[Westheim]

Spring is not quite over, apparently. The night before our series in Portland started, the Thunder sent us a trade proposal offering MR Morton Jennings again (they had done so a couple of times in the spring). Jennings is a declining, vastly overpaid pitcher everybody would love to get rid off.

Raccoons (4-2) vs. Thunder (2-4)

We opened the series a man short with Winston Thompson serving the last day of his unjustified suspension in the series opener. With Dani Perez batting .364, we should survive without him. At one point during this series, we should also get Gustavo Flores and Jose Sanchez their first starts with the team.

But for game 1, we fielded the best of the rest, and Carlos Gonzalez with his 18.00 ERA on top of that. Gonzalez surrendered three runs in the first inning, with the first four Thunder all laying down singles. It didn’t get better. Two more runners crossed the plate in the third, and Gonzalez put on two in the fourth before wiggling out just barely on borderline pitches. Overall, he was behind in the count virtually all the time. He – and I may be excused here, because it’s justified – SUCKED. The sixth inning saw two Coons on base simultaneously for the first time in the game. With two down, Osanai hurried a grounder to the seam on the right side of the diamond – right against Quintanilla’s leg. Inning over. Bottom 7th, two on, nobody out, Dani Perez killed it with a double play grounder. The Coons didn’t score until the ninth with back-to-back doubles by Dadswell and Osanai, then went to bed. 5-1 Thunder. Osanai 3-4, 2B, RBI; J. Martinez 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

When Armando Sanchez clobbered a pitch by Wilson Cordova in the first inning of the middle game, and hit it out of the park for an early 2-0 lead, it was only the third homer for the Coons this year (and none have come from Osanai). Now, with that lead, Kisho Saito, who had pitched a shutout in his season debut, walked the bags full in the top 2nd, which was so out of character, nobody in the park (or outside) believed it. He surrendered a run on a sac fly, before Costello caught a liner from Cordova for the final out. The swing still came, in the third. Another walk, to Jeff Wagner, then a home run by SS Tom Nicks, Thunder ahead, but only until Armando Sanchez hit another homer in the bottom 3rd. Saito was so not good, but then came up with a double in the fifth with nobody out. He scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Sanchez, and after that pitched two perfect innings (which were much needed with heavy load on the pen early on). The Coons mustered some more offense in the bottom 8th. Sergio Martinez was hit in the arm, Armando Sanchez walked, Dadswell bunted them over, Osanai was walked intentionally. Dawson grounded to short, but PAST Tom Nicks and two runs scored. Grant West sat the Thunder down in order, 6-3 Coons. S. Martinez 2-3, 2B; A. Sanchez 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI;

Game 3 was the one for Flores and Jose Sanchez to start, and for Scott Wade to pitch better than his predecessors in the series. Problem for Wade: the Thunder mounted an entirely left-handed lineup against him, and Wade was a pitcher with very extreme splits, including a career WHIP almost 0.4 higher against lefties. The game still scoreless, Wade came to bat in the bottom 2nd, bases loaded after three straight singles by Jose Sanchez, Quintanilla, and Weber, and Wade singled past third base to score two! Two flyballs into the gap in left center (one past Guy King’s glove, one into it) and a clearing 2-run homer by Mark Dawson made for a 6-0 lead. With that lead, Wade was able to pitch much more comfortably and went into the eighth, where he was left in maybe one batter too long. Cunningham came in to end the inning, but one of the two runners Wade had left on scored. Still, the Raccoons led 7-1, and the score stood until the end. S. Martinez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Dawson 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; J. Sanchez 2-4; Wade 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1-0) and 2-3, 2 RBI;

With three dingers, Mark Dawson was leading the Continental League. Worryingly, Tetsu Osanai has none so far.

