[Westheim]

Raccoons (11-8) @ Condors (13-6) – April 27-29, 2027

Monday was off for the Raccoons, who closed the gap to first place to one game by merely idling and the Titans losing, before they had to face the leaders of the CL South, the Condors. Tijuana ranked fourth in offense and second in killing offense in the early going, with the rotation also in second place by ERA. This would be a challenge for the already very much challenged Raccoons offense that had sacked back to tenth place in runs scored during the previous week and only had a +3 run differential anymore (Condors: +22). The Critters had won the season series for three straight years, including a 6-3 outcome last year.

Projected matchups:
Kyle Anderson (2-0, 3.20 ERA) vs. Jeff Little (4-0, 0.67 ERA)
Mark Roberts (0-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Alex Hichez (2-0, 2.25 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (1-2, 3.75 ERA) vs. George Griffin (1-2, 3.62 ERA)

Ill weather had jumbled the Condors' pitching order last week, and after the lefty Little and the righty Hichez we could either get another right-hander in Griffin or southpaw Luis Flores (3-0, 1.48 ERA). Both had last tossed a ball on Saturday.

Game 1
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 2B Rock – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – CF Mora – C Tovias – 3B Nunley – P Anderson
TIJ: CF Denzler – RF M. Matias – 3B Sanks – 1B McGrath – SS Showalter – LF Chaplin – C Zarate – 2B Bross – P Little

The offense remained rightly agonizing, leaving Spencer and Rock stranded after singles in the opening inning, saw Anderson bunt into a force at third base in the second inning, and then had Spencer walk, steal second base, and getting thrown out at home by Joel Denzler in the third inning on Trey Rock's following single. At least Rock came around to score on a Rafael Gomez base hit with two outs, putting Portland up 1-0 on the so far hardly touchable Little. Fortunately the Condors pulled their own set of crazy stunts that f.e. saw Danny Zarate, admittedly the rocket-charged version of a common catcher, being caught stealing third base by Tovias in the bottom 3rd. Unfortunately, Zarate got revenge on Kyle Anderson the next time around, blasting a 450-footer to tie the score at one in the bottom 5th.

Little lasted only 5.2 innings, worn out thanks to constant Coons on the bases despite them not scoring a whole bunch at all. Mora hit a 1-out single in the sixth, advanced on Tovias' groundout, and an intentional walk to Matt Nunley was the last act for Little, who could not win the game anymore, but could well lose it. Southpaw Joe Perry promptly stabbed him in the back, surrendering a 2-out RBI single to Anderson(!), then another single to Ramos that blooped into shallow left. Jeff Rinehart, having entered in a double switch with Perry, overran the ball for an error, which allowed Nunley to score, 3-1. Perry drilled Spencer, but then got Trey Rock on a groundout to Dave Bross, ending the inning with three Coons aboard. The Raccoons missed another chance in the eighth inning, when Matt Nunley walked, was run for by Daniel Bullock, who reached third base with one out on Anderson singling against Lisuarte Paradela, the former Logger, on an 0-2 pitch, and then Ramos struck out and Spencer floated out to Mike Matias anyway. Anderson was replaced after the inning; he would have had another inning in him, but since the Critters didn't tack on and left-handed bats were up right away, they went to Jeff Kearney instead. He retired Rinehart and Denzler before the Coons sent Snyder for a 4-out save that almost went completely shipwreck. Matias hit a hot double, and Shane Sanks lined out to Harenberg, who was in the way by chance. The bottom 9th then saw a leadoff double by Kevin McGrath, who never moved off second base, but not for Snyder's pitching excellence. There was another scorched lineout, a sharp bouncer at Bullock, and then finally a 3-1 pitch to Zarate, who had gone unretired against Anderson, but now grounded back to the mound to end the game. 3-1 Raccoons. Ramos 2-5, RBI; Rock 3-5; Tovias 2-4; Nunley 1-2, 2 BB; Anderson 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (3-0) and 2-4, RBI;

