[Westheim]

Raccoons (20-23) @ Bayhawks (23-20) – May 20-22, 2002

Those weren’t the Bayhawks from a few years ago anymore. They never had scored a world in runs, but they had always enjoyed sterling pitching. Well, that was no more. They had Tony Hamlyn, but had lost most other key pieces from their staff. Their bullpen was still 2nd, though. Offensively, they were 6th in runs scored.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (6-2, 2.21 ERA) vs. Ricardo Sanchez (5-4, 3.72 ERA)
Randy Farley (1-6, 4.61 ERA) vs. Dani Alvarado (1-2, 4.41 ERA)
Nick Brown (3-2, 2.56 ERA) vs. Miguel Diaz (2-2, 5.77 ERA)

Another series where we will only face right-handers.

Game 1
POR: 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – CF Lyon – 2B Matthews – RF Parker – C Thomas – P Ford
SFB: RF Javier – SS J. Perez – 1B D. Carroll – CF Black – LF Walls – C Manuel – 3B I. Navarro – 2B J. Diaz – P R. Sanchez

Ralph had won his last four games, but was completely amiss with regards to the strike zone in this game. He struggled to get ahead of batters at all, and soon was 1-0 behind when Luke Black hit a leadoff jack in the second. Black would hurt him again in the fifth inning with a 2-out RBI single for the Hawks’ second run of the day. Both times the Raccoons somehow scratched out a run in the following inning and the score was 2-2 after the top 6th. Ford had expended 90 pitches and had walked four through five innings, and survived a 1-out double by Ismael Navarro in the sixth, but six was all he managed in this admittedly dispiriting start. At least he didn’t lose it – that honor fell to Marcos Bruno, who put four men on base in the seventh and was torched up for three runs, which was more than enough for the Bayhawks to shove and drown the Critters in the Bay. 5-2 Bayhawks. Sharp 3-5, 2 2B; Martin 2-4, RBI;

Domingo Moreno twisted an ankle while unsuccessfully trying to dig out Bruno in the seventh. He is DTD for the rest of the series.

Game 2
POR: 3B Sharp – RF Brady – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – CF Lyon – SS Guerin – C Fifield – 2B Gabriel – P Farley
SFB: RF Javier – CF Walls – 1B D. Carroll – LF W. Jackson – 3B Foster – C Manuel – SS J. Perez – 2B I. Navarro – P Alvarado

This time around, the Bayhawks took the lead straight in the first inning, lobbing two singles over the infield and then enjoying Albert Martin being a terrible thrower for a run-scoring error. Farley had two out and nobody on in the bottom 3rd, and still managed to walk a pair and surrender two hits and two runs. All the while, the most unremarkable Dani Alvarado no-hit the Coons through four innings, and they didn’t get anything done afterwards, either, apart from a stray home run by Gary Fifield, who was hitting 33% of his base hits for four bases. Unfortunately he didn’t even bat .170, and the rest of the team joined him in a collective display of Fail. 3-1 Bayhawks.

Game 3
POR: 3B Sharp – RF Brady – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – LF Parker – SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – C Thomas – P Brown
SFB: RF Javier – 3B I. Navarro – 1B D. Carroll – CF Black – LF Walls – C Manuel – SS Foster – 2B J. Diaz – P M. Diaz

Bad pitchers just loved seeing the Raccoons. They built confidence in them. Miguel Diaz was exited to get the call in game 3. The Raccoons had two on with one out in the first inning and barely scratched out a sac fly. Nick Brown in turn was no help in trying to stop the bleeding, failing to strike out anybody the first time through the lineup, but instead hit a man and walked one, with defense mostly by Guerin and Parker holding his ledger clean. The Bayhawks didn’t get a hit though, and the next two innings, Brown struck out five batters. Up 3-0 by then, he snapped back to sucking in the sixth, pitching behind in the count exclusively and walking a pair before he wiggled out somehow. The Bayhawks were still hitless against Brown, who had held them dry through six innings – and never recorded another out. Luke Black walked to start the seventh, and then Walls singled over Guerin. Manuel walked, and Brown was gone. Manuel Martinez tried to salvage the game with the tying runs on base and nobody out, and just failed. Jesse Foster hit a sac fly, before Thomas missed a pitch, moving the remaining runners into scoring position. The Bayhawks’ Juan Diaz then doubled them in. Crying into a pillow, I missed the improbably useless Mark Thomas hitting a tie-breaking solo home run in the top 9th. That put the Raccoons suddenly on top again and presented another 1-run save opportunity for the recently wonky Dan Nordahl, facing Walls, Manuel and Foster. He got the first two, before Will Jackson hit for Foster and drew four balls. Diaz singled, and Alfredo Marquez, another left-hander, hit for the pitcher. 2-2, he sent a fly to deep center that arrived at the warning track at the same time as Roberson. The circus was in down as Roberson grabbed the ball and bounced off the unpadded centerfield wall to put this one down for history. 4-3 Coons. Sharp 2-4, BB; Roberson 2-4; Ingall 2-4, 2 2B; Brown 6.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 K;

Can someone explain Nicky’s line to me, please? Because my mind refuses to wrap itself around it.