Raccoons (6-3) vs. Crusaders (5-4)

With an off day heading into the series, we skipped Alejandro Venegas and went to Logan Evans. Ours Logan had a bit ill control early on, loading the bases including two walks in the third, but got through. The youngsters Johnston (double) and Perez (triple) gave him a lead right after that in the bottom 3rd. Evans grounded out himself, but Perez dashed home on the play. Osanai got one into the HR column for himself in the fourth, a solo shot as the first man up in the inning. After six shutout innings with somewhat ill control (four walks), Evans would have faced the rapidly hitting right-handed top of the Crusaders lineup and he was removed for Bentley. An error by Quintanilla in right didn’t make things easier, but Bentley axed his way through there. The Furballs loaded the bags in the bottom 8th, but Osanai GIDP’ed to end that inning. West saved it without much fuss, 3-0 Coons. Osanai 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Johnston 2-3, 2B; J. Sanchez (PH) 1-1; Weber (PH) 1-1; Evans 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K, W (3-0); Bentley 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Going into his third start of the season, Carlos Gonzalez’ ERA amounted to almost as much as that of the remaining four starters combined. 11 of 35 runs allowed by the team were on him. Time to shave some off that 12.38 mark, Carly.

The Crusaders sent Carlos Guillen and his 6.75 ERA were there to oppose Gonzalez. Gonzalez started out with a K to Lorenzo Gomez, then was taken deep already by 2B Sam Richmond. Not again… Gonzalez hurt and injured 3B Stephen Hall in the top 2nd, loaded the bags, and would have given up a score if Armando Sanchez hadn’t caught up with Lorenzo Gomez’ shot to deep left. Quintanilla scored in the third on a wild pitch to tie the game. Bottom 5th, Quintanilla and Costello on the corners, one out. Gonzalez was to bat and we put on a suicide squeeze. The suicide part worked perfectly, Gonzalez struck out and Quintanilla was tagged out coming in. Gonzalez surrendered a run quickly in the sixth to get back onto the hook. The Coons left two in scoring position when Costello made the final out in the bottom 7th with a weak grounder to second. The Coons still trailed 2-1 into the bottom 9th, hoping for Osanai to get something going leading off. But he fouled out, Armando Sanchez got on with two down, stole second, Quintanilla sent a flyer to deep left – caught by Diego Rodriguez. 2-1 Crusaders. Quintanilla 3-4, 2 2B; Costello 2-3;

The score in the rubber game went to 1-1 early on, with the Coons botching every, but really every chance after that. New York’s Gary Nixon struck out six, always at the right time, and the Crusaders patched the go-ahead run together in the top 7th. Two more were left on by Saito when Cunningham entered, and the latter got the final out in the inning. Nixon’s control went away in the bottom 7th. Thompson had singled to get on, Weber struck out for Cunningham, but two walks then loaded the bags with Dadswell up, and despite him being a lefty, he was removed for Costello to pinch hit, having his strikeout card full already. Costello did not strike out, but belted a 1-1 pitch from Nixon into the gap in right center. Actually, he belted it over the gap, over the rushing outfielders, OVER THE WALL!! Grand slam by youngster Marcos Costello, and suddenly the park was rocking. Two walks by Grant West in the ninth made it close again, but he closed it out despite surrendering a run for the second time this year. 5-3 Furballs! Costello (PH) 1-1, HR, 4 RBI; Osanai 2-4;

By getting Saito out of trouble in the seventh, Cunningham got his second W of the season. The Raccoons have won every series so far this season, all by 2-1 games.

Raccoons (8-4) vs. Loggers (5-7)

Daniel Hall came off the DL in time for this series. He was still a perfect 3-3 at the plate this season, not being able to play the season opener to conclusion with an ankle ailment. Glenn Johnston was returned to AAA ball.

The Loggers had only 43 runs so far, good for 11th in the CL. But well, the Coons had 48 runs, t-8th. So maybe pitching was still king in the ring?

Scott Wade pitched for us in the opener and besides starting with all zeros through three innings, he also tripled to start the bottom 3rd. Sam Dadswell had been thrown out at third trying to stretch a double the inning before. Sergio Martinez scored him with a sac fly and they added an unearned run in the same inning. Wade didn’t get into trouble until the top 6th, where he loaded the bags with one out, but was lucky to get a pop out and a flyer of medium difficulty to Quintanilla in right to escape the jam. The Raccoons left a couple on a few times throughout the game, never extending their 2-0 lead. Wade had pitched six scoreless, and Bentley, Moss, and Juan Martinez had held the Loggers at bay to hand it over to Grant West. Jesus Jimenez walked, and Jim Wood had a pinch hit single to dig a hole under West. He struck out Emilio Roman. On Ton Otani’s slow grounder to third, Mark Dawson’s only play was at first, so the tying runs came into scoring position and Jordan Archer strolled out to pinch hit. Single to left, one run in, Wood was held at third. Charlie Justin pinch hit now for John Fowler, who had pitched eight innings. Single to left, game tied. First blown save for West on the year, he had eight last year, and that was not fun. Dani Perez pinch hit for West to start the bottom 9th, a single. Perez stole second – more aggression on the base paths was our strategy with a team where many players could actually run quicker than the average snail. Tetsu Osanai won the game with a zipper past German Roldan with two down, scoring Perez from third. 3-2 Raccoons. Osanai 3-5, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 2-4, 2 2B; Perez (PH) 1-1; Wade 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K and 1-2, 3B;

