[Westheim]

Neil Reece will not be put on the disabled list. Our medical staff says that he will be back in two weeks, which would be right in the middle of the CLCS. We will play the opening games a man short. So be it.

Unless we manage to blow it. We would have a slumping O’Morrissey in the cleanup spot from here on.

Raccoons (86-66) vs. Indians (73-79) – September 24-26, 1993

Tomas Maguey’s 2-run homer got the Indians ahead in the first inning of the opener, but the Indians blew that lead on time. Johnston and Rodriguez singled with two out in the bottom 2nd, bringing up pitcher Miguel Lopez. The Indians’ Alonso Santana balked over the runners, before Lopez’ slow grounder was thrown wide of first base by SS Jose Martinez. Two more singles helped the Coons to score four unearned runs in the inning. Santana scored a fifth run with a wild pitch in the bottom 3rd. Lopez had to work pretty hard to complete six innings, but no more damage was done by the Indians against him, while a 2-run homer by Bobby Quinn made it 7-2. Between themselves, Matthews, Vela, and Lagarde allowed only one more base runner to the finish line. 7-2 Raccoons. Moreno 2-4, 2B; Quinn 3-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Hall 2-4, 2B;

The Canadiens defeated the Titans in Boston, 9-5, surviving a late rally, behind Arnold McCray. That keeps the gap at four games, the magic number is six. Roland Moore has a 34-game hitting streak going at this point.

De La Rosa made another start in game 2, with “Pooky” scheduled for game 3.

We faced Arthur Young in game 2, who had given us nothing but fits in recent times. Overall he was 13-10 with a 3.56 ERA, but against the Raccoons, in three starts, he was 2-0 with an 0.44 ERA (1 ER in 20.2 IP). While the Raccoons were unable to hurt him, his defense did in the second, allowing an unearned run on an Angelo Duarte error. Whether that would be enough for De La Rosa to win? In the fourth, the Indians almost tied it, but Alejandro Lopez threw out the tying run at the plate. De La Rosa pitched five scoreless innings on 93 pitches, which was enough for him. Young also was out in the sixth, being on a 2-0 hook then. The Raccoons struggled to mount more offense, but at least could fall back on the bullpen, which shut down any Indians attempts to get back into the game. Glenn Johnston, just playing for the injured Neil Reece, drove in both runs in the game. 2-0 Raccoons. Johnston 3-4, 2 RBI; De La Rosa 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (4-0); Miller 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Canadiens lost, 5-2, getting us to five ahead and four as the magic number.

I still pitched Kisho Saito in game 3. Beato would pitch in New York. Saito’s struggles continued. He barely got out of the third inning, when Eduardo Germán grounded into a double play with the bases loaded. Four singles in the fifth plated two runs for the Indians, while the Raccoons at that point were 2-hit by Jesus Lopez. While Saito struck out seven in his six innings of work, he also allowed 11 hits and those two runs. To top it off, Saito again got no love from his team mates, who were 4-hit over eight innings by Jesus Lopez, whose stuff could be had in six-packs at Dollar General. O-Mo represented the tying run with two out in the bottom 9th, and rolled out to closer Jim Durden. 2-0 Indians. O’Morrissey 2-4; Martinez 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Since the Canadiens clobbered the Titans 12-6, the gap is down to four, and the M# remains four with one week to play. We will however play the bottom two teams in the division, the Crusaders and Titans, in the final week, while the Crusaders look at the marginally better Indians and Loggers.

Raccoons (88-67) @ Crusaders (70-85) – September 27-30, 1993

This was a 4-game series. Under normal circumstances this would present us with an opportunity to win enough games to end the division race in due time.

Daniel Hall drove in two runs with two out in the first in the opener, then hurt his knee sliding into second base, and had to leave the game. Beato and Vinson however, were in no form to hold a lead of any size in this game with their pitching and catching. Beato was wild, walked people indiscriminately, and Vinson made a throwing error that almost cost the game in the fourth, and was unable to keep people from stealing bases, either. On the other hand, Beato got eight pop outs in this game, helping him more than his right arm ever could. Beato was pinch-hit for in the sixth with the bases loaded and two out, but Johnston made the final out after Bob Arnold had already failed to produce before him. With a tender 3-2 lead after the top 8th, Vinson was so bad that he was replaced by Rodriguez for defense. Lagarde and West, together with Rodriguez, finished the game without any more catastrophes. 3-2 Furballs. A. Lopez 2-5; Hall 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Baldivía 2-4, HR, RBI;

The Canadiens walked off in the tenth inning against the Indians, 3-2, to keep the gap at four. M#: 3.

Dan The Man has a sprained knee and is out for a week. He could play in the CLCS, but will he be good to go on time? With Reece hurting, entering with three outfielders would be … below 100% on the comfort scale.

