Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

Note: some paragraphs on here are random thoughts not necessarily in chronological order :-P

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The day after free agents (including Carlos León, Wally Gaston, and Yong-chan Chong) filed for freedom, the Raccoons were listed in first place on BNN’s war gain rankings with a -0.9 WAR value. This already included the Ishizaki trade.

We reached out to two international free agents. One is a very versatile infielder from Puerto Rico, the other a corner outfielder with potential killing power from Canada.

I will also freely admit that I made an offer to “Mauler” Correa, who was a free agent. However, we clashed over a fundamental issue: he wanted a 2-year contract, and I wanted a 1-year contract. Making the second year a vesting option, my proposal, didn’t work out either.

The idea would have been to ship off Venegas, too, after this deal. Juan Correa, Logan Evans, Kisho Saito, Carlos Gonzalez, Scott Wade. None of those worse than a typical #3/4 guy. Talk about an overkill rotation.

On the free agent market was, among various closers, Andres “Beagle” Ramirez, who had 290 career saves for the Warriors. Ramirez was one of two players on my list as top pick for the inaugural amateur draft in 1977 and I went on to pick Daniel Hall instead. I have no regrets. I also did not make an offer; I have no use for another stud lefty reliever, and he is a type A free agent. Oh, and he’s expensive. At 28, he still has a decade ahead of him.

Overall, there were no big fishes in the free agent pool that could help us, and I was not willing to sign type A free agents (Correa was type B, presumably due to missing two months with an injury?) giving up our top draft pick. We only had the #20 pick anyway for the next draft, and I really don’t want the team to pick any lower given our recent struggles to draft top flight material.

The only exception may have been Gary Helton, a type B free agent. He could play all positions, but the question was whether he would be confident with being a bench player. Most certainly not.

November 21 – Shock for fans in Indianapolis: 3B Alvin Sutphen’s knee is killed after several failed surgeries for a torn ACL and the 28-year old announced his retirement. A second round pick by the Loggers in 1980, Sutphen made the majors in ’83 and batted .271 with 34 HR and 210 RBI between the Loggers and the Indians.
December 1 – 19 players are taken over four rounds in the annual rule 5 draft. The Raccoons are not affected.
December 2 – Ex-Titan C Carlos Gonsales, a career .313 hitter and former Rookie of the Year, signs a 5-yr, $4.09M contract with the Canadiens.
December 3 – The Warriors add veteran INF Bruce Cannon, 35, last with Los Angeles, for 2-yr, $1.26M. Cannon is a career .299 hitter with 1,861 hits, but little power.
December 4 – The Canadiens, having lost 19.6 WAR to free agency and retirements, keep restacking at a good pace, adding former Atlanta 1B Fred Rodgers for 6-yr, $4.1M. Rodgers was already traded to them from Atlanta late in 1987 in the final year of his contract. Rodgers is a .308 hitter with some power.
December 6 – The Raccoons announce the signing of not one, but two international free agents: 31-yr old INF Juan Ramirez for 1-yr, $110k, and 22-yr old OF Daniel Dumont for 1-yr, $250k.
December 6 – The Bayhawks sign INF Roberto Rodriguez, a defensive wizard and career .288 batter, for 5-yr, $4.9M. Rodriguez was a key piece of the Gold Sox for the last few years, and the Bayhawks hope for him to lift them out of the cellar.
December 7 – The Raccoons send AAA MR Juan Santos to Sacramento for utility player Jose Sanchez, batting .240 in 1,146 AB for the Loggers and Scorpions.
December 8 - $468k win CL Andres Ramirez for the Wolves. The 1977 first round pick by the Warriors has 290 career saves, 4th on the all-time leaderboard behind Scott Clements, Ed King, and Raffaele Antuofermo.
December 9 – The Gold Sox try to replace Ishizaki by inking OF Brad Brown, who is a .292 hitter with limited power.
December 9 – The Stars award OF Xiao-wei Li (.276 career hitter with 1,032 H, including 86 triples), with a 4-yr, $2.64M contract. Li spent the last three years with the Miners, but got hurt every season.
December 9 – Aging bomber Jose Pacheco (149 career homers while batting .303) is dealt to Richmond by the Buffaloes, who in turn acquire infielder Scott Spivey, a versatile but powerless .270 hitter.
December 9 – SP Greg O’Brien (126-159, 3.79 ERA), the career leader for lost games, signs a 2-yr, $1.12M contract with the Capitals.
December 9 – The Crusaders add to the bullpen with MR Domingo Alonso, who has 286 career saves and a 2.50 ERA.
December 10 – The Wolves improve their rotation with SP Evan Dawson (17-15, 2.88 ERA), who at age 25 is only starting to show what he has, trading INF Luis Miguel Vargas over to the Cyclones.
December 12 – Big surprise: the Titans send their dangerous 1B Isto Grönholm (92 HR in just 734 G) to Milwaukee, receiving MR Bubba Hicks in return. Hicks has a 4.06 career ERA. [Personal note: I don’t get that trade AT ALL from Boston’s point of view!]
December 22 – Former Logger Edgardo Garza, ranked the top free agent of the year, is washed ashore in Topeka, commanding a 7-yr, $7M contract. The 27-yr old outfielder/first baseman is a .305 hitter with 61 homers to his credit.

We secured Juan Ramirez in case no other versatile infielder can be signed. He can also play the outfield, so takes Steve Walker’s place in regards to usability, but should bat two or three notches below Walker for sure. If we have 1B Osanai, 3B Dawson, and SS S. Martinez locked down, and Thompson and Perez platoon at second, Ramirez will provide backup to all of them. This way, all infield positions have at least three players to field them despite two players (Osanai, Perez) that can only field one position (and in one case, Osanai, rather badly).

Dumont is a different story. We shove a quarter million bucks down his throat now, but he will join the AAA team. He needs AT LEAST one year to mature. Once that year is over, he could become an elite hitter, which would create his own problems with where to put him, but that is a luxury I’m starving to have.

