[Westheim]

The week began with rosters expanding on September 1. The Raccoons brought up a few add-on pieces, starting with the default third catcher, Chris Mann- … What is it Maud? – Why not? – Why is he injured?? – How DARE he??

Alright, we didn’t call up Chris Manning, we instead brought up Matt Hartley, a 25-year-old solid defensive catcher that had been the fourth-rounder in 2031. He had also never played at the AAA level, but there were only less appealing options left besides him… Berto was moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Hartley on the 40-man roster. The Coons also added Steve Nickas as well as Tim Stalker from his rehab assignment.

In terms of pitchers, Dennis Citriniti and John Hennessy supplemented the bullpen.

Raccoons (73-57) @ Bayhawks (64-65) – September 1-3, 2036

With the season series even at three, and a 1-game lead in the division, the Raccoons went to the Bay again, where nothing good had ever happened. In that regard it was like Elktown, or Portland with the damn Elks invading it. San Fran had slipped out of reach in the CL South, just over 10 games behind, with the fourth-best offense and the sixth-best pitching in the Continental League. They had a +30 run differential (Coons: +54), but weren’t posting a record indicative of it.

Projected matchups:
Gilberto Rendon (5-8, 4.76 ERA) vs. Josh Long (15-8, 3.81 ERA)
Jared Ottinger (6-4, 3.54 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (5-16, 5.32 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (8-6, 3.36 ERA) vs. Ben Lipsky (9-5, 3.02 ERA)

Those looked like three right-handers, but we’d wait and see whether the Baybirds would find any surprises down the road.

Game 1
POR: 3B Downs – LF Hooge – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – 1B Wallace – C Morales – SS Stalker – 2B Vickers – P Rendon
SFB: CF Dahlman – C Dear – RF Sagredo – 1B Levis – 2B J. Cruz – LF Hawthorne – 3B Levinson – SS O. Camacho – P J. Long

Josh Dahlman and Luis Sagredo hit doubles and Jimmy Wallace flubbed Jose Cruz’ grounder in a rather dismal first inning that put the Baybirds up 2-0. Rendon kept putting runners on base after that, too, while the Raccoons struggled to get anything going. Manny Fernandez and Justin Fowler reached base to begin the fourth inning, but Wallace hit into a double play and Tony Morales popped out. So far, the return of Jimmy Wallace was hardly productive, and not exactly generating any wins.

Tim Stalker hit a leadoff single in the fifth and was stranded. Manny Fernandez reached base again in the sixth, swiped his 24th bag of the season, and was stranded. Rendon meanwhile lasted only five and a third before being grinded for 100 pitches by the Bayhawks and replaced by Citriniti. George Hawthorne reached with an infield single, stole second, Citriniti walked Omar Camacho with two outs, but Long struck out for the third time in the game, stranding a total of six runners by now, and somehow it was *still* a 2-0 game. The Raccoons finally got on the board in the seventh with back-to-back 2-out doubles to rightfield hit by Vickers and PH Jesus Maldonado, but Adam Downs fed a sorry grounder to Camacho for the third out, stranding the tying run in scoring position. The tying run was back on base to begin the top 8th when Long walked Ed Hooge. Fernandez singled to center, Fowler singled to left, and the bags were stacked with nobody out for … Wallace. Oh, he’d sure find a way to improve his .161 batting average (from only 31 at-bats) against a melting Josh Long! Before long, Wallace had two strikes on him, but grinded out a 2-2 count before hitting a ball to deep left-center. Hawthorne was hurrying after it, but wouldn’t get there in time – the ball was in the gap, and the merry-go-round started to jingle! Hooge in to tie, Fernandez in for the lead, there comes Fowler – bases-clearing double, Coons have the lead!!! The Bayhawks went to Jorge Villegas jr., who walked Tony Morales, who took out Jose Cruz to break up the double play on Stalker’s grounder to short. Runners remained on the corners with one down for Vickers, who rammed a single through the left side for his 50th RBI of the season, and a fifth run would score on a Camacho error with two outs. Hooge struck out to end the inning with Vickers and Downs on the corners, but the Coons were up 6-2, and now just had to pick six outs from the pen.

