Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (61-59) @ Indians (55-66)

So far this season, the Furballs were 4-7 against the Indians, largely puzzled and mostly clueless how to solve their pitching, scoring more than three runs in only two of the contests.

Christopher Powell was up first and surrendered three home runs – IN THE FIRST INNING. Oh, what to do with him? I’m getting shivers by imagining that we will have to play him at least another season. He added a fourth long ball in the third inning, up into which the Raccoons hadn’t even touched first base – not even Osanai. All nine outs made by Powell had been K’s or flyballs. In fact, Powell didn’t pitch for an out at first until the SIXTH. But Hall, Lucero, and Gonzalez all got their workouts. Daniel Hall also unloaded a 2-piece in the fourth to break up the drought. For some time, that was the Coons’ only hit. They finished with four hits in a 5-2 loss. Osanai 2-4;

That evening, we called up SP Scott Wade at the expense of MR Gilberto Soto. Our 1983 first round pick, sixth overall, out of Notre Dame (there’s ONE college, whose name I recognize!), would not pitch the next day’s game, though, since he wasn’t fully rested. That start went to Moran, with Wade being slotted in for game 3, giving all starters some extra breathing time. Equipped with a nasty slider, Wade was to make opponents fear his turn in the rotation. That was the plan at least.

Moran leaned back and enjoyed to start his game. The Coons led off with singles by Thompson and Gonzalez. Hall walked. Osanai went deep for a grand slam. Starter Chris Gardner was torn up quickly, with Thompson, Gonzalez, and Hall again loading the bases with nobody out in the second. Osanai forced a walk this time. That was all they scored in the second since Gonzalez managed to get thrown out on a sac fly. Then the Coons stopped hitting completely. A Castillo error scored two for the Indians in the bottom 6th to cut into the 5-0 lead. Ricardo Gonzalez restored breathing room with a 2-run homer in the eighth and the Raccoons won 7-3 behind Moran, who went 6.2 innings. Thompson 2-4, BB; R. Gonzalez 4-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Hall 1-2, 3 BB; Osanai 1-3, 2 BB, HR, 5 RBI;

Then came Scott “Gobbler” Wade’s big day, the day he had worked for all his life (well, most of it), it was August 18, 1985 in Indianapolis, against Joe Brown (11-10, 2.45 ERA). Wade was glowing with enthusiasm, coming off an 11-game stretch in AAA, where he had surrendered more than two earned runs only twice (yet had gone 3-3 due to bad run support), and the baseball world, with 12,962 fans at the park and Raccoons management in particular, was watching him.

They saw one pitcher getting shelled for five home runs, seven runs in total, over the course of just over six innings. That pitcher’s team didn’t do anything at the plate, kept in check by the opposing pitcher.

The 12,962 fans were dismayed, the Raccoons management opened a good bottle of champagne after the game, for the pitcher getting torn up was Brown, and Wade pitched seven in his debut, allowing a single run after two infield singles in the fifth. All Raccoons starters had at least one hit. R. Gonzalez 2-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-5; Dadswell 2-5; Sanchez 3-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Green 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Walker 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Weber (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Wade 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-0); Grant West pitched a 6-pitch ninth inning in the 13-2 blowout.

ALL CELEBRATE, WE HAVE A PITCHER!!

Raccoons (63-60) vs. Titans (64-61)

The Titans had torn up the Raccoons so far this season, going 9-3 against them, and they were on a roll, winning eight straight games going into the series. Uh-oh.

Kisho Saito (7-14, 3.05 ERA) and Kinji Kan (5-13, 4.30 ERA) matched up to open the series. The Raccoons didn’t get a hit of 1983 Pitcher of the Year and 1984 Bust of the Year Kan until the fifth inning, when Green singled on a hit-and-run with Sanchez on first. Steve Walker’s double play grounder was flubbed by Barry Miller and Sanchez scored. The game was still 1-0 Coons in the top 7th, with one out and Barry Miller on second. Kan came to the plate and made a really bad bunt right to Saito, who made it into an out at third. Saito was forced out of the game in the eighth after a double by catcher Carlos Gonsales. Cunningham came in to face slugger Isto Grönholm, and although first base was open, pitched to him (I hate putting the winning run on base). He struck him out on three pitches, but Juan Valentín singled to right and the game was tied with two out in the eighth. The game ended up going to overtime. Steve Walker led off the bottom 10th with a walk and was bunted over by Bentley. Walker made third on a passed ball to Gonsales on the 0-0 pitch to Thompson, who was then put on intentionally. The Coons filled the bag with a walk to Hall, but Osanai rolled out to miss the chance and end the inning. Bottom 11th: Dadswell drilled one over the head of CF Ryan Dickerson for a leadoff triple. He did not score. The 13th: 1-out double by Dadswell, followed by a Sanchez single, which brought up Wally Gaston, who was removed for Gustavo Flores to pinch-hit. He struck out. Raccoons management gazed in disbelief. Steve Walker came up, fighting against a cold streak. SINGLE TO RIGHT!! The Coons FINALLY walked off, 2-1 in the 13th. R. Gonzalez 2-6; Hall 2-5, BB; Dadswell 2-5, 3B, 2B;

Mark Dawson came off the DL for game 2, and was actually inserted to play third instead of Green or Miranda.

Seven shutout innings by Vicente Ruíz alone weren’t enough for him to get in line for a W in the middle game – he needed to drive in the go-ahead run himself in the bottom 5th, part of a 2-run inning. Lucero homered in the sixth to make it 3-0. Once Ruíz was out of the game, the dam broke. White, Bentley, and Cunningham combined for two runs and the bags full in the eighth. Grant West escaped with a mile high pop out to Lucero in center, but the Titans pushed the tying run over the plate with two out in the ninth. Bottom 9th: Lucero struck out, while Sanchez doubled in the pitcher’s spot. Thompson walked and both ran in a run-and-hit, with Walker at the plate – and Steve missed the call and looked proficiently, but completely out of place at a fastball! Fortunately, defense was not Carlos Gonsales’ strongest suit and Sanchez was safe at third in what became a double steal. Now, Walker had a 1-0 count, one out and runners in scoring position. Come on, Steve, be a hero! He couldn’t, because they walked him. Osanai grounded into a double play. Moran lost it in the 11th, 4-3 Titans. Thompson 3-4, BB, RBI; Lucero 3-5, HR, RBI; Sanchez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Ruíz 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K;

Of course the Raccoons found a way to lose the series – in the most awful fashion. They left FOURTEEN runners on base in the rubber game, scoring only three in the eighth, when it was way too late. Evans had surrendered three runs (one unearned) and the pen had been broken up after that. Titans won, 7-3. The only inning the Raccoons did not reach base was the ninth. Dadswell 2-5;

Raccoons (64-62) vs. Knights (72-54)

A destitute collection of super-sized rodents against the leaders of the CL South and their glowing red offense, which had already scored 685 runs through 126 games (5.43 R/G), painting the Raccoons’ 519 (4.12 R/G) a cold, lifeless white in comparison – this was to end badly. And the Knights had yet to lose against those rodents this season.

Good news: Powell did not surrender a single home run. Bad news: he still took the loss. Kyle Owens, 39, annihilated the Raccoons in solitary style, holding them to five hits through eight innings, and going 3-3 at the plate against Powell. The Knights won 4-1, with the Coons run unearned, across with two out in the ninth on an error. Hall 2-4; Osanai 2-4; all six hits were singles…

A balk scored the go-ahead run for the Raccoons in the first inning of game 2. Wade no-hit the Knights through three, then was bashed for three in the fourth. Sanchez’ 2-run shot in the bottom 4th tied the game again, but Wade quickly gave it away again. Bentley was raped some more in the ninth. In Tetsu Osanai, 0-4 on the day, the tying run came to the plate with two out in the bottom 9th. He hobbled out to second. 7-4 Knights. Thompson 2-5; Hall 3-5, RBI; Sanchez 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Green (PH) 1-2;

Things didn’t improve an inch in the last game. Saito took loss #15 as the Raccoons were unable to mount any offense and their pitchers were slugged into submission. They lost 5-2. Osanai 2-4; Hall 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI;

Atlanta 9. Portland 0.

In other news

August 20 – CHA William Williams (5-5, 3.52 ERA) shines in a 1-hitter over the Aces, while the Falcons’ offense takes care to produce an 11-0 blowout.
August 21 – Nashville’s Jack Pennington (15-8, 2.07 ERA) at age 35 still has it, and 3-hits the Rebels in a 3-0 win.
August 21 – Pittsburgh also sees a 3-hitter, by David Burke (17-6, 2.27 ERA) in a 2-0 win over Topeka.
August 25 – The Falcons’ Gilbert Dougan (.292, 14 HR, 67 RBI) is out with a shoulder injury and could miss the rest of the season.

Complaints and stuff

The original goal was to win 85 to 90 games and take second place in the division. At the start of play in Indy, they held second place (by a half game), yet the upper end of the win range was safely out of reach already, requiring .700+ play down the stretch.

With this latest stretch, they have sufficiently blown every chance at second place, too. They will also not finish with a winning record AGAIN. No offense, 2.5 R/G over the last two series. Even before that, it was spotty. The week before they had 5.83 R/G, but still lost three games with two, one, and no runs scored, respectively. The week before that? 4.14 R/G, reached only on 11 on the Scorpions in the last game of that series. They never had more than four in any other game that week.

Offense. Has always been the bane, will always be. That, and pitching.

This might explain why they are 153 below .500 for their existence.

Quiz: when was the last time the Coons went 0-9 against a CL South team? And the last time they went 9-0 against them?

[Westheim]

RACCOONS DRAFT HISTORY

This has not been updated in a while, my little piece where I complain about all my draft picks. Here's an update on the top 5 picks from every round.

Some updated formatting for this one: players underlined denote active major leaguers or players that have played in the majors this season. Players in bold denote players currently in the Coons' system (majors or minors). In addition to the Top 5 I will also add meaningful players from the bottom half of the draft.

1977

Round 1 - LF/RF Daniel Hall – Remains somewhat injury prone, but has transformed into a big contributor for the Raccoons, although he's having a down year (after his career 1984 season). Has 120 home runs in the majors (t-11th all time) and combines above-average to plus hitting, running, fielding, and everything else you might look for. Under contract until retirement. Career Coon.
Round 2 - SP Jose Garcia – never progressed past AA, has retired.
Round 3 - 1B Matt Workman – Played 595 games at 1B for the Raccoons, including 404 straight starts before being traded with prospects for Tetsu Osanai. Was demoted to AAA by the Canadiens despite a potent bat.
Round 4 - MR Miguel Bojorquez – Has an 8.45 career ERA as lefty reliever. Was waived and claimed by the Blue Sox in June 1985.
Round 5 - SP/MR Jorge Rodriguez – Was traded before the '83 season and made 36 total relief appearances for Boston in '83 and L.A. in '85.

Other: MR Jason White in round 7, who has 229 relief appearances, bouncing back and forth between the majors and AAA.

1978

Round 1 - MR Richard Cunningham – Nasty right-handed setup man for the Coons with a career WHIP of 1.18 so far. Could be a closer, but there's no way he gets past Grant West if both are on the same team.
Round 2 - MR Gary Simmons – Was beaten up as a starter with the Raccoons in 1980-81, and was traded to Nashville after the 1982 season. The Blue Sox use him as reliever exclusively, and he has found his niche there.
Round 3 - 1B Johnny Snow – Became a minors free agent, now with the Gold Sox organization, never made it out of AA ball.
Round 4 - MR Marvin Large – Became a minors free agent, now with the Cyclones organization, never made it to the majors.
Round 5 - C Eric Gregory – Became a minors free agent, now with the Knights organization, never made it to the majors.

1979

Round 1 - MR Grant West – Local boy from Portland, is the Raccoons' closer now. Has a 1.68 ERA and 162 SV since taking over from Wally Gaston. He's outright nasty to hitters, even righties.
Round 2 - SP Pepe Acevedo – Was shipped off to Cincinnati in the Jack Pennington trade before the 1981 season, never made the majors so far.
Round 3 - MR Fletcher Kelley – Had great potential, which never fully materialized. He always was prone to catastrophic outings, and was traded to Nashville in the Raúl Herrera trade, where he's still relieving.
Round 4 - LF/RF Gary Carter – Made brief appearances for the Raccoons, but doesn't have the tools to survive in the big leagues.
Round 5 - C Dave Stewart – A few weeks in AA ball were his ceiling so far, a very weak player with some catching skills but no batting powers to speak of.

Other: MR Gilberto Soto in round 6, who has made visits in the last two years, but has a 5+ ERA in the majors in just over 50 app's.

1980

Round 1 - SP Carlos Gonzalez – Was mega-hyped after the draft as THE next pitcher, took four years to make the majors, and the hype has definitely died down. Is 9-15 with a 3.92 ERA, has troubled command, and is not projected to make it to the front of any rotation at any time.
Round 3 - SP Ray Willis – A major bust, he was released in June 1985 and is unemployed since.
Round 4 - 1B/2B Darren Campbell – His big league career reads 2-21 at the plate, achieved in 1985. His bat is not that bad in the minors, but he will have a hard time getting through to the majors - if he can at all.
Round 5 - LF Jose Perez – Was taken by the Scorpions in the 1984 rule 5 draft, where he is now batting .209 in 153 AB.

