[Westheim]

Raccoons (28-14) @ Condors (15-29) – May 25-27, 2009

The Condors had the worst offense in the Continental League, scoring merely 3.3 runs per game. They had a solid rotation that got frequently soiled by both that non-offense and the second-worst bullpen in the circuit (4.74 ERA).

Projected matchups:
Greg Grams (5-0, 3.46 ERA) vs. Doug Thompson (3-4, 3.64 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (2-3, 3.47 ERA) vs. Jaylen Martin (2-4, 3.67 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (3-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. Ron Carter (1-6, 2.83 ERA)

That Carter kid has quite the Brown-ish record. All three are right-handers.

Game 1
POR: CF Castro – SS Correa – LF Alston – 1B Quebell – RF Black – 2B Nomura – 3B Sharp – C De La Parra – P Grams
TIJ: SS Ybarra – C Leach – 1B A. Martin – RF Ward – LF R. Anderson – 3B D. Jones – 2B Montray – CF P. Javier – P D. Thompson

Doug Thompson (.294) had the highest batting average in the lineup, with the #5 through #8 batters all hitting .200 or quite a bit less. Thompson would be the first Condor to reach, hitting a 2-out double in the bottom 3rd, but was stranded by Pancho Ybarra, preserving a 1-0 lead the Raccoons had scratched out in the top 3rd, as neither team did much offensively. Grams put the first two batters on in the fifth inning, leading to the tying run on groundouts. That was only the beginning, though. Grams allowed hard hits to the first three batters in the sixth inning, was yanked, with Ed Bryan taking over to face a string of left-handers, but allowed all runners to score and hand the Condors a 4-1 lead. And that was before Law Rockburn melted down completely in the eighth inning and was romped for three more runs. The Raccoons amounted to four hits. 7-2 Condors. Correa 1-2, BB, 2B, 2 RBI;

Oh well, this looks like one of those hard weeks. Better get the booze ready.

Game 2
POR: CF Castro – 2B Correa – LF Alston – 1B Quebell – RF Black – 3B Sharp – SS Roudabush – C De La Parra – P Baldwin
TIJ: SS Ybarra – CF P. Javier – 2B J. Diaz – 1B A. Martin – C Leach – 3B D. Jones – LF Ward – RF Libby – P J. Martin

The Raccoons, who had hit into two double plays on Monday, hit into double plays in the first two innings on Tuesday. Thanks to “Midnight” Martin walking a sufficient number of batters and a lucky single by De La Pancake, the Coons scored a run, but Foster Leach tied the score right away with a solo jack in the bottom 2nd.

The Coons manufactured a 3-run rally with two outs in the fifth that got started with a full count single by Correa before the Condors started to offer major help. After Al Martin had Ron Alston’s hard grounder get past him for an RBI double, Quebell blooped in Alston, before the Condors added a wild pitch, an error, and a passed ball to the effort, until Roudabush finally struck out to end the inning, 4-1 ahead. A bases loaded situation for the Critters in the top 6th was also error-assisted by the Condors’ Juan Diaz, but Quebell eventually flew out to keep all runners stranded. Black’s leadoff single in the seventh had him stranded right there, but Baldwin, Castro, and Correa all singled to start the eighth to load them up against right-hander Brian Furst, who was in since the sixth and not removed despite the left-handed big bats appearing. And why would they? Alston lined into a 9-5 double play (you see something new every day), and Quebell flew out to center.

While Baldwin kept erasing batters, Jayden Reed issued three walks to start the top 9th, putting on Black, Sharp, and Nomura. While Pruitt singled in De La Plaza’s place to score one additional run, the inning quickly descended into another “Who can fail the hardest?” and three men were left stranded. Baldwin in this scenario struck out to return for the bottom 9th, but Isiah Reed hit a leadoff single, and Sharp couldn’t make a play on Paco Javier’s grounder to put the second runner on. That was enough to call on Angel Casas, who then had the bags loaded after Alston plainly missed the catch on Diaz’ easy fly to left. Ultimately the damage was minor. Casas struck out Al Martin, and Lou Jenkins grounded out. 5-1 Critters. Correa 2-5, BB; Alston 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Quebell 2-5, RBI; Pruitt (PH) 1-1, RBI; Baldwin 8.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (3-3) and 1-4, BB;

We casually stranded FIFTEEN runners. Booze alone can’t soothe this.

Matt Pruitt has a 12-game hitting streak we’re not caring much about so far.

