[Westheim]

February 24 – The Portland Raccoons announce that they have signed two free agents: the first is lefty reliever Jimmy Armstrong, 28, who signed a minor league contract. Nobody was too impressed with those news, but then club officials continued by presenting outfielder Ramon Borjon (.274, 102 HR, 434 RBI lifetime) to a 1-yr, $300k contract. Borjon is slated to the centerfield job, but plays the other outfield positions as well.
February 25 – The Raccoons ink lefty starter/reliever Eric McCullough to a 1-yr, $120k deal.
March 4 – The Titans sign closer Stanley Holman, 35, with 105 career saves, to a 1-yr, $294k contract. Holman was with the Wolves in ’81.
March 25 – Six-player trade between the Raccoons and Oklahoma City: the Raccoons acquire 28-yr old catcher Enrique Sanchez in exchange for SP Mario Gomez, MR Stanton Coleman, LF Sherwood Henderson, CF Troy Scott, and C Edward Peterson.
April 2 – Falcons closer Joe Roberts will miss the 1982 season after he broke his elbow trying to save a woman in an attempted robbery. Roberts, 25, saved 40 games with a 2.85 ERA in 1981. Falcons fans are shocked.

McCullough has an interesting history: after spending 1977-80 in the Raccoons minor league system, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked him in the 1980 rule 5 draft and he put up an unimpressive, but decent 1981 season, before they actually released him at the end of the season! Now he is back in Portland and on the majors roster. For a 25-yr old that moved from the A and AA levels straight into the majors, he performed well there (3.45 ERA in 20 games, including 1 start). He will take the place of Rich Hughes on the roster.

To accommodate Borjon and McCullough on the 40-man roster, Rich Hughes and Frank O’Rearden were struck. Both lefty relievers cleard waivers and are assigned to AAA (O’Rearden was already there). Borjon gives us +2.1 WAR, McCullough +0.3 WAR, for a total of +3.6 WAR this off season.

Then came March and I worked over three weeks on the Sanchez trade. I offered various combos of players, but somehow the Thunder were very keen on Mario Gomez, our international free agent signing. Having experienced little success with them Mexicans anyway (Tony Lopez, anyone?), I eventually included him in the package. I even offered Pedro Sánz, but they didn’t bite. I never liked Coleman, who is unreliable and can blow games easily, and the other three are just unloaded. Sanchez has hit .270+ the last two seasons, after a .240 rookie campaign in ’79. He has power and is a defensive rock. Fan interest increased from 53 to 55. The trade is rated at roughly +3.0 WAR for the Raccoons and we also unloaded a few hundred grand in salary and four spots on the 40-man roster.

Now it was time to organize the roster. I had eight infielders on the roster. 1B Workman, 2B Nixon, SS Walker, and 3B Green/Dawson were set. Dawson would play either 3B or RF depending on whether Green or Sánz performed better or worse. Wyatt Johnston was #6, and it was between Edgardo Gonzalez and Angel Costa for the seventh spot. Gonzalez was a more versatile fielder and got the job. Their hitting was around .210 either way. Since Dawson can play outfield as well I will start with only four true outfielders. Now I had to call up two pitchers from AAA. Fletcher Kelley and Jerry Ackerman won jobs. Full roster below.

1982 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set shows 1981 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Christopher Powell (12-14, 3.28 ERA | 60-68, 3.44 ERA) – could not repeat his career performance in 1980, when he put up a 0.96 WHIP, but was still very strong. Would win 18-20 games with a good offense behind him.
SP Logan Evans (14-10, 2.65 ERA | 27-33, 3.36 ERA) – high K numbers and occasional wildness characterize him. Had his best season and he is only 26.
SP Jorge Romero (5-10, 4.29 ERA | 47-56, 3.11 ERA) – injured into the summer, he was at times very ineffective and easily had his worst season. He is 35 and in a contract year.
SP Carlos Morán (6-8, 3.69 ERA, 1 SV | 8-14, 3.84 ERA) – started as mop-up, but proved to be a capable starter, once Roman Ocasio was chased away. His numbers are decent and close to league average throughout.
SP Jerry Ackerman (no records) – came over from the Canadiens in the Nicolas Castillo trade (my fault), but has been solid at AAA last year. He has competition from McCullough, another lefty borderline starter.