1981

Round 1 - 3B/2B Orlando Lantán – Since busting his knee shortly after the draft, he's declined steadily. He made the majors in 1985, briefly, going 4-25 before being demoted again. He has no future on the bright side of life.
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.
Round 3 - OF Kelly Weber – Dabbled into the majors as outfield backup in 1984 and 1985, but is batting only .196 on the big screen. Ultimately, he's not made to be a star.
Round 4 - MR Pedro Vazquez – He is a right-handed fireballer with severe control issues, which have kept him stagnating at AAA ball for three years now. He is still only 22, but can't get over the hump (especially with the tough right-handed pen the Raccoons already have assembled).
Round 5 - CL Emerson MacDonald – Also stacked in AAA for the Coons, also a right hander with vicious pitches to his disposal. His bane are hits rather than walks.

Other: C Andy Reed in round 7, who has been on as backup catcher in 1984 and 1985, but is back in AAA ball.

1982

Round 1 - LF/RF Alejandro Lopez - Projected as prime slugger in the draft, he was discovered to be a bust the year after and quickly shipped off in the Raúl Herrera trade. Has a total of 2 AB in the majors for the Blue Sox and no hits, but an RBI.
Supp. Round - INF Carlos Miranda - Versatile infielder, who made the majors with the Coons in mid-1985 and currently has a (f)utility role, batting .225 in limited exposure.
Supp. Round - OF Matt Olson - Solid outfielder currently in AAA, who should make the majors one day, but he has no power to speak of.
Round 2 - MR Jason Bentley - Broke into the majors in mid-1985 as a right-handed reliever, but only has pitched in a few innings so far. Has some good stuff available, but his control good be better.
Round 3 - C Odwin Garza - Hailing from Aruba, he has had a lot of trouble at the plate recently, and faces demotion from AAA back to AA. His catching abilities are unquestioned, though.
Round 4 - 1B Mariano Duarte - Took years to get past the A level, and while he has some pop in his bat, he finds himself unable to get to AAA.
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. Despite little other promising outfield talent, he's never made it to the majors so far.

1983

Round 1 - SP Scott Wade - Made the majors after an injury to Carlos Gonzalez in mid-1985 and won his first start right away. He is currently 1-1, though. Has strong stuff, movement, and control, but at times has trouble putting all the pieces together.
Supp. Round - C Miguel Carrasco - Can neither bat, nor field convincingly, and is still in A ball
Round 5 - LF Wilson Martinez - makes slow to no progress, currently in AA ball. His struggles at the plate are prohibitive as far as a move further up the ladder is concerned.

1984

Round 1 - MR Juan Santos - Throws a pure acid curveball which has raced him up to AAA quickly. Unfortunately the catchers have as much trouble with his pitchers as the hitters facing him.
Supp. Round - 1B Billy Mitchell - Has some pop in his bat, but not enough to move up to the majors. His questionable defense also is no help to him getting out of AAA.
Round 2 - OF Hector Medina - Appears to be merely average at the plate, although he could have a career as utility outfielder, with his glove being his main weapon.
Round 3 - RF Jose Correa - So far has not found either his bat, or the way out of the A level. Still has some promise attached to him, though.
Round 4 - MR Jorge Cavazos - He is struggling a ton, mostly with command, and sports a 6.00 ERA in AA in limited appearances since moving up.
Round 5 - LF/RF Jose Vega - Already has bust written all over him, batting .166 in A ball since being drafted, with injuries on top of that.

1985

Round 1 - 1B/3B Joe Jackson - After a slow start, he has found his bat now and it appears to truly have a bunch of pop, with nine homers in his maiden campaign in AA.
Supp. Round - 1B Gabriel Ramirez - Creates offense, and little else, in A ball. If you bat .248 with a homer every 20th AB, you may find your way up to the majors eventually. There is much to improve here, but already much to like.
Round 2 - MR Jose Lopez - Had a rough start so far, with severe command issues overshadowing his strong stuff.
Round 3 - LF/RF Antonio Morín - Bats .183 in A ball so far, but he's only 18 yet.
Round 4 - 1B/2B Dennis Gray - Racks up tons of K's in A ball, but shows some good AB's, too.
Round 4 - SP/MR Gerald Hickman - Used as starter so far in A ball, with mixed success (6-10, 5.69 ERA). May have a better future in relief.
Round 5 - 3B/2B Bartolo Ayala - Bats .230+ in A ball, but has been rated down a bunch since the draft.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (64-65) @ Falcons (73-56)

Entering on a 5-game skid, the mood was not necessarily high, especially since they were already 1-5 against the Falcons on the season.

Vicente Ruíz was ineffective, although the defense let him down. After an early 2-0 Raccoons lead, a Mark Dawson error scored the tying run in the third, and a Winston Thompson error the go-ahead run for the Falcons in the fifth. The Coons wobbled back in the top 7th. Flores singled to lead off, followed by a walk to Lucero. Ruíz laid down a bad bunt that reliever Eric Blake didn’t play properly and only got the out at first. Thompson grounded out harmlessly and Walker was down to a 1-2 count before he was plunked. Osanai forced in the tying run with a walk. It would have ended there, if not for a misplay by Michael Watson, one of the best allround outfielders in the league, who underestimated a liner by Mark Dawson, which then went over his head and enabled the Coons to bring in three. That made for a 3-run lead, but the pen was incredibly wobbly once again and Cunningham barely got out of David Jones’ jam in the eighth. Dawson had another big hit for two extra runs in the ninth to put the game away. 8-3 Raccoons. Walker 3-4; Osanai 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Dawson 2-5, 2 2B, 6 RBI; Flores 2-4; Cunningham 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (3);

Here, on August 26, Vicente Ruíz won only his eighth game of the season. Since taking a win in Oklahoma on June 23, he had gone 2-2 with a 2.30 ERA, plus seven no-decisions. Talk about an offensively challenged team.

Castillo on third, Thompson at the plate, and one out – that worked for a sac fly twice in the middle game to make it 2-0 after the top 5th. Dadswell slugged one over the fence for a 3-0 lead in the top 7th, but Logan Evans finally glitched one in with a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning and didn’t get through it either. Cunningham again saved the day. Top 8th. With two in scoring position and nobody out, 0-3, .241 Daniel Hall was walked intentionally to get to Tetsu Osanai. Oh, why? In the end, it didn’t matter, since Osanai grounded for one run, and Dawson grounded into a double play. Whether Hall would have struck out AGAIN, didn’t matter. Past Cunningham, the pen worked hard to blow the lead, as White and Moran proved unable to get through the eighth. Down to a 4-3 lead, two out, and a runner on third, Grant West came out and somehow got Watson to ground out. Carlos Miranda, having come on in a double switch, drove in an insurance run in the ninth. West held on, 5-3 Raccoons. Thompson 0-1, 2 BB, 2 RBI; R. Gonzalez 3-5, 2 2B; Dadswell 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Castillo 2-4, 2B; Miranda (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; West 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, SV (31);

Game 3: Chris Powell faced none less than Juan Correa. I wonder whether anyone bet on the Coons before the game. They better hadn’t anyway. Correa 4-hit the Coons through eight, allowing no runs. Powell in turn *3-hit* the Falcons! But one of those was a homer to Juan Rivera, of course, and Powell left after seven to be pinch hit for – to no effect, either. Raccoons lost, 1-0. Osanai 2-4, 2B;

Raccoons (66-66) @ Crusaders (55-78)

Game 1 started with an infield single by Steve Walker (Thompson had the day off with Miranda at 2B), which started a 3-run inning in support of youngster Scott Wade. Wade himself batted in two in the top 4th, to make it 6-0 already, before getting into a tight spot in the bottom 4th, but he struck out Enrique Sanchez and Juan Fuentes to get out of a jam. That was the last stepping stone for Wade and the Furballs in the game. They broke the game open (if it hadn’t been already) in the eighth with a 4-spot. But that became not the main focus in the late innings – Wade had still zeroed out the Crusaders on the scoreboard, while giving up a few stray hits along the way. He was already up to 96 pitches after seven innings, but pitched a quick eighth and was not removed for a pinch hitter in the ninth, making the final out with two on there. He started the ninth with a K to Sanchez, before Dan Younger grounded out to Steve Walker at short. That left Juan Fuentes. He rolled one to Dawson at third, who zipped across the diamond to Osanai for the final out. The Coons won 11-0, and Scott Wade had pitched his first shutout in only his third major league start!! Walker 4-5, 3 RBI; Osanai 2-5, RBI; Hall 2-4, 2 2B; Flores 2-5; Miranda 4-5, 2 2B, RBI; Wade 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (2-1);

Even the Crusaders fans (as few of the already sparse 4,623 attendance as remained at game’s end) applauded Wade after he completed his first shutout. That kid is 23. I LOVE THAT KID!!

ALL CELEBRATE, WE HAVE A PITCHER!!!

Gustavo Flores hit his first homer for the Coons in the middle game of the series, a 3-piece in the top 2nd. Hall went deep to make it 4-0 in the fourth. While the Coons scattered a few more hits from there, they didn’t get close to scoring anymore. So it was on Kisho Saito, who pitched well, but inefficient, going to full counts on batters almost as often as not. He barely stumbled through six innings, but Bentley, Jones, Gaston, and West shut out the Crusaders after taking over with a 4-1 lead to turn that into a 4-1 win. Osanai 2-4; Flores 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

September 1 came upon us. The following players were added: MR Gilberto Soto, MR Justin Neubauer, C Andy Reed, 3B/2B Orlando Lantán, and LF/RF Ralph Crosby. All had already been on the team during this season. Infielder Edgardo Gonzalez was unavailable due to a broken ulna and a full arm cast, which certainly was not going to improve his plate work.

A solo jack by Francisco Lara got the Coons behind in the second inning. They were 1-hit through four, before Walker singled (he had also had the first hit) and Sanchez followed with a 1-out walk. Ruíz was up, and suddenly Walker and Sanchez fooled the Crusaders with a double steal. Ruíz shoved the next pitch into right field to score them both and turn the score around, 2-1 Coons, but that lead didn’t hold up. Ruíz put the leadoff batter on in the eighth, who came around to score, and the Raccoons entered the ninth trailing, 3-2. With one out, they loaded the bags against closer Rick Evans. Cunningham was up in the pitcher’s spot, and was removed for Miranda, who struck out. Thompson worked a full count – then struck out. 3-2 Crusaders. Walker 2-3, BB;

In other news

August 29 – Ed King gets his 300th career save in as the Bayhawks beat the Falcons, 4-2. King, 33, has never played anywhere but at the Bay.
September 1 – Atlanta will have to finish the year without infielder Jeremiah Carrell, who is out with a hamstring strain. Injuries limited him to a .262 average and 386 AB in 1985.

Complaints and stuff

Solid week, although that last loss stings again.

Maybe Scott Wade is destined to greatness. Maybe not.

Next: home stint with the Loggers, Canadiens, and Crusaders.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (68-67) vs. Loggers (66-70)

That was an important 4-game set in regard to second and third place in the division. With the Indians crawling back in, even fifth place was still a possibility for the Raccoons if they continued to drop games by three at a time to these teams. But at least against the Loggers the Coons had so far dominated this season, going 8-3 against them.

The Raccoons put up four quickly in the first two innings against John Douglas, but Logan Evans was shelled in the top 3rd and the Loggers tied the game, 4-4. Dawson went yard in the bottom 3rd to make it 5-4, and soon after that, the rain started. The game was delayed for almost 20 minutes in the top 5th with two out and a runner on first for the Loggers. Steve Walker then slipped on the play and threw the ball away, putting two in scoring position. Logan Evans faced ex-Coon Davis Rigsby. He wanted to go after him, and made him ground out to Thompson. After dodging that bullet, Walker made good in the bottom 5th with a single that loaded the bags. Next was Dadswell, who unloaded to beyond right field, GRAND SLAM!! The Coons led 10-4 into the seventh, where Neubauer was tasked with lefties Winters and Garza. One was nailed, the other walked, and Alvin Sutphen unloaded off Bentley to cut the lead in half. While I was already nestling for the big heartache pills in my bag, Bentley settled in and got through the inning without any more damage. Gaston and West nixed out the Loggers down the stretch, and the Raccoons prevailed, 10-7. R. Gonzalez 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-4, HR, RBI; Walker 3-3, BB; Dadswell 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Evans collected W #17 with a shoddy outing, going five frames and not the tiniest slice more, his 17 wins tied several other pitchers in the CL;

Game 2. Powell was taken VERY deep by call-up Julio Gonzales twice in the first three innings, and trailed 4-0 quickly. The Loggers’ Anibal Guerra meanwhile zeroed out the Coons. Daniel Hall’s leadoff single in the bottom 7th was only their third hit of the day. Next came Dawson, who got a good hitter’s pitch from Guerra and drilled it to left to cut the deficit to half the size. The Loggers put two on against Soto in the top 8th, but Cunningham held them away from home. Thompson walked to lead off the bottom 8th, but was picked off at first before Gonzalez homered to center, so the Raccoons still trailed. Ultimately, they didn’t do enough. They lost 4-3 with only five hits for the team. Dawson 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

When Ken Winters made the second out in the first inning in this game, a 3-pitch K by Powell, it was only Powell 50th K of the year in then 164 innings. There are so many ways to describe his terrible performance this year, and they are all terribly sad.