Casey Moore thus started the bottom 8th by nailing Doug Levis, and Jose Cruz singled sharply to left-center. Somehow Fowler snatched a Hawthorne drive to deep center and Tristan Levinson hit into a double play, keeping Moore in one piece. Prieto was out for the ninth, but gave up a jack to Camacho. Danny Monge was out, but Jaden Pridgeon singled, and the Coons sent Yeom Soung with the tying run appearing in the on-deck circle. John Cooper, a fourth-string catcher, singled in the #2 hole, but Keith Damron pinch-hit and struck out. Levis hit an RBI single up the middle, 6-4, and now the winning run was in the box in Jose Cruz, switch-hitter, .327 with seven homers. He poked a 1-2 grounder to the left side, Downs had to pick it on the run and throw mid-spin to second – OUT! 6-4 Critters! M. Fernandez 3-4, BB; Fowler 2-5; Wallace 1-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Vickers 2-4, 2B, RBI; Madonado (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

Oh look, boys – another 16-game loser! Whatever you do, don’t be yourselves …!

Game 2
POR: 3B Downs – 2B Stalker – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – LF Wallace – C Morales – 1B Maruyama – SS Triolo – P Ottinger
SFB: CF Dahlman – C Dear – RF Sagredo – 1B Levis – 2B J. Cruz – LF Hawthorne – 3B Levinson – SS O. Camacho – P Peterson

Ottie walked the bags full in the bottom 1st, but the Baybirds got “only” one run on a Jose Cruz grounder that Stalker and Triolo couldn’t turn for two. Levinson drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 2nd, which started to become annoying with Ottinger, who now had 50 walks to 44 strikeouts in 85 innings, but Camacho hit into a double play. Peterson legged out an infield single (…!), the first San Fran hit in the game, but Josh Dahlman grounded out to end the inning. While the Coons were retired completely in order the first time through (clenches fists!), Ottinger issued another leadoff walk to Matt Dear in the bottom 3rd, but the Bayhawks made three outs after that. Manny Fernandez hit a double in the fourth after 11 straight retirements to begin the game, but Fowler fanned, and that was that…

Tony Morales had a fifth-inning single in what was quickly becoming a rather unforgettable game even with outlandish amounts of numbing booze, while Ottinger kept fudging his way through the middle innings. Cruz (single) and Hawthorne (walk) were on base with two outs in the sixth and Camacho in the box when Ottinger ran a full count and broke through 100 pitches, assuring he’d be lifted after the batter, no matter the outcome. Camacho struck out on ball four, the only K of the game for Ottinger, who had walked SIX.

The second he was out of the game, the Coons were on the corners against Peterson in the seventh. Manny walked, Fowler singled, Manny to third, nobody out. Wallace hit a sac fly to tie the score, while the Bayhawks’ mental battery fumbled Fowler to third base by means of a balk and a passed ball, from where Chiyosaku Maruyama would plate him with a 2-out, go-ahead fart of a single to shallow right-center. Triolo struck out, sending the game to the bottom 7th, where David Fernandez got two outs before allowing a single to Dear. Keith Damron hit for Luis Sagredo, sending Chris Wise as replacement for the left-hander. Wise walked Damron on four pitches before Levis reached on a Triolo error, loading the bags in the 2-1 game. Jose Cruz did come through this time, spanking a 2-run single up the middle, and Hawthorne hit another RBI single off a bewildered Wise, who finally ended the inning with a K, but now the Critters were 4-2 behind. Portland was retired in order in the eighth, but Fowler hit a 1-out single off Jeremy Bloedow and his 2.22 ERA in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate. And Jimmy Wallace hit into a double play to get the charade over with. 4-2 Bayhawks. Fowler 2-4;

On a scale of, in terms of uniform numbers, Hooge to Hennessy, how surprised am I?

Osanai.

