Portland Raccoons (ABL) - Page 92

Westheim · 04-23-2016, 04:37 PM

Raccoons (42-34) @ Condors (31-44) – June 27-29, 2011

The Condors’ offense already was not very good (but who’s in town was?) and they were 9th in runs scored, but their pitching was were the dead bird was really buried. While the rotation was semi-competent and was close to league average, they had a completely bottomless bullpen that managed to run an ERA of almost five and blowing game after game after game. The Raccoons somehow were 1-2 against the Condors this season, which had something to do with being blown out for 13 runs in the opener in May, then scoring merely four runs between the last two games. The Condors had lost their last seven contests, so nobody could say they weren’t beatable.

Projected matchups:
Gil McDonald (4-6, 3.21 ERA) vs. Colin Sabatino (2-10, 5.19 ERA)
Bill Conway (6-5, 3.26 ERA) vs. Jaylen Martin (7-5, 2.90 ERA)
Nick Brown (7-3, 3.15 ERA) vs. Doug Thompson (5-2, 2.02 ERA)

This is a full set of right-handed pitchers. The Coons were still without Tomas Castro, but he might come off the DL as early as Wednesday.

Game 1
POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P McDonald
TIJ: SS Valles – C Leach – RF Crum – 1B R. Morris – LF Zackery – 3B I. Reed – CF Feldmann – 2B Dougal – P Sabatino

Melvin Valles homered off McDonald to start the Condors’ day at the plate, instantly giving them a 1-0 lead. The Raccoons would re-tie the score in the top of the second like only they could. Seeley drew a leadoff walk, followed by singles by Yoshi and Palmer, which loaded the bases with nobody down. Well, there were two down once Bowen hit into a double play, with at least Seeley coming in with the run. Minimalist baseball would see the Raccoons scratch out a run in the fourth that wouldn’t have scored on a Nomura sac fly if not for a wild pitch by Colin Sabatino before that, then killed modest efforts with double play grounders to short in the next two innings. McDonald was trudging along on a 2-hit effort for a long while, and the Raccoons got another run in the seventh when a Bowen grounder escaped past Isiah Reed’s glove into shallow left and allowed Yoshi to score from second base. Rob Morris would hit a single off McDonald to start the bottom of the seventh, but McDonald continued to face batters until pitch #103 drilled Ryan Feldmann. That was as far as McDonald had gone this season, and it presented a pickly situation with Ron Thrasher asked to retire pinch-hitter Rowan Tanner with the tying runs on base and two gone. Tanner swiped hard, but never hit a ball, going down on strikes. This far, and no further, however, for things working out the Critters’ way. Ricardo Huerta came on for the eighth and sucked yet again. A leadoff walk to Manny Cruz and a Foster Leach single presented trouble, and when Tommy Ward relieved him, this game’s door was soon about to get blown out of its hinges. Johnny Crum hit an infield single that Bowen failed to play for anything, and then Nick May and Rusty Zackery hit hard singles to tie the game, before Reed and Jorge Garcia inexplicably struck out to leave three runners on base. Top 9th, Jayden Reed was in trouble quickly for the Condors, allowing a 1-out single to Palmer and then a double to Bowen, both to left. With a pair in scoring position, Logan Taylor batted for Ward, but before Taylor could even attempt to do damage, Foster Leach completely butchered a pitch from Reed and Palmer scored on the passed ball. Taylor hit a sac fly, 5-3, and the inning seemed over, but Quebell hit a 2-out single to left. Reed lost it quite definitely by now, walking Merritt and Pruitt, but remained in to face Jose Morales. Big mistake. BIG mistake. How big of a mistake? GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!! 9-3 Blighters. Morales 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Nomura 2-3, RBI; Palmer 2-4; Bowen 2-4, 2B, RBI; McDonald 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K and 1-2;

Craig Bowen reached batting an even .200 with this outing. Whoah! Success!

Game 2
POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway
TIJ: SS Valles – CF Feldmann – 1B R. Morris – LF Zackery – 3B I. Reed – C J. Garcia – RF Tanner – 2B Dougal – P J. Martin

“Flipper” Conway didn’t allow a hit the first time through the Condors lineup, and his only mistake, a leadoff walk to Rusty Zackery, was erased on a double play. The Raccoons didn’t do anything with “Midnight” Martin – who clearly had the nickname contest won – for four innings, and when Bowen hit a leadoff single to left center (batting .203! excitement!) in the top 5th, Conway’s bunt was more or less right into Martin’s most convenient spot and he got Bowen forced out. There would be no effect from that poor bunt, however, since Quebell lifted a ball over Zackery and into the deeper regions of the gap for a double, and Conway was quite fleet on foot and managed to score from first base for the first run in the game. That score gap soon grew wider. While Rowan Tanner retired Merritt with a tumbling catch, Pruitt hit a soft line over Stanley Dougal for a single that plated Quebell from third base, and a Valles error put Morales on. Seeley singled to right, 3-0, and they even loaded the bags when Nomura battled out a walk, but while Palmer hit a 2-0 pitch hard after that, he also hit it right into the beak of Valles, who this time made the play.

Martin pitched a scoreless sixth, and when he was hit for with Johnny Crum in the bottom of the inning, the Condors would still be searching for their first hit. Crum delivered it, a single to right, and Ryan Feldmann would hit another one, but Rob Morris would ground out conveniently to Nomura to end the inning. Palmer stranded two more with another grounder to Valles in the top 7th, but Conway – after the minor hiccup in the sixth – continued to mute the Condors more or less completely. With a low pitch count, he was going to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, even if the Raccoons wouldn’t tack something onto their 3-0 lead in the top 9th against Jose Sanchez, and they (Merritt, Pruitt, Morales) managed to get turned down in five pitches by a 6+ ERA guy. Conway got a good start to the bottom 9th, striking out Valles, but Feldmann slapped a home run to left, and that shifted responsibilities to Angel Casas, who allowed two hard grounders, one by Morris that was played by Quebell as it attempted to break his knee, and the other by Zackery that escaped into left. But after that came Reed, who was batting .150-ish and was easily victimized by Casas. 3-1 Coons. Pruitt 2-5, RBI; Seeley 2-4, RBI; Conway 8.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W (7-5) and 1-4, 2B;

A start like Conway’s for Brownie would be greatly soothing my troubled soul.

But before we got to that, we had to make a roster change. Jason Seeley (.245, 4 HR, 17 RBI) was sent back to St. Petersburg, although I was trying to think of ways to open a roster spot for him, and we added Tomas Castro off the DL.

Game 3
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Brown
TIJ: SS Valles – C Leach – 1B May – RF M. Cruz – CF Feldmann – 3B I. Reed – LF Crum – 2B Dougal – P D. Thompson

Brown walked Valles on four balls before the Condors’ Leach and May made three outs on two pitches, grounding to Merritt and Nomura, respectively. The Raccoons would take a lead in the top 2nd. Starting with Yoshi, they hit three straight 1-out singles, and those singles became progressively softer as they descended the order. Brown drew a walk, and then Quebell fudged up as usual with three men on and popped out to Dougal. Castro hit a ball hard to right, but it hung up long enough for Manny Cruz to retire him. Palmer left two more runners in scoring position in the top 3rd, and the game went south in a real hurry by the bottom of the inning. The Condors had nobody on with two outs, before Brown not only walked the pitcher Thompson on four pitches, but issued THREE MORE WALKS, and then gave up a double to Cruz that put the Condors up 3-1, while the Raccoons had six hits to their one ****ing double.

The situation was extremely dire. Some smirking Mexican children sang “Brownie, downie” a bit up the third base line, and I realized that it was at least seven hours before I could get back to my booze stash in Portland. The game wasn’t quite lost yet – the Coons tied the score by the sixth, with an RBI double by Quebell in the fourth, and an RBI single hit by Castro with two outs in the top 6th – but in the middle of the sixth the Coons out-hit the Condors 10-1 and still weren’t particularly close to sweeping a horrendous team.

Something was transpiring in the top 7th, however, with Morales walking to start the frame. Thompson threw a wild pitch, then walked Merritt anyway, and Yoshi singled to right. That put three on with nobody out, and Palmer comi- no! Logan Taylor grabbed a bat, hit the ball back to Thompson on the first pitch and caused Morales to be retired at home. McNeela grounded sharply to Isiah Reed, who tapped third base to force Yoshi, but those three steps cost him a play either at home or at first, and the Coons took the lead. Batting Brown against a tired Thompson was tempting, especially since Brown was unretired on the day, but we sent Craig Bowen to bat. Thompson only had one K on the day, how bad could it get for Bowen? He fell to two strikes, then grounded out. 4-3 in the seventh inning stretch became a 5-4 deficit after the bottom of the inning, in which Tommy Ward walked both batters he saw, and Pat Slayton was no help as usual. The Raccoons left runners on the corners in the top of the eighth, then went down in order against Jayden Reed in the ninth. 5-4 Condors. Castro 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Nomura 3-5, 2B; McNeela 2-5, 2 RBI;

Raccoons: 12 hits. Condors: 2 hits.

What a ****ing collection of no-good bull****s.

Raccoons (44-35) vs. Indians (38-39) – June 30-July 3, 2011

The Indians were roughly league average in terms of runs scored and runs allowed, with a -1 run differential. They led the Continental League in dingers, but had the second-worst OBP, and also were even worse than the Raccoons in terms of stealing bases. Despite all their shortcomings, they had taken five of eight from the Furballs.

Projected matchups:
Jong-hoo Umberger (6-3, 2.59 ERA) vs. Brad Osborne (3-4, 5.11 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.83 ERA) vs. Tristan Bourn (1-2, 7.04 ERA)
Gil McDonald (4-6, 3.07 ERA) vs. Bob King (8-5, 3.45 ERA)
Bill Conway (7-5, 3.08 ERA) vs. Jimmy Sjogren (4-2, 5.22 ERA)

We get two left-handers on Friday and Sunday. Keith Ayers can’t wait.

Game 1
IND: 1B Tsung – SS Luján – RF J. Ortíz – LF Graham – 2B Butler – CF Luxton – C R. Speed – 3B Phillips – P Osborne
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Howell – C Bowen – P Umberger

Umberger had a 7-pitch first before the Raccoons had a good start against Osborne. Quebell drew a leadoff walk before Castro’s grounder to short was thrown past the reach of Bob Butler by Antonio Luján. Pruitt’s clean single loaded them up for Morales, who wrestled a full count walk from Osborne. Merritt was plunked for the second run, and the Coons didn’t make an out until Yoshi Nomura grounded out to first, but that still scored another run, and they would get four in total in the inning. And then Umberger came along, and presented his general idea of how to pitch with a 4-0 lead, putting on the leadoff man in every inning but one from there . That included a leadoff walk to Dave Graham in the second, and Graham would come in to score before long, and would have a leadoff single in the fourth. Butler doubled, putting runners on second and third with nobody out, but then Robbie Luxton and Richard Speed popped out over the infield. Jim Phillips was put on intentionally to get to Osborne, who had hit a leadoff single in the third, hit a liner to center that looked like trouble, but Castro just managed to play it before it could inflict a world of hurt.

The fifth was the inning the leadoff batter didn’t get on for the Indians, but with two outs they got a pair of singles from Juan Ortíz and Dave Graham before Bob Butler doubled both in to cut the gap to 4-3. The Coons scratched out a run in the bottom of the inning, Morales scoring on a Nomura double, then even got a break when Howell reached on an error, but Bowen struck out and Umberger … did so as well. The Indians finally turned the score on its head in the sixth. Richard Speed hit a leadoff homer, before Jim Phillips and Mun-wah Tsung (hate that sucker…) tied the score with bloop hits. Antonio Luján hit a liner to center that Castro couldn’t play and it escaped him all the way to the Willamette for a go-ahead RBI triple. That finally got Umberger run from the game and shoved into a dumpster outside, and Luis Beltran allowed Luján to score as well as the Coons fell 7-5 behind. They came pretty close to making that up when Marcos Bruno issued two walks in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Pruitt to the plate with two outs, and Bruno hadn’t been very good this season, nursing an ERA over four. He got Pruitt struck out, though. 7-5 Indians. Morales 3-4, BB, RBI; Nomura 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

…

Game 2
IND: 1B Tsung – 2B Butler – LF Graham – RF J. Ortíz – SS Luján – CF Luxton – C R. Speed – 3B Phillips – P Broun
POR: 3B Merritt – 2B Palmer – LF Morales – RF Ayers – CF Castro – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – SS Howell – P Baldwin

A grounder that escaped past Rob Howell’s glove off the bat of Tristan Broun not only ended Baldwin’s perfect run from the start of the game, but in a hurry the Indians were close to burying him. With two already down in the top 3rd, Tsung walked, and Butler singled. Dave Graham struck out trying to hit a slam, which left the Coons up 1-0 after Jon Merritt’s leadoff jack in the first. While the Coons would get a second run in the fourth, Bowen doubling in Quebell, offense was few and far between and mostly silent completely until the sixth, when Bob Butler hit another single and Juan Ortíz cranked a massive shot to center that tied the game at two. Merritt, after hitting one hard in the first, would be hit hard in the seventh, adding a second runner to Rob Howell with two outs, but Palmer popped out in a really ****ty way. Baldwin worked his way through eight, Morales hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, and while some fans were fooled by this and clapped their paws eagerly, Ayers obviously hit into a double play, and after Castro finished another frustrating (but not disappointing, since we never expected anything but defeat in the first place) inning with a bouncer to short, Mark Clark hit a leadoff triple off Huerta in the top 9th that was completely doing in the awful Raccoons. Despite Huerta not retiring anybody and being chased in shame after a Speed single and a throwing error of his own, Ron Thrasher held the damage to one run, and the Raccoons actually got on base against Salvarado Soure in the bottom 9th. Pruitt hit a 1-out single, Taylor drew a 2-out walk, up came Merritt … and rolled out to short. 3-2 Indians. Pruitt (PH) 1-1; Baldwin 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K;

Michael Palmer is close to getting his tail cut off…

Game 3
IND: 1B Tsung – CF Luxton – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF Graham – 2B Butler – SS M. Clark – 3B Phillips – P King
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Howell – C Bowen – P McDonald

The repulsive Tsung singled, Robbie Luxton homered, and before I had even gotten to look at the menu, the Indians had dumped a pint of salt into the soup with a 2-0 lead and nobody out … at all. It would be another slow-offense game after that, especially as far as the home team was concerned. They didn’t have anything in particular going for them until Tomas Castro hit a leadoff single in the fourth. He made it to second on Pruitt’s groundout, then stole third base, and was left on base when Morales grounded out to King and Merritt popped one over to short.

Top 5th, McDonald shoveled the bases full to the brim with runners, then struck out Luxton as the Indian tried to slam to end the inning. Bottom 5th, still down 2-0, Nomura and Howell led off with a pair of singles. Bowen grounded out, McDonald popped out, Quebell grounded out, and nobody scored … at all. I was trying hard to offer something spicy for the team to get the bats going, but was told that the kitchen was out of pepper and only dull dishes could be served to the offense. No thanks, I replied, they’re dull enough as is.

Merritt then sunk McDonald for good in the top 7th. The Indians already had two men in scoring position with one out, but it was the pitcher Bob King batting, so how bad could it become? Well, he grounded to third, and Merritt’s throw, nominally to first, ended up wide and went right into the home team’s dugout, sending the reserves scattering as the rocket caromed around inside the friendly trench and knocked out the delivery boy with the pizza I had ordered in the meantime. While the Coons, down 4-0, switched pitchers, Craig Bowen won the battle for the biggest slice, which gained him enough power to hit a 2-run homer that cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning.

Yet, basically, any 2-run deficit was insurmountable at this point in this team’s life cycle, even if you ignored the fact that Josh Gibson pitched in the ninth and allowed a home run to Jim Phillips to add a run to the gap. So when Logan Taylor hit for Howell with two outs in the ninth and Yoshi on first, it wasn’t necessarily an interesting spot, but I finally got a dish of unspoiled soup delivered. As Helio Maggessi struck out Taylor, I did notice some hair swimming in the soup, though. It was not just hair, it was an entire dead raccoon. 5-2 Indians. Nomura 3-4; Bowen 2-3, HR, 2 RBI;

(pokes the dead coon with a spoon) Nick, is that you?

Game 4
IND: 1B Tsung – SS Luján – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF Graham – 2B Butler – CF Luxton – 3B Phillips – P Sjogren
POR: 3B Merritt – CF Castro – LF Morales – RF Ayers – 1B Pruitt – C Bowen – SS Howell – 2B Nomura – P Conway

Bottom 1st, Merritt walked, and two singles loaded the bags with nobody out for Keith Ayers, who came within two whiskers of hitting into a triple play with a hard grounder to third base. Phillips stepped on the bag in front of him, flung the ball to Butler for the out at second, and Ayers BARELY beat out the throw to first. Sjogren was adrift, walked Pruitt and Bowen, but Howell knotted himself up and struck out, leaving the Raccoons with only the run that Merritt scored on Ayers’ 6-4 double play.

The Coons’ offense ditched the next few innings entirely, while Conway was in trouble in the third inning. Jim Phillips’ leadoff single was bad enough, but then he tried to get Phillips at second on Sjogren’s bunt, but while he had Phillips beat, his throw to second also beat Howell and he couldn’t come up with the high throw. The Indians had runners on first and second, but a combo of whiff-‘n-pop had them go home with a zero in the inning, but they wouldn’t be denied forever. Luxton’s leadoff double in the fifth was certainly trouble. Phillips grounded to second, moving Luxton to third base, but Sjogren went down whiffing. That brought up the ****head Tsung, and he wasn’t going to miss this one, singling to left and tying the score. The Indians would lob three arrows for three singles in the sixth, which was enough to take a 2-1 lead on the lame-ass Raccoons.

Bottom 7th. Conway was done after 103 pitches anyway, and so when Howell and Nomura opened the inning with a pair of singles, this was not only the first faint movement the team had offered in 90 minutes, it was also the perfect spot to hit for Conway with … uh, tough choice indeed. We selected Quebell to bat in the spot, since if it didn’t work, his double play – which I considered as sure as darkness inside a raccoons’ arse – would at least add some tragic-comedic value. Lo and behold, though, Quebell ran with Sjogren for nine pitches before clonkering a shot to deep center and that was OUTTA HERE!!! WHOAH!! RUNS!!!

The Coons got Castro and Morales on base with one out in the inning and had Ayers and Pruitt ready to deliver the death knell to the Indians and stave off a 4-game sweep on home turf, except that Sjogren, who should be gassed by now, had enough to strike out both of them. Thrasher thrashed the Indians in the top 8th before Sjogren issued one last walk to Bowen before leaving in the bottom 8th. Marcos Bruno came on, walked McNeela, who hit for Howell, and Yoshi singled. Three on, nobody out, Quebell, who had replaced Pruitt at first, up next. Bad things were bound to happen. He popped out to the shortstop, and Bruno struck out Merritt and Castro… The stinging pain in both temples aside, it didn’t matter. Angel had a perfect ninth and struck out two to deny the Indians their entirely deserved sweep. 4-2 Blighters. Castro 3-5; Nomura 3-4; Quebell (PH) 1-2, HR, 3 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (8-5);

… aaaand the Elks are already stomping the ground with their hooves in terrible excitement …

In other news

June 29 – Topeka’s Apasyu Britton (.356, 3 HR, 30 RBI) runs his hitting streak to 25 games with a first inning single in a 6-4 win over the Gold Sox before dropping to 1-for-5 on the day.
June 30 – Apasyu Britton’s hitting streak ends in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Miners. He goes 0-for-3 to end his run at 25 games.
June 30 – WAS INF Fernando Reyes (.259, 1 HR, 31 RBI) is out for the season after tearing a back muscle.
July 2 – The Loggers trade SP A.J. Bartels (7-5, 3.34 ERA) to the Crusaders for two prospects.
July 2 – SFW INF Oliver Torres (.296, 1 HR, 27 RBI) is placed on the DL, but should only miss the minimum time with a thumb contusion.

Complaints and stuff

After Wednesday’s blazing disaster, the Raccoons owed Nick Brown another $7,727,160.50 … I know, because I counted. I never expected that deal to turn sour a) at all, and b) so soon. Too soon. And that’s not the only smelling contract on the roster…

Opening a roster spot for Jason Seeley would primarily entail dumping Logan Taylor onto somebody. Keith Ayers is no great help, but he is right-handed and that is a tremendous job guarantee at this point. The potential return for Taylor would probably be close to zero and we might need to sweeten the deal with some coinage.

Walt Canning had only batted .220 in AAA so far and is now on the DL for we hope only six weeks with a tear in his labrum. Surgery ain’t ruled out yet.

“Monti” Alston hit .355 and knacked eight homers to land CL Hitter of the Month honors. Screw him.

As the Coons are broken beyond repair right now, I went to splurge big in the international free market, the signing period of which opened on July 1. Teams can spend $300k freely without luxury tax being charged, and we splashed right in, signing a Dominican lefty named Ricky Martinez for $260k. Our head scout Juan Calderón thinks he has all the necessary ingredients for a great major league starter. The fastball is a bit on the slow slide at 90mph (at age 16), but there is a swooping curve in the mix already. That isn’t even the biggest fish I am after…

And please kindly turn out to the park next week, the last week before the All Star break. We will have a beach towel for the first 15,000 fans on Monday (good luck finding a beach), a mug with just the eyes of our logo for the first 10,000 fans on Thursday, then on Sunday it will be Jon Merritt Bobblehead day, and on the fly we whipped up another event for Saturday, when Nick Brown is scheduled to pitch against the Crusaders, and we will hold Nick Brown Requiem Night and celebratorily bury Brownie’s career. It’s the Crusaders, he hasn’t NOT been slaughtered by them in too long.

blazertaz13 · 04-23-2016, 09:05 PM

Just a shout out to you. With all of the frustration that the 'Coons have provided over the years, you have stuck with it. My team is struggling to start the season 4-9 and I want to just hide behind the wood shed.

Thanks for continuing this.

MarkCuban · 04-23-2016, 11:07 PM

Out of interest, how are Nick Brown's ratings holding up? If you're set on tearing the team apart, you might as well get something for him while he's still pretty close to his peak.

I don't think this scrappy bunch is done yet. Portland is only five games out, in 2nd Place, and leads the CL in almost every meaningful pitching category. You could always push your remaining chips to the table, bring in a bat or two, and make a run for it -- at the least you wouldn't be taking defeat laying down.

Westheim · 04-24-2016, 06:31 PM

Raccoons (45-38) vs. Canadiens (44-37) – July 4-7, 2011

With the smelling Elks in town, I really wasn’t in a holiday mood, especially considering our ongoing struggles. We might have swept them so far this year (4-0), but they had the best batting average in the league, scored the third-most runs, and had an above-average pitching staff that had them fifth in runs allowed, and overall they had a +49 run differential. The Coons’ was +62, but that wasn’t helping them to play better than .500 over their last 34 games. And then there is the slight issue with our starter for the series opener…

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (7-3, 3.23 ERA) vs. Tommy Wilson (8-2, 3.33 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (6-4, 3.03 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (5-8, 3.40 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.79 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (12-3, 2.25 ERA)
Gil McDonald (4-7, 3.05 ERA) vs. Scott Spears (7-6, 4.29 ERA)

Their starter for Thursday is very much up in the air, as they played a double header on Sunday. We could face D.J. Fulgieri (4-8, 6.02 ERA) or a spot starter just as well. All their starters are right-handed.

Game 1
VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 3B Suzuki – 2B Dobson – C Rucker – LF E. Garcia – SS Lawrence – P T. Wilson
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Brown

The Raccoons didn’t wait too long to make a mess. Brown had come out with a K to Ross Holland to start the game, but degraded by the second inning with a leadoff walk to Mitsuhide Suzuki. The defense then toppled him over, or should I say “non-defense”. There was a passed ball against Craig Bowen that moved Suzuki along the bases, but Brown would also allow a single to Robert Rucker before Nomura made a throwing error. Two outs, down 1-0, and with runners on the corners, Brown faced Tommy Wilson and gave up a straight line to centerfield for another run to score before striking out Holland.

While I was looking for the good paper I had put aside for my farewell note when the Coons didn’t even get a hit into the fourth inning, the Elks’ Wilson would suffer a mild implosion once Morales reached with a 2-out single. He walked Merritt and Nomura in full counts, then allowed a game-tying 2-run single to Michael Palmer. The Coons were right on top of him again the next inning, which started when Wilson drilled Brown in the hip, and Nick Brown held on to his bat almost all the way to first base before the first base coach wrestled it from his paws. Castro walked and Pruitt singled to load the sacks for Morales, who sent a fly to right center that neither John Hudson nor Ross Holland could get to before it was a 2-run double. Unfortunately both Merritt and Nomura popped out to either middle infielder to keep two men stranded in scoring position. Brown had used 87 pitches through five gum-like innings, and faced the right-handed part of the order, #2 through #5, starting in the sixth. This became his last inning, but he did leave on a high note despite a 2-out single by Suzuki when he struck out Jerry Dobson to leave on his own terms. He also left with a 4-2 lead, but that was immediately put to the test in a pressure cooker. To expect Luis Beltran to retire the left-handed 6-7-8 batters was already highly insane, I will admit, and Enrique Garcia hit a double, but it hurt greatly when Pat Slayton gave up a 2-out RBI double to PH Christian Greenman. While Holland added a groundout to his 0-3, 3 K outing facing Brown, the pen blew the lead for good in the eighth. Slayton allowed two singles, and Thrasher gave up another one to Robert Rucker who shot a rocket right through Nomura’s pant legs to knot the score at four.

The game would run long eventually. Both teams had a chance and blew it with a double play in the 10th inning, and the Raccoons had Palmer and Ayers on base when Quebell hit a ball into the gap in the bottom 11th, but it didn’t get down and ended up with Holland. Castro struck out for the umpteenth time to extend the contest even further. Ray Gilbert’s 12th home run off the season (sigh…) would win the game for the Elks in the 13th inning. Alonso Baca had singled off Huerta, and Gilbert then went deep, with the Raccoons launching a slow-motion counterattack in the bottom of the inning with a Palmer single and Keith Ayers’ RBI double. McNeela was the last bat off the bench to hit for Huerta with two down, but grounded out. 6-5 Canadiens. Pruitt 2-6; Morales 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Palmer 3-5, BB, 2 RBI; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1; Ayers (PH) 2-2, 2B, RBI; Brown 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K; Casas 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Well. Runners on second and third with one out, TWICE, and … mm…

Travis Owens started a rehab assignment in AAA on Tuesday.

Game 2
VAN: LF Holland – RF E. Garcia – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 3B Suzuki – SS Lawrence – 2B Dobson – CF Hudson – P Fujita
POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Morales – 2B Nomura – RF L. Taylor – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger

Umberger allowed hits to the first three batters in the game, but the Elks only got one run out of it with Holland getting caught stealing in between. The Raccoons loaded the sacks in the bottom 1st without ever getting a hit, with Merritt reaching on a Dobson error, Quebell getting plunked, and Morales working a walk. And nobody scored! Nomura flew out to shallow left, and Taylor grounded out to first, and not in a dangerous, or exciting way. In the second, Palmer drew a leadoff walk from Fujita, and then Bowen flew out to center on a 3-0 pitch and Umberger bunted into a double play. Yeah, that kinda game.

The Coons were in full surrender mode, with the Elks swatting hits galore off Umberger. A 71-minute rain delay after three innings was also driving up the annoyance factor in the game, and Umberger was handled for five runs on nine hits in six innings by the Elks, including a 2-run homer by Dobson in the sixth. All the Raccoons had on display was Ross Holland falling on his face after missing a Merritt fly by mere inches and stumbling while getting up. By the time the Elks were ready to try to make a play, Jon Merritt had already rounded the bases with an inside-the-park homer, with nobody on of course, and the score was then (in the fifth) back to 3-1, but the mood in the park was gloomy anyway. By the seventh, Josh Gibson got the ball and was told that there was no option not to pitch three innings. He didn’t, bemoaning an injury after giving up a run in the eighth. The Coons’ 3-4-5 batters had loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom 7th, only for Logan Taylor to make a casual out to center. Bowen and Ayers hit back-to-back homers in the bottom 8th, but nothing was going to keep this team from losing. 6-3 Canadiens. Merritt 2-5, HR, RBI; Morales 3-4; Ayers 1-1, HR, RBI;

Jose Morales had a 12-game hitting streak, while Josh Gibson had “elbow soreness” and was “DTD” for three days after this game. Don’t give me that ****ing look or I will hack your ****ing arm clean off!! (grabs an axe and chases after a squeaking Gibson)

The nerves are somewhat strained right now!

Game 3
VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 3B Suzuki – 2B Dobson – C Rucker – LF D. Moore – SS Rice – P R. Taylor
POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – CF Morales – RF Ayers – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Baldwin

Rod Taylor led the Continental League in all triple crown categories, but the Coons did get a run scraped out in the bottom of the first inning. Merritt singled, Pruitt doubled, and then a Morales sac fly was as good as it got, but at least the team took an actual lead that lasted … about four minutes. Jerry Dobson led off the top 2nd with a double, Baldwin threw a wild one, then conceded the run on a grounder by Robert Rucker. The Elks weren’t stopping there, putting Dale Moore and Gary Rice on base to be doubled in by the atrociously annoying Ross Holland. The Elks got another run off Baldwin in the third, but he settled in after that (turns out not putting the first two men on in every inning helps a great deal when you want to advance to somewhere pleasant), and would end up pitching eight innings without any more damage. In the meantime, the Raccoons had amounted to three hits off Taylor and a 2-run homer by Quebell and still trailed 4-3.

The Elks didn’t have their closer available, as Pedro Alvarado had saved a lot of games in recent days (…), so Bill King got the assignment to protect Taylor’s 4-3 lead in the ninth. Well, that didn’t work: Keith Ayers led off the inning with a jack on the very first pitch, and we were tied. Yoshi Nomura drove a ball to the warning track as well, but that one was sucked up by Enrique Garcia, and the Raccoons wouldn’t prevent this game from heading into extras, where Huerta allowed another home run to Gilbert right away in the 10th. Huerta put another Elk on base before yielding for Tommy Ward, who got a double play to get out of the mess. Bill King got another chance in the bottom 10th, starting with Castro batting for the pitcher in the #9 slot. Castro was out trying to bunt his way on (because had he any other options I was not aware of?), and the Coons went down in a hurry. 5-4 Canadiens. Merritt 3-5;

Aw, ****ing hell.

My Thursday started with what I first thought was some hair stuck to my soap, but once I was actually in the shower it turned out to be an actual Raccoon, and Matt Pruitt then made a slight mess of my bathroom trying to escape the floods. Until I was done wiping up the mess on the floor, he had pillaged my fridge and escaped through a window.

As we are on the topic of sweeping (the floor) …

Game 4
VAN: LF Holland – 2B Dobson – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – RF Greenman – CF Hudson – P Fulgieri
POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – CF Morales – RF Ayers – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – SS Howell – P McDonald

Fans came, watched for ten minutes, then left. It took as long for Gil McDonald to face seven batters and allow six runs. Holland made an out, but then Dobson doubled and scored on Ray Gilbert’s single. Baca singled, Suzuki walked, and Gary Rice hit a soft line too far over Nomura for an RBI single. And then Christian “Galactic ****head” Greenman and cranked a grand slam to left center that made the remaining 8 5/6 innings somewhat of an unnecessary act.

And that was not the only grand slam in the inning. Oh, no. Oh… no.

McDonald struck out Hudson before the nominal pushover D.J. Fulgieri hit a single before even having to pitch. Holland singled as well, and Dobson’s grounder was buried by Rob Howell for an error to load the bases. And who’s that? Ah, it’s Ray Gilbert. His slam landed two rows further up in the seats, and McDonald landed in the dumpster outside.

Funny thing, the Raccoons had an offensive breakout of their own in the bottom 2nd that was entirely not their own making. They scored FIVE runs on ONE hit, and that ONE hit was a bases-clearing double by … Pat Slayton. As if the world could have become any more surreal, Fulgieri walked four of the first five batters in the inning, then faced Slayton, who emptied one into the rightfield corner. He would then score on Quebell’s sac fly after moving to third on Greenman’s throw home. Unfortunately his pitching wasn’t nearly as clutch and he was soon slapped for two add-on runs by the Elks. Meanwhile D.J. Fulgieri tried to set the record for walks in a game, having another meltdown inning in the bottom 6th, which he didn’t survive. Bowen hit a double to get started, but he then walked Howell and Taylor (hitting for Slayton). Quebell hit a sac fly, 12-6, before Pruitt drew a bases-loaded walk. That was the end for Fulgieri after seven runs on five hits and nine walks, but Jesus Quinones waved in two more runs against Morales and Ayers before getting Nomura to fly out to left center.

And – LO AND BEHOLD – after suffering a TEN-RUN DECIMATION in the first inning … the Raccoons had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Howell had doubled, Taylor had singled, they were on the corners for Quebell with one out, and Quinones couldn’t find the zone at all, walking him on four pitches to load the bases. But – as usual – they didn’t get that big hit they needed so badly. Merritt grounded out, 12-10, and Pruitt rolled one over to Dobson for a casual third out. Beltran somehow got through the top of the order in the top 8th with an unintentional walk to Holland necessitating an intentional walk to Gilbert, but the Elks remained up by two. Bottom 8th, Morales singled off Jason Long, and so did Palmer batting for Beltran. After a grounder to first by Nomura and a walk drawn by Bowen the bases were full again. Come on Rob Howell! You never had a bigger at-bat in your miserable little life! Get those runs over and in! Howell popped out on the first pitch. Logan Taylor went down glaring. Pedro Alvarado struck out the side. Everything was terminal. 13-10 Canadiens. Morales 3-4, 2 RBI; Palmer (PH) 1-1; Slayton 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K and 1-2, 2B, 3 RBI;

12 walks drawn in addition to nine hits. They were so close. They were so close.

They were so close.

They were… (opens another bottle)

Raccoons (45-42) vs. Crusaders (54-33) – July 8-10, 2011

First in runs scored, third in runs allowed. Best batting average at this point at .279 after smashing through the Loggers midweek, not only sweeping them over four games, but ROUTING them, at least eight runs in every game and 28 runs in total. The Loggers were never close. The Raccoons, who had so far won five of nine from the Crusaders, won’t be either.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (8-5, 3.05 ERA) vs. A.J. Bartels (8-5, 3.09 ERA)
Nick Brown (7-3, 3.14 ERA) vs. Kelvin Yates (8-6, 3.10 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (8-5, 2.90 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (9-4, 3.07 ERA)

That is three right-handed starters. Bartels, who will make his second start as a Crusader after coming over in a trade with the Loggers, goes on short rest in the opener as Kel Yates is suspended for that game and can’t pitch earlier than Saturday. The Crusaders also lost B.J. Manfull to injury while in Milwaukee, breaking at least one tooth out of their fangs.

Is there in the multiverse just a single reality in which this series doesn’t drop the Coons to .500 for the year? They are out of it all already, obviously, but … c’mon, boys, show some pride …!!

Game 1
NYC: CF R. Pena – 1B B. Speed – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 2B Caraballo – 3B Bond – C D. Anderson – SS J. Ortega – P Bartels
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Conway

Both teams got a triple from their leftfielder in the first inning. While the Crusaders’ Martin Ortíz hit his with two outs and was stranded when Stanton Martin flew out to Morales in right, Pruitt’s had a profound effect on the score, plating both Quebell and Castro. Pruitt would come in on Morales’ single to center, and Yoshi also singled, but Palmer and Bowen (DP) made three quick outs. Stanton Martin batting with a man in scoring position and two outs was not an unfrequent occurrence in this game. Martin’s first three plate appearances came in that spot, and Conway sat him down every time, with a strikeout in the fifth inning. Then the score hadn’t moved since Morales’ single (that had extended his hitting streak to 15 games) but that changed in the bottom of the fifth, when Castro hit a solo home run off Bartels, who faced only one more batter – walking Matt Pruitt – before departing. Dave Shannon came in, but got torn to shreds quickly. Morales singled to right, Nomura singled to left, scoring Pruitt, 5-0, and then Michael Palmer cranked one to about the same spot where the Elks had dumped their pair of slams the previous day. This 3-run homer set the Raccoons 8-0 ahead and was to end their losing streak … most likely. Yet that wasn’t all. Ray Conner pitched for the Crusaders in the sixth and didn’t get anybody out, and the Raccoons added three more runs. Conway didn’t even finish seven innings, running a lot of long counts in the middle innings, and was pulled early despite an 11-run lead in the seventh inning, leaving two on and two out for Ron Thrasher to dissect. Thrasher struck out Martin Ortíz and that was that, the Crusaders’ last threat in the game turned away. 11-0 Coons. Castro 3-4, BB, HR, RBI; Pruitt 3-3, BB, 3B, 3 RBI; Morales 3-5, 2 RBI; Nomura 2-5, RBI; Conway 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (9-5) and 2-3, RBI; Gibson 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Good that Morales is hitting (singles) well right now, that builds value…

(gloomy look)

Game 2
NYC: CF R. Pena – 1B B. Speed – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 2B Caraballo – C G. Ortíz – SS J. Ortega – 3B Bond – P Yates
POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Taylor – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Brown

Brownie had 0-2 counts going against the first two batters, couldn’t whiff either, but they grounded out. Yet he walked Ortíz on four straight and then had Stanton Martin hit a double off the wall in left. But Ortíz was not seeing the very favorable (almost charitable) bounce that Pruitt got off the wall and was tagged out at home after a terrific throw back in by Pruitt. The Crusaders made another out on the bases in the second, when Francisco Caraballo was thrown out stealing by McNeela after reaching with a leadoff single. The Coons had the sacks full in the bottom 2nd, but that came with Brown batting and two outs. He hit the ball well to center, but right to Roberto Pena. The next frame saw singles by Castro and Merritt off Yates, and they went to the corners with nobody down. Kel struck out Quebell and Pruitt, and Taylor flew out to center.

Without any offensive help, Brown was left to his own devices to at least not take first loss since May 22 (!). He didn’t get a single strikeout the first time through the order, but then had some relaxed second time through, whiffing five, including three in a row, and although those were Jorge Ortega, Kevin Bond, and Kel Yates, it was still the first time in a good while he had struck out three without bending over in between. The bending over part came soon enough, in the sixth. The bane of the game, the leadoff walk (to Baden Speed) opened a can of worms, and they were entirely unpalatable. A wild pitch moved up the runner, as did Ortíz’ groundout. Stanton Martin grounded to Nomura, which was going to bring the run in anyway, but Nomura also bombled the play and Martin was safe as well. The Crusaders would bring two runners into scoring position before the inning ended on a leaping grab by Jon Merritt on Ortega. The horrendous Raccoons stranded Pruitt on third in the bottom 6th, and Daryl Anderson homered off Brown in the seventh. Brown didn’t finish the inning after walking Speed (again…) and allowing a single to Martin Ortíz. Slayton appeared and to anybody’s surprise struck out Stanton Martin to end the frame. But the Raccoons remained stuck 2-0 behind, on three hits through eight innings. When Logan Taylor led off the bottom 9th with a single off Scott Hood, things were entirely desperate, and 15-game hitting streak be damned, Jose Morales was going to hit for Tommy Ward in the #6 hole. Morales grounded to second, where Caraballo went to get the lead runner. Morales remained at first base. Palmer then grounded to Caraballo, who stoically got the lead runner again, and Palmer was left at first base. That was not quite progress. Keith Ayers batted for the completely overwhelmed McNeela and fell down to the team’s final strike before hitting a fly to deep right center. That one had something to it, and IT – WAS – GONE!! TIED BALLGAME!!!!

After Angel Casas struck out three of four batters in the top 10th, Tomas Castro led off the bottom of the inning with a blooper to right that became a single. It was tempting to run him, but the Crusaders had a laser arm behind the plate. However, due to some shifting, Craig Bowen was now batting in the #3 slot, so having Merritt bunt was in no way going to make ends meet at a pleasing percentage chance. The hit-and-run was on, Merritt bounced to third, and Castro reached second base anyway. Francois Picard turned away the Coons’ Bowen (K…) and Pruitt (F8) to advance the inning. The Raccoons still faced him in the 11th, when the southpaw walked Morales. Palmer singled past Kevin Bond, and Ayers’ groundout moved the runners into scoring position. Rob Howell batted with two outs and flew out to center as well. The Crusaders about blew Luis Beltran to Kingdom Come in the 12th, with Martin Ortíz homering and Stanton Martin hitting a triple that didn’t lead to another run. Picard was still going in the bottom 12th, and Castro hit another leadoff single. This time, Merritt bunted to move the tying run over, and Bowen’s sorry grounder moved Castro to third. Matt Pruitt had to get it done, but at 3-2 bounced the ball right back to the mound, but Picard didn’t manage to contain the ball at the first swipe! Instead, he took away the ball’s velocity and NOBODY had a play, and Pruitt was safe, and the game was tied again! Not that that helped any. Gutierrez made the third out of the inning, and when the top 13th came around, Beltran put on Picard(!) with a leadoff single. The Crusaders cunningly moved him around to score, and the Raccoons faced elimination yet again. Picard faced Morales to start the bottom 13th with no other lefty available to the Crusaders, but allowed a single. Manny Guzman took over, but the Coons had to plate the run in the next two batters: nobody was left to bat for Beltran in the #9 hole! And Palmer singled! And Ayers singled! Three on, nobody out, and we have a relief pitcher at the plate – you gotta be kiddin’ me!! Beltran got a 2-1 pitch pretty much in the middle of the plate, hit it high to center – no threat for a walkoff, as centerfielder Ken Wood barely moved, but it was deep enough for Morales to score the tying run. That was all they got. Castro flew out to center, and Merritt lined a 3-2 pitch to left, right into Ortíz’ glove…

Top 14th, new pitcher in Ricardo Huerta, and the Crusaders took a lead AGAIN. He retired neither of the Martin brothers, and they scored the go-ahead run on Jeffrey Reed`s grounder to first. The Coons got singles off Guzman by Bowen and Pruitt, but then Gutierrez laid down a **** bunt that got Bowen killed off at third base. Morales walked to fill them up, but Palmer popped out. Ayers batted with two outs and hit the first pitch to right and past Reed into the outfield. Pruitt scored – tied game for the fourth time – Gutierrez was sent against Martin’s murder arm, and he was out at home. Gutierrez, not Ayers. And the band played on.

For the first time in a maddening hour, the Crusaders did not score against Huerta in the 15th, but Huerta led off the bottom of the inning holding a stick and glaring out to Guzman with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. He closed his eyes and poked the first pitch over to short, and the Coons went down 1-2-3. Huerta drilled Speed in the 16th, but the Martins for once didn’t inflict major hurt. Huerta gave his all through four innings, and the Coons had a neat chance to walk off in the bottom 17th with Morales leading off against Guzmán, who had thrown 55 pitches so far and didn’t necessarily look like he was longing for more. But Morales grounded out. The Crusaders finally sent a new pitcher in Ray Conner to face Palmer, and he threw only four pitches in the inning, then it was game over. Palmer romped a 2-1 pitch to deep left, it was soaring and it was certainly not coming down. BALLGAME. 6-5 Raccoons. Castro 3-8; Palmer 4-8, HR, RBI; Ayers (PH) 3-4, HR, 3 RBI; Ward 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Casas 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K; Huerta 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (3-5);

This completely bonkers game ended roughly 15 minutes after midnight. I will admit I snoozed for a while around the 11th inning.

Morales extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a hit in the third attempt. He had originally sat because he felt sore, and that didn’t get better by Sunday. So, Jose Morales was not in the starting lineup for the second straight day. Ayers, who had allowed the game to run long in the first place, got the assignment.

We also made a roster change and recalled Travis Owens from his rehab assignment. Tom McNeela went to AAA.

Game 3
NYC: CF R. Pena – 3B Bond – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 2B Caraballo – C G. Ortíz – 1B J. Gutierrez – SS J. Ortega – P Trevino
POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Ayers – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger

We didn’t have too much of the pen available for this last game before the break, but if push came to shove and Umberger would be knocked out early we could use Colin Baldwin for two innings or so and perhaps still start him to open the back half of the season.

Umberger walked Roberto Pena, threw a wild pitch, then served a bean that Martin Ortíz hit for 500 miles. MILES, not feet. The Coons made that deficit up in the bottom 2nd with a 2-out, 2-run single by Merritt (after Ayers had been denied a double in the gap batting with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom 1st), but against Umberger every ball jumped off the bat and seemingly couldn’t wait smashing through a random Raccoon’s skull on the way to caroming off the wall for a triple. And then he walked Trevino to start the third inning, which was the deadliest sin anyway. Not enough with that, Pena singled hard to center, and he walked Kevin Bond to stack the bags with nobody out. Ortíz flew to right for a sac fly, and then came Martin, who had a horrible series when it came to hitting in RISP situations, and he bounced to Palmer for a double play. And indeed Umberger was yanked with nobody out in the fourth inning after a Caraballo homer and two singles to Gabriel Ortíz and Gutierrez. And the worst part: Baldwin didn’t get out of the inning, either. He struck out Ortega, and from there things went fatally and infinitely south. Trevino’s bunt was thrown away by Quebell for a 2-base error, putting the Crusaders on top 5-2, and from there Baldwin would issue four walks around a single to Martin Ortíz as the Crusaders blew open the score to 9-2. Baldwin left in shame, and Slayton got the final out on a pop by Juan Gutierrez, but this one was out of control now. The Crusaders reached double digits when Nomura made a colossal throwing error of his own in the fifth, putting Ortega on second with nobody out. He scored, after stealing third, on Pena’s groundout.

And as we already were in the thick of a completely nuts week, even though he led 10-2 after the top 5th and the Coons were completely inept in RISP situations, Pancho Trevino managed to not go five innings. He walked two in addition to a Palmer single in the bottom of the fifth to load the bases with one out, then drilled Castro, 10-3. Merritt grounded to the mound, Trevino threw it wildly past Jose Gutierrez, 10-5. Quebell singled to right, 10-7. At that point, it was Good Night for Trevino, and Jose Ramos took over. He shaved the Coons for four quick outs before being hit for by Ramiro Cavazos in the top 7th. Cavazos would single against Slayton to add a second runner on the bases and knock Slayton from the game. Ron Thrasher came in, struck out Pena, and then got waffled for three runs by Bond’s double and Ortíz’ single. The Coons wouldn’t find a sneaky way to make up another six runs over the remaining three innings. In fact, they only had one more base runner. 13-7 Crusaders. Castro 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI;

The margin of victory, six runs, were unearned. In total, two of six runs on Umberger were unearned, all three runs on Baldwin, and one of three runs on Slayton.

In other news

July 4 – SFW INF Juan Pena (.309, 2 HR, 16 RBI) is out for the season with a torn ACL.
July 4 – NYC 1B B.J. Manfull (.32, 17 HR, 59 RBI) might be out for the rest of the month with a thumb sprain.
July 6 – The Thunder acquire LF/RF Manny Cruz (.299, 6 HR, 21 RBI) and a third-rate prospect from the Condors in exchange for 1B Tomas Cardenas (.295, 5 HR, 29 RBI).
July 6 – The Condors also send 3B Isiah Reed (.178, 1 HR, 9 RBI) to the Cyclones, along with rookie MR Brett Lillis (0-0, 4.00 ERA) to acquire OF Shawn Blackburn (.269, 0 HR, 3 RBI in 52 AB).
July 7 – Indy’s Bob King (10-5, 3.14 ERA) 3-hits the Titans in a 5-0 shutout.
July 7 – The Blue Sox pack up INF Jose Correa (.237, 0 HR, 24 RBI) and unranked catching prospect Casimiro Schoeppen and send them to the Capitals for SP Ralph Ford (11-2, 3.74 ERA).
July 8 – The Pacifics will be without RF/LF Josh Thomas (.271, 16 HR, 63 RBI) for the rest of the month. The 37-year old has suffered strained hamstring.

Complaints and stuff

Like Glenn Johnson and Ed Parrell in ’89, the game on Thursday will remain with me forever. Some scars are permanent. Chopped off arms won’t grow back, and there are some sights you can’t unsee. Thursday was one of those.

I don’t want to hear ANYTHING about the pitching. ANYTHING. Or FROM the pitching. Even less FROM the pitching. (pats axe and looks for random pitcher on the roster)

That aside, Nick Brown’s scouting report hasn’t changed. I suspect Calderón is either sleeping or whoring his way through Portland whenever he pitches.

When Craig Bowen homered on Tuesday, that gave the team lead in home runs to a player scarcely amounting to replacement level, which … is MIND-BOGGLING in itself.

After signing SP Ricky Martinez for $260k last week, already using up most of the international signing allotment, the Raccoons continued to sign Dominican C Carlos Rosario on Monday for $7k. Well, okay, that’s not the biggest news, but the biggest remaining talent was weighing its options. Unfortunately, we ultimately ran out of money, not because the league wouldn’t allow us to throw millions at the offspring of banana pickers in the Caribbean, but because … budget. The 100% luxury tax on signings over $300k prohibited us from making another offer to outfielder Dave Garcia, who signed with the Bayhawks after turning down our $415k offer (with a $382k tax attachment).

Westheim · 04-24-2016, 06:33 PM

In terms of nuts box scores...

Westheim · 04-25-2016, 04:04 PM

All Star Game

Three Raccoons got the nod for the All Star Game this year, and it wasn’t quite whom you might think. Well, Jose Morales was one of them, the only question being how much longer he would be a Raccoon and whether he would return to Portland at all after the showcase. Then there was Angel Casas, who had recently melted d down quite a bit, but still got the nod, and then there was one coming out of the blue (or darkness?) with Yoshi Nomura earning his first All Star nomination.

On Tuesday, the ballpark in Nashville saw the Continental League rout the Federal League, 9-3, with Charlotte’s Jesus Amador going 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBI to win the MVP honors. CIN Luis Guerrero was routed for five runs in the fourth inning and took the loss, while VAN Rod Taylor picked up the win.

Jose Morales started the game in center and went the distance, collecting an RBI triple off Tommy Wooldridge in the seventh. Yoshi Nomura came on as reserve, replacing NYC Francisco Caraballo, and hit a 2-run double. Angel Casas pitched a scoreless eighth, retiring LAP Jens Carroll (K), RIC Earl Clark (F6), and LAP Jimmy Roberts (5-3). *

Raccoons (48-42) @ Canadiens (49-39) – July 14-17, 2011

Emotional Deconstruction, part deux; or: How we learned to cherish precious draft picks

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (7-3, 3.03 ERA) vs. Tommy Wilson (9-2, 3.33 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (6-6, 3.47 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (6-9, 3.63 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.89 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (12-3, 2.31 ERA)
Bill Conway (9-5, 2.87 ERA) vs. Scott Spears (7-6, 4.67 ERA)

The back end of their rotation for this series is questionable. Wilson and Fujita would go on regular rest this way, but Rod Taylor pitched in the All Star game, although he threw only 15 pitches. They are all right-handers anyway, and the Raccoons will lose another four anyway…

Game 1
POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – RF Morales – LF Pruitt – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Brown
VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – LF Greenman – C Rucker – P T. Wilson

After a scoreless first, the Raccoons appeared pretty much in it with Morales drawing a leadoff walk in the top 2nd. Pruitt reached on a clumsy error by Ray Gilbert, and as soon as they appeared to be in it, they appeared to be out of it, with Merritt hitting a ball hard to the third baseman Mitsuhide Suzuki, who tapped third and then threw out Merritt at first. Pruitt remained at second base, but as soon as they seemed to be OUT of it, Palmer and Bowen hit back-to-back singles to get at least one run in. And there was still Nick Brown at the plate, lined a pitch over the second baseman Takahashi Higashi, and it was into rightfield for an RBI single. Castro was nicked to load the bases, and Yoshi hit an RBI single to left. And Tommy Wilson wasn’t going to get out of this one alive, which was for a good part his own fault. He threw Quebell a really fat pitch, and Quebell gave it a really fat ride. GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!

