[Westheim]

Raccoons (11-13) @ Canadiens (10-14) – April 29-May 1, 2002

The Canadiens were giving up runs at the same pace the Raccoons had surrendered them for the last two weeks only, with 142 runs already against them. Interestingly, their offense ranked 2nd in the Continental League, largely paced by 1B Ivan Gutierrez and his 11 homers.

Projected matchups:
Carl Bean (1-2, 2.84 ERA) vs. Joe Hollow (1-1, 3.94 ERA)
Ralph Ford (2-2, 2.56 ERA) vs. Cal Holbrook (1-2, 7.79 ERA)
Randy Farley (0-4, 4.05 ERA) vs. Jose Dominguez (2-1, 3.34 ERA)

Game 1
POR: RF Brady – SS Guerin – CF Roberson – 2B Palacios – 3B Sharp – 1B Ingall – LF Lyon – C Thomas – P Bean
VAN: CF T. Wilson – 3B Sutton – LF Trinidad – 1B I. Gutierrez – SS Phillips – RF Wheaton – 2B J. Zamora – C Hurtado – P Hollow

The first time Bean faced Gutierrez in this game, he clipped him, and we assumed the Canadiens were sensitive about their slugger and would likely take objection to such move. Nothing came about the HBP and the game remained scoreless, which even was true after the third, in which both teams loaded them up – Bean again hitting a batter in Ramon Trinidad – but left three on when flying out to left – in Bean’s case that was Gutierrez. When somebody broke through, it was the Elks, who singled three times to get the bottom 4th underway. Although they didn’t score on their own hitting prowess, they managed a sac fly, and Bean gave them another run on a wild pitch, just for good measure. Bean surrendered another run in the fifth and went seven innings in total, while the Raccoons performed insufficiently, to say the least. A Wilson error helped them score an unearned run in the eighth, but that was before Juan Diaz faced three batters, including two left-handers, and all three reached base. 5-1 Canadiens.

(face is firmly buried in the palms)

Game 2
POR: RF Brady – 2B Palacios – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 3B Matthews – SS Guerin – CF Lyon – C Fifield – P Ford
VAN: CF T. Wilson – 3B A. De Jesus – LF Trinidad – RF P. Taylor – SS Phillips – 2B J. Zamora – C Hurtado – 1B Shaw – P Holbrook

The Elks started with an infield single by Tom Wilson, who was soon in to score, but left the bags full in the bottom 1st. Down 1-0, the Raccoons loaded the bases themselves in the top 3rd with one out. Roberson was up but grounded to Alfredo De Jesus at third base, who nevertheless only got the out at first base. The game was tied, and the Raccoons unleashed some 2-out terror now, with Martin singling home a pair, Matthews singling, and Guerin hit a double onto the left field line for another two runs and a 5-1 lead. Bottom 3rd, two down, nobody on, the Raccoons managed to manufacture a most magnificient run – for Vancouver. Phil Taylor’s grounder was bungled by Guerin for the first error. When Taylor set off to swipe second, Fifield’s throw was well into center and Taylor ended up at third, from where he scored on a wild 2-1 pitch to Jim Phillips. The Coons got two the next frame, including a solo homer by Fifield, who tried to make up for his sins (yet I never give absolution), with Ford getting tagged by Jesus Zamora for a solo home run in the bottom 5th, bringing the score to 8-3. The Coons added a single run in the sixth on a Matthews home run, his first for Portland, and Ford more or less solidly continued, and even into the ninth, but a double by Phillips got him out. The run was conceded by Huerta, who failed to end the game, and Moreno came in, but also surrendered a run before the lid came down on this game. 9-5 Raccoons. Brady 2-4, BB, RBI; Palacios 2-4, BB; Lyon 2-5; Fifield 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Ford 8.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (3-2);

We signed 35-year old OF Alejandro Olvera to a minor league deal today, which right now is just for depth reasons, since it’s not even May and our outfield has already been axed thin by injuries throughout the system. Olvera hasn’t played in the big leagues since 1999, and didn’t collect more than 250 AB since 1996, making for rather shallow depth.

