[Westheim]

Things were heading for the draft. The Raccoons had a 4-set in Boston, then a home series against Sioux Falls, and then had to travel to Topeka thanks to some crazy scheduling.

With how well everything had gone on the last home stand, things were guaranteed to deteriorate and the team to gravitate towards fifth place by next week.

Raccoons (29-27) @ Titans (28-29)

Kisho Saito and Kinji Kan crossed swords once again in the opener. While Kan carried an ERA of almost six, the Raccoons were unable to hurt him properly. Higgins and Hall doubled for a run in the first, Dawson homered in the second, but once Saito surrendered a run it was a 2-1 grab-and-claw through seven. Saito surrendered lefty Hjalmar Flygt to start the eighth, then gave way to Bentley for a long string of right-handers coming up. The defense of Jeff Martin in center was everything that held on to the lead with two soaring flyers just barely caught by Martin. Higgins and Hall provided more offense with 2-out RBI hits in the ninth and then Grant West came out to save it, punching out Zahid Mashwanis for the final out. 4-1 Coons. Higgins 2-5, 2B, RBI; Hall 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Dawson 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Quinn (PH) 1-1; Saito 7.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-1); West 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, SV (12);

After the final out was collected, most fans and all players remained in the park and on the field for a few more minutes, respectively. Players crowded Grant West and congratulated him – he had just collected his 300th career save, as it was flashing up on the scoreboard. On a sidenote, he also logged his 500th inning with this outing.

Zahid Mashwanis took it out on Scott Wade the next day, with a 2-run homer in the bottom 1st that made it 3-0 already. Things were looking dark for his streak of W’s to continue very early on. Hall doubled in a run in the third, but Glenn Johnston was also sent home, but was thrown out. In the fourth, Osanai homered before Wade himself hit a 2-out RBI double to tie the score. The big boys continued to do some hitting, scoring two more in the fifth for a 5-3 lead and it could have been more, had a long fly ball by Dawson just been a teeny weeny bit longer. Instead, Salvador Vargas caught it. Flygt hit a 2-out RBI single in the bottom 5th – things were all but safe here with the Coons now leading 5-4. Wade went seven, still 5-4 ahead, handing it to Goodman with Flygt and Mashwanis threatening. But Goodman walked Flygt, and the Titans brought Alejandro Espinoza to run and Eduardo German to hit. Lagarde entered – and walked German. One flyout later, the Titans had the tying run on third base. Doug Belding hit a 2-run double, ending Wade’s winning streak. 7-5 Titans. Hall 2-5, 2B, RBI; Osanai 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Dawson 2-4;

Don’t we have great setup men?

Logan Evans entered game 3 being watched very closely. The Bash Brothers in the heart of the lineup gave him two runs in the first to work with – ample run support years ago; they even added three more of a wobbling Ryan Childs in the second. But the 1989 Logan Evans was ailing and not the 1985 Logan Evans that won 19 games and had a 2.28 ERA. The following players made awesome plays to keep the damage down: O’Morrissey in the first on a grounder to the side of the mound, Hall in the second on a soaring liner, Higgins in the third on a grounder up the middle. Either play not made would have cost one or two runs. As it was, the Coons were up 5-1 after three, and 7-1 after the top 5th, where Dawson unloaded for a 2-shot. To Evans’ credit: he wasn’t helpless, f.e. striking out hit machine Mashwanis in the bottom 5th with the bags full. But who had them loaded? Evans. Two walks and a single up the middle to Flygt were the end for Evans in the sixth. Berry pitched three innings for his first career save, as the Coons held on to a 7-3 win. Hall 3-3, 2 BB, 2 2B, RBI; Dawson 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Berry 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, SV (1);

Bill Stevens hit a single in four AB’s in the game, but it was really inadequate fielding and with his average down to almost .200 after a hot start, he was designated for assignment the next day. Quintanilla was called up.

It was Reyes against ex-Coon Eric McCullough in game 4. Reyes registered his first four outs all with K’s, then started to shake. The Titans rushed the bases – and through six innings left two on three times, and three on once, not scoring a single run. Their WRISP average was minus oh-fifty. The Coons led 4-0 through six, with David Vinson hitting a 2-run homer (and homering in back-to-back games). The Coons added two in the seventh. Reyes went back out, but put two on with two out. Martinez came in, facing powering 3B Kelly Carpenter, who popped a 3-0 pitch to Osanai to end the inning. The Titans didn’t score until the ninth – ironically against Grant West. 6-1 Furballs. Johnston 2-4, BB; Hall 3-5, 2B, RBI; Dawson 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Reader 2-5, 2B;

Raccoons (32-28) vs. Warriors (22-37)

Here came the worst team in the Federal League. However, not all was bad around that team. They had a slow offense, third-worst in the FL with 233 runs scored, but the pitching was average. Basically, they were very unlucky, and now, when it comes to luck, the Raccoons are attracting calamity like a huge magnet attracting a million needles. Of course, those needles would all hit the magnet with the pointy end first.

