[Westheim]

Raccoons (64-53) vs. Buffaloes (62-55) – August 18-20, 2026

The Raccoons began the week with an off day and disabled Kevin Surginer with mild elbow inflammation, expecting him to be back in early September, then saw the Buffaloes come in. These teams had not faced another in two years, and the Coons hadn't won a series since 2020 against them, getting swept in the most recent meeting in 2023 and losing the last two series in total. They sat fourth in runs scored and fifth in runs allowed in the Federal League, with the FL-best rotation with a 3.49 ERA. They were also our last interleague opponent of the season.

Projected matchups:
Dan Delgadillo (8-4, 2.65 ERA) vs. Nick Danieley (7-7, 3.69 ERA)
Rin Nomura (3-4, 3.44 ERA) vs. Tim Wells (12-10, 3.84 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (11-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Joe Jones (10-8, 3.14 ERA)

After the right-handed Danieley, the Buffaloes would cart up two of their three southpaws, while the Raccoons carted up an additional right-handed reliever in our 2023 fifth-round pick, Steve Costilow, who had just recently debuted at St. Pete, but had struck out 11 in eight innings, and we needed an arm right now.

Game 1
TOP: SS Majano – LF J. Castillo – 3B S. Williams – RF Benson – 1B Blades – C Motley – CF Perkins – 2B J. Estrada – P Danieley
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – 1B Harenberg – RF Kopp – CF Mora – 3B Nunley – LF Carmona – C Tovias – P Delgadillo

Brett Blades and Juan Estrada fell over another but could not stop Elias Tovias' ****ty grounder from escaping the infield with two on and two outs in the second inning. Abel Mora scored the first run in the game, coming home from second base. Delgadillo struck out to end the inning, and while you would never blame the pitcher for a lack of offense on your own team, the way he was pitching was not exactly encouraging thoughts that one run would be enough. The Buffaloes were on base constantly, stranding five between the first three innings without scoring, but at least the contact was not high and deep; all their hits were singles at this point. While the Coons added a run on Ramos' leadoff triple and Harenberg's sac fly – Spencer had grounded out to third baseman Stephen Williams – things did not get calmer for Yusneldan. While he run gup Josh Motley for his 100th K of the year to begin the fourth, the Buffaloes got a walk from Nick Perkins, a Juan Estrada single, and the runners were bunted into scoring position by Danieley, a former first-rounder, for Alex Majano, who got into his third 0-2 count in the game and yet refused to go down even once, but his grounder to the right side was competently handled by Jarod Spencer to end the inning.

Delgadillo never got in a clean inning, and before long the opposing pitcher knocked him out of the game. The three left-handed batters in the 6-7-8 slots all reached base for the Buffaloes in the sixth inning, and Danieley singled up the middle with nobody out to score two and kick Delgadillo to the curb. Ricky Ohl came out to play fireman again, got a grounder from Majano for the first out, then struck out Juan Castillo and Williams to keep the game tied. Terry Kopp was not a fan of that 2-2 tie. When Harenberg drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 6th, Kopp sent a blast out of rightfield for his 13th dinger of the year, and just like that the 2-run lead was back. The Coons went to Jeff Kearney in the seventh, where he hit a batter, but overall he would get through the bottom part of the order without incurring damage, remained around for the eighth, got Estrada out, then conceded a single to the right-handed-batting Danieley right up the middle. The Raccoons had already burned their big man Ohl, and didn't feel like going to Snyder with five outs to collect. Instead, we exchanged lefty for lefty and sent Billy Brotman. He got Majano to ground out to Spencer, threw a wild pitch to move Danieley to third base, then got a grounder to short from Castillo that Ramos threw wildly past Harenberg. The 2-base error made it 4-3 with the tying run in scoring position. Williams, another right-hander, was walked intentionally to get to Travis Benson, who was hit for by Pat Green, who had shown power in the past, but had only one homer on the season. Brotman rung him up – inning over. The ninth saw Snyder then, finally, a K to Blades to get going, then a Motley single and Perkins walking. PH Ezra Branch, 37 and known to us from various CL assignments in the past, struck out, bringing up another pinch-hitter in right-hander Randy Garner. He swung three times. He missed three times. 4-3 Critters. Kopp 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

Game 2
TOP: SS Majano – LF J. Castillo – 3B S. Williams – 1B Blades – RF Benson – C Motley – CF K. Hess – 2B J. Estrada – P Wells
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – 1B Harenberg – CF Jamieson – RF Kopp – C O'Dell – LF Gerace – 3B Bullock – P Nomura

