[Westheim]

Raccoons (12-13) vs. Loggers (10-14) – April 30-May 3, 2040

The Raccoons would stick to home to host the Loggers in a 4-game set, the first meeting with them in 2040. They had won the season series in ’39 with 11 wins to the Critters’ seven, but right now were sitting below them in the standings. That didn’t sound like something the Critters could blow, though – the Loggers had a +1 run differential and their luck would sure soon turn around, despite being just about as mediocre as the Raccoons. The Loggers were seventh in runs allowed and eighth in runs scored – for the Coons it was the other way round.

Projected matchups:
Bernie Chavez (1-3, 4.26 ERA) vs. Carlos Padilla (2-2, 6.07 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (2-5, 5.26 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (0-1, 3.94 ERA)
Kyle Dominy (3-0, 2.34 ERA) vs. Joe Feltman (2-2, 3.79 ERA)
Nelson Fonseca (0-1, 5.68 ERA) vs. Sal Chavez (1-3, 4.20 ERA)

All right-handers!

Game 1
MIL: C F. Gomez – RF Valenzuela – SS Del Vecchio – 3B J. Paul – LF J. Nelson – 1B Ronan – 2B V. Acosta – CF Torri – P C. Padilla
POR: 3B Ramos – 2B Trevino – LF Fernandez – 1B Maldonado – CF Nettles – RF Greenway – SS Hunter – C Morales – P B. Chavez

Maldonado doubled home Manny Fernandez for a 1-0 lead in the first, but Bernie managed to run that one through the shredder in no time at all. After retiring the Loggers in order in the first, he allowed leadoff singles to Jared Paul and Justin Nelson in the second, walked Joseph Ronan, and then somehow got out with only a sac fly hit by Victor Acosta. The Loggers’ taking a 2-1 lead in the third inning was unearned; Danny Valenzuela reached on a Trevino error before being singled home with two outs by Paul. The Raccoons got Bernie and Berto on base to begin the bottom of bespoke inning, but they both were badly neglected by those being up behind them. Troy Greenway hit into a double play in the fourth, but in the sixth Manny, Maldo, and Greenway (of all people) cobbled three singles together to tie the game… and then Tony Morales killed the inning with a double play grounder.

Bernie Chavez held the Loggers to four hits in a 2-2 tie through six and two thirds, then gave up two screamers and a run to Felipe Gomez and Danny Valenzuela, getting back a-trailing. The Raccoons would answer with five sad outs before Stephon Nettles buried a 2-out triple in the gap against Padilla in the bottom 8th. Greenway was up next and tied the score for the second time in the game, snapping a double to center to make it three-all. Tony Hunter walked after that, and Tony Morales grounded out at 3-1, ending a promising inning. Jermaine Campbell and Rico Sanchez held the fort through regulation, and the Raccoons hoped extras would not be necessary. Jeff Kilmer though struck out to begin the bottom 9th against right-hander Cesar Perez, but then Berto and Cosmo hit singles to take up position at the corners. Manny Fernandez batted with one out, struck out, and Maldonado grounded out, leaving the winning run on third base. Rico Sanchez promptly gave up a run in the 10th – his first as a Portlander – on Jared Paul’s 1-out triple. Paul was also hurt on the play, to be replaced by Bob Cruz, but that was no consolation to the Coons. Facing right-hander Gualter Cymbron in the bottom 10th, Nettles struck out, Greenway singled, and Hunter struck out. Brad Ledford hit for Sanchez, ran a 3-1 count, then popped out. 4-3 Loggers. Ramos 2-5; Fernandez 2-5; Maldonado 2-5, 2B, RBI; Nettles 2-5, 3B; Greenway 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

(sour look)

Game 2
MIL: 2B Lira – RF Valenzuela – SS Del Vecchio – 3B J. Paul – LF J. Nelson – 1B Ronan – C F. Gomez – CF C. Sealock – P Piedra
POR: 3B Ramos – SS Hunter – CF Nettles – 1B Maldonado – RF Greenway – LF Ledford – 2B Caskey – C Kilmer – P Sabre

