Home opener. Things can’t possibly get worse now, can they?
Raccoons (2-4) vs. Thunder (3-3)
With the game having gone 19 innings and some six hours and nobody having caught much sleep on the trip home, game 1 still was no sugar pie unless Scott Wade could step up and go at least seven innings. Wade started with a walk to leadoff man Pepe Padilla, but also started a double play in the top 1st to exit that frame. Wade’s inability to retire pitcher Kevin Williams in the third cost him a 1-out single, and two singles later, he was 1-0 behind. Daniel Hall came in with a 10-game hitting streak dating back to early September before he first got hurt. He made it 11 games with a 2-run homer in the bottom 3rd, his first of the season. Now, Wade had always had issues with left-handed lineups, and the Thunder fielded six plus Williams. He scattered quite a few hits and so some additional offense would have been nice. A 2-out double by Higgins was followed by walks to Gonzalez and Hall in the bottom 5th, but Osanai flew out and left them stranded. Of course it came as it had to come, with SS Alfonso Torres hitting a 2-run home run off Wade in the sixth, and he was not even a left-hander, but Marc Shaw was and he homered off Wade in the seventh, burying the man that had won his first 15 decisions last year, 4-2, and going to make him 0-2 for the year. Osanai flew out with the bases loaded to end the bottom 7th, and that was it. Or wasn’t it? Bottom 9th: Vinson was walked by Donovan Reed. Martin doubled to left. The tying runs were in scoring position and nobody out! Higgins flew out to left, Vinson tagged and scored, Martin to third. Gonzalez grounded out pathetically and that brought up Daniel Hall to save the day. He had reached base four times already in the game. Reed worked him to 1-2. The next pitch was CRUSHED by Hall, flew 452 feet way out of center, and sent the Raccoons home winners! 5-4 Coons! Higgins 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Hall 3-3, 2 BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Martin 1-2, 2B; Cordero 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;
Dan The Man!!! Granted it was early, but at this point, Hall was tying for the lead in batter WAR and was 2nd only to Michael Root in OPS with a 1.228 mark. Dan The Man, have my children!!!
Ahem. Game 2. After two nice innings, Jason Turner was completely dissected by the Thunder in the third inning. Two routine grounders going past Salazar and Higgins once each certainly contributed to the misery, but either way, the Thunder put a 5-pack on Turner, including a 2-run home run by Dave Browne. Browne drove in two more in the fourth, spelling doom for Turner, who was not even close to his 1989 form like most of the Furballs, who left runners on in each of the four innings, three times in scoring position, and the bases were left loaded in the fourth, and they never scored anything in these innings. After five, they trailed 8-0 and looked seriously done. The only way for them to score, it seemed, was the long ball, of which Dawson offered one in the bottom 6th, 8-1. Vinson also knocked one out, collecting Dumont, 8-3. Bottom 7th: Hall homered with one out, 8-4. Osanai made it back-to-back, 8-5. Dawson and Dumont got on. Vinson flew to deep center, but it missed the wall, but it still was a 2-run triple. Suddenly, the tying run was at third base, and one out! Martin rolled out poorly, Quinn struck out. Gnah. Bottom 8th: Higgins reached on an error to start the frame, then went to third on Salazar’s single. Hall up, and I would be happy with a single. While he flew out to center, Higgins tagged and scored easily to tie the game. That’s fine, too, Dan The Man!! Then came Dave Browne again, facing Grant West in the top 9th, the first man up. He homered to right. It just can’t be ………. Bottom 9th, down a run again: Dumont and Martin walked, putting the winning runs on with one out. Gonzalez pinch hit for West, and he picked the perfect moment for his first hit of the year (0-10 so far) with an RBI single to left. Now Higgins for the win, and he also singled to left, but Martin was held at third. Bases loaded, one out, tied game. Salazar struck out and that got us to Dan The Man. Vargas started with a ball. Hall ripped at the next pitch, but fouled it back. Ball, then two foul rips. The sixth pitch of the at-bat filled the count. Silence in the park. The seventh pitch was close, but low, Hall walked and forced in the game-winning run!! 10-9 Raccoons!! Higgins 2-6; Salazar 2-6, 2B; Hall 1-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Dawson 3-5, HR, RBI; Dumont 2-4, BB; Vinson 2-5, HR, 3B, 4 RBI; Burnett 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K;
DAN THE MAN!! BACK-TO-BACK WALK-OFF PLATE APPEARANCES!!! I DON’T BELIEVE IT!!!