Jose Sanchez finally gives us another valid option at a backup infielder. He’s most awesome with the glove, can also play outfield, and should be able to bat for a pitcher without embarrassing himself. And everybody in attendance. Santos ranked no higher than #3 among our right-handed relievers in AAA alone. His control was awful, and he won’t find a spot anywhere on the roster anytime soon.

There is one trade proposal that came two weeks too late: the Blue Sox offered their 2B/3B Horace Henry, who comes close to being named 1987 World Series MVP, for SP Kisho Saito and AAA SP Jerry Ackerman. That one would have been very tempting in November! But by now we had already loaded up on all the other guys. Of course, Kisho Saito can’t be replaced 100%, and overstacking on middle infielders won’t help us, either. So, now, in mid-December, no trade. A month ago? I would have had to think about that for a long time. That would have been one of those trades that require proper apartment cleaning to think about them.

I noticed that backup catcher Gustavo Flores has garnered some attention from other teams. Maybe I can trade him for a high level prospect?

An updated scouting report by Charles Hutchinson has interesting stuff about 18-yr old A level outfielder Vern Kinnear. Hutchinson ranks him with 18/18/20 potential! He batted .206 with eight homers for the Aumsville team this year. He’s young. But we’ll keep an eye on the Australian, an international discovery by Nathan Bruce in ’86.

It’s just before Christmas. I am engaging in conversations with the Loggers for a pitcher. I know we need offense, but by now it’s hard to find spots where to put additional fielders.

That pitcher would cost some players, but would make our rotation almost impregnable.

The Portland Raccoons want to WIN NOW!

[Westheim]

I tried to trade for Milwaukee’s Judd Montgomery, a very good and young starting pitcher, but offering Alejandro Venegas and a group of prospects could not get the deal done. They were also hot on Gustavo Quintanilla, but I was not ready to part with him. He was penciled in as right-handed backup outfielder, and he was only 23 (like Montgomery) and was projected to improve from where he was now.

1987 turned to 1988 as negotiations stalled because 1B Billy Mitchell came down with the flu and was treated as “injured” and could not be traded. I made an offer including MR Dirk Campbell as another major leaguer besides Venegas, but it didn’t pan out either. We finally gave up.

December 25 – The Knights grab legendary SP Juan „Mauler“ Correa (240-80, 2.15 ERA). The 37-yr old gets a 2-yr, $1.74M contract.
December 25 – The Crusaders address their pitching issues by signing SP Travis Newton (134-137, 3.66 ERA).
December 29 – Oklahoma City adds INF Tom Nicks, a versatile .271 hitter, for 3-yr, $1.89M.
January 14 – Former Wolves closer Mike Dye (180 SV) signs with the Knights. The 28-yr old gets a 3-yr, $1.92M contract. The Knights also announced that they have inked ex-Warrior 2B Pat Graham, 29, for 2-yr, $956k. Graham is a solid .286 batter with little power.
January 18 – The Canadiens have a new closer in Rick Evans. The 28-yr old, who has 279 SV, pitched for the Blue Sox the last two years, took two rings, and will now make $1.24M over two years.
January 31 – 27-yr old outfielder Gilbert Dougan (.289, 59 HR, 328 RBI) signs with the Miners, earning $1.22M over the next two years.
February 4 – 3B/SS John Harris, a .287 career hitter, signs with the Condors for one year, making $410k.

It’s the start of the pre-season. I’m still looking for a starting pitcher to replace Venegas.

The Raccoons had offered Correa, who signed for $1.74M with Atlanta, the paltry sum of $1.72M. This keeps happening.

Anybody remember Hoyt Cook? He was a first baseman for the Coons from 1977 to 1981, before being let go after batting .193 in his final season. I randomly found him on the trading block. He’s bounced around four teams since then, never sticking anywhere. His batting history is a sad thing to read. Anyway, he’s still around somewhere, but of course to comparison to Tetsu Osanai, batting .243 in 1,606 big league at-bats.

[Westheim]

February 7 – The Blue Sox find a new closer in Matt Sims, who at age 25 receives a 2-yr, $1.37M contract. He has 79 SV and a 2.20 career ERA, pitching for the Aces so far.
February 8 – The Thunder add CL Chris Nelson, last with the Canadiens, for 1-yr, $610k. He has 95 SV and a 2.24 ERA for his career.
February 10 – Fragile INF Jeremiah Carrell, 36, is signed by the Condors for 3-yr, $2.43M. Carrell has a lifetime .343 average (best all time) but only 1,459 hits due to a never-ending list of injuries.
February 11 – Another closer gets inked. Ex-Condor and all-time saves leader Scott Clements is lured to Dallas by a 3-yr, $1.8M offer. Clements has a career 2.35 ERA with 364 SV.
February 12 – SP Jose Murillo (ex-WAS) joins the Warriors for 4-yr, $2.69M. Murillo’s career record is 73-90 with a 3.76 ERA, doubtlessly suffering from years of poor run support on the Potomac.
February 15 – Perennial free agent closer Lowell “Wacky” Booth goes out of his way and signs a 3-yr contract with the Buffaloes, paying him $1.74M over the course of the contract’s duration. After pitching for a different team every year from 1983-87, Booth now returns to his roots, having pitched for the Buffaloes from 1977-82. He has 275 career saves and a 2.48 ERA.
February 20 – Maybe Matt Sims won’t close for Nashville after all. In pursuit of title #3, the Blue Sox add CL Raffaele Antuofermo for 1-yr, $342k. Antuofermo has 304 SV at age 30 and face the Blue Sox in the FLCS last year as part of the Dallas Stars.
February 24 – The Raccoons send AAA SP Manuel Paredes and AAA C Odwin Garza to the Warriors for prospects C David Vinson and SP Miguel Lopez.
February 28 – Veteran SP Miguel Sanchez (126-88, 3.27 ERA), who started only four games last year for the Condors due to injury, signs a 1-yr, $294k contract with the Scorpions.