Ken Hess' triple was key in the Buffaloes' 2-run second inning, plating Josh Motley and setting him up to be eventually chased home by Majano with a 2-out single after Estrada had extended the inning and the Buffaloes' chances with a 1-out walk, too. For once, Portland was unfazed, despite beginning the bottom 3rd with two outs they would run up a crooked number. Ramos singled, then stole two bases before Spencer could single, leisurely jogging home from third base when that happened. When that dust had settled, Kevin Harenberg blasted a 430-foot missile to left center to flip the score, 3-2 Coons. Unfortunately, the lead gave no confidence at all to Nomura, who also seemed to be at odds with O'Dell, who maintained that he had no reason to learn the Japanese word for "changeup" when Nomura could not even order a glass of water without an interpreter, still. The result was weird command, quick reflexes displayed by O'Dell – not the youngest guy out there – and also panic at the discotheque in the sixth inning when Williams drew a leadoff walk and Blades got plunked. That brought up left-handed bats, and Nomura had gotten two double plays already, and could REALLY need a third one with the go-ahead run aboard. Benson grounded into a fielder's choice, putting them on the corners when Motley grounded hard at Harenberg, who started a marvelous double play in 3-6-3 fashion to send Topeka back to the dugout in the 3-2 game. On to the seventh, where Nomura retired Hess on the ground, Estrada on strikes, and then Wells on a 9-5 play after a grounder had bounced over the back past Harenberg, into foul ground and then Kopp hammered out the greedy pitcher for the third out at third base to get the crowd all amped up for the stretch. Kopp hit a sizable fly (to Hess) leading off on the other side of the middle of the seventh, but O'Dell yanked a homer to left afterwards, finally putting a safety run on the board. While the Coons got Bullock on with an Estrada error after that and Tim Stalker when he got plunked, Ramos struck out to strand a pair in the bottom 7th, but in exchange the Coons fooled the Buffaloes with Alvin Smith in the eighth. The Buffs had not expected to see ALVIN SMITH in a setup assignment and the top 3 in their order went down without a peep, including two strikeouts. Snyder retired Topeka in order in the ninth. 4-2 Raccoons. Harenberg 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Nomura 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (4-4);

Alberto Ramos took three bags in this game, raising his season total to 37, which was necessary with Lorenzo Rivera on the chase. The Thunder was now at 36.

Game 3
TOP: SS Majano – LF J. Castillo – 3B S. Williams – 1B Blades – RF Benson – C Motley – CF K. Hess – 2B J. Estrada – P Joe Jones
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 1B Harenberg – CF Jamieson – RF Kopp – C O'Dell – 2B Stalker – 3B Nunley – P Gutierrez

Rico was in trouble early as well, putting Blades on with a leadoff single in the second, then made a throwing error to add Benson to the mix. Two on, no outs, then three good-to-great outfield plays to keep the Buffaloes in check. Spencer's on Motley in the gap was most impressive. Not so impressive was the Coons failing to get a hit until Gutierrez snuck one past Blades in the bottom 3rd for a 1-out single. Ramos then knocked one up the middle for another single, and Spencer walked in a full count, giving Harenberg a sacks-full chance, but he struck out against Joe Jones, who was not really a strikeout pitcher. He just didn't give him anything to hit in a 1-2 count, but would not have that luxury when the count on Jamieson with two outs ran full. Jamieson knocked a pitch on the inside corner, rammed it over Williams' head and landed a 2-run single for the first score on the board. Kopp lined out to Estrada, ending the inning, but Estrada also hurt himself and was replaced by Pat Green, who soon enough encountered Rico Gutierrez with two on and two out in the fourth inning and cracked a no-doubt homer to left that put Topeka on top, 3-2…

Oh the blessings of fading pitching. In a perfect world, the hitters would pick up the slack, but the Raccoons hadn't seen that since … oh, the 80s maybe? Although maybe Brett O'Dell would be the random hero of the week. He came up with Jamieson aboard in the bottom 6th and cracked another left-handed pitcher's heart with another homer, almost into the same spot as in the previous game. This one was even more important; Wednesday's had been a tack-on, but this one flipped the score to 4-3 Coons. After that 1-out blast, the Coons would proceed to get Stalker (walk) and Nunley (double) on base, and the inning ended. Stalker had been caught stealing, and Nunley pulled a Wells and was thrown out at third base by the rightfielder.