Ahem. Game 3. (can’t stop grinning) Steven Berry fell 1-0 behind in the first inning, while the Raccoons put their first three men on in the bottom 2nd, but Berry was up. Everything but a double play would be fine. He lined out (almost a single, but well…). Higgins grounded out, but a run scored, and that was all they got, and accordingly the Thunder took a 2-1 lead in the third. Berry had major issues with the loaded left-handed lineup, and a nifty play by old Mark Dawson prevented further damage when he got to Browne’s blazing grounder before it could get into left for two runs to score. The Coons tied it again in the bottom 3rd. Hall and Osanai reached base on singles and were on the corners to start the frame. Dawson flew out to short center, and Dumont bounced to the mound, but Dragoljub Djukic threw wildly past second base. Hall scored. In the fourth, Osanai got over .300 with an RBI single and also got Berry a 3-2 lead. It was Daniel Hall to set a mark again in the bottom 6th. With Higgins and Salazar on, he drilled a massive shot out to right center. Goin’, goin’, GONE!!! It was his fourth homer in the series, taking over the team lead in all triple crown categories, and the Thunder were crying at his mere appearance at the plate! Dawson tied for the team home run lead with a solo shot later in the inning, making it 7-2. Berry pitched well after the early troubles and went deep into the game, and into center, hitting a 2-out triple in the bottom 7th. He didn’t score since Higgins grounded out to first, but went eight innings on the hill, and struck out the last two men (Browne and Tom Nicks) on full counts. Hall came up once more in the bottom 8th, and hit another double. Sadly, he did not get a chance for another walkoff appearance, as the Raccoons took this one by storm, winning 9-2. Higgins 2-5, 2B, RBI; Hall 3-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Osanai 3-4, 2 RBI; Dumont 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Berry 8.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (2-0) and 1-4, 3B;
Daniel Hall is so hot, his uniform is burning
7-11, 4 HR, 10 RBI - DAN THE MAN FOR MVP!!!
Raccoons (5-4) vs. Crusaders (4-5)
Kisho Saito’s and Gary Nixon’s duel remained scoreless to three in the opener, and yes, the Raccoons had already skipped #5 starter Robert Sawyer here due to an off day and his hair-raising performance in his first outing. Antonio Esquivel slugged a 2-run homer out of center in the fourth to give New York a lead. Nixon completed five dominant innings before a sore spot on the thumb of his throwing hand forced him to exit. Saito went seven innings and found himself 2-0 behind when he was pinch hit for in the bottom 7th with Quinn on first and no outs. Not that the Coons had not had base runners: they had left some on in five of six innings, and twice had left them on third base. Dumont grounded to pitcher Paul Towns, but beat the throw to first, the tying runs were on base. Higgins got Dumont forced out, runners on the corners with one out, and Salazar dinked the next ball into shallow right, just in front of ex-Coon Gustavo Quintanilla. Daniel Hall came up, and so far had not had a hit in the game, 13-game hitting streak in danger. Towns’ 2-1 pitch was much to Hall’s liking, big contact and another HOME RUN!! But this was not the last song in the game. Lagarde came in for the eighth, faced three batters, didn’t retire any, and the storm was on. Martinez entered. While he did not throw good pitches, and Hall made a good play, Johnston made a great play, and Quinn made a phenomenal play, he got the Coons out of the inning with a 4-3 lead still alive. Grant West also made no great impression in the ninth inning. Leadoff single by Edward Snyder. The Crusaders moved him around the horn to third (a great double steal by Hall in deepest left included), before Stan Potvin grounded out to West for the final out. 4-3 Raccoons, whew! Salazar 2-3, BB, RBI; Hall 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Johnston 2-4; Quinn 2-4; Dumont (PH) 1-2; Saito 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (1-1) and 1-2, 2B;
