 4-10 with a 4.87 ERA, but every Raccoons fan knew that he was hardly made to go long distances, let alone more than five frames. And the Raccoons? They did not score. It was the most terrible sight to see them getting whiffed by a normally hapless and helpless Loggers staff. They continued to refuse to give Chris Powell any run support. Powell pitched a gem of a game, pitching eight scoreless frames (although Hall did throw out the go-ahead run at the plate to end the eighth) – but ultimately was rewarded. Jason Short got on with one out in the ninth, and Powell was lifted for Cam Green to pinch hit. He singled to right, and Short advanced to third, from where he scored on Chris Smith’s sac fly. Workman and Hall singled, and Dawson brought everybody home with a double to the left corner. Jones and Jason White combined for the ninth, 4-0 Raccoons. Workman 2-5; Gonzalez 2-3, BB; Short 2-4; Powell 8.0 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K and 1-3;

Powell’s long outing got our pen back online almost completely. He was back to form almost completely, no doubt, although his record (7-9) didn’t show it. His ERA was down to 3.26 now after he had shaved off almost two full runs in the last two months. He often was a hard luck loser (or not-winner) because the Raccoons have not scored him more than four runs since June 12. Plus, he had not taken a loss in which the Raccoons scored more than one run since May 6. While this included a few games with 4 or 5 ER against him, he never had a chance to win them, they just weren’t scoring for him.

The Raccoons then took a 3-0 lead in the second of game 3 on a cheap 2-run single by Edgardo Gonzalez, who was driven in by Logan Evans afterwards. Because, apparently, the Raccoons liked Evans more than Powell, so they scored for him. Or so. They added two on a catastrophic throwing error by Loggers 3B Alvin Sutphen. Hall nailed Marvin Mills at the plate in the third. Evans was not on top if his game, which was 5-2 through three. Spencer Dicks socked a 3-run shot in the fifth, but Evans gave those three back in the bottom 5th. A leadoff walk ended Evans’ outing early in the sixth, but the 10-5 lead still looked good, but Moran allowed two in the seventh and the Loggers filled up the bags. Cunningham bailed the Raccoons out of there with a grounder to Bowling. But it was one of those nights. Cunningham and Gaston were rolled up for three in the eighth and the game was tied… I was screaming… Workman doubled in two in the top 9th, Grant West got the save, 12-10 Raccoons. Smith 2-4, BB; Workman 2-5, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Hall 2-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Gonzalez 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI;

I was really hoping for a solid start by Kinji Kan to end this series. All runs were on him in a 5-2 loss, two were unearned after a Gonzalez error. Smith 2-4; Sanchez 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Things start to go away, first the batting, now the pitching. Freefall is next, I guess. Our only perk at this point was that the Canadiens performed even worse and were now seven behind, as well as the Indians. And those were our next opponents.

Raccoons (65-47) @ Indians (58-54)

To call this an important series was probably an understatement. We had a chance here to knock out the Indians for good.

They looked at Jesse Carver in the first game, with an ERA under 3, who had lost some tough games and was 6-12. Carver would lose this one. The Raccoons scored six in the first inning, crowned by a Cameron Green GRAND SLAM to left. The Raccoons were not without their quirks, though. Charles Young earned the dubious honor to balk twice in one inning, but no damage was done. The Raccoons didn’t do much more damage, as Indians reliever David Carr went five frames in long relief, and he was really a good pitcher. Still, 7-0 Raccoons. Hall 2-4, BB, 2B; Dawson 2-4; Green 2-3, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Young 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K;

It was a long stretch of games, and Hall and Dawson needed rest just before the off day after the season, they were pretty much exhausted. This had Cameron Green bat third and he hit another first inning homer, this time solo and off Alex Miranda, who ended up shelled for six as well. After that early barrage the Raccoons ended swinging the bats altogether, and although Jerry Ackerman was far from sharp with some control issues, he allowed only two runs in six innings en route to a 6-2 win. Short 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; this was Jason Short’s first homer for the Raccoons.