Scott Wade was beaten in the first inning with a 3-run shot by David Rivera. The Raccoons loaded the bags with one out in the bottom 1st, but Hall struck out and Dawson flew out. Wade was battered for four more runs in the fourth inning. We have no pitcher.

Through eight, the Raccoons had seven hits, but no runs. They trailed 8-0 and looked heavily beat. Mark Dawson started the ninth with a double. Green doubled. Lantán doubled. Eventually Osanai hit a 3-run double, which made it 8-6 Loggers, with Osanai on, one out and Hall up. Quickly down 0-2, he singled to left, representing the tying run, and Dawson came back to the plate as the winning run. Dawson launched at the first pitch, but grounded it to short. Osanai scored, but Hall was forced and Dawson was barely safe. Green was now the winning run at the plate. He grounded out. Raccoons lost, 8-7. Of course. Thompson 3-5, 2B, RBI; R. Gonzalez 2-5, 2B; Osanai 2-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Hall 2-5; Green (PH) 1-2, 2B, RBI; Lantán (PH) 1-2, 2B, RBI;

The Loggers scored right away in the first inning off Saito in the last game, 1-0. Dawson grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out soon enough, and the Furballs trailed until the sixth, when Osanai homered to right to tie the game. Dawson now followed up with a double, and Hall went deep to left center, 3-1 Coons, and still nobody out. Although Green followed up with a single, they didn’t score any more runs in the inning and the score stood into the ninth. West entered and saw Osanai blow the first grounder in the inning for an error. Fortunately, John Howard then sent a grounder to Thompson for two and West only faced three in the inning. 3-1 Coons. Thompson 2-4; Osanai 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Hall 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Green 2-3; Saito 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (9-15) and 1-2;

Raccoons (70-69) vs. Canadiens (90-49)

This was a very critical series – if the Raccoons weren’t cautions, the Canadiens would take the division here in Portland! Of course, with the kind of gap we had, they would take it sooner or later anyway, but I would have had preferred them doing it someplace else. They needed to take two out of three to seal the division against the Coons, assuming the Titans wouldn’t sweep the Crusaders.

We also saw Matt Workman again, who was now back in the majors for the Canadiens. Somehow, the light red uniform didn’t suit him well.

Game 1 saw a duel between Bill Smith and Vicente Ruíz. Both 4-hit the opposition through six innings in a scoreless game. A Thompson error (the third by the Coons already) put Smith on base in the seventh and chased Ruíz. Gaston ended the inning, but then surrendered a triple to Seitaro Ogawa in the eighth. That was the end. The Canadiens scored two. The Raccoons then loaded them up in the bottom 8th with one out. Osanai and Hall both struck out to waste it. Dawson hit a 452ft-homer to lead off the bottom 9th. The tying run got to second base, before the weak offense collapsed again. 2-1 Canadiens. Walker 2-4, 2B;

Game 2 after six innings? Scoreless. Logan Evans had allowed one hit, Robbie Campbell three. No runner had ever set foot on third base. This hadn’t changed by the bottom 8th. Armando Sanchez on second, one out, and Logan Evans was removed for Cam Green, but the Canadiens walked him. Thompson and Walker then both flew out harmlessly. Cunningham pitched a quick ninth, end the Canadiens brought their closer Gerard Marquis in order to force extra innings. Ricardo Gonzalez led off with a double. They didn’t pitch to Osanai, which brought up Hall, whose record on the day was a frightening 0-3 with 2 K. Where are your doubles, Danny? Hall singled to left, at least, on a full count, which loaded them up and still nobody out. Sam Dadswell worked a 3-0 count, one ball away from the win. Marquis pitched to Dadswell, who didn’t even flinch, on the outside corner, but Carlos Saucedo was crossed up and the ball got away. Gonzalez scored from third on a walk off passed ball. 1-0 Raccoons. Evans 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K; Cunningham 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (7-6);

This was Carlos Saucedo’s first game in the big leagues. Ouch.

Since the Crusaders won 3-2 against the Titans at the same time, the Raccoons remained the only team mathematically not eliminated in the CL North, but of course we had to play one more against the Canadiens.

Problem was, the starter was Christopher Powell. His opponent was Raimundo Beato, which gave the Canadiens good odds to walk out division winners, but Powell 1-hit them through three, while Osanai and Dadswell both launched 2-run homers in the bottom 3rd. Powell had one of his best days in recent memory, allowing one run to the speedy Herrera over six innings, before he was removed for a pinch hitter in the bottom 6th. The Raccoons led 5-1 at that point and had another chance to score in the eighth, adding one run on a Dawson sac fly. The Canadiens got that run back after a leadoff walk by Neubauer to Ramon Gonzalez, but the Coons prevailed 6-2. Green 1-2, BB; Lucero (PH) 1-1, 2B;

The Canadiens *will* have to clinch the division someplace else! This also continued a pattern in the season series against Vancouver that’s been going on since 1978. Since then, the Coons have lost the series, drew it, won it, then lost, drew, won, and again lost and finally drew this season, 9-9. Even more remarkably, the series wins in 1980 and 1983 were offset by equal losses in 1981 and 1984. Overall, we are 78-84 against the Canadiens.

Raccoons (72-70) vs. Crusaders (59-83)

We clearly had no pitcher: Scott Wade was brutally beaten up by the last-place Crusaders, for eight runs in 3+ innings. He couldn’t get anybody out, at any point. The Crusaders also beat up Gilberto Soto, whose attempt at long relief was quickly thwarted. The Coons trailed 11-4 after seven, then scored two in the eighth. After a scoreless top 9th by White, they put their first three men on in the bottom 9th, bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle (which in that case was White, so there was a pinch hitter looming somewhere). Andy Reed singled for the first run in. Dadswell pinch hit for White, but grounded for an out at second, with one run in. 11-8, Cameron Green to the plate. Grounder, double play, over. 11-8 Crusaders. Walker 3-5, HR, RBI; Osanai 2-5; Reed (PH) 1-1, RBI; Green 2-5, 2B; Lucero 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI;

There was some vomiting in the clubhouse after that loss. Victor Castillo was terribly ill and out for a few days, but he hadn’t really played in some time anyway.

The first hit that Kisho Saito surrendered in game 2 was a home run to Dave Polk in the fifth, cutting a 2-0 lead in half. Saito had not walked anybody either, but whether he had been able to stretch for a no-hitter was questionable anyway, since the second inning had already seen a 20-minute rain delay. The weather was … bad. Osanai restored the 2-run lead with a solo homer in the sixth, his 25th of the year, and Lucero added a run with a 2-out single in the same inning, 4-1. Saito was then beaten in the seventh, with a home run and two singles. Cunningham came in, and while the runner from third scored, he maintained Saito’s lead. With the bags full in the bottom 7th, Dawson walked a run in, but Hall and Green made embarrassing outs to end the inning. Bases loaded in the eighth – Thompson and Osanai popped out. Inning over again. Grant West didn’t care. He needed six pitches to convert the 5-3 win into a save for himself. Osanai 2-5, HR, RBI; R. Gonzalez (PH) 1-1, BB;

Ex-Coon Enrique Sanchez put his new team on top with a 2-piece in the first inning of game 3. Starter Mario Garcia was still no-hitting the Coons, when he left in the fourth with an injury. The Crusaders brought in Hisanobu Higuchi, one of the many awful pitchers that had been once clad in Coons brown. He struck out Osanai, he struck out Hall. He continued to no-hit the Coons as well. It took them until the seventh for Ricardo Gonzalez to finally get in a hit, an infield single on a bang-bang play. But the Coons failed to get him in and remained shut out. 2-0 Crusaders, Higuchi got the win.

I was raging mad after that loss. Not that they LOST, but that they lost to HIGUCHI, of all suckers out there. Including the 30 on the Raccoons’ current roster. It was his first big league win, after going with a 7.88 ERA in 1982 with the Raccoons. Damnit!!

The Crusaders again took a lead in the first of the final game, 1-0. Evans was not really in tune with the strike zone, but held them there at first. In the bottom 3rd, the Coons had the bags full, two out, and Daniel Hall up. He worked a full count, then walked instead of getting another one to his K pile, and tied the game. Of course they didn’t get any other runs in in that inning. And not in the next. And not in the last five. 3-1 Crusaders, the Raccoons were 5-hit.

Raccoons (73-73) @ Bayhawks (56-90)

Through seven innings in the opener, Christopher Powell surrendered three hits, including a solo home run, which made for a great outing. If only the rest of the team would have matched his pace. The game was tied, 1-1, through seven, then Powell coughed one up with a leadoff double in the eighth. The runner scored, and Powell was on the hook. Against ace closer Ed King, Dadswell and Flores led off with singles in the ninth. Miranda, Hall, and Reed made three very quick and unproductive outs. 2-1 Bayhawks. R. Gonzalez 2-4; Dadswell 3-3, BB, RBI; Flores (PH) 1-1; that was already 87.5% of their total offense…

Game 2. The Coons left runners on third in the first two innings (with the bags full and a K to Hall in the first), then lined into double plays to end the next two innings. Wade pitched not too well, but was pulled out by the defense for a scoreless game through four. In the fifth, the Raccoons finally chained hits together and drove in four runs, including a 2-out, 2-run triple by Hall. Wade went six innings of 1-run ball, then gave way to the pen, which instantly went out to blow it. Neubauer and Bentley were to blame, but Cunningham came out and got the last two outs in the seventh to preserve a 4-3 lead. The Raccoons had to up their offense now. Hall walked to start the top 8th, then stole second and moved over on a groundout by Dadswell. Lantán pinch hit for Castillo and singled to drive in Hall. They ended up putting up another 4-spot for a refreshed 8-3 lead. David Jones retired lefty Greg Douglas, before Soto came out for righties, and things went sour again. He put two on, before Wally Gaston was brought in. After a 2-out walk to Bob Strickland that filled the bags he struck out David Hicks and the lead remained intact. The Bayhawks got an unearned run against Gaston in the ninth, but he held on for an 8-4 win. Lucero 2-4, BB; R. Gonzalez 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-5, RBI; Hall 2-4, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Lantán (PH) 1-1, RBI;

In the rubber game, Kisho Saito came within one strike of tying a Raccoons record for strikeouts in a game by a pitcher, but he only fanned nine when Didier Bourges grounded to short. Saito went seven, and drove in a run himself with, well, a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in a 3-run second inning. None of those three runs came in on a hit, the other two were forced in via walks. The Coons held a 5-2 lead after seven, then added one in the top 9th, when Grant West was already warming up. Instead, Moran entered after they left the bases loaded, but jammed. Cunningham surrendered a run-scoring single and NOW the “Demon” entered with two on and two down. West notched a 1-pitch save with a flyout to Crosby in left. 6-3 Coons. Osanai 2-5, 2B; Dawson 3-5, HR, RBI; Lucero 2-4, BB, RBI; Reed 1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Saito 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, W (11-15) and 1-1, RBI;

In other news

September 3 – Should the Canadiens make the playoffs, they will make them with infielder Manuel Flores watching from the outside, if things go bad. Flores tore ligaments in his thumb and is sidelined for a month, removing his .320 bat from the lineup.
September 7 – Another Canadien goes down, as Bill Smith (11-5, 2.65 ERA), who left the game in Portland in the eighth, is out for a few months with a sore shoulder.
September 9 – The Canadiens clinch the CL North rather early with a 5-3 win in Milwaukee, getting help from the Crusaders in their 11-8 win in Portland. The Canadiens will try to defend their 1984 title, and will make their third playoff appearance. They clinched the title in both of their previous attempts.
September 11 – MIL RF Edgardo Garza’s season is over early with a broken kneecap. He went .316 with 10 HR and 52 RBI.
September 13 – The Canadiens keep winning, but they also keep losing. Now they’ve lost SP Robbie Campbell (15-5, 2.09 ERA) for the season with a torn abdominal muscle.
September 13 – Charlotte’s 1B Irwin Webster (.317, 3 HR, 60 RBI) is out for the season with a hamstring strain.
September 16 – Tijuana outfielder Jose Aguilar, 30, is forced to retire suffering from post-concussion syndrome. He batted .278 with 67 HR and 450 RBI over his career, racking up 1,201 hits and 156 stolen bags.

Complaints and stuff

They probably won’t make a winning season. Again. My heart is burning.

We pitched an offer to Grant West, who is arbitration eligible for the last time this year. 4-yr, $1.5M, which is really not that expensive if compared against other closers in the league. Of course, West has an interest in staying with the Raccoons, since he’s from Portland and is immensely popular here. The closer role is promised to him in the contract and I don’t see any reason to ship in another pitcher to replace him. It would he a pain even trying to replace him. Wally Gaston seems to be fond with being setup, but I’m concerned about Cunningham and whether he will be confident to play setup forever, since he has closer stuff, too: a fastball topping out at 100mph is almost the most harmless weapon in his arsenal.

Who has the second-highest OPS on the team, behind Tetsu Osanai’s .972? You won’t ever guess that one. It’s Scott Wade with a .357 / .400 / .571 clip in 14 AB. Maybe we should make him an outfielder after all.

One more week on the road in Tijuana and Boston, then home week against the Indians and Loggers (and fall to fifth place then), then end of frustration for six months.

[Westheim]

And here come the final two weeks of the season. The Raccoons need to play 7-6 over the last 13 games to turn a winning record. Gonna be hard with the CL South leading Condors and the Coons-bashing Titans in there.