Another game, another 2-run home run to get New York ahead, this time in the first inning and by Raúl Castillo, and off a struggling Scott Wade. Against Raimundo Beato, the Raccoons were once again terrifyingly bad when it came to score runners in scoring position, and didn’t get a run in until the sixth, after which they trailed 3-1. Wade went seven. Like the day before Wade was pinch hit for in the bottom 7th with Leo Smith now on first and no outs, and again Daniel Hall came up with two down and two on, and 0-3 on the day. Beato struck him out, and his 14-game hitting streak was snuffed out. In the bottom 9th, Gonzalez got on with two out, but Higgins flew out and the game was lost. 3-1 Crusaders. Osanai 2-4, 2B; Martin 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Smith 1-2, BB; Gonzalez (PH) 1-1; Lagarde 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;
Mark Dawson sat out in the rubber game, Gonzalez starting at third. The Coons sent un-phenomenal phenom Jason Turner, who entered with a crisp 11.00 ERA, and was expected to dominate 13.50 ERA owner Luis Andrade for New York. Turner also got an early lead when Hall singled in Higgins from second in the bottom 1st. Hall went to second base himself on a pathetic throw from CF Castillo that went past C Potvin. After that, the amount of runners the Raccoons left unscored was shameful. The 1-0 stood into the late innings. Turner no-hit the Crusaders for 11 outs, before Douglas Donaldson dipped a single just fair of the right field line, and while Turner went eight innings, the Crusaders got only three hits off him. Unfortunately the Coons’ team LOB was 12 in the game and they still only led 1-0 into the ninth. West came out, facing the righty 2-3-4 barrage of the Crusaders. Castillo led off and singled, but West squeezed through the inning. 1-0 Furballs! Higgins 2-4; Hall 2-4, RBI; Johnston 2-3, BB; Turner 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, W (1-1);
Daniel Hall’s impressive home week was properly honored (see below).
Raccoons (7-5) vs. Loggers (6-6)
The Loggers so far had lived on impressive pitching, including an 0.62 bullpen ERA. Time to put that to the test.
Steven Berry was wild to start the opener, nicking leadoff man Emilio Roman, and walking two, while Roman was thrown out at home by Dumont on a single, trying to score from second. Berry struck out the side in the second, though. Sub par clutch hitting continued for the Furballs, but they loaded the bags with no outs in the bottom 4th in a scoreless game – their preferred situation to crash completely. Glenn Johnston was up and did the best he could do – walk. The go-ahead run scored, and they continued to do damage with two sac flies, and then a 2-run double by Daniel Hall. Berry dominated the Loggers through five, before he failed to surrender anybody after getting one out in the sixth. When C Edgardo Ramos stepped to the bag as the tying run, Berry was yanked. Matthews got a double play to end the inning, 5-2 Coons. They got another run when Johnston came through again in a bases loaded situation (with two out then) in the seventh, an RBI single to left. The Coons entered the ninth up 6-2, but needed the services of Grant West to strike out RF Cristo Ramirez, who was batting close to .500 playing full time, to end the game. 6-2 Coons! Vinson 0-1, 3 BB; Johnston 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; Matthews 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;
Game 2, another day where the Raccoons showed remarkable inability at the plate, flailing at everything Judd Montgomery threw them. Robert Sawyer started behind in the count early, then had a strong streak in the third and fourth and carried a no-hitter into the fifth, before he was torpedoed in the sixth with two singles and a walk to start the inning. Alejandro Maez, hitting .118 so far, hit a 3-run double into the left field corner. That already broke up the game – the Raccoons had nothing in hand against Montgomery, who issued three walks in the bottom 7th, and they still didn’t hurt him a bit, as he only allowed three hits over eight frames. 3-0 Loggers.
