[Westheim]

Originally Posted by MarkCuban

You can only refuse to rebuild so long before.... well, you no longer have any pieces. The Portland team defied convention for a long time, but they couldn't defy reality. And eventually, all those years of organizational neglect came to bite them like the rabies.

Last year was the "expiration date" with Brown and Casas coming due for 2014. But, sadly, both became shelved in contract years, and will now seek fortunes elsewhere.

Well, Westheim, he had a great run, but sadly, you can only do so much with a dozen million in the game of baseball. It's an expensive business, and the ownership didn't want to invest.

I'm not surprised the house of cardboard fell, I'm surprised it weathered the storm so long before collapsing under its own weight.

What are you even talking about!?

The Raccoons are not rich, certainly not in the context of the CL North, but we finally made it to an above-average budget, with lots of room before the last offseason, and that budget space was converted into the best pitcher on the market rather easily. No more early-2000 finances, where every additional minimum player was a nightmare to fit into the budget.

The team still had a decent, maybe not great, but decent shot at the playoffs if two or three things had gone right. Well, they haven't. But it's not like we've been tabbed to compete with the Loggers on Opening Day.

There also was never in the last six years a point where it would have made sense to start selling the top players on the team. The Raccoons were always in contention in the middle of the season, except for 2012, and then we flipped Jose Morales, who was in a transit year anyway after not signing with the team until after Opening Day, for a bushel of prospects, including Carmona, who might well be worth his weight in gold. While the Morales affair cost our first round pick in '12, in addition to Carmona we gained Bergquist (might be Yoshi's replacement if the Coons can't resign him, which is highly likely), Bednarski (traded straight up for Mike Cook, who was in the Morales deal), and a maybe-starter in Gary Dupes, who's out for the season just like everybody else. Overall I'd claim that this one worked out well enough.

Then there's 2013, where the Raccoons have been hit by it like 1340s Europe. We haven't seen injuries of that magnitude on the team - ever.

Nick Brown is not a free agent, he has a player option for '14 (same for Merritt). Missing most of the year at his age will not further his stock, so I guess he stays, and since there might be a few lean years ahead (including '13), and the money has to go someplace lest the Mexican prick take it back, constructing a retirement deal for Brownie will be possible in some form. The Coons are banking on the hometown discount here, and maybe Craig Bowen is lost at sea in a holiday cruise. Bowen is due his blatantly luxurious $1.88M/y salary through '15, the only year that might be tight for money in the near future (calculating with budget cuts for '14 and '15 right now), and after that the money can be allocated to Brown's retirement fund to keep him around in whatever diminished state he will be in by 2016.

Nick Brown is leaving Portland over my dead body, and over my dead body ONLY. You can stop holding out for a trade. It won't happen. I am irrational that way.

With Angel, Palmer, Pruitt, Yoshi, J-Alex, Watanabe, and Rodgers all heading for free agency, there will be budget space again this fall - just not enough.

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Raccoons (25-24) @ Knights (22-27) – May 27-29, 2013

Despite holding fifth places in both runs scored and runs allowed, things had not worked out at all for the Knights, who were four games under their expected record, tied for most in the ABL. They had a decent bullpen, but a horrid rotation, much the contrary of what the Raccoons were dragging around with them. The Coons had won two of three from the Knights in April.

Projected matchups:
Jack Berry (4-3, 4.20 ERA) vs. William Raven (1-4, 3.20 ERA)
Rich Hood (3-2, 3.90 ERA) vs. Rafael De Jesus (1-0, 4.05 ERA)
Bill Conway (2-4, 3.62 ERA) vs. Ted McKenzie (2-2, 4.50 ERA)

The Raccoons – facing three right-handed pitchers in this set – arrived in this series with a ravaged bullpen (which was also very inept in the first place), and had to navigate this 3-game set before getting an off day.