Raccoons (75-74) @ Condors (88-61)

Vicente Ruíz suffered from bad control and even worse pitch selection in the first game of the Condors series and was branded for four runs before pinch hit for in the top 4th. The Raccoons trailed 4-2 and things looked damp already, but became worse with the first four Condors facing Carlos Moran all reaching base. Moran did not retire anybody and Bentley entered, then lucked into a double play with “only” two across. Bentley ended up going 4.1 innings on 42 pitches without further damage, making him something like the least-bad Furball that day. The score remained 6-2 Condors ‘til the end.

What to think of a guy with a 2-0 record but a 5.47 ERA? Obviously he’s gotten some run support, but a 15/6 BB/K ratio may indicate chances. These numbers had been put up by game 2’s home team starter Mike Moore so far this season. He started out with a K to Winston Thompson, then a K to Ricardo Gonzalez, before Dawson flew out to left on an 0-2 count, and all that seemed to signal that the Raccoons were in for another long and ultimately futile day. The Raccoons indeed were no-hit into the fifth inning of the scoreless affair. Both Moore and Logan Evans pitched ace-like, yielding a total of five hits through seven innings. The 0-0 was broken up in the eighth – by the Condors. Mark Dawson threw away a grounder with two down and the runner from third scored. That was it. Moore spun a 3-hitter against the Raccoons, who lost 1-0. Evans 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, L (17-6);

Game 3 was never in doubt once the Coons ended a 1-run top 1st. Powell got a clear sign that his days were over, being assaulted for nine runs in one inning and a nasty start to a second. I hid my face in my hands from there, which became wet fairly quick. Tetsu Osanai reached 100 RBI’s with a 3-run homer in the fifth, which was entirely meaningless in the context of this sweep-completing blowout and was not celebrated by the players, either. 10-5 Condors. Thompson 2-4, BB; Osanai 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI;

Kiss goodbye to that winning season.

Raccoons (75-77) @ Titans (76-77)

Scott Wade allowed himself to use every tool available to get the Titans up in the bottom 1st, with a hit by pitch, a fielding error, and then a wild pitch. Kinji Kan 3-hit the miserable assortment of overweight rodents into the eighth inning. Top 9th. Osanai led off with a single, but Hall quickly thwarted hopes with a lazy popout. Lantán pinch hit for the ineffective Sanchez, but was equally ineffective, advancing Osanai to second. That left Carlos Miranda, who singled up the middle – just between the infielders. Runners on the corners, two out, 1-0 behind, and Sam Dadswell up, who had experienced a nightmarish second half of the season. He homered to right center. Grant West pitched his first post-extension save, 3-1 Raccoons. Miranda 2-4; Dadswell 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Wally Gaston took the W with a scoreless eighth;

Centerfielder hit not one, but two triples off Kisho Saito in his first two AB’s. He scored once, in the first inning, but the Coons squeezed past that deficit to lead 2-1 after four. They put two on with nobody out in the seventh. When Castillo lined out hard in that situation, Saito was pinch hit for with Flores, who grounded out and they didn’t score in the inning. Two 2-out walks by Bentley and Jones to the speedy Ryan Dickerson and Hjalmar Flygt put the fragile 2-1 lead in danger, but Cunningham got Wen Zhan and the inning was over. Cunningham and West added strong innings to hold on to the lead. 2-1 Coons on only four hits. Green 2-4, HR, RBI;

The Raccoons led 6-1 after four innings in the final game of the 3-set due to an unrecognizable flurry of base hits. A home run to Jose Valentin was everything that got away from Vicente Ruíz, although he scattered a (for his standards) high nine hits over seven innings. Moran closed out the game with two decent innings after his recent blowup, and the Coons won 9-1. R. Gonzalez 2-4, BB, 3B, 2B; Dawson 3-5, 2 RBI; Hall 2-5, HR, RBI; Green 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Ruíz 7.0 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (9-9) and 1-2, RBI;

We’re gonna have a winning season!

Raccoons (78-77) vs. Indians (72-83)

Carlos Miranda was making a few starts over ice cold Steve Walker. Since Cam Green was fairly warm, too, there was no other place to put Walker in the lineup. I also preferred Dawson at third at the moment with nice contribution by Ricardo Gonzalez, who was ace in right.

Logan Evans was nowhere near stellar, but somehow only surrendered one run over six innings. Mark Dawson provided some major oomph with a 3-shot in the fourth and another key RBI single in the fifth, as the Coons led 5-1. Both teams continued to let chances slip away in the next innings, leaving the lead intact into the ninth. With a 4-run lead I didn’t want to use my stud relievers (and Cunningham had already been used in a jam in the eighth) and turned to Gilberto Soto. His 6.88 ERA meant that the guys in the pen weren’t packing up yet, but he surrendered only a 2-out single to 2B Bill Taggart and ended the game after that, 5-1 Raccoons. R. Gonzalez 2-3, BB, 2B; Dawson 2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Miranda 2-3, BB;

This made for four consecutive wins, each time with exactly one run across. The next start was Powell’s.

The Indians left the bases loaded in the top 2nd, leading to the Raccoons to put three on base with nobody out in the bottom 2nd in game 2. Miranda grounded for one run in, before Lantán walked and the bases were loaded again with Powell up. He singled for the second run! After Thompson popped out, Ricardo Gonzalez homered to center for a GRAND SLAM! 6-0 Coons after two, how would Powell cope with that?

Badly. The Indians scored one run in the third, and Angelo Duarte was thrown out at the plate in what could have been a bigger inning with some more patience. Miranda made a HUGE grab for an inning ending double play in the fourth. After that, Powell settled in and ended up going seven innings with a 7-1 lead. Daniel Hall led off the bottom 8th with a double, tumbling awkwardly into second base, then remained lying there in pain and in what looked like an end to his terrible season. The Raccoons won, still, 8-2. Ironically, Hall was the only Coon with multiple hits in the game. Hall 2-3, BB, 2B; Green (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

Five in a row, we need two more.

Starter Robert Vazquez had the Coons nailed down hard in game 3, K’ing six the first time through the lineup (which took 3.0 innings). The second time through, he showed some human signs and the Coons started to hit. Scott Wade was 1-0 behind after five, but Ricardo Gonzalez turned the score with a 2-shot in the bottom 6th. That was what little they got off Vazquez. Wade pitched the seventh, Gaston the eighth, and West the ninth, 2-1 Coons!! Wade 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (4-3);

Ricardo Gonzalez has quietly slapped 20 homers this season despite being not a regular. That will have to change for next year.

Six in a row, we need one more!!

After three perfect innings, Saito had his no-hit bid broken up in the fourth with a bunt base hit by Colin Irwin. Irwin stole second, then scored on a single by Guillermo Gonzalez to get the Indians ahead. Dawson tied the game again in the fifth with a sac fly. Saito chased after that Coons record for K’s in a game again. He had eight after six frames, two shy of Gary Simmons’ mark. He also got the lead in that inning with a 2-out, 2-run single by Winston Thompson (about whom has not been written all too much recently) that chased Indians pitcher Joe Brown. Gonzalez took Ramiro Quintero deep to make it 5-1. But while Saito was now ahead with a cushion, his K’s didn’t rise. Greg Brown in the eighth with one down then finally was victim #9. He got Orlando Torres to 1-2, but Torres then sent a harmless flyer to center to end the inning. The Coons entered the ninth leading 5-1 and Saito (after 94 pitches) faced the top of the lineup. Colin Irwin tried to bunt his way on again, but was thrown out this time. Gonzalez grounded to short, and this brought up Engjell Vulaj. He homered to right. Saito got one more chance, Bill Taggart. He also grounded to Castillo at short and the Coons swept the Indians over four! 5-2 Coons. Thompson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Saito 9.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, W (13-15);

WE HAVE A WINNING RECORD, HURRAY!!! We were also only one win away from clinching second place.

On a darker note, Daniel Hall’s season was indeed over thanks to an oblique strain. He would have to watch the playoffs from the sofa.

Just like all the other Furballs.

Raccoons (82-77) vs. Loggers (79-80)

There were some indications that the Raccoons would sweep the Loggers, too. Well, one: that would give them 85 wins. The Raccoons have finished *every* season with a win total ending in either 5, 7, or 9 so far. They obviously could not make it to 87 or 89 anymore, so …

One more chance for Ruíz to grab a winning record. Or a losing one, he was 9-9 going into the game. The Loggers scored one run in the third to take the lead, while the Raccoons couldn’t get their bats up against John Douglas. Walker and Ruíz then had 1-out singles in the bottom 5th to go to the corners. Thompson grounded out, but scored Walker to tie the game, at least. That didn’t help Ruíz, and equally unhelpful was the fact that the Coons left the bags full in the sixth. Ruíz left in the tie and settled on the sub-par 9-9 record for the season. Carlos Miranda, having come on in a double switch just before, led off the bottom 7th with a triple. This was one of the situation where the team loved to torture me, but Thompson singled to left for the go-ahead run. The Coons then deconstructed Douglas rapidly. They scored five on only one out, bringing up Cunningham already, whom I had wanted to use again in the eighth, but I always preferred more oomph to extended workouts for my setup men. But the Loggers rolled out Mark Warburton, who struck out PH Lantán and Miranda, who had started the barrage, to end the pains. Jones and Soto ended the game, 6-1 Coons! Osanai 3-4, RBI; Sanchez (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Miranda 1-2, 3B;

WE ARE THE SECOND BEST TEAM IN A TERRIBLE DIVISION, HURRAY!!!!

One more chance also for Logan Evans – to set a new franchise record for wins in one season. Currently he shared the record (18) with Christopher Powell, who won 18 in 1982. Evans had already done so in 1983.

Evans struck out David Rivera to start the game, but then put three on, and THEN struck out two more. Whew. Osanai and Green drove in two in the bottom 1st to get the Coons going. Evans meanwhile struck out seven – in the first three innings! Was there a second franchise record about to tumble? He struck out LF Matthew Beck in the fourth for #8, but didn’t fan anybody in the fifth and was already at 95 pitches. Alejandro Maez made the second out in the sixth with K #9, bringing up Beck again, but he grounded out. The first batter up in the seventh for Evans was former Coon Ben Cox. The 1-2 pitch – STIIIIIRR-RIKE THREE!! That tied the franchise record, only the second time a Coon had put up double-digit K’s EVER. With weak-hitting catcher Chris McClinton up, we gave Evans one more batter, he grounded to short. The Loggers left in their pitcher, Gary Simmons (the *other* Gary Simmons), so we left in Evans, who was tiring. HE STRUCK HIM OUT!!!

A roar went up from the crowd after Evans’ hunt for the single game K record had been flashing up on the scoreboard since the fourth inning. Now, if he could also get that W record …!

Big Wally sat down the Loggers in the eighth with the score still 2-0 Raccoons. The bottom 8th was equally uneventful and Grant West entered in the top 9th to get the Coons a 19-game winner and himself back-to-back seasons of 40 SV. Let’s go to the radio and R.A. Koontz!

The crowd is getting a bit antsy here with one out in the top of the ninth. Grant West in danger of walking the second batter of the inning. Beck at first, and now the full count to Julio Gonzales. West goes – outside! The tying run goes to second base!

Logan Evans in the dugout. He doesn’t look worried, yet.

Chris McClinton steps into the batter’s box. He is oh for three today. West is getting the signals from Flores. Pitch to McClinton and – a zipper to short, right into Castillo’s glove! Miranda, out at second, OUT AT FIRST!!!

(Noisy crowd)

The Portland Raccoons beat the Milwaukee Loggers two to nothing, they have won nine in a row, and they have a nineteen game winner for the first time in franchise history in Logan “Crazylegs” Evans, who has also set a franchise record with eleven strikeouts today!

And now they take him on their shoulders! That is Mark Dawson and Rodrigo Lucero, carrying Evans around on their shoulders! And we have a party now at the ballpark.

I was obviously not approving of such potentially dangerous stunts. But hey, we had a 19-game winner, and if they dropped him, he had six months to heal.

The Coons took that 2-0 win on just four hits, oh my. Evans 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K*, W (19*-6); *franchise records

That left one more game, normally meaningless, if it weren’t for our 9-game roll. Powell was the pitcher for the finale. He got behind with an unearned run in the second inning, when Osanai dropped a ball for an error. The Loggers added a Ken Winters home run in the third. That was all Powell surrendered through six, but the Coons had zero offense against Milwaukee’s starter Terry Reynolds. Entering the eighth 2-hit and 3-0 down, the Raccoons saw the end of the winning streak coming at rapid speed. Cunningham pitched the ninth, striking out Alvin Sutphen to end it and do all he could to give the team another chance, but with closer Raffaele Antuofermo coming in, chances were less than slim. Miranda lined right into Antuofermo’s glove. Thompson rolled to first, and then Antuofermo struck out Gonzalez to end the game, 3-0 Loggers. The Raccoons were 2-hit to end their streak with a bang.

Obviously, numbers lie. All the time. Beaches.

