[Westheim]

Raccoons (23-34) vs. Canadiens (21-33) – June 5-7, 2001

The Canadiens continued to suffer from a terrible pitching staff, with the rotation hanging one sliver under a 5.00 ERA as a group, and the bullpen was just as bad, and even slightly worse than the Coons’. They were scoring average runs, so this could potentially develop into a scorefest. We are 2-2 on the year.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (3-4, 3.15 ERA) vs. Daniel Dickerson (4-3, 4.87 ERA)
Cipriano Miranda (1-7, 5.59 ERA) vs. Joe Hollow (4-7, 4.88 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (3-5, 6.21 ERA) vs. Jose Dominguez (3-8, 5.73 ERA)

Game 1
VAN: C Clemente – LF J. Durán – 1B Valenzuela – RF Velasquez – CF P. Taylor – 3B A. De Jesus – SS Sutton – 2B Shaw – P Dickerson
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – LF Cavazos – 1B Martin – RF Brady – 3B Sharp – C Thomas – P Ford

The Canadiens got their start on Sharp’s seventh error of the year, which helped them to plate an unearned run in the top 2nd. Cavazos re-tied the score with a leadoff homer in the bottom 2nd, and the struggling Dickerson loaded the bases, before issuing TWO free runs through hit batsmen (Thomas and Guerin), and eventually Palacios broke up the score with a fly to center, that would have been a single, but Taylor botched it. The Coons took a 5-1 lead, and Taylor made another error the next inning, but we left two men on base. And while we were up by four, Ralph Ford still had to pitch, so I was worried to say the least. The Canadiens had two singles in the top 4th when Travis Shaw flew to right. Brady should have made the second out, but dropped the ball instead. Bases loaded, one out, Ford, whose stuff was particularly sharp on this day, fanned Dickerson, and then got Clemente to ground out to Guerin. It was Ford’s eighth strikeout on the day, and he made it nine in the fifth, but constant base traffic meant that he was close to 100 pitches already. He got one K in the sixth, putting him at ten, and getting the franchise record of 12 within reach. He came back out for the seventh, the Coons by now up 7-1 after two more Canadiens errors, and led off by fanning Jorge Durán, then Jose Valenzuela – he tied the franchise mark! Velasquez then sent a fly to deep left. Cavazos caught it, but at 123 pitches, Ford was going to come in. Parker batted in his place in the bottom 7th, facing Mark Alexander, and struck out, and no one was surprised. This game however, even though the score was 7-1 with two to go, was far from over. Elliott Meeks faced three batters in the top 8th, didn’t retire any of them, and when Bruno came into the 7-2 game, he loaded the bags with a walk to Shaw, evoking the darkest images of the Great Losses this team has ever suffered. But Bruno didn’t let it get that far. He struck out PH Anthony Mills, Clemente popped out to Sharp, and Reece took care of a soft fly by Durán. 7-2 Raccoons. Cavazos 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Brady 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; Sharp 3-4; Ford 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K, W (4-4); Bruno 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K;

Ralph Ford tied the mark of 12 K jointly held by Stephen Berry (who whiffed a dozen in 1989) and Kisho Saito (1995). The CL record is 14, held by six pitchers, and the ABL record is 16 by then-Star Manny Ramos in 1996. With a little less ill control, we could have sent him for another inning, but…

Game 2
VAN: CF T. Wilson – C Clemente – 1B Valenzuela – RF Velasquez – LF J. Durán – 3B Sutton – 2B Shaw – SS Mills – P Hollow
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – LF Cavazos – RF Brady – 3B Sharp – 1B Martin – C Thomas – P Miranda