The February 24 trade signals us giving up on Paredes. He has killer stuff, struck out over 300 in AAA ball last season, but also walked 130, and had an ERA over four. In David Vinson we get a top notch catching prospect, a 22-yr old switch hitter, and Miguel Lopez is highly regarded among scouts, too. At age 19, he’s still far away from the majors. Vinson will slot in as #3 on our depth chart right now.

Miguel Sanchez, who signed with Sacramento on February 28, would have been worth to pursue for a year, even at age 36, if he hadn’t been a type A free agent. I’m very cautious to give up these first round picks.

We also added a bunch of free agents for the minor leagues, but none of them would rank very high on any depth chart, except maybe for Daniel Camus, a 24-yr old Canadian outfielder, because our depth in centerfield is not too deep and he can play very well there. He’ll report to either AA or AAA.

Carlos León and Yong-chan Chong went unsigned, so we didn’t even get a draft pick. Great, when will I finally get some sort of break here??

Nobody wanted Wally Gaston, either. :-(

[Westheim]

1988 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set shows 1987 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Logan Evans, 32, B:L, T:L (13-8, 2.94 ERA | 112-82, 3.08 ERA) – despite awful control, kept the damage low again last season, and often struggled more with the run (un-)support he got from the team. Despite his flaws, he remains a very good pitcher, able to shut down opponents and go deep into games.
SP Carlos Gonzalez, 25, B:R, T:R (3-7, 3.46 ERA | 28-25, 3.44 ERA) – performed well enough first, then got hurt again, ending his season on the DL for the third straight time. As long as his arm holds up, he’s ace. Past July, he’s rarely been the last three seasons.
SP Kisho Saito, 27, B:L, T:L (14-8, 2.44 ERA | 91-66, 3.05 ERA) –workhorse, he was secured for five more years last season. Is a strikeout machine, but sometimes things escalate away from him. Would be #2 if that wouldn’t mean starting lefthanders three days in a row.
SP Scott Wade, 25, B:R, T:R (13-11, 3.11 ERA | 30-22, 3.24 ERA) – has finally become stuck in the majors, and had a very fine season last year. His slider kills people in bunches, and his career will only be held back for the lack of an effective third pitch.
SP Alejandro Venegas, 28, B:L, T:L (5-7, 4.00 ERA | 5-8, 3.96 ERA) – picked up on waivers from Pittsburgh last season. Is able to hold his ground, but nothing more.

MR Dirk Campbell, 33, B:R, T:R (4-2, 3.14 ERA | 11-12, 4.22 ERA, 2 SV) – claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh, too, he is a good option for a 6th or 7th inning situation where the Raccoons aren’t necessarily leading by one run.
MR Juan Martinez, 21, B:R, T:R (4-2, 3.21 ERA, 1 SV | 4-2, 3.21 ERA, 1 SV) – once an international discovery from Mexico, he made the team last year and won his first four games he appeared in. Made 18 starts overall, with a 3:1 K/BB ratio and many things to like about him.
MR Tim Moss, 32, B:L, T:L (5-0, 3.04 ERA | 24-20, 3.68 ERA, 7 SV) – one of two lefties in the pen, employed for situational use. His first season in Portland can be considered an all around success.
MR Jason Bentley, 26, B:R, T:R (2-2, 3.44 ERA | 3-6, 3.26 ERA, 2 SV) – solid performer out of the pen, filling a 7th inning role perfectly; held an ERA around two for most of last year before collapsing in September.
SU Richard Cunningham, 28, B:R, T:R (3-6, 2.20 ERA, 5 SV | 31-24, 2.24 ERA, 25 SV) – fireballer with even splits, who outright killed opposing batters last season – as always. The perfect weapon for a tied game, bases loaded, nobody out.
SU David Jones, 31, B:L, T:L (3-1, 2.29 ERA, 4 SV | 20-11, 3.31 ERA, 9 SV) – the left-handed setup complement to Cunningham, he does it more on deception and groundballs than brute force.
CL Grant West, 31, B:L, T:L (6-2, 1.82 ERA, 42 SV | 24-7, 1.70 ERA, 254 SV) – nickname “Demon”, says it all. Ultra-reliable, a true killer. Last season blew eight saves, but also pitched 74 innings, 12 more than the previous career high in 1986, making over-use a possibility here.

C Sam Dadswell, 27, B:L, T:R (.270, 10 HR, 63 RBI | .268, 63 HR, 292 RBI) – he continues to be plagued by nightmarish blackouts on defense. He will remain the primary catcher again this season.
C Gustavo Flores, 29, B:R, T:R (.268, 1 HR, 13 RBI | .268, 9 HR, 94 RBI) – horrible first half of last season, got more playing time against Dadswell in the last two months, but remains backup, starting primarily games against left-handed pitchers.

1B Tetsu Osanai, 29, B:L, T:L (.299, 21 HR, 109 RBI | .324, 119 HR, 549 RBI) – had a down year after winning the 1986 batting triple crown. Failed to bat .300 for the first time in his career by one hit. Questionable defense, but unquestionably the 1B starter.
1B/2B/SS/3B Winston Thompson, 34, B:L, T:R (.260, 0 HR, 29 RBI | .262, 7 HR, 163 RBI) – injuries start to get a toll on him, and he will platoon with Dani Perez at second base as well as backing up Osanai for late inning defense. Career .366 OBP.
1B/3B/RF/LF Mark Dawson, 34, B:R, T:R (.219, 16 HR, 75 RBI | .243, 222 HR, 966 RBI) – #1 on the all-time home run and RBI leaderboards, his production still keeps declining at worrying speed, while his defense at third base is outright amazing.
2B/SS Sergio Martinez, 29, B:R, T:R (.293, 1 HR, 44 RBI | .285, 5 HR, 314 RBI) – took the starting shortstop job (and eventually a roster spot) away from Steve Walker and will remain entrenched at short this season. Batted leadoff for most of the latter part of 1987, but will more look at a #6 spot in the lineup this year.
2B Dani Perez, 24, B:R, T:R (.226, 2 HR, 15 RBI | .234, 4 HR, 22 RBI) – will primarily platoon with Thompson at second base, but Thompson was hurt quite a bit the last two years, so his time may be coming sooner rather than later.
1B/3B/SS/2B/RF/CF Jose Sanchez *, 29, B:R, T:R (.181, 0 HR, 9 RBI | .240, 0 HR, 106 RBI) – versatile backup utility player, who was used scarcely by the Scorpions last season. Was acquired for reliever Juan Santos.