Game 3
POR: RF Brady – 2B Palacios – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – SS Guerin – 3B Sharp – CF Lyon – C Thomas – P Farley
VAN: CF T. Wilson – 3B Sutton – 1B I. Gutierrez – SS Phillips – RF Wheaton – 2B J. Zamora – LF A. Roldán – C D. Davis – P Dominguez

After Matthews the day before, another two Coons hit his first home run of the year in the third contest of the series, with Mark Thomas doing the 2-run honors in the second inning. The Elks began to crowd Randy by the bottom of the same inning, leaving two men on, and they left the bags full in the next inning. Top 4th, another Coon came through with his first long shot of the year, and it was Cal Lyon, and that one counted for three runs, after Guerin and Sharp had gotten on with no outs. The Elks had two on with two out in the bottom 4th when they hit for Dominguez. Ramon Trinidad grounded past the mound and Palacios was not quick enough to make the play, as the run scored on the infield single. Another single by Tom Wilson later, Sutton singled to right and Trinidad turned the hot corner, but Brady hammered him out at home, keeping the score at 5-1. Randy struggled with control at times and approached 120 pitches in the seventh inning, still up 5-1. Nobody on, one out, Moreno faced Gutierrez and got him as well as Phillips to end the frame. The next inning, the Elks couldn’t get anybody out. Bases loaded, no outs, Matthews drew a walk, Paul Kirkland threw a wild one to plate another run, then hit Brady, and surrendered a 2-run single to Palacios. The next three Coons however were sat down by Kirkland, leaving up a 4 for this inning. The Elks never threatened again. 9-1 Coons. Palacios 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Sharp 2-4, BB, 2B; Lyon 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Thomas 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Farley 6.1 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (1-4) and 2-2, BB;

The bottom of the CL was densely packed. In fact, except for the Titans all teams were within two games of each other, and after being merely a game out of last on Monday, the Raccoons were now tied for second, albeit six and a half games back.

This was NOT the first career homer for Cal Lyon. During his first cup of coffee in 2000 (merely 29 AB) he already hit one out – one of the three hits he had in all of those 29 AB. He didn’t appear for us last year, also missing a good chunk of the 2001 season due to injury.

Raccoons (13-14) @ Wolves (12-15) – May 3-5, 2002

The Wolves graced the bottom of the FL West, with the worst rotation in the league over there. A slightly above-average offense helped them greatly to keep close contact, though. They had an average bullpen.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (1-1, 1.56 ERA) vs. Billy Lawson (1-1, 4.88 ERA)
Carl Bean (1-3, 3.03 ERA) vs. Wilson Hernandez (0-0, 2.19 ERA)
Ralph Ford (3-2, 2.72 ERA) vs. George Allen (2-2, 7.16 ERA)

We are facing three right-handers here again. Not many lefty arms facing the Furballs early in the season…

Game 1
POR: RF Brady – 2B Palacios – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – SS Guerin – 3B Sharp – LF Parker – C Thomas – P Brown
SAL: RF J. Flores – SS Hutchinson – LF Wales – C J. Lopez – 2B Metting – CF Summers – 3B McGreary – 1B Fleming – P Lawson

The Coons batted through the lineup right in the first inning, knocking six hits, including triples by Roberson and Parker, and drove in five runs. Now, if Nicky had a decent day, that would we well enough. If he was in a walky mood …….. His first pitch hit Jesus Flores and my heart skipped a few beats right away. No, we would not have an easy day, and not even a nice day. Kurt Metting’s 2-run homer brought the score to 5-3 before the inning was over, and Tom Fleming slammed the score to 5-4 in the second, which also didn’t end and Dale Wales singled home the tying run before the third inning dawned. Manuel Martinez had to rescue Brown in the third inning with two men on. What a mood killer. The mood was killed even further when the Coons plated a run off Cesar Salcido in the top 4th, which Ricardo Huerta gave right back, and in the sixth Juan Diaz gave up a leadoff jack to Corey Patel that put the Raccoons in a hole, two hours after they had bum-rushed Billy Lawson for five in the first. Daniel Miller gave up three extra base hits and two runs in the seventh and the Raccoons were creamed again. 9-6 Wolves. Brady 2-5; Martin 2-4, 2B; Parker 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Flores (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
POR: RF Brady – 2B Palacios – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – SS Matthews – 3B Ingall – CF Lyon – C Fifield – P Bean
SAL: 3B McGreary – 2B Metting – LF Wales – RF J. Flores – C J. Lopez – SS Hutchinson – CF Summers – 1B J. Mullins – P W. Hernandez