Useless Miranda was very useless, failing to remove Joe Hollow with two on and two out in the second inning, and the Canadiens quickly took a 2-0 lead on singles by Hollow and Wilson. The Raccoons didn’t get a hit until the bottom 4th, but then reeled off four of them in quick succession, and even Miranda drove in a run as they turned the score to a 3-2 lead. In the bottom 5th it was then an error that really appeared to get the Coons going. Palacios and Reece had singled when Brady grounded to Anthony Mills, and what could have been a double play in all likelihood was bobbled by the 19-year old and everybody was safe. Three on, no outs, the Furballs began to both their own efforts. Brady hacked himself out in a full count. Sharp grounded out, plating one run, but Martin also rolled out, and we dropped another excellent chance to do damage, and most alarmingly, Miranda was still the pitcher on duty, and the Canadiens put their leadoff man on with a single in the sixth, but failed to score. Likewise, the Coons stranded Mark Thomas on third base in their half of the sixth, and Miranda was insistent to pitch with a man on base even in the seventh. After Sharp removed his burden once with a double play, Miranda gave up another single to Valenzuela and was taken out. Manuel Martinez came in to face Tony Velasquez, who flew out to Reece to end the inning. The Raccoons managed to plate two in the bottom 7th, but lost Clyde Brady to injury, and in the top 8th we tried to give Daniel Miller some work. Another Sharp double play was necessary to keep him from getting piled on. In the ninth it was Meeks who got the assignment, and again didn’t retire anybody, putting two men on. That led to some scrambling, and Dan Nordahl appeared on the mound. However, this milk had been spilled. With two out, Tony Velasquez went deep, tying the score at six. In the 11th, the Canadiens appeared to squish Juan Diaz, who had walked two and plunked one, when Velasquez hit into an inning-ending double play. The wholly inept Diaz issued another walk in the 12th, leading us to go to starter Felipe Garcia to try and turn the tide here. The Coons had had a vague chance in the 11th with Reece on second and two out, but got a real one in the bottom 13rd. Still tied, Guerin hit a 1-out double off Raymond Léger, who then walked Palacios. Reece grounded out, but Cavazos dinked a single into center to end this game. 7-6 Raccoons. Guerin 2-6, BB; Cavazos 2-6, BB, RBI; Brady 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; Garcia 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (1-0);

So, Felipe Garcia got his first big league win in relief rather than in a start, also possibly voiding his next start.

Meanwhile, I tested by brand new neutron disruptor on Elliott Meeks (5.04 ERA). It worked! He vanished off our roster just like that. We called up Randy Farley (2-2, 1.73 ERA, 10 BB, 50 K in 5 GS in AAA), although that didn’t quite solve our rotation issues, since he had pitched on Monday. Somebody had to go on short rest, or we’d give the start to Scott Wade.

And then came the really good news: sliding into third base, Clyde Brady had twisted his ankle in some ugly way, and had torn ankle ligaments. Jason Kent was called up as Brady went to the DL.

He’s out for the year.

Game 3
VAN: C Clemente – LF J. Durán – 1B Valenzuela – RF Velasquez – CF P. Taylor – 3B A. De Jesus – SS Sutton – 2B Shaw – P Dominguez
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – LF Cavazos – 1B Martin – 3B M. Ramirez – RF Parker – C Fifield – P M. Lopez

Again, scoring started in the second inning. Both teams then loaded the bags with no outs, and while the Canadiens limited themselves to a Sutton sac fly, the Raccoons hit two sac flies (Parker and Lopez), and then added two runs with a Palacios single and a Reece walk, 4-1. Additional offense would come from Cavazos, who hit 2-out doubles in both of his next two at-bats, plating a total of three runs. Miguel Lopez was knocked around finally in the seventh, in which the Canadiens shortened the gap to 7-3, but the Coons had once again three on and none out in the bottom 7th. The Raccoons struggled to get a hit, but pitcher Ray Hoskins readily issued more walks. Guerin drew one with the bags full and one out, and Palacios grounded out to score a run. Reece and Cavazos walked, 10-3, bringing up Martin. Oh, and we finally got a hit with the bases loaded: GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAMMM!!!! The Canadiens weren’t quite through with suffering, however. They would have to take another shot, by Palacios, with two out in the bottom 8th, and it would count for three in one of the most lopsided games the Raccoons had come out on top in in quite a few years, and this despite Manuel Martinez also giving up a 3-run homer in the top 9th to Valenzuela. 17-6 Raccoons!! Guerin 2-4, 2 BB, RBI; Palacios 2-5, BB, HR, 5 RBI; Cavazos 2-5, BB, 2 2B, 4 RBI; Martin 2-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Fifield 4-5; Lopez 7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (4-5);

Sweeping the Elks never gets old!!