We had 13 base hits – all singles. Let's just be glad it didn’t blow up in our black-and-white faces and move on…

Game 2
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 2B Rock – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF St. Germaine – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – P Roberts
TIJ: CF Betancourt – 1B McGrath – 3B Sanks – RF M. Matias – SS Showalter – C Zarate – 2B Fitzsimmons – LF Denzler – P Hichez

You never want to see Kevin Surginer pitching in the first inning, but everything went south in a real landslide in this Wednesday game, as Mark Roberts allowed a double to McGrath after whiffing up Danny Betancourt, balked the runner to third, and eventually conceded the run on a 2-out infield single by Mike Matias, before also conceding the entire effort, leaving the game with a blister on his index finger and leaving the Raccoons to scramble their bullpen. For bright sides (?), the Coons were retired in order by Alex Hichez the first time through the order, which included Surginer batting in an outing where he would pitch until he could no longer feel his claws, but then rapped off base hits to begin the fourth. Ramos singled, stole second, then scored on Spencer's single, which tied the score and took Roberts off an unfortunate hook. Sanks then narrowly missed Rock's bouncer that went up the line for a double, putting the go-ahead runs in scoring position for Harenberg, who was 0-for-6 in the series and stayed that way, walking in a full count to load them up for Abel Mora, who struck out. St. Germaine lined out to Denzler in shallow left, and Nunley flew out to Matias in right, stranding three on with nobody out – les miserables at work!

Surginer gave the Coons 52 pitches and 3.1 scoreless innings before requiring replacement. Cookie batted for him in the top 5th after a leadoff walk to Elias Tovias, singled, and then the bags filled up with a walk in a full count to Alberto Ramos. Three on. No outs. This time they didn't dare to play it like absolute idiots again. All runners scored in order on a Spencer single, a Harenberg walk, and a Mora sac fly that also saw Betancourt getting hurt in the act and being replaced by Mike Chaplin. Portland went on to get two innings from Josh Boles, who struck out four but also allowed a solo blast to Matias in the bottom 6th, however the Raccoons came back for two runs on Hichez in the seventh inning. Spencer got on base, went to third on a Harenberg single, then scored on Mora's groundout. With two down, Tim Stalker batted for Boles and doubled to deep left to get Harenberg in, 6-2, and they added another run in the eighth when Ramos forced out Tovias with a grounder, but then stole second base with two outs and scored on Spencer's single. Jarod also stole second base as the Coons kept robbing Zarate and the Condors' staff blind, but Rock flew out to Chaplin to end that inning. Rock then left the game in another double switch following a scoreless frame by Billy Brotman, with the intent being that Dan McLin get the last six outs, which was a mighty gamble with a 5-run lead, but for the awfully struggling right-hander it was a bit of now-or-never. Passing grades for relievers would often vary on circumstance, but McLin passed this one with flying colors. He walked Sanks, but struck out three in the bottom 8th, then was almost through the ninth when he shed 2-out singles to Denzler and Pat Sanford, but remained in the game and got Chaplin to pop out to Ramos to end the game after 32 well-placed pitches. 7-2 Furballs! Spencer 4-5, 3 RBI; Harenberg 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Stalker (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Tovias 2-4; Carmona (PH) 2-3; Surginer 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (1-0); McLin 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

That was a very stingy performance by everybody involved. There was the odd 0-for-4 (Nunley), but given the circumstances, this was damn near peak performance!

Of course we now needed Rico to keep the barn door closed in the Thursday game to give the pen a chance to reset. In good news, we managed to stay clear of the sterling end of the pen; Ricky Ohl had not pitched in the series, and Snyder had not been used in the middle game, and the same was true for Kearney.