Despite this slight deflation, it got worse for the Buffaloes in the seventh. Abel Mora drew a walk, hitting for Rico to begin the inning. Ramos grounded to Green, who butchered a double play and instead put two on with nobody out. The runners pulled off a double steal, Spencer rushed a ball through between Majano and Williams to score them both, and then a Harenberg double on 0-2 and an intentional walk to Jamieson loaded the bags with nobody out, after which Jones was replaced with right-hander Matt Beckstrom, who walked Kopp to force in a run, then rung up O'Dell. Stalker grounded at Green, who had only one out to get and took it at second base as Harenberg scored, 8-3. Nunley was hit by a pitch (and quite good…), bringing Mora for the second time in the inning. He hit a soft pop to shallow right that oughta have been caught, but dropped between Green and Benson, and two more runs scored. Ramos singled to load them back up for Gerace, batting for Spencer. He sure gave a ball a ride to left – but Castillo made the catch on the warning track, ending the inning with a 6-spot and a 10-3 score. This led into Steve Costilow's major league debut in the eighth. He retired nobody. Castillo walked, Williams singled, Branch pinch-walked, and then it was time for a new face. Jeff Kearney took over while Costilow sat on the bench, hiding his head under a towel. It did get quite ugly indeed. Benson hit an RBI single before Motley popped out. Ken Hess grounded at short, but Ramos' throw was not good; while Spencer had it at second base for the second out, there was no way to turn two anymore. Another run scored on Pat Green's single before Kearney struck out PH Brian Marshall to FINALLY end the inning. Ohl and Boles would deliver the ninth without quite half the drama later on. 10-6 Coons. Ramos 2-5; Spencer 1-2, BB, 2 RBI; Jamieson 3-4, BB, 2 RBI; Mora (PH) 1-1, BB, 2 RBI;

What a debut! (yells at Costilow) GET OUTTA MY FACE!! SCUM OF THE EARTH!!

Raccoons (67-53) vs. Canadiens (72-48) – August 21-23, 2026

This was the weekend that could still make our season or break it for good. Anything but a series win was unacceptable. Of course, having gone 3-8 against the stinkin' Elks so far this season had my mood dim and my eyes dead way before people filtered in for the Friday opener. The skunks ranked tops in the CL in runs scored and were still a very decent fifth in runs allowed, although they had a brittle bullpen that could at times crack open. Not that the Raccoons had gotten to see much of that bullpen in the recent meetings with the damn Skunks…

Projected matchups:
Mark Roberts (11-8, 3.01 ERA) vs. Fernando Estrada (8-3, 3.04 ERA)
Kyle Anderson (8-6, 3.83 ERA) vs. Warren Polito (12-8, 3.04 ERA)
Dan Delgadillo (8-4, 2.68 ERA) vs. Andrew Gudeman (13-7, 3.20 ERA)

All right-handers coming up… well, maybe. Gudeman was laboring on a sore shoulder and it was not clear yet whether he would actually take that Sunday start.

Game 1
VAN: RF Wojnarowski – SS Brill – CF Coca – LF A. Torres – 3B Calfee – 1B Myles – 2B T. Casillas – C Holliman – P F. Estrada
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – 1B Harenberg – RF Kopp – CF Mora – 3B Nunley – LF Carmona – C Tovias – P Roberts