LF/RF Daniel Hall, 32, B:R, T:R (.243, 11 HR, 55 RBI | .265, 139 HR, 579 RBI) – starter in leftfield, he has range, speed, a contact bat, and power – if he can put it on the field. Injuries and terrible stretches alternate on him for three years now. Batted .210 until breaking out hot in late August last year, then got hurt right at the end of the season, again. Won his first Gold Glove last season.
RF/LF/CF Armando Sanchez, 33, B:L, T:L (.277, 16 HR, 51 RBI | .288, 132 HR, 718 RBI) – starter in center, who led the CL in stolen bases with 33 last season, territory where no Coon had ventured before. Very good producer in a #2/#3 position in the lineup.
RF/LF Yoshinobu Ishizaki *, 30, B:L, T:L (.294, 5 HR, 65 RBI | .325, 39 HR, 705 RBI) – veteran from the Federal League, who had a down year for the Gold Sox last season. Starter in right, and only this much: .448 OBP for his career.
RF/LF Gustavo Quintanilla, 24, B:R, T:R (.232, 3 HR, 17 RBI | .233, 4 HR, 31 RBI) – very strong defense, with some more bat work desireable, but he is able to deliver clutch hits.
CF/LF/RF Kelly Weber, 25, B:L, T:L (.251, 0 HR, 31 RBI | .249, 3 HR, 86 RBI) – good backup outfielder for all three positions, but has developed a tendency to strike out a lot.

Opening day lineups:
Vs. RHP: RF Ishizaki – CF Sanchez – LF Hall – 1B Osanai – C Dadswell – SS S. Martinez – 3B Dawson – 2B Thompson – P Evans
Vs. LHP: RF Ishizaki – SS S. Martinez – LF Hall – 1B Osanai – 3B Dawson – CF Sanchez – 2B Perez – C Dadswell – P Evans

We lost 1.2 WAR this off season, placing us 11th among the 24 teams overall.

Top 5: Bayhawks (+4.6), Warriors (+4.0), Buffaloes (+2.6), Indians (+1.8), Blue Sox (+1.7)
Bottom 5: Canadiens (-6.3), Falcons (-8.2), Aces (-9.3), Titans (-9.6), Scorpions (-10.2)

PREDICTION TIME:

If you look at it, our only acquisition is Yoshinobu Ishizaki. His addition could mean a big plus however. The Raccoons did not have a .400+ OBP leadoff man last year, with Martinez, Thompson, León, Walker, and Sanchez at various times a) struggling badly, b) being hurt), c) being gone. León and Walker are no longer available.

The Indians have maintained their roster, more or less. They lost Alvin Sutphen to his knee, Seitaro Ogawa, who was awful last year, and a few pieces out of their bullpen. Terry Reynolds will make their rotation even more impressive. The Raccoons absolutely HAVE to score more runs this year, because the pitching can hardly improve any more. Ishizaki will help in that regard.

The Raccoons will win about 95 games, and will narrowly out-last the Indians to face the Knights in a murderous CLCS. And I mean it! WIN NOW, WIN NOW, WIN NOW!!

Our first games will be in Indianapolis and San Francisco before heading home for a 2-week homestand. I will be wearing my Raccoons shirt and thus beg for trouble.

[Westheim]

Player development:

Our minor league system ranks 2nd overall in the league (not bad for a team picking bottom for most of the last five years), but this shows more the quality of our scouts’ discoveries and my trades than anything else, as the following players are ranked:

4th – AAA C David Vinson, 22 – 1983 supplemental round pick by the Indians, acquired this winter for Manuel Paredes and Odwin Garza
28th – AA CL Albert Matthews, 18 – 1987 supplemental round pick by the Raccoons
29th – AAA LF/RF Daniel Dumont, 22 – international free agent signed this winter
33rd – A CL Tony Vela, 17 – international discovery by Charles Hutchinson
50th – AAA CL Luis Herrera, 20 – 1985 third round pick by the Miners, acquired in trade two years ago
56th – AAA OF Glenn Johnston, 21 – 1985 first round pick by the Cyclones, acquired in trade one year ago
86th – AAA 1B/3B Joe Jackson, 23 – 1985 first round pick by the Raccoons
88th – AAA SP Jason Turner, 22 – 1983 first round pick by the Knights (3rd overall), acquired in trade last year
113th – A OF Vern Kinnear, 19 – international discovery by Nathan Bruce
115th – AA 2B/3B Hector Gonzalez, 22 – 1987 first round pick by the Raccoons
130th – AAA OF Marcos Costello, 23 – international discovery by the Wolves, acquired in trade two years ago
181st – AA SP Miguel Lopez, 19 – international discovery by the Warriors, acquired this winter for Manuel Paredes and Odwin Garza

That’s the most I’ve ever seen on my team!