In not so good news, that was some mighty blister on Roberts' paw and he was likely to miss a start, AND the Raccoons did not have an off day anywhere in sight. We would have to play the next few days by ear and see whether we would have to DL Roberts if he was possibly even missing two starts, whether we could scrape by with a spot start by f.e. Surginer on Monday against the Crusaders, or whether we had to demote some pawn to get a spot starter from AAA.

Game 3
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 2B Rock – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF St. Germaine – 3B Nunley – C Liu – P Gutierrez
TIJ: C Zarate – 1B McGrath – 3B Sanks – RF M. Matias – SS Showalter – 2B Fitzsimmons – CF Chaplin – LF Denzler – P Griffin

Could anybody work with Jing-quo Liu? Right in the first inning, him and Gutierrez were arguing loudly halfway between plate and mound about which pitch to throw. My best guess on gestures was that Liu wanted Rico to throw a curveball. Either that or do the rainbow, but Rico didn't throw a curveball and the Condors fans had a good chuckle about it. When Liu drew a leadoff walk in the third inning and Rico bunted badly and got him forced out at second base, Liu would not leave the field until he was finished admonishing a blankly staring Gutierrez at first base in Taiwanese for almost a minute, repeatedly pointing with his right index finger onto his left palm, whatever the **** that meant. Rico came around to score after a Spencer single and a bloop double by Trey Rock with two outs before Harenberg grounded out to Tom Fitzsimmons, keeping the lead at 1-0 for the time being, while the odd couple the Coons employed for a battery was perfect the first time through the Condors order, although McGrath singled in the bottom 4th to get the team into the H column.

Top 5th, Liu drew a leadoff walk again, this time was bunted to second base, and the Coons soon filled the bags with an intentional walk to Ramos, which was always an interesting choice, followed by a Spencer single. Three on, one out for Rock, who cracked a ball hard at Fitzsimmons for a double play, which had already been achieved the previous inning by Adam St. Germaine. Liu, who also admonished Rock intelligibly, sure knew a lot about the game for somebody batting .063, although for practical purposes he could recite found poetry and we wouldn't notice. In terms more applicable to the task at hand – sweep the Condors – Liu threw out Andrew Showalter trying to steal second after a walk in the bottom 5th. However, the nonexistent offense soon would bite the Raccoons when Rico Gutierrez was assaulted for three 2-out base hits by the Condors in the bottom 6th, with Zarate singling and McGrath and Sanks both knocking RBI doubles to flip the score Tijuana's way, 2-1. The Coons only had a 2-out single by Rock in the next two innings against Griffin, who held out for eight innings before handing it over to Pat Selby in the ninth, a right-hander who would face the full left-handed brunt of the Critters' 5-6-7 batters. Abel Mora hit his second home run of the season on the very first pitch to tie the game, although Selby retired the next three, and Ricky Ohl would send the game to extra innings, where Cookie hit a leadoff single in Ohl's place against Selby. Senor Carmona reached third base on Ramos' hard single to center, giving the Coons an excellent chance to put this in the W column after all, but Cookie stayed put on Spencer's infield grounder that led to an out at first base with Ramos moving up to second, but Rock also grounded out so poorly as to prevent advance, and then Harenberg flew out to left. OH COME ON!!