The Warriors had a number of old friends and foes on their roster, including old Knights nemesis Engjell Vulaj, the serviceable ex-Logger Stephen Hall, and catcher Enrique Sanchez, who caught for the Coons for three seasons in the early 80’s, including our playoff run in 1983.

Jason Turner started the opener for the Furballs and got into a boat load of trouble right away, bases loaded with one out and Engjell Vulaj up. But the latter’s days were clearly over. He hobbled into a double play, very Dawson-esque. The Coons were not in the mood to play around, knocking around Warriors starter Walid Dubois for four runs in the first inning and Daniel Hall homered for two more in the second. Turner would go on to pitch six shutout innings, but caused a lot of traffic on the way and could (or should) not go further after 109 pitches thrown. The Coons didn’t score again until the bottom 8th, but then pounced on reliever Mark West for four more runs. Coon City won, 10-0! Johnston 2-5, RBI; Higgins 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-4, 2B, RBI; Dawson 2-4, RBI; Gonzalez 2-3, BB; O’Morrissey (PH) 1-1; Turner 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K, W (4-2); Bentley 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

The Canadiens that day fell 4-2 to the Blue Sox, while the Crusaders were victims of the Wolves and a 18-4 raping that put the Raccoons back in first place.

The middle game, we looked at David Castillo, who once was a minor league Coon, but was traded in the winter of 1981-82. We got Steve Walker out of that trade, which was huge for us for a long time, but Castillo has still become a starter with an 80-57 record for a mostly underwhelming team. Sam Dadswell took him deep in the second inning, 2-0 Coons. Kisho Saito had a little spill in the top 3rd, nailing Sanchez and loading the bases before wiggling out undamaged. Over the next four innings he allowed a walk and nothing else and went eight innings of shutout ball in total. Grant West made no fuzz about claiming #301 and sat the Warriors down in ten pitches to save the 3-0 win for Saito. Johnston 2-3, BB; Dadswell 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Saito 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (7-1);

The Warriors actually took a lead (and scored a run!) in the series in the third game on a first inning homer by featherweight shortstop Esteban Areizaga, coming off Scott Wade. Matt Higgins countered in the bottom 1st with a 2-run homer almost exactly into the same spot behind the right field wall. Despite the Raccoons building a 4-1 lead through three innings, the game remained close. Wade was a bit wild and while he struck out more than normal, he also walked a couple, creating a squeeze in the fourth, where the Warriors loaded them up with one out, but didn’t score, as Wade upped his game with a K and harmless grounder to Reader at short. Dadswell broke up the game in the bottom 5th with a GRAND SLAM to right. There was still nobody out in the inning and the Warriors dissolved to dust in the face of the Coons offense now, as they got another three men on (including Wade) before Higgins made the first out, but even that was an RBI groundout. With two down, Dadswell was up again and this time drew a bases-loaded walk. Wade eventually made the final out in an inning, where the Coons sent up *15* batters and scored nine runs! The Warriors tried to get revenge on Wade, and homered twice off him in the seventh. Wade surrendered those three runs in seven innings, all three solo shots. 14-4 Raccoons!! Johnston 3-5, BB, 2B; Higgins 2-4, 2 BB, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Osanai 4-5, 2B; Dawson 4-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Dadswell 1-4, BB, HR, 5 RBI; Campbell 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Raccoons (35-28) @ Buffaloes (34-29)

The Buffaloes were putting up very respectable numbers in the FL East, ranking consistently in the upper half among FL teams in all important categories. We faced them in 1985 and swept them. And in 1987, and swept them. Overall, we are 16-8 against the Buffaloes, tying with the Pacifics (8-4) for best all-time average.

Logan Evans did not start the opener, rather Steven Berry took his spot. Things were just wrong with Evans. Berry made a good start, pitching into the seventh in a 2-2 tie. But he put two on there, on a single and a hit batter, and was gone. Goodman loaded the bags with two down and Scott Strong hit a fly ball into the gap, where Hall made a monster play to hold the tie together, ending the bottom 7th. The Buffaloes dropped another chance to score in the eighth with runners on the corners, before the game went to extra innings. Dawson’s sac fly scored Hall in the 11th and West came in and saved it, but was helped by a base running blunder by Bob Arnold, who tried to stretch a double into more than that. 3-2 Coons. Osanai 4-5, 2B, RBI; Berry 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K;

Gustavo Quintanilla was sent back to AAA before the next game, and Daniel Dumont was called up.