Game 1
POR: CF Carmona – RF Sambrano – C D. Alexander – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – LF Pruitt – 2B Bergquist – 3B Rodgers – P Berry
ATL: CF Arnette – SS Hibbard – LF M. Reyes – 1B Rockwell – 2B Downing – C W. Jones – RF Shearing – 3B Tolwith – P Raven

While Jack Berry in his Raccoons debut faced the minimum through four innings while being aided by two double plays turned behind him, Raven struggled from the start with his command and ended up issuing four walks in the early innings, three of which ended up scoring on a Ken Rodgers sac fly in the second and a 2-out, 2-run single by Ricardo Carmona in the fourth inning. Berry had a few struggles in the fifth and sixth, with the Knights stranding four runners total in those inning, before the Raccoons opened the gap in the seventh inning by exploding left-hander Jorge Cortez. Sambrano and D-Alex had reached and had made it into scoring position on a very wild pitch. A Quebell single plated one, and with two outs Pat Whitehouse batted for the hapless Pruitt and drove in two with a triple to center, 6-0. Jack Berry went eight full innings and wasn’t chased until Josh Downing hit a leadoff single in the ninth. Manobu Sugano replaced him and covered the last three outs. 6-0 Raccoons. Carmona 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Quebell 2-4, BB, RBI; Whitehouse (PH) 1-1, 3B, 2 RBI; Bergquist 2-3, BB; Berry 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, W (5-3);

Exactly what this beleaguered bullpen needed!

Game 2
POR: CF Carmona – LF Sambrano – 1B Quebell – RF Bednarski – C Bowen – 2B Bergquist – SS Whitehouse – 3B Rodgers – P Hood
ATL: CF Arnette – SS Hibbard – LF M. Reyes – 1B Rockwell – RF J. Garcia – 2B Downing – 3B Fish – C I. Gutierrez – P De Jesus

Just like the previous day, Ken Rodgers plated the first run of the game in the second inning, this time with a 2-out double to the corner in leftfield that scored Pat Whitehouse from first base when the shortstop got a very good jump. The Knights made outs on the basepaths in the first two innings, with Devin Hibbard being caught stealing by Bowen, and Downing getting thrown out going first-to-third by Bednarski. But the thing with Hood was that a) he couldn’t pitch with a lead for his sorry life, and b) if you kept swinging long enough, good things would happen eventually. The Knights, who had had four hits in the first two innings, then had four hits and a walk in the third, easily plating three runs for a lead against the completely overwhelmed Rich Hood. The Coons countered then with a 3-run fourth for which Hood was also responsible, following up Whitehouse’s and Rodgers’ 2-out singles with one of his own, plating Whitehouse, 3-2. Carmona then beat Pat Arnette’s range for a 2-run triple, reclaiming the lead for the Critters.

Yet besides diamonds, really only Rich Hood cocking up was forever. Jorge Garcia hit a tremendous 2-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to get the Knights past the Coons again at 5-4, and a still-aching pen here or there, he was hit for (with Pruitt, and to no good effect) in the sixth. Sergio Vega made it through 16 innings without an earned run allowed until Rafael De Jesus, the opposing starter, tripled with two outs in the bottom 6th, but was then left on base when Vega himself made a nifty grab and throw on Arnette’s slow bouncer to end the inning. The Raccoons didn’t get much done against De Jesus after their 3-spot, but when Bergquist singled and D-Alex hit for the pitcher with two outs, they Knights went to Cortez, who had already blown the game on Monday wide open. Alexander bounced back to him, Cortez threw the ball away completely, then drilled Carmona, who made a step towards the mound, snickering, before being pushed up the line by the home plate umpire. Bases loaded, Sambrano singled to left, and the score was flipped for the fourth time in the game, 6-5 Furballs. It was also the final flip. Despite being run out almost every day, Josh Gibson and Hoshi Watanabe mustered enough mustard to get through the final two innings and get the Raccoons to within one W of taking the season series. 6-5 Critters. Carmona 2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Bergquist 2-5; Whitehouse 2-4; Rodgers 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Game 3
POR: CF Carmona – SS Palmer – C D. Alexander – RF Bednarski – 1B Quebell – LF J. Alexander – 2B Bergquist – 3B Rodgers – P Conway
ATL: CF Arnette – SS Hibbard – LF M. Reyes – 1B Rockwell – RF J. Garcia – C W. Jones – 2B Hilderbrand – 3B Tolwith – P McKenzie

