[Westheim]

Raccoons (5-1) vs. Falcons (2-4) – April 8-10, 2002

During the first week, the Falcons had batted .320, the best mark in the league, but had suffered from atrocious pitching, mostly out of the bullpen.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Manuel Hernandez (1-0, 3.38 ERA)
Randy Farley (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. Alfredo Collazo (0-0)
Nick Brown (0-0, 1.35 ERA) vs. Jesus Hernandez (0-0, 2.70 ERA)

Game 1
CHA: 3B H. Green – LF King – RF Lugo – 1B L. Soto – CF Hudson – C M. Castillo – SS Vieitas – 2B A. Ramirez – P M. Hernandez
POR: SS Guerin – 3B Sharp – CF Reece – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 2B Ingall – RF Flores – C Thomas – P Ford

Two southpaw pitchers, only one left-handed batter (Martin) to start this game. Despite all those matchups favoring the hitters, there was very little offense going on. Hubert Green hit a solo home run in the third inning, and that was the only scoring, although the Raccoons did have their share of chances, leaving runners on second base twice before the sixth inning rolled along, Concie led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a terrible throw by Miguel Castillo – and was left there while one, two, three outs were made. Ford was still behind 1-0 in the top 7th, walked the leadoff batter Herberto Vieitas, then tried to nab him at second when Manuel Hernandez laid down a bunt – but threw high and all hands were safe. Marcos Bruno managed to clean up and the Falcons didn’t score, but the Raccoons were absolutely unable to score against Hernandez, who scattered four hits through eight innings. The ninth saw Cory Maupin trying to protect the most miniscule lead the Falcons had, with Roberson up first. He whiffed, but Martin singled and Parker ran for him, while Brady hit for Ingall. Unfortunately, his liner to the right side was snagged by Ramirez, while Parker was moving fast in the wrong direction – and it was the end. 1-0 Falcons. Roberson 2-4; Ford 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, L (1-1);

Yeah, that’s my team…

Game 2
CHA: RF Lugo – C F. Chavez – CF Morton – 2B H. Green – LF R. Wilson – SS Vieitas – 1B A. Ramirez – 3B N. Chavez – P Collazo
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – RF Brady – LF Roberson – 3B Matthews – C Thomas – P Farley

Game 2 was more of the first one in that there was no offense going on at all – and there was the least offense going on for the Raccoons, who faced a mildly wild Alfredo Collazo, who issued five walks, but the Critters couldn’t buy a hit for their measly lives. The game remained scoreless through seven, with a few double plays further killing offense. In the top 8th, Farley put a man on before a pinch-hit triple by Jose Lugo broke up the tie. Miguel Castillo hit for the pitcher, singled home Lugo, and while Farley was removed now, the bullpen took the bait and burst into flames. Kevin Jones entered, didn’t retire anybody, and Daniel Miller finally dug out the Coons down 3-0 and with the bags full. The score was still the same into the bottom 9th. Maupin retired Palacios, retired Reece, the Raccoons had only TWO hits so far, and then Martin homered. Oh well, delaying the inevitable. Then Brady singled. Roberson singled. Suddenly the tying run was up, with Sharp hitting for Matthews, but grounded out. 3-1 Falcons.

Hngg-ggrrrr. Don’t you hate it when they rally in the ninth, only to not actually rally? Also, six double plays in the game, four turned by the brown-clad team, to no avail.

Well, the pitching is not bad, but the offense is pretty dry. It tastes like sand. Watching them pretty much feel like rubbing sand into an open wound. The Titans beat the Knights twice to take over the division lead, so we are now not playoff-bound anymore, and at the rate the offense is going at (15 runs in six games), we are more cellar-bound. Currently we’re BEST in runs allowed, but tied for 10th in runs scored.