The Loggers scored the most casual 3-spot (two earned) on Sabre in the first inning, which was something we were used to by now. There was a single, a walk, a stupid Ramos error, a bases-loaded walk, a 2-run single by Ronan, a wild pitch, and somehow consecutive outs from Felipe Gomez and Chris Sealock when the relievers in the Coons pen already started stretching. And while the pen didn’t actually get physically involved in the game until after Sabre had completed seven innings on 100 pitches and only four more hits and no tack-on runs, neither had the Coons’ offense. They had sprinkled five hits through seven, Maldonado singling home one measly run while I wasn’t watching. Chris Sealock hit a home run off Brent Clark in the ninth, with Clark then putting two left-handed batters on base after that. Alex Ramirez got the last out there from Valenzuela, not that it mattered. When the Raccoons got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning against Cymbron, it had required an uncaught third strike by Gomez to kickstart the inning. That’s how Greenway reached. Ledford singled. Ed Hooge hit for Caskey and struck out. Kilmer singled to left. Manny Fernandez then hit with the tying runs aboard in the pitcher’s spot, lined the first pitch at the scourge of humanity, Ted Del Vecchio, for the second out, Ledford was caught off base, tagged for the third out, and that game was in the bin, too. 4-1 Loggers. Hunter 2-4; Kilmer 2-4;

Game 3
MIL: 2B Lira – RF Valenzuela – SS Del Vecchio – 3B J. Paul – LF J. Nelson – 1B Ronan – C F. Gomez – CF Torri – P Feltman
POR: 3B Ramos – 2B Trevino – LF Fernandez – CF Maldonado – RF Greenway – SS Hunter – C Morales – 1B Kilgallen – P Dominy

Dominy got a 1-0 lead in the first on a Ramos Special; walk, stolen base, Fernandez single, cleanly executed. The second inning was messier, with Hunter and Kilgallen reaching. Berto singled to load the bases with two outs, after which Cosmo singled home one, and Manny singled home two. Maldonado walked, but Greenway struck out, stranding three. Maldonado would tie the sack tight, for practical purposes, with a 3-run homer in the fourth, scoring Berto and Cosmo. That one ended Feltman’s day, while the Raccoons’ starter Dominy had allowed only one base hit against six strikeouts so far. He maintained a 2-hitter through six, by which time the Raccoons had tacked on another two runs against left-handed former starter Arnie Terwilliger in long relief.

Dominy was still shutting out the Loggers through seven innings before things became unhinged. Justin Nelson had already hit an infield single in the seventh, but had been stranded. In the eighth, Dan Torri opened with another infield single, then was tripled in by Victor Acosta. When Tony Lira grounded softly to first base, Matt Kilgallen fudged that ball for an error, allowing Acosta across, 9-2. Chuck Jones replaced the stumbled Dominy, getting out of the inning against the next three hitters. To my great surprise, the ninth didn’t bring a 9-run meltdown even after Manny Fernandez drove in an unretired Alberto Ramos for a third time in the eighth inning, the tenth and final run on the Raccoons’ ledger this day. 10-2 Critters. Ramos 2-2, 2 BB, RBI; Trevino 3-5, 2 RBI; Fernandez 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI; Morales 2-4; Dominy 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (4-0);

You couldn’t save a few runs for the next bushel of 1-run losses, no? Does anybody in hear no maths??

Game 4
MIL: 2B Lira – C F. Gomez – SS Del Vecchio – 3B J. Paul – LF J. Nelson – 1B Ronan – RF C. Rivera – CF Torri – P S. Chavez
POR: 3B Ramos – 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – LF Fernandez – RF Hooge – SS Hunter – C Morales – 1B Kilgallen – P Fonseca

Nelson Fonseca pitched two scoreless to begin the game, which was already almost worth celebrating, then came to bat in the bottom 2nd, where the Loggers, with Hooge and Hunter aboard already, had walked Kilgallen intentionally with *one* out. Fonseca sniffed the chance for immortality with three aboard – and slapped a 1-1 pitch into a double play.

******* Ted Del Vecchio then tripled home a run with two outs in the top 3rd, but the Critters countered, to anybody’s surprise. Berto and Nettles reached base, with Manny singling home the tying run with one out. Nettles was thrown out trying to reach third base, but Manny moved up, then scored on Ed Hooge’s double, and Hoogey came around on a Tony Hunter single. Hunter, in turn was driven in when Morales doubled. Kilgallen was walked intentionally again, and Fonseca grounded out again, keeping it to a 4-spot. But the 4-1 lead was not diamonds, as in, it wasn’t forever. Jared Paul took it all away in the fifth inning, which was not shocking, because this was *Nelson Fonseca*, the Plan B to an already incredible stupid Plan A. He scored the tying runs with two outs in the fifth, those runs being Lira and … (sigh) … Sal Chavez, who had hit a leadoff single.