Game 3
POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – LF Alston – RF Black – 1B Pruitt – 3B Sharp – C Esquivel – SS Roudabush – P Umberger
TIJ: SS Ybarra – C Leach – 1B A. Martin – 2B J. Diaz – LF R. Anderson – RF L. Jenkins – 3B Montray – CF P. Javier – P Carter

The struggling Umberger got stuck four runs by the Condors in the first inning. YES, this WAS the worst offensive team in the league, but the Raccoons were trying hard to get rid of their lead at the same time. Ybarra reached on an infield single in Roudabush’s direction, Leach hit a clean single, Martin walked, and eventually Lou Jenkins yanked a 3-run homer to get to 4-0. Umberger never looked any good in the game, ending up allowing five runs in not quite six innings, but even worse was the offense. Castro was caught stealing again, and there was hardly anybody else on base. Ron Alston hit his 10th homer after Castro got caught stealing in that sixth inning. The Coons scored a run in the seventh on a Lou Jenkins throwing error, a wild throw that was meant to nab Pruitt going first-to-third on an Esquivel single, but instead waved Pruitt right around to score. Quebell and Castro got on with two outs to load the bases for Nomura, with Ron Carter still pitching, but his grounder was intercepted by Martin and the inning ended. After that, the Raccoons were shut down by that nightmare of a bullpen and took another horrendous loss. 5-2 Condors. Castro 3-4, 2B;

While Pruitt had a single to run his streak to 13 games, the Coons managed to blow their division lead against one of the most clueless teams around.

Raccoons (29-16) @ Aces (19-29) – May 29-31, 2009

We were 2-1 against the Aces on the season, who possessed the worst bullpen (worse than the Condors, which wasn’t that horrendous after getting a close look at it), and were allowing the most runs, with a below-average rotation. Their offense had them ranked fifth, but their run differential was -42. They also had lost seven games in a row, but help was on the way.

Projected matchups:
Javier Cruz (4-2, 3.02 ERA) vs. Jack Thomas (3-3, 3.49 ERA)
Nick Brown (4-2, 1.97 ERA) vs. Jimmy Young (2-3, 4.37 ERA)
Greg Grams (5-1, 3.66 ERA) vs. Jim Pennington (1-5, 5.49 ERA)

Jack Thomas is a left-hander, but the only southpaw we will get this week.

Game 1
POR: CF Castro – 2B Correa – LF Alston – RF Black – 1B Quebell – 3B Sharp – C De La Parra – SS Roudabush – P Cruz
LVA: 1B McDermott – 2B Moultrie – CF Cameron – RF R. Garcia – C Durango – LF L. Taylor – SS Dahlke – 3B F. Soto – P J. Thomas

Ron Alston tied Quebell for the team lead with his 11th homer, a solo shot in the first inning. Quebell and Sharp started the second with singles, with Don Cameron botching the pickup on Sharp’s ball to advance the runners into scoring position. Starting with a De La Pretense strikeout, the Raccoons elegantly eluded the scoring pressure and kept it at 1-0. Well, the Aces didn’t keep it at 1-0, Eduardo Durango homered (much a hitting catcher, huh!?), and after that Cruz folded quickly. The Aces had runners on the corners with two outs and Jack Thomas batting, allowed a 2-run double to center, and didn’t retire anybody from there. Down 4-1, he drilled Don Cameron with a 3-0 pitch, which was his ticket to the showers. Ted Reese struck out Ricardo Garcia to end the inning, but this was another desperate, joy-deprived game. In the fourth, Quebell and Sharp were on with no outs before De La Porridge, Roudabush, and Reese struck out in order. The Coons didn’t do a lick here. The best guy clad in brown was Reese, logging more than four innings on one run, and Bryan cocked up one more run in the seventh, and Rockburn’s locks kept burning, too. The game ended in style, with Castro hitting Trevino running from first base for the final out. 7-1 Aces. Quebell 2-3, BB; Sharp 2-3, BB; Trevino (PH) 1-1; Reese 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K;

Roudabush was dumped after this game, and Rob Howell, who hadn’t hit much in rehab in St. Pete, returned, to not hit much in Portland.

And only NOW will Nick Brown get his start. How can it get any worse with the Coons? No-hitter coming?

Game 2
POR: CF Castro – 2B Nomura – LF Alston – RF Black – 1B Pruitt – 3B Sharp – C Esquivel – SS Howell – P Brown
LVA: 3B F. Soto – 2B Moultrie – CF Cameron – C Durango – SS Dahlke – LF Hill – RF L. Taylor – 1B McDermott – P Young

The first inning saw Castro thrown out at home. Brown had a clean first, before the universe turned against and onto him at the same time in the second inning. Durango and Hill were in scoring position with one out when on consecutive pitches Esquivel allowed a passed ball, and Nick Brown’s next pitch was wild outright for two runs for the Aces. After Jimmy Young had six consecutive strikeouts following on that heart-piercing occurrence, the Raccoons at least nominally had a chance in the top 5th with singles to start the inning by Sharp and Esquivel. Howell flew out to right center, Brown and Castro popped out. It took six innings of torture (out-hitting the Aces 6-3 to no avail) before Sharp walked, Esquivel got smacked, Brown grounded out to get them into scoring position with two outs, and then Castro’s grounder defeated Sean McDermott to score both runners. And then Yoshi Nomura fouled out on a 3-0 pitch…