Raccoons (26-34) vs. Cyclones (29-32) – June 8-10, 2001

Here came a team that would know how to take on the embarrassing staff of the Coons, with the Cyclones ranking 3rd in the FL in offense. They were struggling to find consistent pitching themselves, though, and ranked 9th in the FL with a pitching staff that was only marginally better than the Canadiens’.

Projected matchups:
Carl Bean (4-4, 4.76 ERA) vs. Lewis Donaldson (5-2, 5.08 ERA)
Scott Wade (2-2, 3.43 ERA) vs. Alfonso Velasco (6-5, 3.96 ERA)
Randy Farley (1-4, 6.50 ERA) vs. Billy Lawson (2-8, 5.88 ERA)

That’s six right-handers slated for this series.

Game 1
CIN: C J. Silva – 1B Maldrum – CF Bailey – RF D. Morris – SS Nakayama – 3B MacKillop – LF Graves – 2B LaRocca – P Donaldson
POR: 2B Palacios – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – RF Parker – C Thomas – SS McLaughlin – P Bean

Jesus Palacios’ leadoff shot was the difference in the game for some time, but while Carl Bean struck out his share of batters, the Cyclones also singled against him all the time, and eventually connected to do damage. That happened in the fifth. With one man on, Will Bailey hit a game-tying double, and ex-Titan Haruki Nakayama plated him for the visitors to take the lead. The Raccoons couldn’t get the bats up against Donaldson, which was bad enough, and the game derailed for good in the top 7th when with one man on and no outs, Mark Thomas made a massive throwing error on Larry Maldrum’s bunt, putting two men in scoring position against Bean, and bringing up the left-handed battery of Bailey and Morris. This was a loss, and everybody knew it. Both runs scored. Technically, the Raccoons had the tying runs on base in the bottom 8th after Reece hit an RBI single, but the Cyclones whacked Garcia in the ninth to get this one onto the safe side. 6-2 Cyclones. Reece 3-4, RBI;

Game 2
CIN: C J. Silva – 1B Maldrum – CF Bailey – RF D. Morris – SS Nakayama – 3B MacKillop – LF A. Rojas – 2B LaRocca – P Velasco
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – 2B Palacios – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – RF Parker – C Thomas – P Wade

Wade was slapped around early, with the Cyclones hitting four singles in the first, but somehow got only one run, and three more hits and a run in the second inning. The Coons deprived themselves of a run in the bottom 1st when Guerin was thrown out on a run-and-hit in which Reece didn’t hit, but Guerin would have scored in the course of the inning without the base running shenanigans. The Raccoons left five men on in the first three innings, and Wade was exploded with a Will Bailey grand slam in the top 4th. Down 6-0 in a dreadful contest, the Raccoons were already defeated. The next victim was Marcos Bruno, who was slaughtered by Bailey as well, this time with a 3-run home run. Perhaps this massacre was better cut short with the following line: the only player to contribute something meaningful in this game – a fourth inning home run – was Chris Parker. 9-1 Cyclones. Palacios 2-3; Flores (PH) 1-1, 2B; Sharp 2-4, 2B; Diaz 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Oh well. We swept one team, that obviously means we have to get swept by another team. Otherwise there would be a remote chance for improvement.

Game 3
CIN: LF V. Hernandez – 1B Maldrum – CF Bailey – RF D. Morris – SS Nakayama – 2B Duarte – 3B MacKillop – C B. Mosley – P Lawson
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – CF Reece – 2B Palacios – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – RF Flores – C Fifield – P Farley