Clyde Brady is in an unbelievable 3-41 rut. He has only 8 K in that span, and just as many walks. It’s not that he’s not making contact. But nothing falls in – ever.

Raccoons (21-25) @ Falcons (21-25) – May 24-26, 2002

These teams had identical records, but the Falcons had a vastly better offense, ranking third in the CL, while their pitching was almost level with the Raccoons’. Their rotation had gaping holes, however, and ranked only 9th.

Projected matchups:
Carl Bean (3-5, 4.11 ERA) vs. Manuel Hernandez (6-0, 2.54 ERA)
Ralph Ford (6-2, 2.28 ERA) vs. Alfredo Collazo (1-4, 7.94 ERA)
Randy Farley (1-7, 4.35 ERA) vs. Jesus Hernandez (1-6, 6.26 ERA)

Game 1
POR: 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 2B Ingall – CF Lyon – RF Flores – C Fifield – P Bean
CHA: 2B A. Ramirez – C F. Chavez – LF Morton – 1B H. Green – RF R. Wilson – SS Vieitas – CF Cook – 3B N. Chavez – P M. Hernandez

The first hit of the day came of Bean’s bat, a 2-out single in the third. Daniel Sharp hit a liner over Chavez into shallow left that turned back towards the foul line and happily hopped into the corner, giving even Bean enough time to score the first run of the game. Bean was not hit against until the fourth, and the Falcons left a runner on third base the same inning. The Raccoons didn’t have anything going again until the sixth, walking twice, but Martin eventually flew out gingerly to center to strand the pair. The Falcons left a man on second themselves in the same inning. Top 7th, starting with an Ingall single, the Coons got into business. Ingall was in motion when Cal Lyon singled, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Gil Flores lobbed a soft liner to Herberto Vieitas, and Fifield fouled out. Oh well. Maybe next inning. Carl Bean was not hit for, with our bullpen unable to go three innings without cocking up a 1-0 lead. Bean batted, swung once and missed, then swung again and didn’t miss. Joe Morton ran after it in deep left, couldn’t find it and threw up his arms, until it damned on him as well that Carl Bean had just hit it out. 4-0! Roberson added a run with a solo job the next inning and Carl Bean looked like he was situated pretty damn good – until he wasn’t anymore. Two leadoff walks in the bottom 8th, then with one out a single by Antonio Ramirez, where the Falcons sent Greg Cook around third and for home, Nelson Chavez went for third, Bean cut off Roberson’s throw and nabbed Chavez at third. Still, with left-handers next, Mauro Rodriguez came out and popped up Fernando Chavez to end the inning. Bruno failed to put the 5-1 game away in the ninth, bringing out Nordahl with one out and runners on first and second for Herberto Vieitas. Well, Nordahl would save the game – but it first cost a 3-run homer to the light-hitting shortstop. 5-4 Raccoons. Ingall 2-4; Bean 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (4-5) and 2-3, HR, 3 RBI;

Carl Bean now has two home runs for his career, both this season.

Game 2
POR: 3B Sharp – CF Lyon – LF Roberson – 1B Martin – 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – C Fifield – P Ford
CHA: C M. Castillo – RF King – 3B H. Green – CF Hudson – SS Vieitas – LF R. Wilson – 1B Sullivan – 2B A. Ramirez – P Collazo

There are these days, where you just want to punch somebody in the face, and go back to bed. That was Saturday. The Raccoons got a 2-out, 3-run circuit blow by Marvin Ingall in the first inning, and then had Ralph Ford raped to be behind when the second inning got underway. Two walks, three hits on Farley, and the last of the hits was a 2-out, 3-run double by Terry Sullivan. Ford’s strong May was obviously well over, and he was knocked out by a 2-run single by Miguel Castillo in the fourth, putting the Raccoons in a 6-3 hole. There was no relief to be had from Daniel Miller either, as he walked three batters and allowed another single to escalate the inning into a 5-run nightmare. Roberson reached double digit home runs with a meaningless solo shot in the fifth. The Falcons were not very good, but sucked markedly less than the other team around and were not blowing a 6-run lead. 9-6 Falcons. Sharp 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Roberson 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Ingall 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; Huerta 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

There, the Raccoons face a nominally horrible pitcher, and get raped twice as much, or more. And it happens every time.