Roberts lacked stuff, but not brain farts or hit batters in this opener. The Elks had Brian Wojnarowski and Tony Coca on base in the first, the latter on getting nailed, but stranded them. The fourth however saw Alex Torres get nicked, then a 4-pitch walk to John Calfee. The runners pulled off a double steal, and then Adan Myles' sac fly to Kopp in deep right gave the Elks the 1-0 lead. The Raccoons had only two singles at this point, and only one of those had survived to see the end of the inning; Harenberg had double-played Spencer back off first base in the opening frame. Bottom 5th, Nunley hit a 1-out single, but Cookie then rolled into a double play. That was the state of the Portland offense whenever it counted. Meanwhile, the state of Portland pitching was to nick another batter whenever the bases were empty. Roberts hit Chris Brill to begin the sixth inning, which was so going to ease my blood pressure. He then threw a wild pitch, followed by Ramos' fumbling error on Coca's grounder that was DEFINITELY going to pull the rug out from underneath the Coons' season for good. Coca stole second base to take away the double play, after which Torres fouled out to Nunley in foul ground. A STRIKEOUT would be good, but Roberts absolutely couldn't get one. Calfee flew to shallow center in a 3-2 count, Mora came in and made the catch on the run, also shooing back Brill to third base. And just when we thought we'd get out of it, Adan Myles cracked a 2-0 pitch into centerfield for a 2-out, 2-run single. It was 3-0 Elks, the Coons had nothing, and how was this ever going to change? It didn't change on Tovias' leadoff double off the wall in rightfield in the sixth. Maybe Mora's 2-out single in the seventh off Ivan Morales? Nunley came up, cracked a drive to center, stretching, getting longer, longer – gone! That made it 3-2, and maybe there was hope after all? Cookie flew out easily to center, then yielded for Alvin Smith in a double switch. Smith got the Coons through another eighth inning that counted, and then they hoped to pick a run or two from left-hander Joe Williams, which did not happen at all, and then the Elks drew walks with Tony Casillas (off Smith), then PH Max Weigel (off Kearney) in the ninth, but Jeff Kearney struck out Chris Tanzillo, also off the bench to escape into the relative safety of the dugout, and now it was three last outs to get a run. Or two. Or likely none.

Meat of the order against right-hander J.R. Hreha and his 1.81 ERA. Harenberg ripped a 1-1 pitch to deep left, Torres wasn't getting it and it hit the base of the wall for a leadoff double. Coons in business!? A little bit, at most. Kopp grounded out, Mora flew out to center. That did plate the tying run, taking Roberts off the hook, but that was not enough for a W. Nunley walked, bringing up the pitcher's spot. O'Dell batted for Kearney as the best hope for power off the bench still remaining (Gerace was gone), and his grounder up the middle eluded the middle infielders for a single. Nunley held at second, then went back to the dugout, exchanged for Daniel Bullock as pinch-runner. The move turned out unnecessary, with Hreha's first pitch to Tovias being wild and to the backstop, advancing the runners anyway. Tovias hit the 1-0 to deep center, but could not beat Tony Coca, who made the catch in the deep outfield. And we went to the 10th, excruciatingly. The Coons had used most of their pen and had to make do with Billy Brotman against right-handed bats in the 10th, which, frankly, did not work out. He walked the leadoff man Coca, who stole second, then scored on Calfee's 1-out single. Casillas and Norman Day also walked before Mora got paws on a deep Fitzsimmons drive to end the inning. Hreha this time didn't miss a beat, and in the bottom 10th retired Jamieson, Ramos, and Spencer in order. 4-3 Canadiens. Nunley 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; O'Dell (PH) 1-1; Tovias 2-4, 2B; Smith 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

The Raccoons had nine hits. The ****ing **** Elks had THREE. They still won.

Why keep showing up after all? Obviously divine intervention had been at work the entire year…

Game 2
VAN: RF Wojnarowski – SS Brill – CF Coca – LF A. Torres – 3B Calfee – 1B Myles – 2B Fitzsimmons – C Tanzillo – P Polito
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – 1B Harenberg – RF Kopp – CF Mora – LF Jamieson – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – P Anderson

Spencer single, Harenberg double in the bottom 1st, then a lineout by Kopp into the mitten of Fitzsimmons and a weak strikeout for Mora – hey, even on a very bad black-and-white TV you just KNOW when the Coons are in action! The Coons DID bring in a run in the bottom 2nd on Jamieson's leadoff triple and Nunley's sac fly, but Warren Polito walked three in the third and they didn't score… It was all too obvious how this game would end eventually, it was just about the "how" and "when". Probably a sudden pitching explosion, a theory that held some weight because Anderson was absolutely rock solid through five innings, spotting just a single base hit to the Elks and holding on tight to that 1-0 lead.

That became a 2-0 lead in the fifth. Ramos led off with a single, stole second (after having been caught stealing once by Tanzillo earlier) for #39, then scored on Spencer's single to left. After a wild pitch to Harenberg, the Elks walked the Coons' biggest threat to get to the so-so-eh Kopp, who flew to the fence, but into an out to Wojnarowski. Spencer however advanced on the play, then scored on Mora's fly out to center, a sac fly to get the score to 3-0.