[Westheim]

Raccoons (0-0) @ Indians (0-0)

Let’s get right back at those Indians, who came out of nowhere to take the division rightfully belonging to Coon City last season. Robert Vazquez was sent out against our Logan Evans. Daniel Hall had the first hit of the season for the Raccoons, and also logged their first home run and RBI with a solo shot in the top 4th in a tightly knotted pitchers’ duel between Evans and Vazquez. The Coons added another run, while Evans blasted through the Indians until the sixth, where a long, just fair double by Jorge Salazar put Indians in scoring position for the first time in the game, and they scored one run on a groundout. Top 7th, Sergio Martinez was hit by a pitch, and Hall walked. Osanai’s grounder created a force play at second, and ultimately a collision. Daniel Hall, 3 for 3 today, remained on the ground and was carried off with an ankle injury. And here the agony set in. The Coons added an unearned run to lead 3-1, then imploded in the bottom 8th. Error by Dawson, two walks by Tim Moss, bases loaded, nobody out. Cunningham in, he struck out R.J. Stinton, grounded Forest Hartley back to the mound for a force play of Horace Simpson at home, then struck out Raúl Vazquez, the left-handed cleanup man. Thank all the Gods that Cunningham is on our side!! We faced ex-Coon Justin Neubauer in the top 9th, who put Quintanilla and Osanai on, but Jim Durden hexed Mark Dawson to ground into an inning-ending double play. Grant West was taken deep by Gilberto Alaniz, but saved the game, 3-2 Raccoons. Hall 3-3, BB, HR, RBI; Osanai 2-5; Evans 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W (1-0); Cunningham 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Daniel Hall will go to the DL with a bad case of ankle soreness, putting him away for one to two weeks. I could just cry. I could cry rivers of despair and frustration. 3-3, BB, HR, RBI. Bloked ankle.

GAAAAHH!!

Carlos Gonzalez against Terry Reynolds, the Indians’ key acquisition this winter, was the topic for game 2. Without Daniel Hall, with Kelly Weber, the Raccoons took a 2-0 lead in the top 3rd. Reynolds led off the bottom 3rd with a double and Gonzalez was shattered in the inning, as the Indians sent up ten men and put five runs on Gonzalez. Jorge Salazar homered Gonzalez out of the game in the fourth. And game – that was it. The Raccoons grounded into three double plays along the way to a numbing 6-2 defeat. S. Martinez 2-4, 3B, RBI; Osanai 2-4; Dawson 2-4, 2B; J. Martinez 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Game 3. Kisho Saito against Jesse Carver. Tetsu Osanai’s first extra-base hit of the season, a 2-out double, drove in Sergio Martinez for an unearned (errant throw by C Horace Simpson when Martinez set out to steal second) run in the top 1st. After that both starters focused on annihilating batters and were pretty successful at it. The Indians had a runner in scoring position in the sixth, but Saito prevailed. A nobody-out double by Dale Hunter in the bottom 8th did nothing to scratch Saito, either. The Coons put runners on the corners with nobody out in the top 9th. Dawson up with the best chance since the first inning to maybe double production here. Nope, his grounder to third merely advanced Dadswell to second. Thompson and Quintanilla hobbled out similarly awful. Saito was still far from done and went back out, sitting down the 2-3-4 batters in order. 1-0 Raccoons. S. Martinez 2-4; Dadswell 3-4; Saito 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, W (1-0);

This 3-hitter was Kisho’s sixth career shutout, the third with the Coons, and came on the heels of a 5-hitter against the Titans in August of ‘86.

How is Itchy doing in the brown shirt so far? An .077 OBP is not what we have traded for.

Raccoons (2-1) @ Bayhawks (2-1)

After being publicly humiliated, Itchy’s first two AB’s in the opener resulted in doubles – before he got injured and left the game, diagnosis pending. Sergio Martinez drove in the runner both times, but Scott Wade was impaled in the bottom 3rd for four runs and the Coons trailed 4-2. Dawson homered to half the gap in the fourth, but when Winston Thompson was nailed by Matt Rankin with a pitch, he stormed the mound and was barely held from ripping Rankin’s head right off. This was so un-Thompson like, who normally was a very mild-mannered man. Thompson was ejected along with Rankin, who tried to punch back. Wade was hit in the foot by a comebacker in the bottom 4th, but insisted he was fine and remained in the game. Top 5th: with two out and two in scoring position, Sam Dadswell hurled a pitch into short right between Jose Diaz and Antonio Torres, neither of which managed to field the ball and both runs scored, the Raccoons led again. Once Wade left, Juan Martinez and David Jones were blasted for five runs in the bottom 6th, the Raccoons didn’t lead anymore. Down 9-5, it was as good as over, right? Not quite. Quintanilla led off the top 7th with a double and scored on Martinez’ third RBI hit of the day. Sanchez made an out, but Osanai walked, Dadswell hit an RBI single and Dawson hit his annual triple a bit earlier than usual to tie up the game, and still only one out. Jose Sanchez grounded out unfavorably, but Costello singled up the middle to score Dawson. 10-9 in favor of the Brownshirts now. Once one of those Brownshirts took the mound, Bentley in this case, things started to implode in the other direction again. Dave Burton’s leadoff double put Bentley in danger, but he removed the next two batters. Tim Moss came in with lefties up. He walked Larry Marshall, then surrendered a 2-run double to Torres. And an RBI triple to Jack Jackson. It was the final boom in a major pitching explosion, as the Bayhawks slammed the Raccoons into the Starturf at the bay. 12-10 SF. Ishizaki 2-2, 2 2B; Quintanilla 3-3, 2B; S. Martinez 3-5, 3 RBI; A. Sanchez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 2-5, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-5, HR, 3B, 3 RBI;

Winston Thompson was handed a 4-game suspension.