In other news

September 16 – A last minute single in a 6-3 loss to Cincinnati extends DAL 2B Pete Ross’ hitting streak to 20 games. Ross is hitting .288 on the season.
September 16 – Another hitting streak reaches 20 games: Pacifics outfielder Zeusef Affra (.266, 11 HR, 77 RBI) only gets his hit against the Miners in the bottom of the 10th, driving in the winning run in walkoff fashion, 5-4 L.A.
September 17 – Milwaukee’s John Douglas (12-13, 4.10 ERA) 2-hits the Bayhawks in a 4-0 shutout.
September 17 – Affra’s hitting streak ends at 20 with an 0-4 day in a 6-1 loss to the Miners.
September 18 – NYC Gary Nixon (12-18, 4.49 ERA) 2-hits the Thunder in a 2-0 win for the Crusaders.
September 20 – Pete Ross goes 0-4 in Sacramento, ending the Stars’ infielders’ hitting streak at 22 games. The Stars still win 5-0, but are eliminated from postseason contention, as the Gold Sox win 2-1 in Salem thanks to a Jimmy Hunter home run and clinch for back-to-back years.
September 23 – Salem’s infielder Luis Miguel Vargas (.238, 2 HR, 40 RBI) has somehow pieced together a 20-game hitting streak.
September 25 – Miners ace David Burke coughs up two runs early, but the Miners come from behind to beat Cincinnati 7-2, clinching the FL East for the second time after 1982. Burke wins his 21st game of the year.
September 28 – The Condors trump the Bayhawks 9-2 on the second-to-last day of the regular season to clinch the CL South for the second time, thus setting the postseason field.
September 28 – Nobody likes hitting streaks spanning two seasons, and so the Warriors took care of Vargas’ at 24 games.

Complaints and stuff

After spinning a scoreless inning in the day 3 blowout in Tijuana, Grant West signed his 4-yr, $1.5M extension on the following off day. The fans were pleased, management was pleased, and in some way that was the best news for Coon City that week. Of course that was before the winning streak began.

How many pitchers have ever spun MORE than Logan Evans’ 11 K in a game? The answer could be surprising: eight! The record is only *13*, shared by Kiyohira Sasaki (this season) and somewhat more obscurely Franklin Palmer, back in 1977, which was his only full season as a starter in ABL baseball. He has not pitched in the majors in three years. Sasaki also owns a 12 K game, with the other pitchers being sometimes well known (Juan Correa, Buddy Hamilton, Arnold McCray, Leland Lewis) and sometimes rather not, like Luciano Pizzonia, who was now retired, and Joaquin Perez, who spent his career in the FL West and had retired in 1980.

It was a partly consoling end to a strenuous season that saw me sobbing more than once. As usual they had several offensive droughts (and even during that 9-game winning streak, they only scored 4.66 R/G, with the pitchers doing their best to make that suffice), but in the end we got our second winning season and our second season in the first division of the CL North. It took them NINE GRUELING YEARS …!! (shivers)

Tetsu Osanai was the batting champion, 5th in OBP, 2nd in SLG and OPS (with ATL Michael Root taking the last three categories). Osanai was also home run champion, with Dawson 4th, Gonzalez 5th, and Dadswell 7th. His 106 RBI ranked 3rd. No other Coons featured on the CL Top 8 charts for offense.

But the pitchers: Evans and Ruíz came in 4th and 5th in ERA, Evans was t-2nd in wins behind 20-game winner “Mauler” Correa. He was also t-3rd in HR/9 with 0.13, something that has not been talked much about yet. His erraticness make it hard to make proper contact with the ball, obviously. Saito and Ruíz featured prominently in H/9 (7th and 4th), BB/9 (3rd and 6th), and WHIP (3rd and 4th). Powell was once again 2nd behind Correa in BB/9, but the rest of his performance was prohibitive in regards to leaderboards other than in relation to home runs. Kisho Saito narrowly took both the K crown as well as the K/9 crown, and by “narrowly” I mean it. He beat ATL Carlos Asquabal in K’s, 193-192. His 7.48 K/9 were 0.01 ahead of ATL Xavier Mayes. Grant West, finally, finished t-5th in saves.

Next: playoffs, then: lotsa GMish work.

[Questdog]

Fun season and primes the pump for a full year of Tetsu mania to come!

Give us at least one more starting pitcher (two if you think Wade won't pan out) and send Mr. Hall to the Hot Springs or somewhere over the winter where he can rejuvenate to insure that he can give us a season worthy of his contract and we will start printing championship tickets for '86........

1986: The Year of the Ring-Eyed Rats!

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

Fun season and primes the pump for a full year of Tetsu mania to come!

He batted 62 points below his Canadiens AVG in Portland. This is more than just worrying. This is alarming. While our park is home run friendly and less so in regards to other extra base hits, it shouldn't dip your average by that amount.

But it did so to Alex White's, too.

Originally Posted by Questdog

Give us at least one more starting pitcher (two if you think Wade won't pan out) and send Mr. Hall to the Hot Springs or somewhere over the winter where he can rejuvenate to insure that he can give us a season worthy of his contract and we will start printing championship tickets for '86........

The Christopher Powell issue will be one of the key topics this winter, that's for sure. I will elaborate more thoroughly later after the playoffs, but I currently think about sending Wade to AAA again and use Gonzalez in the rotation once more. Of course I will listen to the free agent market here. It would break my heart to trade Powell for some scrub, but his last three years have gradually become more nightmarish.

Originally Posted by Questdog

1986: The Year of the Ring-Eyed Rats!

That's priceless!

[Westheim]

1985 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

It is hard to find a favourite this year. Normally I’d go with the Canadiens to defend their title and become the first team to win three silver blobs of ugliness. But they have the following players on the DL: SP Robbie Campbell, SP Bill Smith, MR Will Shelton, SP/MR Carlos Lozano, SP Christian Park, INF Vicente Ramirez, SS Eddy Bailey; six of them were on the 60-day DL and only Ramirez could *potentially* come back for the World Series. In addition to that C Shimpei Iwamoto and INF Manuel Flores had gotten hurt in the last days of the season and were undiagnosed on the evening of the last day of the regular season (they were officially written off for the playoffs the next day). So they were bled out and I didn’t even see them beat the Condors. The Condors had the luxury problem of five very good to uberhuman starting pitchers. They only had OF Cisco Banda on the DL and an overall well balanced team. Condors in five.

Led by the fireball trifecta of David Burke, Leland Lewis, and Craig Hansen, the Miners had some argument about going further than in ’82, when they lost in the World Series to the Canadiens. Their pen was less stellar, and while they ranked 5th or better in almost all offensive categories, they had no pop, ranking 10th in homers and 8th in XBH. The Gold Sox in turn missed ace starter Terry Worley, but had five pitchers labeled as hot at the end of the season. They had three players with 80+ RBI, and three batting over .300, and that AFTER inexplicably trading slugger Francisco Lopez this summer. This was a tough one. Gold Sox in seven.

Miners @ Gold Sox … 5-3 (13) … (Miners lead 1-0) … Tsuneyo Okamoto gives the Miners the win with a pinch-hit bases-loaded 2-out 3-run double;
Condors @ Canadiens … 3-9 … (Canadiens lead 1-0) … VAN Tia Fa surrenders three quickly, but the Canadiens offense stomps back in; Chris Scott and Melvin Greene both are 3-4 with 2 RBI;

Miners @ Gold Sox … 1-3 … (series tied 1-1) … Leland Lewis gets beaten early; DEN Shiro Sasaki 3-5, 2B, RBI;
Condors @ Canadiens … 0-3 … (Canadiens lead 2-0) … VAN Steve Murray 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K;

Gold Sox @ Miners … 2-3 (12) … (Miners lead 2-1) … Pittsburgh’s Craig Hansen goes nine in a tied game, while Jesus Rodriguez singles in Seitaro Ine to walk off his team;
Canadiens @ Condors … 1-2 … (Canadiens lead 2-1) … TIJ Carlos Castro 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K;

Gold Sox @ Miners … 3-1 … (series tied 2-2) … DEN Jimmy Hunter 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI;
Canadiens @ Condors … 8-3 … (Canadiens lead 3-1) … VAN Seitaro Ogawa 2-5, 2B, 4 RBI;

Gold Sox @ Miners … 6-1 … (Gold Sox lead 3-2) … Lewis again is blown up, this time for five in the first inning;
Canadiens @ Condors … 0-1 … (Canadiens lead 3-2) … TIJ Jim Harrington 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K;

Miners @ Gold Sox … 6-1 … (series tied 3-3) … Rain chases the starters in the second, PIT MR Timoleon Protopsaltis wins the game pitching only for two outs;
Condors @ Canadiens … 9-6 … (series tied 3-3) … TIJ Mauro Fernandez 4-5, 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI; TIJ Diego Rodriguez 3-4, 3B, RBI;

Miners @ Gold Sox … 1-9 … (Gold Sox win 4-3) … David Burke is burned for four in the second and the Gold Sox keep adding for their first World Series appearance;
Condors @ Canadiens … 2-5 … (Canadiens win 4-3) … Castro surrenders four in the first inning and the Condors never recover from that blow; VAN Raimundo Beato 8.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K;

Well, it appeared the Canadiens still had life in them depite having nine players (including six top players) on the DL for the playoffs.

1985 WORLD SERIES

Canadiens @ Gold Sox … 1-5 … (Gold Sox lead 1-0) … DEN Wilson Martinez 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K;

Canadiens @ Gold Sox … 8-2 … (series tied 1-1) … VAN Raúl Herrera 3-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; VAN Seitaro Ogawa 3-5, 2 RBI;

Gold Sox @ Canadiens … 7-2 … (Gold Sox lead 2-1) … The Gold Sox muscle 15 hits, easily blowing up Beato and the Vancouver pen;

Gold Sox @ Canadiens … 4-5 … (series tied 2-2) … The Canadiens come from a 4-2 deficit after seven, and Santiago Gonzalez doubles in Herrera to walk off his team in the ninth; VAN Raúl Herrera 2-4, 2 3B, 2 RBI;

Gold Sox @ Canadiens … 2-3 (11) … (Canadiens lead 3-2) … Momentum swing! Mark Hilliard walks off the Canadiens for back-to-back walkoffs to get within one W of a third title! VAN Tia Fa 9.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K;

Canadiens @ Gold Sox … 0-2 … (series tied 3-3) … The Canadiens are 2-hit, but the Gold Sox only hit five times themselves. Jorge Valdes goes seven for Denver for the win.

Canadiens @ Gold Sox … 2-5 … (Gold Sox win 4-3) … Jimmy Hunter’s sac fly in the bottom 7th breaks a 2-2 tie and ultimately is the winning run; the Canadiens put two on in the ninth, but Raúl Herrera grounds out to deny his team their third title.

1985 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

DENVER GOLD SOX
(1st title)

For the second year in a row, the postseason goes the maximum 21 games, and for the third year in a row the home seed wins every series (it’s the sixth time overall the home seeds have won all series).

The Gold Sox win their first title. Only two years ago, the team had never finished higher than 5th in the FL West.

[Westheim]

The Raccoons may have finished 84-78, but their pythagorean record was 91-71. One game BETTER than in their 1983 playoff season!

Anyway, we did not get a budget increase this year, with the budget actually being CUT to just over $11M. Well, thanks, Carlos. Why don’t you sell the team to somebody with money?

The Raccoons do not have any players bound to free agency this year. We still have a bunch of arbitration cases, though:
- MR Carlos Moran, who pitched 81 innings in long relief with a few starts; he’s doing quite well in that role with a 3.21 ERA, but he is out of options; current salary $110k, estimate $115k;
- C Sam Dadswell (super-2 case), suffered through a terrible second half of the season, and defensively he was no less a burden than any catcher before him; still, I believe he’s a dynasty’s cornerstone; cs. $72k (min.), est. $230k;
- 1B Tetsu Osanai, home run king, batting champion, enough said; cs. $72k (min.), est. $275k;
- INF Edgardo Gonzalez, was a utility player for some years now, but was demoted to AAA last season; cs. $98k, est. $110k;
- OF Ricardo Gonzalez, was a pleasant surprise as versatile outfielder, also batting .281 with 21 home runs; cs. $200k, est. $241k;
- OF Rodrigo Lucero, a solid performer in a utility role and against lefty pitchers, batted .242 in that role; cs. $110k, est. $121k;

Eddie Gonzalez won’t be needed no more, since we have enough infielders capable of batting more than .200, or his .159; Moran’s case is tricky, since we could also use Bentley in his role and free up a spot for somebody from AAA, where we had an option or two. The other four players will of course all get offers, and we will try to strike a long-term deal with Osanai and Rick Gonzalez right away.

Provisionally, we submitted $210k for Dadswell and $120k for Lucero, and the estimates for Moran, Osanai, and R. Gonzalez.