All seven runs were unearned, and with a 7-0 lead Nick Brown would have very few excuses if he didn’t win this one. There were innings where he didn’t get more than one strike past a batter. Like the fourth, in which he walked a pair, and although Higashi hit into a double play, Suzuki still plated the Elks’ first run with a single. As the innings progressed, the Raccoons were entirely shut down by long man Beau Barnaby. From the third through the sixth, they didn’t have a single hit. Meanwhile, Brown pitched to ONE batter in a favorable count (1-2) in the middle innings, and that batter, Higashi, hit an RBI double. But the big lead worked in Brownie’s favor, and the fact that the Elks got plenty of good 0-0 pitches to put into play, helped him to go seven and a third innings of 2-run ball. He left with nobody on after having thrown 108 pitches, and with four right-handers up next. Slayton ended the inning after at first allowing a single to John Hudson. The top 9th saw the Coons, still hitless since the second inning, put three men on via walks issued by Jesus Quinones. With one down already, Ayers hit for Slayton and struck out, and Castro grounded out to short. Of course, things then got a bit too close for comfort in the bottom of the inning. Josh Gibson got only one out before allowing singles to Gary Rice and Christian Greenman. Ron Thrasher bailed him out, though. 7-2 Brownies. Quebell 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Brown 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (8-3) and 1-3, RBI;

Jose Morales was held dry and had his hitting streak come to an end at 16 games.

Game 2
POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – RF Morales – LF Pruitt – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger
VAN: LF Holland – 3B Suzuki – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – C Baca – RF E. Garcia – SS Rice – CF Hudson – P Fujita

The Raccoons got a run in the first, when Morales singled in Castro, and another one in the second, Merritt coming home. Unfortunately, if that was even possible, Umberger had even LESS stuff than Brown the previous day. The Canadiens hit him more or less at will, and those hits weren’t soft at all. By the end of the third inning they had tied the game with five hard hits for two runs.

Umberger pitched six innings without ANY strikeouts, but somehow managed to maintain the 2-2 tie through six. The Raccoons got a leadoff single off Fujita in the seventh when Jon Merritt hit a ball into centerfield. Bowen walked, and Umberger was hit for with Logan Taylor, who struck out. Castro grounded the ball up the middle, Higashi had it, threw wildly to first, and the ball actually glanced off Castro as he zipped past. Gilbert had to hustle after the ball, Merritt scored, and the Raccoons had runners in scoring position for Yoshi, who flew out harmlessly to center. The Coons blew their 3-2 lead immediately. Tommy Ward came on and faced Enrique Garcia, and never threw a strike. Pat Slayton replaced him when Christian Greenman hit for Gary Rice and smacked a double to the wall in centerfield. The Elks would score the tying run on John Hudson’s sac fly, and the score was tied at three. Huerta was also in trouble in the eighth. Suzuki grounded out on a 3-0 pitch before Gilbert singled in a full count, but Higashi hit a hard grounder right to Yoshi for an easy double play.

To anybody’s surprise, the Coons got to Pedro Alvarado, although as usual it could have been so much more. Palmer was drilled to start the top 9th, and then Bowen hit a ball to pretty deep center, though into an out. Travis Owens hit for Huerta and singled, putting runners on the corners. Castro hit another deep drive to right, another out… Yoshi Nomura lined a ball into the gap and this one FINALLY fell in for an RBI double. Once Quebell grounded out, Angel Casas had to protect the 4-3 lead. Nothing came easy for the Coons, and this one didn’t either. Alonso Baca flew out to right, where Ayers had been put for defense, but even Ayers couldn’t catch up with Enrique Garcia’s rocket, which fell in for a double. Thankfully Jaylin Lawrence popped out to short, and John Hudson would go down looking. 4-3 Coons. Merritt 2-4, 2B; Owens (PH) 1-1;

Ricardo Huerta, who got the win in this one, was unavailable on Saturday. He was sick and weak, and we figured out he didn’t drink enough on Friday, a hot day in Vancouver. Even there it can be hot sometimes. Once in a decade.

Game 3
POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – 3B Merritt – RF L. Taylor – SS Howell – C Owens – P Baldwin
VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – LF E. Garcia – C Rucker – P Spears

The Raccoons put two on in the first inning, but couldn’t get them to score, while they also had another pitcher on the mound that didn’t know how to through strikes. Good thing the Raccoons scored three runs in the third inning, with Pruitt plating one with a single, and Merritt contributing a 2-run double. It was all the better since Baldwin coughed up two runs in the fourth, walking Hudson on four pitches and then allowing an enormous bomb to Ray Gilbert. While the road team wasn’t threatening a bit in the middle innings, the Elks were just waiting for a good pitch to hit. Gary Rice got that pitch in the seventh, doubled to center, and then the disgusting Greenman showed up again and singled past Rob Howell to tie the game. The Coons had Yoshi on with a 1-out single in the top 8th, but Quebell hit into a double play… Baldwin allowed a single to Dale Moore to start the bottom of the eighth, and was removed after Holland flew out. Gibson got a flyout from John Hudson, which moved Moore to third base. Gilbert wasn’t pitched to, as we would try our luck with Higashi, and indeed Josh Gibson struck him out!

Gibson even got the ninth inning delivered, with the Raccoons’ offense just – not – getting – it – done. Extra innings. Pedro Alvarado struck out the side (Palmer, Owens, Bowen) in the top of the 10th, and we had to turn to Tommy Ward for the bottom of the inning. This hadn’t worked on Friday, but today he got the 10th inning delivered. Unfortunately, the offense was still ****. Well, Castro and Quebell both hit deep flies in the 11th, but neither one became even a double. Everything was horrible, and the Raccoons were sent home once Ray Gilbert showed Ward where he couldn’t throw a pitch. 4-3 Canadiens. Quebell 3-5, 2B; Gibson 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Game 4
POR: 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – CF Morales – RF Ayers – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway
VAN: LF Holland – 3B Suzuki – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – C Baca – SS Rice – RF D. Moore – CF Hudson – P Fulgieri

Top of the first, Nomura lobbed into an out before D.J. Fulgieri (5-8, 6.47 ERA) walked Quebell and Pruitt on nothing but balls, and Morales in a full count. Keith Ayers struck out before Merritt knocked the first pitch to deep left center, and for once the Elks wouldn’t catch it on the track. This one didn’t come down on the warning track – this one was gone! GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAMMMMM!!!

A Bowen double, a wild pitch, and Quebell sac fly added a fifth run in the top 2nd, and with a 5-0 lead there was a good chance that Bill “Flipping” Conway would actually be the first Raccoons hurler to ten victories this season. Unless he borked it. For starters, he drilled Higashi in the bottom of the second inning, but then rebounded nicely and picked him off first base. It didn’t get better, though. Bottom 3rd, Moore hit a leadoff double. Conway walked Fulgieri (…!), before Ross Holland’s line to left was snagged by Michael Palmer. That still left two men on with two outs, and Conway would walk Suzuki, and that … brought up Ray Gilbert. Gilbert raked hard, missed one, missed two, then grounded out to Palmer. The Coons had the bases loaded against Fulgieri once more in the top 5th, and with one out, Ayers was up again – and again failed. He popped out to Suzuki, and Merritt grounded out.

At least Conway had a few easy middle innings. Watching the Coons bat was never easy, however, and after Yoshi hit a leadoff single off Quinones in the top 7th, Quebell found a way to produce another double play. One inning forward, Morales reached on an uncaught third strike. Ayers made another out, but Merritt singled. Michael Palmer grounded up the middle, Rice had it, toed the bag and zinged to first – double play. Of course it could always still get worse. Bill Conway opened the eighth inning with allowing a single to right to Dale Moore. He also limped off the mound and had to leave the game. Ricardo Huerta replaced him, got rid of John Hudson before allowing a single to Robert Rucker, another single to Ross Holland, and then Mitsuhide Suzuki hit a slam to rightfield, bringing the score to an uncomfortable 5-4. Thrasher ended the inning, and Huerta’s ERA had arrived at five by now. Top 9th, Bowen and Castro went down quickly before Yoshi singled to right. Quebell also shoved a single through between Higashi and Gilbert, and then Travis Owens batted for a blacked out Pruitt against the lefty Jason Long, and flew out to left center. Bottom 9th. The ****hat Greenman hit a leadoff single to center, but Dale Moore would set the Elks back with a grounder to Yoshi that was a textbook 4-6-3. John Hudson was there for Angel to have fun with, just like on Friday. Nope, he still hadn’t learned how to hit that stuff. 5-4 Blighters. Nomura 3-4, BB; Quebell 2-3, BB, RBI; Merritt 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (10-5);

Bill Conway had a mild calf strain. It doesn’t look like he will miss a game.

In other news

July 11 – NYC SP Kelvin Yates (8-6, 2.95 ERA) is out for the season with radial nerve compression.
July 11 – The Canadiens deal 1B Jimmy Roberts (.286, 5 HR, 21 RBI) from the Thunder in exchange for grizzled veteran INF Takahashi Higashi (.256, 11 HR, 43 RBI), who was in his second stint with the Thunder. *
July 12 – For reasons mysterious, the Crusaders acquire SP Jair Mauceri (5-11, 7.92 ERA) from the Warriors for two semi-decent prospects.

Complaints and stuff

Law Rockburn and Hector Santos started rehab assignments this week. Our major league DL is thus empty for the first time since last year.

Yoshi’s 4-yr, $2.4M deal that runs through 2013 might be the most valuable contract on the roster right now…

Jose Morales is going to get exchanged for prospects before the month is out. The Coons aren’t going anywhere. It wasn’t his fault, he batted for a roughly 1.000 OPS after all (even with the curious absence of home runs), but the flaws with this team were bigger than his signing could compensate for. Morales cost us a first round pick (and thus Travis Bahner), and I fully intend to recoup a pair of prospects from a contending team in exchange for him. It definitely was a gamble worth taking in April, it just happened for the rest of the team to fall apart completely. Also on the dump list: Logan Taylor and potentially Craig Bowen, although that’s not a contract any sane GM would take on. (giggles girlishly)

This is not a full rebuild. This is merely a repositioning, and creating an opening for Jason Seeley, who is batting .337/.409/.598 in AAA and is forcefully demanding a permanent promotion. Pruitt and Castro will be free agents after 2012, and I don’t see us holding on to Castro, who is constantly injured and strikes out a lot for somebody supposed to lead off. Pruitt is in one of those slumps right now where you don’t know whether it is necessary to send him to the big fridge in heaven.

I’m looking real hard at our outfield prospects (outside Seeley), and there’s nobody in there about whom you could say, yep, he’s gonna be something before either old age or madness consumes me.

We signed 18-year old Dominican outfielder Ruben Cervantes for $16,000 this week, and we are after one more player, SP B.J. Lemus.

By the way! 2011’s top picks have been around for a month now, and what are they up to!? Nothing good, to be honest. Matt Fox and Daniel Price are both batting for less than a .500 OPS in A-ball, Dylan Thorne is batting .270, almost all singles, Chris Brown is actually pretty decent in Aumsville’s rotation, pitching to a 2.48 ERA in 32 innings (but he’s 1-3 for reasons stated before), and our top pick David Tingley is trying to put up new records for walks, issuing 18 in 30 innings, and running a 6-flat ERA through five starts. All our minor league teams are running hefty losing records, by the way.

*Yep, there are two Jimmy Robertses around at this moment. I hate it when that happens. There were two Jose Lugo’s around in the 2000s, and they were even both outfielders (and I never was able to tell them apart…).

In random OOTP fails, Nick Brown had the “hot” flame displayed before his start in Vancouver. Listen, game. Over the last nine games, he might not have lost one, but I wouldn’t call a 3.11 ERA, 33 BB, and 52 K in 54.2 innings (in NINE games!!) hot in any way, shape, or form.

shipfb21 · 04-25-2016, 06:54 PM

wow the cl north is really tough this season. the indians are so hot over the last month and half, the canadiens are strong, n of course the big money crusaders r cruising. gonna b a great few months to end the season. lets go coons

Westheim · 04-26-2016, 04:33 PM

Raccoons (50-44) @ Loggers (39-52) – July 19-21, 2011

As the Raccoons were tumbling towards irrelevance, the Loggers were exactly the right opponent to face. They were horrible, ranking last in runs scored, and second-to-last in runs allowed in the league, but no matter how horrible they were, they were leading the season series against the Raccoons, 5-4 …

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (8-3, 3.00 ERA) vs. Fernando Cruz (7-7, 3.94 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (6-6, 3.45 ERA) vs. Gabriel Caro (5-6, 4.81 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.93 ERA) vs. Roy Thomas (4-12, 5.28 ERA)

Cruz is a southpaw to start this series, and the Raccoons were running an 8-11 record against left-handers this year. After that come two more righties.

This was about the point of no return for the Raccoons and their season. If the Coons could pull out a sweep against the Loggers, and maybe the Crusaders would drop a game or two in the meantime, there might be a theoretical chance and you don’t want to waste a chance that is at least theoretical. But if the Coons continued to flounder, the shop would be open for Jose Morales and a few other pieces.

Game 1
POR: 3B Merritt – 2B Palmer – LF Morales – RF Ayers – 1B Pruitt – CF Castro – C Bowen – SS Howell – P Brown
MIL: SS Ito – 1B Catalo – 3B Sharp – LF Davenport – RF Locke – C R. Hernandez – CF Alires – 2B P. Taylor – P F. Cruz

Daniel Sharp was batting .315 with a single home run on the season (although he missed time with an injury), but helped his slugging average a bit with a 2-run homer off Brown in the first inning. Sharp would also draw a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth, that soon blossomed into three singles and two runs off a completely helpless Brown, who couldn’t even strike out Fernando Cruz in an 0-2 count. Through five innings, the Raccoons had four runners, two in the first, and two in the fourth, and dissolved both situations with killing double plays hit into by Ayers and Bowen, respectively. The top of the sixth then saw Fernando Cruz either having a stroke or imitating Brown’s style of pitching, as he loaded the bases with three straight walks. Pruitt came to bat with nobody out, hit into a run-scoring fielder’s choice that got Ayers removed at second base, and that was as far as this particular “rally” would go. Despite sucking badly, Brown threw only 91 pitches in seven innings, perhaps BECAUSE he was sucking so badly. The Loggers had no trouble making contact, and that was also a pattern that had persisted for several weeks now. Top 9th, down by three, Micah Steele allowed a leadoff single to Castro. But don’t you worry, little Loggers, uncle Craig was damn sure going to hit into a double play. Because of course he was. 4-1 Loggers. Palmer 1-2, 2 BB; Quebell (PH) 1-1;

Alright, show me those juicy prospects.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – LF Castro – 1B Quebell – CF Morales – 3B Merritt – RF L. Taylor – SS Palmer – C Owens – P Umberger
MIL: CF J.R. Richardson – 1B Catalo – 3B Sharp – LF Davenport – RF Locke – C R. Hernandez – 2B Ito – SS T. Rodgers – P Caro

The Coons spotted Umberger a 3-spot in the first inning, with Nomura and Castro hitting singles, followed by a 2-run double by Quebell. Merritt would bring home Quebell with a sac fly. For a bit, it looked like Umberger might be … well, not exactly good … but the Loggers didn’t get a hit the first time through the order, and J.R. Richardson’s single with two outs in the third was inconsequential. So was the Coons’ lineup since the first inning had ended, but a 3-0 lead was not something to constantly worry about, and those cannon shots you just heard were Willie Davenport and Philip Locke hitting back-to-back bombs off Umberger to get the Loggers back to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

Yeesh.

Top 6th, Merritt and Logan Taylor had singles to go onto the corners with nobody out. This would be a great spot for an add-on run or two against a scuffling Caro, who so far hadn’t struck out anybody (Umberger had at least one victim through five). Palmer hit a ball to left that looked like a double play, but Tim Rodgers never got to it, and Merritt scored on the single. When Travis Owens got plunked for the second time in the game, the bases were loaded with nobody out for Umberger, who struck out, but Yoshi would hit a 2-run single to left center that gave Umberger a 6-2 lead. Our starter got out of leadoff-walk trouble in the bottom 6th, but when Raúl Hernandez hit a leadoff double in the seventh, he was gone. Luis Beltran came in, threw a wild pitch, and conceded the run on a Rodgers groundout. The Coons left pairs of runners on base in the eighth and ninth, which left the bottom of the ninth inning to Angel Casas, starting with Philip Locke at the plate. While Locke struck out, Raúl Hernandez hit a double into the left corner, but it wouldn’t help the Loggers, with Suketsune Ito grounding out and Tim Rodgers raking himself out. 6-3 Coons. Nomura 2-5, 2 RBI; Quebell 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Palmer 2-4, RBI;

Interlude: Trade

Thursday morning, Coon City awoke to have learned that some parts of the team were no more with the team.

First closed was a deal between the Raccoons and the Cyclones. The Raccoons sent LF/RF Logan Taylor (.246, 2 HR, 24 RBI) and SS Rob Howell (.214, 0 HR, 7 RBI) to Cincy for #31 prospect A SP Cameron McSweeney, 20 years old, and 23-year old AA MR Jesus Romero, who was unranked.

That was only the first strike however, as another one was following, and this one concerned the actual big move. The Raccoons sent OF Jose Morales (.352, 9 HR, 44 RBI) and MR Luis Beltran (0-1, 5.48 ERA) to the Capitals for MR Joe O’Brian (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 1 SV), 19-yr old #11 prospect AA OF Ricardo Carmona, 21-yr old AA RF Mike Cook, 22-yr old AAA 2B Jason Bergquist, and 21-yr old AA SP Gary Dupes.

O’Brian for Beltran is a simple switch in the bullpen and gets rid of an ineffective left-hander. Beltran was on a long list of players the Cyclones gave us that would allow us to get the Taylor-McSweeney deal done, and was an easy pick. In turn we got a dubious right-hander in return.

Neither of the six actual prospects acquired is on the 40-man roster. We assigned all prospects to their previous level.

The open spots on the major league roster were filled by Jason Seeley, so far untapped 27-year old LF/RF Brett Gentry (.319/.386/.453, 9 HR, 60 RBI in AAA), who would make his major league debut after being signed off the scrap heap, and Dave Roudabush.

Raccoons (50-44) @ Loggers (39-52) – July 19-21, 2011

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Seeley – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Baldwin
MIL: CF J.R. Richardson – 1B Catalo – 3B Sharp – LF Davenport – RF Locke – C R. Hernandez – SS Ito – 2B P. Taylor – P R. Thomas

A 2-out walk to Daniel Sharp in the bottom 1st was already another fatal mistake, for Baldwin allowed hard singles to Davenport and Locke afterwards and the Loggers took a 1-0 lead. Baldwin would go six innings of so-so ball, allow two runs on four hits, and would be left outside in the rain, hail, and sleet, by his no-good, completely useless team. The Raccoons were beyond horrible, hitting into another two double plays early in the game, and whenever someone was in scoring position they would either pop out or hit a fly ball right to an outfielder. Accordingly, Baldwin trailed 2-0 after his departure. In the top 8th, César Fuentes threw four pitches for the Loggers, which was enough to retire Nomura, Castro, and Pruitt on two pops and a grounder to short. In the bottom of the inning, our bullpen suffered another slight ERA adjustment. Tommy Ward allowed a single to his only batter, J.R. Richardson, before Slayton took over. Leborio Catalo grounded out, and then Sharp singled sharply, Davenport doubled portly, and Locke homered lockly. That wasn’t even a word. 6-0 Loggers.

Raccoons (51-46) @ Thunder (61-35) – July 22-24, 2011

Is there such a thing as a mild rout? It would be the best thing this failed miscarriage of a team could amount to against the Thunder, who were storming through the league and didn’t look like they’d stop short of the World Series. They were scoring the fourth-most runs in the Continental League, but they had the best pitching staff with the least runs allowed, the third-best starters’ ERA and the very best bullpen. So far they were 2-1 against the hapless Furballs.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (10-5, 2.70 ERA) vs. Edgar Amador (8-6, 3.80 ERA)
Gil McDonald (4-8, 3.60 ERA) vs. Dave Crawford (6-6, 4.17 ERA)
Nick Brown (8-4, 3.12 ERA) vs. Daniel Dickerson (7-6, 3.77 ERA)

That’s three more right-handers. Where have all the southpaws gone?

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Seeley – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway
OCT: SS Farias – 1B J. Roberts – 2B D. McCormick – RF Tom Reese – 3B M. Austin – C J. Martinez – LF V. Diaz – CF J. Garcia – P Amador

An infield single by Dave McCormick led to a run once Tom Reese doubled to dead center, giving the Fat Cat a first run of support. Not that the Raccoons were particularly threatening in any way, but one run was the minimum you needed to win, y’know? In the bottom 3rd, the ragdoll Raccoons made a right mess on the bases. Jimmy Roberts started the inning by reaching on an uncaught third strike that was blamed on Bowen. Reese would walk, and Mark Austin reached on an error by Palmer who had a double play grounder and … ate it, basically. Conway recovered to strike out Jesus Martinez before Vinny Diaz grounded out to Yoshi, and the Thunder couldn’t bolster their lead.

After three innings of basically nothing, Matt Pruitt then led off the fourth with a knell, jacking a shot over the wall in right center to tie the game at one. Amador, as we knew him painfully well, from one moment to the next lost it all, allowed a double to Quebell and a single to Seeley, putting men on the corners with nobody out. Merritt hit the go-ahead single to left, before Craig Bowen filed a formal application for Goat of the Week, following up Palmer’s pop to center with a double play that ended the inning. Throughout the middle innings, which were interrupted by a 30-minute rain delay at one point, you could get the impression that neither team desired this win all that much. The Thunder had Jaime Garcia on with a leadoff double in the fourth and drew two walks in the fifth and didn’t score. The Coons in the sixth got Quebell to second base with nobody out without any effort of their own, but an error by Emilio Farias and a balk by the Fat Cat, and didn’t score their man either, and the Fat Cat would then bunt into a double play in the bottom of the inning.

That was Conway’s last pitch. Brett Gentry hit for him in the top 7th in his major league debut, and struck out. The Coons still got two men on when Nomura and Castro singled, but Pruitt popped out. Top 8th, another pair reached base with one out, but Ayers popped out batting for Palmer, and Bowen whiffed, as usual. Thrasher struck out the side in the eighth, while Angel Casas wouldn’t strike out anybody in the ninth, bt while Alfredo Ortíz hit a 1-out single, that tying run never got to move off first base. 2-1 Coons. Merritt 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Conway 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (11-5);

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Seeley – RF Ayers – C Bowen – SS M. Gutierrez – P McDonald
OCT: SS Farias – 1B J. Roberts – 2B D. McCormick – RF Tom Reese – 3B M. Austin – C J. Martinez – LF V. Diaz – CF J. Garcia – P D. Crawford

The Coons stranded two in the top 1st, but so did the Thunder with the two walks McDonald issued in the opening frame. But things were on in the top of the second inning, and with that I mean they were REALLY ON. The Coons were already down twice in the frame when Manuel Gutierrez rolled a single to left. McDonald came up and his grounder escaped Mark Austin, a Gold Glover in his younger years, for another single. Yoshi came up, cranked a drive to left center and it was GONE. 3-0 Coons, and then Merritt was looking for something to hit, and instead got hit himself. He really took objection to that and went after Crawford real hard, striking him down with a right hook. The benches cleared, Matt Pruitt shredded Jaime Garcia’s pants with his claws, Jong-hoo Umberger bickered from the top of the visitors’ dugout at the Thunder fans, Tom Reese gave Craig Bowen a black eye (although you could hardly see it against Bowen’s mask), and Quebell led a platoon of relievers into the Thunder dugout where they plundered their sunflower seeds and their barrel of Gaytirade. Crawford and Merritt were ejected and would probably be suspended.

When order was restored, Ramiro Román pitched for the Thunder, and the Coons shifted Gutierrez to third and brought Palmer in at short. Little happened until the bottom 4th. McDonald entered the frame having two singles to the Thunder’s zero, but they overtook him in the inning. Three singles and a walk scored a run for them, and right-hander Manny Cruz batted for Román with the bases loaded and two outs, and became McDonald’s first strikeout victim of the night, keeping the score at 3-1. With the Raccoons not even getting on base anymore in the middle innings, and McDonald leaving after six innings due to highly advanced pitch count, we needed something from the bullpen. Tommy Ward faced two batters, and retired both on grounders, before Joe O’Brian made his Raccoons debut. He allowed a single to Leslie Starks, a double to Emilio Farias, and then drilled Jimmy Roberts. The lead down to one run and with two men on base, Ron Thrasher was asked to retire the switch-hitter Dave McCormick, who grounded out to short.

Top 8th, Quebell opened with a double to center off Sergio Alvarez. Next was the rookie Seeley, who got an intentional walk(!!) to bring up a badly struggling Keith Ayers. Both Ayers and Bowen made fly outs on the first pitch they saw from Alvarez, and Gutierrez flew out to center down 0-2. Nobody scored, as usual. Top 9th, Palmer hit a 2-out infield single. With Ignacio Garcia, a southpaw, appearing to face Pruitt, we threw Gentry in there to bat instead from the right side. He drew a walk, and once Quebell also walked, Seeley came up with the bases loaded. Was that intentional walk earlier actually justified? Was there damage in the books? Yes, there was! Seeley fell behind 1-2 against the lefty, but then hit a really hard grounder to left, past Austin, and into the outfield to plate two runs! Angel did the rest. 5-2 Raccoons. Merritt 1-1, 2B; Quebell 2-4, BB, 2B;

Jon Merritt and Dave Crawford were both suspended for a whopping ten games by the league office.

Do we really lose any offense? At least Manuel Gutierrez ain’t too unhappy…

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Seeley – SS Palmer – C Owens – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Brown
OCT: SS Farias – 1B J. Roberts – RF M. Cruz – C J. Martinez – CF Tom Reese – LF J. Garcia – SS Starks – 3B M. Austin – P Dickerson

The Coons went up 1-0 in the top 1st when Yoshi Nomura doubled, moved up on Castro’s groundout, and then casually jogged home when Matt Pruitt hit a 3-0 pitch to deep, deep right, but still into the glove of Manny Cruz. The Critters would tack on a pair in the third, which was actually sparked with a 1-out single by Nick Brown. Yoshi walked, and then Castro came up with an RBI single and Pruitt plated Yoshi on a grounder. And what was Brownie doing on the mound? He ACTUALLY came out and threw strikes, whiffing the first two batters in the game, Emilio Farias and Jimmy Roberts, and was only in one bad count the first time through the order, although that also entailed allowing a 1-out single to Dickerson in the bottom 3rd, on an 0-1 pitch. Farias also singled, but Roberts hit into a double play and the score was 3-0 through three.

That for sure changed in the fourth. The Raccoons left Seeley to die at third base, before Nick Brown stopped retiring anybody at all. Manny Cruz’ leadoff jack was bad enough, but then Martinez singled, Reese walked, Garcia singled, and with the bases loaded, Brown issued another walk to Leslie Starks in a full count, forcing in the second run. Mark Austin also ran a full count before chopping a ball back to Brown, who got the out at home, struck out Dickerson, and got a fly to Castro from Farias. But wow. What a meltdown.

Still 3-2 through six, Brown came up to bat with Gutierrez just having hit a leadoff double off Dickerson in the top 7th. Curious thing. We had a short bench with Merritt being suspended, so perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea to get another at-bat from a pitcher batting .270-ish. Brownie was sent with a stick, and singled to right, with Gutierrez holding at third base. Things went clearly south for Dickerson, who allowed back-to-back RBI singles to Nomura and Castro before Ignacio Garcia appeared to keep the score somewhat in order. He got Pruitt, he got Quebell, he had Seeley right where he wanted him, then gave up a huge bomb to dead center – 3-run home run Jason Seeley! Do we like that kid!? Well, maybe!

Nick Brown was squeezed out for 120 pitches and got through George Wood, Farias, and Roberts with three grounders in the bottom 7th. O’Brian pitched the bottom 8th, actually retiring batters this time, although he put two on with a single to Tom Reese and a walk to old friend(?) Chris Parker. Josh Gibson faced the minimum in the ninth. 8-2 Brownies! Nomura 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Castro 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Seeley 1-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Brown 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (9-4) and 2-3;

If there was ever an unlikely sweep, it was this one. This one for sure.

Nick Brown reached 2,200 career strikeouts in this game, whiffing Tom Reese in the second inning.

In other news

July 20 – The Canadiens pick up CL Jayden Reed (5-5, 4.24 ERA, 12 SV) from the Condors, parting with two prospects, including #153 SP Estevan Leon.
July 23 – DEN CL Luis Hernandez (3-0, 1.43 ERA, 21 SV) gets his 300th career save by preserving the Gold Sox’ 5-2 lead over the Rebels.
July 23 – LAP SP Brad Smith (11-4, 2.09 ERA) 3-hits the Miners in a 13-0 blowout.
July 24 – NYC LF Martin Ortíz (.327, 25 HR, 87 RBI) has manufactured a 20-game hitting streak.

Complaints and stuff

In a way, this team was like the team in 1997. Almost all pieces in place from the previous World Series campaign, which was also a defeat then, and yet… things never clicked, not even once did they click.

Some corner facts about the prospect haul:
Jason Bergquist: very good defender, with some contact ability, although he often swings at stuff in the dirt
Ricardo Carmona: main prize in the Capitals trade, a high-contact, high-OBP outfielder, with great speed and a nose to find the gaps; drawbacks are no home run power and average defense at best, although we hope that with experience (he’s only 19!) he will fare batter in the outfield
Mike Cook: his power is expected to break out any minute now, although he has no homers in 170 AA AB this season
Gary Dupes: so far struggling to get the slider, his third pitch, over either for strikes or to get guys fishing after it; but he has some raw stuff that generate hopes
Cameron McSweeney: right-hander, still in single A after being picked 21st overall in the 2010 draft. Good strikeout rate, the walks are a bit up, but hey, whose aren’t in single A?
Jesus Romero: right-hander with a biting splitter but struggling with the fastball control, and at 23 it might be too late for him, but the Cyclones didn’t give anything about him

Carmona is the obvious main price. McSweeney, Cook, and Dupes are all legit prospects in the second row. Bergquist and Carmona are more throw-ins. And to be fair, getting rid of Logan Taylor for ANYTHING was relief enough.

Sad facts: Ricardo Carmona went 0-for-13 after joining our system, so we already know he’s a bust, while Jose Morales drove in seven in his first three games with the Capitals, after plating 44 runs in 74 games with the Critters. Obviously…

All this puts the Raccoons in a spot where they will have a bit of money available to make moves in the 2011-12 offseason. We still have bad contracts on the roster, and Craig Bowen is batting .200 for two thirds of a season now, and I don’t want to talk about Nick Brown at all.

Westheim · 04-28-2016, 04:09 PM

Raccoons (54-46) vs. Bayhawks (47-50) – July 26-28, 2011

The Bayhawks occupied seventh place in the CL in both runs scored and runs allowed. They were sixth in batting average and home runs, yet still second in slugging, which was … awkward to say the least. We had taken two of three games from them so far.

Projected matchups:
Jong-hoo Umberger (7-6, 3.49 ERA) vs. Reynaldo Rendon (9-7, 3.82 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (8-6, 2.93 ERA) vs. Milt Beauchamp (6-9, 5.31 ERA)
Bill Conway (11-5, 2.64 ERA) vs. Ramón Jimenez (11-6, 3.77 ERA)

And three more right-handers were coming our way here. While Luke Black was batting a pedestrian .244/.306/.413 for the Baybirds, Ron Alston, who was injured part of the year and didn’t face the Coons earlier, was batting an insane .386 with 16 dingers. Of course he did.

Game 1
SFB: CF Holt – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – 1B R. Vargas – RF Black – C A. Ramirez – 2B Moultrie – 3B Brazeal – P Rendon
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Seeley – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Umberger

A three-year old could have made solid contact off Umberger holding the bat in one clumsy hand and some ice cream in the other. The Bayhawks got unlucky with their hard contact a lot in this one, despite Antonio Ramirez setting him up 1-0 with a solo homer in the second inning. Umberger made it through into the eighth inning despite pitching like crap, and left with one out, one on, down by a run (2-1) and with Ron Alston coming up. Ron Thrasher immediately made a mess, and the Baybirds went on to plate two more runs. The Raccoons in this game didn’t take place at all, as simple as that. 4-1 Bayhawks. Huerta 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Yoshi hit a home run, Seeley hit a double, Ayers hit a single – and that was ALL.

Game 2
SFB: 1B R. Vargas – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – RF Black – CF B. Miller – C A. Ramirez – 2B Moultrie – 3B Brazeal – P Hinkley
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Seeley – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Baldwin

William Hinkley (0-2, 4.29 ERA) got this start, and the first time through the Coons’ order looked a whole lot like a sure winner, especially with Luke Black, Antonio Ramirez, and Todd Moultrie all ripping doubles off Colin Baldwin for two runs in the second inning. The Raccoons did some two-out stirring in the bottom 4th, and Bowen singled in a run, but they were still 2-1 behind. Baldwin issued a leadoff walk to ex-Coon Kunimatsu Sato in the sixth inning, then was romped by ex-Coon “Monti” Alston for his 17th dinger of the year, and that opened the gap to 4-1. Baldwin somehow lived through seven innings, and was hit for with Castro in the bottom 7th. There was already Craig Bowen on first base, and Castro drew a 1-out walk. Yoshi Nomura singled to right, and Black bungled the ball into an extra base, which gave the Coons the tying run in scoring position with one out, and their only hope was Jason Seeley, with Matt Pruitt sitting in a hole deeper than the Grand Canyon. And with that said, of course Seeley struck out, and Pruitt doubled past the old Luke Black to tie the score at four. Quebell struck out, and in the bottom 8th, Bowen, who had so far not been retired, grounded out to strand Palmer on second base as well. Top 9th, Tommy Ward faced one batter, Sadaharu Ishikawa, and walked him. Huerta struck out Ramirez, but a pinch-hit single by Samy Michel (‘nother ex-Coon…) eluded Palmer to really put the pressure on. The Bayhawks – in a nebulous state of mind – hit with Jasper Holt in the #8 slot, and he struck out, but then had nobody to hit for reliever Javier Montes-Ortíz anymore. But they didn’t NEED one to hit for him. Huerta allowed an RBI single on the first pitch quite readily… Bottom 9th, Ishikawa made a throwing error to put Tomas Castro, leading off in the #9 hole, on second base. After Valentim Innocentes drilled Yoshi, Huerta came up in Seeley’s vacated slot and was asked for a little bunt, and successfully moved the runners into scoring position. Pruitt came up with one out, we needed one to tie, and two to win, and he grounded out to the pitcher to score nobody. Quebell and Ayers would both run full counts. Quebell walked, and Ayers swung at ball four. 5-4 Bayhawks. Palmer 2-4; Bowen 3-4, RBI;

Matt Pruitt has seven hits for his last 50 at-bats, going back to the crazy 17-inning game with the Crusaders before the All Star break. Keith Ayers is even worse. Since getting three hits in the same game, he has gone 1-for-…… (shakes head and sobs) … 1-for-28.

(shakes head)

Game 3
SFB: CF Holt – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – 1B R. Vargas – C A. Ramirez – 2B Moultrie – RF B. Miller – 3B Brazeal – P Beauchamp
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – SS Roudabush – P Conway

For the first five innings, no team managed to score a run, and you could well expect that when Seeley threw out Micah Brazeal at home to end the third inning, that no Raccoon would do anything better than that in the game. Certainly, in those five innings, they bowed out efficiently with regards to their pair of runners-on-the-corners chances, and “bow” was not picked randomly. Bowen was the only guy batting in such a situation with less than two outs, and popped up and out. The Birds had nobody on with two outs in the sixth, but then Vargas singled and Ramirez tripled when Castro took the strangest route to his line drive, giving them a 1-0 lead. Bill Miller hit a leadoff triple to start the seventh inning and Conway walked Brazeal after that. Milt Beauchamp got the sign to hack away, yet popped out behind home plate, and Ron Thrasher then struck out both PH Adam Young and Kuni Sato. And inning for inning, the Raccoons did NOTHING to help their litter mate, who was struggling to get off the butcher’s hook, but couldn’t free himself anymore…

Bottom 9th, down 1-0 still. Matt Pruitt led off with a single to right off Javier Montes-Ortíz, who then lost Bowen in a full count, putting the winning runs on base. Gutierrez bunted them into scoring position. Palmer hit for Roudabush and grounded out, not getting anybody home. Angel Casas was also replaced by a pinch-hitter after having needed work in the top 9th, and as we were a bit thin on options thanks to Jon Merritt still being suspended for an entire week, Brett Gentry hit for him. Gentry was still looking for his first major league hit, and here hit the ball about 15 feet away from home plate. Ramirez leisurely got him with a casual lob to first base. 1-0 Bayhawks. Nomura 2-4; Pruitt 2-4;

Sometimes I really wonder… do they even KNOW the trade deadline is coming up?

Raccoons (54-49) vs. Falcons (39-62) – July 29-31, 2011

The Falcons were really crap. You don’t beat them, you won’t beat nobody anymore, and you will finish the year with 108 losses. They were on a 4-game losing streak, they were scoring the second-least runs in the league, and their pitching was not really any better, conceding the third-most counters. Both their rotation and their pen had ERA’s soundly over four. Yet, the Raccoons were 3-3 against them.

Projected matchups:
Gil McDonald (5-8, 3.48 ERA) vs. Adrian Valencia (4-3, 3.43 ERA)
Nick Brown (9-4, 3.09 ERA) vs. Steve Kreider (1-1, 2.77 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (7-7, 3.50 ERA) vs. Manuel Ortíz (6-14, 4.89 ERA)

Most of the Falcons’ rotation was on the DL by now, although Manuel Hernandez (6-6, 3.79 ERA) was technically eligible to come off the DL and rejoin the rotation by Sunday. If Hernandez didn’t make it by then, Valencia, a 25-year old rookie swingman, was the only left-hander on the table for us this week.

Game 1
CHA: CF A. Solís – SS J. Amador – C F. Chavez – 1B Valenzuela – LF J. Flores – RF D. Richardson – 3B Ladd – 2B D. Silva – P Valencia
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – CF Seeley – 1B Pruitt – RF Ayers – LF Gentry – C Owens – 3B Roudabush – P McDonald

Gentry got the “has major league hit” box ticked with a second inning single that put two on with one out for Travis Owens, the perfect opportunity for a double play, so that was that. The Falcons had nothing off McDonald through three innings, except for a soft single hit by Jesus Flores, and McDonald then hit a double off the wall with one out in the bottom 3rd. With a Yoshi single and Palmer walking the bases were loaded for Seeley, who hit into a force at home, and Pruitt popped out.

… which was the exactly right time to just stop giving ****s and binging beer. I had Slappy bring me a bucket and sat back and stopped minding.

When 40-year old Daniel Richardson hit a leadoff triple in the top 5th, I didn’t mind. When Wes Ladd singled him in, I didn’t mind. When Nomura was drilled in the elbow and danced around home plate a couple of times, howling in pain, I didn’t mind. When Seeley had two on and two outs and flew out easily to center, I didn’t mind. When the ****ing ass hat Richardson hit a 3-run homer in the sixth, I minded a little bit, but … ah, with more beer it will get better.

And getting better it did! I only witnessed it in a reduced, dazed state, but Brett Gentry and Travis Owens hit back-to-back dingers in the bottom 6th to get back to 4-2, and the seventh started with a pinch-hit single by Castro, who stole second base right away. Yoshi doubled to score him before Palmer and Seeley made two quick outs, but a Pruitt single to center tied the game, 4-4. Quebell hit for Ayers against right-hander Jerry Scott and singled, and then Gentry was up again and fired a ball through Gold Glove third baseman Wes Ladd into the leftfield corner to give McDonald a posthumous 5-4 lead. Owens struck out to leave two in scoring position. Thrasher did a competent eighth, but somehow Angel Casas didn’t have it. Luis Reya flew out to Pruitt (now in left) on a 2-0 pitch, and then he walked Rickey Jackson, and allowed a liner to right on a 2-0 pitch to Nelson Chavez. Yet – Adrian Quebell, that agile cat, had remained in the game at first base, snagged the liner, and managed to swipe first base before the already-started Jackson could return to the bag. 5-4 Coons. Nomura 3-4, 2B, RBI; Pruitt 2-4, RBI; Quebell (PH) 1-1; Gentry 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Castro (PH) 1-2;

Ssassss awwwinnn…! (slumps over on the couch and slumbers away)

Game 2
CHA: C L. Ramirez – LF A. Solís – 1B Valenzuela – 3B Ladd – SS J. Amador – CF Reya – RF J. Flores – 2B R. Jackson – P Kreider
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Brown

Brownie Day – Headache Day. Not only for him pitching, but *with* him pitching I wasn’t the only one who looked shot among brown-clad personnel in official capacities. He was *crap*, his pitch count literally exploded from the point they opened the gates on forward, and the whole thing was just a blowout waiting to happen. It didn’t happen, but for strange reasons. Bowen ended the first inning with a caught-stealing, and the Falcons would have a total of five men on between the second and fourth innings, and it was always Rickey Jackson coming to bat with two outs and he was literally the only guy Brown could fool. Jackson struck out both times.

And we haven’t even gotten to how awful the Coons were against the 23-year old rookie Steve Kreider at the beginning of this game. Kreider made his fourth career start, and the third this season, and came in with almost eight walks per nine innings, yet was bewitching the Coons for four innings of 2-hit shutout ball. He melted in the fifth, though. Palmer led off with a freak single that fell a foot in front of Jesus Flores’ outstretched glove, but Kreider then walked Gutierrez without coming very close to the zone. Bowen got a good pitch to hit, which he smacked to the outfield for an RBI single, the first run of the game. The Raccoons got their **** together right here, and batted through the order against the poor kid Kreider. Brown got to swing at will, but struck out, but an RBI single by Nomura and a 2-run single by Seeley gave the team a 4-0 lead. Quebell singled, Pruitt walked, but then the inning found a merciful end when Palmer struck out. Brown had tossed 85 pitches through five, not a good number at all (especially with three walks and four strikeouts rather than no walks and ten strikeouts). He walked Valenzuela and Ladd in the sixth and was chased from the contest with absolutely NO honors.

And without a win for his troubles. The Raccoons bullpen was full of **** once again and blew an entire 4-run lead in the first inning it had a chance. O’Brian got two outs before allowing a single to Leon Ramirez. Okay, well, have Tommy Ward retire the left-hander. Angel Solís singled. Okay, well, have Slayton retire the right-hander. Jose Valenzuela doubled, Wes Ladd homered. The Coons got a new, entirely undeserved chance in the bottom 7th when they took a 5-4 lead on a Seeley triple and a passed ball blamed on Leon Ramirez (yep, ex-Coon…). Thrasher and Casas both pitched the third straight day, but held **** together. 5-4 Blighters. Nomura 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Seeley 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI;

That was it for Slayton. I had enough of his ****ing presence. He got dumped to St. Petersburg, while Law Rockburn rejoined the staff off his rehab assignment after having missed more than two months with an ankle sprain.

Game 3
CHA: CF A. Solís – SS J. Amador – C F. Chavez – 1B Valenzuela – RF D. Richardson – 3B Ladd – LF Reya – 2B D. Silva – P M. Hernandez
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – CF Seeley – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – LF Gentry – C Owens – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Umberger

Indeed, Manuel Hernandez made a start right off the DL, so we got another left-handed pitcher on this Sunday afternoon. He was an instant hero, hitting a 2-out RBI single off Umberger in the second inning. Umberger had struck out the side in the first inning, which was wonderous after he had never struck out more than six the entire season and had whiffed only four batters total in 22.1 innings in his last four starts. He returned to the mean in that second inning, walking Valenzuela, smacking Richardson, walking Reya, and then Hernandez happened… Wes Ladd, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, was thrown out at home by Keith Ayers to end the inning.

Umberger struck out Valenzuela and Ladd in the fourth, reaching 5 K and chased a not at all rousing season-high, while the Raccoons tried to do anything with the left-hander facing them. In the bottom 4th, Quebell hit a single to right, and Ayers actually managed to make a ball fall in with a single to left. Owens reached on an error by Silva, loading the sacks with two outs and … Gutierrez batting. He bounced out to Silva on the first pitch. While the Raccoons wouldn’t get a run, Umberger wouldn’t get another strikeout and instead was strafed for three more runs and got knocked out after 5 1/3 innings after Wes Ladd’s 2-run single. After Joe O’Brian got five outs, the Coons were still being 3-hit by Hernandez. With lots of left-handers up, Tommy Ward was assigned the eighth inning in a losing cause, and he actually managed to implode the score from 4-0 to 8-0. He walked Richardson, the first lefty. Ladd bunted him over for a free out that didn’t count on Ward’s minutes-till-I-kill-him clock. Reya singled, Silva singled, both left-handed batters, 5-0. Hernandez struck out, which didn’t really count, either. Angel Solís batted, ANOTHER LEFT-HANDED BATTER. Oops, home run.

Hernandez was two outs away from a shutout fresh off the DL when he just lost it in the bottom 9th and walked Ayers and Gentry back-to-back. Owens singled to load the bases, and Jerry Scott was called on, with Pruitt batting for Gutierrez. He hit a ball to really deep right, but not deep enough to beat 40-year old Daniel ****faceson. Sac fly, 8-1, Bowen hit for Gibson, and Ladd made an error that plated Gentry and kept the inning going. Well, for two more pitches until Nomura was done fouling out. 8-2 Falcons. Castro (PH) 1-1; O’Brian 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

I felt better with beer in play.

In other news

July 25 – The 20-game hitting streak of NYC OF Martin Ortíz (.325, 25 HR, 87 RBI) is over, as the Condors held him hitless in three at-bats. The Crusaders still win, 3-2.
July 25 – PIT SS Tom McWhorter (.269, 10 HR, 45 RBI) might miss about three weeks with an ankle sprain.
July 26 – DEN OF Lionnel Perri (.264, 4 HR, 51 RBI) reaches an important mark with two hits in a 14-3 rout of the Gold Sox at the hand of the Cyclones, slapping his 2,000th hit with a ninth inning single off Ron Sakellaris. The fourth overall pick in the 1996 draft by the Buffaloes, Perri has won a Gold Glove, a Platinum Stick, and was an All Star four times.
July 28 – A torn back muscle ends the season of CHA SP Alfredo Collazo (7-9, 5.02 ERA).
July 28 – The Scorpions deal 2B Victor Martinez (.224, 1 HR, 18 RBI) to the Miners or SS/2B Juan Gonzales (.371, 3 HR, 11 RBI in 54 AB) and #76 prospect SP Andy Overstake.
July 30 – The Aces acquire SP Anthony Bryant (3-11, 5.02 ERA) from the Wolves for SS/3B Domingo Ortega (.254, 0 HR, 25 RBI).
July 30 – RIC OF Victor Enriquez (.266, 7 HR, 49 RBI) is out for a month with a fractured rib.

Complaints and stuff

Yoshi Nomura has an 11-game hitting streak. Which is about the best that can be reported about the team.

Yes, that is ACTUALLY Bill Conway chasing down William Raven, who spent part of the season in the Thunder’s pen (…!!) for the CL ERA lead. Everything is crazy.

There were no further moves at the trade deadline, which is a short way to explain that even going to great lengths in trying to deal Craig Bowen’s bonkers contract was not going to make him disappear from the roster. Of the Raccoons’ five highest-paid players, three were in the dump and another one was suspended…

I managed to assemble – with a lot of money – one of those no-good bullpens where you at best can trust your closer. None of them get anybody out when it really counts. Sometimes you can trust Thrasher, but his walk rate is abysmal for a setup man. Do we have anybody else? No. Tommy Ward hasn’t retired anybody since World War II (or in four out of his last nine appearances). Well, good for him. George Youngblood would get another undeserved look as his replacement, as Ward was off to St. Pete as the week ended. And **** him.

Talking about St. Pete. Hector Santos is rehabbing there and has now made four appearances, including three starts. He has spun 19.2 innings with a 2.75 ERA, walking six and whiffing 17.

Westheim · 04-29-2016, 11:42 AM

Raccoons (56-50) @ Aces (62-41) – August 1-3, 2011

The Aces were chasing their first playoff berth since 1996, and they were just one game off the golden spot in the CL South. Second in runs scored, but ninth in runs allowed, the team had clear weaknesses, though. So far the season series stood at 3-3.

Projected matchups:
Colin Baldwin (8-6, 3.04 ERA) vs. Juan Valdevez (10-3, 3.96 ERA)
Bill Conway (11-6, 2.58 ERA) vs. William Hinkley (0-2, 4.45 ERA)
Gil McDonald (6-8, 3.58 ERA) vs. Jimmy Young (12-6, 4.61 ERA)

Werid, but true story. William Hinkley would make consecutive starts against the Raccoons, while pitching for different teams. The Bayhawks had sent him to Vegas on the 29th in a minor deal. Hinkley and the other two are all right-handers. Jon Merritt was still suspended for the entire series.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Baldwin
LVA: LF Sambrano – 2B H. Jones – RF Bednarski – SS Dahlke – C Durango – 3B Downing – 1B McDermott – CF Richards – P Valdevez

Juan Valdevez arrived in this contest with 11 walks and 94 strikeouts on his season ledger, so I rightfully expected him to bleach the stripes out of the Raccoons’ pelts. Josh Downing put them up 1-0 with a solo jack in the second inning, but the Coons countered in the fourth, with Pruitt singling, Palmer doubling, and Manuel Gutierrez singling up the middle into center to flip the score to 2-1 Portland. Manuel Gutierrez! And all with two outs! That lead would not stand up, however, since Colin Baldwin pitched without any bite on his stuff, and the Aces were readily making contact, although they pretty much didn’t get a ball to fall into the outfield for an extra base hit for a very long time … well, at least until Sandy Sambrano doubled in the bottom of the sixth. Howard Jones plated him with a single, tying this game.

