[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

I had a rough week and these little furballs cheered me up!

The critters and me are glad we were helpful. Here's to things coming up heads again (hopefully):

Raccoons (64-47) vs. Canadiens (63-47) – August 9-12, 1993

We should better not blow this series. I wouldn’t mind extending that 9-game winning streak, right here. It would however not be easy to survive the Canadiens’ onslaught. Winning three of four actually would already be rather swell. They were outscoring us by 94 runs at this point, ranking 1st in the Continental Leauge (POR: 6th).

Miguel Lopez and Arnold McCray went out in the opener, perhaps the best matchup already that this series would see, although McCray had taken a few beatings recently and his ERA had bloomed from 3.05 at the end of June all the way to 4.06 entering this game. For Lopez, things went very wrong very quickly. Between a leadoff walk, a passed ball on Vinson, a hit batter, and a double the Canadiens scored two runs in the top 1st. That was before McCray took the mound, and he was battered for three runs in the bottom 1st. Sadly, the Raccoons failed to hold on to that 3-2 lead, neither did they extend it. Lopez was taken deep by SS Kelly Carpenter to tie the game in the fourth, and fell 4-3 behind in the sixth. The Raccoons missed a few chances. In the bottom 8th then, Higgins lined into right with two out, then went to third on Kinnear’s single. Vinson grounded to right, but neither 2B Bob Edwards nor 1B Salvador Mendez made the play and Higgins scored, the game was tied again. Hall pinch-hit for Tony Vela, but grounded out. The top 9th saw Juan Martinez put on the first two batters, before Michael McFarland’s grounder hit Yoshinobu Ishizaki for the latter to be called out on runner’s interference, essentially saving Martinez’ furry bottom. The Raccoons walked off in the bottom of the inning mostly due to even more fools’ luck: Salazar hit a clean single and advanced on O’Morrissey’s groundout. Alejandro Lopez’ grounder was not played well and became an infield single, before Neil Reece grounded through Carpenter, who had made a wrong step. Salazar scored, 5-4 Raccoons! Salazar 3-5, 2B; A. Lopez 3-5, 2 2B; Reece 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Higgins 3-4, RBI; Vela 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Jackie Lagarde came off the DL, sending Gabriel De La Rosa back to AAA. His debut had been very fine, nevertheless.

Game 2 went even more wrong even quicker. Raimundo Beato was impaled for four runs in the first inning, where on top of all O-Mo was ejected for arguing strike three. The Raccoons were set up for a long day here, as the Canadiens stole bags against Vinson at will (5 for 5), and makeshift starter Dave Beck dominated them. Glenn Adams hit a solo home run in the third, the Raccoons’ first hit of the game, and they scored two runs in the sixth, finally knocking out Beck, but still trailed 4-3. The bullpen survived a Christian Proctor outing in the eighth that put two men on with no outs thanks to Jackie Lagarde coming off the DL with a sharp arm and striking out two en route to escaping the inning unharmed. Bottom 9th: Quinn’s leadoff double put the tying run on second base. Vinson walked, Adams flew out, and Higgins pinch-hit in the #9 slot. He singled to right, Quinn and Vinson both tried to get that extra base, and the Canadiens only got to Vinson at third – Quinn tied the game. Extra innings were upon us, where Juan Martinez instantly blew the game with a leadoff walk and a Raúl Solís RBI triple. The Furballs didn’t score in the bottom half, ending their winning streak, and setting up another battle for the division lead in game 3. 5-4 Canadiens. Quinn 2-4, 2B, RBI; Adams 2-4, HR, RBI; Higgins (PH) 1-1, RBI; Lagarde 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Game 3 saw no-hit bids developed by both Kisho Saito and Vernon Robertson. Saito’s came apart first, in the top 5th with two out, when LF Orlando Penn lined into shallow left, uncatchable for anybody. Glenn Adams broke up Robertson’s in turn in the bottom 5th with one out and Allen on first base. Allen went to third, presenting the first genuine chance for anybody to score in the game to Alejandro Lopez, who fouled out. With backup catcher Jose Rodriguez batting, chances to score sunk – but for a passed ball on Javier Salcido on Robertson’s first pitch. Allen hustled home, 1-0 Coons. The Canadiens tied the game right back – on an Adams error and wild pitch by Saito. It was one of those facepalm games, obviously. O-Mo’s leadoff jack in the bottom 6th represented the first non-fluke run in the game, and the Coons took a 3-1 lead in the inning. It was far from over, with Roland Moore homering off Saito in the seventh, 3-2, and Saito barely stalling the tying run in Penn on third base. Miller and Burnett hobbled through the eighth with the tying run in scoring position, while the Raccoons offense failed to kick in again. West had no cushion in the ninth, but managed to get through 1-2-3. Oh, hell, yes!! 3-2 Raccoons!! O’Morrissey 2-3, HR, RBI; Saito 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (8-11);

I don’t usually post box scores, but this one illustrates very well what kind of game it was, one of scratching and clawing, and our beloved omnivores were just better equipped for the clawing game.

