[Westheim]

Raccoons (17-21) @ Titans (28-10) – May 14-17, 2001

Playing four in Boston was not something you necessarily were digging for when your team had just embarked on a 9-3 run. However, my wishes were ignored by the schedule, and we’d have to take on the third-best offensive, and single best defensive team (only 111 runs allowed!) of the league. And yes, 111 runs actually amounted to less than three per game for the Titans. No. No, nothing but doom is predicted for the Coons in this series…

Projected matchups:
Cipriano Miranda (1-4, 4.31 ERA) vs. Jason O’Halloran (6-1, 2.79 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (2-2, 7.29 ERA) vs. Steven Snyder (3-3, 2.01 ERA)
Carl Bean (3-2, 3.69 ERA) vs. Jesus Bautista (5-3, 2.98 ERA)
Felipe Garcia (0-0, 11.57 ERA) vs. Juan Sanchez (2-1, 2.29 ERA)

Game 1
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – LF Cavazos – 3B Sharp – RF Flores – C Mata – P Miranda
BOS: SS D. Silva – CF Garrison – 3B Austin – RF G. Munoz – LF J. Thomas – C L. Lopez – 1B H. Ramirez – 2B D. Mendez – P O’Halloran

Jason O’Halloran issued three walks in the first, with the Raccoons still unable to score any runs, and when Miranda appeared for the bottom 1st, the disgusting pest that was leading off for the Titans homered. Daniel Silva, pest of pests! It was of course his first home run on the season. The Raccoons left runners on the corners in the top 2nd, then faded into obscurity. Miranda was more or less helped out by defense against six left-handers and two switch-hitters – only David Mendez batted right-handed – until he started to make dumb mistakes, hit a batter, walked batters, and Hector Ramirez dissolved a still nominally close 2-0 score in the bottom 6th with a 3-run home run. O’Halloran’s 2-out double knocked Miranda from the game, and Marcos Bruno came in, faced four left-handers, didn’t retire any, and Nordahl issued one more walk to run the score to 8-0. Pancho Gutierrez conceded another run before the slaughter was over, and the Raccoons went down on five hits. 9-0 Titans. Palacios 2-3;

Nothing is changing (except that the Raccoons have run up another 19-inning scoreless streak). The pitching is terminally inept, and we will have three more games just like that. Maybe Carl Bean can escape annihilation, but if the Raccoons stay under 30 runs for the series, it will be a miracle.

Pancho Gutierrez (1.23 ERA for New York, 10.29 ERA for Portland) had long out-worn his welcome. He was designated for assignment. We added 26-year old left-hander Pedro Perez from AAA. Perez had appeared in two games in 1999, and had a career 54.00 ERA in the majors. At least we know what we’re getting into.

Game 2
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – RF Brady – CF Reece – 2B Palacios – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – C Mata – P M. Lopez
BOS: SS D. Silva – CF Garrison – 3B Austin – RF Greenman – C Manuel – LF Elizondo – 2B H. Ramirez – 1B Walker – P Snyder

22 outs were collected in the second game before any team got a hit. That hit, unfortunately, was a solo home run by Christian Greenman and put the Titans ahead 1-0. While Albert Martin hit a single in the fifth that at least dissolved the no-hitter that was looming over them already, they absolutely failed to get a runner even to second base. Lopez went seven innings, allowing only one more run – that of course plated by the vomit-inducing appearance of Silva – but except for the previous day, a 2-0 deficit had never felt so big. The Titans still went to their bullpen after the seventh, and the eighth became the usual bullpen implosion. Meeks came in, faced Greenman, who went yard, then walked Manuel. Pedro Perez came in, and put Elizondo on, and Ramirez, and Walker, and Zamora. Perez failed to end the inning, and another run scored against Scott Wade. Martin’s single remained all the Raccoons managed. Another day, another disgrace. 9-0 Titans. Lopez 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, L (2-3);

Pedro Perez, 0.2 innings, five runs. A bit worse than in 1999. ERA somewhere in the 60s. He was demoted straight back to St. Petersburg. We also demoted George Morris, since we clearly needed more arms. Bob Joly and Manuel Martinez rejoined the ranks.