We were tied through seven, with both pitchers on about 80 pitches. Valdevez remained in despite the Coons sending five left-handers starting with Nomura. Yoshi doubled to center, and moved to third on Castro’s groundout. Valdevez faced one more guy, allowing the go-ahead RBI single to Jason Seeley we hoped for really hard, and was then replaced by Zack Entwistle, who surrendered a single to Quebell and then a 3-run shot to Matt Pruitt, who desperately needed that shot to break out of his slump. Not that our starter got much farther, though. Baldwin got nobody out in the eighth at all, with Ricky Avila and Octavo Melendez hitting singles off him before the top of the order came up and would face Ricardo Huerta. An infield single by Sandy Sambrano later, the bases were loaded, although Huerta made a nice even if rushed play to get the lead runner at home on Howard Jones’ poor bouncer. Something was stinging him afterwards, however, and he left the game. Law Rockburn would face next two batters in his first assignment back from rehab, and got out of the inning with only one run scoring on Mike Bednarski’s grounder to third, leaving the Raccoons up by three runs, and the Aces were not getting back into this, falling to Angel Casas without setting a foot on base in the ninth. 6-3 Coons. Nomura 3-5, 2B; Seeley 2-5, 2B, RBI; Pruitt 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Bowen 2-4; Baldwin 7.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, W (9-6);

Ricardo Huerta had suffered a mild shoulder strain and was out for the rest of the week, but it didn’t look like we would have to disable him. Playing with a short pen stinks, but it doesn’t help to DL him either…

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Conway
LVA: 1B McDermott – LF Richards – RF Bednarski – C Durango – SS Dahlke – 2B H. Jones – CF Struck – 3B Downing – P Hinkley

Conway was second in ERA in the Continental League as we headed to August, but that mark was under fire as soon as he took the mound. Sean McDermott and Ron Richards hit line drives up either line to start the game for the Aces, and Mike Bednarski hit a no-doubt home run, his 17th of the season, to put the Raccoons in a 3-0 hole. Geoff Struck also pulverized a Conway pitch for a solo home run in the bottom of the second, and the Raccoons were hitting a few singles here and there, but showed absolutely no power whatsoever. They did get a Bowen sac fly somewhere along their way to a sad and mood-killing loss, but that didn’t help after Bednarski romped another 3-run homer off Conway in the fifth, ending his game in addition to his leaderboard appearance, because the Raccoons must never have ANYTHING nice to show off.

Seeley batted with the bases loaded and two outs against a seemingly tiring Hinkley in the top of the sixth, dished a ball to deep right, but guess who made the play – Bednarski. Nope, the Raccoons were not going to do anything in this game. Despite out-hitting the Aces 9-7, they were routed swiftly back to their hotel. 9-1 Aces. Castro 2-4, BB; Quebell 2-5; Gutierrez 2-4;

Runners in total for the Raccoons: 16
Runners in total for the Aces: 11
Runners left on base by the Aces: 0
Runners left on base by the Raccoons: 13

This team wouldn’t visibly display any power if you threw ten of them into a filled bath tub and then added a plugged-in and running hair dryer.

Although sometimes it comes down to just trying it…

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Owens – P McDonald
LVA: 1B McDermott – CF Melendez – RF Bednarski – C Durango – SS Dahlke – 2B H. Jones – LF Hill – 3B Downing – P Young

McDonald didn’t allow a hit the first time through the Aces’ order in this rubber game before he conceded a 2-out double to McDermott in the third. Nothing came of that, with the Raccoons sprinkling a few runners all over the place in their offensive halves, without feeling the need to plate them. The same would have happened to Quebell in the top 4th, who had hit a leadoff double and moved to third on Pruitt’s deep fly that for any other team would have caromed around in the leftfield stands, but was caught against the wall by Artie Hill instead, if it hadn’t been for Jimmy Young’s wild pitch greatly helping the cause and give the Critters a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fifth, they would even have the bases loaded after Owens had singled, McDonald’s bunt was misfielded by Young, and drew a walk. No outs for the middle of the lineup, so come on, get that Young guy outta here!

Castro grounding into a force at home was certainly not the picturebook continuance to the inning the Raccoons would have hoped for, but it got better from there. Jason Seeley hit a sac fly, and Quebell walked to reload the bases. Pruitt’s looping single at the leftfield line plated two, 4-0, and Palmer also singled. Jimmy Young’s day then ended on Manuel Gutierrez’ bases-clearing triple into the right corner, and Bednarski could do nothing about THAT one! Bednarski heard me chuckling, though, and would rob Matt Pruitt of an extra base hit with a galactic catch an inning later. That bastard. Bastardnarski!

While the Raccoons hit into double plays in the last three innings and wouldn’t score again, by the middle innings it was already apparent that McDonald was on pace for a shutout, maintaining a crisp pitches per inning rate of 11, and indeed arrived in the bottom 9th with a healthy SHO on the board and on 88 pitches. Too bad the first guy up was Bednarski, and at this point I wasn’t quite the only one who expected him to hit a home run that would count for six runs. And then he popped out to Quebell, just like that…! The Coons got another scare when Eduardo Durango drove a ball to deep right, but Seeley took care of that, and indeed McDonald pulled through with this one! 7-0 Critters! Nomura 2-5; Seeley 2-4, RBI; Quebell 2-4, BB; Palmer 2-5; Gutierrez 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI; McDonald 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (7-8);

Yoshi now has a 14-game hitting streak.

I know, Manuel, you just hit a bases-clearing triple, but look, I can’t celebrate with you. Jon Merritt will be released from jail tomorrow morning!

Raccoons (58-51) @ Titans (45-63) – August 4-7, 2011

Massachusetts’ biggest dumpster fire would welcome the Raccoons for four games over the weekend, and we would get another run at testing out the league’s worst pitching, despite Tony Hamlyn being on the roster, even though he was not remotely as good as in recent years (Nick Brown anyone?). The Coons were 5-2 against the Titans this year. At least ONE bottom-dwelling CL North team they could beat…!

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (9-4, 2.96 ERA) vs. Jesus Cabrera (4-12, 4.09 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (7-8, 3.62 ERA) vs. Chester Graham (4-7, 4.74 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (9-6, 3.08 ERA) vs. Ron Carter (8-11, 6.66 ERA)
Bill Conway (11-7, 2.96 ERA) vs. Mauro Castro (7-8, 5.46 ERA)

Tony Hamlyn pitched on Wednesday, so we wouldn’t get the honor in this set, unless they pulled something wicked. Chester Graham was our designated left-handed pitcher for Friday. The Titans were already without regulars Jesus Ramirez and Javier Gusmán and would place an ailing Ricardo Garcia (that one we didn’t sign for convoluted, stupid reasons this winter) on the DL by Friday. Garcia was batting only .243, 7 HR, 39 RBI however.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – CF T. Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – SS Roudabush – P Brown
BOS: 2B B. Hernandez – 1B Legendre – C J. Flores – RF M. Rivera – 3B Suda – LF Hayashi – SS E. Salazar – CF Summers – P Cabrera

Despite having lost a dozen games, Cabrera had as many strikeouts as Brownie and an even better K/9 rate, and to be fair, we were for long now expecting a serious ERA adjustment (upwards…) for our assumed ace, of whom we were bitterly disappointed by now. The Coons would score first, a single run in the third inning, manufactured from a walk drawn by Dave Roudabush and a single that extended Yoshi’s hitting streak to 15 games. That was all of it as far as offense from the road team was concerned. Nick Brown wobbled in the first two innings, striking out one, and whiffed Cabrera in the third. By the middle innings, the sun came out just a little bit over the mound, and Brownie suddenly showed that vintage stuff, didn’t go from 0-2 to 2-2 and a seventh-pitch single, but struck out two in the fourth and three in the fifth! Then Bartolo Hernandez hit a leadoff double in the bottom 6th, representing the tying run (…), and as soon as that old ex-Logger was on, the nibbling and the bluntness returned. The Titans would leave Hernandez on third, not scoring on a grounder to Yoshi, a pop to first, and an easy fly to shallow left. Then he walked two in the bottom of the seventh, was yanked, Rockburn came in, allowed a line drive RBI single to Gerardo Rios and a 2-run double TO THE PITCHER, and everything ended up tails once again. 4-1 Titans.

The only other hit aside from Yoshi’s? A Tomas Castro single. That’s it. The team managed two (2) total bases against a guy who had already lost a dozen games by the beginning of August.

Game 2
POR: 2B Palmer – 3B Merritt – CF T. Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Gentry – RF Ayers – C Owens – SS Roudabush – P Umberger
BOS: 3B E. Salazar – 2B B. Hernandez – C J. Flores – RF G. Rios – 1B Legendre – LF Hayashi – SS Brantley – CF K. Williams – P C. Graham

The unlikely combo of a Keith Ayers double and a Travis Owens homer gave the Coons a 2-0 lead in the second inning. That was the last thing anybody heard from the Coons’ offense, and then there was the issue of Umberger, who once more thought he had dressed up for a recreational softball game at a family picnic and he was pitching to Uncle Louie, who had forgotten his glasses in the car. Nobody in the Titans’ order was fooled at any point, everybody just had to wait for a “fastball” oodling past, and then hit it. That the Titans did not only not even remotely threaten the Raccoons for an extended period in this game, but also allowed Umberger to throw only nine pitches per inning in a 6-inning shutout bid in which he only struck out the janitor in the fourth inning, spoke whole volumes about the Titans’ own offensive prowess.

Although I probably shouldn’t gawk too much, since there was a guy on the mound wearing blue who only allowed three hits to the Coons in seven innings and lasered down ten of them. Bottom 7th, Umberger got through the inning on FIVE pitches. And that was while Jose Flores reached with a leadoff single!! Four men up, three put the first pitch into play, and Gentry retired Gerardo Rios with a headlong catch, and Castro caught Toki Hayashi’s drive at the wall. Ron Brantley actually lasted four pitches before singling through Quebell into right, and then Ken Williams popped out to Ayers and “Quasimodo” Suda, hitting for Graham, who whiffed 11 in eight innings, bounced the first pitch into a 6-4-3 – it was a STAGGERING experience!

The Raccoons then suddenly started racing in the ninth, with Jon Merritt and Brett Gentry hitting singles off Matt Collins. Two down, right-hander “Dodo” Iwase came out to face Ayers, except that the Coons sent the rookie Jason Seeley to bat instead. Aaaand he struck out, of course. Angel Casas stood by while Jong-hoo started the bottom 9th on 66 pitches, facing the top of the order. This was so stupid, it absolutely had to work. Edgar Salazar grounded out easily, but then Hernandez hit a double to center. Ah, we’re unfazed! Jose Flores promptly struck out(!!). That left Gerardo Rios with two outs, the left-handed assumed cornerstone of their offense. He was batting .242, though, and we were completely sure that Umberger, who didn’t really have anything, had this.

Of course he DIDN’T have it! The whole motion was stupid in the first place. Rios singled to left, Hernandez, old yet fleet, scored. Zachary Thurman ran for Rios, and now we really, really, really wanted Angel to pitch to Alexis Legendre. A strikeout sealed the victory. 2-1 Blighters. Owens 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Umberger 8.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (8-8);

Baseball is the strangest game…

Yoshi didn’t play in this game, so the hitting streak was not challenged.

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – CF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – RF Ayers – C Bowen – P Baldwin
BOS: SS E. Salazar – 1B Legendre – C J. Flores – LF Hayashi – 3B Suda – CF K. Williams – 2B M. Rivera – RF Thurman – P Carter

The no-good Coons managed to strand seven runners, including two that were error-induced, in the first four innings against Ron Carter, whose every stat cried out “HORRIBLE” in a really nail-on-blackboard voice. They finally got on the board in the fifth. Yoshi made another out (falling to 0-3), but Merritt walked, and singles by Seeley and Quebell were enough to get him in, and a second run would score on Palmer’s 2-out single. Colin Baldwin wasn’t especially sharp, either, but was holding down the Titans on a 3-hitter through four. He then issued leadoff walks in the fifth (to Ken Williams) and the sixth (to Barry Summers), only for the next Titan to turn up to hit into a double play both times.

Everything looked swell through six – as well as a 2-0 lead could look – yet everything went to **** in the seventh. Jon Merritt made two errors and Baldwin walked Williams in between to suddenly flip the table on the Coons, bring the Titans back to 2-1, with runners in scoring position, two outs, and Bartolo Hernandez hitting for Thurman. Law Rockburn came in to replace Baldwin, Hernandez knocked away at the first pitch, a hard shot – but RIGHT to Palmer! And he made the play! PHEW!!! The Coons continued to have nothing against the league’s worst bullpen, but the Titans didn’t get back into the game, either. Despite trailing only by a run, they were as far away from tying the score as a Crusaders team trailing by four. Joe O’Brian and Angel Casas had perfect innings on the way out of this one. 2-1 Raccoons. Merritt 2-3, 2 BB; Quebell 2-5, RBI; Baldwin 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (10-6) and 1-3;

Yoshi went 0-for-5 and had his hitting streak end quite definitely.

The over/under for the total number of runs in game 4 of this set in Vegas was 4.5 …

Game 4
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Seeley – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – CF T. Castro – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B B. Hernandez – RF G. Rios – 1B Legendre – LF Hayashi – 3B E. Salazar – C Suda – CF Thurman – P M. Castro

The game was over after one inning when Conway issued first back-to-back walks to Rivera and Hernandez, then back-to-back homers to Legendre and Hayashi. Merritt made another error, his third in four innings, truly a Martinez-esque rate. Or it SHOULD have been… But Mauro Castro put the first four Coons in the second inning on base, and despite Craig Bowen doing his thing and hitting into a double play, they still scored three runs in the inning, then took the lead in the fourth when Brett Gentry and Tomas Castro reached base and pulled off a double steal before collectively scoring on Michael Palmer’s roller into centerfield, putting Portland ahead 5-4. Next inning, the bases were loaded after a 1-out walk drawn by Merritt, a double to center by Seeley, and four wide ones to Quebell. Gentry was next, but showed that he felt right at home on this team and hit into a double play started by Hernandez. Yet it wasn’t that the Titans weren’t failing in critical situations, either. Gerardo Rios reached with a one-out single in the bottom 5th, then was caught stealing one pitch before Legendre singled to right. They could have had runners on the corners, but after Toki Hayashi fouled out, their inning was over and the Coons were still up 5-4.

Failing just went on. Five runners got on in total in the sixth, none were scored, with Merritt taking the blame for stranding three Coons who had reached on walks: Palmer on Bowen had fought for theirs, and with first base open, the Titans hadn’t bothered about Yoshi. The Coons finally blew the lead in the seventh. Thrasher hit Rios and allowed a single to Legendre, with Rios going to third. Law Rockburn then balked in the run, and we were tied at five, while Charlie Deacon pitched two innings and struck out five of the road clowns, who then had Yoshi reach with a 1-out single in the top 9th, and Merritt hit into a double play. The game went to extras, where Iwase continued to befuddle the hopeless Coons, and O’Brian was assigned the bottom 10th. Legendre singled, but Hayashi hit into a two-for-one. Then Edgar Salazar doubled to right. O’Brian walked Suda, and walked Thurman, and wasn’t particularly close to either of them. When Francisco Quintanilla hit for “Dodo”, Josh Gibson replaced O’Brian, and if you sent Josh Gibson to relieve somebody, that other guy had to suck PRETTY HARD. The count on Quintanilla ran full, and then he grounded out to Quebell to prolong a series between two miserable teams even further.

Top 12th, Jon Merritt led off. He faced lefty Matt Collins and hit a high pop on top of the rightfield line. Nobody could say if this would bounce fair or foul or whether Ken Williams coming over in a hustle would catch it. Williams would barely miss the ball with a headlong dive, it was FAIR and into the corner. Merritt had a double and the Coons appeared in business, except that Collins would bow out of the mess with three strikeouts. Gibson appeared fine in the bottom of the inning, until he beaned Salazar with two outs. Jose Flores ran for a dazed Salazar, and Gibson walked Suda, which in itself was a hard task. Zachary Thurman then singled past Roudabush into left to walk off the Titans. 6-5 Titans. Quebell 3-5, BB, 2B; Gentry 2-6; Castro 3-6, 2B, RBI; Palmer 2-4, BB, 3 RBI;

Bloody hell, what a **** team. They struck out 16 times against the worst pitching in the league. The WORST… pitching in the league.

In other news

August 2 – NAS OF Jeffrey Matthews (.259, 5 HR, 27 RBI) gave his all against the Wolves, hitting three home runs and plating four, but the Blue Sox still drop the game, 9-5. This is the 24th game of three or more homers for an ABL player, and the first time a Blue Sock has managed to achieve the feat.
August 3 – DAL 3B/2B Hector Garcia (.325, 8 HR, 62 RBI) won’t play for the rest of the month after suffering a broken finger.

Complaints and stuff

Well, at least Nick Brown struck out eight in his start. That’s merely the most he’s managed since June 2 (!!) against the Falcons.

Since coming over from the Capitals, Joe O’Brian has doubled his walk rate and is completely ineffective against anybody. He might well be the next reliever to get shafted, especially with a roster spot required to house Hector Santos by the end of next week. Never mind Santos getting ripped apart for five runs in 5 2/3 innings by the Akron Ostriches on Thursday…

In the most recent player development update by Juan Calderón, Jong-hoo Umberger got quite the flak and a serious downrating. Two other starting pitchers had their ratings adjusted, and none of them was Nick Brown. Baldwin and Conway had improved a lot the last two months and got notched up a point here or there (and Baldwin is 29 already…).

Rich Hood in AAA was also judged to have improved in terms of raw stuff. He was 10-5 with a 3.40 ERA and 119 K in 137 innings down there. We might have somebody to take a few cup of coffee starts in September.

Unfortunately, Hector Santos had his stamina greatly slashed after Tommy John surgery, and it hadn’t been very high before. He got dumped from 9 to 7, and 7 is about the bare minimum for viable starters (although Antonio Donis would go on to pitch and start merrily elsewhere, too). Another starting pitcher had his usability discredited, as 2010 supplemental rounder Dan Moon was slashed across the board and got an official recommendation to seek employment in customer service instead. He had so far tossed 261 innings since being drafted, with an ERA over six, and 144 walks and strikeouts apiece.

Next week, we’ll visit both of the other Pacific Northwest teams. Who’s the king of backwoods country??

Westheim · 04-30-2016, 04:07 PM

Raccoons (60-53) @ Canadiens (62-49) – August 8-10, 2011

This season series was going back and forth at a frantic pace. The Coons had swept the first series, and had gotten swept in the next. Last we had taken three of four from them, and we were up 7-5 over the year. The Elks had a top 3 offense, and were conceding the fourth-fewest runs as well, so naturally they were drifting upwards and away from us.

Projected matchups:
Gil McDonald (7-8, 3.31 ERA) vs. Bill King (4-2, 3.60 ERA)
Nick Brown (9-5, 2.95 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (14-4, 2.94 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (8-8, 3.48 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (10-9, 3.21 ERA)

That’s three more right-handers. Except for Takahashi Higashi, the Elks had no other injured players and appeared at almost full strength and with their best pitchers. That can’t be good.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P McDonald
VAN: LF Holland – RF E. Garcia – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 3B Suzuki – 2B Dobson – SS Lawrence – CF J. Hudson – P King

The Raccoons scored single runs in each of the first three innings, while getting a runner thrown out at home by John Hudson in the second and third innings. The Elks stranded runners on second and third with one out in the first inning, and nibbled around on McDonald for a good while, before they finally got on the board in the fourth. Three solid, hard hits, and McDonald even walked the pitcher Bill King to create a complete mess. A nice play by Yoshi Nomura, who had opened the game with a double and had scored, ended the inning with the Elks still down 3-2. Ray Gilbert was seeing McDonald’s non-stuff well and hitting balls in a manner that you could reasonably expect him to hit one or two dingers in addition to his 20 on the season that would hurt the Coons quite badly in this series, although his drive in the fifth was caught by Jason Seeley on the warning track. McDonald only lasted five and two thirds, walking three and striking out only two, and Youngblood and Thrasher nursed the slim lead through seven. There were a few problems, though. First, the Raccoons didn’t get on base AT ALL anymore, and then there was also a ravaged bullpen after a sad 12-inning loss in Boston on Sunday. Ricardo Huerta came into the game in the eighth, and it wasn’t going to end well, was it? It was not all his own fault, for Jon Merritt made a critical error that added Jerry Dobson to Mitsuhide Suzuki on the base paths with nobody out, but that light-hitting shortstop Jaylin Lawrence, slugging barely over .300, drove a 3-run homer out of the deepest part of the ballpark – that one was squarely entered on Huerta’s ledger, who was heading for his sixth loss of the season, until the top 9th commenced with Pedro Alvarado walking Tomas Castro, and when Pruitt singled to right, the Coons had the tying runs on the corners and nobody out. Palmer singled, 5-4, Owens hit for Bowen, grounded out, but moved the runners into scoring position. Brett Gentry struck out, yet Yoshi came through with a 2-out single into left center that plated both Pruitt and Palmer and flipped the score back the Coons’ way! Angel Casas faced the top three of the order, struck out Ross Holland, Enrique Garcia grounded out, and Ray Gilbert went down ripping. 6-5 Raccoons. Nomura 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Castro 2-3, BB; Palmer 3-4, 2 RBI; Thrasher 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Between the fourth and eighth innings, the Raccoons made 15 outs without touching first base…

This was career save #299 for Angel Casas. Needless to say that he was longing very much for another opportunity ASAP.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – C Owens – P Brown
VAN: CF Holland – RF J. Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 3B Suzuki – 2B Dobson – SS Rice – LF Southcott – C Rucker – P R. Taylor

Merritt singled, Seeley walked, Quebell and Castro went down glaring to score nobody in the top 1st – Rod Taylor merely led the league in strikeouts with 169, and it wasn’t particularly close. In fact, despite his blunt, nobody-got-fooled stuff, Nick Brown was third in K’s with 142. The bottom 1st opened with a Holland single past Merritt, who made another error later in the inning that put Jerry Dobson on to fill the bags after Ray Gilbert had already walked. Two down, both on strikes, Gary Rice ran a full count, everybody was in motion and he took a huge rip – and missed! Nevertheless, this was another one of those 30-pitch innings that you absolutely didn’t need with a singed bullpen, but for what it was worth, Brownie struck out the side in the second and sat on six K’s through two frames, and in the third Holland, Hudson, and Gilbert ALL went down on strikes as well! Hath it been reborne!?

Eventually, Nick Brown struck out EIGHT straight batters until Jerry Dobson flicked a first-pitch single in the bottom of the fourth, but Rice and Clint Southcott went down on groundouts without doing damage. The game was still scoreless, and a 1-out double by Castro that hadn’t led to anything in the top 4th was so far the best attempt the Coons had made at Rod Taylor’s sparkling record. He was not fully ON however, whiffing only four in as many innings, and in the top 5th he was actively in trouble. Nick Brown reached on an infield single, Yoshi hit a single into left, and then Merritt walked on four pitches, all with one out. The Coons already had two double plays in the game, and when Jason Seeley hit a ball up the middle slowly, that was not a good sign – but Rice missed it. Into center, two runs scored for the Critters, with Holland throwing out Merritt trying to reach third base. Seeley stole second and scored on Quebell’s single to center, giving 10-K Brownie a 3-0 lead. Brown undressed Robert Rucker and Rod Taylor in the fifth, reaching a round dozen, but also crossed the 100 pitches mark in the process of getting Mitsuhide Suzuki to make the final out on a fly in the bottom 6th. He pulled through a perfect seventh, but that one ended with Southcott popping out on a 3-1 pitch, and nobody had struck out since Taylor in the fifth, so Brown was clearly arriving at the end of his shift here. He would perhaps face Rucker, a left-handed batter, in the bottom 8th, but I REALLY wanted him to get this win! An add-on run or two would be great, with our porous pen in mind, yet while he was arriving at 120 pitches as well, Taylor had no trouble to retire Quebell, Castro, and Pruitt in order in the top 8th.

Rucker singled on a 1-2 pitch to start the bottom 8th, so Brown was DEFINITELY out now, and with right-hander Henry Harmon appearing to pinch-hit, we went to Josh Gibson for one out that he didn’t get. Harmon singled, two on, no outs, tying run appearing in left-hander Ross Holland. Thrasher came in, got a foul pop for the first out, struck out Hudson, and then we arrived at a right-handed 245 lbs dilemma in Ray Gilbert. But I REALLY didn’t trust Law Rockburn to “have” it. And Angel had pitched three of four days, and it was all horrible. Thrasher remained in, and Gilbert swung through a high fastball for strike three. PHEW!!! And then the Coons DID get an insurance run in the ninth. Jesus Quinones had sat down Palmer and Owens, then walked PH Craig Bowen and Yoshi Nomura. Merritt singled up the middle, Holland fired the thing back in, and the Elks went for the sure out at third base, where Yoshi was tagged out just after Bowen had crossed home plate with the fourth run. With that, Rockburn got Suzuki, Dobson, and Rice in the ninth. He went to 3-ball counts on all of them, with Suzuki grounding out, but Dobson and Rice drew walks. **** it – BRING ANGEL!! K to Southcott, K to Rucker, ballgame! 4-0 Brownies!! Nomura 2-4, BB; Merritt 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Brown 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K, W (10-5) and 1-3; Casas 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (34);

Our pen would still be squeezed heading into Wednesday, but we have an off day after that before going to Salem. With a win on Wednesday, we would claim the season series for the third straight year. However, Jason Seeley was sore and not in the starting lineup (he hadn’t gotten proper rest during the recent stretch).

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – RF Ayers – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Umberger
VAN: LF Holland – 2B Dobson – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – RF D. Moore – CF J. Hudson – P Fujita

The Elks saw Umberger’s non-stuff well enough and hit a few hard balls in the first, but got only one double by Dobson and were turned away. By the third, they were consistently making contact on the first pitch, but still didn’t score. Top 4th, the Coons got a leadoff single by Castro, their first hit in the game. Pruitt singled to right, Quebell singled to left, Castro scored, 1-0. That was all they got, though, with Michael Palmer hitting a hard grounder to Suzuki for a double play, third-and-first variety. That was all Umberger got, and when you watched Umberger “pitch” now, you got the impression of a three-legged beagle puppy trying to get up the stairs. He made it up step by step, but you *knew* that he would eventually hit his nose against the edge of a step and then tumble down the entire staircase again. Bottom 5th, the Elks stranded a pair again, but in the sixth inning got their first two men, Suzuki and Rice, on with singles. Dale Moore bunted them over, and John Hudson’s grounder scored the tying run before Fujita grounded out. Bowen hit a double in the top 7th and Umberger’s spot came up with two outs. Jason Seeley was sent to bat and struck out.

With Casas and Thrasher clearly not available today, we were ill-equipped for a bullpen game that wasn’t even one so far, with Fujita still going after eight. O’Brian got in a scoreless seventh before Youngblood was assigned the eighth. Him drilling Suzuki with one out, and Gary Rice’s grounder bungled by Quebell for an error created an ugly nauseating feeling until Henry Harmon hit a grounder to Palmer for an inning-ending double play. Youngblood kept going in the bottom 9th, walked Holland, but Holland was then caught stealing by Bowen to send the game to extras. Yaaaay. Alvarado had pitched a scoreless ninth for the Elks, who then sent Jayden Reed for the top 10th. Craig Bowen led off with a single and advanced on a wild pitch. Jon Merritt – having replaced an injured Gutierrez earlier – grounded out and didn’t advance the runner either. Brett Gentry walked then, and Yoshi hit a ball to left center, loading the bases with one out. More lefties coming! Tomas Castro was the first of those, slapped away at the first pitch and drove it high and deep … GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!!! Josh Gibson pitched a perfect tenth for the Coons to seal the sweep! 5-1 Raccoons! Castro 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Pruitt 2-5; Quebell 2-5, RBI; Bowen 2-4, 2B; Youngblood 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (1-0);

Yeah, we might not be going anywhere, but you ain’t going anywhere, either, Sunshines!

I think I even saw their mascot, Mr. Elk, hanging his head and covering his eyes after Castro’s slam. THAT. FELT. GOOD.

We had to create roster space, though. Hector Santos’ rehab was running out and he had to be put on the roster. He finished rehab with a fifth start, in total going 32.2 innings with a 3.31 ERA, walking eight and whiffing 34. He last pitched on Tuesday, which would make him perfectly suited to start on Sunday.

While Gil McDonald was doing a fine job overall, he had options and he even would be due to start on Sunday. So, McDonald had to move to St. Pete and switch lockers with Santos until either we were fed up with another 6.17 ERA performance from Santos (blue chip, anyone?), or September 1 arrived.

Meanwhile, Manuel Gutierrez had suffered a mild back strain and was listed as DTD for a few days.

Raccoons (63-53) @ Wolves (47-67) – August 12-14, 2011

The Wolves scored the least runs in the Federal League (though their 450 times across home plate weren’t off that badly compared to the Coons’ 493 runs, 7th in the CL), but actually had decent pitching. Their pen was a bit under fire on occasion, but they had the fourth-best rotation over there. We had swept the Wolves in 2010 and had won the series before that as well. Overall we were 33-27 against them. Not including any World Series humiliations.

Projected matchups:
Colin Baldwin (10-6, 2.95 ERA) vs. César Ochoa (5-13, 4.33 ERA)
Bill Conway (11-7, 3.10 ERA) vs. David Peterson (13-8, 3.45 ERA)
Hector Santos (0-0) vs. Brian Benjamin (1-2, 11.77 ERA)

We will not ace Max Shepherd (9-6, 2.31 ERA) who was second in the FL in ERA, and who was on our trade list this winter. They have a ton of injuries, however, including another rookie starter in Tim Dunn, SP Zach Hughes, who had a sore wrist and would potentially have pitched on Sunday, their closer Cris Pena, and Matt Pruitt’s cousin Jonathan, who had caught a cold and was sneezing. The survivors here are all throwing right-handed.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF M. Pruitt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Baldwin
SAL: SS Dawson – C M. Torres – 2B A. Rodriguez – 1B Roche – RF J. Gonzalez – LF Cutler – 3B D. Ortega – CF A. Ruiz – P Ochoa

There were just a few things that weren’t right about these Raccoons. The offense was awful, right, but there was also Merritt’s defense, he made another error in the third inning here, and Colin Baldwin came out and threw balls, balls, balls. The Wolves drew two walks to start the bottom 1st and took the lead on a sac fly, and Baldwin never found his command over anything. The Coons had two measly singles through four innings against Ochoa, who didn’t have the very best resume, but when Matt Pruitt hit something very loud and very deep at the start of the fifth inning, it still came as a surprise – even to Pruitt. The solo jack got the Coons even in this one, and suddenly they made fat contact: Palmer doubled, and Bowen hit a sharp single to right that plated Palmer with the go-ahead run. The Coons had the sacks full after a walk drawn by Nomura and Merritt hitting a single to right, with Seeley batting with one out. He hit a fly to deep right, but too high and not long enough. Javier Gonzalez caught it, but Bowen scored after tagging up. Quebell then found the right-center gap for an RBI double, with Castro following up with a 2-run double in the same direction. Out of NOTHING the Coons threw up a 6-spot!

And yet Baldwin didn’t get the win. He continued to suck capitally, and the Wolves hit him really hard in the bottom of the inning. Miguel Torres singled, Frederic Roche doubled. Two outs, Javier Gonzalez hit a 1-2 pitch to center for a 2-run single. Gonzalez and Xavier Cutler were the only lefties in the order, but Cutler also singled, and that was enough. With the tying run at the plate in light hitter Domingo Ortega, Joe O’Brian came out of the pen. Ortega popped out to Yoshi on a 2-0 pitch, leaving the score at 6-3 in favor of the brown team. O’Brian made it through another inning before Yoshi Nomura hit a leadoff triple off Pat Treglown in the top 7th. Merritt and Seeley failed and only Quebell drove him in with a double for an extra run, 7-3.

But nobody was out of those Pacific Northwest woods just yet. Bottom 8th, George Youngblood walked Cutler with one out, and then came Huerta, pitching for the first time since Monday’s nightmare. Ortega swiftly singled, and Abe Ruiz grounded out hard to first. Tony Delgado hit for their pitcher and hit a sharp bouncer – right into Huerta’s glove! Yeah, well, if you don’t have any skills, have at least some luck, I guess. To be fair, Huerta finished the game with a very quick ninth, that wasn’t worrying at all. 7-3 Coons. Nomura 2-4, BB, 3B; Quebell 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Bowen 2-4, RBI; O’Brian 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (2-0); Huerta 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF M. Pruitt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway
SAL: SS Dawson – C M. Torres – RF J. Gonzalez – 2B A. Rodriguez – 1B Roche – 3B J. Gutierrez – LF J. Pruitt – CF A. Ruiz – P D. Peterson

Both teams had leadoff singles in the first, then hit into double plays and got another hit before not scoring. “Not scoring” became a bit of a pattern in the first half of the game. Both teams put three out of their first four leadoff batters on, Tomas Castro even with a leadoff double in the top 4th, and nobody ever scored. The Coons finally ended the pattern in the fifth: Bowen hit a single to get started, was bunted over by Conway, and then two runs were produced on Yoshi’s double and a 2-out triple by Seeley. The following inning they would throw a 3-spot on the board despite the first two Coons making outs. Then Palmer singled, Bowen hit an RBI double, Conway came up with an RBI single, Yoshi walked, and Merritt singled, 5-0. Conway pitched seven scoreless, but also crossed over 100 pitches while getting the 21st out from Abe Ruiz, and was hit for in the top 8th. Gentry singled for him, but Yoshi hit into a double play.

Josh Gibson got the bottom 8th, and the shutout was thrown out in no time. He faced three batters, all right-handers, and retired nobody. Tony Delgado doubled, Ryan Dawson hit an RBI single, and Miguel Torres hit another single. Ron Thrasher struck out Javier Gonzalez, then left for Law Rockburn, who allowed a real rocket to right on a 1-1 pitch, roped on a line, and Quebell leapt AND GOT IT!! Torres off first – doubled off! Inning over! Rockburn continued in the bottom 9th and got two outs before Jonathan Pruitt refused to be the last out and lined a double to right. Ruiz singled to center, Pruitt scored, and we actually did have to bother Angel Casas, who ended the game on a not-special-at-all fly to Castro in center. 5-2 Furballs. Nomura 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Seeley 2-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Castro 2-5, 2B; Bowen 3-4, 2B, RBI; Gentry (PH) 1-1; Conway 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W (12-7) and 1-3, RBI;

That old bullpen. I hear creaking noises…

C’mon boys! Hector Santos is back, and we can sweep an entire week!

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Seeley – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Gentry – C Bowen – SS Roudabush – P Santos
SAL: SS Dawson – C M. Torres – RF J. Gonzalez – 2B A. Rodriguez – 1B Roche – LF Cutler – 3B J. Gutierrez – CF A. Ruiz – P Benjamin

Brian Benjamin, a rookie, was allowing more than two hits per inning (27 H in 13 IP) in his cup of coffee, which he entirely owed to the Wolves’ starters dying like flies. His second pitch already smacked Yoshi. Merritt doubled, and a generous opening inning run supplement for Tommy John survivor Hector Santos was entirely possible. After a soft Seeley single that plated one run, Quebell brought in Merritt with a sac fly. Seeley would score after a wild pitch and a Gentry single, Bowen walked, but Roudabush struck out to end the frame with the Coons up 3-0. And then Hector Santos immediately got touched up. Gonzalez singled, Rodriguez tripled, and Merritt butchered Roche’s grounder for two runs, one earned, but he wasn’t smashed into the ground nearly as badly as poor Brian Benjamin. Santos would single in both at-bats against Benjamin; in the second he scored on Jason Seeley’s homer that made it 5-2, and in the third the Wolves pulled the emergency brakes by the time Santos was at third base. With two outs, Merritt had hit an RBI double to deep center to run the score to 8-2, and that was really enough then. R.J. Lloyd struck out Seeley to end the inning and close Benjamin’s embarrassing line. Maybe the Wolves wanted to try Lloyd in the rotation next. He would toss 2.2 scoreless, whiffing five.

The Coons had already had a starter not making it through five with a sizeable lead in this series, however, so no euphoria yet. Santos wasn’t fooling too many guys and the Wolves made contact early in counts, but didn’t produce anything good with that. And by “anything” I do mean “anything”: after the swampy first, Santos pitched five perfect frames despite whiffing only two. He also was only 59 pitches! Top 7th, still 8-2, the Coons loaded the bags with nobody out after Santos had led off the inning with his third single of the day. Yoshi singled, his first hit, and Merritt walked against Raúl Chavez, a former, now ineffective, starter. Seeley hit a ball well to deep center, but Abe Ruiz held him to a sac fly. Another run would come in on a Castro groundout, 10-2, before the Wolves finally reached base again with a leadoff single by Alberto Rodriguez in the bottom 7th. Santos was watched closely here, but Rodriguez was caught stealing, and Roche and Cutler flew out to Gentry and Castro, respectively. The Coons plated two more in the top 8th against Chavez, who started the offense when he nicked Dave Roudabush, who really didn’t have other means to reach base…

Hector Santos expended only 79 pitches through eight innings. The trainer took his pulse after the eighth, and everything was flowers with him. Alright, Hector, get back out there. The top of the order was up in the bottom of the ninth, and they did get to him. Ryan Dawson singled on a 1-2 pitch, and then he lost Torres on a walk. Okay, Hector, look, we have cake over here, would you please come to the dugout and have some cake? Yeah, here is the cake!

The Raccoons opened the bottom 9th with a 10-run lead… and Angel Casas would warm up by the end of the game. Three relievers paraded in and were bludgeoned. Youngblood faced only Gonzalez and allowed an RBI single. O’Brian was in the longest, faced five batters, walked one and allowed two hard hits. Ricardo Huerta replaced him eventually, and served up a line drive RBI single to Jonathan Pruitt that got the Wolves to 12-7 with two men on before Dawson thankfully popped out. 12-7 Coons… Nomura 2-5, RBI; Merritt 3-4, 2 BB, 2 2B, RBI; Seeley 3-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; Gentry 3-6, RBI; Santos 8.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1-0) and 3-4, RBI;

Benjamin’s ERA rose to 14.36, but the Coons’ pen is approaching that as well…

In other news

August 8 – Often injured elite defender DAL CF/LF César Morán (.261, 10 HR, 49 RBI) is out for the season with a ruptured finger tendon.
August 12 – TIJ SP Zach Boyer (7-5, 3.97 ERA) requires surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow and is out for the season.
August 14 – NAS 3B/1B Antonio Esquivel (.283, 7 HR, 37 RBI) has suffered a concussion and will be shut down for the rest of the month.

Complaints and stuff

Sweep week! That does feel good. Granted, the Wolves are abysmal, but ANY time you sweep the Canadiens it feels like being covered in honey.

The mark is not that important, especially not when compared with the overall performance, but when Nick Brown struck out Ray Gilbert to end the third inning on Tuesday, he reached 2,222 strikeouts, which coincidentally also signaled a horn for the last 100 K on the chase after Kisho Saito’s franchise mark having begun, which he should reach (we sure hope so!) early in 2012. Once more for comparison, Brown almost has caught Saito now in the big picture, while tossing over 1,200 less innings than Master Kisho…!

I wonder whether he’s still growing bonsais.

(To be fair, though, it should be pointed out that Kisho Saito walked less batters in his 1,200+ more innings than Nick Brown has walked by now, and it isn’t close: 674 for Saito, 796 for Brown)

PORTLAND RACCOONS – CAREER SAVES LEADERS
1st – Grant West – 522 (HOF)
2nd – Angel Casas – 301
3rd – Wally Gaston – 94
4th – Dan Nordahl – 92
5th – Marcos Bruno – 68
6th – Daniel Miller – 56
7th – Scott Wade – 53
8th – Kevin Hatfield – 50
9th – Jackie Lagarde – 45
10th – Gabriel De La Rosa – 40

Grant West is the only left-hander in the top 10, and there is only one other left-hander with double-digit saves for the team, Antonio Donis, who saved 29 games for the Coons while we were trying to figure out what to do with the kid in the late 90s.

Next week: Capitals, Indians, which will include a reunion with Carlos Sackett. That’s one of those sad stories in Raccoons lore… We will miss Randy Farley in that Capitals series, unfortunately, but you know they have Jose Morales now. His “dingus” pace has NOT picked up away from Portland, he’s still hitting one every 29 at-bats.

Westheim · 05-01-2016, 12:36 PM

Raccoons (66-53) vs. Capitals (73-46) – August 15-17, 2011

Although the Capitals had lost their last three games, they were still playing amazingly, ranking second in both runs scored and runs allowed in the Federal League, with a +137 run differential (Coons: +82). It was really, really tough to poke holes into what they had. Well, they didn’t hit a lot of home runs, but otherwise this was a potential title-winning package. The Raccoons had lost two of three to them in 2009, with the series winner alternating in the last four meetings. Overall we were .524 against them.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (10-5, 2.82 ERA) vs. Carlos Sackett (3-2, 3.60 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (8-8, 3.40 ERA) vs. Chris York (9-9, 3.54 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (10-6, 3.03 ERA) vs. Dean Merritt (9-10, 3.82 ERA)

Dean Merritt will be one of their two left-handed starters. We will miss both the other lefty Tyler Sullivan (11-7, 3.16 ERA) as well as our old friend Randy Farley (9-4, 3.50 ERA). Notably, Farley had been (one of the) exchange pieces for an important Raccoon twice in his career. He was one of three players received from the Condors for David Brewer after the 1997 season, and we flipped him with Dan Nordahl to the Warriors for Adrian Quebell before the 2005 season.

Game 1
WAS: 3B J. Soto – CF Cameron – LF J. Morales – C Case – 1B T. Ramos – RF Sarabia – SS A. Gomez – 2B Correa – P Sackett
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B J. Merritt – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – C Owens – P N. Brown

Although Nick Brown was a left-hander, he got to face seven left-handed batters in this lineup, everybody except for Aurelio Gomez and Jose Correa (another ex-Coon on their roster). Jesus Soto singled on his first pitch, but was rounded up in a double play in what became a quick top of the first. Bottom 1st, Sackett was adrift right away, walking two along with a Merritt single to load the bases with nobody out. The bounty in the event was paltry, though, with only a Quebell sac fly bringing in a single run.

The Critters added a pair in the bottom 3rd in which an RBI double by Tomas Castro was the main drive behind the offense, and took a 3-0 lead. Brown had whiffed only two while maintaining minimum pace the first time through the order, so he had apparently left his dozen-strikeouts stuff in Vancouver. I could only assume it was tough to get through border controls. Soto led off the top 4th with another single, and this time got stranded on third base eventually when Aaron Case, who sat on 18 homers, struck out. While the strikeouts weren’t there, tons and tons of easy grounders to Yoshi Nomura were. Yoshi got a bit pissed after a while – the piece of cake he took out to the field every inning just went uneaten inning after inning. Top 7th, up 4-0 by now after Merritt had singled in Nomura in the fourth, Brown ran his first 3-0 count of the game against Don Cameron, but Cameron was poking and … grounded out to Yoshi! Morales also grounded out to Nomura, who was hissing and whose fur was raised in anger, while Quebell was step by step moving over, an eye on the cake. Brown struck out Case to end the inning and maintained a shutout bid on a manageable pitch count just over 80, although that got shot over 100 in the eighth. Victor Sarabia (more below) singled to right (Yoshi hissed anyway), and after Gomez struck out, Correa singled to center, giving the Capitals runners on the corners with two outs. Phil Brown hit for Enrique Meneces, who had allowed a run in the bottom 7th, but was struck out by Nick Brown to end the inning. Top of the ninth, top of the order, starting on 103 pitches, Nick Brown struck out Soto in a full count, reaching 111 pitches. The pitching coach had an eye on him. Don Cameron hit a single over the first base bag that Quebell couldn’t reach, but Morales hit a soft pop that Brown caught himself. Aaron Case had already gone down on strikes twice and did so a third time on Brownie’s 120th pitch of the game. 5-0 Brownies!!! Nomura 2-4, BB, 2B; Merritt 3-5, RBI; Quebell 2-3, RBI; Brown 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K, W (11-5);

BROWNIIIIEEE!!!! That 5-hitter was not only his first complete game of the season, but also his first complete game since 2009, when he had six of them, including three shutouts. He now has 10 shutouts for his career. Ironically, this wasn’t even Brownie’s first shutout against the Capitals. He shut them out on two hits and 11 strikeouts in 2003 before.

Also: Yoshi Nomura got 12 assists for 4-3 putouts, plus another one for starting the double play in the first inning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that.

And we have won seven in a row, and 13 of our last 17.

Game 2
WAS: RF Sarabia – CF Cameron – LF J. Morales – 1B T. Ramos – 3B J. Soto – SS J.J. Rodriguez – C T. Turner – 2B Correa – P York
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B J. Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – SS Palmer – RF Ayers – C Bowen – P Umberger

This game had some early commotion when Umberger smacked Don Cameron in the upper arm in the first and Cameron was really completely unhappy and barked at him still standing in the batter’s box. The umpire eventually managed to give him a nudge towards first base, but for a moment a brawl was in the air. Morales then hit a hard single, and Tony Ramos hit another one over the bag unreachable for Quebell. Cameron scored, but Keith Ayers got a favorable bounce off the side wall in foul territory and unleashed a death ray towards third base, where Morales was out. Bottom 2nd, Castro on second base with two outs, Bowen was nicked by Chris York, who was less than a year older than Nick Brown, but had over 500 more strikeouts. That contact came on an 0-2 pitch when Bowen was pretty much a guaranteed third out, and cooler heads narrowly prevailed, even when Jong-hoo Umberger, the worst-hitting pitcher in the galaxy hit a single to center for Tomas Castro to score, Umberger’s first RBI of the year, and it tied the score at 1-1. The next three innings only one batter reached scoring position (the Capitals in the fifth), before the Capitals got Cameron on to lead off the sixth. Morales’ grounder moved him to second, and Tony Ramos hit a double well past the reach of Ayers to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Umberger pitched seven innings without much in terms of stuff, whiffing only one batter, and was hit for in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Coons had left Merritt on third base in the sixth, and then led off the seventh with a pair of singles by Palmer and Ayers, the latter of the infield variety. Bowen struck out, and Seeley grabbed a bat to hit for Umberger. Jason popped out to left, however, and while Yoshi walked, Merritt grounded out to Soto to strand three. The Capitals threatened in the top 8th, where Youngblood got the first two guys out before Ramos singled. Aurelio Gomez hit for Soto and singled to center on an 0-2 offering, and with right-handers up, Law Rockburn took over. Except that the Capitals sent a left-handed bat, ex-Titan Rudy Garrison to bat, and he drove a 1-0 pitch well to deep left – but Pruitt caught it on the track, whiskers against the wall. Bottom 9th, Tommy Wooldridge pitching. Palmer and Owens made quick outs before Bowen lined to right for a single. Gentry hit for Rockburn and singled, representing the winning run. Yoshi came up, found himself down to the final strike quickly, but then shot a hot grounder through new third baseman Gomez and into left, Bowen was sent – no prisoners! – and scored the tying run! Merritt was drilled to load them up, but Pruitt flew out to Sarabia to give us extra innings.

That ****ty 3-on hitting was highly annoying. More annoying was it though to find out that Jose Morales could actually hit homers in this park, nailing a solo shot off Ron Thrasher in the top of the tenth. The Coons got Castro on against Wooldridge with a 1-out infield single in the bottom of the inning, but Castro was caught stealing. Palmer singled, and then Gutierrez, hitting for Thrasher, reached on another infield single. No success could be relayed, however, with Craig Bowen grounding out to Max Heart (‘nother Coon…) at short. 3-2 Capitals. Merritt 2-3, BB; Castro 2-5, 2B; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1; Gentry (PH) 1-1; Umberger 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K;

Like I said, ****ty 3-on hitting.

Game 3
WAS: SS J.J. Rodriguez – CF Cameron – LF J. Morales – C Case – 1B T. Ramos – RF Sarabia – 3B J. Soto – 2B Correa – P D. Merritt
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B J. Merritt – LF Seeley – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – CF Castro – RF Gentry – C Owens – P Baldwin

J.J. Rodriguez opened the game with a single and scored on another hit by Morales, giving Washington an early 1-0 lead. The Raccoons would have their first two men on in both the first and second innings, and both times killed the effort with a double play. Forward to the fifth, Gentry and Owens reached base with nobody out, and Baldwin’s bunt was bad enough for Gentry to get knocked out at third base. Nomura moved up the runners with a grounder before Jon Merritt hit a bouncer off a 1-2 pitch by Dean Merritt that escaped Jesus Soto into leftfield, plating both runners and flipping the score in the Coons’ favor. Baldwin had not been dominant however, and only had two strikeouts through five inning. The Capitals promptly opened the sixth with singles by Cameron, Morales, and Case, tying the game, but then left a run at third base when Sarabia hit into a double play. Double plays remained the order of the day. The Coons hit into one in the bottom 6th, Castro being guilty, and in the top 7th Baldwin left after a 1-out walk against Jose Correa. With Aurelio Gomez pinch-hitting for Dean Merritt, Joe O’Brian came out and walked Gomez. Rudy Garrison hit for Rodriguez, so we moved on to Thrasher, and he got a double play to end the inning. Thrasher also pitched the eighth against all those left-handers, and to that end we even sent him out to bat against Ryosei Kato in the bottom 7th. There was nobody on with two outs, it didn’t even matter. Yoshi then led off the bottom 8th with a double into the right corner off Kato, but was stranded on third base…

Brett Gentry drew a 2-out walk in the bottom 9th before a shower moved in and we entered a 38-minute rain delay. Once that was over, Gentry was caught stealing, and we went to the 10th again. This one was one to remember forever. Angel Casas came into the game in a double switch, rested enough to go three innings if need be, with an off day on Thursday. He would go instead one third of an inning. Tom Turner led off with a double, and Max Heart scored him with a hard single. Don Cameron homered. Morales singled, and Case popped out, but there was no point. Youngblood came in and further escalated things with a single and a wild pitch, then allowed a 2-run double to Sarabia. The Raccoons were completely destroyed. 8-2 Capitals. Nomura 2-5, 2B; Merritt 2-4, 2 RBI; Gentry 1-2, 2 BB; Thrasher 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

(sits silently in the dark office, gleaming glumly into the void)

Raccoons (67-55) @ Indians (62-57) – August 19-21, 2011

The Indians so far this year had run circles around the completely confused Raccoons, beating them 8-4 in 12 games. They had also won their last four games (the Coons not so much…), and ranked fifth in offense and seventh in pitching in the league. They still had an assortment of players on the DL, to which they had recently added 1B Mun-wah Tsung (.258, 11 HR, 49 RBI), who had torn a meniscus. They were also without pitcher Román Escobedo and infielders Bob Butler and Jim Phillips.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (12-7, 2.95 ERA) vs. César Garcia (0-0)
Hector Santos (1-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. Curtis Tobitt (7-3, 2.17 ERA)
Nick Brown (11-5, 2.67 ERA) vs. Tom Weise (11-7, 3.20 ERA)

César Garcia is a 31-year old left-hander who will make his first major league start this Friday. He had collected four relief appearances for the Buffaloes between 2004 and 2005, logging 6.1 innings.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – CF Seeley – 1B Pruitt – LF Gentry – SS Palmer – RF Ayers – C Owens – P Conway
IND: 3B Luján – 2B J. Perez – RF J. Ortíz – C Paraz – LF D. Graham – 1B S. Guerra – CF Luxton – SS R. Miller – P C. Garcia

This was one of those games to better not think about for too long, for the headaches were unbearable. In wicked things, Jon Merritt reached on an error the first two times he was up, and was swiftly mopped up in a double play in the first inning. He would score on Keith Ayers’ 2-run double in the fourth, which then flipped the score in the Coons’ favor, but which had been preceded by unimaginable agony. Jose Paraz, the ****tiest arm north, east, south, aaaaand west of the Rio Grande, threw out not one, but two Raccoons trying to steal in the second inning (bringing the Coons’ total SB success to 0/4 this week). The Indians scored a run when Robbie Luxton hit an infield single in the bottom 3rd, and when he stole second base, Owens through the ball up to Minnesota. Luxton reached third and scored on a grounder.