Those were all the poisoned helping hands that were stretched out to Brown, who got a no-decision for seven innings of 3-hit ball. Bruno and Sims held the Aces away to get the game into extra innings. The Aces got Tom Dahlke to third (and Howard Jones to second) against Matt Cash with one out in the bottom 10th. After an intentional walk to Ricky Avila, Cash struck out Tom Turner and Castro could be bothered to run after and catch Francisco Soto’s drive to center to extend the game. The Count of Hack in the 11th livened up an 0-4, 2 K day with a leadoff walk drawn off Greg Sampson and then scored on a looping double to right by Sharp. Esquivel singled, and Quebell hit for Howell and managed a sac fly to get us a 4-2 lead for Casas to nurse in the bottom 11th. 4-2 Blighters. Castro 2-6, 2 RBI; Alston 2-5; Sharp 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Esquivel 2-5; Brown 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K; Bruno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Matt Pruitt’s 13-game hitting streak ended quite forcefully here. Can we please at least salvage a .500 week against bitterly pathetic teams? I’ve already eaten by way through two candy bar shops and a liquor store here…

Game 3
POR: CF Castro – 3B Sharp – LF Alston – 1B Quebell – RF Black – 2B Correa – C Esquivel – SS Howell – P Grams
LVA: 1B McDermott – 2B Moultrie – CF Cameron – RF R. Garcia – C Durango – LF L. Taylor – SS Dahlke – 3B F. Soto – P Pennington

Sharp scored on a Quebell double in the first before Grams was in trouble right away with two in scoring position and no outs in the bottom 1st. Alston snagged Don Cameron’s fly to shallow left, keeping the runners on, Garcia struck out, and Durango’s drive to deep center was sucked up by Castro. After Esquivel reached base in the top 2nd, Howell got drilled by Pennington, only for Grams to bunt in a very ****ty way to get Esquivel nailed by Durango at third. That was a wonky start, and Grams soon enough got torn to shreds. The Aces made him the second starter in the series to not see daylight after the fifth inning, knocking him out in three and two thirds with a 6-2 lead. They were happily hitting ringing doubles off him after an initial 2-run homer by Soto in the second. Ted Reese appeared and allowed four hard hits with two outs in the inning, running the score to an irrecoverable 9-2 for the Aces before Tom Dahlke mercifully fouled out to end the massacre. While the Raccoons weren’t doing anything against the pushover Pennington, Ed Bryan had another stellar outing in the bottom 7th, allowing three straight hits to load the bases, then walked in two runs. This was a rout and had been one for quite some time, and when Rockburn came in and allowed 2-run doubles to both Cameron and Garcia, it didn’t really matter anymore. Nothing really mattered. 16-3 Aces. Trevino (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Why even take the packaging off the chocolate? It just holds you back.

In other news

May 26 – PIT C Bartholomeu Pino (.269, 3 HR, 30 RBI) will miss a month with a broken foot.
May 27 – SFW C Henry McClendon (.243, 12 HR, 34 RBI) is dealt from the Wolves to the Warriors in exchange for MR Kevin Johnston (2-0, 1.42 ERA) and #7 prospect CL Ron Thrasher.
May 28 – NYC RF/LF Stanton Martin (.341, 12 HR, 45 RBI) will miss two weeks with a mild hamstring strain.
May 30 – The Stars lose SP Jose Flores (5-4, 2.86 ERA) for the season after the 26-year old has torn his rotator cuff.
May 30 – The Titans pick up SP Ron Carter (2-6, 2.80 ERA) from the Condors for two prospects.

Complaints and stuff

… which is the point where we congratulate the Crusaders for winning the division yet again, while we will now slowly sink into the middle of the division, where everything is relative and nothing is all that important.

Hector Santos was injured in his first AAA start, and will miss up to a month with a sprained ankle. (buries face in the hands)

Isn’t it ironic? We opened this week having played 12 different teams, and didn’t lose a game against only one of them: the Crusaders, going 5-0.

The Coons were close to breaking even in their franchise record, starting the week at 2,608-2,619 before getting whacked around by two hopeless teams.

After starting the inaugural 1977 season at 2-1, the Raccoons quickly dropped below .500 for their existence, and their first five horrendous seasons, all with 69 wins or less, ensured that it would take a long, long time for them to get back to .500. They were 398-574 after the 1982 season, not having turned a winning record.

But with 1983 came the Critters’ first pennant and only two losing seasons from there through to 1996. The Raccoons sprung over .500 late in 1993. Ben O’Morrissey’s walkoff home run against the Loggers on August 8 brought the team to 1,352-1,351 and while it was a bit of back and forth from there, and a few more good seasons were yet to come, but ultimately we hit 1997 and the dark times. The Raccoons soared to 87 games over .500 for their existence after winning the first two games of the 1997 season against the Canadiens (1,665-1,578), then plunged into oblivion. While it took them a while to completely ruin 14 years of hard work, they did it in style on the final day of the 2000 season, losing at home to the same Loggers they had perused to jump above .500 seven years before to drop below .500 at 1,944-1,945 with a season-closing 5-2 loss.

Things have been improving since lingering 85 games under .500 in the second-to-last week of 2006. They finished that year 2,389-2,472, gained 34 games in ’07, 24 games in ’08, and now had been really, really close …

… until getting all their teeth and claws pulled this week.