Game 3
POR: LF Hooge – 3B Downs – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – 2B Vickers – 1B Maldonado – C Wall – SS Nickas – P Sabre
SFB: CF Dahlman – C Dear – RF Sagredo – 1B Levis – 2B J. Cruz – LF Hawthorne – 3B Levinson – SS O. Camacho – P Lipsky

Fernandez and Fowler reached base in the first and were stranded when Vickers popped out haplessly. In the third, Sabre had the first actual base hit of the game with a leadoff single to center. Downs singled with one out, and Fernandez jammed a ball into Cruz’ claws for a 4-6-3 double play. The Bayhawks reached in the second on a Nickas error, then in the fourth when Dear drew a leadoff walk. Sagredo hit into a fielder’s choice, was balked to second base by Sabre, but the Bayhawks kept making poor outs, with Levis and Cruz both grounding out easily, and the game remained scoreless.

Sabre nursed a no-hitter through six innings before Sagredo opened the bottom 7th with a single to left in yet still a scoreless game. It remained scoreless through seven with Levis flying out to Manny in right and Cruz lining out to Maldonado, who doubled off a confused Sagredo, 3-unassisted. The tie wasn’t broken until the eighth inning, which Sabre opened with striking out, after which Ed Hooge hit a homer to dead center. YAY. OFFENSE.

Of course, Sabre cruising to a shutout would be too easy. He got Hawthorne to begin the bottom 8th, then saw Vickers **** a Levinson grounder for an error. Danny Monge singled, Damron squeezed out a walk, and the bags were full with one gone for Dahlman. Portland sent Mauricio Garavito. San Francisco sent Justin Uliasz. Garavito got to two strikes, but no further, before the right-handed batter chomped a ball over second base for an RBI single, tying the game. Matt Dear hit a sorry roller that was only enough for one out, allowing Monge to score, 2-1, and only then did the inning end on a Sagredo groundout.

While I was scanning the Bay from the upper deck, looking for a nook or cranny where the Coast Guard wouldn’t immediately spot me drowning myself, the Coons went to bat in the ninth. Bloedow got Fowler on a groundout, before Wallace batted for Vickers, the dismal *****. Jimmy chopped a ball to right for a single, and Tony Morales batted for Maldonado, keeping the lefty pressure up. The ploy worked, with Bloedow’s eighth pitch of the inning, a 95mph circle change, hovering in the middle of the plate for Morales to pump it the **** over the rightfield fence, over the low stands, and into the ****ing Bay. Score – flipped! While Bloedow would walk two more pinch-hitters, Pinkerton and Stalker, the Coons couldn’t get another base hit and failed to get an insurance run, with Hooge flying out to Hawthorne to end the inning. Soung would descend from his throne somewhere and ended the game without cocking up the lead … despite a walk to Jose Cruz. 3-2 Critters. Wallace (PH) 1-1; Morales (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Sabre 7.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and 1-3;

The Raccoons had 18 base hits in the entire series, only barely more knocks than Mauricio Garavito had wins – Garavito won both the Monday and Wednesday contests in relief.

The Titans apparently were done with sucking – they swept the Knights forcefully, 19-2 in total – to tie us atop the CL North. Both teams were off on Thursday. The Titans were then off to Boston to play their bitterest rivals from New York, while the Coons would play the Loggers at home.

Raccoons (75-58) vs. Loggers (57-75) – September 5-7, 2036

The Loggers were of course long done with the year and existence in general. They were sixth in runs scored, but 11th in runs allowed, and maybe that was exactly what the Critters needed right now – a set of punching bags. Milwaukee brought on the worst rotation in the league. We were up 8-3 on the season.

Projected matchups:
Bernie Chavez (10-10, 3.19 ERA) vs. Paul Metzler (8-13, 4.39 ERA)
Gilberto Rendon (5-8, 4.62 ERA) vs. William Stockwell (4-10, 4.54 ERA)
Jared Ottinger (6-4, 3.40 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (6-9, 3.63 ERA)

Stockwell figured to be the week’s only southpaw. Also, Piedra, who had started the year in the pen, but was by some margin the most effective Loggers starter…

Game 1
MIL: CF T. Romero – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – 2B McWhirter – SS Del Vecchio – C M. Cooper – RF K. Farmer – P Metzler
POR: LF Hooge – 3B Downs – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Morales – 1B Wallace – 2B Vickers – SS Nickas – P Chavez

Portland scored first, and in the first, which began with Ed Hooge doubling off the fence. He scored on two groundouts. The Loggers’ 7-8-9 batters then all hit 2-out singles off Bernie in the top 2nd, which was annoying, but didn’t cost the lead, with Tony Romero eventually out on a grounder to short. Not that I kept my calm during that at-bat, and Maud had me talk down from the very top of the bobblehead cabinet afterwards.