Still in the top 4th, Travis Owens got an intentional walk to reload the bases with two down for Baldwin, who chipped a ball in play between Garcia and Antonio Luján who almost crashed into another, and nobody made a play anywhere, Baldwin reaching with an RBI infield single. With three still on, Yoshi Nomura, who never struck out, struck out. All the Coons’ three runs were unearned, but like they say, unearned leads never last. Except when the other team leads on unearned runs. Those always last.

Bottom 5th, Conway walked Luxton with one out. Ryan Miller singled to center, and Seeley threw the ball back in, and the Coons had Luxton trapped between second and third! Merritt threw to Nomura, but Palmer didn’t cover third base, and Luxton scrambled down there! They … they … they … didn’t … …….!!!

The Indians were content with one run here, which scored on Garcia’s groundout, to get to 3-2. The next inning, Jose Perez and Juan Ortíz led off with singles. Owens blatantly missed a pitch that escaped for a passed ball, moving up the runners and taking away the double play Yoshi could have started with Jose Paraz’ grounder, which instead was now the game-tying groundout. That was all for Conway, with Youngblood appearing to face the left-handed power threat Dave Graham (21 HR, 81 RBI), who plated the go-ahead run with a grounder to Nomura – which wouldn’t have been possible if they had gotten the double play. Top 7th, down 4-3, Owens led off with a single, which I could see quite clearly in the crosshairs. Roudabush hit for Youngblood, bounced to Garcia, double play right he- NO! He threw it away! The throw went into center, and the Coons had two on with nobody out. And Yoshi grounded into a fielder’s choice that removed Roudabush, and Merritt grounded into a double play. Hnnnngggghhh!!!

Bottom 7th (voice cracks), Jason Seeley planted his face against the wall trying to make a catch on Antonio Luján’s drive and left with an injury. In the top of the eighth, Gentry was caught stealing again (0/5…), and when Josh Gibson appeared to pitch the bottom 8th he smacked Perez and walked Ortíz and Paraz. Bases loaded, nobody out. O’Brian came on and walked in a run before the Indians somehow made three outs without running up a cricket score. Top 9th, Salvadaro Soure allowed a leadoff single to Palmer. Tying run up in Ayers, he lined to first, Mark Clark snagged it and doubled off Palmer who was far astray. 5-3 Indians. Gentry 2-3, BB; Palmer 2-4;

I have heard that big league managers have gone on killing sprees and soaked entire clubhouses in blood for far less than this. What a monumentally wretched team …

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Gentry – C Bowen – SS M. Gutierrez – P Santos
IND: 3B Luján – CF Luxton – RF J. Ortíz – C Paraz – LF D. Graham – 1B S. Guerra – 2B M. Clark – SS R. Miller – P Tobitt

Top of the first, a 2-out, 2-run double by Castro gave Hector Santos a lead he instantly blew by allowing hits to the first three Indians that came up. They tied the score, but in the top 2nd, the Coons would come back with two runs of their own, exploiting a bad decision by Luján who tried to get the lead runner Gutierrez at second base on a less-than-stellar bunt by Santos, but really got nobody. Nomura came up with an RBI double then, and Merritt scored Santos with a groundout. The Indians had the tying runs on base with nobody out in the bottom 2nd, but Tobitt, who had missed much of the season with an injury, bunted into a double play to end the inning. It was painfully obvious (and obviously painful) that Hector Santos had nothing at all on any of his pitches in this start, and the Indians knocked him out before the fifth inning was over. Dave Graham tied the game with a 2-run homer in the fourth. Quebell hit a solo piece in the top 5th, and Santos would serve up another long-distance ball to Robbie Luxton in the bottom of the inning, knotting the score at five. Neither starter got a decision, but at least Tobitt had gotten ten of the dozen strikeouts between the two starters.

The Coons took a surprising 6-5 lead in the top 6th when Ryan O’Quinn gave up a pinch-hit homer to Dave Roudabush, coming in batting .088. The joy was short-lived, as was all joy around the ’11 Coons. Joe O’Brian came into the bottom 6th, and walked the bases full just like that. Law Rockburn replaced him and surrendered only the tying run, 6-6. The next two frames were scoreless, with the Critters stranding runners on the corners in the top 8th when Palmer popped out. Matt Pruitt then opened the ninth with a homer off Soure, which was the Blighters’ fifth lead of the day, and they had already blown four. Soure struck out the next three, and Angel had NOTHING. Ryan Miller and Clint Philip somehow made outs on the first pitch before Luján hit a hard single and Luxton hit an even harder double, both to left, and that double rammed off the wall so hard that Luján had to be held at third base. Four batters in, Casas had thrown five pitches. This was going to blow up. This was going to blow up so goddamn hard. Juan Ortíz struck out. 6-5 Blighters. Nomura 4-5, 2B, RBI; Quebell 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Roudabush (PH) 1-2, HR, RBI;

Dave Roudabush was now hitting a mighty .111, but he remained on the roster. The same was not true for Joe O’Brian, who since coming over from the Capitals in the Morales/Carmona deal had thrown 11.1 innings and walked 11. He was waived and designated for assignment (he had no options). Ted Reese was recalled after toiling away with St. Pete for several months. He had pitched in 35 games, covering 48 innings with a 2.44 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. The walks were well up, almost one walk every other inning.

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – SS Palmer – C Bowen – RF Ayers – P Brown
IND: SS R. Miller – 3B Luján – LF D. Graham – RF J. Ortíz – 1B S. Guerra – 2B J. Perez – C R. Speed – CF Luxton – P Weise

Castro stole his 20th base of the year, ironically not off Paraz, but against the backup Richard Speed in the second inning. Castro had reached on a soft single and would score on Palmer’s soft single, giving Brownie a 1-0 lead that Santiago Guerra would kill with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning. One inning further along, Brown would suffer a death by singles. Miller and Luján led off with a crawler and a bloop, and after Graham went down on strikes, Ortíz sent one to the second base bag that Yoshi intercepted, but couldn’t make a play with. Guerra chipped another infield single… Jose Perez fouled out before Richard Speed nailed a pitch really hard for a grand slam. That sent the Indians up 6-1, and Brown about packing. Now I mainly wanted some more innings from him since our bullpen had been slapped unconscious on Saturday. Luján promptly reached on another infield single in the bottom of the fourth. He would go through six, allowing one more run, but it wasn’t like his line wasn’t soiled already. In the meantime the Coons did – nothing. This was not a state that would change significantly for the rest of this game. Weise went eight and allowed only five singles. That was all. 7-1 Indians. Castro 3-4;

In other news

August 18 – CIN INF Bob Hall (.251, 8 HR, 46 RBI), who was already nursing a bruised elbow, slides on his thumb in a game against the Titans and tears ligaments in the digit. The 38-year old veteran will be out for a month.
August 21 – NYC OF Roberto Pena (.283, 3 HR, 40 RBI) has hit in 20 straight games, connecting for a first inning single in the Crusaders’ 9-4 loss to Vancouver. In the same game, VAN 1B Ray Gilbert (.349, 23 HR, 74 RBI) goes 5-for-5 with two homers and a double, and drives in four.

Complaints and stuff

Just when I thought Brownie might be fine again… No, he’s not. He’s a wreck.

A $7,102,469 wreck. Adding in the dead deals of Merritt ($4,035,493) and Bowen ($7,949,382), the Coons were in for over 19 million dollars in tears and heart medication. That was not quite the way I had intended to go about things.

The Capitals’ Victor Sarabia was also a player I tried to flip Jose Morales for. He is only 22, and is already hitting over .300 with extra base power, although he is not one to hit too many home runs. Defense is good, he can swipe bags by the dozen, too – the Capitals wouldn’t do it. But maybe Ricardo Carmona can do the same for us by 2013.

After an off day on Monday we’ll play 16 straight games into September, including all three North teams we haven’t seen the last two weeks. Can’t wait to get soiled by the Loggers again. Won’t have to wait for much longer – they will be our first opponent in the middle of next week. We will actually skip Umberger on Monday, since he’s plain bad and has even less stuff on display than Brownie. Or Slappy. Or Slappy’s dead Grandma Moe.

Westheim · 05-03-2016, 03:13 PM

By Monday we found out that Jason Seeley was lost for the season after suffering a bad ankle sprain. He was sent to the DL and we would see how life would go on. If at all.

Pat White was recalled from AAA, with Ricardo Carmona being promoted to St. Pete to take the empty spot, as there were only four outfielders there in the first place. His performance in Ham Lake had not been overwhelming, but maybe the suckage down there was contagious. The Ham Lake Panthers were going to finish last in their division for the fourth straight year, and they had not finished in the first division since ’99…

Also on Monday, the Agitator ran a story that puked all over the Raccoons’ roster, but they pointed out a few interesting things, including the complete failure at basic roster composition, evidenced in the .403 winning percentage at home opposed to the .683 winning percentage on the road (this is true! It is actually true!), resulting from ****ting money on players that were not able to play to the park’s strength at all. Everybody knew that Adrian Quebell was not a home run hitter. Yet he was on the Raccoons’ books for another $8M and change. Jon Merritt was not a home run hitter, and Craig Bowen had always been a bad hitter lucking into moonshots. While a lot of this was true (as was their statement that Craig Bowen had reached 10 HR on July 5 and since then had not hit another nor had been overtaken by ANYBODY for the team lead), they failed to explain a few other chronic issues with the roster, like the completely awful RISP hitting, the defensive breakdown of Jon Merritt (20 errors in 109 games), or why Nick Brown couldn’t strike people out anymore.

The bottom line was true however: the Raccoons’ roster composition was completely awful, and their GM ought to be roasted on a stick with a ****ing apple in his mouth.

Raccoons (68-57) @ Loggers (55-68) – August 23-25, 2011

Although they were scoring the least runs in the Continental League (about 3.9 per game), and were allowing the most runs in the Continental League (roughly 5.05 per game), the Loggers were a) not last in the division, and b) still holding on to a 7-5 advantage against the Coons over the course of the season. That had to change… please…!

Projected matchups:
Colin Baldwin (10-6, 3.02 ERA) vs. Roy Thomas (7-13, 4.58 ERA)
Bill Conway (12-8, 3.08 ERA) vs. Tom Constantino (2-3, 5.17 ERA)
Hector Santos (1-0, 5.68 ERA) vs. Fernando Cruz (10-10, 4.01 ERA)

Cruz will be a left-hander. They have only one player on the DL, outfielder Amari Brissett, who’s out for the season.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Gentry – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Baldwin
MIL: CF J.R. Richardson – C R. Hernandez – LF Davenport – RF Locke – 3B Sharp – SS Ito – 1B Tate – 2B P. Taylor – P R. Thomas

The Coons went hitless the first time through the order, and Baldwin needed only 19 pitches to get through the Loggers’ lineup for the first time, either, and already you had the impression that none of these two teams were destined for great things in the immediate future. Well, at some point one team HAD to score a run, and this happened so early you could barely believe your eyes. Michael Palmer led off the fifth with a single, stole second base, advanced on Bowen’s fly out and scored on Baldwin’s sac fly. WHOAH, offense!! It got even better in the sixth. Merritt opened with a double, Pruitt singled, and Quebell grounded out to the pitcher in awkward manner, with Merritt staying at third, Pruitt moving up to second, and Quebell out at first. Castro received an intentional walk as the Loggers preferred Thomas to pitch to Gentry, who hit a bases-clearing double, and noe we were in 4-0 business. So of course Baldwin would stop throwing strikes completely in the bottom of the inning, the Loggers hit a liner up either line and plated two runs with ease. The Raccoons had two invisible innings before putting two men on base in the ninth as Bowen and Nomura both singled. Gutierrez hit for Merritt and struck out, and Pruitt hit a line to left that ended up in the glove of Willie Davenport, denying the Coons an extra run or two. Angel Casas got Philip Locke, Daniel Sharp, and Suketsune Ito to all ground out to Palmer, and this game was in the books. 4-2 Furballs. Nomura 2-5; Gentry 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Baldwin 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W (11-6);

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – RF Gentry – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway
MIL: 2B T. Rodgers – C R. Hernandez – 3B Sharp – RF Locke – CF Davenport – 1B Tate – LF Alires – SS P. Taylor – P Constantino

After the Critters came up with some uncharacteristic first inning assault of Tom Constantino, who walked Yoshi and then immediately allowed a dinger to Merritt, and also conceded another run in the inning for a 3-0 lead, Conway came out, walked leadoff man Tim Rodgers, gave up an extra base hit to Raúl Hernandez, and then an RBI single to Sharpie. For some reason, the Loggers stopped hitting right there, and Conway got off the schneid with only one run allowed. Bottom 2nd, rain delay, over an hour. How does a park in the arctic not have a roof, say?

The rain delay killed both starters’ outings. Although both threw a few more pitches, neither was effective. Conway finished the third inning, but Constantino was removed before even that, having gotten charged with two more runs. The Coons were then looking for a few innings from George Youngblood, which didn’t happen at all, with lots of left-handers slapping lots of hits to the opposite field. That even included the opposing reliever, Kevin Cummings. Our efforts to get some qualified long relief were completely fruitless throughout. Ricardo Huerta came into the game in the sixth, allowed a single to Davenport and then said his arm was sore and headed for dinner. Thrasher came in, got somehow through the sixth while starving Davenport at third base in a 3-run game, then allowed a double to Martin Covington to start the bottom 7th. Covington stole a base, there was a groundout and a strikeout, and then Covington was at third. Daniel Sharp was now walked intentionally to get to the left-handed Locke, who walked unintentionally. Thrasher went on in that manner and forced in a run with a walk to Davenport before the abysmal hitter Dave Tate (.151/.232/.191) struck out. That left the Coons up 6-4. And did I mention that Angel was unavailable? Josh Gibson managed to sit down the bottom of the order in the eighth, and while the Coons were completely stymied by the Loggers’ ragged bullpen, Law Rockburn had to save the 2-run lead against the top of the lineup. Hernandez singled with one out before Sharp went down on strikes. Locke unleased a liner to left that Palmer grabbed in mid-air to bring this one to a merciful conclusion. 6-4 Raccoons. Merritt 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Quebell 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Complete trash can game, despite the win.

(Even worse: I misclicked and sent Angel Casas in to pitch the fifth. Whoopsie!

Ricardo Huerta was diagnosed with a strained triceps, which landed him on the DL. The minimum 15 days might be enough for him to get healthy again. Sergio Vega took over the roster spot, because he will never go away.

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Gentry – SS Palmer – C Owens – RF Ayers – CF White – P Santos
MIL: 2B T. Rodgers – C R. Hernandez – RF Locke – CF Davenport – 1B Tate – LF Covington – 3B Cuevas – SS P. Taylor – P F. Cruz

Something about the Raccoons’ lineup made me very sad, although I couldn’t figure it out right away, and I also had no time, because after Nomura and Merritt had both reached base to start the game, that situation defused in a strikeout and two ****ty pops. Bottom of the inning, Tim Rodgers singled right through Merritt before Santos walked the bases full. The Loggers got only one run on a sac fly, despite another walk to Covington that filled the bags again. Raging incompetence battle it was then, huh? True to form, Travis Owens was left on third base after a leadoff double in the second inning. Quebell drove in Nomura after Yoshi’s leadoff double in the top 3rd, but Santos was quickly smacked for the go-ahead run again in the bottom of the inning. Willie Davenport singled, Martin Covington tripled him in, 2-1 Loggers. The third inning then repeated itself in a horrendous déja vu in the fifth inning, with Quebell singling in Pat White to tie the game, and then Davenport doubled and Covington singled to score him. I should also mention that in the previous inning, Hector Santos, who was a complete and utter mess, walked the opposing pitcher Fernando Cruz – both times! OH MY GOD WE’RE STUCK WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

But before dying, the baseball gods put another inning that was started by Santos, who added a flattened batter (Palmer Taylor) to his already abysmal line, which held seven hits and five walks against him. Cruz got the go sign and swung away, ripping a terrible liner to left, that still ended up with Gentry. Santos wasn’t yanked until after a clean single to center by Tim Rodgers. Ted Reese was an actual improvement in his spot, retired Hernandez and Locke and also improved his ERA down to a flat eight. Santos was also spared the loss on three 2-out singles by Roudabush, Yoshi, and Merritt in the top 7th, tying the game 3-3. Bottom of the inning, Vega faced only one batter, Davenport, and walked him. Youngblood came in, and somehow escaped annihilation despite a real rocket to right by pinch-hitter Edgar Alires. Keith Ayers hadn’t had a base hit since the Declaration of Independence, but at least he made that play. The Coons got runners onto the corners in the top of the ninth. Facing Micah Steele, Matt Pruitt walked in the #9 spot and reached third on a hit-and-run in which Yoshi singled. Jon Merritt hit into the fattest inning-ending double play you’ll ever see.

A game nobody wanted to drag on dragged on when neither of the two broken collections of impossible dreams scored another run in regulation. Steele pitched the top 10th and almost walked off his team in the bottom of the inning, Josh Gibson’s second. J.R. Richardson and Tim Rodgers were on second and first, and Steele went to bat with two outs, as the Loggers were out of spare bats. He smacked the first pitch by Gibson up the middle, but just enough left of the second base bag that Palmer could make a play and extend misery. Top 11th, Owens singled off Dave Walk to get going, and reached third after another single by Pat White. Craig Bowen hit for Gibson with one out, ran a 3-1 count, then swung and lined a pitch right to Rodgers for the second out. Yoshi walked to fill them up and Merritt broke through with a single to center that scored two. Quebell grounded out sharply to Sharp to end the inning. Angel Casas was unavailable (…) and Law Rockburn got another save opportunity, facing Locke, Davenport, and Sharp, and set out to blow it. Locke struck out but then came three hard hits with a Davenport double, a Sharp single, and a Tommy Lemberger single that got the Loggers within one, with the tying run at third and the winning run at first with one out, only for Suketsune Ito to hit one sharply and on one bounce right into Merritt’s mitt for an easy 5-4-3 sweep-sealer. 5-4 Blighters. Nomura 3-4, 2 BB, 2B; Merritt 3-5, BB, 3 RBI; Quebell 2-6, 2 RBI; Owens 2-4, BB, 2B; White 2-5; Youngblood 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K; Gibson 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (1-2);

Honeypaws approved of this sweep, even though I was wetting him with my bitter tears as the bottom 11th was in progress.

By the way it’s true: Keith Ayers since the 17-inning game against the Crusaders has gone .096/.176/.129 in 62 AB. 2 RBI, 19 strikeouts. How is that even possible!?

Raccoons (71-57) vs. Condors (51-76) – August 26-28, 2011

The Coons returned home for a 10-game homestand, which probably meant another seven or eight sour losses with no dingers for them. First in were the Condors, against whom we were 3-3 on the season. After facing the worst offensive team just before, the Condors were second-worst in scoring runs, and ranked ninth in runs allowed, with their run differential not quite at -100. Their rotation was halfway solid, but their pen very wasn’t, and they ranked even last in pitching strikeouts. Not quite last in hitting strikeouts, but close…

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (11-6, 2.94 ERA) vs. Jaylen Martin (11-9, 2.85 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (8-8, 3.37 ERA) vs. Doug Thompson (7-4, 3.02 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (11-6, 2.99 ERA) vs. Ted Scott (5-11, 4.63 ERA)

Three right-handers for this one. Nick Brown draws “Midnight” Martin, whom I still grief about for not becoming a Raccoon, although that still wouldn’t have solved anybody’s problems. C’mon boys, the last time we lost the season series to them was in 2004. Let’s get going!

Game 1
TIJ: SS Valles – 3B D. Jones – LF Zackery – RF Feldmann – C Leach – 1B May – CF Blackburn – 2B Eroh – P J. Martin
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – C Bowen – SS Palmer – RF White – P Brown

The Critters left Yoshi on second in the opening inning, and when Palmer grounded out to Dan Jones for the second out in the second inning, keeping Tomas Castro pinned at the last base that didn’t count for anything, Nick Brown had that genuinely annoyed look as he stepped into the on-deck circle. Pat White walked, bringing up Brown, who lashed an 0-1 pitch up the middle and into center to give the Coons a 1-0 lead. Even better, Yoshi and Merritt did the exact same thing and the Coons were up 3-0 before Pruitt tried to hit a ball far and deep and had his fly caught by Shawn Blackburn. The Condors didn’t get on the first time through the order, but Melvin Valles legged out an infield single to start the top 4th, only to be swept up in a double play hit into by Dan Jones. They didn’t get another man on their second time through, while the Coons added solo runs in the fourth and sixth, with Yoshi involved both times, once plating the run, and once scoring it himself. Top 7th, Valles struck out, Brownie’s seventh on the day, Jones grounded out to Palmer, and Rusty Zackery fouled out in the area of third base. The Coons extended their lead to 6-0 with a run-scoring double play hit into by Castro in the bottom of the inning. Brownie struck out Ryan Feldmann to start the eighth and then had the first two at-bats where the result was not entirely splendid in a LONG time. First, he ran a 3-1 count on Foster Leach, which we had seen once in the first inning, and then Nick May hit a deep fly to right that ended up with Pat White, though. Top 9th, Blackburn whiffed, Ron Eroh grounded out to Palmer in a 2-2 count, and then Tomas Cardenas hit for reliever … and got drilled, ruining a shot at retiring the Condors in the minimum 27 batters. Valles went down on strikes. 6-0 Brownies! Nomura 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Merritt 2-4, 2 RBI; Brown 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, W (12-6) and 2-4, RBI;

SO DAMN CLOSE!! SO DAMN CLOSE!!

Game 2
TIJ: C Leach – 3B D. Jones – LF Zackery – 1B T. Cardenas – RF Feldmann – CF Tanner – SS Eroh – 2B Dougal – P D. Thompson
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – C Bowen – RF Ayers – SS M. Gutierrez – P Umberger

After Merritt’s 21st error on Thompson’s bunt in the top 3rd, Foster Leach refused to be invited twice and romped a 3-run homer that put Umberger in a Korea-sized hole. Umberger had his own problems, unable to strike out a blind man, and when he made a fielding error himself in the fifth inning, the Condors jumped on that as well, adding a run with a Cardenas single. The Coons were still being shut out with two Quebell singles and nothing else to show for. Their problems changed in nature in the bottom of the fifth, where Umberger batted with two outs and Bowen on first after having drawn a walk. Umberger hit one of his horrendous grounders, but actually legged out an infield single on a particularly clumsy play by Thompson that was well worth the Doodle of the Year award, but Umberger came up completely lame after the bag, stalked up and down the line and then finally sat down and rocked back and forth. That was Korean for “Coach, I’m hurt, get Ming Rhee ready.” That wasn’t all: Castro singled in Pruitt in the bottom 6th, then made for third base on a 2-out single by Bowen. He got there, but got his ankle jammed against the bag, and HE laid down and winced! Okay, get the rope attached to his good ankle, drag him outta here, and send Pat White in. The Coons made up two more runs with an Ayers double (!!!!) and a wild pitch, getting back to 4-3. The game was just shy of going completely bananas, but the Coons, while getting the tying run on base in the seventh and eighth innings, were soon reduced to sorry pops that weren’t going to get things done. Tim Moray walked Gutierrez with one out in the bottom 9th, but Palmer hit into a double play. 4-3 Condors. Pruitt 2-4; Quebell 2-4; Vega 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; Reese 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Okay, slow down, we need to talk about stuff.

Waiver claim and roster movement

On Sunday, the Raccoons were awarded the contract of right-handed reliever Kyle Mullins (2-6, 3.53 ERA, 15 SV at AAA) off waivers by the Cyclones. Mullins, 29, has a 96mph heater and a changeup. The Cyclones parked him in AAA all year despite some past success in the big leagues. He was 6-6 with a 4.72 ERA and 5 SV over his major league career, but that ERA was inflated due to some criminal defense around him and a .325 career BABIP. His career K/BB was under 2.2, but that was due to some wildness when he was 24, which he isn’t anymore.

Ted Reese was sent back to St. Pete to make room on the roster, but he would be back by Thursday when rosters would expand.

In terms of injuries, Tomas Castro had hyperextended his ankle and left the park on crutches and some stupid brace thing on his foot, but he would only have to miss a few days and was not disabled. There were no news on Umberger, who wouldn’t stop jumping up and down and couldn’t be shoved into a magical tube of death rays like that.

Raccoons (71-57) vs. Condors (51-76) – August 26-28, 2011

Game 3
TIJ: SS Valles – 3B D. Jones – LF Zackery – 1B T. Cardenas – RF Feldmann – CF Tanner – C Leach – 2B Dougal – P T. Scott
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – C Bowen – CF White – SS Roudabush – P Baldwin

Second inning, the Coons grabbed the lead with doubles by Quebell and Bowen, and an infield single chipped by Dave Roudabush that allowed Bowen to score, too, for a 2-0 advantage. Stanley Dougal was the only Condor to reach base the first time through, and Baldwin ran up the strikeouts, whiffing the side in the second inning, and seven over five innings. By then, Quebell had doubled again with Merritt on first base and two outs in the bottom 3rd. Merritt was sent, yet thrown out by Ryan Feldmann to end the inning. Dougal was not only the first Condor to reach base, but he was also the second, sending a slow roller up the left foul line to start the top 6th. Merritt hustled in, slinged it over to Quebell – or maybe well past him. Error #22, and trouble on the base paths, and Dan Jones’ 2-out single plated the runner to get the Condors back to within a run. Baldwin completed eighth innings on 98 pitches, but the Coons had had one base runner since Merritt had been thrown out, and Roudabush led off the eighth. We had to do something about that. Gutierrez hit for him and popped out. Palmer hit for Baldwin and at least managed a single to center. Scott was still in the game, ran to 3-1 on Yoshi, who then grounded to short, and Valles threw the ball past Dougal to not get two, or even one, but none. Two on, one out for Merritt, and that sounded a lot like a double play challenge, and Merritt didn’t fail on that count. Angel Casas took over the 2-1 lead for the ninth, facing the top of the order. Valles grounded out to Angel, Jones grounded out to Yoshi, and when Zackery went down blinking, the Coons had extended their string of season series wins against the Rufflebirds to seven years. 2-1 Coons. Quebell 2-3, 2 2B; Palmer (PH) 1-1; Baldwin 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (12-6);

We had five hits, they had two, and the game was over in a crisp two hour and ten minutes! That even beat Nick Brown’s double-unperfect game on Friday, which took 2:23, and the Saturday contest, which lasted three minutes longer than that despite two mortally wounded Critters needing to be scraped off the field after SUV collisions. Added up we played a 3-game set in just under seven hours. Good offense. Good offense, for both teams…

In other news

August 23 – New York outfielder Roberto Pena (.279, 3 HR, 40 RBI) has his 20-game hitting streak snapped by the Titans, leaving empty-handed despite getting six at-bats in the Crusaders’ 12-inning, 5-4 loss to Boston.
August 24 – A separated shoulder will cost CIN OF Jose Silva (.301, 7 HR, 74 RBI) at least three weeks.
August 26 – The Capitals have listed OF Jose Morales (.361, 15 HR, 73 RBI) as DTD after the 28-year old has sprained his ankle. He might labor on that one for two weeks.
August 28 – SAC 1B Raúl Bovane (.283, 14 HR, 65 RBI) could be done for the year after breaking his hand on a slide.

Complaints and stuff

Thank heavens Nick Brown smacked Tomas Cardenas on Friday, because otherwise I would have carried the safe call on Valles around me for the rest of my life. Like Juan Diaz throwing three wild pitches in an at-bat. Or Ed Parrell and Glenn Johnston in ’89. So let’s recap. We have a 12 K game, followed by a 5-hit shutout with 9 K, then a 7-run blowout with a Richard Speed slam (…!), and now a 1-hitter with 10 K. I’ll ignore everything before that this season, take the mean of those starts and roll with it for the next three plus years.

Yoshi Nomura reached second place in the CL in Batter WAR during this week, which only shows what kind of stupid stat it is.

Nobody wanted a piece of Joe O’Brian, who was assigned to AAA.

Westheim · 05-04-2016, 04:37 PM

Raccoons (73-58) vs. Thunder (81-50) – August 29-31, 2011

After playing the runts of the Continental League for a week, the Raccoons were up against a strong team with a capital S, as the Thunder were fifth in runs scored in the league, but had the best pitching throughout. So far the Coons hadn’t done badly against them, taking four of the previous six games the teams played this season, but the Thunder were on a blinding tear, having won 15 of their last 16 games.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (12-8, 3.08 ERA) vs. Edgar Amador (9-10, 4.02 ERA)
Hector Santos (1-0, 5.50 ERA) vs. William Raven (13-2, 2.81 ERA)
Nick Brown (12-6, 2.79 ERA) vs. Daniel Dickerson (8-8, 3.79 ERA)

That’s three right-handers, including the Fat Cat, and the Romping Raven, who had won more games than any Raccoons on the year despite pitching out of the pen in April, and making a few more relief appearances in July, as well as Daniel Dickerson, who was a stunning pitcher whenever his broken body could be pried from the cold grip of death for a few starts.

Game 1
OCT: SS Farias – 1B J. Roberts – 2B D. McCormick – RF Tom Reese – 3B M. Austin – LF V. Diaz – C A. Ortíz – CF J. Garcia – P Amador
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – SS Palmer – CF White – C Bowen – P Conway

The Thunder took the hammer to Bill Conway right away, with Farias reaching with a single in the top 1st, and Conway added two walks in what quickly devolved into a 3-run inning. For two innings, Conway didn’t get ahead of anybody, before striking out four in a row between the third and fourth innings. The Thunder didn’t get much contact off him anymore, either, but the damage had already been done. The Raccoons only managed an infield single by Nomura until Brett Gentry at least got the team on the board with a solo homer in the fourth. Merritt singled in Bowen, who had doubled, in the fifth inning, leaving the team just one run behind. Gentry saw the Fat Cat pretty well, hitting a double in the sixth, but he was left on third base when Pat White struck out once more, and that left Conway on the short end after six innings. Youngblood replaced him in the seventh, but got only one out from Haruyoshi Takizawa before Emilio Farias tripled. Kyle Mullins appeared in his Coons debut and conceded the run on a single. The Raccoons scratched that run back on a Merritt sac fly in the bottom 7th, then got their real chance in the bottom 8th when they had the bases loaded with one out, and left-hander Lance Tinker appearing to face Craig Bowen. Obviously Bowen would hit into a double play. Josh Gibson barfed up a homer to Manny Cruz and that was that. 5-3 Thunder. Nomura 2-5; Gentry 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Bowen 2-4, 2B;

On Tuesday, we finally put Jong-hoo Umberger on the DL with a hamstring strain. It doesn’t look too bad though and he might only miss two weeks and will return in mid-September. Gil McDonald replaced him on the roster and would also take Umberger’s next scheduled start on September 1 against the Titans.

Game 2
OCT: LF V. Diaz – 1B J. Roberts – 2B D. McCormick – RF Tom Reese – 3B M. Austin – C J. Martinez – SS Janes – CF J. Garcia – P Raven
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – RF Gentry – C Bowen – SS M. Gutierrez – P Santos

Like on Monday, the Raccoons didn’t get anybody on the first time through the order, although this time their pitcher also prevented runs from happening early on. Dave McCormick’s leadoff triple in the top 4th certainly spelled trouble. But a Tom Reese pop, a Mark Austin whiff, and a fly to center by Jesus Martinez ended the inning without McCormick coming in. The first runner for the Coons would be Yoshi, drilled by a Raven pitch in the bottom of the inning. Castro and Pruitt quickly added two singles to load the bases with nobody out. Quebell hit a ball up the middle, where it just narrowly escaped Erik Janes and became a 2-run single, and Pruitt would score on a Merritt groundout, 3-0 Critters. Hector Santos maintained shutout pace through the middle innings (in terms of runs on the board; his pitch count rose too quickly to go nine), although that required qualified help from Brett Gentry in the top 6th, who threw out Vinny Diaz at home, when Diaz tried to score on a McCormick single. Merritt added another sac fly in the bottom 6th, 4-0, and Santos threw only one pitch in the eighth which ex-Coon Chris Parker hit for a double to right. Ron Thrasher would concede the run with some 2-out crumble, first walking McCormick and then allowing a single to Tom Reese. Angel Casas struck out two in the ninth and turned away the Thunder, although it took him 19 pitches, nursing two full counts. 4-1 Critters. Castro 2-4; Quebell 2-3, 2 RBI; Santos 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (2-0);

Game 3
OCT: SS Farias – C J. Martinez – CF Tom Reese – RF M. Cruz – 2B D. McCormick – 1B J. Roberts – LF J. Garcia – 3B M. Austin – P Dickerson
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – CF Castro – SS Palmer – C Bowen – RF Ayers – P Brown

The perfect game went out of the window on pitch #3 which Emilio Farias hit on a line to shallow center for a single. Farias stole second, his 23rd bag of the year, but was thrown out at home by Keith Ayers on Reese’s single to right. Brownie also helped himself with two strikeouts in the inning, and then Daniel Dickerson came out, threw two pitches, and then left the game with what looked like another injury and a really despaired look on his face. The Thunder were undeterred and banged Brown for two runs in the top 2nd. He still struck out two, but they had the bases loaded with one out after two singles and a walk, and while Erik Janes struck out, Farias did not and singled to center for two. Two innings, and Brown had thrown 56 pitches in what was clearly another completely futile start, which continued with Reese getting smacked to get the third inning going. Manny Cruz grounded to Palmer, who blew the double play completely with an errant throw past Yoshi, but then got ANOTHER double play grounder from McCormick, and that one he finally turned.

By the fourth inning, the Thunder had lost another pitcher, Rick Nicholls, to injury, the Raccoons still hadn’t scored, and Brown was at 80 pitches with runners on the corners and one out after Lance Tinker had just reached on Merritt’s 23rd error of the season. Farias’ groundout scored an unearned run, and Brown was done after six completely botched innings, still down 3-0. Maybe the Thunder would run out of pitching… The bottom 6th certainly started well when Tinker walked both Merritt and Pruitt, but Quebell bounced into another double play (Ayers had already killed an inning that way), and all blame was on Quebell for leaving Brown on the hook. Castro’s double and Palmer’s single scored two runs, but left the Coons short at 3-2, and stranded a pair in the bottom 7th when deep flies by Nomura and Pruitt just refused to fall in, and they went down entirely meekly in the last two innings. 3-2 Thunder. Palmer 2-4, RBI;

No extra-base hits of any kind, which has been the story for the entire year. Craig Bowen still leads the ****ing team with ten homers!!

Raccoons (74-60) vs. Titans (59-74) – September 1-4, 2011

We were 7-4 against the Titans this season. The Titans had only now crawled past the Loggers to get out of the last place doldrums, but their season was still a rather mystical tire fire. They ranked 10th in both runs scored and runs allowed, and there wasn’t anything on that team that was working.

Projected matchups:
Gil McDonald (7-8, 3.30 ERA) vs. Chester Graham (5-11, 4.76 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (12-6, 2.86 ERA) vs. Ron Carter (9-14, 6.48 ERA)
Bill Conway (12-9, 3.13 ERA) vs. Mauro Castro (9-9, 5.38 ERA)
Hector Santos (2-0, 4.32 ERA) vs. Tony Hamlyn (10-11, 3.28 ERA)

The bookends of this series will be left-handed for the Titans, although they had a rainout on Tuesday and played a double header on Wednesday. Jesus Cabrera (7-13, 3.47 ERA) was the alternative for the Sunday game, or they could bring up a young guy.

As rosters expanded we added Ted Reese, Tommy Ward, and – specifically to pitch red-eye shifts – Pat Slayton. The eyes were red for all the tears of course. We also added a catcher in Tom McNeela, who was batting .300 in AAA, and LF Jerry Saenz, 26, who was awful in the field, but had hit 21 homers in AAA this year. He was on the 40-man roster anyway.

Game 1
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 1B Legendre – C J. Flores – RF G. Rios – 2B J. Ramirez – LF Hayashi – 3B E. Salazar – CF Baez – P C. Graham
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – CF T. Castro – 1B Pruitt – LF Gentry – SS Palmer – C Owens – RF Ayers – P McDonald

Nomura’s error put Marcos Baez on base in the third inning, and sure enough he came in to score for an unearned run. It got infinitely worse in the fourth, in which Toki Hayashi singled, Edgar Salazar doubled, Baez was put on intentionally, and then McDonald allowed a 2-out, 2-run single to Graham. McDonald was completely ****, drilled Gerardo Rios in the fifth inning, threw a wild pitch, and was spared more runs against him when Gentry made a good grab on Hayashi’s liner on a 3-1 pitch. For four innings, the Raccoons’ box score consisted of a lone hit by Keith Ayers, and when Keith Ayers was your best offensive performer, you were really in the ****s. Gentry led off the fifth with a single to left, tried to get two bases out of it, and was dutifully thrown out at second base by Toki Hayashi. Gentry would get revenge on the Titans in the seventh: Tommy Ward was pitching in a rotten, long-lost game, and allowed a leadoff single to Mike Rivera. Alexis Legendre sent a ball to deep left, Gentry caught it, and then drilled a rocket to second base where Rivera, coming from first, was tagged out for a double play. The Coons were essentially dead for most of the game until Keith Ayers suddenly homered in the bottom of the eighth, getting them within two runs.

Technically, when Castro drew a leadoff walk off “Dodo” Iwase in the ninth the tying run was at the plate with nobody out. A double play was sure to come! But for starters, Pruitt doubled to left on the first pitch, moving the tying runs in scoring position. Oh, losing would now be the more painful. After Gentry flew out to shallow center, keeping the runners where they were, Iwase threw a wild pitch to score Castro and get Pruitt to third. Palmer lobbed a single over a leaping Edgar Salazar to tie the score at three, and Owens was hit for with Jerry Saenz, who thus made his major league debut, with the Titans countering by sending lefty Matt Collins. That didn’t help, as Saenz singled to right, and Palmer made it to third base with one out! Keith Ayers popped out on the first pitch; Pat White then batted for Kyle Mullins, raked a pitch to deep left – and PAST Hayashi! Walkoff! 4-3 Coons! Saenz (PH) 1-1; Ayers 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; White (PH) 1-1, RBI; Ward 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Chester Graham was almost impenetrable, allowing four hits in eight innings. That was quite some bullpen meltdown. The Coons were only down by three, but it felt like nine… Not 9-0 Titans, but 3-(-6) Titans.

Game 2
BOS: 2B J. Ramirez – SS B. Hernandez – C J. Flores – CF K. Williams – LF Hayashi – 3B E. Salazar – 1B Legendre – RF M. Rivera – P Carter
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – CF T. Castro – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – LF Saenz – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Baldwin

There was some rain in the third and fourth innings, and it had to be assumed that these were the tears of the gods, terminally saddened by what these two teams were doing to the beautiful game of baseball. Both teams left runners on third early on, the Coons even a pair in scoring position in the first, and Quebell killed the third inning with a double play. Colin Baldwin would actually drive in the first run of the game with a 2-out single to left that barely escaped Bartolo Hernandez, who would have gotten that grounder ten years earlier. Alexis Legendre hit a deep fly in the fifth that was caught on the track by Saenz, and in the bottom of the sixth the Coons had Palmer on with one out. He stole second base, and then Bowen hit a ball to deep left that looked like #11, finally an 11th homer for a – no, it fell down and into the glove of Mike Rivera. Baldwin struck out and the score remained 1-0. Despite the Coons having tons of runners with a critically wild Ron Carter on the mound. All those missed chances! When Yoshi drew a walk to start the bottom 7th, that was the EIGHTH walk for Carter in the game! Merritt singled, but Castro struck out and Quebell grounded out. Pruitt hit for Gentry, was walked intentionally, and the Titans moved to Charlie Deacon. Owens hit for Saenz and grounded out. Baldwin got through the eighth before rain interrupted the game for 26 minutes. Baldwin had already 100 pitches on the clock, and with the rain, and the CAPITALLY ****TY Raccoons’ hitting with runners on base, he was not going to pitch in the ninth anyway. Palmer singled off Deacon in the bottom 8th, and Bowen hit into a double play. Angel took over the 1-0 lead, walked PH Marcos Baez, but got out of the game without Baez moving off first base. 1-0 Blighters. Palmer 2-3, BB; McNeela (PH) 1-1, 2B; Baldwin 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W (13-6) and 1-3, RBI;

Don’t anybody dare to claim that herding this flock is easy! It rips out all your intestines at times!

In good things, Angel Casas reached 40 saves for the season.

Game 3
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 1B Legendre – C J. Flores – RF G. Rios – 2B J. Ramirez – LF Hayashi – 3B E. Salazar – CF Baez – P M. Castro
POR: 2B Nomura – CF T. Castro – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C McNeela – P Conway

Jose Flores was drilled by Conway in the first, and Hayashi took one well too close in the second. Nothing happened the first time, but the Hayashi plunk was sandwiched by Ramirez’ leadoff single and a four-pitch walk to Salazar. Conway didn’t get out of that one, surrendering a sac fly to Mauro Castro, then walked Rivera, and a 2-run single to Legendre for a 3-0 Titans lead. Insurmountable! Actually, the Coons made up two in the bottom of the same inning with a single by Gentry and doubles hit by Gutierrez and McNeela. Conway never got right and was ripped by Hayashi with a 2-run homer in the fifth, his last inning. One run in the fifth was unearned after a Quebell error. The Coons had two on in the bottom 5th and bowed out of that, but then rallied from 5-2 down in the bottom 6th. Quebell led off with a single and moved up on Gentry’s grounder. Palmer flew to center, where Baez dropped the ball, giving the Coons runners on the corners. Gutierrez grounded out, scoring Quebell, and a McNeela single scored Palmer. Saenz hit for Slayton, singled, and then Yoshi walked, setting up Tomas Castro with two outs and three on, and he unleashed the ****tiest roller on the first pitch, Jesus Ramirez could not possibly boogle it, and the Coons remained 5-4 behind.

The Titans had nobody on with two outs in the top 7th, but managed to load the bases against Youngblood and Rockburn, scoring a run, while the Coons’ leadoff double hit by Pruitt in the bottom of the inning led to absolutely nothing. It was … it was just … mmf. Josh Gibson was shredded for three runs in the top 9th, and it was all completely horrible. 9-5 Titans. Castro 2-5, HR, RBI; McNeela 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Saenz (PH) 1-1;

Game 4
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B J. Ramirez – C J. Flores – LF G. Rios – CF J. Gusmán – 1B Legendre – RF Baez – 3B E. Salazar – P Hamlyn
POR: CF T. Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Gentry – 2B Palmer – C Owens – RF Ayers – SS Roudabush – P Santos

Tony Hamlyn had more than 3 K/9 less than in 2010 (and more than a decade before that), which was one of a million reasons why the Titans weren’t going anywhere in 2011, and the Coons hit a few balls hard early on, plating two runs after consecutive singles by Gentry, Palmer, and Owens in the second inning. Hector Santos couldn’t strike out anybody though, and in the top 3rd gave up the first run to the Titans with a Hamlyn single, a walk to Rivera, and a wild pitch. Quebell’s RBI double in the bottom 3rd moved the score to 3-1, and the Coons got another run in the fourth in the most stupid fashion. Nobody on, two down, Santos was batting and fouled off a 2-2, a high pop in front of the Coons’ dugout. Legendre came over to make the catch right at the railing, but came too close to Nick Brown in the dugout, who was all over a tasty chunk of ham, hissed and clawed at Legendre, who dropped the ball for an error. Santos doubled(!) on the next pitch, and then scored on Tomas Castro’s single, 4-1, and the Coons scored another TWO unearned runs in the fifth when a Edgar Salazar threw away a Travis Owens grounder, putting two on with two outs, and the Titans forewent Ayers with an intentional walk to get to Roudabush, who promptly singled to left. That was the end of another sorry day at work for Hamlyn, but even a 6-1 lead was not safe. The Titans were over Santos in the sixth. The youngster allowed two singles, and in between drilled a man and threw a wild pitch to conceded a run that was totally earned. Bottom 6th, the Coons stole three bases and still scored only one run: Castro singled, stole second, Merritt walked, they pulled off a double steal, but the team didn’t amount to more than a Quebell groundout, 7-2. Santos got three quick outs in the seventh and then struck out “Quasimodo” Suda in the top 8th before leaving the game. Four of the next five batters were left-handers, and he was at 97 pitches. There was no need to fudge around with expanded rosters. Ward and Thrasher got the remaining outs. 7-2 Furballs. Castro 2-5, RBI; Gentry 3-4; Santos 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (3-0) and 1-3, 2B;

In other news

September 2 – SAC SP Jorge Gine (8-9, 3.31 ERA) 2-hits the Wolves in an 8-0 shutout.
September 3 – New York’s SP Pancho Trevino (11-7, 3.14 ERA) befuddles the Indians and holds them to three hits while going the distance in an 11-0 rout.

Complaints and stuff

After the roster expansion, Nick Brown still had only 140 less career strikeouts than all other pitchers on the roster combined. There are some young guys on that roster, right, there are also some crap guys on the roster, and, the biggest group, some young crap guys.

Next week the Coons get to face the Crusaders and Elks, which will also bring the last dreamer to stop imagining a playoff participation this October. The tough starting pitching is all that makes them appear even remotely close to the Crusaders in the standings – the offense is nothing short of a fire in an orphanage.

The Raccoons are on pace for 96 home runs this year, which would rank this year 22nd out of 35 seasons played for the team. Only three of the 13 teams with less homers than that did post a winning record, but those were not bad teams at all: 1983 (95-67, 1st in North, lost WS to Stars), 1987 (91-71, 2nd in North, 1 GB), and 1991 (96-66, 1st in North, lost WS to Capitals); it is not entirely out of the blue that those three teams also posted the best three ERA’s in franchise history at (in order) 3.12, 3.13, and 3.11; this year’s edition, while certainly strong on the hurlers’ side with a 3.24 ERA, just isn’t close enough.

Worst team ERA’s? 2000 and 2001, tied with 4.63 ERA marks, more than half a run behind the next-closest outfit, that from 2003. Best pitcher by ERA on the 2001 team? Juan Diaz (3.55). THAT Juan Diaz. Juan “****ing Three Wild Pitches in One At-Bat” Diaz! There were more pitchers with double-digit ERA’s than with sub-4 ERA’s on that team. 2000 at least had a good year from Randy Farley (14-11, 3.59 ERA), and a no-hitter spun by Bob “Can’t Believe It” Joly, but 2001 had only DIAZ. DIAZ!!

Baffling trivia #1: the Raccoons team that drew the most walks in team history, was the 1997 edition, which walked 689 times. YES. The team that spiraled to drop 40 games compared to 1996, that team drew the most walks.

Baffling trivia #2: Bob Joly is still playing professional ball! He’s slogging away with the Baton Rouge Servals, the AAA affiliate of the Bayhawks. He last appeared in the majors in 2009, for the Miners, pitching in seven games, all in relief, even with good numbers. Small sample sizes for the win!

Westheim · 05-05-2016, 07:14 AM

Raccoons (77-61) @ Crusaders (82-54) – September 5-7, 2011

The Crusaders had won five games in a row, and a whole lotta games overall, with their league-leading offense that had churned out 705 runs (or 5.2 runs per game), while the pitching was not overwhelming, but thoroughly and undeniably competent with a top 3 rotation and a bullpen with some holes, but a strong back end. They were allowing the fourth-least runs overall in the league. The season series so far stood 7-5 in favor of the Raccoons, who were still feasting on their season-opening sweep of the Crusaders. No such thing was likely in the books now, though, with the Raccoons scrambling to score even small amounts of runs.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (12-7, 2.80 ERA) vs. Ed Winn (0-2, 3.22 ERA)
Gil McDonald (7-8, 3.29 ERA) vs. A.J. Bartels (14-7, 3.09 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (13-6, 2.74 ERA) vs. Takeru Sato (9-6, 3.12 ERA)

Kel Yates had vanished to the DL two months ago. Since then, the Crusaders had patched and stuffed their rotation with whatever toy they found conveniently lying around, in this case Ed Winn, a 29-year old right-hander who had made a few starts with the Scorpions in the last years, but never held onto a major league job for any amount of time. Sato is their only left-handed starter. There was another issue for them, as closer Scott Hood had a tweaked calf that had him listed as DTD.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – CF Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – RF Ayers – C Bowen – P Brown
NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – SS J. Ortega – 3B Bond – P Winn

Nick Brown’s historic struggles against this lineup (except for Martin Ortíz the top 5 pretty much owned him) combined with the fact that this middle of the order had churned out 25+ homers EACH, had us legitimately worried for the series opener, and the Raccoons found themselves instantly reduced in the first inning when Tomas Castro was injured on a tumbling grab on B.J. Manfull’s drive to center that was pretty damn close to score a pair. Nobody scored, but Castro’s remains had to be mopped up and Pat White replaced him.

The Coons then score three in the top 2nd against an unhealthily wild Ed Winn. Keith Ayers romped a solo home run on a 3-1 pitch, and then Bowen doubled on a 3-0 offering. Brown singled, Yoshi and Merritt both walked, and Pat White singled in another run before Quebell couldn’t resist the terrible urge to hit into a double play to end the frame. Being spotted with a 3-run lead didn’t help Brown the slightest, and the Crusaders came within 10 feet of tying the game in the bottom 3rd. Roberto Pena and Francisco Caraballo had made outs, but then Martin Ortíz ripped a triple and scored on Stanton Martin’s bloop single to center. B.J. Manfull gave an 0-1 pitch a huge ride to deep right, but Ayers caught it on the warning track to end the inning at 3-1 Coons. For the Crusaders there was still the slight issue of a completely bonkers starting pitcher, who racked up the walks without whiffing anybody. A Jorge Ortega error put Palmer on with one out in the fifth, and Winn walked both Ayers and Bowen to load them up, reaching seven walks on the day. Brownie had already hit two singles off him, and he lined the first pitch to left! It was in! Palmer scored, Ayers turned third, the throw from Martin Ortíz coming in and Ayers was … SAFE (voice cracks) AT HOME!! WHOAH!!