The Coons had runners on second and third with one out in the top 3rd after Conway reached on Aaron Tolwith’s error and Carmona doubled, but stranded the runners when Palmer and D-Alex produced poor groundouts. The Knights produced the same chance on Conway’s wildness alone in the bottom of the inning as he walked T.J. Hilderbrand and Tolwith, with a wild pitch in between. McKenzie bunted them over, Conway walked Arnette, conceded a run on Devin Hibbard’s grounder to short that was too slow to turn two, and then Conway walked ANOTHER batter in Marty Reyes. Gil Rockwell, who had 17 homers to lead the Continental League, anticlimactically popped out to Bergquist to leave it at 1-0 Knights after four walks in the inning, and despite a leadoff walk to Jorge Garcia and a double by William Jones, the Knights failed to score in the bottom 4th. Top 6th, the Raccoons had runners in scoring position with one out again after Bednarski singled and Quebell doubled. J-Alex fouled out, Bergquist walked, and Rodgers grounded out to the pitcher. Conway walked and whiffed six apiece in six innings of nightmare, but only allowed that one Jones double and that lone run as two hopelessly futile teams banged heads – or maybe butts, being too futile to even bang heads…

Top 9th, Ed Bryan pitching. The ex-Coon walked Bergquist to start the inning, then conceded a double to Ken Rodgers, now the go-ahead run. Sambrano was already in the #9 slot, but grounded out to Tolwith. Carmona had been removed and Ron Thrasher was in the #1 slot, now being hit for by Whitehouse, who … grounded out to Tolwith. Still two in scoring position for Palmer – line drive to right for a single, and a tied ballgame! Moaning in the stands, and Bryan crumpled immediately, plunking D-Alex before surrendering a 2-run double to Mike Bednarski. Steve Arritt replaced Bryan and allowed a deep drive to center to Quebell, but the ball was caught by César Morán. Watanabe retired Garcia and Morán quickly in the bottom 9th before Hilderbrand singled. Conor Shearing pinch-hit but struck out to complete the sweep. 3-1 Blighters. Bednarski 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (28-24) @ Titans (35-19) – May 31-June 2, 2013

The Titans were finally doing what they had been supposed to do the last two years and were winning lots of games. While going only 3-3 against the Raccoons, they were leading the North, despite the Elks and Crusaders still being on their heels. But the Titans had the best pitching in the CL, and the last staff to surrender less than 200 runs, which helped greatly with an above-average, but not overly enthusiastic offense that ranked fifth in runs scored. They were built around getting on base and moving around quickly, leading the CL with 46 swipes, while hitting the second-least homers, with half their total vested in Ricardo Garcia and Toki Hayashi, who had seven apiece.

Projected matchups:
Hector Santos (1-3, 3.63 ERA) vs. Curtis Tobitt (6-1, 2.44 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (3-3, 4.24 ERA) vs. Tony Hamlyn (5-2, 2.19 ERA)
Jack Berry (5-3, 3.57 ERA) vs. Toshiro Uenohara (3-4, 4.09 ERA)

Yep, the Raccoons were getting their very best starting pitching, including the lefty Hamlyn, which contributed to a rather bleak outlook for the weekend. Tobitt’s lone loss had come at the hands of the Coons when they stripped him for nine runs on Opening Day.

It’s been some time. In his ten starts since then, Tobitt had always lowered his ERA, and had failed to go seven just three times, and had allowed more than seven hits only three times, too.