Game 3
CHA: CF Hudson – SS Vieitas – RF Lugo – 3B H. Green – 1B L. Soto – C M. Castillo – LF Morton – 2B A. Ramirez – P J. Hernandez
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – RF Brady – LF Roberson – 3B Ingall – C Fifield – P Brown

Another game with the Falcons, another team was completely blitzed by the opposing pitcher’s stuff, but this time the Falcons were the ones looking dazed at what was going past them. Nick Brown was blistering them mercilessly, and also got *some*, not much, but *some* run support with a run in the first after a Guerin double and Martin single, and another run involving Concie in the third, when he stole second and was cashed in by Neil Reece with a double. That 2-0 score stood for a long time, with Brown only giving up two hits and no walks through seven innings. Fifield led off the bottom 7th, made an out, before Brown singled. Concie grounded to short, but Vieitas botched the play and both were safe. Palacios loaded them up with a single, and then Reece hit a full-count pitch to left that fell in but was not deep enough to plate even Concie from second. Martin and Brady both sent deep flies to left, but both made outs. The score went to 4-0 on Martin’s sac fly. And then Brown came out for the eighth and was whacked hard – three line drive base hits plating a run and putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Miller came in, struck out PH Matt King – then threw a wild one. Bottom 8th, 4-2 game, Nobuyoshi Matsui loaded them up with no outs. Parker struck out for Miller and Concie hit a sac fly. Palacios walked, reloading the bags, and Reece singled, and we sent Sharp from second, but he was thrown out. So, it was a 6-2 game now, and we went to Nordahl, who was fresh and we had an off day coming up. A K, a walk, a single, a lucky double play, thank heavens. 6-2 Raccoons. Guerin 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Reece 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Brown 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W (1-0) and 1-3;

Raccoons (6-3) @ Crusaders (4-5) – April 12-14, 2002

The Crusaders had been truly anemic offensively in 2001, and if three series were any indication, then 2002 wouldn’t be any better for them. They had plated 24 runs in those nine games, rock bottom in the league, but at least their pitching had been quite solid, allowing 38 runs, 4th in the CL. The Coons were 10th in offense and 1st in defense.

Projected matchups:
Carl Bean (1-0, 0.71 ERA) vs. Anibal Sandoval (1-1, 1.13 ERA)
Ralph Ford (1-1, 0.63 ERA) vs. Greg Connor (0-1, 1.20 ERA)
Randy Farley (0-2, 4.73 ERA) vs. Mike Nelson (1-1, 2.19 ERA)

This will be the first series of the year where we face only right-handers, and I kind of don’t like the ERA’s they’re spotting. But … it’s early.

Game 1
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – RF Brady – C Thomas – LF Parker – P Bean
NYC: LF M. Ortíz – CF Britton – RF A. Johnson – C Olson – SS Rice – 3B S. Walker – 1B M. Berry – 2B J. Martinez – P Sandoval

More pitching, and even less offense! The Raccoons didn’t get on base until Sharp drew a walk in the fifth, while Bean allowed only one hit and one walk, both in the first inning, in the game, and then he kept the runners on base. The second hit of the game was off Mark Berry’s bat in the bottom 5th, and it was plenty deep, putting the Crusaders up 1-0 after all. Sandoval carried the no-hitter into the seventh before Neil Reece ripped a 1-out double to get that one over with. We left him and Sharp on the corners, though, and Sandoval vanished into the depths of the park with the head trainer and did not return. Mike Olson’s homer made it 2-0 in the bottom of the inning. Nick Hartman and Domingo Moreno pitched scoreless eighths, and we faced Dane Sanders in the ninth. Guerin and Palacios hit singles to get the tying runs on with no outs. But Reece popped out and things went downhill pretty quickly with Martin and Sharp both grounding out. 2-0 Crusaders. Bean 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, L (1-1);

(sigh)

Game 2
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – RF Brady – LF Roberson – C Fifield – P Ford
NYC: LF M. Ortíz – SS S. Walker – CF Gonzales – C Olson – 1B Breach – RF R. Chavez – 2B Rice – 3B J. Martinez – P Connor