Game 2. The Furballs put three runs on Jorge Vasquez in the second inning. While Alejandro Venegas no-hit the Bayhawks into the fourth, he folded in the same inning, and two runs scored, with Dawson holding on to the lead with a bear of a catch on a line drive, but was helpless on a groundball right over the bag in the sixth, which turned into a 2-run double. Venegas shuffled the bags full and was removed with two down in the sixth. Of course the Coons hadn’t done anything since the second and trailed 4-3. Bentley flied Hector Martinez out to Quintanilla in right to end that mess. Dawson now tied this game as well with a big hit, a solo home run in the top 7th. Cunningham pitched two innings to send the game two extra innings, while the Coons left two on in the top 9th. Tomas Calderon walked both Kelly Weber and Dani Perez in the top 10th. Cunningham bunted them over for the bereft-of-bench-players Coons. Martinez struck out, oh no… Armando Sanchez grounded weakly to the right side – THROUGH Diaz and Alfonso Torres! Weber scored easily, but there was a play on Perez, but the throw went past catcher Didier Bourges and Perez scored! West sealed the deal. 6-4 Raccoons. A. Sanchez 2-4, 2 BB, 4 RBI; Osanai 2-4, 2B; Perez 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Cunningham 2.0 IP 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (1-0);

Game 3. Glenn Johnston made his major league debut playing center, more on that below. Sergio Martinez’ triple to start the game was converted by Quintanilla, who batted second (so much for despair), but the run got away from Logan Evans in the bottom 1st again. Johnston’s first major league at-bat resulted in a run-scoring double play. Logan Evans was nowhere near his season opener constitution, the command was not there, the stuff was not there, the luck was not there, but that 2-1 lead held through six, through which the Coons were out-hit 8-3. Johnston tripled home Armando Sanchez in the seventh to add some cushion, which was a good thing, since Dirk Campbell gave back a run in the bottom of the inning. West put a runner on in the bottom 9th, and Quintanilla made a saving catch Alfonso Torres’ soaring flyer and potential bomb to deep right. The Coons crawled to the finish line, won 3-2, but were out-hit 11-4. S. Martinez 2-4, 3B; Johnston 1-3, 3B, RBI;

In other news

April 7 – IND MR Miguel Bojorquez, 32, who was hurt on his morning run on Opening Day, has been placed on the DL after he was diagnosed with a strained hamstring.
April 8 – Three days into the season, the Thunder acquire 33-yr old SP Billy Robinson (140-99, 3.11 ERA) from the Falcons for 35-yr old INF Alfonso Aranda (1,977 H).
April 9 – TIJ SS Cipriano Ortega (.238, 0 HR, 1 RBI) is out for the month with a sprained ankle.
April 10 – RIC LF Luis Ramos (.167, 0 HR, 1 RBI) will miss a few weeks with a hip injury. He’s usually batting more .300-ish.
April 10 – Tijuana’s John Douglas (2-0, 3.45 ERA) 2-hits the Indians as the Condors win 1-0.

Complaints and stuff

Oh, and you should always save the best for the end: we have an injury diagnosis on Itchy. Do you have something hold on to? Grab it tightly. His ankle has been shattered into finely grained bone dust, and he will be out for at least four months.

My Raccoons shirt has Daniel Hall’s name and number on the back, just in case you had forgotten. It WAS begging for trouble. I think I laughed madly for five minutes after that game and after we got the report on Ishizaki. I’m apparently past crying here. Now I know what my supervisor in the office where I spend my days means when he says “Insanity is a concerning topic in here”.

Next: homestand against Thunder, Crusaders, Loggers, Condors. But only if the Coons can muster enough survivors to face ‘em.

[Questdog]

bummer.....just not cool.....was really looking forward to the Itchy and Tetsu Show on Fox this year.....

[Westheim]

Spring is not quite over, apparently. The night before our series in Portland started, the Thunder sent us a trade proposal offering MR Morton Jennings again (they had done so a couple of times in the spring). Jennings is a declining, vastly overpaid pitcher everybody would love to get rid off.

Raccoons (4-2) vs. Thunder (2-4)

We opened the series a man short with Winston Thompson serving the last day of his unjustified suspension in the series opener. With Dani Perez batting .364, we should survive without him. At one point during this series, we should also get Gustavo Flores and Jose Sanchez their first starts with the team.

But for game 1, we fielded the best of the rest, and Carlos Gonzalez with his 18.00 ERA on top of that. Gonzalez surrendered three runs in the first inning, with the first four Thunder all laying down singles. It didn’t get better. Two more runners crossed the plate in the third, and Gonzalez put on two in the fourth before wiggling out just barely on borderline pitches. Overall, he was behind in the count virtually all the time. He – and I may be excused here, because it’s justified – SUCKED. The sixth inning saw two Coons on base simultaneously for the first time in the game. With two down, Osanai hurried a grounder to the seam on the right side of the diamond – right against Quintanilla’s leg. Inning over. Bottom 7th, two on, nobody out, Dani Perez killed it with a double play grounder. The Coons didn’t score until the ninth with back-to-back doubles by Dadswell and Osanai, then went to bed. 5-1 Thunder. Osanai 3-4, 2B, RBI; J. Martinez 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

When Armando Sanchez clobbered a pitch by Wilson Cordova in the first inning of the middle game, and hit it out of the park for an early 2-0 lead, it was only the third homer for the Coons this year (and none have come from Osanai). Now, with that lead, Kisho Saito, who had pitched a shutout in his season debut, walked the bags full in the top 2nd, which was so out of character, nobody in the park (or outside) believed it. He surrendered a run on a sac fly, before Costello caught a liner from Cordova for the final out. The swing still came, in the third. Another walk, to Jeff Wagner, then a home run by SS Tom Nicks, Thunder ahead, but only until Armando Sanchez hit another homer in the bottom 3rd. Saito was so not good, but then came up with a double in the fifth with nobody out. He scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Sanchez, and after that pitched two perfect innings (which were much needed with heavy load on the pen early on). The Coons mustered some more offense in the bottom 8th. Sergio Martinez was hit in the arm, Armando Sanchez walked, Dadswell bunted them over, Osanai was walked intentionally. Dawson grounded to short, but PAST Tom Nicks and two runs scored. Grant West sat the Thunder down in order, 6-3 Coons. S. Martinez 2-3, 2B; A. Sanchez 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI;

Game 3 was the one for Flores and Jose Sanchez to start, and for Scott Wade to pitch better than his predecessors in the series. Problem for Wade: the Thunder mounted an entirely left-handed lineup against him, and Wade was a pitcher with very extreme splits, including a career WHIP almost 0.4 higher against lefties. The game still scoreless, Wade came to bat in the bottom 2nd, bases loaded after three straight singles by Jose Sanchez, Quintanilla, and Weber, and Wade singled past third base to score two! Two flyballs into the gap in left center (one past Guy King’s glove, one into it) and a clearing 2-run homer by Mark Dawson made for a 6-0 lead. With that lead, Wade was able to pitch much more comfortably and went into the eighth, where he was left in maybe one batter too long. Cunningham came in to end the inning, but one of the two runners Wade had left on scored. Still, the Raccoons led 7-1, and the score stood until the end. S. Martinez 2-4, 2B, RBI; Dawson 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; J. Sanchez 2-4; Wade 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1-0) and 2-3, 2 RBI;

With three dingers, Mark Dawson was leading the Continental League. Worryingly, Tetsu Osanai has none so far.