Roberson came up lame after a first inning double and had to be replaced by Gil Flores. The Coons scratched out single runs on 2-out singles in both the second and fifth innings while the Wolves were still looking for ways to break through Carl Bean’s defenses. Before that however, Wilson Hernandez walked the first two Coons in the sixth and then an Ingall single made it 3-0. Then in the bottom 6th, things went off with Toby McGreary drawing a walk from Bean, who fell 3-1 on Metting, but Metting poked and hit right into a double play. Bean was done after seven, having walked four, against only one hit allowed to the Wolves. The top 8th saw back-to-back 2-out doubles by Ingall and Lyon and then loaded the bases for Brady against a struggling Momsilo Plavsic, who issued a full count walk. The Wolves put two men on against the bullpen of Diaz and Bruno in the bottom 8th, but didn’t score, and Bruno continued and ended the game, striking out the last two batters in the game. 5-0 Coons. Roberson 1-1, 2B; Sharp (PH) 1-1; Ingall 2-5, 2B, RBI; Bean 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K, W (2-3) and 1-3; Bruno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Roberson slightly tweaked his quad, but the next day he claimed to be brand new. The trainer gave him a good look, then shrugged and went to have a sandwich.

Game 3
POR: RF Brady – 2B Palacios – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – LF Parker – C Thomas – P Ford
SAL: RF J. Flores – SS Hutchinson – LF Wales – C J. Lopez – 2B Metting – CF Summers – 3B McGreary – 1B Fleming – P Allen

Both teams left the bags full in the second inning, and both had their pitchers make the final out, but in the fourth the Wolves had a runner on third with two out and again George Allen up. This time a quite wild Ralph Ford walked the pitcher and paid for it with Jesus Flores singling in the first run of the game. The Coons had been terribly tame through four, but then it was Ford to ignite them with a single in the top 5th. Brady drew a walk, and with two outs Chris Roberson tattooed an offering from George Allen that was no doubt outta here, and the score swung around to 3-1 Coons. Ford was limited to six innings suffering from ill control, walking four in this start. Martin singled home a run in the seventh, 4-1, and the Coons added two in the eighth after two errors by the Wolves and Guerin stealing his second base of the game. Huerta took over after Miller tossed a scoreless inning, and did not allow a run for the rest of the way, while the Wolves collapsed for another three runs in the ninth. 9-1 Coons! Roberson 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Martin 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Guerin 2-5; Huerta 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

With that, we got back to .500 for the season, but a whopping eight games behind the motoring Titans. It deserves to be mentioned again that they are 3-3 against the Furballs, and 21-5 against anybody else. Dumb luck, I know.

Raccoons (15-15) vs. Cyclones (17-13) – May 7-9, 2002

Cincy was fourth in both runs scored and runs allowed in the Federal League, ranking second in their division – just like the Coons did in theirs, and the Coons were also fourth in runs allowed in the Continental League, but only seventh in runs scored.

Projected matchups:
Randy Farley (1-4, 3.63 ERA) vs. Lewis Donaldson (2-2, 4.09 ERA)
Nick Brown (1-1, 2.34 ERA) vs. Alfonso Velasco (4-2, 3.19 ERA)
Carl Bean (2-3, 2.56 ERA) vs. Miguel Lopez (3-3, 3.95 ERA)

Yes, that’s our Miguel Lopez. Doing well so far, and he will be our first left-hander in over a week.

Also, this will be our first string of more than nine games this season, as we will play 16 straight through May 22, 13 of those at home, before hitting the Bay two weeks from now.