They also stranded runners on the corners in the 11th inning when Liu and Gomez made outs with St. Germaine (admittedly only on base for a Dave Bross error) and Nunley on the corners. Nobody reached in the 12th, and Mora and PH Tovias reached in the 13th against Mike Baker until Nunley chucked a grounder into a double play to end that inning, too. Danny Zarate hit a triple with two outs in the bottom 13th against Brotman, who pitched as valiantly as the rest of the bullpen, and probably just as much in vain; McGrath flew out to Spencer to end the inning and the Coons got a new shot in the 14th. By now they had Bullock playing second, Trey Rock in rightfield, almost no pitching left, and then Liu hitting a ball off Baker into the gap for a leadoff double after which he yelled detailed instructions on how to proceed towards the Raccoons' dugout. One way or another, Daniel Bullock was in the #9 hole and would bat here, cracked a pitch through Sanks and up the line for a double, and the terrible end of the bench had just broken an endless tie …! Baseball CAN be exhausting! Now the real games began as Ramos was again walked intentionally, to which the Coons responded by just taking off – just stay out of the double play, please. Zarate misfired into leftfield as he tried to kill off Bullock, who instead scored on the error, with Ramos going to third base. He scored on Rock's sac fly, giving Jonathan Snyder a 5-2 lead to work with in the bottom 14th. He walked two, allowed an RBI double to Bross in between, but nobody cared since he found three outs SOMEWHERE to get the team on the bus to the airport because they had two borders to cross before the Friday game. 5-3 Critters. Spencer 3-7; Rock 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Mora 2-6, HR, RBI; Carmona (PH) 1-1; Bullock 1-1, 2B, RBI; Gutierrez 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K; Ohl 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; Boles 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

(sigh)

Raccoons (14-8) vs. Canadiens (10-11) – April 30-May 2, 2027

Revenge! That was the impetus as exhausted Raccoons were to face the sliding Elks on the weekend. They had gone 7-11 since sweeping the Raccoons in the first series of the season, and this was an injustice that needed rectification. They were fourth in runs scored and in runs allowed, which made the losing record somewhat confusing. Their run differential was +9, while the Coons had re-upped theirs to +12.

Projected matchups:
Dan Delgadillo (1-2, 5.68 ERA) vs. Rodolfo Cervantes (3-1, 2.33 ERA)
Rin Nomura (2-1, 2.13 ERA) vs. Ernesto Lozano (1-1, 4.01 ERA)
Kyle Anderson (3-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Jonathan Shook (1-2, 5.87 ERA)

Three right-handers to contend with here as well as a well-rested bullpen that had not tossed extra innings, had not safety-netted first-inning blisters, and had not played at all on Thursday. This was an uphill battle for sure. For Portland, Josh Boles was off-limits for at least Friday after tossing two innings each on back-to-back days, and Brotman was so-so. Everybody else was ostensibly available, even Surginer.

Game 1
VAN: RF Wojnarowski – SS Crosby – CF Coca – LF A. Torres – C R. Ortíz – 1B Myles – 3B Brill – 2B Gura – P Cervantes
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 2B Rock – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF Gomez – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – P Delgadillo

The Elks made such loud contact off Yusneldan that I was worried we'd get complaints from the neighbors at this late hour. Brian Wojnarowski and Tony Coca hit doubles to score a run in the top of the first, and while a leadoff double by Harenberg and two productive groundouts in the bottom 2nd served to pull the Critters even again, that sort of offense was unlikely to be enough to keep the W's coming in. Wojnarowski hit another long fly to begin the top 3rd that Rafael Gomez shagged on the warning track, while the Coons moved up 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on a Ramos single, Spencer getting nicked, Rock hitting into a 6-4-3, and then KEVIIIIN came up with a clean single to left to bring in Alberto. Despite all the rocket artillery going off, Delgadillo faced the minimum the second time through, which included Alex Torres getting hit to begin the top 4th, but then being caught stealing by Tovias. While Delgadillo kept inching forwards, eventually one of the drives had to fall in, and it was Chris Brill's gapper in the seventh inning that left the opposing third baseman with a 2-out triple and now the danger was real. Left-handed batter Chris Mendoza hitting for Ted Gura was reason enough to yank Delgadillo in favor of Kearney, who very helpfully plated the tying run with a wild pitch in his course of walking Mendoza. Cervantes struck out. Elias Tovias restored the Coons, but not the viciously betrayed Delgadillo, to the lead with a jack in the bottom 7th, but Wojnarowski reached base against Kearney with an infield single in the eighth. Adrian Crosby bunted, and then Ricky Ohl got rid of the main threats Tony Coca (K) and Alex Torres (F4). Brill would be trouble again in the ninth inning, wrestling a 2-out, 4-pitch walk from Jonathan Snyder, but Nunley made a fine play on John Calfee after that to end the game. 3-2 Coons. Harenberg 2-4, 2B, RBI; Tovias 1-2, BB, HR, RBI; Delgadillo 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K;