Raccoons (6-3) vs. Crusaders (5-4)

With an off day heading into the series, we skipped Alejandro Venegas and went to Logan Evans. Ours Logan had a bit ill control early on, loading the bases including two walks in the third, but got through. The youngsters Johnston (double) and Perez (triple) gave him a lead right after that in the bottom 3rd. Evans grounded out himself, but Perez dashed home on the play. Osanai got one into the HR column for himself in the fourth, a solo shot as the first man up in the inning. After six shutout innings with somewhat ill control (four walks), Evans would have faced the rapidly hitting right-handed top of the Crusaders lineup and he was removed for Bentley. An error by Quintanilla in right didn’t make things easier, but Bentley axed his way through there. The Furballs loaded the bags in the bottom 8th, but Osanai GIDP’ed to end that inning. West saved it without much fuss, 3-0 Coons. Osanai 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Johnston 2-3, 2B; J. Sanchez (PH) 1-1; Weber (PH) 1-1; Evans 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K, W (3-0); Bentley 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Going into his third start of the season, Carlos Gonzalez’ ERA amounted to almost as much as that of the remaining four starters combined. 11 of 35 runs allowed by the team were on him. Time to shave some off that 12.38 mark, Carly.

The Crusaders sent Carlos Guillen and his 6.75 ERA were there to oppose Gonzalez. Gonzalez started out with a K to Lorenzo Gomez, then was taken deep already by 2B Sam Richmond. Not again… Gonzalez hurt and injured 3B Stephen Hall in the top 2nd, loaded the bags, and would have given up a score if Armando Sanchez hadn’t caught up with Lorenzo Gomez’ shot to deep left. Quintanilla scored in the third on a wild pitch to tie the game. Bottom 5th, Quintanilla and Costello on the corners, one out. Gonzalez was to bat and we put on a suicide squeeze. The suicide part worked perfectly, Gonzalez struck out and Quintanilla was tagged out coming in. Gonzalez surrendered a run quickly in the sixth to get back onto the hook. The Coons left two in scoring position when Costello made the final out in the bottom 7th with a weak grounder to second. The Coons still trailed 2-1 into the bottom 9th, hoping for Osanai to get something going leading off. But he fouled out, Armando Sanchez got on with two down, stole second, Quintanilla sent a flyer to deep left – caught by Diego Rodriguez. 2-1 Crusaders. Quintanilla 3-4, 2 2B; Costello 2-3;

The score in the rubber game went to 1-1 early on, with the Coons botching every, but really every chance after that. New York’s Gary Nixon struck out six, always at the right time, and the Crusaders patched the go-ahead run together in the top 7th. Two more were left on by Saito when Cunningham entered, and the latter got the final out in the inning. Nixon’s control went away in the bottom 7th. Thompson had singled to get on, Weber struck out for Cunningham, but two walks then loaded the bags with Dadswell up, and despite him being a lefty, he was removed for Costello to pinch hit, having his strikeout card full already. Costello did not strike out, but belted a 1-1 pitch from Nixon into the gap in right center. Actually, he belted it over the gap, over the rushing outfielders, OVER THE WALL!! Grand slam by youngster Marcos Costello, and suddenly the park was rocking. Two walks by Grant West in the ninth made it close again, but he closed it out despite surrendering a run for the second time this year. 5-3 Furballs! Costello (PH) 1-1, HR, 4 RBI; Osanai 2-4;

By getting Saito out of trouble in the seventh, Cunningham got his second W of the season. The Raccoons have won every series so far this season, all by 2-1 games.

Raccoons (8-4) vs. Loggers (5-7)

Daniel Hall came off the DL in time for this series. He was still a perfect 3-3 at the plate this season, not being able to play the season opener to conclusion with an ankle ailment. Glenn Johnston was returned to AAA ball.

The Loggers had only 43 runs so far, good for 11th in the CL. But well, the Coons had 48 runs, t-8th. So maybe pitching was still king in the ring?

Scott Wade pitched for us in the opener and besides starting with all zeros through three innings, he also tripled to start the bottom 3rd. Sam Dadswell had been thrown out at third trying to stretch a double the inning before. Sergio Martinez scored him with a sac fly and they added an unearned run in the same inning. Wade didn’t get into trouble until the top 6th, where he loaded the bags with one out, but was lucky to get a pop out and a flyer of medium difficulty to Quintanilla in right to escape the jam. The Raccoons left a couple on a few times throughout the game, never extending their 2-0 lead. Wade had pitched six scoreless, and Bentley, Moss, and Juan Martinez had held the Loggers at bay to hand it over to Grant West. Jesus Jimenez walked, and Jim Wood had a pinch hit single to dig a hole under West. He struck out Emilio Roman. On Ton Otani’s slow grounder to third, Mark Dawson’s only play was at first, so the tying runs came into scoring position and Jordan Archer strolled out to pinch hit. Single to left, one run in, Wood was held at third. Charlie Justin pinch hit now for John Fowler, who had pitched eight innings. Single to left, game tied. First blown save for West on the year, he had eight last year, and that was not fun. Dani Perez pinch hit for West to start the bottom 9th, a single. Perez stole second – more aggression on the base paths was our strategy with a team where many players could actually run quicker than the average snail. Tetsu Osanai won the game with a zipper past German Roldan with two down, scoring Perez from third. 3-2 Raccoons. Osanai 3-5, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 2-4, 2 2B; Perez (PH) 1-1; Wade 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K and 1-2, 3B;