With the bags full in the bottom 1st, and two down, and 2-2 to Ricardo Chavez, Ford threw a wild one. The Crusaders were up 1-0, Chavez whiffed, but how were the Raccoons supposed to make up a 1-run deficit? Well, power was an option of course! We didn’t do much besides squealing in fear of the balls whistling past at the plate, before somebody manned up and turned into one of those pitches. Jesus Palacios’ second home run of the season flipped the score in the third, and the next inning Martin and Roberson both homered and ramped the score to 5-1! The Crusaders got a run off Ford in the bottom 4th, but in the top 5th Martin came up with Guerin on base and hit another home run! 7-2, four bombs in three frames! Ford walked a pair in the bottom of the inning, but eventually got out when Olson popped out, stranding runners on the corners. Next half-inning, Brady was up first, facing Alex Glaviz – and wouldn’t you know, another rocket, the Coons’ FIFTH home run in the game! Glaviz shook his head, then got ready to pitch to Roberson, threw a ball, then a strike up in the zone and Roberson tagged that one – HOME RUN!! Ford went six innings, walking four, which was hopefully not a sign of things to come. He left with a 9-2 lead however, so the Raccoons were off pretty well. Ricardo Huerta tossed two scoreless innings, but collapsed in the third, being whacked for two extra-base hits right away. The Crusaders for a moment seemed to mount a comeback, having a 9-3 deficit to erase but having two men on with one out after a failed rescue attempt by Daniel Miller, but when Moreno came in after that, they did not get another man on, and this game went into the books as a W. 9-3 Raccoons! Martin 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Brady 2-4, HR, RBI; Roberson 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI;

Now let’s try and win a game without half a dozen dingers. Although I won’t claim I didn’t enjoy those middle innings. Al Martin claimed a share of the CL home run lead with Vancouver’s Ivan Gutierrez, both standing at five. Nobody knows quite how Dallas’ Mac Woods can be at seven already over in the Federal League. Miraculosly, it doesn’t help the Stars, who are half a game out of last place in the FL West.

Chris Roberson has logged hits in a dozen straight games, while our pair of backstops have amassed three hits total and both are below .100 right now. How’s Pablo Fernandez doing in AAA? Badly. Bats .150.

Game 3
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Palacios – CF Reece – 1B Martin – LF Roberson – RF Brady – 3B Ingall – C Thomas – P Farley
NYC: LF M. Ortíz – CF Britton – RF A. Johnson – 1B Breach – C Olson – 3B S. Walker – SS J. Martinez – 2B Rigg – P Nelson

The Crusaders’ lineup was led in batting average by Mike Olson’s .244 mark. They *were* a tremendously weak bunch. Yet they faced Randy Farley, who walked the first two batters, threw a run-scoring wild pitch, and was to three balls on two more batters before a mercy pop to second ended the inning with only one run in. The Crusaders left five runners in scoring position in the first three innings, not building on their 1-0 lead. The Raccoons meanwhile were really clueless against Nelson and were not really in a position to threaten at all. They had the bags full then with two out in the fifth, but Reece struck out. Martin led off the sixth with a double, and Roberson hit an infield single to put runners on the corners. Things looked good, but a Brady sac fly was all the Critters got. At least it tied the score. Farley became stuck in the bottom 7th, but Jones kept the Crusaders from scoring and the game remained deadlocked at one. Reece drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, and again we couldn’t find anybody to follow up. In the top 9th we had a leadoff double again, this time by Ingall. Sharp hit for Thomas, struck out, and when Parker came out, he was walked intentionally, and neither Guerin nor Palacios could come up with anything. As regulation spilled over into extra innings, we got two scoreless frames from Marcos Bruno, but still no punch of our own. Brady worked a leadoff walk in the 11th, and Fifield bunted him to second. Sharp, who had remained in the game, struck out again, and Flores rolled out to third, and we did not score – again. Miller put a pair on in the bottom 11th, but nobody scored, and this game was dragging out WAY too long. The 12th, the Coons did nothing, the Crusaders left two on against Miller and Moreno! Then, the 13th, Nick Hartman pitching. Martin singled, Roberson singled, no outs, and then a wild pitch, putting the runners in scoring position. COME ON NOW!! Well, Brady was walked intentionally now, loading them up for Fifield, who could not be hit for since Thomas was already out of the game. And Fifield – predictably – struck out. Sharp had already two K’s on him despite not entering until regulation was almost over, and the count ran full, but Hartman kept missing – and walked him, shoving home the go-ahead run, and that was the cue for Nordahl to loosen up. As things were, Matthews hit for Moreno, emptying the bench, got Roberson forced out at home, but Concie came through to the left side, singling home two runs! Enter Mike Collins for ex-Coon alarm, and despite two outs in the inning, Collins managed to surrender another two runs on two walks and a Martin single. It was not a save situation, but Nordahl was the only player we still had left that was not a starter or Ricardo Huerta, who had pitched two-plus the previous day. Nordahl allowed one runner, but that was it. 6-1 (13) Raccoons! Martin 3-7, 2B, RBI; Brady 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Farley 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K; Bruno 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