Game 1
CIN: 3B Berman – 2B Brewer – CF Bailey – LF D. Morris – 1B Burris – SS Nakayama – RF Graves – C Rucker – P Donaldson
POR: RF Brady – SS Guerin – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – CF Lyon – 2B Ingall – C Thomas – P Farley

Another not very good start for Randy, and for various reasons. Rookie catcher Robert Rucker tagged him with a 2-out, 2-run double in the second inning, and in the third he was involved in a close play at first base where he had to stretch awkwardly to get an out, and tweaked a hamstring. His start ended after three innings and on the short side of the score, as the Raccoons had not been on base so far. This was something that would drag on for a little longer. Huerta tossed three scoreless innings and it wasn’t until he was hit for by Chris Parker in the bottom 6th that we got a single to break up Donaldson’s bid. With our starter wiped out and a dozen more games on the horizon, and Garcia really not planned for in this series either, and us behind anyway, and struggling badly - … Garcia came into the game in the seventh. Garcia went two innings, gave up two runs, one unearned, and that was why he wasn’t getting starts with our frequent off days. His turn to hit came up in the bottom 8th, down 4-0, with two on and no outs. Palacios hit for him, struck out, and Brady hit into an inning-ender to ex-Coon David Brewer. No, the Raccoons weren’t going to get anything done this Tuesday. 5-0 Cyclones. Martin 2-3, BB; Huerta 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Daniel Miller gave up another home run in the ninth. That’s six homers in 12 innings. That’s two homers less than all of last year. I’m getting the impression that something is afoul with him.

In good news, Farley’s hamstring was not strained, only a bit sore, and he would not miss his next start. Also, Edgardo Torrez came off the disabled list and rejoined AAA. We expect him up here soon.

Game 2
CIN: 2B P. Durán – SS Nakayama – CF Bailey – 3B Berman – LF D. Morris – 1B Burris – RF Graves – C Mosley – P Velasco
POR: RF Brady – 2B Palacios – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – LF Parker – SS Guerin – C Thomas – P Brown

Brown had not struck out anybody in his last start, but struck out the side in the first inning here, give or take a Will Bailey single. Things looked good – for one inning. The next inning three Cyclones reached and then Guerin made an error that we really didn’t need to happen. The Cyclones took a 2-0, half unearned, lead. The Coons loaded them up in the bottom 2nd on two walks and a single, but Velasco struck out Thomas and Brown to escape. No, it was not a good start for Brown, and not even a decent one, either. He might strike out seven, but over five innings he also allowed five runs. To make things worse, the Raccoons were again getting shut out, and it would get much worse. Top 6th, Miller in, Velasco led off with a hopper that went through Palacios’ legs for a single. When Pablo Durán grounded to Guerin, Palacios collided with Velasco at second base and fell on his hand. Visibly in pain, he left the game and Ingall replaced him. And it wouldn’t get better for anybody. Miller walked two in his second inning and was removed, Moreno holding the 5-0 deficit together. In the bottom 7th the Coons got two singles from Parker and Guerin up front, and then a Gil Flores double play. Same in the eighth, two hits, Martin hit into a double play. No, it was not meant to be. The Raccoons would not score any runs ever again. 5-0 Cyclones. Ingall 1-1; Guerin 2-3, BB;

More bad news: Jesus Palacios broke his hand and he is out of commission for about a month. Yeah well, everything is falling to pieces, why not the players themselves, too? Palacios went to the DL, joining Neil Reece, and we called up Miguel Ramirez, batting .295/.419/.611 in AAA, with 9 HR and 19 RBI.

Game 3
CIN: 3B Berman – 2B Brewer – CF Bailey – LF D. Morris – SS Nakayama – RF Graves – 1B P. Durán – C Rucker – P M. Lopez
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Matthews – RF Brady – CF Roberson – 3B M. Ramirez – 1B Sharp – LF Flores – C Fifield – P Bean

Nothing against Old Miguel, but we’d probably not want one of those 20+ innings scoreless streaks. The streak didn’t get there, it ended at 18, but not through anything the Raccoons did in the end: with two out and Matthews on third, Lopez threw a wild pitch that almost took out Ramirez at the plate. Contrary to popular belief however, the Raccoons *were* still able to score under their own power and Clyde Brady did the honors with a 1-out RBI single in the third inning, giving Bean a 2-0 lead. Carl gave up a run in the top 5th, but led off the bottom of the inning with a single. For the second consecutive time, Brady would come up with one out and runners on the corners, and this time he hit one that would sting Lopez for longer, drumming a 3-run home run to left center! With a 5-1 lead we looked pretty good, but – nooooo. In the top 6th, Bean was battered by Bailye and Morris with leadoff home runs. Two outs, then two singles, and then he walked a pair. In the most dire circumstances, Domingo Moreno was tasked with that final out as long as we still had a 5-4 lead, but Brewer doubled and all was over and laid in ashes. When the Raccoons in turn had their first two batters on base in the sixth, they never moved them, with Fifield, Parker, and Guerin cycling in and out in the Big Revolving Door of Fail. Bottom 8th: first two men on, and then … Fifield … Parker … Guerin. The horrors. The horrors. 6-5 Cyclones. Brady 3-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Bruno 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; Diaz 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