When the pitching explosion came, it came without as much of a hint beforehand. Tony Coca hit a leadoff jack in the seventh, cutting the gap to 3-1. Anderson still looked completely fine to us. Then Torres and Calfee became the tying runs by virtue of back-to-back infield singles. Oh, those baseball gods! Always a joke on their lips! Ricky Ohl came in but only got to serve up a bun for Myles, after which Curtis Hargraves hit for Fitzsimmons. Kearney came in to counter, walked him to load the bases, then got Tanzillo to pop out to Harenberg. And for reasons beyond us, the Elks did not bat for Polito – their pitcher batted with three on and two outs, and grounded out to short to keep the Coons up 3-1.

But, oh snap! Ramos reported discomfort after the play and was found out to have strained his shoulder, which required replacement by Tim Stalker and would likely end his season. Like we needed more kicks to the nuts. Tim Stalker replaced Ramos at short. I was numb. Why? Why did this have to happen? I was numb all the way through two outs by Kearney and one by Snyder in the eighth, a Jamieson homer in the bottom 8th, Torres and Calfee doubling for a run, but well not enough in the ninth, the drive home, and dropping into bed to cry face down into my pillow before falling asleep at sunrise, finally. 4-2 Coons. Spencer 2-4, RBI; Harenberg 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Jamieson 2-4, HR, 3B, RBI; Nunley 1-1, BB, RBI; Anderson 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (9-6);

Off to the DL with Ramos, who could have been the Rookie of the Year, and the stolen base king, and so much more, and now was hurt and discarded onto the pile with Gonzalez and Gomez and who-knows-who-else-we-already-lost-because-I-lost-count.

Butch Gerster replaced Ramos on the roster. The Druid was not going to say whether there was any chance of him coming back at the end of the season. He just said that these sort of things would take about six weeks normally.

There is only six weeks left…

Also a rubber game. And my eyes are already wept bright red.

Game 3
VAN: RF Wojnarowski – SS Brill – CF Coca – LF A. Torres – 3B Calfee – 2B Fitzsimmons – 1B Hargraves – C Tanzillo – P Bowsher
POR: 2B Spencer – LF Jamieson – 1B Harenberg – RF Kopp – CF Mora – SS Stalker – 3B Nunley – C O'Dell – P Delgadillo

Jesse Bowsher (11-3, 2.81 ERA) got the start on short rest, whatever that was going to be worth for Portland. To begin the game, Nunley spared Delgadillo some early pain after a leadoff single by Wojanorowski and a walk issued to Alex Torres when he spared Calfee's vicious grounder for the third out of the inning, after which Jarod Spencer was back in the leadoff spot and hit a triple to begin the bottom 1st. Jamieson walked, and Harenberg grounded sharply at Fitzsimmons, who was eaten up by the ball. Spencer scored on the error, 1-0, and there were two on with nobody out still… at least until Kopp hit into that double play on offer. Mora grounded out to short, keeping it at one first-inning run and that one didn't keep the Coons afloat for long. Fitzsimmons walked, Tanzillo singled, and Wojnarowski tied the game with a 2-out single in the second. Delgadillo utterly lacked control; in the third he walked Coca and Calfee, and somehow wasn't strafed for runs, with Hargraves fouling out to strand them on the corners.

An erratic display put Delgadillo at 99 pitches through five innings, having walked four and struck out seven that couldn't hold still long enough to take ball four. Three strikeouts came in full counts, but he appeared to be done. He got his pat on the bum in a 1-1 tie, but Matt Nunley gave him a sendoff with a leadoff jack off Bowsher in the bottom 5th, putting the Coons up 2-1 again. The inning went on with singles by O'Dell and Spencer, with O'Dell going for third and drawing a throw that allowed Spencer to move up on the latter play. Wojnarowski's throw was late, and the Coons had them on second and third with one out for Jamieson, who upped the hurt on Bowsher with a 2-run single near the right foul line, 4-1, before Harenberg smacked into that 4-6-3 he had tried to notch earlier to end the inning. Now, Delgadillo had not been hit for in the bottom 5th and was still in the game; he was sent back out to get another out or two (or three?) to save the pen that had been extolled badly all week long. Fitzsimmons flew out to Kopp. Hargraves flew out viciously to Jamieson. Tanzillo beat Jamieson for a 2-out double, but the Elks did not hit for their pitcher AGAIN. Delgadillo hung around, struck him out, and now was indeed done for good after six innings and 113 pitches.