Game 1
POR: CF Carmona – 2B Sambrano – C D. Alexander – RF Bednarski – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – SS Whitehouse – 3B Rodgers – P Santos
BOS: SS M. Rivera – CF R. Pena – RF R. Garcia – C Suda – 2B J. Ramirez – LF J. Gusmán – 1B Hayashi – 3B Butler – P Tobitt

The Raccoons’ best surviving bet to be an ace in some fashion, Hector Santos was waffled early once again and trailed 3-0 after facing three batters. Mike Rivera had singled, Roberto Pena walked, and Ricardo Garcia whammied a no-doubter to right center. The Coons made up a run in the third on Carmona’s 2-out double and Sambrano’s following single, but in the fifth had two runners, Rodgers and Carmona, being caught stealing by “Quasimodo” Suda. The Titans had yet to add something to their line other than a lonely Jesus Ramirez double, and Tobitt was suddenly in a load of trouble in the top 6th when two singles and a walk loaded the bases for the Coons with nobody out. But Tobitt was one of those aces you didn’t need to worry for. Quebell grounded into a force at home, and Pruitt rolled into a double play, and all the remaining Raccoons on base could do was to twitch the whiskers and head back to the dugout. Santos made it to the seventh before a bloop single by Ramirez and an infield single by Bob Butler put two on with two outs. Sugano replaced him, conceded a run on Angel Solís’ single, drilled Mike Rivera, and then somehow escaped without a loud knell when PH Aurelio Gomez grounded out to Whitehouse. Nothing of that was helpful to the Raccoons’ lineup, which failed to produce another chance and wouldn’t have deserved one in the first place. 4-1 Titans. Sambrano 2-3, BB, RBI; Rodgers 1-2, BB;

Game 2
POR: CF Carmona – LF Sambrano – C D. Alexander – RF Bednarski – 2B Palmer – SS Whitehouse – 1B Rodgers – 3B Canning – P Baldwin
BOS: SS M. Rivera – 2B J. Ramirez – 1B Butler – RF R. Garcia – C Suda – LF Hayashi – 3B A. Gomez – CF R. Pena – P Hamlyn

Another early deficit hit the Raccoons in the middle game as Baldwin allowed two hits, two walks, and conceded two runs on Suda’s double in the first inning, and the Titans collected the same loot in the second inning as well, this time with Jesus Ramirez hitting that 2-run double. That was all for Baldwin – not because the Raccoons were keen on having the pen throw seven innings, but because he headed to the clubhouse with the trainer, being in general discomfort as far as his shoulder and neck area were concerned. This time, Chris Mathis was tabbed for long relief…

Testing everybody’s patience, Mathis retired Hayashi on a pop before drilling Aurelio Gomez. After D-Alex dropped Roberto Pena’s foul pop for an error, Mathis threw a wild pitch to advance Gomez to second, and while Pena popped out to Palmer eventually, Hamlyn singled to center to bring in Gomez, 5-0, and Mathis surrendered doubles to Ramirez and Butler as well as a homer to Hayashi in the fourth inning, 8-0. An inning later, the Titans ended Sergio Vega’s 18-inning scoreless streak with more rampant offense, upping to 10-0 after five. The Titans still led by ten in the bottom 7th after outrageously not sticking the Coons any runs in the sixth, when Mike Rivera singled off Thrasher and then stole second base. The Coons’ bench coach diligently made a note of that. The stolen base, Rivera’s 17th competing against Carmona with 15, was not the only insult to the game. Hamlyn had tossed a 1-hitter through six, still had a 3-hitter through eight, but Bednarski doubled in the top 9th to get going. Suddenly – thunder, rain. And the umpires had everybody linger in the storm for EIGHTY minutes … and then play resumed without Hamlyn. The Titans went with Dusty Balzer, overwhelmed even in a mop-up role, and of course Balzer conceded the run on a John Alexander sac fly to soil Hamlyn’s line. 11-1 Titans. Palmer 2-4;

Game 3
POR: CF Carmona – 2B Sambrano – LF J. Alexander – RF Bednarski – C Bowen – 1B Quebell – SS Palmer – 3B Rodgers – P Berry
BOS: SS M. Rivera – CF R. Pena – RF R. Garcia – C Suda – 2B J. Ramirez – LF J. Gusmán – 1B Hayashi – 3B Butler – P Uenohara