Despite some hurricane-wild performance, Winn lasted six innings and didn’t concede any more runs than those five. Brown had calm fifth and sixth innings and arrived in the seventh in decent shape, on 91 pitches, and facing the bottom of the order, with Jorge Ortega grounding out on the first pitch, Kevin Bond going down in flames for the third time, before ex-Coon Ramiro Cavazos singled to center. Pena grounded out, but that left Brown at 105 pitches and done for the night, especially with his spot due to lead off the top 8th. The Coons got Yoshi and Merritt on base against lefty Ray Conner, but White and Quebell made poor outs and they didn’t add. Law Rockburn came out for the eighth, facing the 2-3-4 batters, or in other terms right-left-right (with another left looming behind that in Manfull). Caraballo reached on the softest single to right and Rockburn then walked Ortíz. Martin grounded into a fielder’s choice that left runners on the corners and brought in Ron Thrasher, who nursed a 3-1 count to Manfull, who then slowly grounded a pitch to the first base side of the mound, and there was no play to get right here, although Caraballo stayed at third base. Bases loaded, tying run up in Gabriel Ortíz, Thrasher handed him a K before Ortega bounced a ball to third that Merritt didn’t dare to throw away, and the Crusaders left the sacks stocked. The Coons made three lightning-quick outs in the top of the ninth before Thrasher continued on the mound. Bond was out on a drag bunt, and Juan Gutierrez grounded out to third before Pena reached on an infield single and Caraballo wrestled a full count walk. That brought up the left-handed Martin brother, but Angel was damn sure getting ready for the right-handed Martin brother, but Thrasher remained in for Ortíz, threw a wild pitch, and then surrendered a fantastic rocket to deep left, high, higher – foul. Full count, Thrasher was toast and walked Ortíz with a pitch that bounced in the dirt and demanded Bowen’s all, then was chased for Angel Casas, who successfully sinkered Stanton into submission. 5-1 Brownies!! Castro 1-1; Brown 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W (13-7) and 3-3, 2 RBI;

****ty command is exactly what will keep Ron Thrasher from achieving lasting fame and greatness. This was a pretty intense game, not least because he was completely going bananas in the ninth. Thankfully we have an Angel at hand.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – RF Ayers – C Bowen – CF White – P McDonald
NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – 3B Bond – SS J. Ortega – P Bartels

Yoshi led off the game with a deep drive that ended up with Stanton Martin anyway, but then Merritt singled and Pruitt walked against Bartels, who had started the year with the Loggers. Quebell grounded hard to Caraballo, whose throw to second was low and got away from Ortega, giving the Coons three men on with one out. Michael Palmer’s hard shot completely ate up Kevin Bond and escaped into foul ground and up the line for a 2-run double, before Keith Ayers’ season ended in graphic manner on an infield single up the middle. Ortega’s throw was into the runner and for a split second B.J. Manfull, Keith Ayers, and the ball all occupied the same spot in space which the universe resolved in Ayers’ fifth digit on the left hand getting smashed and broken in two places, as the cameras dutifully caught in color. Quebell scored, 3-0, but the Coons were about to run out of outfielders. Gentry replaced Ayers. While the Critters stranded two in the first, two in the third, and two in the fourth, the Crusaders made up two runs in the bottom 3rd – McDonald had little in terms of stuff and also nicked Pena in a spot where that didn’t help at all – but then also took a hit when A.J. Bartels came out of the game in the fourth with an injury. CARNAGE!! That didn’t the deter the Crusaders from beating up McDonald in the fourth inning. Manfull, Bond, and PH Cavazos all smacked doubles and McDonald was knocked out down 4-3 with a pair in scoring position and only one out. George Youngblood walked Pena and allowed an RBI single to Caraballo before Martin Ortíz grounded hard to Yoshi for an inning-ending double play, with the Coons down by two. Things didn’t get better for them, either, despite the murky middle relief the Crusaders had now in the game to pitch. Just as it was for the Coons! Youngblood drilled Stanton Martin to start the bottom 5th, allowed a single to Gabriel Ortíz and then walked Bond to get evicted. Slayton conceded two runs when he replaced Youngblood.

Down 7-3 the Coons out the tying run on base in the sixth, facing Ray Conner. Bowen led off with a triple and scored on White’s groundout before Dave Roudabush (having come in with Slayton in a double switch that removed Palmer) reached on Conner’s error. Yoshi singled, Merritt walked, tying runs on base with one out. Two pitches later, everybody sat down after Pruitt had fouled out and Quebell had rolled out to Caraballo, his favorite defender in the world. Slayton pitched through the seventh despite walking three, but the Raccoons couldn’t get the bats up anymore. Scott Hood, despite that balking calf, came out to pitch the ninth in a 7-4 game and struck out Merritt and Pruitt before Quebell worked a 2-out walk. Manuel Gutierrez grabbed a stick to bat for Kyle Mullins, but popped out on the first pitch. 7-4 Crusaders. Nomura 3-5, 2B; Palmer 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Ayers 1-1, RBI;

Keith Ayers was lost for the season and I heard it took a while for that crippled finger to get set and put in cast. And with that I mean that I heard him howling during the entire procedure – as did the entire ballpark while the game was still in progress.

While Ayers was placed on the DL, Castro was still undiagnosed, and we needed outfield help. Jason Seeley was moved to the 60-day DL to free a spot on the 40-man roster, and we called up RF/LF/1B Jimmy Fucito [sp: foo-see-to’], 23, who was a second-round pick in 2010, #74 overall. Fucito had moved to AAA in July, and had since batted .329/.368/.463 there with 3 HR and 18 RBI. He had 13 doubles among his 54 hits. He bats right-handed, which was a perfect opportunity to make his major league debut on Wednesday against Takeru Sato. He batted in the #3 slot because … well … who else should?

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – RF Fucito – 1B Quebell – LF Gentry – SS Palmer – C Owens – CF White – P Baldwin
NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – SS J. Ortega – 3B Bond – P Sato

While Sato faced the minimum through three innings, Colin Baldwin was in for a good spanking in a rubber game that went away from the Critters quicker than they could empty a common trash can. Roberto Pena yanked a 2-run homer in the third, but for Baldwin that was only the beginning, and for the second straight day the Coons’ starter didn’t make it through four. He started the bottom 4th with walks to the Martin Brothers, then allowed them to score on Manfull’s double to center. Gabriel Ortíz upped the pain with a 2-run homer to left, and it just wouldn’t end. Ortega doubled, Bond grounded out, but then Baldwin walked Sato with two outs and it was really enough by now, down 6-0. Tommy Ward replaced Baldwin, allowed an RBI single to Pena, and was gone as soon as he came in. Ted Reese got out of the inning, but down by seven, the Coons were done (and in to trail in the division by seven games rather soon). Sergio Vega somehow pitched three shutout innings despite allowing five runners and striking out absolutely nobody. Gentry had a hand it that, starting a double play from the outfield.

Offensively, the Coons were reduced to a run-scoring groundout credited to Bowen in the fifth, but New York wasn’t done yet. Josh Gibson got the bottom 8th, walked Cavazos to get started, but Pena hit into a double play. And then he walked Caraballo. There weren’t enough palms to bury your face in, and it got worse when Martin Ortíz whacked a 2-run homer to right, which gave him 223 for his career – incidentally the same number that ended up being Daniel Hall’s career total. 9-1 Crusaders. Gentry 2-4; Vega 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K;

… and this is why the Crusaders have won three titles in the last four years, and the Coons – none. That lineup is borderline ridiculous. Or maybe it’s our pitching. I don’t know. Who cares? Who cared?

In his debut, Jimmy Fucito grounded out to Bond three times and to Ortega once. One of those was a double play. One day in the majors and he blended right in!

By the time the Elks came to Portland, we had activated Ricardo Huerta off the DL, and had placed Tomas Castro right on there. Castro had a tear in his labrum and needed surgical repair. He was put on the 60-day DL as we called up Santiago Trevino to play some centerfield. Trevino hadn’t been up in Portland all year, and had batted .267/.353/.319 in St. Petersburg over 92 games. Since the arrival of Ricardo Carmona there he had been largely reduced to filling other guys’ cups with Gaytirade.

Raccoons (78-63) vs. Canadiens (74-64) – September 9-11, 2011

The Elks were third in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed in the league and smelled quite badly. Thankfully, this was the last meeting between the two teams for this season. The Raccoons had already taken the season series at 10-5.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (12-10, 3.25 ERA) vs. Scott Spears (10-11, 4.62 ERA)
Hector Santos (3-0, 3.90 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (16-7, 3.28 ERA)
Nick Brown (13-7, 2.75 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (13-10, 3.01 ERA)

All right-handers all the time from them. They have only one injury in SS Gary Rice, who is on the DL with an intercostal strain.

Game 1
VAN: LF Holland – 3B Suzuki – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 2B Higashi – RF E. Garcia – CF J. Hudson – SS Lawrence – P Spears
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF Trevino – P Conway

Yoshi started the bottom 1st with a groundout but Spears would then walk Merritt and Quebell around a Pruitt single to load the bases. Palmer struck out, but Fucito snipped a ball to left for his first major league hit and also his first major league RBI. The bases remained loaded for Bowen, one strike, two strikes, a knock and drive to right and GONE – GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMMM!!!!

With that outburst, the Coons went to have dinner and left it to Conway to deal with the Elks, which went rather well with a 1-hitter through five, and only a leadoff double by Ross Holland created trouble for Conway in the sixth, but Holland would be stranded at third base. Bottom 6th, Dave Weber was pitching and again the bases were loaded with one out with a pair of walks involved. Just in time, the Critters returned engorged and whacked a few more hits off the poor Weber and his eventual replacement Will Whitaker. Merritt singled in tow, Pruitt also singled to load the bags again, and Quebell’s fly to center was only a short setback. Palmer plated two with a single, and Jimmy Fucito even plated another two with a double! The rout was clearly on, and after seven a few regulars were replaced, including an 0-4 Yoshi and also the slammer Bowen. Conway got stuck in the top 8th but was bailed out by Slayton, who took over with three on and nobody out and got Ray Gilbert to ground into a force at home, and then Alonso Baca to lift out to Fucito in right. Pruitt was run for by Saenz after singling in the bottom 8th. Reliever Sean Lewis then surrendered a real bomb to Quebell that ran the score to Coons 13, Elks 0, and Slayton took care of that not changing in the ninth. 13-0 Furballs! Pruitt 4-5; Palmer 2-5, 2 RBI; Fucito 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Bowen 2-3, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Conway 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (13-10) and 1-3; Slayton 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Ah. That was fun. That was some great fun.

Also, after being stuck at ten for over TWO MONTHS, the Raccoons’ home run lead jumped to 11, with the tie between Quebell and Bowen remaining in force. Third in homers, tied with Pruitt, is still Jose Morales, with nine, who hasn’t been a Coon since the middle of July…

This was also Craig Bowen’s 100th career dinger.

Game 2
VAN: LF Holland – 3B Suzuki – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 2B Higashi – RF E. Garcia – CF J. Hudson – SS Lawrence – P R. Taylor
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – P Santos

The damned Elks weren’t shy about getting revenge early, romping Hector Santos in a 5-run second inning. They never stopped hitting hard balls, knocking five hits in addition to the two walks and the balk he gave up for free, and the inning only ended because Mitsuhide Suzuki got cocky on the bases. Santos was gone after three completely dismal innings, a condition that was also true for the offense, who remained shut out and choked by Rod Taylor, who led the CL in strikeouts with 212 coming into the game and was not asking around for very long before adding to that. The top 4th saw Sergio Vega bean John Hudson with his first pitch. Hudson left the game, replaced by pinch-runner Brian Thompson, who would score against Vega’s eventual replacement Ted Reese, who entered the game with the sacks full and one out. Thompson would drive in Baca with a single off Tommy Ward (…; the run was on Reese, though) in the fifth, running the score to 7-0 already. The Coons wouldn’t get drummed quite as hard as the Elks the day before, but Ricardo Huerta would give up a homer to Alonso Baca in the ninth for some late pain. Rod Taylor went the distance, struck out ten, including Manuel Gutierrez to end the game, and only allowed a solo homer to Brett Gentry along the way. 8-1 Canadiens. Gentry 1-2, HR, RBI; Ward 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

I think the laws of baseball say that the rubber game will be a 2-1 affair then, right?

Game 3
VAN: 3B Suzuki – C Rucker – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – LF D. Moore – CF J. Hudson – RF Holland – SS Koka – P Fujita
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – C Bowen – SS M. Gutierrez – CF Trevino – P Brown

And the pitchers’ duel was on! Through four innings, Ray Gilbert had two singles off Brown, and that was it for the Elks more or less, while the Coons had a 2-out double by Trevino in the second after which Brown struck out, and when Trevino batted with two on and two out in the bottom 4th, he grounded out to Gilbert. Brownie reached 200 strikeouts for the season with a merciless screw that knotted up Joey Koka in the top of the fifth, the second of three strikeouts in the inning and eight so far for Brown, who then struck out himself to start the bottom 5th, Fujita’s fifth strikeout. Nomura grounded out, but then Fujita hit Merritt and walked Pruitt. Quebell ran a full count before singling to left, and Merritt – in motion from the start – scored handily. Gentry then popped out foul to Gilbert to strand runners on the corners, 1-0, and the score tilted further in favor of the home team in the sixth. Fujita walked Trevino with two down, then fell to back-to-back RBI doubles by Brownie and Yoshi that put the Brownshirts up 3-0.

But Brownie was in trouble in the top 7th. He walked Takahashi Higashi, the first free pass on the day, then plunked John Hudson with one out (and Hudson certainly had enough of that, playing in some aches and pains already). With the tying run at the plate, things were still in favor of Brown. Holland was a lefty, and had little power (4 HR in 532 AB in ’11), and Joey Koka behind him was not valued very highly in any way. Brownie struck out both of them to end his day with a dozen strikeouts after seven innings. Fujita would also go seven, striking out nine, but remained on the short end. Law Rockburn got three outs from three Elks in the top of the eighth, setting up Angel Casas, who had Gilbert, Higashi, and Moore for second lunch. 3-0 Brownies!! Quebell 2-3, BB, RBI; Brown 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K, W (14-7) and 1-3, 2B, RBI;

In other news

September 6 – The Pacifics will shut down SP Brad Smith (15-6, 2.25 ERA) for a few weeks as the 27-year old right-hander is dealing with a sore elbow. The Pacifics are nine ahead of the Warriors in the West and can easily get away with this.
September 9 – The Scorpions’ rookie SP William Kay (9-9, 4.05 ERA) needs knee reconstruction surgery after tearing pretty much everything, including the ACL, on a defensive play. He figures to be out well into the 2012 season.
September 11 – NYC SP A.J. Bartels (14-7, 3.13 ERA) is out for the year with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, but should be healed up by Opening Day in 2012.
September 11 – SFW MR Dan Nordahl (4-4, 2.52 ERA, 8 SV) has been diagnosed with a tear in his labrum and is lost for the season.

Complaints and stuff

The next Raccoons loss will be their 2,800th in regular season play. Who dares to accept that shame?

What I rarely get to talk about relating to Nick Brown – with the news of his death apparently greatly exaggerated (since the beginning of August: 8 GS, 57.1 IP, 5-3, 2 SHO, 1.88 ERA, 6 BB, 69 K!); and I sure like to talk about him whenever possible – is where he is positioned in career strikeouts against the whole league and not only with an eye on Kisho Saito. First, Kisho Saito is 11th in career strikeouts with 2,800 (2,322 for Portland), but with his Monday performance against the Crusaders, Brownie broke past Jason O’Halloran into the top 30 on the all-time ABL leaderboard. O’Halloran is 39 and reduced to about nothing at all by now. He was unsigned until August 15, when the Loggers picked him up for some trash can innings, but he has only gotten into one game since and struck out only one batter, Richmond’s Bruce Boyle. Those two combined are 80 years old, by the way.

With Sunday’s splendid outing against the Elks, Brown also jumped over Ricardo Torres. So, how does the path into the top 20 look like right now?

ABL CAREER STRIKEOUTS – 20th THROUGH 30th

20th – Angel Romero – 2,499
21st – Dennis Fried – 2,455 (yep, that Dennis Fried)
22nd – Juan Correa – 2,427 (HOF)
23rd – David Castillo – 2,378
24th – John Douglas – 2,320
25th – Steve Rogers – 2,319
t-26th – Doug Morrow – 2,295
t-26th – Alfonso Velasco – 2,295
28th – Jou Hara – 2,289
29th – NICK BROWN – 2,277
30th – Ricardo Torres – 2,273

No active pitchers among these (but three that were Coons at one point); the only active pitchers with more strikeouts than Brownie are:

3rd – Tony Hamlyn – 3,280 (trailing HOF Woody Roberts by 33, and future HOF Martin Garcia by 503)
6th – Javier Cruz – 3,018
9th – Chris York – 2,889
19th – Kelvin Yates – 2,501

Cruz is with the Cyclones right now and reached 3,000 on August 28, but there was no news story.

It's a holiday over here - not Cinco de Mayo, although I completely befuddled a few of the ladies in the office with that yesterday; ah, great fun was had! =) - and there might be another update tonight depending on how the other thing I want to try likes or hates me.

Westheim · 05-06-2016, 11:04 AM

Raccoons (80-64) @ Titans (62-81) – September 13-15, 2011

The Titans were really, really, really glad that this season entered its third-to-last week. As were the Coons, probably, who still held a theoretical chance at the division. Very theoretical. The Titans ranked 10th in runs scored and 11th in runs allowed, and the Coons had already taken the season series at 10-5.

Projected matchups:
Colin Baldwin (13-7, 3.02 ERA) vs. Chester Graham (5-12, 4.59 ERA)
Bill Conway (13-10, 3.12 ERA) vs. Ron Carter (10-15, 6.23 ERA)
Hector Santos (3-1, 4.84 ERA) vs. Tony Hamlyn (10-13, 3.35 ERA)

With the off day on Monday we skipped McDonald, who had been shelled badly in his last start, and would get going with Baldwin. Jong-hoo Umberger was due to come off the DL during this series as well and would retake the slot behind Brownie, starting on Saturday in San Francisco.

We see both of their left-handed starters, Graham and Hamlyn, and we couldn’t hit Ron Carter at all ten days ago. He had already made four starts against the Raccoons this season, with three of them very good, and one blowout. Although he pitched very well three times, the Titans lost ALL of his starts, but that wasn’t always his fault. His season ERA against the Coons was 4.84, which was well better than what he did against everybody else.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Gentry – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – P Baldwin
BOS: 2B J. Ramirez – 1B Legendre – C J. Flores – CF K. Williams – RF Hayashi – 3B E. Salazar – SS Brantley – LF Thurman – P C. Graham

Alexis Legendre, whom I wouldn’t want on the team to wash everybody’s socks, knocked a 2-run homer in the third inning that set the Titans ahead of the Raccoons by … well, two runs. What the Critters did in the early innings, offensively, was best described as … well, offensive. They didn’t hit a hard ball until Brett Gentry knocked a double into the leftfield corner in the fourth inning, and then they starved Gentry on base, too. In the bottom of the fourth, Jon Merritt and Edgar Salazar forcefully clanged together at third base when Salazar tried to go first-to-third on Ron Brantley’s single. Salazar was out, but so was Merritt, who had taken the helmet (with head) of Salazar into the abdomen, a shoulder to the knee, and an elbow into some nondescript parts. Gutierrez replaced him on third base and led off the sixth inning with a single to center. Craig Bowen had made up one run with a solo jack in the fifth inning (raising the team lead in homers to 12, still two behind the no-good Legendre). Chester Graham soon shuffled himself a pretty deep hole as Quebell and Gentry also hit rather sharp singles to load the bases for Jimmy Fucito with nobody out. A K to Jimmy F and a double play grounder by Bowen dissolved the situation in a rather unsatisfying manner. The Raccoons put the tying run on base twice more, be it on a Jesus Ramirez error or not, but Adrian Quebell hit into a double play in the eighth, and by the ninth we were reduced to picking between Pat White and Jerry Saenz to bat with Pruitt on first and two outs. 2-1 Titans. Gentry 3-4, 2B; Bowen 2-4, HR, RBI;

We had twice as many hits (8-4) as they had, but they left nobody on base, and we stranded nine, not including the three double plays…

Jon Merritt had his thumb smashed by Salazar and had torn ligaments. He was out for the year.

The Critters called up Walt Canning from AAA, who had produced nothing at all for St. Pete in the 76 games which he didn’t miss due to various injuries, batting .224/.308/.339. As these things go, he would probably split third base duties with Gutierrez now. Great. More sub-replacement level at-bats in the daily lineup. This job is gonna kill me.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – 3B M. Gutierrez – C McNeela – CF Trevino – P Conway
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B J. Ramirez – C J. Flores – LF G. Rios – CF J. Gusmán – 1B Legendre – RF Baez – 3B E. Salazar – P Carter

Yes, that was Manuel Gutierrez batting sixth, and yes, the end was near. Nevertheless, three of the scruffy replacement squad at the bottom of the order hit singles in the second inning and Yoshi drove in a pair with a 2-out single to give Conway a 2-0 lead, which Conway swiftly converted into a leadoff walk, a Legendre double, two run-scoring groundouts for the Titans, and a massive headache for me in the bottom of the same inning.

After some boring and botched innings, the bottom 5th opened with Conway drilling Edgar Salazar. If that was revenge for Merritt, it was uncalled for, but the Titans handed out the punishment regardless. With two outs, a Jesus Ramirez RBI triple, a Jose Flores RBI single, and a Gerardo Rios RBI double added three runs to the Titans’ line as they broke open a 5-2 score. Conway was knocked out in the sixth by the ****ing Alexis Legendre and another ****ing Alexis Legendre home run. And the reduction among living Raccoons also continued. George Youngblood got himself into the losing effort, walked a pair in the bottom 7th and then allowed a rocket to left to Gerardo Rios. Pruitt threw home to get Ramirez nicked out, but tweaked something in his back and left the game. Youngblood put two more runners on base in the bottom 8th and had to be rescued by Pat Slayton. The Raccoons, for what I know, never even came to bat. 6-2 Titans. Nomura 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Canning (PH) 1-1; Trevino 2-4; White (PH) 1-1;

Anybody else having these 2004 flashbacks?

Game 3
POR: LF Gentry – 2B Palmer – 1B Quebell – C Owens – RF Fucito – CF White – 3B Canning – SS Roudabush – P Santos
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B J. Ramirez – C J. Flores – LF G. Rios – CF J. Gusmán – RF Hayashi – 1B Legendre – 3B E. Salazar – P Hamlyn

This was not a game the Raccoons could win. Their lineup contained TWO legit major leaguers. That was it. And then there was the thing with Hector Santos, who plainly sucked and got badly mauled by the Titans, who romped him for four runs in the first three innings, including a home run by Salazar (…!) in the bottom 2nd, and a 2-piece by Toki Hayashi in the third inning. He walked five in 5 2/3 innings until his merciful execu- … evacuation. There was a no-hitter in the air early on but Brett Gentry would reach with an infield single in the fourth inning and they would slap a few more singles off Hamlyn, who conceded a run on a Pat White sac fly in the fourth as well. The Raccoons even got the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth, when Craig Bowen hit for Pat White with two on and two outs and grounded out to shortstop Tommy Rentz. Tommy Ward and Kyle Mullins pitched some competent relief to keep the Raccoons within three runs here, and that paid off in another chance with the tying run at the plate in the ninth. Yoshi Nomura’s pinch-hit double was followed by a Trevino RBI single. 4-2, one out, Gentry came up against “Dodo” Iwase. He struck out, and Palmer flew out to Rios. 4-2 Titans. Owens 2-4, 2B; Nomura (PH) 1-1, 2B; Trevino 1-1, RBI; Ward 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Looks like the low point, smells like the low point, must be the low point. The Titans swept the Raccoons despite never out-hitting them or getting more runners in any other way. The misery! The shame!

The Bayhawks!

Raccoons (80-67) @ Bayhawks (72-74) – September 16-18, 2011

The Bayhawks were so thoroughly average it was almost comical. They ranked between sixth and eighth in so many categories it was impossible and tedious to list them all. Nevertheless, “Team Average” had already beaten “Team Ambitious” four times out of six games on the season, and “Team Ambitious” came in with cuts and bruises, the intestines hanging out of a huge cut in the belly, and one eye dangling from its socket.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (14-7, 2.65 ERA) vs. Reynaldo Rendon (11-10, 3.96 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (8-9, 3.43 ERA) vs. Milt Beauchamp (11-12, 5.01 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (13-8, 3.01 ERA) vs. Ramón Jimenez (16-8, 3.67 ERA)

That’s three right-handers, although by now that is not entirely relevant anymore…

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – CF Trevino – P Brown
SFB: 1B R. Vargas – SS K. Sato – RF Alston – CF Black – 3B Holt – 2B Moultrie – C A. Ramirez – LF O. Thompson – P Rendon

Only chance for a decent game this week(end), Brownie started the opener. With a dozen strikeouts, he would reach the mark of career-28th whiffer Jou Hara, who had been exclusively with the Aces between 1987 and 2001.

Brownie whiffed two in the first, then was spotted two runs in the top 2nd. Quebell reached on an error by Kuni Sato, one of four ex-Coons in the Baybirds’ lineup. Doubles by Bowen and Trevino produced the lead. Brownie was perfect the first time through the order, striking out five, but nursed three 3-ball counts, and needed 42 pitches. Roberto Vargas and Sato each grounded out on the first pitch in the fourth, but the next first pitch drilled “Monti” Alston. Luke Black hacked out, number six. Yet, a leadoff triple by Jasper Holt would put the Bayhawks on the board eventually, as he scored on Todd Moultrie’s groundout, cutting the lead to 2-1, and ending any bid there might have been. For the Coons in general, leaving runners on base became a topic again. They stranded two in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh. That last one was Nick Brown, who had hit a single through Vargas to start the frame, then had stolen second base off Antonio Ramirez, whose CS% was 37% in 2011. All that was to no avail, and the traitor Alston tied the score in the bottom of the inning with his 25th homer of the season.

But he finished the inning and was spotted another lead in the top of the eighth. Javier Montes-Ortíz had replaced Reynaldo Rendon, and allowed consecutive 1-out singles to Gentry, Bowen, and Gutierrez, the latter giving the Raccoons a 3-2 lead. That was it, though. Trevino struck out, and Brown was sent to bat with some juice left and nobody on the bench with a higher batting average, but he grounded out to second base. In turn he put up a quick eighth and did the setup job himself.

Valentim Innocentes was assigned the ninth inning by the Bayhawks, and came out throwing lots and lots of balls. Yoshi walked, and Palmer singled on a 3-1 pitch. Pruitt grounded into a force at second and Quebell whiffed, but Tom McNeela walked in place of Gentry. Craig Bowen, unretired in this game, ripped away at 2-0 and lined a hard single to right that scored two runs! Gutierrez drew another walk but Trevino left the bases loaded, looking at strike three. Angel Casas thus came into a 5-2 game, and while he hadn’t pitched in a while and gave up a 1-out single to Micah Brazeal, he struck out three, including Alston and Black, to end the game. 5-2 Brownies! Palmer 2-5; Bowen 5-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Brown 8.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (15-7) and 1-4;

Except for the luckless Pruitt, everybody had at least one hit for the Coons, who out-hit the Bayhawks 13-3.

Now back to our usual black-and-dark-grey broadcast without audio.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – RF Fucito – 3B Canning – CF White – P Umberger
SFB: CF Holt – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – 1B R. Vargas – RF Black – C A. Ramirez – 3B Brazeal – 2B Moultrie – P Moreno

The Baybirds shoved Rodrigo Moreno (8-8, 4.18 ERA) into this set, yet another right-handed pitcher. Whom the Birds sent, wasn’t that important even, because to say that the ball jumped off bats against Jong-hoo Umberger would be a slight understatement. Three extra base hits, including another homer by Alston, plated three runs for the Bayhawks in the bottom 1st, and in the following innings they continued to hit the ball hard, just with the difference that most of that contact went to the outfielders or Yoshi Nomura. Umberger continued in that manner, striking out absolutely nobody (as usual), until the fifth, which opened with a hard Moreno singled to right and a walk to Jasper Holt. Sato bunted them over, and then Umberger was replaced by Youngblood to face Alston, which resulted in a game-deciding laser to right that Fucito played nicely to hold Alston to a 2-run single. Mullins ended that innings with two strikeouts, but then got slapped in the sixth inning. Jasper Holt’s 2-out, 2-run single brought in Josh Gibson, who walked Sato, then Tommy Ward, who walked Alston. Thankfully, ****ty relievers we had plenty of. Law Rockburn appeared to try and at least contain the rout-in-progress, and Vargas popped out to Quebell on the first pitch to strand three. Rockburn and Reese finished the game, and Rodrigo Moreno, the shove-in pitcher of choice for the Baybirds, casually spun a 4-hitter. 7-0 Bayhawks. Rockburn 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Raccoons were so threatening, Moreno, 28, made it through eight innings on 72 pitches. He used 16 in the ninth for 88 total, with the main blame to be placed on Matt Pruitt, who took a 10-pitch walk with two outs. Quebell was hungry by then and grounded out on the first pitch he got. This was Moreno’s first career shutout in 75 starts.

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – CF Trevino – C McNeela – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Baldwin
SFB: 1B R. Vargas – SS K. Sato – RF Alston – CF Black – 3B Holt – 2B Moultrie – C A. Ramirez – LF O. Thompson – P Beauchamp

In the third, the Raccoons took a lead like only they could. Gutierrez reached base with a single that died before it could reach the outfield, then stole second base when Baldwin whiffed on a run-and-hit and Ramirez made a clumsy attempt at him (just like in them olden times in Portland!), and he scored on Baldwin’s eventual groundout and a passed ball. Baldwin maneuvred himself into a tight corner after a leadoff walk to Omarion Thompson in the bottom 3rd, but didn’t allow an actual hit until Jasper Holt’s 2-out double in the fourth. That didn’t lead to anything, and the top 5th then saw a melting Beauchamp getting crowded. With one out he walked McNeela, Gutierrez singled past the reach of Vargas, and then Baldwin drew a walk to load them up. Yoshi got only junk, never poked and walked on four pitches, forcing in a run, but then Palmer managed to strike out and Pruitt lifted a sorry fly out to leftfield. 2-0 Coons became 2-1 Coons in the bottom of the sixth when Alston and Black both whacked Baldwin offerings really hard, but while Alston’s was caught by Trevino, Black’s went out for his 14th home run of the year.

The Critters had the bases loaded again in the seventh, this time when Gutierrez reached base on a Moultrie throwing error, Yoshi was walked intentionally, and Palmer singled to right. Pruitt appeared with one out this time, struck out, but Quebell wasn’t quite as dead yet and, being the first guy to face reliever Avtandil Tarakhanov, rammed a 2-1 pitch to deep right for a bases-clearing double! Tarakhanov also allowed an RBI double to Fucito before the inning was over, and the Critters were now up by five runs and went up to six on a Pruitt RBI single (yes, those existed!) in the top 8th. Baldwin was hit for in that inning after seven very good frames, and Tommy Ward came out to face PH Bill Miller in the bottom 8th – and of course walked him. Fine, bring Slayton! Walk to Vargas, RBI double by Sato. Okay, let’s try Thrasher, maybe? He ended the inning on a run-scoring grounder hit by Alston, then struck out Black and Holt, two right-handed batters. A Quebell homer pulled one run back in the top 9th, and Quebell hit that one off a lefty, Mike Tharp. Huerta got the bottom 9th with an 8-3 advantage, which was never going to create anything but more chest pains, and after a pinch-hit 3-run homer by Adam Young, Angel Casas was asked to end the mockery. He walked Vargas, his first man, and that ultimately brought up Ron Alston as the tying run, which was a terrible spot to be in, but Alston grounded out to Yoshi on the first pitch, and this one was finally over. 8-6 Blighters. Nomura 2-2, 3 BB, RBI; Palmer 2-5; Quebell 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Gutierrez 2-4; Baldwin 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (14-8);

Combined, the bullpen pitched two innings, and allowed four hits, three walks, and five runs. Astonishing.

In other news

September 15 – RIC SP Brian Furst (8-17, 4.08 ERA) lightens up his season with a 3-hit shutout against the Buffaloes.
September 18 – He might only be 33, but DEN LF Victorino Sanchez (.347, 10 HR, 74 RBI) is going to light up the very first page of the record books before long. In the Gold Sox’ 7-6 win over the Cyclones, Sanchez knocked two hits, including a fourth inning double off Jeremiah Bowman that represents his 3,000th career base hit. Despite his modest age, Sanchez has been an All Star 11 times already, has won five Platinum Sticks and was Player of the Year three times (2000, 2002, 2005). He has led one of the two subleagues in hits every year since 2002, and 11 times in total, and has won eight batting titles. He does sorely lack a World Series ring, though, not getting one as a cup-of-coffee rookie with the ’97 Capitals, and has never played in the playoffs in his career!

Complaints and stuff

The Condors and Gold Sox canned their managers and general managers this week. Thankfully I have pictures of things. Although maybe I should give them back.

If anybody would have told me in April that we would run out an outfield with Brett Gentry, Pat White, and Jimmy Fucito as starters by mid-September, I would have kindly enquired who that gentle white Fijian was supposed to be. And I will admit that Thursday’s starting lineup qualifies the Raccoons for mandatory contraction under ABL rules. If you file a lineup in which Travis Owens bats cleanup, you better have a doctor’s certificate with a good excuse for it. Madness would do.

ABL CAREER HIT LEADERS

1st – Dale Wales – 3,673 (HOF)
2nd – Cristo Ramirez – 3,615
3rd – Jeffery Brown – 3,582 (HOF)
4th – Sonny Reece – 3,207
5th – Dan Morris – 3,028
6th – Vonne Calzado – 3,027
7th – Paul Connolly – 3,023 (HOF)
8th – Victorino Sanchez – 3,000
9th – Diego Rodriguez – 2,993
10th – Juan Barrón – 2,937

Except for Rodriguez and Calzado, all non-Hall of Famers are still active, although in Ramirez’ case that means rotting on the Aces’ bench and checkbooks. Rodriguez has been on the ballot for a long while, reaching 68% of the vote in 2011, and Calzado will first be eligible for election next year.

Funny thing: Ben O’Morrissey will appear on the ballot for the first time in 2012, and if elected (which won’t happen, but for argument’s sake…) would be inducted as a Raccoon, the Hall says. I think O’Morrissey will have a word on that. As do the Raccoons. Better have Kisho Saito’s and Tetsu Osanai’s caps changed to the Elks’ vomit-inducing pink than have O’Morrissey, who was the first to squawk and jump the sinking ship in ’97, go in as a Furball.

And this year? Is it over yet? Not bloody quite.

Westheim · 05-06-2016, 02:15 PM

One little addition here. I’m not crazy, it is true: the baseball gods hate the Critters' guts - and in particular Matt Pruitt’s - this year.

ABL Players (min. 250 AB) by worst BABIP:

1st – Takahashi Higashi - .233
2nd – Matt Pruitt - .249
3rd – Hideaki Suda - .249
4th – Aaron Case - .249
5th – Tom Dahlke - .257
…
14th – Jon Merritt - .268
16th – Michael Palmer - .270
42nd – Craig Bowen - .284

Westheim · 05-08-2016, 01:58 PM

Raccoons (82-68) vs. Knights (80-69) – September 19-21, 2011

We were up 4-2 on the Knights, who were already eliminated from contention in the CL South. Ranking ninth in runs scored was obviously not enough, and the Raccoons weren’t that much better. They had pitched well this year, conceding the fourth-least runs, with a bullpen that was quite a bit better than Portland’s. They currently had no injured players, which was a bit of a stark contrast when compared to the Critters.

Projected matchups:
Bill Conway (13-11, 3.33 ERA) vs. Kurt Doyle (11-10, 3.79 ERA)
Hector Santos (3-2, 4.83 ERA) vs. Johnny Krom (9-13, 3.88 ERA)
Nick Brown (15-7, 2.64 ERA) vs. Ted McKenzie (9-10, 4.78 ERA)

Krom is a left-hander. We are trying to play out the string and not get anybody’s head torn off.

Minor league seasons have ended; the AAA Alley Cats played .500, while our lower minor league teams got creamed the entire season and ended up .350-ish. There really isn’t anybody to add to the roster anymore. SP Rich Hood did quite okay in AAA (12-9, 3.14 ERA), but he doesn’t need to be on the 40-man roster this time, and he didn’t scream out for a promotion either…

Things got a bit mingled up by the weather. The opener on Monday was washed out and a double header scheduled for Tuesday. Since we had scores of pitchers lying around, none of them impressing anybody, we could cope quite well.

Game 1
ATL: RF Arnette – 3B Kester – LF M. Reyes – 2B C. Martinez – CF Kelsey – SS Hibbard – 1B Rockwell – C J. Clark – P Doyle
POR: 2B Nomura – RF Fucito – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – SS Palmer – CF Trevino – 3B Canning – P Conway

The Knights had a knack to hit hard balls off Bill Conway, while the Raccoons excelled in striking out against Kurt Doyle in this game, two things that just didn’t mix well together for the Raccoons. Carlos Martinez set the Knights 2-0 ahead in the top of the first with a no-doubt homer to center, which the Raccoons were even able to counter in the bottom of the inning, when Palmer snipped a 2-out, 2-run single with the bases loaded to tie the game again. But Conway continued to get socked, with a Pat Arnette triple in the top 3rd that sure as hell led to a run, and Kurt Doyle also jumped in and plated Gil Rockwell, who had doubled to start the fifth, with a hard single of his own. The Knights were up 4-2 when Jimmy Fucito led off the bottom of the sixth with a double past John Kelsey in center. Matt Pruitt followed that up with one of his patented fly outs to the front of the wall, sending a 1-2 pitch to deep left, but not deep enough (and that BABIP was yet sinking…). Doyle momentarily struggled with control, walked Quebell and Palmer in the inning, while Bowen scored Fucito, but once the bases were loaded, Trevino and Canning gladly struck out to end the frame and leave the Furballs trailing by one run.

The game got tied on the first pitch from the Knights’ strong bullpen. Alex Glaviz faced PH Jerry Saenz to start the bottom of the seventh, and Saenz fired away for his first career home run to right center. Saenz had a hand in how the Raccoons could have won the game in walkoff fashion in the bottom of the ninth (which they wouldn’t…). Tom McNeela had walked to start the inning in the tied game, but had gotten forced by Saenz’ grounder. When Yoshi also grounded to Martinez at second, the running Saenz obstructed the view of the ball for Martinez at a critical point, he bombled it, then threw hastily past first base, and the Raccoons had runners in scoring position after the error, with one out. Fucito was walked intentionally before Gentry hit for Slayton, lined out to short, and Quebell rolled one over to Martinez to make good for his error. Extra innings, where Quebell was in a hurry to become the double-donkey with an error, dropping a throw from Bowen. That cost Kyle Mullins an out, he loaded the bases with two outs, where he should have had three, and when Rockburn came in to face Martinez, he walked him to shove home the winning run for the Knights. 5-4 Knights. Fucito 2-4, BB, 2B; Palmer 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Owens (PH) 1-1; Saenz (PH) 1-2, HR, RBI; Slayton 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

(blankly stares into his palms)

Game 2
ATL: RF Arnette – 3B Kester – LF M. Reyes – 2B C. Martinez – CF Kelsey – SS Hibbard – 1B Rockwell – C Delgado – P Krom
POR: 2B Nomura – LF Gentry – 1B Pruitt – RF Fucito – C Owens – CF White – 3B Canning – SS Roudabush – P Santos

… to which I can only say, yep, we ran out of players. Johnny Krom would never get a better chance at a no-hitter, but completely blew out early in the game, walked the bases full in the first inning and then allowed a 2-run, 2-out single to Pat White. Even Santos was a little bit less useless and at least waited until the second time through the order before imploding in a very casual manner. That happened with two outs in the third inning. After a strong showing the first time through, one hit allowed, three strikeouts, he suddenly walked Pat Arnette and Jaime Kester before Marty Reyes dumped a ball in front of the plate that Owens threw away for an error, scoring one run for the Knights before Martinez finally made the third out to center. Santos would generously sprinkle his product with balls from here on, and was all shot after six innings, but the Knights never got another hit off him. The Raccoons added one run on a Dave Roudabush homer, but otherwise were remarkably toothless even as Krom walked half a dozen in this start.

The Coons stranded two men in the bottom 6th after Roudabush’s homer, and in the eighth they had a double, hit by Roudabush with two outs. Quebell hit for Thrasher, who had struck out the side in the top of the inning, and struck out. Before that, Ted Reese had already wobbled through the seventh inning. The ninth was obviously Angel’s with a 3-1 lead, and if the Knights’ Arnette, Kester, and Reyes hadn’t seen the ball well against Thrasher already, it got even worse against Angel, who struck out Carlos Martinez, John Kelsey, and Devin Hibbard in quick succession to end this game. 3-1 Blighters. White 2-4, 2 RBI; Roudabush 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Santos 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, W (4-2) and 1-2;

Dear Diary, today the Raccoons were paced by Dave Roudabush, who hit for six total bases, more than the rest of the team combined. And they even won the game. Now I have seen everything and can find rest in peace.

But before I was willing to expire, I would gladly accept another treat by Nick Brown in Wednesday’s rubber game … yet … that one had to wait. See, it’s September in Portland. The risk of drowning in floods is higher than that of getting mugged in certain districts. Wednesday’s contest was washed out, but the Knights and Coons had a common off day on Thursday, so they had to cancel their flight out to Oklahoma and we would try to make up this game on Thursday in timely fashion and in rain-proof clothing, if necessary. And since the Knights now had time to reshuffle their pitching personnel, they sent a left-hander into the rubber game, Dave Butler (15-12, 3.36 ERA), just to annoy the Coons.

Game 3
ATL: RF Arnette – CF Kelsey – LF M. Reyes – 3B C. Martinez – SS Hibbard – 1B Rockwell – 2B Hilderbrand – C J. Clark – P Butler
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – C Owens – 3B Canning – CF White – P Brown

Despite Butler’s usually unassuming portfolio (40-38, 3.66 ERA, 7.0 K/9 in his third full season), this was a matchup of two pitchers who BOTH ranked in the top 5 in ALL triple crown categories.

Brownie threw a lot of balls early on, and he needed over 20 pitches in an otherwise calm first inning. Early on, both catchers would take out some aggressions on the opposing pitcher. Travis Owens hit a 2-run homer in the bottom 2nd, Jason Clark countered with a solo shot in the third, and in the bottom of that inning the Critters had runners on the corners with one out for Quebell, who struck out. But Fucito, and then also Owens came through as both hit RBI singles to get the score to 4-1 before Canning could pop out to Martinez. Brown would be under pressure in the fourth inning, and again in the fifth. In the latter, Jason Clark led off with a single on a 3-1 pitch before Butler’s bunt was bad and Clark got forced. Arnette singled, before Kelsey struck out in a big battle with Brown. With the count full, Marty Reyes rocketed a pitch to left – but Canning caught it! Oh, that was an amazing grab! I know somebody whose bacon just got saved!

The Coons would score their fifth run in the fifth inning on a Fucito sac fly, and the sixth run in the sixth inning when they had Pat White on base and he was doubled in by Nomura with two outs. That got rid of Butler, and his replacement Juan Carlos Bojorquez immediately allowed the seventh run on Butler’s ledger to score when Palmer singled to right center, right into no man’s land, allowing Yoshi to score quite easily. Up 7-1, Brownie was removed when he walked PH Jesus Alvarez with one out in the seventh, and when Tommy Ward entered the game he gave me quite the look. Of course, Ward blew it, despite facing two lefties, which should have been enough for two outs. Arnette doubled on an 0-2 pitch, and Kelsey grounded out to plate Alvarez on a 1-2 pitch. Ricardo Huerta replaced him and struck out Reyes before things could get really ugly. Drama wasn’t over yet, though. Huerta pitched a clean eighth before Mullins came out for the ninth inning. T.J. Hilderbrand singled, Jason Clark doubled. Nobody out, the tying run in the 7-2 game began to appear on the horizon. Ron Thrasher came in once Gonzalo Munoz was announced as pinch-hitter, and here the Knights brutally played themselves out of a not-too-unlikely comeback. Munoz hauled a 1-0 pitch some way up the rightfield line, but Fucito had a bead on it. Hilderbrand paid no attention whatsoever, made for home, Fucito caught the ball, and Hilderbrand was completely dead on the base paths. Frustratingly, Clark would score on an Arnette single, but that was all the Knights got before Kelsey struck out. 7-3 Brownies! Nomura 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Palmer 3-4, BB, RBI; Fucito 3-4, 2 RBI; Owens 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Brown 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (16-7); Huerta 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Okay, Nick, I am very, very sorry. I thought the dork Ward had at least that in him. Don’t look at me like that. You get half his meals for the rest of the season, that okay?

This was Nick Brown’s 150th career win, too!

Raccoons (84-69) vs. Loggers (70-82) – September 23-25, 2011

“Can we come in now?” the Loggers mockingly inquired. “Stop fretting!” I advised them. “You have the same crappy climate where you come from!” –

Worst offense, worst pitching, worst rotation, not quite the worst bullpen, but also a pretty bad defense. That’s the 2011 Loggers, and yet they still have a chance to clinch the season series, which is at 8-7 in the Coons’ favor. We have taken the series the last four years and need to win this weekend set, our final home series in 2011, to extend that streak. 9-9’s don’t count. 9-9’s suck. 9-9’s are for girls; for sisters that outwardly pretend to agree that each other’s hair looks nice, and on the inside they hate another.

Projected matchups:
Jong-hoo Umberger (8-10, 3.60 ERA) vs. Roy Thomas (11-15, 4.27 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (14-8, 2.96 ERA) vs. Rodrigo Gomez (5-19, 6.27 ERA)
Bill Conway (13-11, 3.40 ERA) vs. Fernando Cruz (13-12, 3.90 ERA)

That order of starters isn’t fixed, but we should see one of Gomez and Ramón Huertas (0-3, 7.71 ERA) on Saturday, followed by their only left-hander Cruz.

Like the Raccoons, the Loggers had an entire outfield (Willie Davenport, Amari Brissett, Justin Dally) on the DL, although the difference to the replacements wasn’t that great, either.

Game 1
MIL: CF J.R. Richardson – C R. Hernandez – 3B Sharp – RF Locke – 2B K. Scott – 1B Tate – SS Warner – LF Alires – P R. Thomas
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – RF Gentry – 1B Quebell – LF Saenz – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – CF White – P Umberger

Not fooling anybody, Umberger still was perfect the first time through the order, but J.R. Richardson hit a leadoff double in the top 4th that quickly enough led to a run against a pitcher that didn’t have anything in terms of stuff, and that had been going on for months now. The Raccoons had stranded four at that point without scoring, most of their offensive attempts ending at either Philip Locke in the field or Adrian Quebell at the plate, and which was more annoying was up to discussion. Bottom 5th, Pat White sent a rocket to center that ended in Richardson’s glove for a change, and then Umberger hit a complete bogus triple that was horrendously misplayed by Edgar Alires. A rocket to right by Nomura tied the game – not that it fell in. But even Locke’s murder arm could keep Umberger from scoring when he made the catch on the warning track. Top 6th, Alires led off and was drilled real hard by Umberger with an 0-2 pitch. That was the beginning of the end for Umberger, who allowed an RBI double to Raúl Hernandez before Daniel Sharp went deep to get the Loggers into a 4-1 lead. Ted Reese came in, Locke doubled, Keith Scott homered. Of course he did. 6-1.

Despite the complete lack of class the Raccoons had shown once more in this game, it wasn’t over yet. Initially, Jerry Saenz hit a solo homer in the bottom 6th that nobody gave much **** about, but once Roy Thomas was exhausted and out of the game, they rallied against the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth inning. Gentry singled, Quebell walked. After Saenz and Bowen made outs against Bob Evans and Kevin Cummings, respectively, Jimmy Fucito hit for Gutierrez and doubled off César Fuentes, scoring a run and bringing the tying run to the plate in … Pat White. And he grounded out to Sharpie. And that still wasn’t the final squeak the Furballs gave in this game. Against Micah Steele in the bottom 9th, Yoshi hit a 1-out double and was joined eventually by Gentry, who walked with two down. That put fate into Quebell’s hands, however, and I could effortlessly imagine better spots to put it right now. He struck out. 6-3 Loggers. Nomura 3-4, 2B, RBI; Fucito (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

The Canadiens were eliminated from playoff competition on that Friday, and the Raccoons didn’t even have it in their own hands to stay alive over the weekend, the Crusaders’ magic number already down to two.

Game 2
MIL: CF J.R. Richardson – C R. Hernandez – 3B Sharp – RF Locke – SS Ito – 1B T. Rodgers – 2B Jennings – LF K. Phillips – P R. Gomez
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – C McNeela – 3B M. Gutierrez – CF Trevino – P Baldwin

The Critters jumped to an early lead with Yoshi’s fourth double of the week, Pruitt walking, and Quebell for once not ****ing it up and instead hitting a double into the leftfield corner for a 2-0 lead in the bottom 1st. The Loggers threatened in the top 3rd, with Kurt Phillips on first base, and Richardson hitting a 2-out single to right. Phillips turned second, and was thrown out by Fucito. But if at first you don’t succeed… Baldwin displayed the same mysterious lack of strikeout stuff that had also befallen Umberger. He had almost everybody at two strikes in the fourth inning, couldn’t remove anybody, and the Loggers, starting with a Hernandez single and Sharp double, romped him for four hits and two runs to tie the game. The team really put their all into sucking the fun out of the game. Fucito singled in the fourth, then was picked off. Gutierrez was on base in the fifth, but Baldwin bunted into a double play, then got strafed some more with a triple hit by Locke in the top 6th, and with less than two outs and no stuff whatsoever, the Loggers easily took a 3-2 lead on Suketsune Ito’s sac fly. All in all the Loggers – the worst offensive team in the league… - would have ten hits off Baldwin in six and a third innings, but only scored the three runs. The Coons had Yoshi reach with a leadoff single in the bottom 6th, he moved up on groundouts and was stranded by Quebell for good, and then they didn’t have any other runners until … well, perhaps Sunday. After the Nomura single, the next 12 Raccoons simply sat down. This included Pruitt, then still representing the tying run, dinking a 3-0 pitch into play with one out in the bottom 9th. That poor ball went about 12 feet before Hernandez played it and retired Pruitt by about 60 feet. 3-2 Loggers. Nomura 2-4, 2B;

I wonder whether you drink white wine or red wine with raccoon meat?