VAN – 0 0 0 – 0 0 1 – 1 0 0 – 2 5 0
POR – 0 0 0 – 0 1 2 – 0 0 X – 3 4 2

It could also well be the deciding game of the season, since it assures us to keep the recently-conquered division lead past this series. On another note, Esteban Baldivía was back for Sixto Moreno, who was finally assigned to AAA.

There was still one game left against the cross-border pests, started by Jason Turner. Doug Hill stole his way first-to-third against a hapless Vinson in the first inning to score on a sac fly and we trailed yet again. Turner started the third with a leadoff walk to pitcher Manny Ramos, and Vancouver loaded the bags with no outs before Turner wiggled out with a K and a double play started by Matt Higgins. Turner in turn (oh, that pun hurts) doubled to lead off the bottom 3rd, and the Raccoons also loaded them up with no outs. Alejandro Lopez never got a chance to hit a slam since Ramos’ first pitch to him was wild and past catcher Edgardo Ramos for the tying run to score. Lopez hit a sac fly, which was all the Raccoons did, but they led 2-1 now. Offense died for good at this point as neither team amounted to much in the middle innings and Turner and Ramos just clicked off batters. In the top 8th, Turner put a man on second base with one out and was removed for Lagarde, who conserved the fragile 2-1 lead. Grant West got good ground balls in the ninth, but Baldivía dropped a throw from O-Mo, making fans howl in horror. But it was all good: West did not surrender anything countable and the Raccoons survived this 1-run game as well. 2-1 Furballs! Turner 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (5-11);

The amount of games in which he have only four or five hits is getting alarmingly high again (four in this), but at least we distanced the Elks to 2.5 games. Hhew!!

Raccoons (67-48) @ Gold Sox (58-55) – August 13-15, 1993

Neil Reece really needed a day off in this long stretch of continuous play, and got it in game 1 against the Gold Sox, who were hanging on, 2.5 games out in second place, in the free-for-all FL West despite not scoring a lot (477 runs to the Raccoons’ 504) and a really sub-par pitching staff (9th in starters’ ERA, 11th in bullpen ERA). We would encounter Kiyohira Sasaki once again, who has pitched very well against us in several postseasons, in game 2.

Scott Wade did not match up too well with the Gold Sox lineup, which broke him up by the sixth inning. He had fallen 2-0 behind early on, and the Raccoons had just clawed their way back into a tie in the top 6th, when Tom Oliver’s 2-run homer ended Wade’s day. The Raccoons were easily dominated by Kevin Williams (9-8, 4.49) in another pathetic offensive outing. In the top 8th they had the bases loaded but Mark Allen made a poor final out and sealed the deal. Closer Cory Maupin was not to be touched. 4-2 Gold Sox. Quinn 3-3, 2B, RBI; Baldivía (PH) 1-1;

We had only six hits, this is getting serious again.

Now for Sasaki (8-8, 3.53 ERA). The Raccoons got a run in against him in the first, but the bottom of the inning showcased David Vinson’s defense … negatively. He failed to prevent a steal, made a throwing error, and was charged with a passed ball, as the Gold Sox took a 2-1 lead. The Raccoons flailed hopelessly against Sasaki into the sixth. Still 2-1 behind, Allen in the #8 slot had runners on the corners with one out – and popped out. No, we have to score here – Miguel Lopez was pinch-hit for with O’Morrissey, who had a day off at third base. O-Mo shoved a single into right, scoring Daniel Hall from third. Not only did they take Lopez off the hook, Matt Higgins even got him ahead with an RBI single up the middle. The Raccoons would get another big 2-out PH performance from Glenn Adams in the eighth, with an RBI double to score Baldivía from first base. And yet, it was all for crap. Juan Martinez came in for the bottom 8th, walked the first two, and all spun out of control into a 3-run inning. Raccoons lost, 5-4 Gold Sox. Higgins 2-4, BB, RBI; Baldivía 2-2, 2 BB; O’Morrissey (PH) 1-1, RBI; Adams (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Miller 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Vinson and Martinez ****ed this one pretty well. Thankfully the Canadiens lost as well, keeping us 1.5 ahead.