So, 28 innings without a run scored, but 24 runs given up (this includes the 6-0 loss to Indy on Sunday as well as the last inning of the game before), and Bob Joly is back. That 9-3 was a welcome respite but it is over now. The Raccoons are going straight for 100 losses now.

And beyond.

Game 3
POR: SS Guerin – CF Cavazos – RF Brady – 2B Palacios – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – C Thomas – LF Parker – P Bean
BOS: SS D. Silva – CF Garrison – 3B Austin – RF G. Munoz – LF J. Thomas – C L. Lopez – 1B H. Ramirez – 2B Walker – P Bautista

The Raccoons’ collective coma eventually lasted a combined 30 innings before Concie Guerin singled home Chris Parker in the third to tie the score at one and finally put something countable on the board for the road team. The Titans fans applauded, snickering. A Cavazos single loaded the bags then, and while Brady lifted out to left, Bautista then drilled Palacios to give Bean, who had yet to get to two strikes on anybody, a 2-1 lead. Bean finally arrived in a 2-strike count in the fourth(!!!!), a 1-2 count to Luis Lopez, who then almost went deep. A base running blunder by Cavazos, who got himself tagged out before getting to third base on a double cost a run in the top 5th, when Brady doubled after him. Brady was left on base, and the Titans took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning after Garrison hit a *proper* triple and the Titans tacked on two hits against a beanless Tooth, and that looked like that was that. But it wasn’t. Innocently enough the top 6th started with Martin reaching on an infield single and Sharp grounding out. But then Thomas hit a huge RBI double, and the Coons, including Bean, would hit four more RBI hits to take a 7-3 lead. Nominally commanding, collapse was looming everywhere for this team, and a 4-run lead was never safe. But now down considerably, the Titans suddenly started hacking and Bean began to whiff people, striking out the side in the bottom 6th. But, remember the collapse thing, in the bottom 7th, every bag had a Titan and only one out. Nordahl came in, still the least explosive piece in the bullpen, and got a sac fly from Luis Lopez, before Juan Diaz managed to have Hector Ramirez fly out. In the top 8th we faced Orlando Blanco (5.2 IP, 10 ER in POR; 4.1 IP, 0 ER in BOS), who pitched a scoreless inning then, but Max Heart hurt him with a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth. For the Coons, Martinez and Bruno finished the game. 8-4 Coons. Cavazos 4-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Brady 2-5, 2B, RBI; Heart (PH) 1-1, RBI; Thomas 2-4, 2B, RBI; Reece (PH) 1-1;

Let’s see. To avoid handing 30 runs to the Titans, Garcia & the Gang must stay at seven or under.

Ha-hah. Good joke.

Game 4
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – RF Brady – LF Cavazos – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – C M. Thomas – P F. Garcia
BOS: SS D. Silva – CF Garrison – 3B Austin – RF G. Munoz – LF J. Thomas – C L. Lopez – 1B H. Ramirez – 2B D. Mendez – P J. Sanchez