Game 2
VAN: RF Wojnarowski – 2B Gura – CF Coca – LF A. Torres – C R. Ortíz – 3B Calfee – 1B Myles – SS Crosby – P Lozano
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 2B Rock – 1B Harenberg – CF Mora – RF Gomez – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – P Nomura

The Critters burst out on Lozano in the opening inning, starting with a full set of base hits from the 1-2-3-4 batters, including a Ramos triple to get going. Spencer hit an RBI single, Rock a plain single, and Harenberg an RBI double before the remaining runs scored on Mora's groundout and Gomez' sac fly. Being up 4-0 invoked unpleasant memories from Game 6 with Rin Nomura on the mound, and the Elks rallied promptly with a leadoff double by Ricky Ortíz in the top 2nd, followed by Ramos butchering a Calfee grounder for an error. Defense was also a specific problem in the inning as Ortíz scored on a passed ball charged to Tovias, while Crosby knocked an RBI double to cut the Coons' lead in half, 4-2. On to the third, where Coca got walked with one out, stole second base, and the Elks tied the score with back-to-back RBI doubles by Torres and Ortíz. Nothing got better with Nomura, it only got worse as by the fifth Alex Torres' homer put the Elks on top, 5-4, and sharp base hits by Adan Myles and Adrian Crosby put runners on the corners with two outs. This was the end for both starters; Chris Mendoza batted for Lozano, and Nomura got beaten into the tunnel and was replaced by Brotman, who got Abel Mora to hustle in and catch Mendoza's blooper before it could escalate the drama even more.

The relief that Billy brought was temporary at best. By the sixth inning, he allowed a leadoff single to Wojnarowski, threw a wild pitch, and conceded more runs on base hits by Torres and Ortíz before being replaced by Dan McLin, who walked Calfee on four pitches before Myles grounded out, then in the seventh inning kept shuffling Elks on base (PH Norman Day, Wojnarowski) that then got caught stealing by Tovias, which was also a vain effort since the offense had pretty much died after the first inning. Instead they managed to bring Kevin Surginer into a 25-pitch, 2-walk eighth inning that pretty much removed him from consideration for a spot start on Monday. 7-4 Canadiens. Ramos 2-4, 3B, 2B; Spencer 2-4, RBI; Rock 2-4; Harenberg 2-4, 2B, RBI;

I am starting to intensely dislike Rin Nomura.

The Elks found Antonio Muniz (3-1, 3.28 ERA) in some crevice by Sunday morning and put him into the rubber game instead of the ex-Coon Shook.

Game 3
VAN: RF Wojnarowski – SS Crosby – CF Coca – LF A. Torres – C R. Ortíz – 3B Calfee – 1B Myles – 2B Gura – P A. Muniz
POR: SS Ramos – LF Spencer – 2B Rock – 1B Harenberg – RF Gomez – CF St. Germaine – C Liu – 3B Bullock – P Anderson

While Kyle Anderson retired the Elks in order the first time through their lineup, whiffing two, the Coons put the leadoff man on in each of the first three innings and still required Anderson to drive in their first run. Ramos walked in the first, but was caught stealing; Harenberg singled in the second, but got wrapped up in a double play; and Liu walked in the third and was doubled home with a ball up the line by Anderson, who was then of course stranded with one out when Ramos grounded out poorly and Spencer lined out to Tony Coca in center. Liu would then foul out to strand Harenberg (single) and St. Germaine (walk) in scoring position in the bottom 4th, a position they had collectively reached after a wild pitch by Muniz, but the Raccoons just never seemed to take advantage of other people's failures. Instead, the disgusting stinking ****ing Elks seized on the first base runner they got, Torres with a leadoff single to left in the top 5th, and took a 2-1 lead when John Calfee cracked a homer to left.