Game 3. Beato against Lázaro Alba and his 6.08 ERA. Scratch singles by Vinson and Beato with two out in the top 2nd drove in Baldivía and Kinnear for an early 2-0 lead, which Beato blew instantly in the bottom 2nd. Agony began to settle in again. Top 6th: Neil Reece led off and got a 3-0 pitch right where he liked it, nailing it for a leadoff triple. In a 2-2 game, that has to be your lead. It wasn’t. Lopez and Baldivía popped out, and Kinnear whiffed. How could they not … SIX OH EIGHT ERA!!!! Alba remained in the game starting the eighth, and finally somebody whacked him. Higgins led off with a single, and O-Mo hit an RBI triple breaking up the tie. The Gold Sox did not pitch to Reece, instead going after the suckers behind him, but Lopez this time managed to be remotely useful with an RBI single to right. Alba was knocked out and the Coons scored four runs in the inning. Burnett came out for the bottom 9th with a 6-2 lead and managed to get Grant West into the game with a single to Jesus Garcia and a homer to Avery Johnson, and no outs registered. West shrugged the Gold Sox off with ease and three easy plays for the defense. Not even Vinson managed to blow this one, and Martinez had been left locked up in the clubhouse. 6-4 Coons. Reece 1-2, 2 BB, 3B; Baldivía 2-4, 2B, RBI; Vinson 1-2, BB, 2 RBI; Beato 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (9-5) and 1-4, RBI;

In other news

August 11 – LF/RF Mito Kamida, a 24-year old former international discovery from Japan and now in the Rebels organization, announces his retirement after a freak accident in the weight room shatters his ankle into a million pieces. Kamida was rehabbing just exactly from a fractured ankle at the time. Kamida had 29 AB’s for the Rebels in 1992, going .207 with a home run and three RBI’s.
August 13 – LAP SP Greg Cain (11-7, 3.38 ERA) will miss several starts with a sprained ankle.
August 14 – RIC OF/1B Gabriel Cruz (.252, 12 HR, 51 RBI) smacks a 2-run home run off Oklahoma City’s Luis De Jesus, as the Rebels win 4-1, for his 300th career home run. He is the second player to reach the mark, trailing all time leader Mark Dawson by only four home runs now.
August 14 – Never-a-Coon SWF SP Bill Smith (8-11, 4.05) has torn his UCL and will require Tommy John surgery. Whether he will be able to stage a comeback at age 36 then has to be seen.
August 15 – LAP SP Bastyao Caixinha (13-8, 3.25 ERA) 3-hits the Loggers in a 1-0 pitchers’ duel against Scott Murphy.

Complaints and stuff

Alejandro Lopez wants a new contract. Well, his OBP is way under .300, which is certainly not a great way to market yourself. He was on the minimum this year after signing a minor league contract in May. His power is sweet, but he’s not really #3 hole material, as I have to realize now. I have no idea how to set up the outfield for next year. Daniel Hall also wants to continue his career. (winces)

Both Lopez and Allen are horrible once you look past their home run numbers. Instead of reverting to his old self, Allen is repeating his horrible season in Salem from last year. Not looking good here, since he has another year on his contract.

On the other hand, Baldivía is lighting it up more now. Not on the big ball board. But is average has come up very well, and now he has to show that he can maintain that. Glenn Adams is no auto-defeat for Baldivía, despite me not liking him a whole lot. He’s batting .250, but has decidedly more pop than Baldivía at this point.

And what does Tetsu Osanai have with the Pacifics? I can tell you what he does not have: playing time. He has SEVEN at-bats since the trade, and no hits. Well, like I said, the Pacifics management really has to be shot and quartered for accepting that trade. Thinking of it, shot and quartered is too good for them.

Not that I am complaining from a Portlander’s viewpoint.

On OBP's, David Vinson's .404 mark is massively fake. He has been batting in the #8 hole for most of the last few months and is absorbing a lot of intentional walks. I can't tell how many of his 58 walks were intentional, but I'd guess up to one third of them.

As a side note, the scoring pattern in the ABL has shifted the last few years. The Federal League used to score quite a bit more, up to .4 ER/G in the early years of the league, and in the .1 ER/G range in the mid-to-late 80s. Last season, the CL had a higher ERA than the FL for the second time in history (4.00 to 3.94; the other time was in 1988, the last year before the mound was lowered, I think, 3.70 to 3.60), and this season the difference is really significant, with the CL clocking in at 3.99 ER/G to the FL’s 3.82. Times are changing, but the Raccoons are not responsible. We score significantly less than in previous years of our 1989-ongoing dynasty, although we have recovered a fair bit from that 4.0 R/G mark we posted in June/July.

Oh, and one more thing. Somebody, I won’t tell who, has 499 of something for his career, but I won’t tell of what. It’s not a big mystery, though.