Fonseca got antoher lead, posthumously. Maldonado batted for him leading off the bottom 6th against a resilient Sal Chavez and singled. He stole second, then came around on a Nettles single after an intentional walk to Cosmo (who was batting .196 by the way…). The tie broken, Manny loaded the bases with a single to center and one out, but Hooge popped out and Hunter grounded out. Still them old Coons, huh? Troy Greenway hit a pinch-hit double in the seventh, but that was about it while the bullpen was supposed to hold a 1-run lead together. Jermaine Campbell got around a leadoff single in the seventh. Ramirez and Clark didn’t let anybody on in the eighth. Rico Sanchez got two grounders in the ninth, then walked Bob Cruz. Mel Lira singled. Felipe Gomez ran a full count, then poked on a low pitch and hit a hobbler to first base, Kilgallen on it, back to the base, and just in time to end the ballgame…! 5-4 Raccoons. Ramos 2-3, 2 BB; Nettles 3-5, RBI; Fernandez 2-5, RBI; Hooge 3-5, 2B, RBI; Hunter 2-4, RBI; Morales 2-4, 2B, RBI; Maldonado (PH) 1-1; Greenway (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Five runs’ not much for *16* base hits. And five walks on top of that. I guess stranding 13 and hitting into two double plays (and a caught stealing for Nettles) takes its toll on your chances…

Raccoons (14-15) @ Stars (15-13) – May 4-6, 2040

The Stars were surprisingly close to the top of the FL West this year, sitting only one game out as the Raccoons rumbled into town. They were seventh in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed in the Federal League, with a -12 run differential hitting at certain problems that made a candidacy for the playoffs unlikely. Stunningly, they also hit no homers, ranking bottoms in the league with nine bombs. Further complicating their offensive problems was having a DL with four hitters, including regulars like Jon Ramos and Jake Trawick. These teams had last met in 2038, with the Stars then taking two of three games.

Projected matchups:
Ryan Bedrosian (2-0, 2.19 ERA) vs. Matt Holliday (0-3, 5.45 ERA)
Bernie Chavez (1-3, 3.96 ERA) vs. Daniel Hernandez (2-0, 2.66 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (2-3, 4.68 ERA) vs. Corey Booth (3-2, 3.50 ERA)

Again, only right-handed pitchers coming up here. And yes, that is the Daniel Hernandez that was a toss-in along with Bryce Sparkes into our system in 2036, and tossed out for Fernando Garcia less than 12 months later. He was putting up most of his numbers in relief though. This would be his fourth career start.

Game 1
POR: 3B Ramos – 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – LF Fernandez – 1B Maldonado – RF Greenway – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – P Bedrosian
DAL: 1B A. Zacarias – SS Zeltser – 2B H. Acosta – C Torreo – CF Cecil – RF Sandstrom – LF J. Crawford – 3B J. Rivas – P Holliday

Jason Crawford brought in the first run of the game in the second, a 6-4-3 grounder with Tylor Cecil and Chris Sandstrom on the corners in the bottom 2nd. Kilmer was also poised to hit into a 6-4-3 with no run to score in the fourth inning, but Bob Zeltser, who had landed five hits in a 4-3 win over LA the day before, fumbled the grounder, and loaded the bases for the heretofore lame-pawed Raccoons with one out and Tony Hunter in the box. Holliday got him to 0-2 before Hunter narrowly lobbed a breaking ball over a reaching Hugo Acosta – the FL Hitter of the Month of April – for an RBI single. Bedrosian struck out easily, but now with two outs Berto shot a ball through strong defender Jose Rivas and up the leftfield line. The bases cleared, and the Raccoons had a 4-1 lead on the double! Cosmo grounded out to end the rush after that.

Nettles and Fernandez hit singles to begin the fifth, but Maldonado popped out and Greenway hit into a double play. Holliday tried to hold out, got two outs to begin the sixth, but then gave up a single to Bedrosian, of all people, and also put Berto on base. Cosmo singled through the right side after that for an RBI single, running the tally to 5-1 and knocking out Holiday. In came the #45 pick from 2036, right-hander Matt Simmons, for his ABL debut. His first batter was Stephon Nettles, and at 2-2 he gave up a screaming 2-run double up the rightfield line, although Manny grounded out. Maldonado hit a leadoff double off Simmons in the seventh, then scored on two productive outs to pile on an eighth run. Eight was also how long Bedrosian lasted before running out of gas, having allowed only two hits. Mauricio Garavito completed the game for Portland with two strikeouts and a grounder. 8-1 Critters! Ramos 2-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Trevino 2-5, RBI; Nettles 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Maldonado 3-4, 2B; Ledford (PH) 1-1; Bedrosian 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (3-0) and 2-4;

Back to .500 …! And tied with the … Indians? That doesn’t sound good.