It was going to get nasty again, one way or another, but this time the angle was unexpected. The seventh inning brought a near-brawl with Josh Boles pitching. Brill hit a 1-out double, which brought up the right-handed core of the lineup, but the Coons were SO short on pitching, they had to squeeze more out of Brill! Coca flew out to shallow right for the second out, but Torres singled to left. Brill went around third and went for home as Jamieson unleashed a throw. O'Dell planted firmly after receiving the ball with a second's worth of preparation, then was smothered feet first by Brill – O'Dell was thrown on his back, but held on to the ball and had actually gotten glove on Brill before going down! The inning was over, and so was the game for O'Dell, who was knocked up and had to replaced by Tovias while both teams accumulated on the infield but left it at bickering and pointing fingers for now as the Coons had six outs to collect in a 4-1 game.

The Coons were down to Smith, Brotman, and Costilow; so really Smith and Brotman. Snyder only in an emergency, and Kearney and Ohl were off limits after pitching four times already this week. Smith got into his third eighth inning of the week after an eventless bottom 7th. He allowed a 1-out single to Fitzsimmons, but got a K from Calfee to begin the inning, which was so important. Hargraves and Tanzillo went down meekly. Before Brotman could get involved, the Coons tacked on a run on a Terry Kopp sac fly, bringing in Spencer in the bottom 8th. It took off the save. **** the save. Get the W! Leadoff walk to Norman Day in a full count, then a 4-pitch walk to Wojnarowski. And those were left-handers! Nooooo!! Brill fouled out, but here came the big guys. Snyder was stirring, but would only be called upon if the tying run appeared at the plate. Coca struck out before the count on Torres ran full and Brotman lost him. GODDAMNIT BILLY!! Here came Snyder to face John Calfee, who was the tying run indeed. Snyder went to 1-1, threw a wild pitch – 5-2 game and melting – then walked Calfee anyway. Adan Myles pinch-hit for Fitzsimmons, but he was a right-handed batter. And one right-handed batter that struck out. 5-2 Blighters. Spencer 2-3, BB, 3B; Delgadillo 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, W (9-4);

In other news

August 18 – 12 hits and nine walks are enough for 14 runs for the Gold Sox as they smash the Falcons, 14-1, with Denver's Rich Hereford (.259, 21 HR, 71 RBI) plating six runs on two base hits, including a bases-loaded double.
August 18 – WAS C Ricky Ortiz (.367, 5 HR, 21 RBI) shines with 7 RBI in a 3-hit game against the Canadiens as the Capitals break out the bats for a 14-8 win.
August 19 – The Falcons beat the Gold Sox, 7-1, plating all their runs in a seven-run seventh.

Complaints and stuff

To the delightful Chris Brill, who knocked up O'Dell's throwing shoulder with that reckless slide on Sunday. We will remember this. There is a baseball coming for your ****ing face. O'Dell is temporarily listed as day-to-day, but there is a thing about day-to-day catchers… this is the most terrible situation; a week from September 1, and you're damned if you DL him and damned if you don't. He might even be day-to-day for 15 days anyway. And whatever we'll do, it'll be wrong.

And Brett O'Dell is not even the big blow. Losing Ramos – on Nick Brown No-Hits the ****ing Elks Bobblehead Day no less! – for the season deals damage impossible to put into numbers to the Raccoons. Tim Stalker is a decent player, but he lacks the YEEHAAAAH factor of Ramos. Totally.

And just when the Critters crept back within four of the Elks. And now, just for ****s and giggles, imagine how the division would look if the Coons had won the Friday game, where the Elks had more runs than hits, and the Coons had all the hits and not nearly enough runs. We'd be within TWO.

I will never win another thing of bling in my lifetime, I just know it…

Fun Fact: Alberto Ramos accumulated 4.2 WAR before going down to the shoulder injury.

This is more then Matt Nunley (3.5) in his ROTY season, but less than Ronnie McKnight (4.5) in his ROTY campaign, the two most recent Raccoons Rookies of the Year in 2014 and 2015. Generally, 4.2 is a damn dandy number for the ROTY race. Since McKnight, only three other CL rookies have beaten Ramos' mark; Chris LeMoine with the Loggers and 4.5 WAR in '16; NYC Sergio Valdez had 5.0 WAR in '18; and then IND Justin Jackson with 4.4 WAR three years ago.

A CL ROTY with more WAR than Ramos right before Nunley was Oklahoma's (then Indy's) Mike Rucker in 2013. Rucker is still around, batting .304 with 14 homers for the Thunder this season, and .384 with 3 HR, and 8 RBI this week to win CL Player of the Week honors at age 39.