(sits dejectedly at the desk, loaded gun in one hand, big bar of chocolate that has already been bitten off in the other hand)

Raccoons (15-18) vs. Indians (16-19) – May 10-12, 2002

Next to roll over the Suckoons were the Indians, never mind them ranking 9th in offense and 11th in pitching. They will find a way. What was more important, the Raccoons would find a way to make sure the Indians would win.

We called up Edgardo Torrez at the expense of Cal Lyon. While Lyon was batting .280 and thus twice as much as Gil Flores, Lyon was on his last option year, while Flores was out of such. I wanted to see a bit more from Flores before exposing him to waivers, especially with our system ravaged by injuries, and players don’t grow on trees.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (4-2, 2.56 ERA) vs. Kevin Edwards (0-1, 8.10 ERA)
Randy Farley (1-5, 3.80 ERA) vs. Alonso Alonso (3-3, 4.02 ERA)
Nick Brown (1-2, 2.95 ERA) vs. Manuel Alba (3-4, 4.50 ERA)

No left-handers. Once again no left-handed pitching from the opposition. What was going on?

Game 1
IND: C Turner – SS M. Jones – LF Alston – 1B D. Lopez – RF Greenman – CF J. Valdez – 3B J. Garcia – 2B Stevens – P Edwards
POR: RF Brady – CF Torrez – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – C Fifield – P Ford

Ralph’s control was off by a mile. In the second inning he went to full counts on all three batters, resulting in a walk, a strikeout, and a 6-4-3 relief. The Indians struggled to make contact off him, however, and didn’t get a hit until the fourth when David Lopez doubled but was left on base. The Raccoons laboriously scratched out two runs through five innings, one doubled home by Martin, and one on a Fifield home run, and when Ford returned from the sixth, he pulled a Bean and the first three batters reached base on hits, all of a sudden, and the Indians casually tied the score at two. It was very frustrating, all … all this. Yet, we still had something left, the right hand of power, and it was attached to Chris Roberson, who muscled a 2-run homer in bottom of the same inning, restoring the 2-run lead. Ford struck out Ron Alston to start the eighth, then left to have Martinez pitch to the right-handers, and both Lopez and Greenman were sat down by him. Roberson and Martin had a chance with two men on in the bottom 8th, but couldn’t get anybody home, but this gave Dan Nordahl his first save opportunity since the Second Punic War. He was perfect, with two K’s. 4-2 Coons. Ford 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (5-2);

Ford is not all that great, but he keeps games together most of the time and is 5-2 on a team that has a hard time mustering other pitchers with multiple wins.

Game 2
IND: 2B Montray – SS M. Jones – LF Alston – C Paraz – 3B D. Lopez – 1B J. Garcia – CF Cavazos – RF J. Lugo – P Alonso
POR: RF Brady – CF Torrez – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 3B M. Ramirez – SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – C Fifield – P Farley