(a panicked flock of Raccoons infielders gallops past on the hallway)

Game 3
MIL: CF J.R. Richardson – C R. Hernandez – RF Locke – 1B Tate – SS Warner – 3B Cuevas – 2B P. Taylor – LF Covington – P F. Cruz
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – RF Fucito – LF Gentry – 1B Pruitt – C Owens – 3B Canning – CF White – P Conway

And this game also was almost lost early and in the most stupid fashion. Conway had struck out two in a perfect first inning, but come the second he walked James Warner and Fernando Cuevas, then allowed a single to Martin Covington that whizzed just over Yoshi Nomura’s glove into center. Fernando Cruz slapped a ball high to left center, but that one thankfully had enough hang time for Gentry to play it and the Loggers stranded three runners. But they didn’t worry. Conway was going to throw more crap, and Dave Tate cashed in quickly with a 2-run homer in the top 3rd. The Raccoons had a Palmer single in the first, and nothing else the first time through the order. With two outs in the bottom 3rd, Yoshi singled. Palmer singled, and even Fucito singled, loading the bases. Gentry came up and hit a ball to left center, and that was PAST Richardson! Yoshi scored, Palmer scored, and even Fucito scored! Pruitt would then triple in Gentry, as the Raccoons put up some 2-out terror to flip the score to 4-2 in their favor. Through the middle innings, Conway cut down on the hits and ramped up the strikeouts, with the Loggers only threatening in the sixth inning, and that was Owens’ fault, who made no attempt at all on a stolen base attempt by Richardson, and then condeded a passed ball, but Richardson was left on third base. Conway went seven, whiffing nine, and Rockburn and Thrasher combined to pitch a perfect eighth. The Furballs also hadn’t done anything since the third inning when Yoshi hit a leadoff triple in the bottom 8th, off Fuentes. Palmer was walked intentionally by the Loggers, which didn’t really help them out here. While the Coons were utterly incompetent in dealing with the unfamiliar sight of one of theirs on third base and no red lights on the scoreboard, the Loggers kindly helped out. Fuentes threw a wild pitch, and a grievous error by Cuevas also plated Palmer. Thrasher remained in the game with the lead up to four and no right-handed batters anywhere close (and Ward not trustworthy), and ended the game in just three more batters. 6-2 Brownshirts. Nomura 2-4, 3B; Palmer 2-3, BB; Gentry 1-4, 2B, 4 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W (14-11); Thrasher 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (2);

Like I said, 9-9 is like having to share a chocolate bar with your little brother, who licks everything thoroughly before digesting it.

In other news

September 19 – OCT Carlos Castro (7-4, 2.81 ERA) 3-hits the Loggers in a 2-0 shutout, clinching the CL South for the Thunder in style. This will be their 11th postseason appearance, and the second consecutive. They won the title in 1994 and 2000.
September 19 – LAP RF/LF Josh Thomas (.281, 21 HR, 85 RBI) joins the 2,000 hits club with two hits in the Pacifics’ 6-0 win over the Buffaloes. Thomas, who is a career .274 batter with 249 home runs and 1,145 RBI, hits a single in the seventh inning off Ruslan Kobulidze to join the elite 2,000 hits club.
September 19 – PIT INF Steve Madison (.289, 12 HR, 72 RBI) will finish the season on the DL after fracturing his thumb.
September 20 – NAS CL Robbie Wills (5-4, 1.43 ERA, 32 SV) saves his 400th career game, shutting down the Warriors in a 5-2 Blue Sox win. Wills, who won three World Series titles with the Crusaders 2007-2009 and is a 7-time All Star, has also struck out 1,271 batters in 1,028.1 innings, with a 2.18 ERA.
September 20 – Season over for RIC SP Brian Furst (8-17, 4.08 ERA), who has been diagnosed with elbow inflammation.
September 21 – The Pacifics lock up the FL West for the third straight year with a 6-2 win behind J.J. Wirth over the Buffaloes. It is the Pacifics’s sixth overall playoff appearance, and the third straight.

Complaints and stuff

Still alive in the playoff race! (grins under tremendous pain)

Brownie jumped to 28th in career strikeouts on Thursday, bouncing Jou Hara down a spot. He sits at 2,292, three off the marks set by Doug Morrow and Alfonso Velasco. Breaking into the top 25 will be a task for next year, despite him currently being aligned to make two more starts this year, Tuesday in Indy and Sunday in New York.

Meanwhile Pruitt has managed to dump his BABIP to .243. He had about six or seven hard hit balls to the deeper third of the outfield this week, and only one fell in.

This was Umberger’s last, terrible start as a Raccoon. He is completely messed up by now. Since his arbitration estimate is $1.8M and we already are choking on some bad contracts, we have to non-tender him, but at the same time we can free up some more coin for a free agent signing. Maybe we can trade for another Baldwin or Conway-like pitcher, you know, the silent, mildly efficient type.

Did you know that the Thunder have never finished in last place in the South? They finished fifth six times (and haven’t done that in 14 years, either), but they have never won the red lantern.

In other notes…

PORTLAND RACCOONS WINS LEADERS

1st – Kisho Saito – 189
2nd – Scott Wade – 170
3rd – Nick Brown – 150
4th – Logan Evans – 124
5th – Jason Turner – 109
6th – Christopher Powell – 104
7th – Miguel Lopez – 83
8th – Randy Farley – 77
9th – Ralph Ford – 67
10th – Jong-hoo Umberger – 58
…
t-16th – Colin Baldwin – 41

That’s right, no more relievers in the top 10! =)

Westheim · 05-09-2016, 04:28 PM

Raccoons (85-71) @ Indians (79-77) – September 26-28, 2011

The Indians had a 5-game winning streak going, and they had smashed the Raccoons over the course of the season, having already grabbed the season series at 10-5. They were fourth in runs scored, and sixth in runs allowed.

Projected matchups:
Hector Santos (4-2, 4.21 ERA) vs. Curtis Tobitt (10-5, 2.61 ERA)
Nick Brown (16-7, 2.64 ERA) vs. Bob King (17-11, 3.44 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (14-9, 3.00 ERA) vs. Tom Weise (14-11, 3.42 ERA)

Three right-handers we know quite well; I have settled on skipping Umberger. Baldwin will thus start on short rest, but he can pitch five innings and then we’ll find some warm body.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Santos
IND: 3B Luján – 2B Butler – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF D. Graham – 1B S. Guerra – CF Luxton – SS R. Miller – P Tobitt

Unexpectedly, the Raccoons quickly threw up a 2-spot against Tobitt, who had walked 28 batters in 124.1 innings, but issued two walks in the first inning, loaded the bases, and a Fucito sac fly and a Bowen single drove in the two runs. Tobitt got the hang of things soon after, so Santos would be well advised to not fudge up the 2-0 lead, but a solo homer by Santiago Guerra cut the gap in half as soon as the second inning. Things lingered for a while, with Quebell turning a crucial double play to bail Santos out of a jam in the fourth inning. Santos struck out only a pair in five innings, while Tobitt whiffed seven Furballs, but in the sixth inning he became iffy again. Bowen slapped a single to right to start the inning before Pat White drew a walk. Tobitt failed to find the corners, threw a fat pitch to Hector Santos, and that one actually ended up in the rightfield corner on a tremendous hard liner. Both runners scored, the Coons were up 4-1. Tobitt didn’t make it out of the inning while Santos went six and two thirds, leaving with a left-hander in Robbie Luxton at the plate, and another left-hander (Dave Graham) already on base after a walk. Luxton hit a really hard grounder off George Youngblood, but Quebell had that one covered. Bottom 8th, Rockburn was in and allowed a leadoff double to ex-Coon Ryan Miller, threw a wild pitch, but struck out Antonio Luján and Bob Butler to escape that mess. The Raccoons placed runners on the corners, but Quebell and Sanez couldn’t get them in. It didn’t matter after all: Angel Casas put the Indians’ heart of the order away on seven pitches. 4-1 Critters. Nomura 2-4, BB; Bowen 2-4, RBI; Santos 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (5-2) and 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI;

Yeah, Santos’ double was the team’s only extra-base hit.

… and ever and always I have to tell myself, next year all the injured boys will be back, and the malaise will be a little less unbearable.

And then all plans to have Brownie start two more games went down the river – literally. Tuesday brought heavy rains, and with that, the game was washed out. In addition to that, the Crusaders clinched the division on Tuesday. Well, at least it wasn’t us doing something wrong again.

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Saenz – 1B Pruitt – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Brown
IND: CF L. Martinez – 2B Butler – LF D. Graham – RF J. Ortíz – 1B S. Guerra – C R. Speed – 3B J. Phillips – SS R. Miller – P King

Nick Brown tied Doug Morrow and Alfonso Velasco for 26th place in career strikeouts only in the fourth inning with his third K of the day, Juan Ortíz going down. At that point it was a 1-1 game, with Brownie chipping in an RBI double himself in the third inning, but the Indians tied it up in the fourth after a leadoff triple hit by Bob Butler. Graham’s sac fly brought him in. Butler was also another sore on the hairy buttocks in the bottom of the sixth, lining a single to left to start that inning. Graham then doubled, and those runners weren’t staying on base either, and Butler and Graham indeed completely owned him, combining to go 6-for-8 against Brown and in the progress hit for the cycle. When Graham homered with two outs in the seventh, that ended Brown’s season on a pretty sad note. Apart from his double, the offense was entirely tooth- and clueless, and only got on the board for an unearned run in the ninth inning, down to their last out, which cost Bob King a complete game. Salvadaro Soure struck out Pat White to put this one away. 5-2 Indians. McNeela (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Richard Speed went down on strikes in that malicious sixth inning to move Brownie into sole possession of 26th place on the strikeout board. He ends the year with 2,297 K, which leaves him 25 off Kisho Saito’s franchise mark.

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C McNeela – RF Gentry – 3B Canning – CF Trevino – P McDonald
IND: CF L. Martinez – 3B Luján – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF D. Graham – 2B Butler – 1B S. Guerra – SS R. Miller – P Weise

McDonald hadn’t pitched in a while, which initially didn’t show, as he sat down the first five batters without much fuss. Then came Butler, the human eye sore, once again, and things started rolling. Butler singled, Guerra homered, 2-0. Miller singled, Weise doubled, 3-0. Leon Martinez singled, 4-0. They added another run on a Butler sac fly in the third inning, putting the Raccoons in a 5-0 hole. And the Raccoons were making slow. Slow, slow. The continents were drifting faster than the Raccoons’ offense was on the move to maybe a run, maybe even to get on base. Tom Weise sat down the first 13 Coons that came to the plate until a Tom McNeela single up the middle ended the bid. And then a grounder to short by Brett Gentry ended McNeela’s presence on base and the inning, too.

McDonald was removed after Antonio Luján’s leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ward was tasked with the largely left-handed middle of the order, which resulted in a walk to Jose Paraz and an Ortíz single to load the bases. Graham grounded into a force at home, after which Slayton replaced Ward and allowed a slam to Bob Butler. Down by nine runs, Jerry Saenz’ pinch-hit 3-run homer in the top 6th was about meaningless, or so it seemed. Gibson surrendered another run in the bottom 8th, Ryan Miller shining in the wrong spot with a leadoff triple, before the team not only knocked out another Indians starter with one out left in the game, but also put up a 4-spot to ruin Weise’s line completely. Yet, while that chain of singles, a walk by Weise, and a wild pitch by Soure in itself was a fine thing, the hole was just too damn big. 10-7 Indians. White (PH) 1-1; McNeela 2-4, 3B; Gutierrez 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; Trevino 2-4; Saenz (PH) 1-3, HR, 3 RBI; Vega 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Raccoons (86-73) @ Crusaders (94-65) – September 30-October 2, 2011

The Crusaders had won their division on Tuesday. This series was wholly unnecessary. We were 8-7 against them this season, and it hadn’t gotten us anything, perhaps because of our wholly ****ty performance against the Loggers and Indians. They had churned out 820 runs so far, by far the most in the Continental League, and their 650 runs allowed had them in the top 3.

Projected matchups:
Colin Baldwin (14-9, 3.00 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (12-9, 3.35 ERA)
Bill Conway (14-11, 3.38 ERA) vs. Ken Maddox (11-10, 4.28 ERA)
Hector Santos (5-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. Ed Winn (2-5, 4.50 ERA)

And we finish a season in which we saw only 34 left-handed starters with another full slate of righties, missing left-hander Takeru Sato by a day.

Let’s keep the heads up high, don’t get swept, although 9-9 stinks and all, and head into the offseason without anybody getting stuck in the fence with their claws.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – RF Fucito – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – SS Roudabush – P Baldwin
NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – SS J. Ortega – C D. Anderson – 3B Petersen – P P. Trevino

Leaving the heads high was made a tall task from the very beginning of the series, as Colin Baldwin was torn to shreds by the Crusaders in the first inning already. Roberto Pena, Martin Ortíz, and Stanton Martin loaded the bases, and a 2-run single by Jorge Ortega and a 2-run double by Daryl Anderson put the Critters into a 4-0 hole. That hole’s depth was reduced by half over the next two innings – Quebell hitting a leadoff single in the second inning and was smuggled around to score, and Jimmy Fucito hit his maiden majors bomb in the third – but Baldwin continued to get battered and conceded two more runs to Ortega and rookie Tommie Petersen in the bottom of the third and was yanked after just three innings. That didn’t mean that the creaming was over. Not by far. Huerta and Ward were both charged with single runs in relief, and in the eighth inning Josh Gibson was socked for three runs including a 2-shot by Stanton Martin. That was Martin’s 29th on the season. You had to add the output of the top 3 Raccoons together to just barely outpower him, and Martin wasn’t even the most prolific home run hitter on his own team – that was Martin Ortíz with 33. 11-2 Crusaders. Nomura 2-5, 2B; Trevino 1-1, BB;

Well, dignity is a fickle thing…

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – RF Gentry – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Conway
NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – 3B Bond – LF B. Speed – SS J. Ortega – P Maddox

Pruitt, Quebell, and Bowen all drew 2-out walks in the first inning, only for Gentry to strike out. Yoshi would single in Gutierrez with two outs in the top 2nd to actually take a lead, and the Crusaders didn’t get a hit off Conway through three innings. They had gotten eight in the same amount of innings off Baldwin on Friday. But just before we could wipe the tears from our black-and-white faces, Francisco Caraballo opened the bottom 4th with a single to left and Stanton Martin jerked another home run, #30, a score-flipper, and that broke a tie with B.J. Manfull for second place on their team. Pena homered the following inning, 3-1. The Crusaders had five runners in five innings, and scored three. The Raccoons had ten runners, including six who walked, and hit into a double play and stranded eight.

Maddox would be gone after his seventh walk issued, which opened the seventh inning and was drawn by Yoshi. Jose Ramos came in and was no big help with a single to Pruitt and a walk to Quebell, loading the bases with the go-ahead run on first base and one out for Bowen, who lined out to Manfull, and PH Jerry Saenz went the same way on this team’s way into irrelevancy, unless the bottom of the order could stir it a bit in the eighth inning. Pat White singled, stole second base, then scored on a gapper by Gutierrez that became an RBI double, and Gutierrez was the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Conway had held the fort more or less through seven innings and was now hit for by Jimmy Fucito, facing right-hander Dave Shannon. That count ran full, and then Fucito hit a hard shot to center that kept growing and went over the fence! Score-flipping home run for the rookie nobody knows anyway! After hat entirely unexpected turnaround, Law Rockburn and Angel Casas extinguished the Crusaders in just six batters and 15 pitches. 4-3 Furballs. Pruitt 2-3, 2 BB; Gutierrez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Fucito (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (15-11);

Top Crusaders in homers: 33 – 30 – 29
Top Raccoons in homers: 12 – 12 – 9

I just want to cry.

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – C Owens – 3B Canning – CF S. Trevino – P Santos
NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – 3B Bond – SS J. Ortega – P Winn

Santos tripled in his first at-bat in the game, which came with two outs in the third, so the Raccoons’ offense was not quite humming, and Yoshi didn’t get him in either. On the mound Santos faced the minimum the first time through the order, which included two leadoff singles and two double plays hit into by the Crusaders, and there was no score through three innings. The Coons took a lead in the fourth inning, though. Michael Palmer hit a leadoff double, moved up on Pruitt’s grounder to first and scored on Quebell’s fly to center. But a 1-0 lead was as good as no lead against the Crusaders. B.J. Manfull unleashed an absolute rocket in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Crusaders their third 30 HR smasher, and also a tied ballgame. It wouldn’t stay tied forever, and it was actually Ed Winn who was the biggest factor in the Raccoons’ efforts to cough up a run in the top 7th. Fucito singled, there were two wild pitches in the inning, and then finally a double by Walt Canning to take a 2-1 lead. Santos kept going, finished the seventh without too much hassle, and the Raccoons then got a pair of walks off Winn to start the top 8th. Pruitt hit a really crappy grounder that nevertheless wasn’t played by anybody for anything, and the bases were loaded with no outs, and Winn was gone for left-hander Francois Picard. COME ON NOW! SINK THEM!! Nope, of course not. Quebell grounded to first, where Manfull masterfully threw home to nip Nomura, and then Fucito hit into a double play. Santos also made it through the eighth, and was hit for with two outs in the ninth and Canning on first. Gentry grounded out to Kevin Bond, and hopefully that was the Coons’ last at-bat of this sad season. Angel Casas came into the game, and was going to face Caraballo and the Martin Brothers. Caraballo walked on four pitches, but Ortíz flew out softly to Pruitt. Stanton Martin came up and hit a ball hard to short, Palmer to Yoshi, to Quebell, screw you, Purple Poopers! 2-1 Raccoons! Canning 2-4, 2B, RBI; Santos 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (6-2) and 1-3, 3B;

In other news

September 28 – CIN RF/LF Will Bailey (.318, 21 HR, 103 RBI) is lost for the season with a sprained ankle.
September 29 – CIN SP Javier Cruz (14-11, 3.84 ERA) spins a 3-hit shutout of the Rebels. The Cyclones win 3-0.
September 30 – WAS RF/CF Victor Sarabia (.287, 9 HR, 60 RBI) will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs with a strained hamstring.
September 30 – Denver’s Curt Powell (1-5, 4.86 ERA), who missed almost the entire season with shoulder woes, spins a 3-hit shutout against the Wolves.
September 30 – Another 3-hitter is pitched by LAP SP Ernest Green (15-8, 3.66 ERA), who dominates the Scorpions for a shutout.
October 1 – MIL SP Roy Thomas (12-15, 4.29 ERA) needs surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. He might miss the first month of the 2012 season.
October 2 – The Capitals drop a 10-5 decision to the Miners, but still make the playoffs when the Cyclones can’t break through the Buffaloes and drop their season finale as well, 4-1. The Capitals make the playoffs for the seventh time, and the first time in 14 years. They won the title in 1990, 1991, and 1997, and all six of their previous playoff appearances came in that time frame.

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons finish with a number of wins starting with 8 for the first time since 1994, when they went 81-81! There was a 9 and a 10 after that, then a whole swarm of 7’s and 6’s, and since then the Raccoons finished with 9’s the last four seasons. Overall we are now 2,862-2,809 (.505) in the regular season. With the series win on the weekend, we ended up 10-8 against New York this year, our first series win against them since 2007.

Raccoons against other CL teams by winning percentage:

.524 – OCT, SFB
.521 – LVA
.508 – ATL
.506 – IND
.505 – MIL, TIJ, VAN
.495 – NYC
.486 – CHA
.477 – BOS

If Nick Brown had conceded one run or so in his last start, he would have even won the ERA title. On the other hand, Santos pitched to a 0.87 ERA over the last three starts and will start the 2012 season in the rotation for damn sure. The stuff hasn’t come alive for him just yet, but I think he’s good for 8 to 9 K/9.

And if the offense hadn’t shat their pants all year long, we’d now plan to take on the Thunder again.

A scouting update on October 1 also threw up a whole box of red flags regarding Jong-hoo Umberger. Sell! Sell! Sell now! Or at least tie him to the guardrails on I-5 and race off into the sunset.

Who else got a ratings slash? Ricardo Carmona. Of course he did. It’s that moldy atmosphere in Ham Lake.

Random stat: Yoshi Nomura completely owns the Elks’ Juichi Fujita. For his career, Yoshi has hit .347 with three homers in 72 AB off the only Elk that ever spun a no-hitter (not telling against whom!). There are three more pitchers with more than 30 AB against whom he’s batting at least .300, including Daniel Dickerson (.359), Bob King (.323) and Tommy Wilson (.303).

Westheim · 05-09-2016, 05:46 PM

2011 ABL PLAYOFFS

The 2011 Playoffs will have the Oklahoma City Thunder as the top seed and the only team to win 100 games or more in the season, with a 102-60 record. They achieved this mainly with the best pitching staff in the Continental League, allowing just a bit over 3.5 runs per game. Both their rotation and the pen were excellent, with the rotation tying the Raccoons’ with a 3.33 ERA for the league-best mark, while the bullpen was first outright with a 2.64 ERA. Antonio Donis (16-8, 2.74 ERA) at age 39 was still the best horse in their stable, and almost would have won another ERA title, but dropped out of the top spot in the last weeks of the season. They had three players to hit 16 home runs during the season, Jimmy Roberts, Dave McCormick, and Tom Reese, but overall they were neither very good in power nor in small ball. They had finished the season with only the fifth-most runs scored.

Their opponents in the 2011 CLCS would be the New York Crusaders, who finished 95-67, and would try to forget about 2010 and rechannel their 2007-2009 string of world championships. They had the best offense outright with 835 runs scored, and an absolute monster offense anchored around Martin Ortíz (.311, 33 HR, 121 RBI), Stanton Martin (.288, 30 HR, 120 RBI), and B.J. Manfull (.302, 30 HR, 108 RBI). The entire lineup was very dense and even the bottom of their order was nothing to joke about. While their pitching staff contained the CL ERA winner in Takeru Sato (14-6, 2.72 ERA), but they had lost Kel Yates and A.J. Bartels, acquired midseason from the Loggers, to injuries along the way, plus MR Manuel Reyes. Because of that, their #3/#4 starters for the playoffs were very weak, with Jair Mauceri somehow being irreplaceable despite posting a 7.08 ERA across the entire season. Scott Hood was an awesome closer, but there were also a few holes in middle relief for them, and their bullpen had actually finished with a below-average ERA – quite the difference from their 2007-2009 title runs. So, offense yeah, pitching oh well maybe?

The Crusader’s offense is full of beasts, but the Thunder might hold a very slim advantage due to their superior pitching.

In the FLCS, the 96-66 Los Angeles Pacifics had home field advantage. They had led the Federal League in both runs scored and runs allowed, with a +196 run differential that was quite stunning. They were a power team in terms of offense, with six players hitting double digit home runs. Jimmy Roberts (.315, 28 HR, 102 RBI) and Josh Thomas (.278, 22 HR, 88 RBI) were the biggest mashers. Their only significant injured position player was 3B Jens Carroll (.316, 5 HR, 70 RBI), but had already lost their closer Risto Mäkelä to injury in May. That had left a hole in the back end of their bullpen they had never managed to plug, but that pen as a whole still finished with the fifth-best ERA in the league. Their rotation was led by Brad Smith (15-7, 2.54 ERA), with three more pitchers in the mid-3 range.

Their opponents would be the 92-70 Washington Capitals. They had held a really huge lead of up to 10 games in the summer, had even traded for Jose Morales (.345, 20 HR, 86 RBI) and still almost lost their first division title in 14 years at the very end of the season, so they really were anything but hot. 7th in runs scored, and 2nd in runs allowed, they had a few home run hitters, with Aaron Case also hitting 20, and Tony Ramos chipping in 16, but they were not getting on base at a very torrid pace, but led the league with 134 steals, with Juan Jose Rodriguez swiping 42 on his own. To make everything worse, they had a flurry of injuries, with Jose Correa and Victor Sarabia (.287, 9 HR, 60 RBI) on the DL as well as four pitchers, including starters Chris York (9-11, 3.60 ERA) and Tyler Sullivan (11-9, 3.43 ERA). Their prime pitcher for the playoffs now was 37-year old Randy Farley (13-7, 4.02 ERA), with Carlos Sackett and 34-year old Andrew Williamson, who had made 18 major league appearances IN HIS CAREER, also penciled in to start in the playoffs. This just could not go well…

The Pacifics were the odds-on favorites for this to be a very short FLCS. They had never made it to the World Series, but if they didn’t get through those Capitals, then they should probably look into whether they were actually cursed.

…

2011 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Capitals @ Pacifics … 3-5 … (Pacifics lead 1-0) … WAS Juan Jose Rodriguez 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; LAP Errol Spears 2-3, HR, 2 RBI;

Capitals @ Pacifics … 5-3 … (series tied 1-1) … WAS Juan Jose Rodriguez 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; WAS Tony Ramos 3-5, 2B; WAS Danny Zigay (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; LAP Errol Spears 3-4;
Crusaders @ Thunder … 6-1 … (Crusaders lead 1-0) … NYC Roberto Pena 3-5, 2 RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; NYC B.J. Manfull 4-4, RBI; NYC Takeru Sato 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W; OCT William Raven 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K;

Remember Danny Zigay? He was an 11th round pick by the Raccoons in 2006, was a throw-in in the trade for Juan Barrón, and has since become the #64 prospect. He only appeared in ten games in the regular season.

Crusaders @ Thunder … 4-5 … (series tied 1-1) … NYC B.J. Manfull 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI; OCT Chris Parker 2-2, BB, 2B; NYC Scott Hood walks Vinny Diaz with the bases loaded to walk off the Thunder

Pacifics @ Capitals … 2-4 … (Capitals lead 2-1) … WAS Carlos Sackett 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W;

Pacifics @ Capitals … 1-4 … (Capitals lead 3-1) … LAP Stanley Murphy 2-4, 3B; WAS Jose Morales 1-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; WAS Randy Farley 8.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W;
Thunder @ Crusaders … 5-6 … (Crusaders lead 2-1) … NYC Francisco Caraballo 2-3, HR, RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 3-4, 2B, RBI; the Thunder rally for three runs in the ninth inning off Francois Picard and Scott Hood, but just fall short

Pacifics @ Capitals … 9-6 … (Capitals lead 3-2) … LAP Victor Flores 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI; LAP Stanley Murphy 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; LAP Jesus Rivera (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI; WAS Rudy Garrison 2-3, BB; rain knocked out both starters in the third inning, and the Capitals’ pen collapsed quicker than the Pacifics’
Thunder @ Crusaders … 4-5 (11) … (Crusaders lead 3-1) … OCT Chris Parker (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; NYC Francisco Caraballo 3-4, RBI; NYC Jeffrey Reed 3-5, 2B, RBI;

Thunder @ Crusaders … 2-10 … (Crusaders win 4-1) … NYC Martin Ortíz 3-5, RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; NYC Takeru Sato 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W;

Capitals @ Pacifics … 5-7 … (series tied 3-3) … WAS Tony Ramos 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI; LAP Jimmy Roberts 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; the Capitals blow a 5-1 lead after five innings and are sunk in a 5-run sixth

Capitals @ Pacifics … 0-1 … (Pacifics win 4-3) … LAP Stanley Murphy 1-3, BB, RBI; LAP J.J. Wirth 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W; five singles aside, and no extra base hits, as the Pacifics just barely overcome Randy Farley and Ryosei Kato in the climactic game seven

…

2011 WORLD SERIES

The 2011 World Series pitted the ABL’s best offense, the Crusaders, against the league’s best pitching, the Pacifics, who made the big stage for the first time in their 35-year existence.

This is a very difficult series to call. The Pacifics have a lineup that leans heavily to the right side, which might not be that much of a help against the Crusaders, who have only one left-handed starter in Takeru Sato. The Crusaders’ lineup is well-mixed. The Crusaders didn’t lose additional players as they easily turned away the Thunder, while the Pacifics have listed Ernest Green (15-8, 3.66 ERA), who led the FL in the lowest BB/9 this season as well as in 2010, as DTD with hand soreness in addition to all the other pieces they are already missing. It’s really hard to call a shot here… Pitching might prevail, although pitching didn’t impress the Crusaders in the CLCS either.

Crusaders @ Pacifics … 1-3 … (Pacifics lead 1-0) … NYC Stanton Martin 3-3, BB, 2B; LAP Manny Perez 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; LAP Brad Smith 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W;

Crusaders @ Pacifics … 0-1 … (Pacifics lead 2-0) … NYC Stanton Martin 2-4, 2B; LAP Adriano Lulli 3-4, 2 2B; LAP Bruce Mark 8.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, W;

Pacifics @ Crusaders … 1-6 … (Pacifics lead 2-1) … NYC B.J. Manfull 3-4, RBI; NYC Jeffrey Reed 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; NYC Juan Gutierrez (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; NYC Ken Maddox 7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W;

Pacifics @ Crusaders … 12-3 … (Pacifics lead 3-1) … LAP Stanley Murphy 4-4, 2 BB, RBI; LAP Errol Spears 2-5, HR, 2B, 7 RBI;

The Crusaders lead after six innings, 3-1, but suffer a complete explosion in the last three innings, with Errol Spears beating them all on his own with a slam and bases-clearing double off Francois Picard, and Jose Ramos, respectively. Spears’ 7 RBI tie an ABL record for a playoff game first put up by CIN Will Bailey in 2006.

Pacifics @ Crusaders … 4-5 … (Pacifics lead 3-2) … LAP Stanley Murphy 3-4, 2 RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 3-4, 2B, RBI; this time the Pacifics blow a 4-0 lead after six innings…

Crusaders @ Pacifics … 0-7 … (Pacifics win 4-2) … LAP Jimmy Roberts 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; LAP Stanley Murphy 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; LAP Bruce Mark 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W;

2011 WORLD CHAMPIONS
Los Angeles Pacifics
1st title

04-23-2016, 04:37 PM	#1821
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	Raccoons (42-34) @ Condors (31-44) – June 27-29, 2011 The Condors’ offense already was not very good (but who’s in town was?) and they were 9th in runs scored, but their pitching was were the dead bird was really buried. While the rotation was semi-competent and was close to league average, they had a completely bottomless bullpen that managed to run an ERA of almost five and blowing game after game after game. The Raccoons somehow were 1-2 against the Condors this season, which had something to do with being blown out for 13 runs in the opener in May, then scoring merely four runs between the last two games. The Condors had lost their last seven contests, so nobody could say they weren’t beatable. Projected matchups: Gil McDonald (4-6, 3.21 ERA) vs. Colin Sabatino (2-10, 5.19 ERA) Bill Conway (6-5, 3.26 ERA) vs. Jaylen Martin (7-5, 2.90 ERA) Nick Brown (7-3, 3.15 ERA) vs. Doug Thompson (5-2, 2.02 ERA) This is a full set of right-handed pitchers. The Coons were still without Tomas Castro, but he might come off the DL as early as Wednesday. Game 1 POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P McDonald TIJ: SS Valles – C Leach – RF Crum – 1B R. Morris – LF Zackery – 3B I. Reed – CF Feldmann – 2B Dougal – P Sabatino Melvin Valles homered off McDonald to start the Condors’ day at the plate, instantly giving them a 1-0 lead. The Raccoons would re-tie the score in the top of the second like only they could. Seeley drew a leadoff walk, followed by singles by Yoshi and Palmer, which loaded the bases with nobody down. Well, there were two down once Bowen hit into a double play, with at least Seeley coming in with the run. Minimalist baseball would see the Raccoons scratch out a run in the fourth that wouldn’t have scored on a Nomura sac fly if not for a wild pitch by Colin Sabatino before that, then killed modest efforts with double play grounders to short in the next two innings. McDonald was trudging along on a 2-hit effort for a long while, and the Raccoons got another run in the seventh when a Bowen grounder escaped past Isiah Reed’s glove into shallow left and allowed Yoshi to score from second base. Rob Morris would hit a single off McDonald to start the bottom of the seventh, but McDonald continued to face batters until pitch #103 drilled Ryan Feldmann. That was as far as McDonald had gone this season, and it presented a pickly situation with Ron Thrasher asked to retire pinch-hitter Rowan Tanner with the tying runs on base and two gone. Tanner swiped hard, but never hit a ball, going down on strikes. This far, and no further, however, for things working out the Critters’ way. Ricardo Huerta came on for the eighth and sucked yet again. A leadoff walk to Manny Cruz and a Foster Leach single presented trouble, and when Tommy Ward relieved him, this game’s door was soon about to get blown out of its hinges. Johnny Crum hit an infield single that Bowen failed to play for anything, and then Nick May and Rusty Zackery hit hard singles to tie the game, before Reed and Jorge Garcia inexplicably struck out to leave three runners on base. Top 9th, Jayden Reed was in trouble quickly for the Condors, allowing a 1-out single to Palmer and then a double to Bowen, both to left. With a pair in scoring position, Logan Taylor batted for Ward, but before Taylor could even attempt to do damage, Foster Leach completely butchered a pitch from Reed and Palmer scored on the passed ball. Taylor hit a sac fly, 5-3, and the inning seemed over, but Quebell hit a 2-out single to left. Reed lost it quite definitely by now, walking Merritt and Pruitt, but remained in to face Jose Morales. Big mistake. BIG mistake. How big of a mistake? GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!! 9-3 Blighters. Morales 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Nomura 2-3, RBI; Palmer 2-4; Bowen 2-4, 2B, RBI; McDonald 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K and 1-2; Craig Bowen reached batting an even .200 with this outing. Whoah! Success! Game 2 POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – CF Seeley – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway TIJ: SS Valles – CF Feldmann – 1B R. Morris – LF Zackery – 3B I. Reed – C J. Garcia – RF Tanner – 2B Dougal – P J. Martin “Flipper” Conway didn’t allow a hit the first time through the Condors lineup, and his only mistake, a leadoff walk to Rusty Zackery, was erased on a double play. The Raccoons didn’t do anything with “Midnight” Martin – who clearly had the nickname contest won – for four innings, and when Bowen hit a leadoff single to left center (batting .203! excitement!) in the top 5th, Conway’s bunt was more or less right into Martin’s most convenient spot and he got Bowen forced out. There would be no effect from that poor bunt, however, since Quebell lifted a ball over Zackery and into the deeper regions of the gap for a double, and Conway was quite fleet on foot and managed to score from first base for the first run in the game. That score gap soon grew wider. While Rowan Tanner retired Merritt with a tumbling catch, Pruitt hit a soft line over Stanley Dougal for a single that plated Quebell from third base, and a Valles error put Morales on. Seeley singled to right, 3-0, and they even loaded the bags when Nomura battled out a walk, but while Palmer hit a 2-0 pitch hard after that, he also hit it right into the beak of Valles, who this time made the play. Martin pitched a scoreless sixth, and when he was hit for with Johnny Crum in the bottom of the inning, the Condors would still be searching for their first hit. Crum delivered it, a single to right, and Ryan Feldmann would hit another one, but Rob Morris would ground out conveniently to Nomura to end the inning. Palmer stranded two more with another grounder to Valles in the top 7th, but Conway – after the minor hiccup in the sixth – continued to mute the Condors more or less completely. With a low pitch count, he was going to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, even if the Raccoons wouldn’t tack something onto their 3-0 lead in the top 9th against Jose Sanchez, and they (Merritt, Pruitt, Morales) managed to get turned down in five pitches by a 6+ ERA guy. Conway got a good start to the bottom 9th, striking out Valles, but Feldmann slapped a home run to left, and that shifted responsibilities to Angel Casas, who allowed two hard grounders, one by Morris that was played by Quebell as it attempted to break his knee, and the other by Zackery that escaped into left. But after that came Reed, who was batting .150-ish and was easily victimized by Casas. 3-1 Coons. Pruitt 2-5, RBI; Seeley 2-4, RBI; Conway 8.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W (7-5) and 1-4, 2B; A start like Conway’s for Brownie would be greatly soothing my troubled soul. But before we got to that, we had to make a roster change. Jason Seeley (.245, 4 HR, 17 RBI) was sent back to St. Petersburg, although I was trying to think of ways to open a roster spot for him, and we added Tomas Castro off the DL. Game 3 POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Brown TIJ: SS Valles – C Leach – 1B May – RF M. Cruz – CF Feldmann – 3B I. Reed – LF Crum – 2B Dougal – P D. Thompson Brown walked Valles on four balls before the Condors’ Leach and May made three outs on two pitches, grounding to Merritt and Nomura, respectively. The Raccoons would take a lead in the top 2nd. Starting with Yoshi, they hit three straight 1-out singles, and those singles became progressively softer as they descended the order. Brown drew a walk, and then Quebell fudged up as usual with three men on and popped out to Dougal. Castro hit a ball hard to right, but it hung up long enough for Manny Cruz to retire him. Palmer left two more runners in scoring position in the top 3rd, and the game went south in a real hurry by the bottom of the inning. The Condors had nobody on with two outs, before Brown not only walked the pitcher Thompson on four pitches, but issued THREE MORE WALKS, and then gave up a double to Cruz that put the Condors up 3-1, while the Raccoons had six hits to their one **ing double. The situation was extremely dire. Some smirking Mexican children sang “Brownie, downie” a bit up the third base line, and I realized that it was at least seven hours before I could get back to my booze stash in Portland. The game wasn’t quite lost yet – the Coons tied the score by the sixth, with an RBI double by Quebell in the fourth, and an RBI single hit by Castro with two outs in the top 6th – but in the middle of the sixth the Coons out-hit the Condors 10-1 and still weren’t particularly close to sweeping a horrendous team. Something was transpiring in the top 7th, however, with Morales walking to start the frame. Thompson threw a wild pitch, then walked Merritt anyway, and Yoshi singled to right. That put three on with nobody out, and Palmer comi- no! Logan Taylor grabbed a bat, hit the ball back to Thompson on the first pitch and caused Morales to be retired at home. McNeela grounded sharply to Isiah Reed, who tapped third base to force Yoshi, but those three steps cost him a play either at home or at first, and the Coons took the lead. Batting Brown against a tired Thompson was tempting, especially since Brown was unretired on the day, but we sent Craig Bowen to bat. Thompson only had one K on the day, how bad could it get for Bowen? He fell to two strikes, then grounded out. 4-3 in the seventh inning stretch became a 5-4 deficit after the bottom of the inning, in which Tommy Ward walked both batters he saw, and Pat Slayton was no help as usual. The Raccoons left runners on the corners in the top of the eighth, then went down in order against Jayden Reed in the ninth. 5-4 Condors. Castro 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Nomura 3-5, 2B; McNeela 2-5, 2 RBI; Raccoons: 12 hits. Condors: 2 hits. What a ing collection of no-good bulls. Raccoons (44-35) vs. Indians (38-39) – June 30-July 3, 2011 The Indians were roughly league average in terms of runs scored and runs allowed, with a -1 run differential. They led the Continental League in dingers, but had the second-worst OBP, and also were even worse than the Raccoons in terms of stealing bases. Despite all their shortcomings, they had taken five of eight from the Furballs. Projected matchups: Jong-hoo Umberger (6-3, 2.59 ERA) vs. Brad Osborne (3-4, 5.11 ERA) Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.83 ERA) vs. Tristan Bourn (1-2, 7.04 ERA) Gil McDonald (4-6, 3.07 ERA) vs. Bob King (8-5, 3.45 ERA) Bill Conway (7-5, 3.08 ERA) vs. Jimmy Sjogren (4-2, 5.22 ERA) We get two left-handers on Friday and Sunday. Keith Ayers can’t wait. Game 1 IND: 1B Tsung – SS Luján – RF J. Ortíz – LF Graham – 2B Butler – CF Luxton – C R. Speed – 3B Phillips – P Osborne POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Howell – C Bowen – P Umberger Umberger had a 7-pitch first before the Raccoons had a good start against Osborne. Quebell drew a leadoff walk before Castro’s grounder to short was thrown past the reach of Bob Butler by Antonio Luján. Pruitt’s clean single loaded them up for Morales, who wrestled a full count walk from Osborne. Merritt was plunked for the second run, and the Coons didn’t make an out until Yoshi Nomura grounded out to first, but that still scored another run, and they would get four in total in the inning. And then Umberger came along, and presented his general idea of how to pitch with a 4-0 lead, putting on the leadoff man in every inning but one from there . That included a leadoff walk to Dave Graham in the second, and Graham would come in to score before long, and would have a leadoff single in the fourth. Butler doubled, putting runners on second and third with nobody out, but then Robbie Luxton and Richard Speed popped out over the infield. Jim Phillips was put on intentionally to get to Osborne, who had hit a leadoff single in the third, hit a liner to center that looked like trouble, but Castro just managed to play it before it could inflict a world of hurt. The fifth was the inning the leadoff batter didn’t get on for the Indians, but with two outs they got a pair of singles from Juan Ortíz and Dave Graham before Bob Butler doubled both in to cut the gap to 4-3. The Coons scratched out a run in the bottom of the inning, Morales scoring on a Nomura double, then even got a break when Howell reached on an error, but Bowen struck out and Umberger … did so as well. The Indians finally turned the score on its head in the sixth. Richard Speed hit a leadoff homer, before Jim Phillips and Mun-wah Tsung (hate that sucker…) tied the score with bloop hits. Antonio Luján hit a liner to center that Castro couldn’t play and it escaped him all the way to the Willamette for a go-ahead RBI triple. That finally got Umberger run from the game and shoved into a dumpster outside, and Luis Beltran allowed Luján to score as well as the Coons fell 7-5 behind. They came pretty close to making that up when Marcos Bruno issued two walks in the bottom of the eighth, bringing Pruitt to the plate with two outs, and Bruno hadn’t been very good this season, nursing an ERA over four. He got Pruitt struck out, though. 7-5 Indians. Morales 3-4, BB, RBI; Nomura 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; … Game 2 IND: 1B Tsung – 2B Butler – LF Graham – RF J. Ortíz – SS Luján – CF Luxton – C R. Speed – 3B Phillips – P Broun POR: 3B Merritt – 2B Palmer – LF Morales – RF Ayers – CF Castro – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – SS Howell – P Baldwin A grounder that escaped past Rob Howell’s glove off the bat of Tristan Broun not only ended Baldwin’s perfect run from the start of the game, but in a hurry the Indians were close to burying him. With two already down in the top 3rd, Tsung walked, and Butler singled. Dave Graham struck out trying to hit a slam, which left the Coons up 1-0 after Jon Merritt’s leadoff jack in the first. While the Coons would get a second run in the fourth, Bowen doubling in Quebell, offense was few and far between and mostly silent completely until the sixth, when Bob Butler hit another single and Juan Ortíz cranked a massive shot to center that tied the game at two. Merritt, after hitting one hard in the first, would be hit hard in the seventh, adding a second runner to Rob Howell with two outs, but Palmer popped out in a really ty way. Baldwin worked his way through eight, Morales hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning, and while some fans were fooled by this and clapped their paws eagerly, Ayers obviously hit into a double play, and after Castro finished another frustrating (but not disappointing, since we never expected anything but defeat in the first place) inning with a bouncer to short, Mark Clark hit a leadoff triple off Huerta in the top 9th that was completely doing in the awful Raccoons. Despite Huerta not retiring anybody and being chased in shame after a Speed single and a throwing error of his own, Ron Thrasher held the damage to one run, and the Raccoons actually got on base against Salvarado Soure in the bottom 9th. Pruitt hit a 1-out single, Taylor drew a 2-out walk, up came Merritt … and rolled out to short. 3-2 Indians. Pruitt (PH) 1-1; Baldwin 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K; Michael Palmer is close to getting his tail cut off… Game 3 IND: 1B Tsung – CF Luxton – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF Graham – 2B Butler – SS M. Clark – 3B Phillips – P King POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Howell – C Bowen – P McDonald The repulsive Tsung singled, Robbie Luxton homered, and before I had even gotten to look at the menu, the Indians had dumped a pint of salt into the soup with a 2-0 lead and nobody out … at all. It would be another slow-offense game after that, especially as far as the home team was concerned. They didn’t have anything in particular going for them until Tomas Castro hit a leadoff single in the fourth. He made it to second on Pruitt’s groundout, then stole third base, and was left on base when Morales grounded out to King and Merritt popped one over to short. Top 5th, McDonald shoveled the bases full to the brim with runners, then struck out Luxton as the Indian tried to slam to end the inning. Bottom 5th, still down 2-0, Nomura and Howell led off with a pair of singles. Bowen grounded out, McDonald popped out, Quebell grounded out, and nobody scored … at all. I was trying hard to offer something spicy for the team to get the bats going, but was told that the kitchen was out of pepper and only dull dishes could be served to the offense. No thanks, I replied, they’re dull enough as is. Merritt then sunk McDonald for good in the top 7th. The Indians already had two men in scoring position with one out, but it was the pitcher Bob King batting, so how bad could it become? Well, he grounded to third, and Merritt’s throw, nominally to first, ended up wide and went right into the home team’s dugout, sending the reserves scattering as the rocket caromed around inside the friendly trench and knocked out the delivery boy with the pizza I had ordered in the meantime. While the Coons, down 4-0, switched pitchers, Craig Bowen won the battle for the biggest slice, which gained him enough power to hit a 2-run homer that cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning. Yet, basically, any 2-run deficit was insurmountable at this point in this team’s life cycle, even if you ignored the fact that Josh Gibson pitched in the ninth and allowed a home run to Jim Phillips to add a run to the gap. So when Logan Taylor hit for Howell with two outs in the ninth and Yoshi on first, it wasn’t necessarily an interesting spot, but I finally got a dish of unspoiled soup delivered. As Helio Maggessi struck out Taylor, I did notice some hair swimming in the soup, though. It was not just hair, it was an entire dead raccoon. 5-2 Indians. Nomura 3-4; Bowen 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; (pokes the dead coon with a spoon) Nick, is that you? Game 4 IND: 1B Tsung – SS Luján – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF Graham – 2B Butler – CF Luxton – 3B Phillips – P Sjogren POR: 3B Merritt – CF Castro – LF Morales – RF Ayers – 1B Pruitt – C Bowen – SS Howell – 2B Nomura – P Conway Bottom 1st, Merritt walked, and two singles loaded the bags with nobody out for Keith Ayers, who came within two whiskers of hitting into a triple play with a hard grounder to third base. Phillips stepped on the bag in front of him, flung the ball to Butler for the out at second, and Ayers BARELY beat out the throw to first. Sjogren was adrift, walked Pruitt and Bowen, but Howell knotted himself up and struck out, leaving the Raccoons with only the run that Merritt scored on Ayers’ 6-4 double play. The Coons’ offense ditched the next few innings entirely, while Conway was in trouble in the third inning. Jim Phillips’ leadoff single was bad enough, but then he tried to get Phillips at second on Sjogren’s bunt, but while he had Phillips beat, his throw to second also beat Howell and he couldn’t come up with the high throw. The Indians had runners on first and second, but a combo of whiff-‘n-pop had them go home with a zero in the inning, but they wouldn’t be denied forever. Luxton’s leadoff double in the fifth was certainly trouble. Phillips grounded to second, moving Luxton to third base, but Sjogren went down whiffing. That brought up the head Tsung, and he wasn’t going to miss this one, singling to left and tying the score. The Indians would lob three arrows for three singles in the sixth, which was enough to take a 2-1 lead on the lame-ass Raccoons. Bottom 7th. Conway was done after 103 pitches anyway, and so when Howell and Nomura opened the inning with a pair of singles, this was not only the first faint movement the team had offered in 90 minutes, it was also the perfect spot to hit for Conway with … uh, tough choice indeed. We selected Quebell to bat in the spot, since if it didn’t work, his double play – which I considered as sure as darkness inside a raccoons’ arse – would at least add some tragic-comedic value. Lo and behold, though, Quebell ran with Sjogren for nine pitches before clonkering a shot to deep center and that was OUTTA HERE!!! WHOAH!! RUNS!!! The Coons got Castro and Morales on base with one out in the inning and had Ayers and Pruitt ready to deliver the death knell to the Indians and stave off a 4-game sweep on home turf, except that Sjogren, who should be gassed by now, had enough to strike out both of them. Thrasher thrashed the Indians in the top 8th before Sjogren issued one last walk to Bowen before leaving in the bottom 8th. Marcos Bruno came on, walked McNeela, who hit for Howell, and Yoshi singled. Three on, nobody out, Quebell, who had replaced Pruitt at first, up next. Bad things were bound to happen. He popped out to the shortstop, and Bruno struck out Merritt and Castro… The stinging pain in both temples aside, it didn’t matter. Angel had a perfect ninth and struck out two to deny the Indians their entirely deserved sweep. 4-2 Blighters. Castro 3-5; Nomura 3-4; Quebell (PH) 1-2, HR, 3 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (8-5); … aaaand the Elks are already stomping the ground with their hooves in terrible excitement … In other news June 29 – Topeka’s Apasyu Britton (.356, 3 HR, 30 RBI) runs his hitting streak to 25 games with a first inning single in a 6-4 win over the Gold Sox before dropping to 1-for-5 on the day. June 30 – Apasyu Britton’s hitting streak ends in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Miners. He goes 0-for-3 to end his run at 25 games. June 30 – WAS INF Fernando Reyes (.259, 1 HR, 31 RBI) is out for the season after tearing a back muscle. July 2 – The Loggers trade SP A.J. Bartels (7-5, 3.34 ERA) to the Crusaders for two prospects. July 2 – SFW INF Oliver Torres (.296, 1 HR, 27 RBI) is placed on the DL, but should only miss the minimum time with a thumb contusion. Complaints and stuff** After Wednesday’s blazing disaster, the Raccoons owed Nick Brown another $7,727,160.50 … I know, because I counted. I never expected that deal to turn sour a) at all, and b) so soon. Too soon. And that’s not the only smelling contract on the roster… Opening a roster spot for Jason Seeley would primarily entail dumping Logan Taylor onto somebody. Keith Ayers is no great help, but he is right-handed and that is a tremendous job guarantee at this point. The potential return for Taylor would probably be close to zero and we might need to sweeten the deal with some coinage. Walt Canning had only batted .220 in AAA so far and is now on the DL for we hope only six weeks with a tear in his labrum. Surgery ain’t ruled out yet. “Monti” Alston hit .355 and knacked eight homers to land CL Hitter of the Month honors. Screw him. As the Coons are broken beyond repair right now, I went to splurge big in the international free market, the signing period of which opened on July 1. Teams can spend $300k freely without luxury tax being charged, and we splashed right in, signing a Dominican lefty named Ricky Martinez for $260k. Our head scout Juan Calderón thinks he has all the necessary ingredients for a great major league starter. The fastball is a bit on the slow slide at 90mph (at age 16), but there is a swooping curve in the mix already. That isn’t even the biggest fish I am after… And please kindly turn out to the park next week, the last week before the All Star break. We will have a beach towel for the first 15,000 fans on Monday (good luck finding a beach), a mug with just the eyes of our logo for the first 10,000 fans on Thursday, then on Sunday it will be Jon Merritt Bobblehead day, and on the fly we whipped up another event for Saturday, when Nick Brown is scheduled to pitch against the Crusaders, and we will hold Nick Brown Requiem Night and celebratorily bury Brownie’s career. It’s the Crusaders, he hasn’t NOT been slaughtered by them in too long. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

04-23-2016, 11:07 PM	#1823
MarkCuban All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 575	Out of interest, how are Nick Brown's ratings holding up? If you're set on tearing the team apart, you might as well get something for him while he's still pretty close to his peak. I don't think this scrappy bunch is done yet. Portland is only five games out, in 2nd Place, and leads the CL in almost every meaningful pitching category. You could always push your remaining chips to the table, bring in a bat or two, and make a run for it -- at the least you wouldn't be taking defeat laying down. __________________ Warning: Poster may not actually be owner of Dallas Mavericks.