Milwaukee had a hit in both the third and fourth innings, but either had Steve Wilson hit into a double play or Ted Del Vecchio being caught stealing. The Coons seemed to hit the ball harder all the while, but had next to no luck, getting balls caught by the outfielders regularly. Fowler reached with a soft leadoff single to begin the bottom 4th, which wasn’t the worst strategy. Morales popped out, but Jimmy Wallace got hold of a breaking pitch and fired it over the fence in rightfield for a 2-run homer and a 3-0 lead – it was his first longball of the season after missing a crisp 120 games to injury.

Bernie kept bleeding singles; the Loggers had two more in the fifth, eight in total, but at least he kept it in the park. Bill McWhirter hit a double in the sixth, the first extra-base knock for the Loggers, but was stranded just the same. Kymani Farmer hit a leadoff single in the seventh, and this time the pen got stirring. Bernie handled Metzler’s bunt, then struck out Romero. And that was all; after 6.2 innings and 10 hits on 94 pitches, the Coons sent David Fernandez against Salvador Ayala, entering in a double switch with Maruyama, Wallace exiting stage right. Ayala lined out softly to Nickas, ending the inning. The Loggers never reached base again, with Fernandez logging two more outs in the eighth before Chris Wise got the final four. 3-0 Raccoons. Nickas 1-2, BB; Chavez 6.2 IP, 10 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, W (11-10);

Offense remained sparse…! And it wasn’t like we could expect any help from the DL anymore. These guys on the roster now had to figure out a way to not starve two feet from the playoff food bowl.

Game 2
MIL: CF T. Romero – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – 2B McWhirter – C M. Cooper – LF D.J. Mendez – SS Benito – RF Prestwood – P Stockwell
POR: SS Downs – 2B Stalker – LF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – 1B Maldonado – RF Pinkerton – C Wall – 3B Marsingill – P Rendon

Rendon was ready to meltdown in the second inning, which began with a walk to Matt Cooper and quickly saw D.J. Mendez single and Juan Benito double, making it a 1-0 game with runners in scoring position and nobody out. Tyler Prestwood popped out, William Stockwell walked on four pitches (…!?), I grabbed Slappy’s arm for comfort, and then somehow Romero struck out and Ayala rolled it over to Stalker to strand a full set. The Critters would reach the corners with no outs in the bottom 2nd, courtesy of Maldonado’s leadoff walk and a Preston Pinkerton single. Stockwell then stuffed the bases with a walk to Kurt Wall. Marsingill scratched out his 15th RBI of the season with a grounder to short, then beating out the return throw by Bill McWhirter. It got worse – Rendon hit a roller back to the mound, with Stockwell having virtually forever time to retire him alone, or maybe even two if he was quick. He threw the ball over Ayala’s head, bedlam broke out, and the Coons got the go-ahead run and two Brownshirts in scoring position out of the catastrophic error. So of course the Raccoons made it up to them – Downs popped out, Stalker walked, and Fernandez grounded out to McWhirter, stranding three runners in the 2-1 game.

Portland would tack on a run in the fourth on Downs and Stalker doubles with two outs, with Manny whiffing to continue a black day at the plate. Rendon held the Loggers to three hits through the fifth inning, the bottom of which saw Maldonado and Pinkerton back on the corners with one out, and then Wall slapped a grounder into a double play. Rendon was hit for in the bottom 6th after having already thrown 95 pitches, which was rather close to his natural limit of usefulness anyway. Maruyama grounded out, and nobody reached in the inning before the 3-1 lead went to the bullpen. Prieto did the seventh well enough, only nailing PH Kenta Yoshioka in the #9 hole, and the Critters loaded the bags in the bottom 7th against right-hander Matt May. Stalker singled, Fowler was walked intentionally after a groundout moved Stalker to second base, and Maldonado walked to fill ‘em up. Pinkerton was 2-for-3 in the game, but the Coons sought a lefty bat here, sending Ed Hooge, who bounced into an inning-murdering double play. – I know, Maud, I know. Deep breaths. – Deep breaths. – Yes. No, I’m good. – Yes, I will give you the meat cleaver back.