For the first time this week, there was no early rush of scoring. Farley was wonky, but the Cyclones didn’t get that one key hit (much less three in a row), and only one hit in total over five innings, while drawing three walks. The Raccoons in turn didn’t get a hit until Farley had one, and failed in a prime chance in the bottom 4th with two in scoring position and one out. Sharp struck out, Flores surrendered almost as peacefully. Farley finished the sixth with a strikeout to Larry Maldrum, but showed the trainer something in the dugout, and both then vanished in the tunnel. The game was still scoreless then, but a 2-out home run by Albert Martin in the bottom of the inning put Farley posthumously on top, 1-0. However, that meant getting the next three innings over with our mangled bullpen. Nordahl managed a scoreless seventh, but a look into the bullpen in the bottom 7th offered a good sight of nothing but misery. Nordahl batted with two out and nobody on in the bottom 7th, singled, then was caught stealing. He walked MacKillop to lead off the bottom 8th, and the Cyclones bunted him all the way to third to have .320 Vicente Hernandez batting with two outs. Hernandez sent a glider to left center, and Cavazos made the catch. Some additional offense would have been nice, but when Reece singled with one out in the eighth, Guerin was sent from second and thrown out at home. We had little to no choice but to give the 1-0 lead to Daniel Miller in the ninth, despite Bailey and Morris looming behind Maldrum, who got a K to get things going. But Miller – as expected – failed to get either left-hander out, issuing a full count walk and a single. Nakayama also ran a full count, but then struck out, bringing up ancient veteran Angelo Duarte, who was batting .194 – but was also a left-hander. The park was buzzing for Miller, who was pitching almost in slow motion. After six pitches, another full count, Duarte walked, bringing up MacKillop. By now I knew we were going down. And he struck him out. 1-0 Furballs! Guerin 2-4; Martin 1-3, HR, RBI; Farley 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K and 1-2; Nordahl 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, W (5-0) and 1-1;

Note how the same messy bug keeps popping up. Farley *finished* the sixth before leaving the game, but the game is insisting to have a pitcher in, so Nordahl technically appeared as new pitcher before the inning actually finished. That cost Randy a W. Any way to reassign that? I doubt it.

In other news

June 4 – Wolves LF Dale Wales (.351, 2 HR, 33 RBI) breaks through the 3,000 hits barrier with two hits in the Wolves’ 9-8 win over the Warriors on Monday. He hits a second inning RBI double off Johnny Collins to reach the milestone. Wales, 38, was the second overall pick in the 1981 draft, taken by the Gold Sox, with whom he debuted the next year and spent the first 15 of his ongoing 20-year career. He was also in Tijuana for four years before joining the Wolves. Injuries have been a constant companion for him throughout most of his career, but the elite .317/.381/.463 career hitter with 142 home runs has now finally joined the 3,000 hits club, where his only company are the retired Jeffery Brown and Paul Connolly.
June 5 – 25-year old WAS OF Stephen Buell (.217, 0 HR, 17 RBI) is out for the season with a torn labrum.
June 6 – CIN INF Dennis Berman (.316, 10 HR, 38 RBI) is suffering from a pinched nerve and might be unavailable for three more weeks.
June 7 – 34-yr old RIC 2B/SS Jim Stein (.262, 1 HR, 13 RBI) notches his 2,000th career hit in a 6-5 Rebels win over the Blue Sox, with the milestone reached via a first inning single off Stanton Taylor. Stein was a supplemental round pick by the Capitals once, but was traded to the Loggers for reliever Matt Carter for whom he would eventually make his debut in 1989. Since then he has played with the Scorpions, Warriors, and Rebels and hit for a career .309/.359/.418 slash with 63 HR and 825 RBI.
June 9 – With two hits in the Loggers’ 6-3 win over the Wolves, MIL OF/1B Bakile Hiwalani (.283, 7 HR, 43 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak going.

Complaints and stuff

Clyde … Brady … He OPS’ed .885 at the time of his demise, much more than what I would have thought possible when we first got him as a triple-A player. He was more a throw-in in the Brewer/Farley trade with the Condors prior to 1998.

The rest of our system was culled by injuries as well during this week. I know for sure the following players got hurt just the last seven days: Taramillo, Romero, Carlton, Torrez in AAA; Vela in AA; and Mahoney, Willard, and Searcy in A. That brings the entire organization down to 95 able men and boys. That’s not a lot over four levels!

I also noticed that 40-year old Diego Rodriguez is seven hits away from joining the 3,000 hits club – but he’s a free agent! That’s too bad, really. :-/

Where are they now? Royce Green was traded to the Gold Sox after winning it all with the Thunder last year. He’s batting .216 with five home runs at this point, and spent all week on the shelf after brawling with the Scorpions’ Holden Gorman.