If it wasn’t physically impossible, I’d have said that Christopher Powell faced Billy Robinson for the eighth time this season. Why was it he always drew the aces? Anyway, the Raccoons got going early again with two runs in the first, and Powell pitched a strong game. The defining moment came surely in the bottom 6th. The Raccoons were up 3-1, two out, and a runner on third, and Francis Bell was up, with 17 home runs this season. I went out to talk to Powell and told him some stuff about trust and the like. He struck Bell out. That was the closest the Indians came to avoid the sweep. 5-1 Raccoons. Workman 2-5, 2B, RBI; Green 2-4; Powell 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; Powell is now 8-9 with a 3.13 ERA and below his career ERA now.

SWEPT them Indians!!

Since the Canadiens also swept the Loggers and won their first game in Salem on our off day, they still inched closer to 6.5 games behind.

Raccoons (68-47) @ Pacifics (49-66)

To start the series, Logan Evans had another no-hit bid alive for 14 outs, before a grounder got through between Roland and Green. The Raccoons led 1-0 after a home run by Enrique Sanchez in the second. The Raccoons had never faced LAP SP Cal Long (10-5, 4.25 ERA) before, but he engaged in a pitchers’ duel with Evans, with the better end for the latter. Cam Green added a solo home run, while Evans went 7.2 innings of 2-hit ball. Cunningham and West ended the game, while Long went the distance and also surrendered only five hits, 2-0 Raccoons. Green 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;

Alex White came off the DL after the first game. He replaced Fernando Perez on the roster, and was slotted in to bat leadoff and to play center, although that was not his best position. If he didn’t start to hit now, he’d end up on the bench, since Chris Smith had performed well enough so far. With Cameron Green warming up at a sick pace now, I didn’t want to bench him, and Dawson could not end up anywhere else than right – that was a problem: Workman, Hall, Dawson, Green, and White gave five players that fought for the same four positions. Workman and Green had only one position.

The Pacifics came back in the second game. The Raccoons were held to five hits again by Freddy Perez, and none left the yard. The Pacifics got two runs off Kinji Kan and won 2-0. A. White 2-3, BB;

The first two days’ combined scoring was more than eclipsed in the first five frames of the rubber game. The Raccoons put up five, before Charles Young ran into a wall, an error, a walk, a hit batter, and suddenly three runs were across. Young had no-hit the Pacifics through four, but suddenly everything went wrong and he could not get out of the sixth at all. Cunningham got a double play to end it, but the game was tied at 5-5. The Raccoons got a new chance in the eighth with an RBI triple by Hall and a single by Dawson that scored Hall, 7-5, then added one in the ninth. And they were necessary. The Pacifics got three straight scratch singles off West to start the bottom 9th, with Jayson Bowling not looking good on two of them. Two runs scored, but West surrendered the last two batters with the tying run on third. 8-7 Raccoons. A. White 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Workman 3-6, 2B; Sanchez 3-5, 2B; Bowling 2-4, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (70-48) vs. Miners (59-59)

With the frequent off days in the month of August, we skipped Ackerman and sent out Christopher Powell again in game 1 of last year’s pennant winners. He got behind on a homer to Davis Rigsby in the second inning. The Raccoons needed four innings to log a hit against the Miners’ Craig Hansen. They had nothing going against him and only got their chances once the pen took over. Powell had surrendered four, and the Raccoons trailed 4-2 going into the bottom 9th, where they led off by putting runners on the corners with nobody out, but they only scored Hall from third and lost, 4-3. Sanchez 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Gonzalez, 2-3, BB, 2B;

Logan Evans faced Shayne Nealon in the middle game. Nealon had gone 3-0 and had lowered his ERA by half a point in Pittsburgh. This turned into a scoreless struggle. The Miners’ Brian Adams (who had always hit hard against the Raccoons when he was with the Titans) homered off Cunningham down to the final out in the top 9th. While the Raccoons didn’t hit a lot in this series again, they drew enough walks to force in the tying run and bring up Chris Smith with two outs and the bags loaded. He lobbed over the shortstop for a hit that scored Dicks from third, WALK OFF!!! 2-1 Raccoons. Smith 2-5, RBI;

Winston Thompson came off the DL and took over shortstop for the moment, until Steve Walker would come back in two weeks.