Hennessy walked Ayala to begin the eighth, the only batter he faced before being replaced by Casey Moore, who struck out Josh Conner and got a double play from McWhirter. Yeom Soung would be back for the ninth inning, facing 5-6-7, ow with Triolo at short and Downs over at third base after some more pinch-hitting in the bottom 8th that had led precisely nowhere. Triolo handled a sharp grounder by Matt Cooper on the first pitch by “The Warden” for a neat first out, and then the game ended via a Mendez strikeout and a Benito pop to Stalker. 3-1 Coons. Maldonado 1-2, BB; Pinkerton 2-3; Morales (PH) 1-1; Rendon 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (6-8);

Eight hits today! What a rout!

Seriously, boys, a wee bit more? Please? Not for me, I know you lot can’t stand me, but for the stupid screaming kids in the stands? Hm?

Boston had matched our win on Friday, but spilled a game this Saturday, getting shut out by Keith Black (8-12, 4.39 ERA) and Mike Hugh (6-6, 3.88 ERA, 28 SV). This restored the 1-game lead we had fumbled on Tuesday.

Game 3
MIL: CF T. Romero – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Conner – LF S. Wilson – 2B McWhirter – SS Del Vecchio – C M. Cooper – RF Prestwood – P Piedra
POR: LF Hooge – 3B Downs – RF M. Fernandez – CF Fowler – C Morales – 1B Wallace – 2B Vickers – SS Triolo – P Ottinger

While Ottinger put Ayala (walk…) and Wilson (single) on the corners in the first, but got McWhirter to ground out, the Coons scratched out a quick run when Fernandez walked and was doubled in by Justin Fowler. Morales grounded out to strand Fowler in scoring position. Jimmy Wallace opened the second inning with a double and scored on a 2-out single by Triolo for something new, 2-0. The army of screaming kids was much less impressed with the Raccoons’ offensive results, which included a 2-run homer by Manny Fernandez in the bottom 3rd, than whenever Ottie got an out in some way. Kids! Stupid!

And to be fair, Ottinger was much better than on Tuesday (but then again, how much worse could he have been?), and wasn’t giving out any freebies. Through three innings, he allowed three hits, but only the one walk to Ayala, and besides, maybe the Raccoons would finally break out on offense? Fowler and Morales reached the corners after the Fernandez bomb (#16), with Piedra missing grossly and four times to Wallace to load the bags. Vickers’ roller to short was too slow to turn two, allowing Fowler to come home with the team’s fifth run. Triolo flew out to Romero to strand the other two runners. Ottie walked Cooper with two outs in the fourth, but rung up Prestwood afterwards, yet the real drama started when he singled opening the bottom 4th against the overwhelmed Piedra. The kids already upped their volume to 9.5, but when Ed Hooge doubled into the corner two pitches later and Ottie chugged around the bases at max speed, sliding across home plate well ahead of Prestwood’s throw, 6-0 by the way, I thought the little rats would bring the ol’ ballpark down for good. All the shrieking, all the jumping, all the blaring! … Ah, **** it, it’s 6-0! (jumps around blaring, with Slappy chuckling between sips on his bottle)

The inning and Piedra’s outing ended after a Manny Fernandez single cashed Hooge to make it 7-0. Ottie now had considerable leeway and could file an application for a playoff rotation spot by going at least seven innings, something he had done only twice in his major league career, and never at home. Walking reliever Luis Villoch in the top 5th was not exactly the right path to choose, and he got mired in a long and futile inning. While he struck out three and stranded Villoch and Ayala (who singled), the big seven receded into the distance. He needed 30 pitches in the inning, putting him at 86 total, and wouldn’t get past six, conceding a run in the top 6th, which McWhirter opened with a triple. Del Vecchio popped out, but Matt Cooper got the run home.