19-year old Rob Griffin made his second career start in the middle game, carrying an 18.00 ERA. The poor boy was gutted, shot, run over with a Buick, and hung from a tree by the Raccoons, and it was a really ugly tree. They scored four runs in the second, loaded the bags with one out in the third, and then Dawson doubled into left to make it 6-0. Ex-Coon David Jones came in, but allowed both inherited runners to score. Griffin: 2.1 IP, 8 ER. Yikes. Carlos Reyes was out there for the Raccoons and was in cruise control, until he became stuck in the ninth. He was removed after nicking a hitter. Two on, two out, Bentley came in, and allowed both runners to score. 10-3 Raccoons. Hall 1-3, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Osanai 4-5; Gonzalez 4-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Quinn 1-2, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Reyes 8.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (5-2);

With this rout, the Raccoons have chained together another 7-game winning streak!

Last game before the amateur draft, and it was Jason Turner’s … ehm … turn. The Buffaloes sent their ace, Arnold McCray (6-4, 4.01 ERA), who had a down season, though. Hall got a day off, and he had also cooled off a bit in the last few days. In turn, the other Daniel, Dumont, started in right. In his first big league AB (and really this was planned much differently) he hit a 2-run homer off McCray, and the Raccoons took a 3-0 lead. They crushed McCray in the fifth with four more runs, hitting singles through all the seams there were. While the big artillery was firing relentlessly, Jason Turner dealt the Buffaloes the terrible harvest of the God of K’s, punching out ten while going eight innings, with only a stray homer tainting his outing. 10-2 Furballs!! Johnston 2-4, BB, 2B; Higgins 2-5, BB; Dawson 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 4-5; Dumont 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Dadswell 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Quinn 2-5, RBI; Turner 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, W (5-2) and 1-4, RBI;

In other news

June 6 – The hitting streak of SFW 2B Pat Graham reaches 25 games, with Graham hitting three singles in a 4-3 loss to Salem.
June 8 – The Wolves douse Pat Graham, who goes 0-3 and ends his hitting streak at 26 games, and the Wolves also win the game, 10-5.
June 11 – 2B David Brewer of the Canadiens (.352, 0 HR, 26 RBI) joins Daniel Hall as players with a 6-hit game this season. Brewer knocks out four singles and two doubles in a 13-11 loss to the Blue Sox. This is the 19th 6-hit game in ABL history.
June 11 – The Blue Sox lose 2B/3B Tony Oliva (.272, 2 HR, 29 RBI) for the ret of the season with a broken elbow.
June 13 – The Aces trade SP Luis De Jesus (4-1, 6.03 ERA) to the Titans for OF Eduardo German (.275, 3 HR, 15 RBI) and prospect Miguel Mendez.

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons were 20-9 in May. They are 9-4 in June (and 9-1 if excluding games against Canadian teams).

They don’t draw as many walks as in recent years, but they are no worse than mid-pack in any offensive category. They don’t overwhelm you with their average, but the team ranks first in the CL in slugging, second in OPS, second in runs scored (!!!), first in extra base hits, and also first in home runs! They are the natural born killers, they are the lightning bolts shooting demigods of destruction, they are the typhoons devastating seaside orphanages.

Got carried away there a bit. This has never been a great offensive team, but somehow they are in one of the most memorable offensive stretches in ABL history. In the last 11 games they have scored *76* runs! They used to take a whole month for that! They scored their last 100 runs (101 actually) in just their last *15* games! They are making opposing pitching staffs look like Picasso’s Guernica! They are -

You get the idea.

Bit #1: A-level outfielder Winston Witter was player of the week down there with a .519 average

Bit #2: Mark Dawson went 12-27 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in the week from June 4-10, but was eschewed for POTW in the Continental League, beaten by ATL Seitaro Ine (14-29, 2 HR, 6 RBI). Also shunned: Daniel Hall (13-27, 1 HR, 8 RBI) and Glenn Johnston (10-24, 0 HR, 2 RBI);

Bit #3: Mark Dawson is the leader in extra base hits among active players with 708. In fourth place: Daniel Hall (557).

Not all is Rose Garden around here, though. We have a huge $2M problem that listens to the name of Logan. He is only in the fourth year of a 6-yr, $4.275M contract. The last year is guaranteed, and he’s due between $750k and $800k every season until 1991. And his ERA is over six. I actually tried to demote him after his start against the Titans, but since he got the W, he might have thought everything was okay. But it isn’t. He’s unable to come back from radial nerve compression surgery (what EVER that is!) and he can’t be moved, since nobody will take him on and we don’t have any means to release him. There is a lot of room in the budget for this season, but it can’t absorb the remaining $2M he’s due.

Next: draft! Let’s add the seedlings of future (un)natural disasters to gang bang up on unsuspecting opponents!