Game 3
POR: 3B Sharp – 2B Ingall – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – LF Parker – SS Matthews – RF Brady – C Fifield – P Farley
CHA: CF Hudson – C F. Chavez – LF Morton – 1B H. Green – RF R. Wilson – SS Vieitas – 2B Sullivan – 3B N. Chavez – P J. Hernandez

Farley was in, so auto-loss. The Coons loaded them up in the first, and left them loaded, before Brady and Fifield singled to start the second. Farley bunted them over and they scored on a Sharp single and an Ingall sac fly to make it 2-0 for the hairy team. The lead was shorter than short-lived with Farley being tagged by RBI extra base hits by Vieitas (new coonskinner?) and Nelson Chavez in the bottom 2nd, tying the score. The first three Raccoons got on in the third inning, with Matthews hitting an RBI double as the third man up, and a Brady sac fly restored the 4-2 lead right away. Matthews hit another double with Parker on first and no outs in the fifth, but Parker was held at third, but only until a passed ball on Hernandez’ third pitch to Clyde Brady. Next was a wild pitch, plating Matthews as well, 6-2. Brady and Fifield got on and the first out was made on Randy’s sac fly. He now led 7-2, and set out to blow it immediately, allowing three line drive hits for two runs in the bottom 5th. Hubert Green’s leadoff double in the sixth got Farley yanked – finally – and Rodriguez was no help, either and two runs scored again. That cut the lead to 7-6, while my blood pressure ramped up considerably. Jeff Paul walked the first two Coons in the seventh, before Fifield struck out. Lyon was no help either, grounding out, before Sharp walked, loading them up with two out. We got a new reliever in Steven Anderson, who walked Ingall regardless, 8-6, and brought up Roberson, who flew to deep left, but not deep enough against the agile Joe Morton. Bruno failed for the x-teenth time this week, putting two men on in the bottom 7th, making room for Moreno, who had lefty Ralph Wilson at 1-2 before striking him in the ribs. Vieitas fired Moreno’s first pitch to deep center in an attempt to keep pelting (the Raccoons would not be in town forever anyway), but Roberson made a spectacular launching grab to end the inning with the bases loaded. The eighth was devoid of upsets, and Nordahl got the call in the ninth with a 2-run lead. No more 2-spots please. He had to get through the top of the order, and John Hudson singled to center right away. Fernando Chavez smacked a wicked bouncer that went all the way over a jumping Nordahl but got to Ingall on a favorable hop, and Marv started a double play. Okay, Danny, you had your fun. Now, please… His next pitch was taken to center by Morton, and Roberson barely had to move. 8-6 Raccoons. Sharp 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Parker 2-4, BB; Matthews 2-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Brady 2-3, BB, RBI; Fifield 2-5, 2B;

In other news

May 22 – 33-year old RIC OF Jose Martinez announces his retirement after failing to recover from post-concussion syndrome. A 14-year major league veteran, Martinez was a .334/.422/.444 career batter with 2,319 hits, 18 home runs and 859 driven in. He ranks 24th on the all-time hit list, and was 9th among active players.
May 23 – OCT OF Joey Humphrey (.294, 3 HR, 15 RBI) is sidelined for four weeks with a sprained ankle.
May 24 – TOP 1B Jose Valenzuela (.280, 6 HR, 31 RBI) has his season end with a broken knee, and the Buffaloes will also lose INF Gabriel Rodriguez (.333, 2 HR, 20 RBI) for a month with a quad strain.

Complaints and stuff

… and we’re slowly sinking towards the bottom in runs scored. Pitching is, despite all the heartbreaks and pulled hair, still league average. They’re not THAT bad. They’re around 4.3 R/A, which is not nice, but not bad. The offense is. Somehow, it’s the other way round from last year. Without Reece and Palacios, nothing goes together in that lineup. We’re playing two or three fools with clips under .210 every day. Plus Brady, who can’t hit a barrel sitting inside it anymore. Even with that 75% OBP Sunday, he is a shocking .096/.241/.096 since May 10. No extra base hits, and ONE RBI.

And race for the division? Are you nuts!?

Trivia #1: Nick Brown has 118 strikeouts through 100.1 IP in his major league career. He is one of only TWO pitchers with more than 9 K/9 in the brown shirt. The other is short-time reliever Nate Goodman (39 K in 38.2 IP).

Trivia #2: Among all players with at least 2,000 AB for the Raccoons, who amassed the least VORP for the team?
- Glenn Johnston (27.7 VORP in 2,027 AB)

With Johnston, I can't help, but the one thing I keep seeing again and again in front of my eyes is him dropping Ed Parrell's 2-out fly. Mauro Morales scores. Jackie Lagarde's look tells the horror like words never could. The Raccoons lose. Empty silent darkness.