Game 2
POR: 3B Ramos – 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – LF Fernandez – 1B Maldonado – RF Greenway – C Morales – SS Hunter – P Chavez
DAL: 1B A. Zacarias – SS Zeltser – 2B H. Acosta – C Torreo – CF Cecil – RF Sandstrom – LF J. Crawford – 3B J. Rivas – P D. Hernandez

Both teams scratched out a run in the second inning on a single and a double, with Portland seeing Maldonado score on Morales’ groundout. Bernie Chavez looked half-decent until he shuffled the bags full on a single and two walks in the fourth, then gave up two runs on a Crawford single, but the Raccoons would romp out four singles of their own, and a walk, to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Cosmo, Nettles, and Fernandez all got a 2-out RBI in the inning. Bernie Chavez got through the fifth, then walked the bases again in the sixth before being yanked. Cecil and Crawford had hits, Jose Rivas walked in a full count, and Lorenzo Celaya pinch-hit for Hernandez with one out. Chuck Jones came out of the pen for Portland, gave up a single to right, with Cecil scoring and Crawford being thrown out at home by Troy Greenway while the other runners moved into scoring position. Jones walked Alex Zacarias, then got Zeltser to pop out, ending the inning, the score even at four.

While the Raccoons continued to do nothing, and especially not hit homers in the goddamn shoebox they were trapped in for the weekend, their bullpen wobbled mightily. Jones and Rafael Zacarias only stalled the Stars on third base in the seventh inning, and in the eighth Mauricio Garavito loaded the bases on soft singles and a walk, then gave up another ******* blooper to Hugo Acosta with two outs that cost two runs, and the game, too. 6-4 Stars. Greenway 2-4, 2B; Hooge (PH) 1-1;

Game 3
POR: 3B Ramos – 2B Trevino – LF Fernandez – 1B Maldonado – CF Hooge – RF Greenway – C Kilmer – SS Hunter – P Sabre
DAL: 1B A. Zacarias – LF J. Crawford – 2B H. Acosta – 3B Lorensen – RF Sandstrom – SS J. Rivas – C Sepulveda – CF Cecil – P Booth

Portland had the bags full in the first on singles by Cosmo (who stole second), Fernandez, and a walk drawn by Maldonado. Hoogey ripped the first pitch off the fence in rightfield for a 2-run double, after which Greenway walked on four pitches, and Jeff Kilmer slapped in another pair with a single through the right side. The inning fizzled out after that, putting Sabre and his highly mixed season record on the line with a 4-0 lead. The Stars got him for a run right away with three mostly sharp singles by Zacarias, Crawford, and Ryan Lorensen. In the second inning, Cecil singled, stole second, and came around on a Zacarias single, 4-2. Somehow, Acosta’s leadoff single in the bottom 3rd did not lead to a run, and the Raccoons instead turned up the burner again in the fourth against Booth, who got two outs before going under against the top of the order, who reached on a walk and two singles before Maldo clipped an RBI single to shallow center, 5-2. A passed ball blamed on Edward Sepulveda plated another run before Hoogey could fly out to right.

Booth was hit for in the bottom 4th, then replaced with Matt Simmons, Friday’s debutant. He walked a pair that Berto singled home with two outs in the fifth, 8-2. It still didn’t look like Sabre would get a W… Zacarias and Crawford opened the bottom 5th with singles, then Acosta reached on a Trevino error. That should have been two. I was just mad of all of them equally… Sabre nailed Lorensen with an 0-2 pitch to get a run across, then gave up a pop in left to Chris Sandstrom. Manny made the catch, found Zacarias going home, and threw him out. When Sabre STILL continued to **** up and allowed two runs on a Rivas liner, he was yanked after four and two thirds. Campbell found a way out of the ******* inning, then was ticked for a run the following inning…

When the Raccoons had Manny and Maldo on base to begin the inning after that stomach twister, Hooge hit into a double play, and Greenway was of course no help, dead or alive. The Stars had the tying runs aboard in the eighth against Clark and Ramirez, but didn’t score when Crawford popped out. An insurance run would have been too much asked from the Critters after they had whittled away two thirds of a 6-run lead. Rico Sanchez inherited the 2-run gap for the ninth, facing the meat of the order. Acosta singled, but was doubled up by Lorensen, 6-4-3. Sandstrom flew out to center. 8-6 Critters. Ramos 3-5, 2 RBI; Trevino 2-5; Fernandez 2-4, BB; Maldonado 2-4, BB, RBI; Hooge 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-5, 2 RBI;