The Raccoons did not get a hit off the Miners’ Ricardo Torres until the fifth inning, then they got five of them and took a 4-0 lead. A throwing error by Enrique Sanchez created a dangerous situation in the sixth, but Kinji Kan K’ed his way outta there. The Raccoons led 5-0 and the game appeared safe, but Carlos Moran found a way to make it tense again, and the Runners scored three in the top 9th, before West ended the misery. 5-3 Raccoons. A. White 2-4; Workman 2-4, 2B, RBI; Sanchez 2-4, 2 2B; Kan 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K;

In other news

August 5 – Denver’s SP Laurentij Mlotkovsky is forced to retire when is shoulder inflammation refuses to get any better. Mlotkovsky was acquired by the Gold Sox in 1977 in the deal that sent Chris Powell to the Raccoons. He pitched in 119 major league games, 100 starts, and went 30-44 with a 3.94 ERA.
August 5 – CHA SP Joe Ellis and LVA OF Jose Alomar are both suspended for 14 days for taking swings at each other, which sparked a bench clearing brawl in the second inning of the Aces’ 10-3 rout of the visiting Falcons.
August 9 – Boston’s infielder Juan Valentín (who hails from Burgos in Spain) is out until mid-September with a sprained ankle. He’s having a down year, hitting only .242. The 25-yr old’s career average is a much more sound .288.
August 9 – Boston destroys New York 13-3 in a bottom-of-division game. The Titans’ 1B Isto Grönholm becomes man of the game easily, going 6-6 with a home run, a double, four singles, and two RBI. This is the second 6-hit game of the season (after DAL Gabriel Cruz’) and the first time it has happened in the Continental League in four years. SFB Mike White then had 6-hit the Indians on June 25, 1979. Grönholm may well be Hungary’s most popular export to the United States, batting .333 with 4 HR and 29 RBI in his rookie season.
August 11 – VAN INF Eddy Bailey (.322, 8 HR, 44 RBI) is out for a week with neck spasms.

Complaints and stuff

During their sweep of the Indians, the Raccoons jumped over both the Gold Sox and Loggers in terms of all time record. (cries) We are not the worst team anymore!!!

At the same time, that sweep helped them eclipse their win totals of all but two seasons, 1980 (69 wins) and 1982 (75 wins).

Grant West signed a 2-yr, $300k contract with the Raccoons during the Indians series as well. He was arbitration eligible for the first time this year, and this was slightly below his estimate. I have some issues with next year’s budget so far, so it’s important to save here and there. We’ll work on a long-term contract next year – the way he’s murdering batters is such a pleasant sight to see …! His current career ERA+ is 277 and his career WHIP is an exciting 0.96!

This update also brings the resurgence of Cameron Green, who suddenly started to hit again and shot his average to .220 during the Indians series, but did not get up further, crawling up to .230, but dipping below again.

So far, they have taken 11 of 16 in August, a big improvement over their 14-12 July. They were between 8th and 10th in most offensive categories, though, but with important exceptions. They were 3rd in home runs, and 2nd both in walks and strikeouts, making up at least partially for their low average.

On the mound, they ranked in the top 4 in all categories but strikeouts (7th) and home runs (10th).

Steve Walker will come back in early September. Burton Taylor will be able to return in a few days, but will go to a short rehab stint in AAA ball.

The rest of August will see three series against teams that are eliminated from contention, the Titans, Crusaders, and Bayhawks, as well the last regular season matchup against the Thunder, our potential league championship series opponents.