In inclement weather, Felipe Garcia sold his fur dearly. The Titans had two on in the second, but didn’t score, and didn’t get a runner to third base in the first four innings at all. The Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the top 4th. Guerin had doubled, and Palacios lobbed a ball to shallow center that Rudy Garrison couldn’t make up his mind on. Eventually he tried to snag it before it bounced, it still bounced, first off the grass, then off his chest. Palacios ended up at second on the play, and on third in the inning without being scored, and the Coons left them all across the pond in the next frame. In the bottom 5th, Garcia was about to wind out of trouble with Mendez on third base when Mark Thomas led a ball get away and Mendez scored on the passed ball – tied game. We hit for Garcia in the seventh. Daniel Sharp was on third and there were two outs with righty Ramiro Román dealing. Chris Parker – nghh, no, still no luck. Daniel Silva snagged his liner, and Garcia did not get a decision. Neither did Wade, who pitched a scoreless eighth. Diaz was up next with the heavily left-handed top of the lineup due up. Daniel Silva singled, the pest, but then was thrown out by Thomas as he tried to nip his 12th base of the year, stunning the crowd. Rudy Garrison drew a walk, set off, and Thomas threw HIM out!! Austin singled. Will he? He didn’t, but anyway, Munoz singled to right, and the Titans could lead by six runs by now, but didn’t. However, the barn was burning again and we sent for Nordahl to retire Josh Thomas, which he did. We deliberately let Nordahl make the final out in the top 9th so he could pitch the bottom 9th. He got two, then walked a pair with Silva up. Silva hit a shot to deep right that was about to end the game if not for Brady and an A-MA-ZING catch! That sent the game to extras, and the Coons faced John Bennett in the tenth. After Guerin popped up a bunt, he was out although he almost made it to first before Lopez snagged the pop out of the air. Palacios reached, however, and stole his second base on the day, much to the dismay of the fans. Reece flew out, moving Palacios to third, and Brady grounded to right, where Hector Ramirez made a launching grab, but lost his footing getting up. He was not far off the bag and Bennett hadn’t moved over at first, and when he finally broke there, Brady outraced him, and Palacios scored! That was all they could hand to Daniel Miller, though. Miller faced the ugly 2-3-4 part of the lineup, all lefties, and Heart was in for defense, which was now a common sight late with close leads, as he replaced Martin (much like Osanai had always been replaced in the 80s). Miller mowed down Garrison. Austin fell to 0-2, then flew out to Brady. And then it began again. Gonzalo Munoz singled to left, and Miller walked Thomas, and you didn’t want Luis Lopez to come up in these spots, but here he did. First pitch, square into left, and Cavazos’ arm was weak, and this was tied again. After an intentional walk to Ramirez, Miller could at least face a right-hander in Mendez, who popped out to Concie and the band played on, now with Heart leading off the 11th, in which Sharp was eventually left on third base. Since it was evident that the Raccoons were not going to score on the stalwart Titans bullpen, we surrendered at that point. Bob Joly entered, in other words: ballgame. The Titans walked off on a bases-loaded walk to Josh Thomas. 3-2 Titans. Guerin 2-4, BB, 2B; Brady 2-4, BB, RBI; Sharp 2-4, 2 2B; Garcia 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Nordahl 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K;

Raccoons (18-24) @ Aces (18-24) – May 18-20, 2001

Nominally, the teams were about equally bad in pitching, with the Coons holding a clear edge in offense, but that still resulted from our early-May outburst, and had long been washed down the drain again in the dismal last five games, in which we totaled 10 runs. The Aces by contrast had a 4-game winning streak going on.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (2-3, 3.56 ERA) vs. Alfredo Rios (2-5, 5.30 ERA)
Cipriano Miranda (1-5, 4.96 ERA) vs. Patrick Clark (2-3, 4.38 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (2-3, 6.47 ERA) vs. Dan Moriarty (5-1, 3.56 ERA)

We are still t-4th in runs scored and their pitching is not that much better than ours. Their lineup didn’t have to offer all that much except for the 3-4-5 guys in the opener. If just the rotation would hold up over the weekend …!

Game 1
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – RF Brady – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – LF Parker – C Mata – P Ford
LVA: RF Ghiberti – C De La Parra – 1B O. Torres – LF L. Jenkins – CF McCormick – SS Cerdeira – 3B Bell – 2B Bradley – P A. Rios

While Brady plated Palacios with a sac fly in the first, it was obvious very quickly that this would not be a good start for Ralph Ford. He loaded the bags in the bottom 2nd on four straight unfavorable counts resulting in a McCormick single, a Cerdeira walk, a K to Dick Bell, and then he hit John Bradley in his third straight 3-ball count. Rios luckily fouled out and Ricco Ghiberti lined right to Sharp to keep the Aces from scoring. The Aces tied the score in the fourth then, an inning where Ford walked two. The Coons appeared to catch a major break in the next inning. Guerin had stolen a base his last time on, and went for second again. De La Parra rushed the throw, Cerdeira couldn’t get it and Guerin went to third. One out, Palacios and Reece both made pathetic outs and Guerin was left unscored. Ford was eventually ditched after his fifth walk of the day, to Bradley in the sixth and didn’t get a decision. Bruno got Ghiberti to pop out to end that frame, still in a 1-1 tie. Top 7th, Rios got Parker to 0-2 to get it underway, before Parker drilled a shot to right. Ghiberti at first appeared to get it, but it whizzed past an inch above his raised glove and dinked in for a triple, hopping wickedly away from the 28-yr old Venezuelan on the Starturf. Leadoff triple – SCORE THE SUCKER, GODDAMNIT!! Mata heard by screams and doubled, it was 2-1 Coons! Mata however was never moved up another base, and in turn Bruno struggled in the seventh and gave the run right back.

(slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall) (slams head against the wall)

Concie had to leave the game with an injury at this junction and with our short bench and Martin having been removed in a double switch, we were forced to play Heart at short and Brady at first, and EXACTLY that combo, together with the useless turd Joly pitching, cost the game in the eighth. Two out, runner on first, Heart got a grounder to end the inning, except he lobbed it past Brady, who could snag it. The Aces then piled on Joly for three runs. 5-2 Aces. Guerin 2-4;

Random observations: pitching is as **** as ever, offense is as **** as ever, and fielding is even more **** than ever, and now the first injury of the year fells the glue of the team. Yay!

Concie was out for a week with back stiffness after handling a wild throw from Palacios with an even wilder stretch in the seventh. There was no point in DL’ing him, that would cost him a good week of games he wouldn’t be rendered unable to play in. But it meant we had to abandon the extra arm in the pen immediately, and the choice was not a hard one.

Joly was dumped and we called up INF/RF Miguel Ramirez, 22, right-handed, a Dominican we had signed from the scrap heap after he had been dumped by the Crusaders at the tender age of 18. He was batting .297/.396/.547 with 8 HR and 25 RBI in 128 AB in AAA and could fill a lineup slot for a week easily. Or so I thought.

Game 2
POR: LF Cavazos – 2B Palacios – RF Brady – CF Reece – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – SS M. Ramirez – C Mata – P Miranda
LVA: SS Bradley – RF Wills – 2B O. Torres – LF L. Jenkins – CF McCormick – C L. Paredes – 1B Bell – 3B J. Martinez – P P. Clark

Clark came in, wilder than a thunderstorm, having walked 37 in 39 innings, with only 16 K against that. He walked the first two Coons, and Brady plated a run with a single. Clark was truly abominable in this start, too, walking seven batters in four innings, conceding five runs, but he also struck out five, including three K’s on poor young Miguel Ramirez, who made his debut to an 0-3, 3 K, 7 LOB tune. Not that the useless Miranda knew where to throw. The Aces didn’t score through three, which was somewhat miraculous, because he was almost as wild. In the fourth, they took him apart: Oliver Torres drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on Jenkins’ groundout, and scored when McCormick singled, 5-1. Paredes walked, Bell flew out, two down. A Jaime Martinez single loaded the bases. Gabriel Silva singled, plating two runs as pinch-hitter for Clark. When Miranda drilled John Bradley to reload the bags he was gone to the Yukon. Manuel Martinez entered and served up a most welcome grand slam to Gary Wills. Only the Raccoons knew how to enter an inning up by five and exit it losing. The Aces fans were amused then their team led off the fifth with two infield singles. The wholly incapable Pelts from the North were at work again. The Aces in turn didn’t score because they actually ran themselves out of the inning. The Raccoons didn’t get automatic base runners anymore with Clark removed from the game, and to be precise, they didn’t get any base runners anymore, as George Moore pitched three perfect innings. The eighth saw Ian Johnson appear after Mata finally broke Moore with a single. Flores hit for Meeks and tripled, putting the tying runs on third for the Critters, and NO OUTS. They did get the minimum requirements done, as Cavazos scored him with a sac fly. However, as your parents always told you, and as the miscarriages on the field obviously didn’t get told from their miscarried parents, the minimum is rarely enough. In the ninth, Reece drew a leadoff walk, and Martin was supposed to bunt him over to give Sharp a better chance to plate him. Martin bunted so badly that Reece got nabbed at second, and the Raccoons didn’t score. When Oliver Torres hit a leadoff double off Wade in the bottom 9th, the curtains were already coming down. 8-7 Aces. Brady 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Flores (PH) 1-1, 3B, RBI; Meeks 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K;

The big league debut of Miguel Ramirez: 0-5, 4 K, 8 LOB. We counseled him late that night so he would slit his wrists.