In the middle game, the first two pitches by Alejandro Venegas became singles, but he was able to get out of that instant jam with a slick play by Dawson and two K’s. The Coons countered with four runs, all unearned in the bottom 1st. With one out and Armando Sanchez on first, a grounder by Daniel Hall almost ended the inning, but Hall was safe at first. Osanai singled, Dawson reached on an error, Hall scored, and then Quintanilla bombed for three runs over the wall in left. Venegas put on the first two batters AGAIN in the second, and surrendered a run this time around, and put on two ONCE MORE in the third, stranding them. Understandably, Venegas’ pitch count was escalating rapidly. Hall and Dawson plated two more runs, knocking out Neil Stewart, in the bottom 3rd. The score remained 6-1 until the ninth, when David Jones’ early season struggles became even worse. Emilio Roman homered off him to cut the lead to 6-3. Cunningham got the final out (after surrendering two hits, but sometimes you gotta take what you get) to log a save. S. Martinez 2-4; A. Sanchez 2-4, 2B; Quintanilla 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Thompson (PH) 2-2; Bentley 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

We faced Judd Montgomery in the last game of the set, whom we had tried to acquire, but had failed to this winter. Logan Evans entered 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA, both marks leading or tying the lead in the CL. An error by Sergio Martinez in the top 1st with two out led to three unearned runs, which – coupled with the Coons’ inability to score, made for bad forecasts as far as W #4 was concerned. Evans was shelled for three earned runs in the fourth, while the Raccoons were unable to touch Montgomery, apart from a solo shot by Armando Sanchez in the bottom 4th. They nibbled off two more runs, but the damage had long been done. Sergio Martinez was eventually removed to somewhere where he couldn’t do damage (safe for the clubhouse inventory) and Evans didn’t survive the fifth inning. The Loggers won handily, 6-3. Osanai 2-4, HR, RBI; Cunningham 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

In other news

April 14 – CIN SP Jesus Hernandez (0-0, 12.00 ERA) will miss over one year with a torn flexor tendon. The 26-yr old is 15-17 with a 4.42 ERA for his major league career.
April 20 – WAS SP Jesus Lopez (1-1, 3.38 ERA), a 21-game winner last season, is out with radial nerve compression and won’t return until September, if at all this year.

Complaints and stuff

Five series, five wins, with a loss in every one of them. Some more stinging than others.

The offense is … spotty, to put it mildly. As always. Seems like Daniel Hall spent his annually allotted two hot weeks mostly on the DL. Little production from the catcher’s spot, and Kelly Weber has been lights out, by which I mean stumbling blindly through the darkness in vain search of hits. Or at least a bat. Quintanilla has been a pleasant addition to the starting lineup after losing Itchy. He can also create havoc on the base paths – both positively and negatively.

Carlos Gonzalez has to be monitored closely, too. I feel something like an elbow or shoulder issue creeping up already again. Richard Cunningham on the other hand is killing, using a meat cleaver wielding butcher’s subtlety. 7 G, 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 10 K. I love you, Rich. Get rid of your hideous moustache and we’ll have diner at Mario’s.

I got the heart attack of the week during this stretch. I checked the profile of the unlucky Jesus Hernandez after his injury, and was surprised to find no W-L records on the career pitching stats. Checked Logan Evans. No W-L records. Nor with any other pitcher. Nor saves. Took me a while to realize that I was still set to L/R splits from looking at Wade’s profile for the numbers and the splits obviously don’t display W-L records. Uffff…

One more series at home against the Condors. After that: a long road trip to Las Vegas, Indy, Boston, and Nashville. NOT looking forward to that.