While Anderson lasted seven innings, the Coons appeared entirely dead and forsaken all the way into the bottom 8th. Josh Boles had retired the Elks in the top 8th, then was hit for by Tim Stalker, who became the tying run in scoring position with a leadoff double in the gap between Torres and Coca, the two persistent nipple twingers on the Elks. Here came the top 3 – I would expect ONE of them to find a base hit somewhere! They ****ing didn't. All three grounded out like ***holes, two of them to Muniz, who couldn't believe his luck. And if ONE of them would have gotten on base, the jack that Kevin Harenberg hit off J.R. Hreha to begin the bottom 9th would have come in the eighth and the Coons would have had the lead. Now, they were only tied, and would probably take another SEVENTEEN innings to score again. Indeed the game went to extra innings despite the freakish occurrence of Jing-quo Liu reaching base with a 2-out infield single. Mora batted for Bullock, but fouled out gloriously. Dan McLin gave Portland the ninth and the tenth, by which time the bottom threatened to fall completely out of the bullpen. Cookie batted for McLin to begin the bottom 10th and got on base with a leadoff single up the middle against Hreha. Cookie then stole second on slow play by backup catcher Manny Sanchez after Ramos had fallen asleep during the hit-and-run, but now we had reasonable (if old) speed on second base and NOBODY OUT. The Elks were going to take the high road here and walked Ramos to set up a double play – a mean trap the Coons would surely blunder into proudly. When Spencer bunted the runners over, Trey Rock got another four wide ones, Vancouver preferring(?) to face Harenberg with the bags full and one out, and to much dismay Harenberg lined out to John Calfee at third base. Cookie had seen too much **** in his career to get doubled off on this play though, so Rafael Gomez had a chance with two outs and OH ****ING HELL, he popped it up, to shallow center, and where the heck are the Elks? Crosby confused, Coca chaotic, Brill beaten – and the ball fell in! Walkoff pop single for Rafael Gomez …!! 3-2 Blighters. Harenberg 3-5, HR, RBI; Carmona (PH) 1-1; Anderson 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and 2-2, 2B, RBI; McLin 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (1-1);

(sits there with mouth agape)

In other news

April 29 – The Blue Sox expect SP Chris Chatfield (1-2, 3.86 ERA) to miss most of the season with shoulder inflammation.
April 29 – A badly strained hamstring is expected to put VAN 3B Matt Anton (.294, 2 HR, 7 RBI) out of commission up to around the All Star Game.
April 30 – The Warriors turn their game against the Wolves with a 7-run seventh, claiming 8-2 victory eventually.

Complaints and stuff

Like glue! Like actual ****ing glue, but somehow mildly successful. Hard to watch, though.

So, to recap, we had a 5-1 week, but in turn we had the pen bombed out, the offense is stalling, and we have no starter on Monday. Roberts' finger is tender, Surginer had to pitch on Saturday because ****ing Rin Nomura couldn't keep his holes closed with a 4-0 lead AGAIN, and I really don't know how to get a pitcher onto the roster right now… I mean, I know which pitcher to pick for Monday – George James, since he is the #6 and Monday is his day to pitch anyway. I just don't know who will be chopped off the roster.

Disabling Roberts would not be a good idea. The Druid thinks he can pitch by Wednesday. So if we put him on the DL, he is going to miss at least one more start. Short rest… Rico threw 96 pitches on Thursday, and I am making these weird unsure "eeeeh" noises.

I need some good, sound advice here. Maud – bring in Chad! In costume or not!

Fun Fact: Mark Roberts was a 2012 12th-round pick by the Charlotte Falcons, selected #294 in the draft.

That is one spot behind Nick Brown, and I think we have established where the border is between potential eternal greatness and, well, Roberts. It is pick #293.