September 30 – SFW INF Pat Graham (.344, 5 HR, 57 RBI) and POR 1B Tetsu Osanai (.340, 26 HR, 106 RBI) are batting champions. (Osanai batted 62 points less with the Coons than with the Canadiens…)
October 21 – The Rebels trade infielder Marihito Ohayashi (.236, 6 HR, 34 RBI) to Pittsburgh for C Angel Potter, who batted only .201 last year in 234 AB, and a prospect.
October 26 – First huge deal of the winter: the Condors send 1B Wayne Baxter, who has 84 HR and 376 RBI in his 575-game career, to Topeka in exchange for outfielder Rich Wright (.257, 24 HR, 200 RBI in career) plus pitching prospect Vicente Guzman.
October 28 – The Knights address their pitching problems by adding veteran reliever Carlos Martinez (3.69 ERA) from the Gold Sox for utility player Angelo Alicea.
October 30 – Big deal: the Canadiens trade outfielder Seitaro Ogawa, 28, with 630 H, 61 HR, 350 RBI to Tijuana for SP Luis Cruz (86-81, 3.92 ERA).
November 1 – Raccoons remain empty-handed as Gold Gloves are distributed. The Canadiens take four, including all in the outfield (Herrera, Ramon Gonzalez, and the just traded Ogawa). Ex-Coon Ben Simon takes his fifth glove while with the Cyclones. Three of his gloves came with the Coons.
November 2 – Dallas 1B Andres Serna (.295, 6 HR, 73 RBI) and Indy SP Robert Vazquez (15-8, 2.85 ERA) are Rookies of the Year.
November 3 – Pitchers of the Year are announced: PIT David Burke (21-8, 2.31 ERA) and CHA Juan “Mauler” Correa (20-9, 2.13 ERA) are winners. Burke takes his second title, while Correa at age 35 wins his seventh!
November 4 – MVP titles go to DEN Roberto Rodriguez (.313, 2 HR, 65 RBI) and ATL Michael Root (.324, 25 HR, 104 RBI).
November 7 – Ex-Coon Pedro Hermundo and his 813 career hits are sent from Tijuana to Pittsburgh, along with a minor leaguer, for 25-yr old OF Paul Dundee, a career .309 batter with 18 HR in just over two seasons.

I tried to get a deal done for Topeka’s SP Cristo Negron, sending over Christopher Powell (to offset Negron’s salary) and a combo of other players, but Powell vetoed the trade through his 10/5 rights. This was not a complete surprise, but further complicating things. It especially made a trade for Negron impossible, since we could not absorb his $800k+ salary that way.

At least two goals for this off season were accomplished quickly, saving a bit of money for next season, as we inked Tetsu Osanai and Ricardo Gonzalez both to 5-yr contracts. Osanai received $1.75M, Gonzalez $1.4M. I’m surprised Osanai was to be had that cheaply. His first demand was well beyond $3M over six years!

This makes the reduced 1986 budget really, really tight now with only $320k available in budget room (but we had spent quite some excess cash for scouting and development last year, cutting some of which would not hurt anything).

To make matters worse, the salary arbitrators decided in favor of Sam Dadswell and for a $287,500 salary for him in ’86, taking another slice out of the budget.

It’s November 16. The Raccoons are cash-strapped thanks to some penny-pincher as owner, have a problem with their rotation, a problem at third base, and generally no idea how to improve now.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

It’s November 16. The Raccoons are cash-strapped thanks to some penny-pincher as owner, have a problem with their rotation, a problem at third base, and generally no idea how to improve now.

As long as you can pay Tetsu, nothing else matters.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Orcin

As long as you can pay Tetsu, nothing else matters.

I really don't understand the mega hype about him. He barely managed to hit .315 in Portland.

However, with the short distance at the foul lines we have here in Portland, he could smother Daniel Hall's single season home run record for the Coons, which stands at 29.

However:

---

There were a number of high profile starting pitchers available (“Mauler” Correa, to name one) as free agents, but our budget was nowhere near capable of absorbing one of them.

Saito, Ruíz, and Evans (in whatever order) should go a long way for a team trying to finish first. The problem lies in the last two spots, where neither youngsters Gonzalez and Wade, nor oldie Powell were particularly effective last year. Unloading Powell’s salary is impossible since he’s voiding any trades. Whoever gave those players whatever kind of rights??

November 16 – The Raccoons trade infielder Victor Castillo, 23, who batted all of .199 in 173 AB last year, to the Falcons for 22-yr old pitcher Manuel Paredes, who has no major league track record.
November 18 – The Pacifics claim Raccoons outfielder Fernando Perez off waivers.
November 19 – Minor leaguers are exchanged in a deal between the Raccoons and the Pacifics, as Portland sends AAA catcher Mark Mitchell, 29, south for prospects SP Yasushi Suto and INF Pablo Hernandez.
November 28 – The Condors land former Titan Juan Valentin, a career .289 batter and versatile infielder. In 831 career games, Valentin has 893 hits, landing him a 4-yr, $2.84M deal.
November 29 – The Titans add a closer in Juan Miranda, 28, who won a ring with Dallas in 1983. Miranda has 171 career saves and will earn $314k for one year.
December 1 – The Condors mean it: they trade for 25-yr old SP Flint Lewis (8-11, 3.98 ERA over parts of two seasons), sending two prospects to the Capitals.
December 1 – Rule 5 draft: a total of 17 players are taken over three rounds. The Raccoons are unaffected.
December 3 – The Warriors land veteran SP William Williams, last with Charlotte, for 2-yr, $1.29M. Williams is 120-95 with a 3.33 ERA over his career.

On some of those trades:

The Castillo trade was necessitated by a lack of at least promising young arms in my system. Plus, Castillo’s bat is terrible and while he has three positions, shortstop is the only one where he could excel. Paredes in turn has killer stuff, helping him to a 13-7 record (albeit with a 4.51 ERA) in AAA last season. Unfortunately his control is close to zero.

Three days later we traded Mark Mitchell, who had shortly blinked up in the majors for us in 1982 and 1984, going a grand total of 1-17 at the plate. He was a fourth catcher on the 40-man roster, and with the rule 5 draft coming up, I needed that spot for somebody else (which was also the point why Fernando Perez, another very-short-time Coon was waived). He also was out of options and generally just taking up space. The prospects received may never make the majors, but at least they are not on the 40-man roster.

At the end of November we also added two career minor league starting pitchers, Donald Kline and Jaime Cardenas, both 24, who should both go to either AA or AAA ball to start the season.

In late November and early December I got into talks with the Stars over a potential deal. I shopped Cam Green and they showed keen interest in him. Talks began slowly but picked up speed just before the winter meetings began. At one point the Raccoons would have sent 3B Cameron Green, OF Armando Sanchez, MR Carlos Moran, MR Richard Cunningham, and two (not-junk) minor leaguers over for OF Pancho Pacheco, 1B/2B/LF Andres Serna (the current FL ROTY!), and 21-yr old SP Jorge Rosa, also unloading in the region of $750k on salary.

But I flinched. Green and Sanchez may go. Moran, too. But at Cunningham, I flinched. Badly.

(Then I took off and cleaned my apartment for much more time than usual)

No matter how I turned it, if I wanted Rosa, I had to send Cunningham. Serna was removed from consideration (he would be hard to fit into the team anyway, given the entrenchments we had at 1B and LF, and his 2B defense was … not Gold Glove worthy) soon, we instead added MR Joaquin Bastos, who also had killer stuff, but lacked Cunningham’s stamina to go deep in extra inning affairs, and he also was at least one level below him in other aspects.

Rosa was not without flaws, either. At 21 he already had missed a year with a torn flexor tendon. The seven starts he did make in 1985 – wow! But there was definitely a risk note attached to his back.

At the winter meetings the trade shrunk to a proposal by the Raccoons that included Green, Sanchez, and Moran for just Pacheco and Rosa, which the Stars declined. They also declined just Green and Moran for Rosa. They would instantly agree at Green, Moran AND Sanchez for young Rosa.

Another deal that would work out would be Green, Sanchez, Moran and Cunningham for Rosa, Pacheco, and Derek Wolfe, a very reliable left-handed reliever.

Green's bad defense has been much talked about, he also can't hit north of .250 and only has one position. Sanchez was a disappointment in his first season in Portland, posting his worst average ever (as is custom for new POR CF's). Moran is good in mop-up but useless in other capacities. Cunningham of course is a 20/14/12 closer - if it weren't for Grant West, making Cunningham a 20/14/12 setup instead. But he would definitely be the Stars' closer.

Pacheco is a good defender with a career .270 / .316 / .404 line, 39 HR and 298 RBI in 2,353 AB. He's 26 and in a contract year and will make $320k. Rosa makes the minimum and his 12/15/9 (12/15/13 pot.) rating makes me drool. His ML track record only encompasses five starts, and only seven starts in AAA, six of which came in rehab last year. He's not without risk, but I'd take it. But do I want to take it for Cunningham?

I cleaned some more, including some long-neglected areas, thinking.

I think I’m stuck.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

But do I want to take it for Cunningham?

I cleaned some more, including some long-neglected areas, thinking.

I think I’m stuck.

I think your answer is no, you don't. If you really wanted this deal, it would be done by now. Your subconscious mind is telling you that you don't like giving up Cunningham.

I think it's great that your apartment is getting a thorough cleaning though.

[Questdog]

I don't like the fact that Pacheco rarely walks.....and that "missed a year with torn flexor" is a huge red flag......

Also, about Tetsu.....that is a very funny statement: "he barely managed to hit .315".......as if everyone else is hitting .420.......

[Westheim]

He hit over .370 in Vancouver in that season. Maybe that's just hot half - less hot half. Daniel Hall batted .330-something in the first half last year.

I will officially stop complaining about Osanai if he delivers a 502+ PA season at a .315 pace and 20+ dingers (although 30 shouldn't be hard for him in Portland).

I'm still undecided whether I want to make a big or a small trade with Dallas. One small variant could been sending Green and Moran for Wolfe and Pacheco or so. Which would be a very useless trade for the Furballs, so we scrap that idea.

(sigh)

[Westheim]

THE WASHINGTON GAZETTE
December 6, 1985

Capitals to go out of town?
By J. Smith

Currently, General Managers and other leading personnel of the 24 ABL baseball teams are convening in Richmond for the annual winter meetings. Many players' fates are decided in the meetings, which are held in a different ABL host city every year (they were held in Washington, in fact, in 1980).

Of course, Washington Capitals GM Carlos Morales and manager Steve Howard are among the attendees of the meetings, seeking fresh talent to get the team ahead. We are talking about a team here that is in dire need of fresh talent. The last time that the Capitals finished in the upper half of the Federal League’s Eastern Division was all the way back in 1979. Back then the third place finish was considered a disappointment. Currently, the fanbase would give a lot to get back there, out of the cellar.

The question currently posed however is more like whether there will be Washington Capitals to root for for much longer. Ownership is unsatisfied with the achievements made, and partly blames a tight financial situation for the dilemma the team is in. The Federal League East looks overloaded to many, with all six teams sitting in a rather small circle between Washington and Richmond on the eastern seaboard, and Topeka, Kansas in the west, with the other three teams forming a neat arch between those two extremes.

And then there are the cities around the nations that were not given a franchise when the ABL was formed in 1977. These include f.e. Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, and others. Carlos Morales was recently quoted that he and ownership agreed on the fact that the Capitals lacked breathing space in the division, with the Richmond Rebels only 100 miles to the south, and the Pittsburgh Miners just a little farther away in the west.

Chicago has been named as a possible refuge for the team in the Monday night radio talk show of Bob Sabbler, infamous for his campaign about getting ABL to expand to 25 teams three years ago. Sabbler, 72, whose voice is heard by millions weekly, specifically wanted to see a franchise in Chicago, which happens to be his hometown. “Thousands of Chicago school kids need something to root for, otherwise they will turn to drugs and violent crime”, Sabbler said on Monday. This prompted a man named Carl from Hartford, Connecticut, to call into the show and ask Sabbler if he wouldn’t prefer them school kids doing their homework and engaging in their community. Carl was quickly finished off by the eloquent Sabbler, who then warned the audience that watching baseball was important for children, teaching them a variety of necessary life skills like patience and math.

One, two, three strikes you’re out, it appears. Sabbler claimed to have received letters from a Chicago teacher saying that his students were restless and unwilling to listen. Sabbler went on to warn listening parents that “If you tolerate this, then your children will be next!”

You may take Bob Sabbler with one or two grains of salt, and then too in only small doses. But some pieces seem to come together here. Chicago indeed wants an ABL team (as are about ten other major and minor cities in the nation, and Toronto in Canada). The Capitals look for options outside of Washington.

In a meeting at the league’s commissioner’s office on November 29, just before ABL’s rule 5 draft last week, the commissioner met with various team owners from around the ABL, discussing the possibility of expansion within the next two years. Owners outright refused to agree to this step, keeping the ABL at 24 teams through 1987. The original plan put up in 1975, when the league was formed, nevertheless stated that – in order to allow the league to consolidate – no expansion should happen for at least ten years after the begin of play. We are about to enter the ABL’s tenth season.

It was not disclosed, how many owners were present and if they constituted a qualifying majority. By ABL’s own rules, 75% of owners overall, as well as 75% of the owners in the particular sub-league that would expand, would have to agree to expansion, plus of course the league office. At the moment, this could happen in 1988 at the earliest.

But of course the Capitals can move, if they so please. The City of Chicago would certainly welcome them. But even then, it would be hard for them to move immediately, given that Chicago doesn’t even have a ballpark to ABL standards.

Things thus seem like we will get treated to another season with our Capitals, who have posted 90 or more losses in each of the last four seasons. Beyond that? Things are highly uncertain.

[Westheim]

Winter meetings went quietly. Our trade talks with Dallas were broken off early on December 7, with neither side willing or able to move one more inch at one point.

This left us in a situation where we still had to move Cameron Green somewhere, because I was really tired of him. The plan called for Dawson to go to third, and Gonzalez to play right every day. Green with his limited usefulness had no place no more.

The pen was also not constructed for good. West, Gaston, Cunningham were givens. Bentley had impressed enough to be allowed to stay, and David Jones had recovered well enough from a horrible 1984 season. Moran was still around for mopup. That left one spot open, where Jason White, Justin Neubauer, Gilberto Soto all had gotten bloody noses last year. I really had no urge to see any of them much longer. There were two guys at AAA that had been stuck there for three years now, both 1981 draft picks, Emerson McDonald (round 5) and Pedro Vazquez (round 4). One of them could get the call come spring.