Kisho Saito collected his first four outs with K’s in the rubber game, but still fell 1-0 behind in the second on two doubles by Drake Evans and Luis Gonzalez. Poor clutch hitting held on for the Coons. Martin’s leadoff double in the third was unconverted. Hall reached base on a 2-base throwing error by pitcher Neil Stewart in the fourth, and nobody out. Osanai flew out. Hall then was able to score from third when Cristo Ramirez didn’t get to a Dawson looper into right. That was all the offense they were able to come up. Saito went eight innings, struck out eleven, but ended up the loser on two doubles in the top 8th. Of course the Loggers brought their runners in. 3-1 Loggers. Saito 8.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, L (1-2); Martinez 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;
The team has combined for seven hits in the last two games. Way to go. I’m amazed nobody broke their foot with a bat, or hurled the bat into the home team dugout. The defense has recovered a bit, but now the offense is slumping.
Raccoons (8-7) vs. Condors (9-7)
The Condors were another team that was put up well defensively and entered on a 6-game winning streak. Not necessarily the right opponent for the Raccoons at this very moment…
The Condors opened the series by scoring on a wild pitch by Scott Wade in the top 1st of game 1. Their starter, John Douglas, entered with a 2.05 ERA, but was still the walk machine. Maybe the Coons could get him that way? Oh, boy, could they! Martin and Osanai walked in the first inning, Hall singled in between, and Dawson singled in two of them, and Osanai scored on a sac fly by Vinson, 3-1. You couldn’t tell which pitcher was shaking more here. Wade was helped by four towering pop outs in the first three innings, then a strong double play by Gonzalez and Higgins in a tight fourth, while Douglas could count on the double play himself and a bad bunt by Wade that killed the bottom 4th. After the top 5th, it started to rain and things became even worse. “Itchy” pressed in a run with a single between Gonzalez and Dawson that honestly should have been the final out in the top 6th. Wade collected an out from Jim Wood in the top 7th, before the rain became too heavy and a delay of almost an hour forced both pitchers out of the game. Matthews almost blew it in the same inning once play resumed, but the Coons held on to a 3-2 win. They had two base runners after that first inning blast of offense. Hall 2-4;
Turner was wild in the middle game, and while he was also unhittable in the first three frames, the Condors took it to him in the fourth, where they took a 2-0 lead. Jose Macias in turn didn’t give the Raccoons anything to live on. Johnston’s infield single in the first inning was already a success. The Coons, too, loaded the bags in the bottom 4th, but Reader popped out. Turner barely made it through five, but by then the Raccoons were 4-0 behind – hopelessly. Macias let up a bit as the game progressed and actually allowed ten hits over eight innings, but the Raccoons were WHOLLY UNABLE to manufacture any runs if the ball didn’t fly out immediately. 4-1 Condors. The Raccoons only scored on a Dawson double play ball they couldn’t convert properly. Johnston 2-4; Osanai 2-4; Dawson 2-4, RBI; Smith 2-4; Carrillo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;
The Condors had the last game won by the second inning. Berry issued a single and a walk. Higgins lost a potential double play ball and the bags were full with nobody out. Berry then struck out Oscar Riley and pitcher Makoto Kogawa, before things became unglued. Cipriano Ortega and Tadanobu Sakaguchi brought in runs with a single and a walk and Preston O’Day sealed the deal with a grand slam. 6-0, none of the runs were earned, all were on Higgins. The Condors added a run in the third, and a 3-run homer by Ishizaki made the deficit double-digits. Kogawa, who came in with a 7.11 ERA and 4/13 K/BB, absolutely dominated an underwhelming team. 12-0 Condors. Osanai 2-4; Cordero 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;
The team had 33 hits in the last two series. That alone is already pathetic. What’s worse? No home runs among them, no triples, only four doubles, and all of those against the Loggers.