The Crusaders sent Dan Barnes (0-3, 21.00 ERA) for game 2. Boys, this one counts! The Raccoons appeared to take the knuckleballer Barnes for a ride with three runs in the first inning on two hits and three walks, but Jason Turner gave two of those runs right back in the bottom 1st, and then the Coons started to flail. Barnes actually looked like he was gonna make it until he was finally broken up in the fifth with a 2-run triple by Bobby Quinn. But Turner wasn’t any better, and didn’t get out of the sixth inning. 5.1 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, and the bags full, he left it to Daniel Miller to get out of there. Miller held on to the lead, but one run scored on a Pete Thompson single. At this point, the Raccoons led 7-3 despite being out-hit 11-9. Miller was almost knocked over by the Crusaders in the seventh, but held on. Alejandro Lopez hit another home run in the eighth for two more, and that was the final score, 9-3 Raccoons. Salazar 2-4, BB; Higgins 2-5; O’Morrissey 3-3, 2 BB, RBI; Kinnear 2-4, 3 RBI; Miller 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; Matthews 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Canadiens also romped over their opponents, 9-2. Gap: 4; M#: 2;

Game 3. Reluctant cleanup man O’Morrissey botched a chance to break up a 1-1 game in the top 3rd with the bags full and one out. He popped out, and Quinn couldn’t do it either, and the Raccoons didn’t score. In turn, Scott Wade was clobbered by a 2-run homer by C Ruben Melendez in the bottom 3rd. With two in scoring position and one out, Wade and Salazar couldn’t even put the ball in play in the top 4th, and they left two more on base in the fifth. The Raccoons hardly amounted to anything past that, while Haywood Lammond, as weak batting a middle infielder as they come, hit a 3-run homer off Juan Martinez in the eighth. 6-1 Crusaders. Salazar 2-5; Higgins 2-5;

Luckily, the Canadiens continued to match us game by game now, and lost 7-5 to the Indians. That means that we can clinch the division with a win in game 4, or if the Indians help us a little.

I messed up my rotation, I think. With the way things are rolling, Saito would pitch in the final series against Boston, but I would (despite his horrible year) want him to open the CLCS in Tijuana. Yet, that would require not one, but two starts by relievers in our final series of the year, and that sounds hard to manage, unless we would have Jason Turner pitch game 3. Hmmmmm.

If nothing else, we were able to send our winningest guy for this task, Miguel Lopez. His final start of the year turned into a pitcher’s nightmare. The stuff wasn’t quite biting, and to make things worse, the offense was crap and the fielding behind him was, too. Lopez lasted six, allowed five runs (two unearned after an error by Chih-tui Jin), and took a loss in another disillusioning game. 6-2 Crusaders. Salazar 2-4, BB; Vinson 2-4, 2B; Ingall 2-3, 2B, RBI; Quinn (PH) 1-1;

Sometimes it is better to be lucky, which is very true for this team. The Indians defeated the Canadiens, 4-3, ending the CL North race in favor of the Raccoons, who almost blew it down the stretch. We have clinched the division for the fifth time, the third consecutive year, and the fourth time in five years.

In other news

September 24 – The Rebels mow down the Miners, 9-0, but are still eliminated in the FL East race, as the Capitals win 6-3 in Cincy. It will be the Capitals’ fourth postseason appearance, all consecutive.
September 25 – Vancouver’s Roland Moore (.317, 14 HR, 76 RBI) extends his hitting streak with a solo home run off Boston’s Francisco Vidrio. He has now hit in 35 consecutive games.
September 26 – In the FL West, all six teams are mathematically still in contention with one week of games left. The Gold Sox lead the Stars by one, the Scorpions by two, and the Warriors by three. The Pacifics and Wolves are only theoretical options, though.
September 27 – The Scorpions’ SP David Castillo (14-9, 3.00 ERA) finds his stuff at the right time, as he strikes out 15 Gold Sox in a 7-0 win of the Scorpions. The Scorpions move into a tie for second place with the Stars, one game behind the Gold Sox.
September 28 – Next game in Sacramento, next feat: DEN LF Dale Wales (.335, 6 HR, 58 RBI) has a 2-hit day in a 5-4 Gold Sox win, joining the exclusive 2,000 hits club. Wales’ milestone hit comes as a single off Jose Sanchez, leading off the third inning.
September 29 – The Knights are done for the year, but September callup Jai Utting (.273, 2 HR, 6 RBI in 33 AB) isn’t: the 26-year old sparkled as the Knights drubbed the Aces, 11-5, HITTING FOR THE CYCLE. It is the 18th cycle in ABL history, the fifth consecutive against a CL South team, and the first for the Knights, who were on the receiving end three times before. It also comes one year and two days after the last cycle, which the Condors’ Bruce Boyle hit for *against* the Knights.
September 30 – The Indians get the better of not only the Canadiens, 4-3, but also of Roland Moore, whose hitting streak ends at 39 games, the third longest such strike in history.

Complaints and stuff

In the FL West, the Gold Sox lead the Warriors, Scorpions, and Stars all by two games. These four will all play against each other on the final weekend, as the Stars host the Gold Sox, and the Scorpions welcome the Warriors. No tie at season’s end is possible for teams in either pairing with each other, and thus no three-way tie either.

The current return estimates for Daniel Hall and Neil Reece are the day after the final game of the regular season (Hall) and the home portion of the CLCS (Reece). Also, Mark Allen would be healthy in time for the CLCS and would be eligible for the roster. Problem? He hasn’t played in a month.

Daniel Hall wants another contract really badly. While I am dying not to lose him into the endless ether of retirement, I am just not sure how I could even fit him on the roster next season.

Either way, we extended the contract with scout Vicente Guerra, which would have run through 1994 anyway, by four years.