But first we had to get rid of a few other guys. And there were still holes to plug. I wouldn’t be mad about a #4 starter somewhere (but the free agent market was cost-prohibitive). There was also one outfield spot available (backup, since Hall and Gonzalez were set, and Lucero and Sanchez would platoon center), and possibly one infield spot (backup as well, with my mind made up fairly well about Dawson-Walker-Thompson-Osanai around the diamond).

On the plus side, for the first time I read the sentence “Your owner thinks the Portland Raccoons have no weaknesses at all”.

Apart from that, little worked out. I tried to negotiate an extension with Winston Thompson, who was still arbitration eligible at age 32, but he wanted a 1-yr, $190k contract. I wanted two or three years at about 25% less and we did get together.

December 18 – The Gold Sox snatch ex-Pacific outfielder Yoshinobu Ishizaki for 5-yr, $4.04M. For that price they get an elite contact hitter with 1,435 career hits at age 28.
December 19 – The Raccoons trade 3B Cameron Green to Pittsburgh for INF Dimian Barrios and prospect SP Luis Herrera. Green is a lifetime .241 hitter with 50 home runs, while Barrios is a powerless .269 batter with 911 hits, but no power. Barrios is more versatile than Green in the field.
December 20 – Ace starter Jim Harrington, who at the age of 26 helped lead the Condors to the postseason again last year, signs with the Cyclones for 5-yr, $3.85M. Harrington is 74-63 with a 3.40 ERA since coming up in 1982.
December 27 – The Falcons add outfielder Felix Montalvo, 32, with a career .292 hitter with 102 homers, for 3-yr, $1.55M. Since being an integral part of the 1983 Stars championship team, Montalvo has suffered through two injury-shortened campaigns.
December 28 – As we are on hit: Charlotte adds to the outfield even further with Jonah Frank, 30, with 1,179 career hits (.294 AVG), who will make $848k over two years. Frank slugged for the strong Thunder teams of the early 80’s and most recently for the Blue Sox, who were also not that bad.
December 30 – Jon Butler joins the Condors on a 2-yr, $720k contract. At age 38, Butler is no longer chalked in as set closer, despite 282 career saves. He has spent his whole career in the CL South for the Knights and Aces.
December 31 – The Wolves bring in MR Jason White to shore up their bullpen, sending in turn AAA outfield prospect Marcos Costello to the Raccoons. White has a career 3.72 ERA (but was up to 4.79 ERA last year). Costello has yet to appear in the majors.

Fan interest crashed by four points to 79 once we dealt Green away (although he now wears a green cap, so everything fell in place). I had been close to getting Barrios in deals a few times the last years. He will play backup, but also give our middle infielders Walker and Thompson a bit more pressure than Carlos Miranda can. Barrios is in the last year of his contract, and we actually took on $110k in additional salary with this trade.

By early January I was becoming familiar with the thought of giving the fifth outfield spot to one of our AAA guys. Paul Blake and Bill Stevens were the leading candidates. Stevens is the prospect that came over when we unloaded Alex White to the Warriors after his disappointing 1983 season. He may actually be the #1 candidate, but you never know if a deal won’t come around with three months to go to the season.

Juan Correa was still on the market, but we couldn’t even muster half of his reported $900k/yr contract demand.

January 10 – Lowell “Wacky” Booth again changes locations, signing with Tijuana. It will be his fifth team in five seasons. Booth has 208 saves and a 2.57 ERA for his career. He will make $560k for – right! – one year.
January 12 – Veteran outfielder Michael Watson, 33, gets a 4-yr, $1.92M contract from the Capitals. A powerless .283 career hitter, many consider him vastly overpaid.
February 6 – The Loggers bring Cisco Banda back to the CL North. The 30-yr old outfielder gets a $2.65M contract over five years. Banda is a career .248 hitter and is remembered by Raccoons fans for playing the first half of the 1984 season, then missing the second half with a concussion.
February 7 – Five CL North teams didn’t want to see that happen: the dominating Canadiens add SP Juan “Mauler” Correa (208-72, 2.20 ERA) for 2-yr, $1.74M. Correa will make an already dominant Vancouver rotation almost invincible.
February 16 – At age 26, Rick Evans already has 194 saves, and now he also has a new team, the Blue Sox, who add him for 2-yr, $640k. Evans has a 2.62 career ERA and was closing games for the Crusaders so far.
March 18 – The Raccoons deal for Aces prospect Gustavo Quintanilla, a promising outfielder, and in return send two minor leaguers, MR Bill Craig and C Greg Thornburg, to Las Vegas.

January was a slow month overall (as December had been slow as well). There were not as many free agents on the market in the first place compared to the last two years or so, but there were still a few big prizes out there.

The Raccoons added two minor league outfielders in February, Nick Smith (who had 16 AB with the Bayhawks a few years ago), who is 33 already, and 31-yr old Ollie Earnshaw (who is .200 in 225 AB with the Knights between 1981 and 1983). They will report to AA and AAA, respectively.

Nathan Bruce dug up a 16-yr old pitcher from Mexico and got a 3-yr extension.

Bill Craig had been lingering at AAA for years. He appeared in 127 games for the Raccoons between 1979 and 1982. Thornburg was a high draft pick with great catching and game control, but no bat to speak of. We cut some losses there and in turn got a great outfield talent at age 21. If he were a year older, I’d throw him right into the majors to start the season, but the call should go to Stevens in the end.

It’s the end of March. The season is just over a week away.

Will it be a good one? Question marks keep popping up here and there.

[Westheim]

On March 30, the top free agents list was headed by six outfielders, five of them 33 or older. There were some recognizable names among them, like Jose Encarnacion, a former Indian, who had liked to hurt the Coons the last few years (although not to the extent his team mate Esteban Hernandez had). None of those was very cheap and none of them would fit well as a backup (and even less as CF starter). The only sensible starting pitcher left was Chad Ray, 33, formerly with the Buffaloes and Capitals. He was 103-72 for his career. But I didn’t like his stuff and he was rated with a 7 stamina (out of 20), so we passed on that as well. Vicente Ruíz had been an incredibly lucky grab a few years ago, but Ray was too much of a long shot, who looked already much like he was in decline (going a grand total of 0.1 innings with a 108.00 ERA two years ago).

On April 5, just a few days before Opening Day, Warriors owner Zach Ronaldson suddenly passed away while on vacation and his son, Zach Ronaldson jr. took over, described as a tolerant economizer.

1986 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set shows 1985 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Logan Evans, 30, B:L, T:L (19-6, 2.28 ERA | 86-63, 3.13 ERA) – made a strong rebound from his injury-laden 1984 season. The four seasons since 1981 he’s been healthy, he’s been very strong, going 67-34. His control will never come around, but he’s making it work out somehow.
SP Vicente Ruíz, 31, B:R, T:R (9-9, 2.35 ERA | 96-97, 3.70 ERA) – continues to perform above expectations for the Raccoons, although he was the no-run-support victim last season, with the team only winning him nine of his 32 starts. Very good pitcher overall, I still can’t believe we could sign him as free agent in May two years ago.
SP Kisho Saito, 25, B:L, T:L (13-15, 2.87 ERA | 68-41, 2.94 ERA) – workhorse, posting a 1.05 WHIP and still a losing record last season thanks to a shaky first half of the season (which paired badly with the Raccoons putting up no offense in the early summer). He was almost automatic in the second half of the season. Has killer stuff and his 193 K’s last season are a new Raccoons record.
SP Carlos Gonzalez, 23, B:R, T:R (6-7, 3.58 ERA | 9-15, 3.92 ERA) – a 1985 campaign cut short by injury, and plagued by some infamously terrible starts. There is a lot of room for him to improve and justify being a #1 overall pick.
SP Christopher Powell, 37, B:L, T:R (9-16, 4.20 ERA | 106-110, 3.35 ERA) – in the last guaranteed year of his huge contract, Powell’s time is clearly over. He’s been whacked nicely for most of the 1985 season. He still posts low WHIP numbers, but balls leave the yard all the time. He surrendered 29 homers in 33 starts last season.

MU Carlos Moran, 30, B:S, T:R (3-3, 3.21 ERA, 3 SV | 22-33, 3.60 ERA, 6 SV) – has found his role as mop-up guy, although even in that profession he sometimes gets blown up. Alternates between good stuff and strings of K’s and really bad control and strings of BB’s.
MR Emerson McDonald, 27, B:R, T:R (rookie) – good stuff, consistently posted good numbers in three seasons at the AAA level.
MR Jason Bentley, 24, B:R, T:R (0-0, 3.18 ERA, 1 SV | 0-0, 3.18 ERA, 1 SV) – mid-season call up that stuck, he’s a solid performer and ranks as #3 righty in the pen.
MR David Jones, 29, B:L, T:L (1-1, 3.20 ERA, 1 SV | 11-6, 3.89 ERA, 5 SV) – made his return in 1985 with a nice season after a horrible 1984 campaign, but he lacks stuff to really be a reliable 7th/8th inning guy.
SU Richard Cunningham, 26, B:R, T:R (8-6, 1.01 ERA, 3 SV | 21-17, 2.19 ERA, 14 SV) – fireballer with even splits, who outright killed opposing batters last season – as always. Did not surrender a single long ball in 71 innings.
SU Wally Gaston, 29, B:R, T:R (5-3, 1.89 ERA, 3 SV | 41-39, 2.89 ERA, 91 SV) – great stuff, bad control, he posted career bests in ERA and WHIP (1.13) last season, while going 76 frames, the most since 1977.
CL Grant West, 29, B:L, T:L (1-0, 1.33 ERA, 40 SV | 15-2, 1.62 ERA, 172 SV) – nickname “Demon”, says it all. Ultra-reliable, a true killer.

C Sam Dadswell, 25, B:L, T:R (.254, 18 HR, 64 RBI | .269, 41 HR, 179 RBI) – his first full season with Portland was sort of a disappointment. Apart from a career high home runs he struggled both at and behind the plate.
C Gustavo Flores, 27, B:R, T:R (.264, 2 HR, 31 RBI | .265, 4 HR, 50 RBI) – claimed off waivers by the Cyclones in mid-1985, strong for a backup and if Dadswell continues his 1985 slump, he’ll be a threat to him.

1B Tetsu Osanai, 27, B:L, T:L (.340, 26 HR, 106 RBI | .327, 67 HR, 319 RBI) – shipped in mid-season from Vancouver for Matt Workman, he possesses a phenomenal bat and is under a rather cheap contract through 1990. Should be a huge contributor to success.
1B/2B/SS/3B Winston Thompson, 32, B:L, T:R (.263, 1 HR, 48 RBI | .262, 6 HR, 111 RBI) – starter at 2B, he continues to give the Coons solid presence on the bases from there, again posting a .365 OBP, which may not be perfect for a leadoff batter, but all perfect leadoff batters have busted in the Coons’ face in recent years. He’s firmly entrenched where he is at the moment.
1B/3B/RF/LF Mark Dawson, 32, B:R, T:R (.252, 22 HR, 83 RBI | .247, 187 HR, 809 RBI) – #1 on the all-time home run leaderboard, his production continues to carry the team forward. He moves back from RF to 3B for this season, but can play every corner spot well. Posted only 15 K’s in almost 550 PA last season, continuing a strong trend of his.
1B/3B/SS/2B/RF/CF Steve Walker, 26, B:R, T:R (.258, 7 HR, 46 RBI | .262, 27 HR, 241 RBI) – starting shortstop, he flirted with a .300 AVG during the summer, only to collapse late. Is invaluable in a multitude of possible roles, though.
2B/SS/3B Dimian Barrios *, 32, B:R, T:R (.242, 2 HR, 70 RBI | .269, 8 HR, 405 RBI) – veteran brought over from the Miners for Cameron Green. He will start out as fifth infielder but poses a threat to Walker and maybe Thompson and should get ample playing time during the season.
1B/2B/3B/SS Carlos Miranda, 24, B:R, T:R (.264, 0 HR, 4 RBI | .264, 0 HR, 4 RBI) – came up during last season and stuck around as the sixth infielder for this year with very good defense and a capable bat.

LF/RF Daniel Hall, 30, B:R, T:R (.244, 12 HR, 44 RBI | .269, 123 HR, 478 RBI) – starter in leftfield, he has range, speed, a contact bat, and power – but in 1985, he had the plague, posting 127 K’s. Started weak, never improved, was hurt a few times. He will bounce back in ‘86.
RF/LF/CF Armando Sanchez, 31, B:L, T:L (.226, 9 HR, 50 RBI | .286, 109 HR, 632 RBI) – will platoon in CF with Lucero. Disappointment would be a gentle description of his campaign, in which he batted below the Mendoza line well into the summer. Has so far not proven his huge contract to be deserved.
RF/CF/LF Ricardo Gonzalez, 26, B:L, T:L (.281, 21 HR, 55 RBI | .258, 51 HR, 270 RBI) – started as backup, but has proven to be worthy as a starter in RF. Showcased awesome (and surprising) power, and is a great defender, too.
LF/CF/RF Rodrigo Lucero, 35, B:R, T:R (.242, 6 HR, 24 RBI | .235, 18 HR, 136 RBI) – will platoon in CF with Sanchez. Despite his age he is a stellar defender with baffling range, and he can slug one as well, but racks up high K numbers, too, with 24% of his AB’s in ’85 going for three strikes.
LF/CF/RF Bill Stevens, 25, B:R, T:R (rookie) – very good defense, high batting average in AAA, he will try to make the most of his chance now. Was acquired two years ago in the White/Banda trade with the Warriors.