It’s the worst.
The first fans ceremonially burned their season tickets in front of the park as the team left town.
In other news
April 12 – TOP Arnold McCray (2-0, 2.05 ERA) continues to sizzle with a 2-hitter in a 6-0 shutout over the Cyclones.
April 13 – One day later, and still in Topeka, CIN Claudio Rojas becomes the first ABL player to rack up 2,500 base hits in his career, reaching the mark with a first inning single of Fernando Chavez. The Cyclones still lose, 7-3, as Rojas goes 2-4. At age 34, Rojas has all the time in the world, to also reach 3,000 hits! He’s under contract until next year, and in his 14-year career he has been traded mid-season four times, including twice by Cincy and once to Cincy, the team with which he’s for the third time now. He has two World Series rings with Cincinnati (1977) and Denver (1985).
April 15 – CHA SP Joe Ellis (1-1, 5.28 ERA) has suffered a torn UCL. Whether the 38-year old will come back after at least one year of rehab is uncertain. Ellis spent his whole 182-140 career (2.78 ERA) for the Falcons. His 2,097 career strikeouts rank 2nd behind only Juan “Mauler” Correa’s.
April 16 – DAL 2B Andres Serna (.377, 1 HR, 8 RBI) extends a hitting streak dating back to 1989 to 20 games.
April 16 – PIT CF/RF Jesus Rodriguez (.324, 2 HR, 5 RBI) will miss six weeks with an oblique strain.
April 19 – WAS Julio Rodriguez (2-2, 1.78 ERA) turns in a 2-hitter against the Cyclones. The Capitals won 4-0.
April 21 – DAL 1B/2B Pete Ross (.235, 1 HR, 6 RBI) had a slow start to his season, but a 6th inning single against Jared Poole in a 7-5 win over the Miners has him as the sixth player joining the 2,000 hits club. Ross spent eight years in Sacramento, is in his sixth year in Dallas, has won two rings, one with each team, and has only eight home runs among his 2,000 hits.
April 21 – IND RF Raúl Vazquez (.365, 3 HR, 10 RBI) will miss four to five months due to a broken ankle, a terrible blow to a low-scoring team like the Indians.
Complaints and stuff
Daniel Hall was Player of the Week in the Continental League, batting 10-27 with 5 HR and 13 RBI. That’s some big damage. There’s no question as to who will be the first Raccoon to have his number retired.
That was a wonderful homestand – if you were comatose during it’s latter half.
Through the Loggers grind, the team ranked 10th in hits in the CL, yet had the least strikeouts at the plate. That leads me to think that they just can’t dip the ball somewhere safe (a theory supported by personal experience of their unbelievable unclutchiness, which was hair-raising).
Now they rank 11th in all offensive categories but XBH (7th thanks to the earlier home run galore), HR (t-3rd), BB (8th), K (1st), and SB (t-6th). Pitching’s been a mixed bag, but they rank consistently in the upper half except for home runs allowed (10th) and that could be due to our ballpark alone. The defense remains bad, but ranks mid-pack in the CL now.
A few heads could be rolling before long. Production from the infield is pathetic all around. Higgins is 6/6 in steals, but doesn’t get on base at all the last week. Osanai doesn’t hit anything but holes into the air. Gonzalez and Reader? Gah. Bobby Quinn is pathetic, Johnston has rallied from batting .120 after ten games. Hall has been brought down to earth with like two singles the last week.
Our team DL had just emptied on March 27 when the last minor leaguer returned to camp. One week into the minor league season, AA OF prospect Winston Witter breaks his foot. A MR Clint Thomas (or something like that) has a hideously bent elbow. Hey! (snip, snip) Get the nurses to work!