We needed a shortstop on Sunday after all.

Game 3
POR: LF Cavazos – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – RF Brady – SS M. Ramirez – C Mata – P M. Lopez
LVA: RF Ghiberti – C De La Parra – 1B O. Torres – LF L. Jenkins – SS Cerdeira – CF Wills – 3B Bradley – 2B J. Martinez – P Moriarty

Even though nobody believed in it anymore, the Raccoons managed a home run in this week, when Sharp hit his second of the year in the second inning of the Sunday game. Ramirez also had his first career hit, a single, in the same inning, but was left on when Mata flailed out. While Lopez was holding up early on and pitched shutout ball, Moriarty got hit pretty hard and surrendered three more runs by the fourth. By the fifth however, Lopez began to lose it again. In the fifth, he plunked Bradley, but the defense mopped up. In the sixth, he hit Ghiberti leading off, and this time got pummeled with a Torres RBI triple, Jenkins RBI single, and it was not like our lead was all that big. The Aces had just chopped off half of it, 4-2. We had two on in the seventh when Reece hit into a double play, the Coons’ third on the day, and in a twist of irony, Martin homered with two out after that. Not that it helped Lopez any. He put on Martinez and PH McCormick with singles in the bottom 7th. One out, Bruno entered, somehow got Ghiberti, then drilled De La Parra. That was also three on the day. Bases loaded for Torres, Juan Diaz came out of the pen to face him, got two strikes on him before surrendering a single, then got a wildly hacking Lou Jenkins to strike himself out. Mata hit into a fourth double play in the eighth, but could they also smack four batters? Nordahl was in the game with a 6-3 lead, but didn’t want to play with the brain-damaged morons all around him. Two down, they paid him back, as Mata dropped a kindergarten pop up that a stickball player would have caught easily and without crying. That would have been the third out, but now Jaime Martinez came up. Nordahl struck him out energetically. The lead then went into Miller’s hands, which recently was the recipe for the perfect storm. This time however, he struck out two, and converted the third batter’s grounder himself for the third out. 6-3 Coons. Cavazos 3-5, RBI; Palacios 2-5; Martin 3-4, HR, 3 RBI; Sharp 2-4, HR, RBI;

In other news

May 14 – The Gold Sox’ Zak Davidson (.392, 0 HR, 14 RBI) has his third hitting streak of 20 or more games in as many seasons end with an 0-4 day in a 2-1 loss to the Pacifics. Davidson hit safely in 26 consecutive games, the most he has ever achieved.
May 15 – PIT SP Jose Marquez (5-3, 3.22 ERA) 2-hits the Blue Sox in a 3-0 win.
May 19 – Milwaukee’s RF/LF Cristo Ramirez (.301, 1 HR, 14 RBI) celebrates his 2,500th hit in a 4-1 win of the Loggers over the Thunder, a leadoff double in the fourth off Vaughn Higgins. The 31-year old Venezuelan Ramirez was picked sixth overall by the Loggers in the 1988 amateur draft and has spent his entire career with the organization, earning eight All Star selections, two Gold Gloves (1990, 1995), five Batter of the Month, and two Batter of the Year (1993, 1998) awards. Ramirez, currently lodged in 12th place on the all-time hits list, figures to be the prime challenger for far-and-away and recently retired leader Jeffery Brown with his 3,582 hits.

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons played seven games this week. I was crying.

The Knights waived Vern Kinnear this week. I was crying.

Neil Reece struck out nine times this week. I was crying.

Concie tried to be a hero and got hurt this week. I was crying.

Las Vegas’ Lou Jenkins was named Player of this week. I was crying.

Young Miguel Ramirez hit for a golden sombrero in his debut this week. I was crying.

Something else?

Amidst all those tears, it WAS a horrible week, no doubt. I struggle to find anything positive. If anything, then Dan Nordahl is getting into better and better shape to maybe be trusted with the closer’s job soon? No? Yes? No? The boy is below.