The score remained 7-1 through seven innings, after which there were some changes. Pinkerton had pinch-hit in the bottom 7th and remained in the game, giving Manny a few innings off. Matt Hartley would take over catching and batting third – he had wasted away on the bench the entire week and we didn’t want him go entirely useless before the week was out; putting him #3 ensured he’d have a plate appearance in the bottom 8th. Maldonado also replaced Fowler. Dennis Citriniti had a scoreless eighth, and then Hartley came to bat against right-hander Steve Bass after Downs had drawn a leadoff walk from Matt May. Hartley struck out, but the Critters loaded the bases when Maldonado walked and Stalker singled. Bass issued a bases-loaded walk to Jimmy Wallace, but whiffed Vickers and got Triolo to ground out. Hennessy ended the game, allowing only a D.J. Mendez single in the ninth. 8-1 Raccoons! Downs 2-4, BB; M. Fernandez 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Fowler 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Stalker (PH) 1-1; Wallace 1-2, 3 BB, 2B, RBI; Ottinger 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (7-4) and 1-3;

In other news

September 1 – TOP SP Justin Osterloh (9-8, 3.86 ERA) is one strike from a no-hitter in a 4-0 game over the Gold Sox when DEN INF Orlando Nieblas (.304, 9 HR, 64 RBI) flicks a soft single to break up the bid. Osterloh retires the next batter, but has to settle for a complete-game shutout.
September 2 – Salem has a 3-hit shutout by SP Eric Peck (13-9, 3.35 ERA) in a 5-0 win over the Miners, but loses SS/2B/RF Jose Castro (.263, 13 HR, 46 RBI) for the season with an oblique strain.
September 6 – Tied for first, the Buffaloes flip 1B Jake Evans (.298, 8 HR, 72 RBI) to the Pacifics for SP Tony Fuentes (4-12, 5.41 ERA), a move puzzling analysts.

Complaints and stuff

Boston matched our 5-1 output, indicating perhaps that their slow rot was over and September was not going to be a cakewalk. For starters, the Raccoons couldn’t beat the Loggers like a drum forever – there were also some actual teams left to play against. In fact, here was the playoff picture (with strength of schedule and playoff chances) with four weeks left on the schedule. We’ll graciously list the damn Elks, too, because they still had nine games left with the top two, but had just posted a losing week (3-4) and were unlikely to rally to a significant degree:

POR (78-58) – IND (6), BOS (4), MIL (4), CHA (3), NYC (3), TIJ (3), VAN (3) – .476 – 60.2%
BOS (77-59) – VAN (6), NYC (4), POR (4), IND (3), LVA (3), MIL (3), SFB (3) – .489 – 39.8%
VAN (69-68) – BOS (6), NYC (4), CHA (3), IND (3), MIL (3), POR (3), TIJ (3) – .497 – 0.1%

We won’t face either the Titans or Elks until September 26.

Chris Manning is out with a thoroughly smashed ankle, not that he was penciled in for the playoff roster… yet. Mark up $50k or so for the injured players fund.

Speaking of injuries, with the way in which Maldonado, Nickas, Triolo, and Maruyama have piled up almost 1,000 plate appearances this year, I really wonder whether we’d have the division locked up already if we could have kept Berto, Dave Myers, and Harenberg on their hindpaws this year…

Those three and Gene Tennis are all on the 60-day DL by now, ensuring some after-season drama when we have to feed them back onto the 40-man roster… - Why are you looking at me like that, Ed? – Why are you holding up an empty bowl? – Yes, I said “feed”. – And? – (sigh) Maaaauuud! I need heeeelp!!

Fun Fact: Matt Triolo, who was the #77 pick in the 2026 draft, has been released four times in his major league career.

This includes the Miners, who drafted him in the third round in ’26, but were fed up with him rather quickly. It does not include the Raccoons, who signed him off the trash heap the following April, but then quickly wrapped him up in a deal for Jon Correa in July of ’28 that may or may not have won them the World Series that year. Triolo was traded to the Blue Sox seven days after the Correa trade, then again to the Buffaloes in December, and then was released, signed, released, signed, released, and finally washed up on another minor league deal with the Coons last March.

He made his debut in a forgettable cup of coffee (.208, 0 HR, 0 RBI in 24 at-bats) in ’35, and this year got 137 at-bats as one of a number of square pegs the Raccoons tried to jam into the round hole left by Berto’s departure to the DL via the broken elbow.

Is that healing, Dr. Chung, to your satisfaction? – What do you mean, you “don’t know”? – Why do you not know where you put Berto??