In other news

April 30 – The Falcons drop 21 hits on the Bayhawks and manage to lose, 15-11 in 10 innings, despite stranding fewer base runners than the Bayhawks. To blame might be Falcons pitching, the staff walking *14* San Francisco batters on their way to defeat.
May 4 – VAN OF Jerry Outram (.307, 6 HR, 22 RBI) will be shut down for three weeks with shoulder soreness.
May 5 – Atlanta OF Nelson Velez (.250, 3 HR, 22 RBI) plates six runs from the leadoff spot in a 17-4 battering of the Cyclones.
May 5 – SAL 3B/2B Tim Stackhouse (.333, 1 HR, 4 RBI) goes deep for the only run in the Wolves’ 1-0 win over the Condors.
May 6 – The Capitals are razed by the Canadiens, 18-2. 11 runs scored in the sixth inning alone. Vancouver’s Ryan Phillips (.351, 2 HR, 20 RBI) drives in four runs on as many hits.

FL Player of the Week: NAS LF/RF Sean Ashley (.342, 6 HR, 24 RBI), hitting .467 (14-30) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA INF/CF/RF Jose Farfan (.331, 6 HR, 20 RBI), batting .438 (14-32) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DAL 2B Hugo Acosta (.455, 1 HR, 18 RBI)
CL Hitter of the Month: VAN OF Jerry Outram (.287, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
FL Pitcher of the Month: DEN CL Kurt Crater (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 SV)
CL Pitcher of the Month: IND SP Jake Jackson (4-0, 0.66 ERA)
FL Rookie of the Month: NAS RF/LF Cory Cronk (.462, 1 HR, 3 RBI) - insert sad GM noises here
CL Rookie of the Month: ATL 3B/SS Ryan Holmes (.247, 0 HR, 6 RBI)

Complaints and stuff

(threateningly holds the blunderbuss) One word about Cory Cronk and …!

Drowned out in the momentous rush and eventual crushing disappointment of Monday was Cosmo Trevino’s 2,500th career hit. Not too shabby for a 32-year-old (increasingly with the glove of a 37-year old); most of his successes of course came with the Caps – with Portland he only logged 515 base hits.

The Raccoons posted a winning week (4-3) when they did everything they could to not do so. Not sure what’s up with Sabre, but I’m pretty sure that in this condition, beaten and tattered, he’ll be neither worth a prospect nor a compensation pick. The same is true for a few others around here…

Troy Greenway’s BABIP is .188 by the way, and Kilmer is barely batter. There’s more that are getting totally robbed on a consistent basis, while on the other hand Berto hit hitting .374, which leads the Continental League, and has a BABIP of .407. That means two things – either he never lands a hit again this season, or he’s about three innings away from a broken leg.

And probably both.

And Nelson Moreno? His ERA is a flat three at this point.

Fun Fact: The players drafted ahead of #5 pick Manny Fernandez in the 2031 draft include a Pitcher of the Year, a Rookie of the Year, and a guy who came apart at age 26.

Manny was one of three outfielders the Coons eyed on their 2031 hotlist. The other two went 1-2 in the draft. Joe Ritchey to the Rebs, and Ryan Murray to the Stars. While Ritchey has been an All Star once, he’s barely above league-average for his career and a .255 hitter with just 59 homers in exactly 500 games. Murray didn’t even make it that far, debuting in the same year as he was drafted, but tearing his labrum beyond repair in 2036, after 577 games of .259/.348/.387 with 34 homers and 287 RBI.

Chris Delagrange was taken #3 by the Cyclones and was the 2034 FL ROTY. He led the FL in slugging in ’36 and hit 30 homers that season. He’s with Topeka now, a career .269 hitter with 141 homers and 563 RBI. He also won a Gold Glove. #4 pick Chris Crowell (with the Aces) meanwhile was the 2035 CL Pitcher of the Year in his second season in the majors, going 20-7 with a 2.77 ERA. He has never quite come close to that and then there was back issues and shoulder woes… He’s 61-54 with a 3.66 ERA for his time in the majors.

And Manny? He was the 2036 Player of the Year in the CL of course, batting .326 with 19 homers for a team that was stopped in the CLCS. He reached the majors in the early summer of ’33 and hasn’t been away since, although that MVP year was a flash in the pan. It was the only time he had an OPS+ of better than 123 (147) and while he’s a bank to hit .290 with double digit bombs and 3+ WAR, he’s not the dominant force that will change the course of baseball history. For his career, he’s at .290/.339/.434 with 95 homers and 564 RBI in 1,066 games. He also stole 128 bases.

Will he be worth prospects?