04-24-2016, 06:31 PM	#1824
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	Raccoons (45-38) vs. Canadiens (44-37) – July 4-7, 2011 With the smelling Elks in town, I really wasn’t in a holiday mood, especially considering our ongoing struggles. We might have swept them so far this year (4-0), but they had the best batting average in the league, scored the third-most runs, and had an above-average pitching staff that had them fifth in runs allowed, and overall they had a +49 run differential. The Coons’ was +62, but that wasn’t helping them to play better than .500 over their last 34 games. And then there is the slight issue with our starter for the series opener… Projected matchups: Nick Brown (7-3, 3.23 ERA) vs. Tommy Wilson (8-2, 3.33 ERA) Jong-hoo Umberger (6-4, 3.03 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (5-8, 3.40 ERA) Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.79 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (12-3, 2.25 ERA) Gil McDonald (4-7, 3.05 ERA) vs. Scott Spears (7-6, 4.29 ERA) Their starter for Thursday is very much up in the air, as they played a double header on Sunday. We could face D.J. Fulgieri (4-8, 6.02 ERA) or a spot starter just as well. All their starters are right-handed. Game 1 VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 3B Suzuki – 2B Dobson – C Rucker – LF E. Garcia – SS Lawrence – P T. Wilson POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Brown The Raccoons didn’t wait too long to make a mess. Brown had come out with a K to Ross Holland to start the game, but degraded by the second inning with a leadoff walk to Mitsuhide Suzuki. The defense then toppled him over, or should I say “non-defense”. There was a passed ball against Craig Bowen that moved Suzuki along the bases, but Brown would also allow a single to Robert Rucker before Nomura made a throwing error. Two outs, down 1-0, and with runners on the corners, Brown faced Tommy Wilson and gave up a straight line to centerfield for another run to score before striking out Holland. While I was looking for the good paper I had put aside for my farewell note when the Coons didn’t even get a hit into the fourth inning, the Elks’ Wilson would suffer a mild implosion once Morales reached with a 2-out single. He walked Merritt and Nomura in full counts, then allowed a game-tying 2-run single to Michael Palmer. The Coons were right on top of him again the next inning, which started when Wilson drilled Brown in the hip, and Nick Brown held on to his bat almost all the way to first base before the first base coach wrestled it from his paws. Castro walked and Pruitt singled to load the sacks for Morales, who sent a fly to right center that neither John Hudson nor Ross Holland could get to before it was a 2-run double. Unfortunately both Merritt and Nomura popped out to either middle infielder to keep two men stranded in scoring position. Brown had used 87 pitches through five gum-like innings, and faced the right-handed part of the order, #2 through #5, starting in the sixth. This became his last inning, but he did leave on a high note despite a 2-out single by Suzuki when he struck out Jerry Dobson to leave on his own terms. He also left with a 4-2 lead, but that was immediately put to the test in a pressure cooker. To expect Luis Beltran to retire the left-handed 6-7-8 batters was already highly insane, I will admit, and Enrique Garcia hit a double, but it hurt greatly when Pat Slayton gave up a 2-out RBI double to PH Christian Greenman. While Holland added a groundout to his 0-3, 3 K outing facing Brown, the pen blew the lead for good in the eighth. Slayton allowed two singles, and Thrasher gave up another one to Robert Rucker who shot a rocket right through Nomura’s pant legs to knot the score at four. The game would run long eventually. Both teams had a chance and blew it with a double play in the 10th inning, and the Raccoons had Palmer and Ayers on base when Quebell hit a ball into the gap in the bottom 11th, but it didn’t get down and ended up with Holland. Castro struck out for the umpteenth time to extend the contest even further. Ray Gilbert’s 12th home run off the season (sigh…) would win the game for the Elks in the 13th inning. Alonso Baca had singled off Huerta, and Gilbert then went deep, with the Raccoons launching a slow-motion counterattack in the bottom of the inning with a Palmer single and Keith Ayers’ RBI double. McNeela was the last bat off the bench to hit for Huerta with two down, but grounded out. 6-5 Canadiens. Pruitt 2-6; Morales 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Palmer 3-5, BB, 2 RBI; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1; Ayers (PH) 2-2, 2B, RBI; Brown 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K; Casas 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Well. Runners on second and third with one out, TWICE, and … mm… Travis Owens started a rehab assignment in AAA on Tuesday. Game 2 VAN: LF Holland – RF E. Garcia – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 3B Suzuki – SS Lawrence – 2B Dobson – CF Hudson – P Fujita POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Morales – 2B Nomura – RF L. Taylor – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger Umberger allowed hits to the first three batters in the game, but the Elks only got one run out of it with Holland getting caught stealing in between. The Raccoons loaded the sacks in the bottom 1st without ever getting a hit, with Merritt reaching on a Dobson error, Quebell getting plunked, and Morales working a walk. And nobody scored! Nomura flew out to shallow left, and Taylor grounded out to first, and not in a dangerous, or exciting way. In the second, Palmer drew a leadoff walk from Fujita, and then Bowen flew out to center on a 3-0 pitch and Umberger bunted into a double play. Yeah, that kinda game. The Coons were in full surrender mode, with the Elks swatting hits galore off Umberger. A 71-minute rain delay after three innings was also driving up the annoyance factor in the game, and Umberger was handled for five runs on nine hits in six innings by the Elks, including a 2-run homer by Dobson in the sixth. All the Raccoons had on display was Ross Holland falling on his face after missing a Merritt fly by mere inches and stumbling while getting up. By the time the Elks were ready to try to make a play, Jon Merritt had already rounded the bases with an inside-the-park homer, with nobody on of course, and the score was then (in the fifth) back to 3-1, but the mood in the park was gloomy anyway. By the seventh, Josh Gibson got the ball and was told that there was no option not to pitch three innings. He didn’t, bemoaning an injury after giving up a run in the eighth. The Coons’ 3-4-5 batters had loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom 7th, only for Logan Taylor to make a casual out to center. Bowen and Ayers hit back-to-back homers in the bottom 8th, but nothing was going to keep this team from losing. 6-3 Canadiens. Merritt 2-5, HR, RBI; Morales 3-4; Ayers 1-1, HR, RBI; Jose Morales had a 12-game hitting streak, while Josh Gibson had “elbow soreness” and was “DTD” for three days after this game. Don’t give me that **ing look or I will hack your ing arm clean off!! (grabs an axe and chases after a squeaking Gibson) The nerves are somewhat strained right now! Game 3 VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 3B Suzuki – 2B Dobson – C Rucker – LF D. Moore – SS Rice – P R. Taylor POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – CF Morales – RF Ayers – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Baldwin Rod Taylor led the Continental League in all triple crown categories, but the Coons did get a run scraped out in the bottom of the first inning. Merritt singled, Pruitt doubled, and then a Morales sac fly was as good as it got, but at least the team took an actual lead that lasted … about four minutes. Jerry Dobson led off the top 2nd with a double, Baldwin threw a wild one, then conceded the run on a grounder by Robert Rucker. The Elks weren’t stopping there, putting Dale Moore and Gary Rice on base to be doubled in by the atrociously annoying Ross Holland. The Elks got another run off Baldwin in the third, but he settled in after that (turns out not putting the first two men on in every inning helps a great deal when you want to advance to somewhere pleasant), and would end up pitching eight innings without any more damage. In the meantime, the Raccoons had amounted to three hits off Taylor and a 2-run homer by Quebell and still trailed 4-3. The Elks didn’t have their closer available, as Pedro Alvarado had saved a lot of games in recent days (…), so Bill King got the assignment to protect Taylor’s 4-3 lead in the ninth. Well, that didn’t work: Keith Ayers led off the inning with a jack on the very first pitch, and we were tied. Yoshi Nomura drove a ball to the warning track as well, but that one was sucked up by Enrique Garcia, and the Raccoons wouldn’t prevent this game from heading into extras, where Huerta allowed another home run to Gilbert right away in the 10th. Huerta put another Elk on base before yielding for Tommy Ward, who got a double play to get out of the mess. Bill King got another chance in the bottom 10th, starting with Castro batting for the pitcher in the #9 slot. Castro was out trying to bunt his way on (because had he any other options I was not aware of?), and the Coons went down in a hurry. 5-4 Canadiens. Merritt 3-5; Aw, ing hell. My Thursday started with what I first thought was some hair stuck to my soap, but once I was actually in the shower it turned out to be an actual Raccoon, and Matt Pruitt then made a slight mess of my bathroom trying to escape the floods. Until I was done wiping up the mess on the floor, he had pillaged my fridge and escaped through a window. As we are on the topic of sweeping (the floor) … Game 4 VAN: LF Holland – 2B Dobson – 1B Gilbert – C Baca – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – RF Greenman – CF Hudson – P Fulgieri POR: 1B Quebell – 3B Merritt – LF Pruitt – CF Morales – RF Ayers – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – SS Howell – P McDonald Fans came, watched for ten minutes, then left. It took as long for Gil McDonald to face seven batters and allow six runs. Holland made an out, but then Dobson doubled and scored on Ray Gilbert’s single. Baca singled, Suzuki walked, and Gary Rice hit a soft line too far over Nomura for an RBI single. And then Christian “Galactic head” Greenman and cranked a grand slam to left center that made the remaining 8 5/6 innings somewhat of an unnecessary act. And that was not the only grand slam in the inning. Oh, no. Oh… no. McDonald struck out Hudson before the nominal pushover D.J. Fulgieri hit a single before even having to pitch. Holland singled as well, and Dobson’s grounder was buried by Rob Howell for an error to load the bases. And who’s that? Ah, it’s Ray Gilbert. His slam landed two rows further up in the seats, and McDonald landed in the dumpster outside. Funny thing, the Raccoons had an offensive breakout of their own in the bottom 2nd that was entirely not their own making. They scored FIVE runs on ONE hit, and that ONE hit was a bases-clearing double by … Pat Slayton. As if the world could have become any more surreal, Fulgieri walked four of the first five batters in the inning, then faced Slayton, who emptied one into the rightfield corner. He would then score on Quebell’s sac fly after moving to third on Greenman’s throw home. Unfortunately his pitching wasn’t nearly as clutch and he was soon slapped for two add-on runs by the Elks. Meanwhile D.J. Fulgieri tried to set the record for walks in a game, having another meltdown inning in the bottom 6th, which he didn’t survive. Bowen hit a double to get started, but he then walked Howell and Taylor (hitting for Slayton). Quebell hit a sac fly, 12-6, before Pruitt drew a bases-loaded walk. That was the end for Fulgieri after seven runs on five hits and nine walks, but Jesus Quinones waved in two more runs against Morales and Ayers before getting Nomura to fly out to left center. And – LO AND BEHOLD – after suffering a TEN-RUN DECIMATION in the first inning … the Raccoons had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Howell had doubled, Taylor had singled, they were on the corners for Quebell with one out, and Quinones couldn’t find the zone at all, walking him on four pitches to load the bases. But – as usual – they didn’t get that big hit they needed so badly. Merritt grounded out, 12-10, and Pruitt rolled one over to Dobson for a casual third out. Beltran somehow got through the top of the order in the top 8th with an unintentional walk to Holland necessitating an intentional walk to Gilbert, but the Elks remained up by two. Bottom 8th, Morales singled off Jason Long, and so did Palmer batting for Beltran. After a grounder to first by Nomura and a walk drawn by Bowen the bases were full again. Come on Rob Howell! You never had a bigger at-bat in your miserable little life! Get those runs over and in! Howell popped out on the first pitch. Logan Taylor went down glaring. Pedro Alvarado struck out the side. Everything was terminal. 13-10 Canadiens. Morales 3-4, 2 RBI; Palmer (PH) 1-1; Slayton 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K and 1-2, 2B, 3 RBI; 12 walks drawn in addition to nine hits. They were so close. They were so close. They were so close. They were… (opens another bottle) Raccoons (45-42) vs. Crusaders (54-33) – July 8-10, 2011 First in runs scored, third in runs allowed. Best batting average at this point at .279 after smashing through the Loggers midweek, not only sweeping them over four games, but ROUTING them, at least eight runs in every game and 28 runs in total. The Loggers were never close. The Raccoons, who had so far won five of nine from the Crusaders, won’t be either. Projected matchups: Bill Conway (8-5, 3.05 ERA) vs. A.J. Bartels (8-5, 3.09 ERA) Nick Brown (7-3, 3.14 ERA) vs. Kelvin Yates (8-6, 3.10 ERA) Jong-hoo Umberger (8-5, 2.90 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (9-4, 3.07 ERA) That is three right-handed starters. Bartels, who will make his second start as a Crusader after coming over in a trade with the Loggers, goes on short rest in the opener as Kel Yates is suspended for that game and can’t pitch earlier than Saturday. The Crusaders also lost B.J. Manfull to injury while in Milwaukee, breaking at least one tooth out of their fangs. Is there in the multiverse just a single reality in which this series doesn’t drop the Coons to .500 for the year? They are out of it all already, obviously, but … c’mon, boys, show some pride …!! Game 1 NYC: CF R. Pena – 1B B. Speed – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 2B Caraballo – 3B Bond – C D. Anderson – SS J. Ortega – P Bartels POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – LF Pruitt – RF Morales – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Conway Both teams got a triple from their leftfielder in the first inning. While the Crusaders’ Martin Ortíz hit his with two outs and was stranded when Stanton Martin flew out to Morales in right, Pruitt’s had a profound effect on the score, plating both Quebell and Castro. Pruitt would come in on Morales’ single to center, and Yoshi also singled, but Palmer and Bowen (DP) made three quick outs. Stanton Martin batting with a man in scoring position and two outs was not an unfrequent occurrence in this game. Martin’s first three plate appearances came in that spot, and Conway sat him down every time, with a strikeout in the fifth inning. Then the score hadn’t moved since Morales’ single (that had extended his hitting streak to 15 games) but that changed in the bottom of the fifth, when Castro hit a solo home run off Bartels, who faced only one more batter – walking Matt Pruitt – before departing. Dave Shannon came in, but got torn to shreds quickly. Morales singled to right, Nomura singled to left, scoring Pruitt, 5-0, and then Michael Palmer cranked one to about the same spot where the Elks had dumped their pair of slams the previous day. This 3-run homer set the Raccoons 8-0 ahead and was to end their losing streak … most likely. Yet that wasn’t all. Ray Conner pitched for the Crusaders in the sixth and didn’t get anybody out, and the Raccoons added three more runs. Conway didn’t even finish seven innings, running a lot of long counts in the middle innings, and was pulled early despite an 11-run lead in the seventh inning, leaving two on and two out for Ron Thrasher to dissect. Thrasher struck out Martin Ortíz and that was that, the Crusaders’ last threat in the game turned away. 11-0 Coons. Castro 3-4, BB, HR, RBI; Pruitt 3-3, BB, 3B, 3 RBI; Morales 3-5, 2 RBI; Nomura 2-5, RBI; Conway 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (9-5) and 2-3, RBI; Gibson 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; Good that Morales is hitting (singles) well right now, that builds value… (gloomy look) Game 2 NYC: CF R. Pena – 1B B. Speed – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 2B Caraballo – C G. Ortíz – SS J. Ortega – 3B Bond – P Yates POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Taylor – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C McNeela – P Brown Brownie had 0-2 counts going against the first two batters, couldn’t whiff either, but they grounded out. Yet he walked Ortíz on four straight and then had Stanton Martin hit a double off the wall in left. But Ortíz was not seeing the very favorable (almost charitable) bounce that Pruitt got off the wall and was tagged out at home after a terrific throw back in by Pruitt. The Crusaders made another out on the bases in the second, when Francisco Caraballo was thrown out stealing by McNeela after reaching with a leadoff single. The Coons had the sacks full in the bottom 2nd, but that came with Brown batting and two outs. He hit the ball well to center, but right to Roberto Pena. The next frame saw singles by Castro and Merritt off Yates, and they went to the corners with nobody down. Kel struck out Quebell and Pruitt, and Taylor flew out to center. Without any offensive help, Brown was left to his own devices to at least not take first loss since May 22 (!). He didn’t get a single strikeout the first time through the order, but then had some relaxed second time through, whiffing five, including three in a row, and although those were Jorge Ortega, Kevin Bond, and Kel Yates, it was still the first time in a good while he had struck out three without bending over in between. The bending over part came soon enough, in the sixth. The bane of the game, the leadoff walk (to Baden Speed) opened a can of worms, and they were entirely unpalatable. A wild pitch moved up the runner, as did Ortíz’ groundout. Stanton Martin grounded to Nomura, which was going to bring the run in anyway, but Nomura also bombled the play and Martin was safe as well. The Crusaders would bring two runners into scoring position before the inning ended on a leaping grab by Jon Merritt on Ortega. The horrendous Raccoons stranded Pruitt on third in the bottom 6th, and Daryl Anderson homered off Brown in the seventh. Brown didn’t finish the inning after walking Speed (again…) and allowing a single to Martin Ortíz. Slayton appeared and to anybody’s surprise struck out Stanton Martin to end the frame. But the Raccoons remained stuck 2-0 behind, on three hits through eight innings. When Logan Taylor led off the bottom 9th with a single off Scott Hood, things were entirely desperate, and 15-game hitting streak be damned, Jose Morales was going to hit for Tommy Ward in the #6 hole. Morales grounded to second, where Caraballo went to get the lead runner. Morales remained at first base. Palmer then grounded to Caraballo, who stoically got the lead runner again, and Palmer was left at first base. That was not quite progress. Keith Ayers batted for the completely overwhelmed McNeela and fell down to the team’s final strike before hitting a fly to deep right center. That one had something to it, and IT – WAS – GONE!! TIED BALLGAME!!!! After Angel Casas struck out three of four batters in the top 10th, Tomas Castro led off the bottom of the inning with a blooper to right that became a single. It was tempting to run him, but the Crusaders had a laser arm behind the plate. However, due to some shifting, Craig Bowen was now batting in the #3 slot, so having Merritt bunt was in no way going to make ends meet at a pleasing percentage chance. The hit-and-run was on, Merritt bounced to third, and Castro reached second base anyway. Francois Picard turned away the Coons’ Bowen (K…) and Pruitt (F8) to advance the inning. The Raccoons still faced him in the 11th, when the southpaw walked Morales. Palmer singled past Kevin Bond, and Ayers’ groundout moved the runners into scoring position. Rob Howell batted with two outs and flew out to center as well. The Crusaders about blew Luis Beltran to Kingdom Come in the 12th, with Martin Ortíz homering and Stanton Martin hitting a triple that didn’t lead to another run. Picard was still going in the bottom 12th, and Castro hit another leadoff single. This time, Merritt bunted to move the tying run over, and Bowen’s sorry grounder moved Castro to third. Matt Pruitt had to get it done, but at 3-2 bounced the ball right back to the mound, but Picard didn’t manage to contain the ball at the first swipe! Instead, he took away the ball’s velocity and NOBODY had a play, and Pruitt was safe, and the game was tied again! Not that that helped any. Gutierrez made the third out of the inning, and when the top 13th came around, Beltran put on Picard(!) with a leadoff single. The Crusaders cunningly moved him around to score, and the Raccoons faced elimination yet again. Picard faced Morales to start the bottom 13th with no other lefty available to the Crusaders, but allowed a single. Manny Guzman took over, but the Coons had to plate the run in the next two batters: nobody was left to bat for Beltran in the #9 hole! And Palmer singled! And Ayers singled! Three on, nobody out, and we have a relief pitcher at the plate – you gotta be kiddin’ me!! Beltran got a 2-1 pitch pretty much in the middle of the plate, hit it high to center – no threat for a walkoff, as centerfielder Ken Wood barely moved, but it was deep enough for Morales to score the tying run. That was all they got. Castro flew out to center, and Merritt lined a 3-2 pitch to left, right into Ortíz’ glove… Top 14th, new pitcher in Ricardo Huerta, and the Crusaders took a lead AGAIN. He retired neither of the Martin brothers, and they scored the go-ahead run on Jeffrey Reed`s grounder to first. The Coons got singles off Guzman by Bowen and Pruitt, but then Gutierrez laid down a bunt that got Bowen killed off at third base. Morales walked to fill them up, but Palmer popped out. Ayers batted with two outs and hit the first pitch to right and past Reed into the outfield. Pruitt scored – tied game for the fourth time – Gutierrez was sent against Martin’s murder arm, and he was out at home. Gutierrez, not Ayers. And the band played on. For the first time in a maddening hour, the Crusaders did not score against Huerta in the 15th, but Huerta led off the bottom of the inning holding a stick and glaring out to Guzman with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. He closed his eyes and poked the first pitch over to short, and the Coons went down 1-2-3. Huerta drilled Speed in the 16th, but the Martins for once didn’t inflict major hurt. Huerta gave his all through four innings, and the Coons had a neat chance to walk off in the bottom 17th with Morales leading off against Guzmán, who had thrown 55 pitches so far and didn’t necessarily look like he was longing for more. But Morales grounded out. The Crusaders finally sent a new pitcher in Ray Conner to face Palmer, and he threw only four pitches in the inning, then it was game over. Palmer romped a 2-1 pitch to deep left, it was soaring and it was certainly not coming down. BALLGAME. 6-5 Raccoons. Castro 3-8; Palmer 4-8, HR, RBI; Ayers (PH) 3-4, HR, 3 RBI; Ward 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Casas 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K; Huerta 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (3-5); This completely bonkers game ended roughly 15 minutes after midnight. I will admit I snoozed for a while around the 11th inning. Morales extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a hit in the third attempt. He had originally sat because he felt sore, and that didn’t get better by Sunday. So, Jose Morales was not in the starting lineup for the second straight day. Ayers, who had allowed the game to run long in the first place, got the assignment. We also made a roster change and recalled Travis Owens from his rehab assignment. Tom McNeela went to AAA. Game 3 NYC: CF R. Pena – 3B Bond – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 2B Caraballo – C G. Ortíz – 1B J. Gutierrez – SS J. Ortega – P Trevino POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Ayers – 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger We didn’t have too much of the pen available for this last game before the break, but if push came to shove and Umberger would be knocked out early we could use Colin Baldwin for two innings or so and perhaps still start him to open the back half of the season. Umberger walked Roberto Pena, threw a wild pitch, then served a bean that Martin Ortíz hit for 500 miles. MILES, not feet. The Coons made that deficit up in the bottom 2nd with a 2-out, 2-run single by Merritt (after Ayers had been denied a double in the gap batting with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom 1st), but against Umberger every ball jumped off the bat and seemingly couldn’t wait smashing through a random Raccoon’s skull on the way to caroming off the wall for a triple. And then he walked Trevino to start the third inning, which was the deadliest sin anyway. Not enough with that, Pena singled hard to center, and he walked Kevin Bond to stack the bags with nobody out. Ortíz flew to right for a sac fly, and then came Martin, who had a horrible series when it came to hitting in RISP situations, and he bounced to Palmer for a double play. And indeed Umberger was yanked with nobody out in the fourth inning after a Caraballo homer and two singles to Gabriel Ortíz and Gutierrez. And the worst part: Baldwin didn’t get out of the inning, either. He struck out Ortega, and from there things went fatally and infinitely south. Trevino’s bunt was thrown away by Quebell for a 2-base error, putting the Crusaders on top 5-2, and from there Baldwin would issue four walks around a single to Martin Ortíz as the Crusaders blew open the score to 9-2. Baldwin left in shame, and Slayton got the final out on a pop by Juan Gutierrez, but this one was out of control now. The Crusaders reached double digits when Nomura made a colossal throwing error of his own in the fifth, putting Ortega on second with nobody out. He scored, after stealing third, on Pena’s groundout. And as we already were in the thick of a completely nuts week, even though he led 10-2 after the top 5th and the Coons were completely inept in RISP situations, Pancho Trevino managed to not go five innings. He walked two in addition to a Palmer single in the bottom of the fifth to load the bases with one out, then drilled Castro, 10-3. Merritt grounded to the mound, Trevino threw it wildly past Jose Gutierrez, 10-5. Quebell singled to right, 10-7. At that point, it was Good Night for Trevino, and Jose Ramos took over. He shaved the Coons for four quick outs before being hit for by Ramiro Cavazos in the top 7th. Cavazos would single against Slayton to add a second runner on the bases and knock Slayton from the game. Ron Thrasher came in, struck out Pena, and then got waffled for three runs by Bond’s double and Ortíz’ single. The Coons wouldn’t find a sneaky way to make up another six runs over the remaining three innings. In fact, they only had one more base runner. 13-7 Crusaders. Castro 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; The margin of victory, six runs, were unearned. In total, two of six runs on Umberger were unearned, all three runs on Baldwin, and one of three runs on Slayton. In other news July 4 – SFW INF Juan Pena (.309, 2 HR, 16 RBI) is out for the season with a torn ACL. July 4 – NYC 1B B.J. Manfull (.32, 17 HR, 59 RBI) might be out for the rest of the month with a thumb sprain. July 6 – The Thunder acquire LF/RF Manny Cruz (.299, 6 HR, 21 RBI) and a third-rate prospect from the Condors in exchange for 1B Tomas Cardenas (.295, 5 HR, 29 RBI). July 6 – The Condors also send 3B Isiah Reed (.178, 1 HR, 9 RBI) to the Cyclones, along with rookie MR Brett Lillis (0-0, 4.00 ERA) to acquire OF Shawn Blackburn (.269, 0 HR, 3 RBI in 52 AB). July 7 – Indy’s Bob King (10-5, 3.14 ERA) 3-hits the Titans in a 5-0 shutout. July 7 – The Blue Sox pack up INF Jose Correa (.237, 0 HR, 24 RBI) and unranked catching prospect Casimiro Schoeppen and send them to the Capitals for SP Ralph Ford (11-2, 3.74 ERA). July 8 – The Pacifics will be without RF/LF Josh Thomas (.271, 16 HR, 63 RBI) for the rest of the month. The 37-year old has suffered strained hamstring. Complaints and stuff** Like Glenn Johnson and Ed Parrell in ’89, the game on Thursday will remain with me forever. Some scars are permanent. Chopped off arms won’t grow back, and there are some sights you can’t unsee. Thursday was one of those. I don’t want to hear ANYTHING about the pitching. ANYTHING. Or FROM the pitching. Even less FROM the pitching. (pats axe and looks for random pitcher on the roster) That aside, Nick Brown’s scouting report hasn’t changed. I suspect Calderón is either sleeping or whoring his way through Portland whenever he pitches. When Craig Bowen homered on Tuesday, that gave the team lead in home runs to a player scarcely amounting to replacement level, which … is MIND-BOGGLING in itself. After signing SP Ricky Martinez for $260k last week, already using up most of the international signing allotment, the Raccoons continued to sign Dominican C Carlos Rosario on Monday for $7k. Well, okay, that’s not the biggest news, but the biggest remaining talent was weighing its options. Unfortunately, we ultimately ran out of money, not because the league wouldn’t allow us to throw millions at the offspring of banana pickers in the Caribbean, but because … budget. The 100% luxury tax on signings over $300k prohibited us from making another offer to outfielder Dave Garcia, who signed with the Bayhawks after turning down our $415k offer (with a $382k tax attachment). Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

04-24-2016, 06:33 PM	#1825
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	In terms of nuts box scores... Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

04-25-2016, 04:04 PM	#1826
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	All Star Game Three Raccoons got the nod for the All Star Game this year, and it wasn’t quite whom you might think. Well, Jose Morales was one of them, the only question being how much longer he would be a Raccoon and whether he would return to Portland at all after the showcase. Then there was Angel Casas, who had recently melted d down quite a bit, but still got the nod, and then there was one coming out of the blue (or darkness?) with Yoshi Nomura earning his first All Star nomination. On Tuesday, the ballpark in Nashville saw the Continental League rout the Federal League, 9-3, with Charlotte’s Jesus Amador going 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBI to win the MVP honors. CIN Luis Guerrero was routed for five runs in the fourth inning and took the loss, while VAN Rod Taylor picked up the win. Jose Morales started the game in center and went the distance, collecting an RBI triple off Tommy Wooldridge in the seventh. Yoshi Nomura came on as reserve, replacing NYC Francisco Caraballo, and hit a 2-run double. Angel Casas pitched a scoreless eighth, retiring LAP Jens Carroll (K), RIC Earl Clark (F6), and LAP Jimmy Roberts (5-3). * Raccoons (48-42) @ Canadiens (49-39) – July 14-17, 2011 Emotional Deconstruction, part deux; or: How we learned to cherish precious draft picks Projected matchups: Nick Brown (7-3, 3.03 ERA) vs. Tommy Wilson (9-2, 3.33 ERA) Jong-hoo Umberger (6-6, 3.47 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (6-9, 3.63 ERA) Colin Baldwin (8-5, 2.89 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (12-3, 2.31 ERA) Bill Conway (9-5, 2.87 ERA) vs. Scott Spears (7-6, 4.67 ERA) The back end of their rotation for this series is questionable. Wilson and Fujita would go on regular rest this way, but Rod Taylor pitched in the All Star game, although he threw only 15 pitches. They are all right-handers anyway, and the Raccoons will lose another four anyway… Game 1 POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – RF Morales – LF Pruitt – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Brown VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – LF Greenman – C Rucker – P T. Wilson After a scoreless first, the Raccoons appeared pretty much in it with Morales drawing a leadoff walk in the top 2nd. Pruitt reached on a clumsy error by Ray Gilbert, and as soon as they appeared to be in it, they appeared to be out of it, with Merritt hitting a ball hard to the third baseman Mitsuhide Suzuki, who tapped third and then threw out Merritt at first. Pruitt remained at second base, but as soon as they seemed to be OUT of it, Palmer and Bowen hit back-to-back singles to get at least one run in. And there was still Nick Brown at the plate, lined a pitch over the second baseman Takahashi Higashi, and it was into rightfield for an RBI single. Castro was nicked to load the bases, and Yoshi hit an RBI single to left. And Tommy Wilson wasn’t going to get out of this one alive, which was for a good part his own fault. He threw Quebell a really fat pitch, and Quebell gave it a really fat ride. GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!! All seven runs were unearned, and with a 7-0 lead Nick Brown would have very few excuses if he didn’t win this one. There were innings where he didn’t get more than one strike past a batter. Like the fourth, in which he walked a pair, and although Higashi hit into a double play, Suzuki still plated the Elks’ first run with a single. As the innings progressed, the Raccoons were entirely shut down by long man Beau Barnaby. From the third through the sixth, they didn’t have a single hit. Meanwhile, Brown pitched to ONE batter in a favorable count (1-2) in the middle innings, and that batter, Higashi, hit an RBI double. But the big lead worked in Brownie’s favor, and the fact that the Elks got plenty of good 0-0 pitches to put into play, helped him to go seven and a third innings of 2-run ball. He left with nobody on after having thrown 108 pitches, and with four right-handers up next. Slayton ended the inning after at first allowing a single to John Hudson. The top 9th saw the Coons, still hitless since the second inning, put three men on via walks issued by Jesus Quinones. With one down already, Ayers hit for Slayton and struck out, and Castro grounded out to short. Of course, things then got a bit too close for comfort in the bottom of the inning. Josh Gibson got only one out before allowing singles to Gary Rice and Christian Greenman. Ron Thrasher bailed him out, though. 7-2 Brownies. Quebell 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Brown 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (8-3) and 1-3, RBI; Jose Morales was held dry and had his hitting streak come to an end at 16 games. Game 2 POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – RF Morales – LF Pruitt – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Umberger VAN: LF Holland – 3B Suzuki – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – C Baca – RF E. Garcia – SS Rice – CF Hudson – P Fujita The Raccoons got a run in the first, when Morales singled in Castro, and another one in the second, Merritt coming home. Unfortunately, if that was even possible, Umberger had even LESS stuff than Brown the previous day. The Canadiens hit him more or less at will, and those hits weren’t soft at all. By the end of the third inning they had tied the game with five hard hits for two runs. Umberger pitched six innings without ANY strikeouts, but somehow managed to maintain the 2-2 tie through six. The Raccoons got a leadoff single off Fujita in the seventh when Jon Merritt hit a ball into centerfield. Bowen walked, and Umberger was hit for with Logan Taylor, who struck out. Castro grounded the ball up the middle, Higashi had it, threw wildly to first, and the ball actually glanced off Castro as he zipped past. Gilbert had to hustle after the ball, Merritt scored, and the Raccoons had runners in scoring position for Yoshi, who flew out harmlessly to center. The Coons blew their 3-2 lead immediately. Tommy Ward came on and faced Enrique Garcia, and never threw a strike. Pat Slayton replaced him when Christian Greenman hit for Gary Rice and smacked a double to the wall in centerfield. The Elks would score the tying run on John Hudson’s sac fly, and the score was tied at three. Huerta was also in trouble in the eighth. Suzuki grounded out on a 3-0 pitch before Gilbert singled in a full count, but Higashi hit a hard grounder right to Yoshi for an easy double play. To anybody’s surprise, the Coons got to Pedro Alvarado, although as usual it could have been so much more. Palmer was drilled to start the top 9th, and then Bowen hit a ball to pretty deep center, though into an out. Travis Owens hit for Huerta and singled, putting runners on the corners. Castro hit another deep drive to right, another out… Yoshi Nomura lined a ball into the gap and this one FINALLY fell in for an RBI double. Once Quebell grounded out, Angel Casas had to protect the 4-3 lead. Nothing came easy for the Coons, and this one didn’t either. Alonso Baca flew out to right, where Ayers had been put for defense, but even Ayers couldn’t catch up with Enrique Garcia’s rocket, which fell in for a double. Thankfully Jaylin Lawrence popped out to short, and John Hudson would go down looking. 4-3 Coons. Merritt 2-4, 2B; Owens (PH) 1-1; Ricardo Huerta, who got the win in this one, was unavailable on Saturday. He was sick and weak, and we figured out he didn’t drink enough on Friday, a hot day in Vancouver. Even there it can be hot sometimes. Once in a decade. Game 3 POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – 3B Merritt – RF L. Taylor – SS Howell – C Owens – P Baldwin VAN: CF Holland – RF Hudson – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – 3B Suzuki – SS Rice – LF E. Garcia – C Rucker – P Spears The Raccoons put two on in the first inning, but couldn’t get them to score, while they also had another pitcher on the mound that didn’t know how to through strikes. Good thing the Raccoons scored three runs in the third inning, with Pruitt plating one with a single, and Merritt contributing a 2-run double. It was all the better since Baldwin coughed up two runs in the fourth, walking Hudson on four pitches and then allowing an enormous bomb to Ray Gilbert. While the road team wasn’t threatening a bit in the middle innings, the Elks were just waiting for a good pitch to hit. Gary Rice got that pitch in the seventh, doubled to center, and then the disgusting Greenman showed up again and singled past Rob Howell to tie the game. The Coons had Yoshi on with a 1-out single in the top 8th, but Quebell hit into a double play… Baldwin allowed a single to Dale Moore to start the bottom of the eighth, and was removed after Holland flew out. Gibson got a flyout from John Hudson, which moved Moore to third base. Gilbert wasn’t pitched to, as we would try our luck with Higashi, and indeed Josh Gibson struck him out! Gibson even got the ninth inning delivered, with the Raccoons’ offense just – not – getting – it – done. Extra innings. Pedro Alvarado struck out the side (Palmer, Owens, Bowen) in the top of the 10th, and we had to turn to Tommy Ward for the bottom of the inning. This hadn’t worked on Friday, but today he got the 10th inning delivered. Unfortunately, the offense was still **. Well, Castro and Quebell both hit deep flies in the 11th, but neither one became even a double. Everything was horrible, and the Raccoons were sent home once Ray Gilbert showed Ward where he couldn’t throw a pitch. 4-3 Canadiens. Quebell 3-5, 2B; Gibson 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K; Game 4 POR: 2B Nomura – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – CF Morales – RF Ayers – 3B Merritt – SS Palmer – C Bowen – P Conway VAN: LF Holland – 3B Suzuki – 1B Gilbert – 2B Higashi – C Baca – SS Rice – RF D. Moore – CF Hudson – P Fulgieri Top of the first, Nomura lobbed into an out before D.J. Fulgieri (5-8, 6.47 ERA) walked Quebell and Pruitt on nothing but balls, and Morales in a full count. Keith Ayers struck out before Merritt knocked the first pitch to deep left center, and for once the Elks wouldn’t catch it on the track. This one didn’t come down on the warning track – this one was gone! GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAMMMMM!!! A Bowen double, a wild pitch, and Quebell sac fly added a fifth run in the top 2nd, and with a 5-0 lead there was a good chance that Bill “Flipping” Conway would actually be the first Raccoons hurler to ten victories this season. Unless he borked it. For starters, he drilled Higashi in the bottom of the second inning, but then rebounded nicely and picked him off first base. It didn’t get better, though. Bottom 3rd, Moore hit a leadoff double. Conway walked Fulgieri (…!), before Ross Holland’s line to left was snagged by Michael Palmer. That still left two men on with two outs, and Conway would walk Suzuki, and that … brought up Ray Gilbert. Gilbert raked hard, missed one, missed two, then grounded out to Palmer. The Coons had the bases loaded against Fulgieri once more in the top 5th, and with one out, Ayers was up again – and again failed. He popped out to Suzuki, and Merritt grounded out. At least Conway had a few easy middle innings. Watching the Coons bat was never easy, however, and after Yoshi hit a leadoff single off Quinones in the top 7th, Quebell found a way to produce another double play. One inning forward, Morales reached on an uncaught third strike. Ayers made another out, but Merritt singled. Michael Palmer grounded up the middle, Rice had it, toed the bag and zinged to first – double play. Of course it could always still get worse. Bill Conway opened the eighth inning with allowing a single to right to Dale Moore. He also limped off the mound and had to leave the game. Ricardo Huerta replaced him, got rid of John Hudson before allowing a single to Robert Rucker, another single to Ross Holland, and then Mitsuhide Suzuki hit a slam to rightfield, bringing the score to an uncomfortable 5-4. Thrasher ended the inning, and Huerta’s ERA had arrived at five by now. Top 9th, Bowen and Castro went down quickly before Yoshi singled to right. Quebell also shoved a single through between Higashi and Gilbert, and then Travis Owens batted for a blacked out Pruitt against the lefty Jason Long, and flew out to left center. Bottom 9th. The hat Greenman hit a leadoff single to center, but Dale Moore would set the Elks back with a grounder to Yoshi that was a textbook 4-6-3. John Hudson was there for Angel to have fun with, just like on Friday. Nope, he still hadn’t learned how to hit that stuff. 5-4 Blighters. Nomura 3-4, BB; Quebell 2-3, BB, RBI; Merritt 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (10-5); Bill Conway had a mild calf strain. It doesn’t look like he will miss a game. In other news** July 11 – NYC SP Kelvin Yates (8-6, 2.95 ERA) is out for the season with radial nerve compression. July 11 – The Canadiens deal 1B Jimmy Roberts (.286, 5 HR, 21 RBI) from the Thunder in exchange for grizzled veteran INF Takahashi Higashi (.256, 11 HR, 43 RBI), who was in his second stint with the Thunder. * July 12 – For reasons mysterious, the Crusaders acquire SP Jair Mauceri (5-11, 7.92 ERA) from the Warriors for two semi-decent prospects. Complaints and stuff Law Rockburn and Hector Santos started rehab assignments this week. Our major league DL is thus empty for the first time since last year. Yoshi’s 4-yr, $2.4M deal that runs through 2013 might be the most valuable contract on the roster right now… Jose Morales is going to get exchanged for prospects before the month is out. The Coons aren’t going anywhere. It wasn’t his fault, he batted for a roughly 1.000 OPS after all (even with the curious absence of home runs), but the flaws with this team were bigger than his signing could compensate for. Morales cost us a first round pick (and thus Travis Bahner), and I fully intend to recoup a pair of prospects from a contending team in exchange for him. It definitely was a gamble worth taking in April, it just happened for the rest of the team to fall apart completely. Also on the dump list: Logan Taylor and potentially Craig Bowen, although that’s not a contract any sane GM would take on. (giggles girlishly) This is not a full rebuild. This is merely a repositioning, and creating an opening for Jason Seeley, who is batting .337/.409/.598 in AAA and is forcefully demanding a permanent promotion. Pruitt and Castro will be free agents after 2012, and I don’t see us holding on to Castro, who is constantly injured and strikes out a lot for somebody supposed to lead off. Pruitt is in one of those slumps right now where you don’t know whether it is necessary to send him to the big fridge in heaven. I’m looking real hard at our outfield prospects (outside Seeley), and there’s nobody in there about whom you could say, yep, he’s gonna be something before either old age or madness consumes me. We signed 18-year old Dominican outfielder Ruben Cervantes for $16,000 this week, and we are after one more player, SP B.J. Lemus. By the way! 2011’s top picks have been around for a month now, and what are they up to!? Nothing good, to be honest. Matt Fox and Daniel Price are both batting for less than a .500 OPS in A-ball, Dylan Thorne is batting .270, almost all singles, Chris Brown is actually pretty decent in Aumsville’s rotation, pitching to a 2.48 ERA in 32 innings (but he’s 1-3 for reasons stated before), and our top pick David Tingley is trying to put up new records for walks, issuing 18 in 30 innings, and running a 6-flat ERA through five starts. All our minor league teams are running hefty losing records, by the way. Yep, there are two Jimmy Robertses around at this moment. I hate it when that happens. There were two Jose Lugo’s around in the 2000s, and they were even both outfielders (and I never was able to tell them apart…). In random OOTP fails, Nick Brown had the “hot” flame displayed before his start in Vancouver. Listen, game. Over the last nine games, he might not have lost one, but I wouldn’t call a 3.11 ERA, 33 BB, and 52 K in 54.2 innings (in NINE games!!) hot in any way, shape, or form. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here. Last edited by Westheim; 04-25-2016 at 04:05 PM.

04-23-2016, 09:05 PM	#1822
blazertaz13 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Windsor, CO Posts: 185	Just a shout out to you. With all of the frustration that the 'Coons have provided over the years, you have stuck with it. My team is struggling to start the season 4-9 and I want to just hide behind the wood shed. Thanks for continuing this.

04-25-2016, 06:54 PM	#1827
shipfb21 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 115	wow the cl north is really tough this season. the indians are so hot over the last month and half, the canadiens are strong, n of course the big money crusaders r cruising. gonna b a great few months to end the season. lets go coons

04-28-2016, 04:09 PM	#1829
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	Raccoons (54-46) vs. Bayhawks (47-50) – July 26-28, 2011 The Bayhawks occupied seventh place in the CL in both runs scored and runs allowed. They were sixth in batting average and home runs, yet still second in slugging, which was … awkward to say the least. We had taken two of three games from them so far. Projected matchups: Jong-hoo Umberger (7-6, 3.49 ERA) vs. Reynaldo Rendon (9-7, 3.82 ERA) Colin Baldwin (8-6, 2.93 ERA) vs. Milt Beauchamp (6-9, 5.31 ERA) Bill Conway (11-5, 2.64 ERA) vs. Ramón Jimenez (11-6, 3.77 ERA) And three more right-handers were coming our way here. While Luke Black was batting a pedestrian .244/.306/.413 for the Baybirds, Ron Alston, who was injured part of the year and didn’t face the Coons earlier, was batting an insane .386 with 16 dingers. Of course he did. Game 1 SFB: CF Holt – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – 1B R. Vargas – RF Black – C A. Ramirez – 2B Moultrie – 3B Brazeal – P Rendon POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – LF Seeley – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Umberger A three-year old could have made solid contact off Umberger holding the bat in one clumsy hand and some ice cream in the other. The Bayhawks got unlucky with their hard contact a lot in this one, despite Antonio Ramirez setting him up 1-0 with a solo homer in the second inning. Umberger made it through into the eighth inning despite pitching like crap, and left with one out, one on, down by a run (2-1) and with Ron Alston coming up. Ron Thrasher immediately made a mess, and the Baybirds went on to plate two more runs. The Raccoons in this game didn’t take place at all, as simple as that. 4-1 Bayhawks. Huerta 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Yoshi hit a home run, Seeley hit a double, Ayers hit a single – and that was ALL. Game 2 SFB: 1B R. Vargas – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – RF Black – CF B. Miller – C A. Ramirez – 2B Moultrie – 3B Brazeal – P Hinkley POR: 2B Nomura – CF Seeley – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Baldwin William Hinkley (0-2, 4.29 ERA) got this start, and the first time through the Coons’ order looked a whole lot like a sure winner, especially with Luke Black, Antonio Ramirez, and Todd Moultrie all ripping doubles off Colin Baldwin for two runs in the second inning. The Raccoons did some two-out stirring in the bottom 4th, and Bowen singled in a run, but they were still 2-1 behind. Baldwin issued a leadoff walk to ex-Coon Kunimatsu Sato in the sixth inning, then was romped by ex-Coon “Monti” Alston for his 17th dinger of the year, and that opened the gap to 4-1. Baldwin somehow lived through seven innings, and was hit for with Castro in the bottom 7th. There was already Craig Bowen on first base, and Castro drew a 1-out walk. Yoshi Nomura singled to right, and Black bungled the ball into an extra base, which gave the Coons the tying run in scoring position with one out, and their only hope was Jason Seeley, with Matt Pruitt sitting in a hole deeper than the Grand Canyon. And with that said, of course Seeley struck out, and Pruitt doubled past the old Luke Black to tie the score at four. Quebell struck out, and in the bottom 8th, Bowen, who had so far not been retired, grounded out to strand Palmer on second base as well. Top 9th, Tommy Ward faced one batter, Sadaharu Ishikawa, and walked him. Huerta struck out Ramirez, but a pinch-hit single by Samy Michel (‘nother ex-Coon…) eluded Palmer to really put the pressure on. The Bayhawks – in a nebulous state of mind – hit with Jasper Holt in the #8 slot, and he struck out, but then had nobody to hit for reliever Javier Montes-Ortíz anymore. But they didn’t NEED one to hit for him. Huerta allowed an RBI single on the first pitch quite readily… Bottom 9th, Ishikawa made a throwing error to put Tomas Castro, leading off in the #9 hole, on second base. After Valentim Innocentes drilled Yoshi, Huerta came up in Seeley’s vacated slot and was asked for a little bunt, and successfully moved the runners into scoring position. Pruitt came up with one out, we needed one to tie, and two to win, and he grounded out to the pitcher to score nobody. Quebell and Ayers would both run full counts. Quebell walked, and Ayers swung at ball four. 5-4 Bayhawks. Palmer 2-4; Bowen 3-4, RBI; Matt Pruitt has seven hits for his last 50 at-bats, going back to the crazy 17-inning game with the Crusaders before the All Star break. Keith Ayers is even worse. Since getting three hits in the same game, he has gone 1-for-…… (shakes head and sobs) … 1-for-28. (shakes head) Game 3 SFB: CF Holt – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – 1B R. Vargas – C A. Ramirez – 2B Moultrie – RF B. Miller – 3B Brazeal – P Beauchamp POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – SS Roudabush – P Conway For the first five innings, no team managed to score a run, and you could well expect that when Seeley threw out Micah Brazeal at home to end the third inning, that no Raccoon would do anything better than that in the game. Certainly, in those five innings, they bowed out efficiently with regards to their pair of runners-on-the-corners chances, and “bow” was not picked randomly. Bowen was the only guy batting in such a situation with less than two outs, and popped up and out. The Birds had nobody on with two outs in the sixth, but then Vargas singled and Ramirez tripled when Castro took the strangest route to his line drive, giving them a 1-0 lead. Bill Miller hit a leadoff triple to start the seventh inning and Conway walked Brazeal after that. Milt Beauchamp got the sign to hack away, yet popped out behind home plate, and Ron Thrasher then struck out both PH Adam Young and Kuni Sato. And inning for inning, the Raccoons did NOTHING to help their litter mate, who was struggling to get off the butcher’s hook, but couldn’t free himself anymore… Bottom 9th, down 1-0 still. Matt Pruitt led off with a single to right off Javier Montes-Ortíz, who then lost Bowen in a full count, putting the winning runs on base. Gutierrez bunted them into scoring position. Palmer hit for Roudabush and grounded out, not getting anybody home. Angel Casas was also replaced by a pinch-hitter after having needed work in the top 9th, and as we were a bit thin on options thanks to Jon Merritt still being suspended for an entire week, Brett Gentry hit for him. Gentry was still looking for his first major league hit, and here hit the ball about 15 feet away from home plate. Ramirez leisurely got him with a casual lob to first base. 1-0 Bayhawks. Nomura 2-4; Pruitt 2-4; Sometimes I really wonder… do they even KNOW the trade deadline is coming up? Raccoons (54-49) vs. Falcons (39-62) – July 29-31, 2011 The Falcons were really crap. You don’t beat them, you won’t beat nobody anymore, and you will finish the year with 108 losses. They were on a 4-game losing streak, they were scoring the second-least runs in the league, and their pitching was not really any better, conceding the third-most counters. Both their rotation and their pen had ERA’s soundly over four. Yet, the Raccoons were 3-3 against them. Projected matchups: Gil McDonald (5-8, 3.48 ERA) vs. Adrian Valencia (4-3, 3.43 ERA) Nick Brown (9-4, 3.09 ERA) vs. Steve Kreider (1-1, 2.77 ERA) Jong-hoo Umberger (7-7, 3.50 ERA) vs. Manuel Ortíz (6-14, 4.89 ERA) Most of the Falcons’ rotation was on the DL by now, although Manuel Hernandez (6-6, 3.79 ERA) was technically eligible to come off the DL and rejoin the rotation by Sunday. If Hernandez didn’t make it by then, Valencia, a 25-year old rookie swingman, was the only left-hander on the table for us this week. Game 1 CHA: CF A. Solís – SS J. Amador – C F. Chavez – 1B Valenzuela – LF J. Flores – RF D. Richardson – 3B Ladd – 2B D. Silva – P Valencia POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – CF Seeley – 1B Pruitt – RF Ayers – LF Gentry – C Owens – 3B Roudabush – P McDonald Gentry got the “has major league hit” box ticked with a second inning single that put two on with one out for Travis Owens, the perfect opportunity for a double play, so that was that. The Falcons had nothing off McDonald through three innings, except for a soft single hit by Jesus Flores, and McDonald then hit a double off the wall with one out in the bottom 3rd. With a Yoshi single and Palmer walking the bases were loaded for Seeley, who hit into a force at home, and Pruitt popped out. … which was the exactly right time to just stop giving **s and binging beer. I had Slappy bring me a bucket and sat back and stopped minding. When 40-year old Daniel Richardson hit a leadoff triple in the top 5th, I didn’t mind. When Wes Ladd singled him in, I didn’t mind. When Nomura was drilled in the elbow and danced around home plate a couple of times, howling in pain, I didn’t mind. When Seeley had two on and two outs and flew out easily to center, I didn’t mind. When the *ing ass hat Richardson hit a 3-run homer in the sixth, I minded a little bit, but … ah, with more beer it will get better. And getting better it did! I only witnessed it in a reduced, dazed state, but Brett Gentry and Travis Owens hit back-to-back dingers in the bottom 6th to get back to 4-2, and the seventh started with a pinch-hit single by Castro, who stole second base right away. Yoshi doubled to score him before Palmer and Seeley made two quick outs, but a Pruitt single to center tied the game, 4-4. Quebell hit for Ayers against right-hander Jerry Scott and singled, and then Gentry was up again and fired a ball through Gold Glove third baseman Wes Ladd into the leftfield corner to give McDonald a posthumous 5-4 lead. Owens struck out to leave two in scoring position. Thrasher did a competent eighth, but somehow Angel Casas didn’t have it. Luis Reya flew out to Pruitt (now in left) on a 2-0 pitch, and then he walked Rickey Jackson, and allowed a liner to right on a 2-0 pitch to Nelson Chavez. Yet – Adrian Quebell, that agile cat, had remained in the game at first base, snagged the liner, and managed to swipe first base before the already-started Jackson could return to the bag. 5-4 Coons. Nomura 3-4, 2B, RBI; Pruitt 2-4, RBI; Quebell (PH) 1-1; Gentry 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Castro (PH) 1-2; Ssassss awwwinnn…! (slumps over on the couch and slumbers away) Game 2 CHA: C L. Ramirez – LF A. Solís – 1B Valenzuela – 3B Ladd – SS J. Amador – CF Reya – RF J. Flores – 2B R. Jackson – P Kreider POR: 2B Nomura – CF Castro – RF Seeley – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Palmer – 3B M. Gutierrez – C Bowen – P Brown Brownie Day – Headache Day. Not only for him pitching, but with* him pitching I wasn’t the only one who looked shot among brown-clad personnel in official capacities. He was crap, his pitch count literally exploded from the point they opened the gates on forward, and the whole thing was just a blowout waiting to happen. It didn’t happen, but for strange reasons. Bowen ended the first inning with a caught-stealing, and the Falcons would have a total of five men on between the second and fourth innings, and it was always Rickey Jackson coming to bat with two outs and he was literally the only guy Brown could fool. Jackson struck out both times. And we haven’t even gotten to how awful the Coons were against the 23-year old rookie Steve Kreider at the beginning of this game. Kreider made his fourth career start, and the third this season, and came in with almost eight walks per nine innings, yet was bewitching the Coons for four innings of 2-hit shutout ball. He melted in the fifth, though. Palmer led off with a freak single that fell a foot in front of Jesus Flores’ outstretched glove, but Kreider then walked Gutierrez without coming very close to the zone. Bowen got a good pitch to hit, which he smacked to the outfield for an RBI single, the first run of the game. The Raccoons got their ** together right here, and batted through the order against the poor kid Kreider. Brown got to swing at will, but struck out, but an RBI single by Nomura and a 2-run single by Seeley gave the team a 4-0 lead. Quebell singled, Pruitt walked, but then the inning found a merciful end when Palmer struck out. Brown had tossed 85 pitches through five, not a good number at all (especially with three walks and four strikeouts rather than no walks and ten strikeouts). He walked Valenzuela and Ladd in the sixth and was chased from the contest with absolutely NO honors. And without a win for his troubles. The Raccoons bullpen was full of once again and blew an entire 4-run lead in the first inning it had a chance. O’Brian got two outs before allowing a single to Leon Ramirez. Okay, well, have Tommy Ward retire the left-hander. Angel Solís singled. Okay, well, have Slayton retire the right-hander. Jose Valenzuela doubled, Wes Ladd homered. The Coons got a new, entirely undeserved chance in the bottom 7th when they took a 5-4 lead on a Seeley triple and a passed ball blamed on Leon Ramirez (yep, ex-Coon…). Thrasher and Casas both pitched the third straight day, but held together. 5-4 Blighters. Nomura 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Seeley 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; That was it for Slayton. I had enough of his ing presence. He got dumped to St. Petersburg, while Law Rockburn rejoined the staff off his rehab assignment after having missed more than two months with an ankle sprain. Game 3 CHA: CF A. Solís – SS J. Amador – C F. Chavez – 1B Valenzuela – RF D. Richardson – 3B Ladd – LF Reya – 2B D. Silva – P M. Hernandez POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – CF Seeley – 1B Quebell – RF Ayers – LF Gentry – C Owens – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Umberger Indeed, Manuel Hernandez made a start right off the DL, so we got another left-handed pitcher on this Sunday afternoon. He was an instant hero, hitting a 2-out RBI single off Umberger in the second inning. Umberger had struck out the side in the first inning, which was wonderous after he had never struck out more than six the entire season and had whiffed only four batters total in 22.1 innings in his last four starts. He returned to the mean in that second inning, walking Valenzuela, smacking Richardson, walking Reya, and then Hernandez happened… Wes Ladd, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, was thrown out at home by Keith Ayers to end the inning. Umberger struck out Valenzuela and Ladd in the fourth, reaching 5 K and chased a not at all rousing season-high, while the Raccoons tried to do anything with the left-hander facing them. In the bottom 4th, Quebell hit a single to right, and Ayers actually managed to make a ball fall in with a single to left. Owens reached on an error by Silva, loading the sacks with two outs and … Gutierrez batting. He bounced out to Silva on the first pitch. While the Raccoons wouldn’t get a run, Umberger wouldn’t get another strikeout and instead was strafed for three more runs and got knocked out after 5 1/3 innings after Wes Ladd’s 2-run single. After Joe O’Brian got five outs, the Coons were still being 3-hit by Hernandez. With lots of left-handers up, Tommy Ward was assigned the eighth inning in a losing cause, and he actually managed to implode the score from 4-0 to 8-0. He walked Richardson, the first lefty. Ladd bunted him over for a free out that didn’t count on Ward’s minutes-till-I-kill-him clock. Reya singled, Silva singled, both left-handed batters, 5-0. Hernandez struck out, which didn’t really count, either. Angel Solís batted, ANOTHER LEFT-HANDED BATTER. Oops, home run. Hernandez was two outs away from a shutout fresh off the DL when he just lost it in the bottom 9th and walked Ayers and Gentry back-to-back. Owens singled to load the bases, and Jerry Scott was called on, with Pruitt batting for Gutierrez. He hit a ball to really deep right, but not deep enough to beat 40-year old Daniel faceson. Sac fly, 8-1, Bowen hit for Gibson, and Ladd made an error that plated Gentry and kept the inning going. Well, for two more pitches until Nomura was done fouling out. 8-2 Falcons. Castro (PH) 1-1; O’Brian 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K; I felt better with beer in play. In other news July 25 – The 20-game hitting streak of NYC OF Martin Ortíz (.325, 25 HR, 87 RBI) is over, as the Condors held him hitless in three at-bats. The Crusaders still win, 3-2. July 25 – PIT SS Tom McWhorter (.269, 10 HR, 45 RBI) might miss about three weeks with an ankle sprain. July 26 – DEN OF Lionnel Perri (.264, 4 HR, 51 RBI) reaches an important mark with two hits in a 14-3 rout of the Gold Sox at the hand of the Cyclones, slapping his 2,000th hit with a ninth inning single off Ron Sakellaris. The fourth overall pick in the 1996 draft by the Buffaloes, Perri has won a Gold Glove, a Platinum Stick, and was an All Star four times. July 28 – A torn back muscle ends the season of CHA SP Alfredo Collazo (7-9, 5.02 ERA). July 28 – The Scorpions deal 2B Victor Martinez (.224, 1 HR, 18 RBI) to the Miners or SS/2B Juan Gonzales (.371, 3 HR, 11 RBI in 54 AB) and #76 prospect SP Andy Overstake. July 30 – The Aces acquire SP Anthony Bryant (3-11, 5.02 ERA) from the Wolves for SS/3B Domingo Ortega (.254, 0 HR, 25 RBI). July 30 – RIC OF Victor Enriquez (.266, 7 HR, 49 RBI) is out for a month with a fractured rib. Complaints and stuff Yoshi Nomura has an 11-game hitting streak. Which is about the best that can be reported about the team. Yes, that is ACTUALLY Bill Conway chasing down William Raven, who spent part of the season in the Thunder’s pen (…!!) for the CL ERA lead. Everything is crazy. There were no further moves at the trade deadline, which is a short way to explain that even going to great lengths in trying to deal Craig Bowen’s bonkers contract was not going to make him disappear from the roster. Of the Raccoons’ five highest-paid players, three were in the dump and another one was suspended… I managed to assemble – with a lot of money – one of those no-good bullpens where you at best can trust your closer. None of them get anybody out when it really counts. Sometimes you can trust Thrasher, but his walk rate is abysmal for a setup man. Do we have anybody else? No. Tommy Ward hasn’t retired anybody since World War II (or in four out of his last nine appearances). Well, good for him. George Youngblood would get another undeserved look as his replacement, as Ward was off to St. Pete as the week ended. And ** him. Talking about St. Pete. Hector Santos is rehabbing there and has now made four appearances, including three starts. He has spun 19.2 innings with a 2.75 ERA, walking six and whiffing 17. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