The Indians dealt themselves an early blow with double-plus-ungood defense in the bottom 1st. Lopez and Jones both made errors, and with two out an Ingall single plated a pair for a 3-run inning. Apart from Ingall, only Torrez reached base on his own merit. Up 3-0, Farley blew it instantly, issuing three walks in the top 2nd as the Indians re-tied the score on hits by Cavazos and Montray. Shoddy pitching was something the Indians mastered, too, however, and the Coons had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom 2nd. Martin doubled and the next 3-spot was on the board. Farley took his time blowing the lead this time, but by the fourth offered another walk and it led to a run again. Our lineup took the cue and knew they had to up the sore. Chris Roberson took care, launching a 2-run homer in the bottom 4th that tied Al Martin for the team lead with eight. Farley somehow got through the fifth on his own, and in the sixth Guerin helped him with starting a double play. In the seventh, he walked Jesus Garcia for the third time on the day and was yanked. Depressingly, we got no help from either Moreno or Martinez. The Indians kept reeling off hits and drawing walks and had runners on the corners with the score back to 8-7, when Cavazos grounded out to finally end the inning. Why? Just why can’t things work out JUST ONCE?? But no, the world was upside down, exemplified by Juan Diaz facing three left-handers in the eighth and sitting them down in order. Well, some things never change, like the Coons putting on a pair in the bottom 8th and not scoring. Dan Nordahl had no cushion against the middle of the order in the ninth, and Nordahl walked a pair before David Lopez singled home the tying run. The Suckoons were wholly unable to do anything well, and when Ron Alston homered off Huerta in the 11th, it was the ballgame, because the Raccoons put two on, and they never score when they put two on with less than two out. To be precise, David Rios pitched with two on and one out to Roberson, who grounded to short, and Mike Jones made his second error on the day, this time loading the bases. And now the Raccoons - … had Mark Thomas, batting .175, at the plate, because Martin had been removed for defense earlier. Can’t defend against Nordahl’s walks, though. (sour face) Thomas HAD to bat. He flew to left, into the second out, Sharp was sent, and thrown out. 9-8 Indians. Roberson 2-6, HR, 2 RBI; Sharp (PH) 2-2;

Every day a nightmare. Every day the pain. Every day … every day another day in hell.

Game 3
IND: 3B Montray – SS M. Jones – LF Alston – 1B D. Lopez – RF Greenman – CF J. Valdez – C Turner – 2B Stevens – P Alba
POR: SS Guerin – CF Torrez – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – RF Brady – 2B Matthews – 3B M. Ramirez – C Thomas – P Brown

The Raccoons hit into double plays in the first two innings, but somehow Albert Martin found a way to sneak in a game-tying homer, after Ron Alston had taken Nick Brown deep in the first, signaling us that we wouldn’t have fun with the flamethrower this time either, despite him striking out Montray and Jones to start the game. In the bottom 4th, Torrez and Roberson got on base at the start of the inning, and Martin had a productive run-scoring groundout, followed by a Brady single that put runners on the corners with one out. Matthews managed a sac fly and the bases got loaded, but Brown grounded out, leaving the score at 3-1. Alba then led off the fifth with a double. No, no, it wouldn’t work out. Montray was gently stroked in the abdominal area by Brown (with a pitch, in case you were guessing), and Alston brought home the first run of the inning, with runners moving into scoring position. Lopez grounded hard to first, but Martin made the play for the second out. Now Brown just had to retire Greenman, got to 2-2, before Greenman knocked a grounder past the mound, and a hero’s play by Matthews held the score together at 3-2. Bottom 5th, Guerin whiffed, but Torrez got on with a single and Roberson hit one to deep left, but it missed the wall and Torrez was held at third for Martin with one out. Martin hit a single to plate one run and then Brady found a way to hit into the third double play for the team. Brown was gone after a leadoff walk in the seventh, and Moreno got three outs. In the bottom of the frame, Lorenzo Martinez pitched and gave up bloop singles to both Sharp and Concie with no outs. After Torrez popped out, Roberson and Martin grounded out, and nobody scored. The eighth was uneventful, and we used up Marcos Bruno, which suddenly left few choices in the ninth. Nordahl and Martinez had been used heavily the last few days, and that had us look at Miller and Huerta to close it. Well, then give me Danny Miller, but I will close my eyes. Art Stevens ran the count full, but struck out, and Jose Paraz was down 1-2, but grounded out. Now the left-handers came, so the sooner Miller got one out, the better. 1-2 on Montray, who was 0-3 with 3 K on the day – and hacked himself a golden sombrero. 4-2 Coons. Guerin 2-4; Torrez 2-4, 2B; Roberson 2-4, 2B; Martin 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Sharp (PH) 1-1; Brown 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (2-2);