MU Tony Lopez (0-1, 2.64 ERA | 8-17, 4.04 ERA, 3 SV) – found his way back as mop-up. At times he is magnificent, at times I want to kill him. He can cover a lot of ground and can also be used as regular righty middle reliever.
MR Eric McCullough * (2-1, 3.45 ERA, 1 SV | 2-1, 3.45 ERA, 1 SV) – Free agent signing, was a rookie with the Thunder, after they took him from our organization in the rule 5 draft. Somehow, he impressed more in major league than in A ball. Lefty starter/reliever and competition for Ackerman.
MR Paul Cooper (1-3, 2.86 ERA, 1 SV | 5-5, 2.57 ERA, 2 SV) – he is a very solid reliever, with only his pathetic stamina posing a problem.
MR Richard Cunningham (1-3, 1.95 ERA | 1-3, 1.95 ERA) – debutee in 1981, he has high BB and K numbers, so he always is a mixed bag. Despite his great ERA in 32.1 IP, he is not considered for higher honors than middle relief.
MR Fletcher Kelley (1-0, 4.97 ERA | 1-0, 4.97 ERA) – was a September call-up and to be sent down again, but the Coleman trade opened a position that he won over erratic Jason White. He only has 12.2 IP under his belt, so the sky is the limit.
SU Wally Gaston (5-4, 3.10 ERA, 18 SV | 22-23, 2.78 ERA, 79 SV) – struggled early in 1981 and lost the closer job to rookie West, but had a strong second half of the season. As a righty and with the lefty West, they could almost be a deadly pair of closers, depending on the ninth inning opposition, and Gaston still occasionally closes out games against tough righty bats.
CL Grant West (4-0, 2.17 ERA, 15 SV | 4-0, 1.86 ERA, 15 SV) – was not perfect after replacing Gaston as closer, but met expectations. He could be our closer for years to come.

C Enrique Sanchez * (.270, 14 HR, 68 RBI | .264, 24 HR, 163 RBI) – acquired from the Thunder, where he spent his first three majors seasons. He is to replace Stephano Bocci, and is very good in defense and at the plate.
C Spencer Dicks * (.204, 1 HR, 27 RBI | .196, 1 HR, 37 RBI) – acquired in the Ken Clark trade from the Warriors, where he was backup for three years. Stellar defense, but his plate work is improvable.

1B Matt Workman (.262, 2 HR, 8 RBI | .262, 2 HR, 8 RBI) – September call-up, he is replacing Hoyt Cook, who was banished. His power has not come through at the major league level, but it is there.
1B Wyatt Johnston (.250, 7 HR, 36 RBI | .257, 55 HR, 301 RBI) – that man is 40, but is still performing very well. He will be backup, though, for the young Workman.
2B/SS Ralph Nixon (.299, 14 HR, 57 RBI | .321, 77 HR, 418 RBI) – was injured again and missed over 30 games, but was overall one of the best players on the team (he also has the highest salary). His average has to pick up the level where he was when he played with the Crusaders.
1B/3B/RF/LF Mark Dawson (.268, 14 HR, 94 RBI | .252, 91 HR, 432 RBI) – came over in mid-season in the Jack Pennington trade from the Buffaloes. Was very solid wherever he played. Will most likely play 3B or RF.
3B Cameron Green (.225, 9 HR, 51 RBI | .225, 11 HR, 61 RBI) – simply put, I expect much more from him. He did not have a good season at all.
1B/3B/SS/2B/RF/CF Steve Walker * (.276, 3 HR, 43 RBI | .273, 5 HR, 74 RBI) – was the other Warriors player coming over for Ken Clark. He will play short, but is very versatile and could become a key piece to the lineup as well.
1B/SS/3B Edgardo Gonzalez (.212, 0 HR, 29 RBI | .236, 1 HR, 96 RBI) – also part of the Pennington/Dawson trade with the Buffaloes in mid-season. His plate performance is pretty bad, but he can be a valuable defensive alternative.

LF/RF Daniel Hall (.278, 10 HR, 52 RBI | .265, 48 HR, 185 RBI) – played only 110 games due to injury, has never completed a season without going to the DL. He is set in left field. Due to walks he had a .397 OBP last year.
LF/CF/RF Ramón Borjón * (.247, 13 HR, 64 RBI | .274, 102 HR, 434 RBI) – free agent signing, last with the Warriors. He is 2nd in all time home runs and could replace Ben Simon’s long ball production from centerfield, where the Raccoons have never had a productive hitter.
LF/CF/RF Eduardo Guerrero * (did not play | .277, 15 HR, 153 RBI) – spent 1981 as a free agent and will be backup.
RF/LF Pedro Sánz (.242, 4 HR, 33 RBI | .283, 47 HR, 289 RBI) – had a down year and was bitten by the injury bug and suddenly is threatened by Mark Dawson. He competes against Cameron Green for who gets to play. His arm is his main weapon in the field.

No Raccoons start the season on the DL, luckily. $612,500 of the budget went unused so far. I poured another $50,000 into player development and added a bit to scouting again. The rest will die happily come the draft. Our final payroll is $5,326,000 (20th in the league).

My expectation for this season? Hard to say. I believed that the Raccoons would improve now so often, I don’t dare to do it again. Although the additions of Borjón, Walker, and Sanchez should add up to increased production, much depends on how the rotation holds up with Romero, Moran, and the lefty in #5. I will not make a record statement.

Our +6.5 WAR gain tops the majors. Knights (+5.2), Miners (+5.1), Bayhawks (+5.0), and Indians (+3.7) follow. Worst five: Buffaloes (-3.7), Scorpions (-3.8), Canadiens (-4.8), Condors (-8.4), and Aces (-8.5);

Lineup for opening day: SS Walker – LF Hall – 3B Dawson – 2B Nixon – CF Borjón – 1B Workman – RF Sánz – C Sanchez – P Powell

Cameron Green will also be playing a lot throughout April to compare against Sánz. Dawson will end up wherever the loser stands.

First pitch coming up against the Loggers.