05-06-2016, 11:04 AM	#1836
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	Raccoons (80-64) @ Titans (62-81) – September 13-15, 2011 The Titans were really, really, really glad that this season entered its third-to-last week. As were the Coons, probably, who still held a theoretical chance at the division. Very theoretical. The Titans ranked 10th in runs scored and 11th in runs allowed, and the Coons had already taken the season series at 10-5. Projected matchups: Colin Baldwin (13-7, 3.02 ERA) vs. Chester Graham (5-12, 4.59 ERA) Bill Conway (13-10, 3.12 ERA) vs. Ron Carter (10-15, 6.23 ERA) Hector Santos (3-1, 4.84 ERA) vs. Tony Hamlyn (10-13, 3.35 ERA) With the off day on Monday we skipped McDonald, who had been shelled badly in his last start, and would get going with Baldwin. Jong-hoo Umberger was due to come off the DL during this series as well and would retake the slot behind Brownie, starting on Saturday in San Francisco. We see both of their left-handed starters, Graham and Hamlyn, and we couldn’t hit Ron Carter at all ten days ago. He had already made four starts against the Raccoons this season, with three of them very good, and one blowout. Although he pitched very well three times, the Titans lost ALL of his starts, but that wasn’t always his fault. His season ERA against the Coons was 4.84, which was well better than what he did against everybody else. Game 1 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Gentry – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – P Baldwin BOS: 2B J. Ramirez – 1B Legendre – C J. Flores – CF K. Williams – RF Hayashi – 3B E. Salazar – SS Brantley – LF Thurman – P C. Graham Alexis Legendre, whom I wouldn’t want on the team to wash everybody’s socks, knocked a 2-run homer in the third inning that set the Titans ahead of the Raccoons by … well, two runs. What the Critters did in the early innings, offensively, was best described as … well, offensive. They didn’t hit a hard ball until Brett Gentry knocked a double into the leftfield corner in the fourth inning, and then they starved Gentry on base, too. In the bottom of the fourth, Jon Merritt and Edgar Salazar forcefully clanged together at third base when Salazar tried to go first-to-third on Ron Brantley’s single. Salazar was out, but so was Merritt, who had taken the helmet (with head) of Salazar into the abdomen, a shoulder to the knee, and an elbow into some nondescript parts. Gutierrez replaced him on third base and led off the sixth inning with a single to center. Craig Bowen had made up one run with a solo jack in the fifth inning (raising the team lead in homers to 12, still two behind the no-good Legendre). Chester Graham soon shuffled himself a pretty deep hole as Quebell and Gentry also hit rather sharp singles to load the bases for Jimmy Fucito with nobody out. A K to Jimmy F and a double play grounder by Bowen dissolved the situation in a rather unsatisfying manner. The Raccoons put the tying run on base twice more, be it on a Jesus Ramirez error or not, but Adrian Quebell hit into a double play in the eighth, and by the ninth we were reduced to picking between Pat White and Jerry Saenz to bat with Pruitt on first and two outs. 2-1 Titans. Gentry 3-4, 2B; Bowen 2-4, HR, RBI; We had twice as many hits (8-4) as they had, but they left nobody on base, and we stranded nine, not including the three double plays… Jon Merritt had his thumb smashed by Salazar and had torn ligaments. He was out for the year. The Critters called up Walt Canning from AAA, who had produced nothing at all for St. Pete in the 76 games which he didn’t miss due to various injuries, batting .224/.308/.339. As these things go, he would probably split third base duties with Gutierrez now. Great. More sub-replacement level at-bats in the daily lineup. This job is gonna kill me. Game 2 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – 3B M. Gutierrez – C McNeela – CF Trevino – P Conway BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B J. Ramirez – C J. Flores – LF G. Rios – CF J. Gusmán – 1B Legendre – RF Baez – 3B E. Salazar – P Carter Yes, that was Manuel Gutierrez batting sixth, and yes, the end was near. Nevertheless, three of the scruffy replacement squad at the bottom of the order hit singles in the second inning and Yoshi drove in a pair with a 2-out single to give Conway a 2-0 lead, which Conway swiftly converted into a leadoff walk, a Legendre double, two run-scoring groundouts for the Titans, and a massive headache for me in the bottom of the same inning. After some boring and botched innings, the bottom 5th opened with Conway drilling Edgar Salazar. If that was revenge for Merritt, it was uncalled for, but the Titans handed out the punishment regardless. With two outs, a Jesus Ramirez RBI triple, a Jose Flores RBI single, and a Gerardo Rios RBI double added three runs to the Titans’ line as they broke open a 5-2 score. Conway was knocked out in the sixth by the **ing Alexis Legendre and another ing Alexis Legendre home run. And the reduction among living Raccoons also continued. George Youngblood got himself into the losing effort, walked a pair in the bottom 7th and then allowed a rocket to left to Gerardo Rios. Pruitt threw home to get Ramirez nicked out, but tweaked something in his back and left the game. Youngblood put two more runners on base in the bottom 8th and had to be rescued by Pat Slayton. The Raccoons, for what I know, never even came to bat. 6-2 Titans. Nomura 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Canning (PH) 1-1; Trevino 2-4; White (PH) 1-1; Anybody else having these 2004 flashbacks? Game 3 POR: LF Gentry – 2B Palmer – 1B Quebell – C Owens – RF Fucito – CF White – 3B Canning – SS Roudabush – P Santos BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B J. Ramirez – C J. Flores – LF G. Rios – CF J. Gusmán – RF Hayashi – 1B Legendre – 3B E. Salazar – P Hamlyn This was not a game the Raccoons could win. Their lineup contained TWO legit major leaguers. That was it. And then there was the thing with Hector Santos, who plainly sucked and got badly mauled by the Titans, who romped him for four runs in the first three innings, including a home run by Salazar (…!) in the bottom 2nd, and a 2-piece by Toki Hayashi in the third inning. He walked five in 5 2/3 innings until his merciful execu- … evacuation. There was a no-hitter in the air early on but Brett Gentry would reach with an infield single in the fourth inning and they would slap a few more singles off Hamlyn, who conceded a run on a Pat White sac fly in the fourth as well. The Raccoons even got the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth, when Craig Bowen hit for Pat White with two on and two outs and grounded out to shortstop Tommy Rentz. Tommy Ward and Kyle Mullins pitched some competent relief to keep the Raccoons within three runs here, and that paid off in another chance with the tying run at the plate in the ninth. Yoshi Nomura’s pinch-hit double was followed by a Trevino RBI single. 4-2, one out, Gentry came up against “Dodo” Iwase. He struck out, and Palmer flew out to Rios. 4-2 Titans. Owens 2-4, 2B; Nomura (PH) 1-1, 2B; Trevino 1-1, RBI; Ward 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Looks like the low point, smells like the low point, must be the low point. The Titans swept the Raccoons despite never out-hitting them or getting more runners in any other way. The misery! The shame! The Bayhawks! Raccoons (80-67) @ Bayhawks (72-74) – September 16-18, 2011 The Bayhawks were so thoroughly average it was almost comical. They ranked between sixth and eighth in so many categories it was impossible and tedious to list them all. Nevertheless, “Team Average” had already beaten “Team Ambitious” four times out of six games on the season, and “Team Ambitious” came in with cuts and bruises, the intestines hanging out of a huge cut in the belly, and one eye dangling from its socket. Projected matchups: Nick Brown (14-7, 2.65 ERA) vs. Reynaldo Rendon (11-10, 3.96 ERA) Jong-hoo Umberger (8-9, 3.43 ERA) vs. Milt Beauchamp (11-12, 5.01 ERA) Colin Baldwin (13-8, 3.01 ERA) vs. Ramón Jimenez (16-8, 3.67 ERA) That’s three right-handers, although by now that is not entirely relevant anymore… Game 1 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Gentry – C Bowen – 3B M. Gutierrez – CF Trevino – P Brown SFB: 1B R. Vargas – SS K. Sato – RF Alston – CF Black – 3B Holt – 2B Moultrie – C A. Ramirez – LF O. Thompson – P Rendon Only chance for a decent game this week(end), Brownie started the opener. With a dozen strikeouts, he would reach the mark of career-28th whiffer Jou Hara, who had been exclusively with the Aces between 1987 and 2001. Brownie whiffed two in the first, then was spotted two runs in the top 2nd. Quebell reached on an error by Kuni Sato, one of four ex-Coons in the Baybirds’ lineup. Doubles by Bowen and Trevino produced the lead. Brownie was perfect the first time through the order, striking out five, but nursed three 3-ball counts, and needed 42 pitches. Roberto Vargas and Sato each grounded out on the first pitch in the fourth, but the next first pitch drilled “Monti” Alston. Luke Black hacked out, number six. Yet, a leadoff triple by Jasper Holt would put the Bayhawks on the board eventually, as he scored on Todd Moultrie’s groundout, cutting the lead to 2-1, and ending any bid there might have been. For the Coons in general, leaving runners on base became a topic again. They stranded two in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh. That last one was Nick Brown, who had hit a single through Vargas to start the frame, then had stolen second base off Antonio Ramirez, whose CS% was 37% in 2011. All that was to no avail, and the traitor Alston tied the score in the bottom of the inning with his 25th homer of the season. But he finished the inning and was spotted another lead in the top of the eighth. Javier Montes-Ortíz had replaced Reynaldo Rendon, and allowed consecutive 1-out singles to Gentry, Bowen, and Gutierrez, the latter giving the Raccoons a 3-2 lead. That was it, though. Trevino struck out, and Brown was sent to bat with some juice left and nobody on the bench with a higher batting average, but he grounded out to second base. In turn he put up a quick eighth and did the setup job himself. Valentim Innocentes was assigned the ninth inning by the Bayhawks, and came out throwing lots and lots of balls. Yoshi walked, and Palmer singled on a 3-1 pitch. Pruitt grounded into a force at second and Quebell whiffed, but Tom McNeela walked in place of Gentry. Craig Bowen, unretired in this game, ripped away at 2-0 and lined a hard single to right that scored two runs! Gutierrez drew another walk but Trevino left the bases loaded, looking at strike three. Angel Casas thus came into a 5-2 game, and while he hadn’t pitched in a while and gave up a 1-out single to Micah Brazeal, he struck out three, including Alston and Black, to end the game. 5-2 Brownies! Palmer 2-5; Bowen 5-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Brown 8.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (15-7) and 1-4; Except for the luckless Pruitt, everybody had at least one hit for the Coons, who out-hit the Bayhawks 13-3. Now back to our usual black-and-dark-grey broadcast without audio. Game 2 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – RF Fucito – 3B Canning – CF White – P Umberger SFB: CF Holt – SS K. Sato – LF Alston – 1B R. Vargas – RF Black – C A. Ramirez – 3B Brazeal – 2B Moultrie – P Moreno The Baybirds shoved Rodrigo Moreno (8-8, 4.18 ERA) into this set, yet another right-handed pitcher. Whom the Birds sent, wasn’t that important even, because to say that the ball jumped off bats against Jong-hoo Umberger would be a slight understatement. Three extra base hits, including another homer by Alston, plated three runs for the Bayhawks in the bottom 1st, and in the following innings they continued to hit the ball hard, just with the difference that most of that contact went to the outfielders or Yoshi Nomura. Umberger continued in that manner, striking out absolutely nobody (as usual), until the fifth, which opened with a hard Moreno singled to right and a walk to Jasper Holt. Sato bunted them over, and then Umberger was replaced by Youngblood to face Alston, which resulted in a game-deciding laser to right that Fucito played nicely to hold Alston to a 2-run single. Mullins ended that innings with two strikeouts, but then got slapped in the sixth inning. Jasper Holt’s 2-out, 2-run single brought in Josh Gibson, who walked Sato, then Tommy Ward, who walked Alston. Thankfully, ty relievers we had plenty of. Law Rockburn appeared to try and at least contain the rout-in-progress, and Vargas popped out to Quebell on the first pitch to strand three. Rockburn and Reese finished the game, and Rodrigo Moreno, the shove-in pitcher of choice for the Baybirds, casually spun a 4-hitter. 7-0 Bayhawks. Rockburn 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; The Raccoons were so threatening, Moreno, 28, made it through eight innings on 72 pitches. He used 16 in the ninth for 88 total, with the main blame to be placed on Matt Pruitt, who took a 10-pitch walk with two outs. Quebell was hungry by then and grounded out on the first pitch he got. This was Moreno’s first career shutout in 75 starts. Game 3 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – CF Trevino – C McNeela – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Baldwin SFB: 1B R. Vargas – SS K. Sato – RF Alston – CF Black – 3B Holt – 2B Moultrie – C A. Ramirez – LF O. Thompson – P Beauchamp In the third, the Raccoons took a lead like only they could. Gutierrez reached base with a single that died before it could reach the outfield, then stole second base when Baldwin whiffed on a run-and-hit and Ramirez made a clumsy attempt at him (just like in them olden times in Portland!), and he scored on Baldwin’s eventual groundout and a passed ball. Baldwin maneuvred himself into a tight corner after a leadoff walk to Omarion Thompson in the bottom 3rd, but didn’t allow an actual hit until Jasper Holt’s 2-out double in the fourth. That didn’t lead to anything, and the top 5th then saw a melting Beauchamp getting crowded. With one out he walked McNeela, Gutierrez singled past the reach of Vargas, and then Baldwin drew a walk to load them up. Yoshi got only junk, never poked and walked on four pitches, forcing in a run, but then Palmer managed to strike out and Pruitt lifted a sorry fly out to leftfield. 2-0 Coons became 2-1 Coons in the bottom of the sixth when Alston and Black both whacked Baldwin offerings really hard, but while Alston’s was caught by Trevino, Black’s went out for his 14th home run of the year. The Critters had the bases loaded again in the seventh, this time when Gutierrez reached base on a Moultrie throwing error, Yoshi was walked intentionally, and Palmer singled to right. Pruitt appeared with one out this time, struck out, but Quebell wasn’t quite as dead yet and, being the first guy to face reliever Avtandil Tarakhanov, rammed a 2-1 pitch to deep right for a bases-clearing double! Tarakhanov also allowed an RBI double to Fucito before the inning was over, and the Critters were now up by five runs and went up to six on a Pruitt RBI single (yes, those existed!) in the top 8th. Baldwin was hit for in that inning after seven very good frames, and Tommy Ward came out to face PH Bill Miller in the bottom 8th – and of course walked him. Fine, bring Slayton! Walk to Vargas, RBI double by Sato. Okay, let’s try Thrasher, maybe? He ended the inning on a run-scoring grounder hit by Alston, then struck out Black and Holt, two right-handed batters. A Quebell homer pulled one run back in the top 9th, and Quebell hit that one off a lefty, Mike Tharp. Huerta got the bottom 9th with an 8-3 advantage, which was never going to create anything but more chest pains, and after a pinch-hit 3-run homer by Adam Young, Angel Casas was asked to end the mockery. He walked Vargas, his first man, and that ultimately brought up Ron Alston as the tying run, which was a terrible spot to be in, but Alston grounded out to Yoshi on the first pitch, and this one was finally over. 8-6 Blighters. Nomura 2-2, 3 BB, RBI; Palmer 2-5; Quebell 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Gutierrez 2-4; Baldwin 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (14-8); Combined, the bullpen pitched two innings, and allowed four hits, three walks, and five runs. Astonishing. In other news September 15 – RIC SP Brian Furst (8-17, 4.08 ERA) lightens up his season with a 3-hit shutout against the Buffaloes. September 18 – He might only be 33, but DEN LF Victorino Sanchez (.347, 10 HR, 74 RBI) is going to light up the very first page of the record books before long. In the Gold Sox’ 7-6 win over the Cyclones, Sanchez knocked two hits, including a fourth inning double off Jeremiah Bowman that represents his 3,000th career base hit. Despite his modest age, Sanchez has been an All Star 11 times already, has won five Platinum Sticks and was Player of the Year three times (2000, 2002, 2005). He has led one of the two subleagues in hits every year since 2002, and 11 times in total, and has won eight batting titles. He does sorely lack a World Series ring, though, not getting one as a cup-of-coffee rookie with the ’97 Capitals, and has never played in the playoffs in his career! Complaints and stuff** The Condors and Gold Sox canned their managers and general managers this week. Thankfully I have pictures of things. Although maybe I should give them back. If anybody would have told me in April that we would run out an outfield with Brett Gentry, Pat White, and Jimmy Fucito as starters by mid-September, I would have kindly enquired who that gentle white Fijian was supposed to be. And I will admit that Thursday’s starting lineup qualifies the Raccoons for mandatory contraction under ABL rules. If you file a lineup in which Travis Owens bats cleanup, you better have a doctor’s certificate with a good excuse for it. Madness would do. ABL CAREER HIT LEADERS 1st – Dale Wales – 3,673 (HOF) 2nd – Cristo Ramirez – 3,615 3rd – Jeffery Brown – 3,582 (HOF) 4th – Sonny Reece – 3,207 5th – Dan Morris – 3,028 6th – Vonne Calzado – 3,027 7th – Paul Connolly – 3,023 (HOF) 8th – Victorino Sanchez – 3,000 9th – Diego Rodriguez – 2,993 10th – Juan Barrón – 2,937 Except for Rodriguez and Calzado, all non-Hall of Famers are still active, although in Ramirez’ case that means rotting on the Aces’ bench and checkbooks. Rodriguez has been on the ballot for a long while, reaching 68% of the vote in 2011, and Calzado will first be eligible for election next year. Funny thing: Ben O’Morrissey will appear on the ballot for the first time in 2012, and if elected (which won’t happen, but for argument’s sake…) would be inducted as a Raccoon, the Hall says. I think O’Morrissey will have a word on that. As do the Raccoons. Better have Kisho Saito’s and Tetsu Osanai’s caps changed to the Elks’ vomit-inducing pink than have O’Morrissey, who was the first to squawk and jump the sinking ship in ’97, go in as a Furball. And this year? Is it over yet? Not bloody quite. Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

05-06-2016, 02:15 PM	#1837
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	One little addition here. I’m not crazy, it is true: the baseball gods hate the Critters' guts - and in particular Matt Pruitt’s - this year. ABL Players (min. 250 AB) by worst BABIP: 1st – Takahashi Higashi - .233 2nd – Matt Pruitt - .249 3rd – Hideaki Suda - .249 4th – Aaron Case - .249 5th – Tom Dahlke - .257 … 14th – Jon Merritt - .268 16th – Michael Palmer - .270 42nd – Craig Bowen - .284 __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

05-09-2016, 04:28 PM	#1839
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	Raccoons (85-71) @ Indians (79-77) – September 26-28, 2011 The Indians had a 5-game winning streak going, and they had smashed the Raccoons over the course of the season, having already grabbed the season series at 10-5. They were fourth in runs scored, and sixth in runs allowed. Projected matchups: Hector Santos (4-2, 4.21 ERA) vs. Curtis Tobitt (10-5, 2.61 ERA) Nick Brown (16-7, 2.64 ERA) vs. Bob King (17-11, 3.44 ERA) Colin Baldwin (14-9, 3.00 ERA) vs. Tom Weise (14-11, 3.42 ERA) Three right-handers we know quite well; I have settled on skipping Umberger. Baldwin will thus start on short rest, but he can pitch five innings and then we’ll find some warm body. Game 1 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Santos IND: 3B Luján – 2B Butler – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF D. Graham – 1B S. Guerra – CF Luxton – SS R. Miller – P Tobitt Unexpectedly, the Raccoons quickly threw up a 2-spot against Tobitt, who had walked 28 batters in 124.1 innings, but issued two walks in the first inning, loaded the bases, and a Fucito sac fly and a Bowen single drove in the two runs. Tobitt got the hang of things soon after, so Santos would be well advised to not fudge up the 2-0 lead, but a solo homer by Santiago Guerra cut the gap in half as soon as the second inning. Things lingered for a while, with Quebell turning a crucial double play to bail Santos out of a jam in the fourth inning. Santos struck out only a pair in five innings, while Tobitt whiffed seven Furballs, but in the sixth inning he became iffy again. Bowen slapped a single to right to start the inning before Pat White drew a walk. Tobitt failed to find the corners, threw a fat pitch to Hector Santos, and that one actually ended up in the rightfield corner on a tremendous hard liner. Both runners scored, the Coons were up 4-1. Tobitt didn’t make it out of the inning while Santos went six and two thirds, leaving with a left-hander in Robbie Luxton at the plate, and another left-hander (Dave Graham) already on base after a walk. Luxton hit a really hard grounder off George Youngblood, but Quebell had that one covered. Bottom 8th, Rockburn was in and allowed a leadoff double to ex-Coon Ryan Miller, threw a wild pitch, but struck out Antonio Luján and Bob Butler to escape that mess. The Raccoons placed runners on the corners, but Quebell and Sanez couldn’t get them in. It didn’t matter after all: Angel Casas put the Indians’ heart of the order away on seven pitches. 4-1 Critters. Nomura 2-4, BB; Bowen 2-4, RBI; Santos 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (5-2) and 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; Yeah, Santos’ double was the team’s only extra-base hit. … and ever and always I have to tell myself, next year all the injured boys will be back, and the malaise will be a little less unbearable. And then all plans to have Brownie start two more games went down the river – literally. Tuesday brought heavy rains, and with that, the game was washed out. In addition to that, the Crusaders clinched the division on Tuesday. Well, at least it wasn’t us doing something wrong again. Game 2 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Saenz – 1B Pruitt – RF Fucito – C Bowen – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Brown IND: CF L. Martinez – 2B Butler – LF D. Graham – RF J. Ortíz – 1B S. Guerra – C R. Speed – 3B J. Phillips – SS R. Miller – P King Nick Brown tied Doug Morrow and Alfonso Velasco for 26th place in career strikeouts only in the fourth inning with his third K of the day, Juan Ortíz going down. At that point it was a 1-1 game, with Brownie chipping in an RBI double himself in the third inning, but the Indians tied it up in the fourth after a leadoff triple hit by Bob Butler. Graham’s sac fly brought him in. Butler was also another sore on the hairy buttocks in the bottom of the sixth, lining a single to left to start that inning. Graham then doubled, and those runners weren’t staying on base either, and Butler and Graham indeed completely owned him, combining to go 6-for-8 against Brown and in the progress hit for the cycle. When Graham homered with two outs in the seventh, that ended Brown’s season on a pretty sad note. Apart from his double, the offense was entirely tooth- and clueless, and only got on the board for an unearned run in the ninth inning, down to their last out, which cost Bob King a complete game. Salvadaro Soure struck out Pat White to put this one away. 5-2 Indians. McNeela (PH) 1-1, RBI; Richard Speed went down on strikes in that malicious sixth inning to move Brownie into sole possession of 26th place on the strikeout board. He ends the year with 2,297 K, which leaves him 25 off Kisho Saito’s franchise mark. Game 3 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C McNeela – RF Gentry – 3B Canning – CF Trevino – P McDonald IND: CF L. Martinez – 3B Luján – C Paraz – RF J. Ortíz – LF D. Graham – 2B Butler – 1B S. Guerra – SS R. Miller – P Weise McDonald hadn’t pitched in a while, which initially didn’t show, as he sat down the first five batters without much fuss. Then came Butler, the human eye sore, once again, and things started rolling. Butler singled, Guerra homered, 2-0. Miller singled, Weise doubled, 3-0. Leon Martinez singled, 4-0. They added another run on a Butler sac fly in the third inning, putting the Raccoons in a 5-0 hole. And the Raccoons were making slow. Slow, slow. The continents were drifting faster than the Raccoons’ offense was on the move to maybe a run, maybe even to get on base. Tom Weise sat down the first 13 Coons that came to the plate until a Tom McNeela single up the middle ended the bid. And then a grounder to short by Brett Gentry ended McNeela’s presence on base and the inning, too. McDonald was removed after Antonio Luján’s leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ward was tasked with the largely left-handed middle of the order, which resulted in a walk to Jose Paraz and an Ortíz single to load the bases. Graham grounded into a force at home, after which Slayton replaced Ward and allowed a slam to Bob Butler. Down by nine runs, Jerry Saenz’ pinch-hit 3-run homer in the top 6th was about meaningless, or so it seemed. Gibson surrendered another run in the bottom 8th, Ryan Miller shining in the wrong spot with a leadoff triple, before the team not only knocked out another Indians starter with one out left in the game, but also put up a 4-spot to ruin Weise’s line completely. Yet, while that chain of singles, a walk by Weise, and a wild pitch by Soure in itself was a fine thing, the hole was just too damn big. 10-7 Indians. White (PH) 1-1; McNeela 2-4, 3B; Gutierrez 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; Trevino 2-4; Saenz (PH) 1-3, HR, 3 RBI; Vega 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K; Raccoons (86-73) @ Crusaders (94-65) – September 30-October 2, 2011 The Crusaders had won their division on Tuesday. This series was wholly unnecessary. We were 8-7 against them this season, and it hadn’t gotten us anything, perhaps because of our wholly **ty performance against the Loggers and Indians. They had churned out 820 runs so far, by far the most in the Continental League, and their 650 runs allowed had them in the top 3. Projected matchups: Colin Baldwin (14-9, 3.00 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (12-9, 3.35 ERA) Bill Conway (14-11, 3.38 ERA) vs. Ken Maddox (11-10, 4.28 ERA) Hector Santos (5-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. Ed Winn (2-5, 4.50 ERA) And we finish a season in which we saw only 34 left-handed starters with another full slate of righties, missing left-hander Takeru Sato by a day. Let’s keep the heads up high, don’t get swept, although 9-9 stinks and all, and head into the offseason without anybody getting stuck in the fence with their claws. Game 1 POR: 2B Nomura – RF Fucito – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – SS Roudabush – P Baldwin NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – SS J. Ortega – C D. Anderson – 3B Petersen – P P. Trevino Leaving the heads high was made a tall task from the very beginning of the series, as Colin Baldwin was torn to shreds by the Crusaders in the first inning already. Roberto Pena, Martin Ortíz, and Stanton Martin loaded the bases, and a 2-run single by Jorge Ortega and a 2-run double by Daryl Anderson put the Critters into a 4-0 hole. That hole’s depth was reduced by half over the next two innings – Quebell hitting a leadoff single in the second inning and was smuggled around to score, and Jimmy Fucito hit his maiden majors bomb in the third – but Baldwin continued to get battered and conceded two more runs to Ortega and rookie Tommie Petersen in the bottom of the third and was yanked after just three innings. That didn’t mean that the creaming was over. Not by far. Huerta and Ward were both charged with single runs in relief, and in the eighth inning Josh Gibson was socked for three runs including a 2-shot by Stanton Martin. That was Martin’s 29th on the season. You had to add the output of the top 3 Raccoons together to just barely outpower him, and Martin wasn’t even the most prolific home run hitter on his own team – that was Martin Ortíz with 33. 11-2 Crusaders. Nomura 2-5, 2B; Trevino 1-1, BB; Well, dignity is a fickle thing… Game 2 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – RF Gentry – CF White – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Conway NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – 3B Bond – LF B. Speed – SS J. Ortega – P Maddox Pruitt, Quebell, and Bowen all drew 2-out walks in the first inning, only for Gentry to strike out. Yoshi would single in Gutierrez with two outs in the top 2nd to actually take a lead, and the Crusaders didn’t get a hit off Conway through three innings. They had gotten eight in the same amount of innings off Baldwin on Friday. But just before we could wipe the tears from our black-and-white faces, Francisco Caraballo opened the bottom 4th with a single to left and Stanton Martin jerked another home run, #30, a score-flipper, and that broke a tie with B.J. Manfull for second place on their team. Pena homered the following inning, 3-1. The Crusaders had five runners in five innings, and scored three. The Raccoons had ten runners, including six who walked, and hit into a double play and stranded eight. Maddox would be gone after his seventh walk issued, which opened the seventh inning and was drawn by Yoshi. Jose Ramos came in and was no big help with a single to Pruitt and a walk to Quebell, loading the bases with the go-ahead run on first base and one out for Bowen, who lined out to Manfull, and PH Jerry Saenz went the same way on this team’s way into irrelevancy, unless the bottom of the order could stir it a bit in the eighth inning. Pat White singled, stole second base, then scored on a gapper by Gutierrez that became an RBI double, and Gutierrez was the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Conway had held the fort more or less through seven innings and was now hit for by Jimmy Fucito, facing right-hander Dave Shannon. That count ran full, and then Fucito hit a hard shot to center that kept growing and went over the fence! Score-flipping home run for the rookie nobody knows anyway! After hat entirely unexpected turnaround, Law Rockburn and Angel Casas extinguished the Crusaders in just six batters and 15 pitches. 4-3 Furballs. Pruitt 2-3, 2 BB; Gutierrez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Fucito (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Conway 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (15-11); Top Crusaders in homers: 33 – 30 – 29 Top Raccoons in homers: 12 – 12 – 9 I just want to cry. Game 3 POR: 2B Nomura – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 1B Quebell – RF Fucito – C Owens – 3B Canning – CF S. Trevino – P Santos NYC: CF R. Pena – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – C G. Ortíz – 3B Bond – SS J. Ortega – P Winn Santos tripled in his first at-bat in the game, which came with two outs in the third, so the Raccoons’ offense was not quite humming, and Yoshi didn’t get him in either. On the mound Santos faced the minimum the first time through the order, which included two leadoff singles and two double plays hit into by the Crusaders, and there was no score through three innings. The Coons took a lead in the fourth inning, though. Michael Palmer hit a leadoff double, moved up on Pruitt’s grounder to first and scored on Quebell’s fly to center. But a 1-0 lead was as good as no lead against the Crusaders. B.J. Manfull unleashed an absolute rocket in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Crusaders their third 30 HR smasher, and also a tied ballgame. It wouldn’t stay tied forever, and it was actually Ed Winn who was the biggest factor in the Raccoons’ efforts to cough up a run in the top 7th. Fucito singled, there were two wild pitches in the inning, and then finally a double by Walt Canning to take a 2-1 lead. Santos kept going, finished the seventh without too much hassle, and the Raccoons then got a pair of walks off Winn to start the top 8th. Pruitt hit a really crappy grounder that nevertheless wasn’t played by anybody for anything, and the bases were loaded with no outs, and Winn was gone for left-hander Francois Picard. COME ON NOW! SINK THEM!! Nope, of course not. Quebell grounded to first, where Manfull masterfully threw home to nip Nomura, and then Fucito hit into a double play. Santos also made it through the eighth, and was hit for with two outs in the ninth and Canning on first. Gentry grounded out to Kevin Bond, and hopefully that was the Coons’ last at-bat of this sad season. Angel Casas came into the game, and was going to face Caraballo and the Martin Brothers. Caraballo walked on four pitches, but Ortíz flew out softly to Pruitt. Stanton Martin came up and hit a ball hard to short, Palmer to Yoshi, to Quebell, screw you, Purple Poopers! 2-1 Raccoons! Canning 2-4, 2B, RBI; Santos 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (6-2) and 1-3, 3B; In other news September 28 – CIN RF/LF Will Bailey (.318, 21 HR, 103 RBI) is lost for the season with a sprained ankle. September 29 – CIN SP Javier Cruz (14-11, 3.84 ERA) spins a 3-hit shutout of the Rebels. The Cyclones win 3-0. September 30 – WAS RF/CF Victor Sarabia (.287, 9 HR, 60 RBI) will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs with a strained hamstring. September 30 – Denver’s Curt Powell (1-5, 4.86 ERA), who missed almost the entire season with shoulder woes, spins a 3-hit shutout against the Wolves. September 30 – Another 3-hitter is pitched by LAP SP Ernest Green (15-8, 3.66 ERA), who dominates the Scorpions for a shutout. October 1 – MIL SP Roy Thomas (12-15, 4.29 ERA) needs surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. He might miss the first month of the 2012 season. October 2 – The Capitals drop a 10-5 decision to the Miners, but still make the playoffs when the Cyclones can’t break through the Buffaloes and drop their season finale as well, 4-1. The Capitals make the playoffs for the seventh time, and the first time in 14 years. They won the title in 1990, 1991, and 1997, and all six of their previous playoff appearances came in that time frame. Complaints and stuff** The Raccoons finish with a number of wins starting with 8 for the first time since 1994, when they went 81-81! There was a 9 and a 10 after that, then a whole swarm of 7’s and 6’s, and since then the Raccoons finished with 9’s the last four seasons. Overall we are now 2,862-2,809 (.505) in the regular season. With the series win on the weekend, we ended up 10-8 against New York this year, our first series win against them since 2007. Raccoons against other CL teams by winning percentage: .524 – OCT, SFB .521 – LVA .508 – ATL .506 – IND .505 – MIL, TIJ, VAN .495 – NYC .486 – CHA .477 – BOS If Nick Brown had conceded one run or so in his last start, he would have even won the ERA title. On the other hand, Santos pitched to a 0.87 ERA over the last three starts and will start the 2012 season in the rotation for damn sure. The stuff hasn’t come alive for him just yet, but I think he’s good for 8 to 9 K/9. And if the offense hadn’t shat their pants all year long, we’d now plan to take on the Thunder again. A scouting update on October 1 also threw up a whole box of red flags regarding Jong-hoo Umberger. Sell! Sell! Sell now! Or at least tie him to the guardrails on I-5 and race off into the sunset. Who else got a ratings slash? Ricardo Carmona. Of course he did. It’s that moldy atmosphere in Ham Lake. Random stat: Yoshi Nomura completely owns the Elks’ Juichi Fujita. For his career, Yoshi has hit .347 with three homers in 72 AB off the only Elk that ever spun a no-hitter (not telling against whom!). There are three more pitchers with more than 30 AB against whom he’s batting at least .300, including Daniel Dickerson (.359), Bob King (.323) and Tommy Wilson (.303). Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

05-09-2016, 05:46 PM	#1840
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 11,886	2011 ABL PLAYOFFS The 2011 Playoffs will have the Oklahoma City Thunder as the top seed and the only team to win 100 games or more in the season, with a 102-60 record. They achieved this mainly with the best pitching staff in the Continental League, allowing just a bit over 3.5 runs per game. Both their rotation and the pen were excellent, with the rotation tying the Raccoons’ with a 3.33 ERA for the league-best mark, while the bullpen was first outright with a 2.64 ERA. Antonio Donis (16-8, 2.74 ERA) at age 39 was still the best horse in their stable, and almost would have won another ERA title, but dropped out of the top spot in the last weeks of the season. They had three players to hit 16 home runs during the season, Jimmy Roberts, Dave McCormick, and Tom Reese, but overall they were neither very good in power nor in small ball. They had finished the season with only the fifth-most runs scored. Their opponents in the 2011 CLCS would be the New York Crusaders, who finished 95-67, and would try to forget about 2010 and rechannel their 2007-2009 string of world championships. They had the best offense outright with 835 runs scored, and an absolute monster offense anchored around Martin Ortíz (.311, 33 HR, 121 RBI), Stanton Martin (.288, 30 HR, 120 RBI), and B.J. Manfull (.302, 30 HR, 108 RBI). The entire lineup was very dense and even the bottom of their order was nothing to joke about. While their pitching staff contained the CL ERA winner in Takeru Sato (14-6, 2.72 ERA), but they had lost Kel Yates and A.J. Bartels, acquired midseason from the Loggers, to injuries along the way, plus MR Manuel Reyes. Because of that, their #3/#4 starters for the playoffs were very weak, with Jair Mauceri somehow being irreplaceable despite posting a 7.08 ERA across the entire season. Scott Hood was an awesome closer, but there were also a few holes in middle relief for them, and their bullpen had actually finished with a below-average ERA – quite the difference from their 2007-2009 title runs. So, offense yeah, pitching oh well maybe? The Crusader’s offense is full of beasts, but the Thunder might hold a very slim advantage due to their superior pitching. In the FLCS, the 96-66 Los Angeles Pacifics had home field advantage. They had led the Federal League in both runs scored and runs allowed, with a +196 run differential that was quite stunning. They were a power team in terms of offense, with six players hitting double digit home runs. Jimmy Roberts (.315, 28 HR, 102 RBI) and Josh Thomas (.278, 22 HR, 88 RBI) were the biggest mashers. Their only significant injured position player was 3B Jens Carroll (.316, 5 HR, 70 RBI), but had already lost their closer Risto Mäkelä to injury in May. That had left a hole in the back end of their bullpen they had never managed to plug, but that pen as a whole still finished with the fifth-best ERA in the league. Their rotation was led by Brad Smith (15-7, 2.54 ERA), with three more pitchers in the mid-3 range. Their opponents would be the 92-70 Washington Capitals. They had held a really huge lead of up to 10 games in the summer, had even traded for Jose Morales (.345, 20 HR, 86 RBI) and still almost lost their first division title in 14 years at the very end of the season, so they really were anything but hot. 7th in runs scored, and 2nd in runs allowed, they had a few home run hitters, with Aaron Case also hitting 20, and Tony Ramos chipping in 16, but they were not getting on base at a very torrid pace, but led the league with 134 steals, with Juan Jose Rodriguez swiping 42 on his own. To make everything worse, they had a flurry of injuries, with Jose Correa and Victor Sarabia (.287, 9 HR, 60 RBI) on the DL as well as four pitchers, including starters Chris York (9-11, 3.60 ERA) and Tyler Sullivan (11-9, 3.43 ERA). Their prime pitcher for the playoffs now was 37-year old Randy Farley (13-7, 4.02 ERA), with Carlos Sackett and 34-year old Andrew Williamson, who had made 18 major league appearances IN HIS CAREER, also penciled in to start in the playoffs. This just could not go well… The Pacifics were the odds-on favorites for this to be a very short FLCS. They had never made it to the World Series, but if they didn’t get through those Capitals, then they should probably look into whether they were actually cursed. … 2011 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Capitals @ Pacifics … 3-5 … (Pacifics lead 1-0) … WAS Juan Jose Rodriguez 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; LAP Errol Spears 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Capitals @ Pacifics … 5-3 … (series tied 1-1) … WAS Juan Jose Rodriguez 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; WAS Tony Ramos 3-5, 2B; WAS Danny Zigay (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; LAP Errol Spears 3-4; Crusaders @ Thunder … 6-1 … (Crusaders lead 1-0) … NYC Roberto Pena 3-5, 2 RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; NYC B.J. Manfull 4-4, RBI; NYC Takeru Sato 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W; OCT William Raven 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K; Remember Danny Zigay? He was an 11th round pick by the Raccoons in 2006, was a throw-in in the trade for Juan Barrón, and has since become the #64 prospect. He only appeared in ten games in the regular season. Crusaders @ Thunder … 4-5 … (series tied 1-1) … NYC B.J. Manfull 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI; OCT Chris Parker 2-2, BB, 2B; NYC Scott Hood walks Vinny Diaz with the bases loaded to walk off the Thunder Pacifics @ Capitals … 2-4 … (Capitals lead 2-1) … WAS Carlos Sackett 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W; Pacifics @ Capitals … 1-4 … (Capitals lead 3-1) … LAP Stanley Murphy 2-4, 3B; WAS Jose Morales 1-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; WAS Randy Farley 8.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W; Thunder @ Crusaders … 5-6 … (Crusaders lead 2-1) … NYC Francisco Caraballo 2-3, HR, RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 3-4, 2B, RBI; the Thunder rally for three runs in the ninth inning off Francois Picard and Scott Hood, but just fall short Pacifics @ Capitals … 9-6 … (Capitals lead 3-2) … LAP Victor Flores 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI; LAP Stanley Murphy 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; LAP Jesus Rivera (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI; WAS Rudy Garrison 2-3, BB; rain knocked out both starters in the third inning, and the Capitals’ pen collapsed quicker than the Pacifics’ Thunder @ Crusaders … 4-5 (11) … (Crusaders lead 3-1) … OCT Chris Parker (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; NYC Francisco Caraballo 3-4, RBI; NYC Jeffrey Reed 3-5, 2B, RBI; Thunder @ Crusaders … 2-10 … (Crusaders win 4-1) … NYC Martin Ortíz 3-5, RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; NYC Takeru Sato 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W; Capitals @ Pacifics … 5-7 … (series tied 3-3) … WAS Tony Ramos 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI; LAP Jimmy Roberts 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; the Capitals blow a 5-1 lead after five innings and are sunk in a 5-run sixth Capitals @ Pacifics … 0-1 … (Pacifics win 4-3) … LAP Stanley Murphy 1-3, BB, RBI; LAP J.J. Wirth 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W; five singles aside, and no extra base hits, as the Pacifics just barely overcome Randy Farley and Ryosei Kato in the climactic game seven … 2011 WORLD SERIES The 2011 World Series pitted the ABL’s best offense, the Crusaders, against the league’s best pitching, the Pacifics, who made the big stage for the first time in their 35-year existence. This is a very difficult series to call. The Pacifics have a lineup that leans heavily to the right side, which might not be that much of a help against the Crusaders, who have only one left-handed starter in Takeru Sato. The Crusaders’ lineup is well-mixed. The Crusaders didn’t lose additional players as they easily turned away the Thunder, while the Pacifics have listed Ernest Green (15-8, 3.66 ERA), who led the FL in the lowest BB/9 this season as well as in 2010, as DTD with hand soreness in addition to all the other pieces they are already missing. It’s really hard to call a shot here… Pitching might prevail, although pitching didn’t impress the Crusaders in the CLCS either. Crusaders @ Pacifics … 1-3 … (Pacifics lead 1-0) … NYC Stanton Martin 3-3, BB, 2B; LAP Manny Perez 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; LAP Brad Smith 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W; Crusaders @ Pacifics … 0-1 … (Pacifics lead 2-0) … NYC Stanton Martin 2-4, 2B; LAP Adriano Lulli 3-4, 2 2B; LAP Bruce Mark 8.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, W; Pacifics @ Crusaders … 1-6 … (Pacifics lead 2-1) … NYC B.J. Manfull 3-4, RBI; NYC Jeffrey Reed 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; NYC Juan Gutierrez (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; NYC Ken Maddox 7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W; Pacifics @ Crusaders … 12-3 … (Pacifics lead 3-1) … LAP Stanley Murphy 4-4, 2 BB, RBI; LAP Errol Spears 2-5, HR, 2B, 7 RBI; The Crusaders lead after six innings, 3-1, but suffer a complete explosion in the last three innings, with Errol Spears beating them all on his own with a slam and bases-clearing double off Francois Picard, and Jose Ramos, respectively. Spears’ 7 RBI tie an ABL record for a playoff game first put up by CIN Will Bailey in 2006. Pacifics @ Crusaders … 4-5 … (Pacifics lead 3-2) … LAP Stanley Murphy 3-4, 2 RBI; NYC Stanton Martin 3-4, 2B, RBI; this time the Pacifics blow a 4-0 lead after six innings… Crusaders @ Pacifics … 0-7 … (Pacifics win 4-2) … LAP Jimmy Roberts 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; LAP Stanley Murphy 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; LAP Bruce Mark 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W; 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONS Los Angeles Pacifics 1st title Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 83 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.