In other news

April 29 – PIT SP Bastyao Caixinha (3-2, 4.17 ERA) reaches a plateau few have managed to see before, as he takes the win in an 8-5 win of the Miners over the Buffaloes, in turn securing his 250th major league victory. The 40-year old former international signing by the Aces, all the way back in 1979, is 250-211 with a 3.49 ERA for his career, with 2,724 strikeouts in 4,075 innings pitched. A true work horse, he has failed to start 34 games only since 1986, in 1989. He trails Woody Roberts (279), Juan Correa (272), and Craig Hansen (272) on the all-time list.
April 29 – Dallas’ 24-year old INF Brian Nichols (.339, 0 HR, 9 RBI) has been on fire since the season started and has collected hits in 20 straight games now, including a pair in the team’s 5-4 win over the Blue Sox this Monday.
April 29 – TOP LF/RF Jesus Maldonado (.301, 3 HR, 15 RBI) is potentially out for the season with a torn back muscle.
April 29 – Rookie MR Bob Evans (0-0, 3.86 ERA) on the Crusaders is headed for Tommy John surgery and is out for a full year after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament.
May 3 – ATL LF/RF Stephen Ware (.343, 1 HR, 16 RBI) goes to the shelf with an oblique strain and might miss six weeks.
May 4 – A week after winning his 250th, Pittsburgh’s Bastyao Caixinha (4-2, 3.35 ERA) didn’t look 40 years old at all, striking out four against three hits in a 7-0 shutout win over the Indians.
May 4 – SAC 3B Sonny Reece (.364, 1 HR, 17 RBI) has hit in 20 straight games, collecting one single in a 4-3 Scorpions win over the Condors.
May 4 – Meanwhile, the Aces kill the streak of Dallas’ Brian Nichols, who is shut down after 24 games of consecutive hitting and goes 0-5 in his team’s 3-2 loss.
May 5 – The Loggers deal INF Mark Hall (.309, 0 HR, 11 RBI) to the Miners for 1B Jose Nava (.333, 1 HR, 7 RBI in 33 AB).
May 6 – The Condors re-acquire INF/LF Rory Gorden (.269, 3 HR, 9 RBI) from the Rebels, sending C Carlos Ramos (.264, 0 HR, 7 RBI) in return.
May 7 – The Canadiens sink the Scorpions, 7-4, and also end Sonny Reece’s hitting streak at 21 games.
May 8 – Denver’s Carlos Castro (5-1, 2.53 ERA) 1-hits the Crusaders in a 1-0 shutout, and hits the game-winning solo home run himself! Apasyu Britton has a double to spare the Crusaders getting no-hit.
May 10 – TIJ 1B/3B Ben O’Morrissey (.309, 2 HR, 25 RBI) has quite the day in the Condors’ 11-4 win over the Knights, knocking four base hits, including his 2,000th career hit. The 36-year old was the seventh overall pick by the Cyclones in the 1987 draft, but was acquired as a prospect by the Raccoons in ’88, for whom he appeared from the same year until a 1997 trade washed him to Tijuana. A career .283/.354/.425 batter with 151 HR and 943 RBI, he was an All Star three times, and won a pair of Gold Gloves ten years apart in 1991 and 2001.
May 10 – 38-year old SAL LF/RF Dale Wales (.288, 2 HR, 13 RBI) keeps trucking, with interruptions however. Persistent neck spasms will sit the veteran down for about a week.
May 12 – A herniated disc means the Titans will be three weeks without LF/RF Chih-tui Jin (.200, 1 HR, 9 RBI).

Complaints and stuff

It is taxing.

Palacios going down with the broken hand greatly limits our ability to encroach on right-handed pitchers. Apart from Al Martin, all other left-handed bats are in the outfield, and Roberson should play every day, so at most we can muster three left-handers in the lineup. That’s quite poor. In AAA George Morris and Manny Gabriel are left-handed batters. But coming to think of it, maybe it’s not that much of an issue. Less than dealing with Gabriel again, at least.

In miscellaneous news, Antonio Donis signed a 2-yr, $1.64M extension with the Gold Sox in early May.

It’s been a few years, but Ben O’Morrissey still has the majority of his hits as a Raccoon: 1,180 to be precise. I don’t particularly bother about his 2,000th, I am still mad at him for how he left Portland in ’97. And for me, madness never seizes.