No Raccoon regular has ever batted over .300 over a full season with the team – STILL. I’m looking at Osanai.

Opening day lineup:
Vs. RHP: 2B Thompson – RF R. Gonzalez – 3B Dawson – 1B Osanai – LF Hall – C Dadswell – SS Walker – CF Sanchez
Vs. LHP: 2B Thompson – RF R. Gonzalez – 3B Dawson – 1B Osanai – LF Hall – C Flores (Dadswell) – SS Walker (Barrios/Miranda) – CF Lucero

The Raccoons lost 1.6 WAR during the offseason, placing 14th out of 24 among all ABL teams. This is the first time in years we didn’t improve in WAR, but maybe it’s the first time we’ll improve significantly on the field. (But for your information, I ordered a truck load of books on baseball stats in general and sabermetrics in particular off Amazon, as I intend to turn this into science here.)

Top 5: Canadiens (+12.1), Knights (+6.1), Rebels (+5.7), Condors (+3.6), Capitals (+2.6)
Bottom 5: Blue Sox (-6.0), Scorpions (-6.1), Bayhawks (-6.3), Pacifics (-7.3), Falcons (-9.8)

Tough times for California baseball. The reason for the Canadiens and Falcons gracing opposite ends of this list is the “Mauler”: Juan Correa accounted for 10.0 WAR alone last season.

PREDICTION TIME:

Will this be the Year of the Ring-Eyed Rats?

Sadly, no. Only 60% of the rotation are reliable, and 6th in line, Scott Wade at AAA, is 6th in line for a reason. The bullpen will not be a hassle. But with two starters continually getting pounded, it’s hard to finish first, especially if you look at what the Canadiens have assembled. Correa, Campbell, Smith, Beato form an incredible top 4 there, with either of them easily being at least a #2 starter. They are so stuffed in SP’s, veteran Steve Murray could be forced into the pen for Tia Fa.

If the offense (Hall, Dadswell) returns to previous years’ strength and the rest of the pack holds up, the Raccoons should be able to win between 82 and 88 games. A slight improvement over their 84-78 record is entirely possible.

No other CL North teams appear to have improved a ton, although the Titans have some pieces in place.

But the Canadiens will run away with the division and the Raccoons will be able to finish second at best.

We will start the season facing the Titans.

[Questdog]

You never know.......there could be a gaggle of exploding elbows wandering through Vancouver looking for a nesting site....if Danny and Tetsu both have the years they are capable of having, the offense can win some of those games the tail end starters try to lose....and the Portland Procyonidae perhaps prevail.....

[Westheim]

Of course injuries can always befall a team. But if the Canadiens lose two starting pitchers, they can cover it up nicely.

Imagine two of our first three going down. Oh my.

[Westheim]

The Raccoons have the 17th minor league system according to “experts”. We have six players in the top 100, and eight in the top 200:
24th AAA OF Gustavo Quintanilla, 22 – traded for this offseason
47th A SP Luis Herrera, 18 – was included in the Green/Barrios trade this offseason
76th A 2B Dani Perez, 22 – was an international discovery a few years ago, but can’t get going at all
78th AA 1B Gabriel Ramirez, 21 – our second draft pick last season
91st A CL Miguel Lopez, 16 – international discovery
98th AAA OF Marcos Costello, 21 – traded for this offseason
108th INF Joe Jackson, 21 – first round pick last season
109th AAA MR Juan Martinez, 19 – international discovery a few years ago

The Indians and Crusaders went first in the CL North, with New York 3-1 on top. Atlanta pounced Charlotte 12-6 with five driven in by Michael Root. The Knights certainly are a hard favorite to win the CL South this year.

With lefty Kevin Williams starting against us, I made a change to the lineup that morning, putting in Walker as leadoff man (which would not work out, but it was a hunch).

Raccoons (0-0) vs. Titans (0-0)

Logan Evans vs. Kevin Williams was it for the opener. Evans walked in his first run of the season in the top 2nd, and before Osanai in the 4-hole got to hit safely for the Coons for the first time in ’86, they were already 2-0 down. They tied the game in the same inning thanks to three walks by Williams, and a wobbly Evans drove in the go-ahead run in the fourth. Ahead 4-2, Evans left in the sixth with two down and nobody on. Bentley was the first guy out of the pen this year, with Bill Stevens coming on in the double switch for his major league debut. He instantly got his first putout by catching Eduardo German’s harmless flyer to center. Bentley then put two on in the seventh and Cunningham put out the fire. With the Coons up 5-2, Emerson McDonald made his debut in the eighth and walked the first two batters. Wally Gaston restored order quickly, but Grant West also tortured the fans at the park, putting two on to start the ninth. He then retired the next three batters, and the Coons had an opening day win, 5-2. Sanchez (PH) 1-1; Osanai 2-4; Thompson 1-1, 3 BB; Barrios (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Stevens 1-2;

With his 1.000 AVG from 1 AB (but 4 PA), Winston Thompson lonely sat atop the batting table after this game.

Errors by Walker and Dadswell plated a Titans run in the first inning, preparing Vicente Ruíz for another long season. Isto Grönholm 2-bombed Ruíz in the third, Thompson misplayed a grounder and Walker had a ball dip off his glove in the fourth for another two runs. Dadswell made another error in the sixth. The Raccoons didn’t get on the board until the bottom 6th – and then only on an error by the Titans (which made for five errors in the game by then). This was way too much terribleness to ever be overcome at the plate. While they chipped off the Titans’ 6-0 lead in the late innings, they never pulled back up and lost 7-4. Walker 2-4; Miranda (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Ricardo Gonzalez (0-6) was the only Raccoon hitless after two games.

Kisho Saito and Kinji Kan found ways to match up repeatedly against each other since Kan had been traded away from the Coons and Saito had been brought in, and did so again in the rubber game of this opening series. Grönholm homered off Saito in the first inning. The Coons loaded them up in the bottom 1st, but Hall grounded into a double play to end the inning. Walker bobbled a double play ball in the fourth inning, putting two on with one out. Next up, Carlos Gonsales hit a 3-shot that made it 4-0 against the Coons. Grönholm hit ANOTHER home run in the fifth, and the Raccoons had zero. Salvador Vargas homered off Saito in the sixth to finally chase him. Steve Walker led off the bottom 7th with a home run, 6-1 Titans. The Coons then loaded the bags and Dawson forced a walk from Kan, 6-2. Osanai up, the fans were giddy to see something. They saw the fourth double play the Raccoons grounded into on the day (they would get a fifth in the ninth inning). The Titans were not bothered by this. They continued to destroy the pen past the seventh inning and won a smashing 13-3. Thompson 2-3, 2 BB; R. Gonzalez 2-5; Walker 3-4, HR, RBI;

So much for the first three guys in our rotation and the pen which won’t be a hassle.

Raccoons (1-2) vs. Aces (3-1)

Charles Young was the starter for the Aces, so even with Carlos Gonzalez on the mound for the Furballs, there was hope. Osanai quickly thwarted hope with another double play grounded into in the first. The Aces led 1-0 in the bottom 3rd, when Lowell Allen bobbled a perfect double play ball sent by Thompson. Walker grounded over the two runners to bring up Dawson with one out. Dawson made a poor grounder, but at least tied the game. Osanai walked, but Hall flew out and the chance was gone. Sam Dadswell’s home run in the fourth provided a lead that Gonzalez blew with back-to-back walks, then two singles right away in the fifth. Down 4-2, the Coons rallied once more. Hall reached on an error with one out. Dadswell sent a flyer to right, that went inches past Tom Simmons’ glove for a double that scored the quick Hall, 4-3. They didn’t bring in Dadswell, and Matt Sims sat them down in the ninth. 4-3 Aces. Dadswell 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI;

Frustration violently unloaded in the bottom 2nd of the middle game of the series. After Chris Powell had pitched two perfect innings, the Coons reeled off base hits, although they were aided by an error. Bill Stevens made both the first and the second out in the inning, as they put up a huge 9 on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Powell continued to effortlessly retire Aces batters. The Coons went to a 10-0 lead in the third, and Powell lined up zeros going for a shutout. With one out in the ninth, Brad Brown singled to left. Jordan Archer then homered. Gone the shutout, gone Powell. McDonald struggled to get the final two outs, but the Furballs won, 10-2. Barrios 2-4, BB; Dawson 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Osanai 3-5, 2B, RBI; Hall 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 3-5, 2 RBI; R. Gonzalez 3-5, RBI; Powell 8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (1-0);

Powell easily turned in the best start among the rotation the first time ‘round the order. Whoda thunk that?

Rain chased the starters in the fourth inning of a scoreless affair in the deciding game 3. Logan Evans had been awesome that far with a hit and a walk against him, but couldn’t continue after a 1:45 delay. Jason Bentley went from the fourth through the seventh holding the Aces off the board (and also off third base), but the Raccoons didn’t score for him. Gaston pitched the eighth in short order. Gonzalez singled to start the bottom of that inning, bringing up Gaston, who was sent to the plate and bunted Gonzalez over, but Thompson and Walker didn’t get him in. Jones came in with one out in the ninth and ended that one, still 0-0, but Dawson, Osanai, and Hall, allegedly the big battery of the team, came up in the bottom 9th. They combined for zero home runs so far. It remained that way and we went to extra innings, but not for long. Jones surrendered three hits, all against lefties, in the 10th and the Raccoons lost 1-0. They had only four hits. Dadswell 2-4; Bentley 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

Raccoons (2-4) vs. Falcons (1-5)

Game 1 saw the Raccoons trail 4-3 … after the first inning. Ruíz had been torn up early on. Single, home run, walk, walk, wild pitch, single, to make it short. Dadswell tied the game with an RBI single in the third – with rain already falling down again. Portland’s awful weather patterns – from January to December. Another rain delay forced the starters out of the game by the sixth, if their bad performance hadn’t. The game was still tied then. Bottom 7th, the Coons had runners on the corners, nobody out, and Osanai, Hall, and Barrios up. Osanai walked and the bags were loaded for Hall to score big. He popped out. That brought up Barrios, who sent a vicious liner up the right field line right into the corner, emptying the bags with a triple. A walk and a hit batsman loaded them up again. Walker sacrificed in Barrios, 8-4 Coons. The Falcons pen collapsed some more in the eighth and the Coons won 10-4. Dawson 2-5, RBI; Osanai 3-4, 2B; Barrios 2-5, 3B, 2B, 4 RBI; Dadswell 1-2, BB, 2 RBI; Walker (PH) 1-2, RBI; Emerson McDonald got his first major league win with a scoreless seventh.

Saito surrendered two in the first inning of the middle game. Steve Walker socked one to lead off for the Coons in the bottom 1st to cut the gap in half, but catcher Salvador Valle restored the 2-run lead soon enough with a solo home run off Saito. The Raccoons again had nothing going and couldn’t even get into scoring position. In the bottom 8th, Barrios pinch hit for Gaston to lead off and singled to center. Thompson drove him in with a 1-out double, putting the tying run in scoring position and the not-battering battery up. Dawson and Osanai both launched mighty shots – both of which were caught. I screamed some. McDonald sat down the Falcons in the top 9th, and Hall singled to lead off the bottom 9th. Flores flew out, Sanchez K’ed. I banged my head. Gonzalez singled on a 2-2 count, putting the tying run in scoring position and Barrios into the batter’s box. Raccoons lost, 3-2. Walker 3-4, HR, RBI;

The Falcons sent up a lineup containing *two* .200+ hitters against Carlos Gonzalez. Miranda and Osanai committed errors right away for another 2-0 deficit after the top 1st. They did not find a way back into the game, anemically letting Gonzalez, who pitched a good game, out there. They left two on in the sixth, then loaded the bags in the seventh with two singles and a walk against a slowly tiring Bastyao Caixinha, with one out. Ricardo Gonzalez struck out, and Dawson popped out to short. They also left two on in the eighth, and one in the ninth. 2-1 Falcons. Walker 2-5, 2B, RBI; Hall 2-3, 2B; Lucero 2-4; C. Gonzalez 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, L (0-2);

In other news

April 9 – Elbow ligament damage ends Steve Thompson’s age 31 season after recording two outs. The Blue Sox hurler’s season will read an ugly 0-1, 13.50 ERA. He will be out for at least a full year.

Complaints and stuff

Nope. No, no, no, that team won’t go anywhere. The rotation spent the opening homestand chained to some bars in the rape factory, where they were assaulted by batters. Even Grant West has been bruised badly. While he’s 1/1 SV/OPP, he surrendered a run in a keep-him-warm appearance against the Aces and left two on in every appearance.

The offense is as harmless as ever. Take away the two routs that give a +/-0 run differential (4.22 R/G and R/A each), and they are completely unclutchy. FOUR 1-run losses already are quite telling, and they don’t hit ANY home runs. But they have surrendered ten long balls, last in the league by a good margin.

In addition to that, they have a steal success rate of zero.

This can’t work out, never.

Next: Crusaders, Indians on the road. Knights and Thunder at home, and then April will already be over.