In other news

April 9 – Rather late, the Miners announce they have signed two grizzled veterans in 39-yr old SP Bastyao Caixinha (247-209, 3.49 ERA), whose services come at $465k for a year, as well as 36-yr old INF Rodrigo Morales (.303, 110 HR, 981 RBI), who signs on for the same duration and $410k, AND they also sign 2001 champion LF/RF Josh Thomas (.277, 79 HR, 441 RBI) at $730k for one year!
April 9 – The Blue Sox land left-over ex-Bayhawk INF Bob Hall (.281, 68 HR, 456 RBI) for 1-yr, $690k.
April 9 – VAN RF/LF Tony Velasquez (.357, 1 HR, 3 RBI) faces a month on the DL with a groin strain.
April 9 – CIN SP Jeremy Peterson (1-0, 5.06 ERA) is out for the season with a torn UCL.
April 10 – SFB Tom Walls (.382, 0 HR, 1 RBI) brings his hitting streak to 25 games with three base knocks in a 7-5 loss of the Bayhawks to the Indians.
April 11 – TIJ RF/LF Raúl Vázquez (.355, 4 HR, 7 RBI), who smacked three homers in one game last week, is now out for a week with an intercostal strain.

Complaints and stuff

The organization suffered a blow this week when Jesus Taramillo was beaned in the side of the head, and suffered a terrible concussion. His career might be over. Taramillo, 27, was one of Vince’s discoveries, but never quite cut it in the majors, amassing only 86 AB over three cups of coffee, and batting .174 with 1 HR and 7 RBI. He was a nice kid, worked hard to get his swing and glove going, but it never worked out for him.

Hah. Mellow.

Our bullpen has pitched 31.2 innings this season, allowing 18 hits and 16 walks against 24 strikeouts and only three runs allowed (all earned). That is an outrageous swing around from last season, but some has to do with the rotation. Last year the rotation sucked from the start – literally – and it never got any better. Relievers were in the game in the fifth inning and sometimes on most days in a week. Right now, we can mostly go into the seventh with our starter, and then we can mix and match, and apart from Jones and to some extent Miller – both have walked five batters – all the relievers have been more or less lights out. However, it starts with the starter (duh!), and this is as a whole not a 0.85 ERA bullpen, just like last year’s bullpen in general was not one approaching a 5 ERA.

In neat notes, Albert Martin leads the CL in OPS, and when Nick Brown and Tony Hamlyn both had two starts, Brown’s 19 K trailed Hamlyn’s mark by only one. Hamlyn has made his third start already and is now at 31. Yikes.

Financials. Right now, we have enough money (presumably) to try to sign one guy to an extension. Of course Matthews, Ingall, and Gil Flores are bound for free agency after this year, but we’re not looking at bench players right now. Palacios, Brady, and Bean are all slated to be arbitration eligible for the final time, and we will have a chance to get a contract done with one of them. I’d like to keep Brady around, although he’s off to an atrocious start this year. Then again, we have no prospects for the second base job. Huh.