Rivera singled in the first and stole his 18th base, while Berry hit Ricardo Garcia. Uenohara would happen to hit Ken Rodgers in the top 2nd before Sambrano reached on a single in the third, stole second and took third on Suda’s bad throw, and scored on J-Alex’ sac fly to give the Raccoons their first lead in the series. Berry faced Rivera with one out and totally accidentally drilled him, but karma soon caught up with him. Pena singled to left and Ricardo Garcia hit a liner up the leftfield line that then caromed off the sidewall deep in foul ground in a funny way and was played into a 2-run triple by Alexander. Suda homered, 4-1.

While Berry was whacked, Uenohara struck out eight in the first five innings while mostly keeping the Raccoons off the bases, except for the top 5th, when Alexander reached on an infield single, Bednarski also got on with a rather soft single, and then Quebell cranked a 3-run homer to tie the game. Berry’s response was to walk the leadoff man Garcia, but Suda hit into a double play this time. Uenohara left after Carmona reached with a 2-out single in the top 6th, with Dan Parker surrendering that go-ahead run with singles issued to Sandy and J-Alex. The Titans’ Dusty Balzer was then in again in the seventh inning and opened with three singles surrendered to Bowen, Quebell, and Palmer. With the bases loaded, Rodgers struck out, Pruitt hit a sac fly, and that was all, because Carmona grounded out to Hayashi at first, 6-4. That lead turned out to be worth nothing, with Thrasher, Gibson, and Sugano conspiring to blow it right away in the seventh inning, starting with a Thrasher walk to Pena, and then cascading onwards with three hard hits off the other two, as the Titans tied the score at six.

Top 8th, next attempt. Sambrano led off with a single off Balzer and stole second base, moving up to third on a groundout. Bowen batted with two down, and hit a quick bouncer up the first base line, where it ultimately defeated Hayashi and became an RBI single, 7-6 Coons. That one finally stuck. Gallegos struck out two and walked one in the eighth, and Hoshi Watanabe ended the Titans on 12 pitches for three grounders to Canning at third, Bergquist at second, and Palmer at short. 7-6 Raccoons. Sambrano 3-5; J. Alexander 3-4, 2 RBI; Bowen 3-5, RBI; Quebell 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Palmer 2-5;

In other news

May 29 – LAP CF/LF Jimmy Roberts (.374, 9 HR, 37 RBI) is out until the All Star game with a separated shoulder.
May 29 – The Capitals total only one hit, a Victor Sarabia RBI single, in their 3-1 loss to the Pacifics’ Brad Smith (5-2, 3.42 ERA), who goes eight innings and notches the W.
May 31 – CHA OF Jose Jimenez (.297, 6 HR, 25 RBI) might miss the majority of the remaining season with a badly fractured ankle.
June 2 – Oklahoma City’s Ed Michaels (4-2, 4.61 ERA) spins a complete game 2-hitter in a 7-1 win over the Bayhawks, who only get two singles off him.

Complaints and stuff

To answer your first question… (Maud says as she takes a seat on the couch in the office) …no, Mr. Westfield is still ill. He intended to come in on Monday, he told me, but then I filed him the player development update, and how Senor Calderón slashed the scouting reports on our pitching, and … well, I don’t think he’ll come in on Monday.

Say. (looks over the top edge of her narrow, rimless glasses) You look just like my first husband. – No, he’s not deceased. No, he very isn’t. Why don’t you sit here, right next to me?

Okay. What else is there to talk about? The overall ratings have been raised for Jonathan Toner, however, who will be in town next week among a group of prospects we will tout as Raccoons Futures along with Matt Nunley, Chris Brown, and one or two others.

Before you leave, could I make you interested in a vintage Daniel Hall bobblehead in mint condition? Never has been bobbled. Do not hesitate – our stocks might run out in a few years.