In the middle game, the first two pitches by Alejandro Venegas became singles, but he was able to get out of that instant jam with a slick play by Dawson and two K’s. The Coons countered with four runs, all unearned in the bottom 1st. With one out and Armando Sanchez on first, a grounder by Daniel Hall almost ended the inning, but Hall was safe at first. Osanai singled, Dawson reached on an error, Hall scored, and then Quintanilla bombed for three runs over the wall in left. Venegas put on the first two batters AGAIN in the second, and surrendered a run this time around, and put on two ONCE MORE in the third, stranding them. Understandably, Venegas’ pitch count was escalating rapidly. Hall and Dawson plated two more runs, knocking out Neil Stewart, in the bottom 3rd. The score remained 6-1 until the ninth, when David Jones’ early season struggles became even worse. Emilio Roman homered off him to cut the lead to 6-3. Cunningham got the final out (after surrendering two hits, but sometimes you gotta take what you get) to log a save. S. Martinez 2-4; A. Sanchez 2-4, 2B; Quintanilla 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Thompson (PH) 2-2; Bentley 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

We faced Judd Montgomery in the last game of the set, whom we had tried to acquire, but had failed to this winter. Logan Evans entered 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA, both marks leading or tying the lead in the CL. An error by Sergio Martinez in the top 1st with two out led to three unearned runs, which – coupled with the Coons’ inability to score, made for bad forecasts as far as W #4 was concerned. Evans was shelled for three earned runs in the fourth, while the Raccoons were unable to touch Montgomery, apart from a solo shot by Armando Sanchez in the bottom 4th. They nibbled off two more runs, but the damage had long been done. Sergio Martinez was eventually removed to somewhere where he couldn’t do damage (safe for the clubhouse inventory) and Evans didn’t survive the fifth inning. The Loggers won handily, 6-3. Osanai 2-4, HR, RBI; Cunningham 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

In other news

April 14 – CIN SP Jesus Hernandez (0-0, 12.00 ERA) will miss over one year with a torn flexor tendon. The 26-yr old is 15-17 with a 4.42 ERA for his major league career.
April 20 – WAS SP Jesus Lopez (1-1, 3.38 ERA), a 21-game winner last season, is out with radial nerve compression and won’t return until September, if at all this year.

Complaints and stuff

Five series, five wins, with a loss in every one of them. Some more stinging than others.

The offense is … spotty, to put it mildly. As always. Seems like Daniel Hall spent his annually allotted two hot weeks mostly on the DL. Little production from the catcher’s spot, and Kelly Weber has been lights out, by which I mean stumbling blindly through the darkness in vain search of hits. Or at least a bat. Quintanilla has been a pleasant addition to the starting lineup after losing Itchy. He can also create havoc on the base paths – both positively and negatively.

Carlos Gonzalez has to be monitored closely, too. I feel something like an elbow or shoulder issue creeping up already again. Richard Cunningham on the other hand is killing, using a meat cleaver wielding butcher’s subtlety. 7 G, 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 10 K. I love you, Rich. Get rid of your hideous moustache and we’ll have diner at Mario’s.

I got the heart attack of the week during this stretch. I checked the profile of the unlucky Jesus Hernandez after his injury, and was surprised to find no W-L records on the career pitching stats. Checked Logan Evans. No W-L records. Nor with any other pitcher. Nor saves. Took me a while to realize that I was still set to L/R splits from looking at Wade’s profile for the numbers and the splits obviously don’t display W-L records. Uffff…

One more series at home against the Condors. After that: a long road trip to Las Vegas, Indy, Boston, and Nashville. NOT looking forward to that.

[Questdog]

One of the good new features in OOTP 14 (of many) is you can tell a team to quit offering you the same bum over and over....

Best quote in a while: "Daniel Hall spent his annually allotted two hot weeks mostly on the DL"

[Westheim]

I dabbled with 14 for a while, and while I was not hit by the bug train, I immediately messed up and then gave up. It sure is a nice feature, especially for those attempted salary dumps that they try over and over (at least five times with Jennings).

Now it's time for *my* annual no-more-preordering interpretive dance. (bows down, tries to touch his own toes in vain, lifts right leg towards the window, almost falls over, and hurries out of the room)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (10-5) vs. Condors (10-6)

The Condors had a very good team assembled despite some personnel changes in the off season.

Clutch hitting was not theirs, at least in the opener. During the first four innings, they left nine men on base, scoring nothing against Carlos Gonzalez, and grounded into an inning ending double play in the fifth before getting the bags full at all. The Coons had clawed an early run together in the bottom 2nd after an Osanai double, then did little until the sixth, where Dadswell came up with a huge 2-out bases clearing double to make it 4-0. On-and-off rain forced a delay of more than an hour in the bottom 8th. Osanai hit a sharp liner once back on the field, but Preston O’Day made an awesome catch in center, and that was it for action in the game. 4-0 Raccoons! Dadswell 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI; Moss 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

First win this season for Carlos Gonzalez. His ERA is 5.75 now, his WHIP 1.82 and he’s 18/15 in K/BB. 22 hits allowed in 20.1 innings is probably not that bad, but those walks are.

Game 2 had Jose Macías for the Condors, who had been shelled so far with a 6.53 ERA. We sat Sergio Martinez, who had not produced anything for a few days, in favor of Jose Sanchez. Flores played for Dadswell against the lefty. Before they could do any damage to Macías, the Condors’ CF Tadanobu Sakaguchi took Kisho Saito deep in the second for two runs. Saito went eight innings, surrendering five hits, but three runs. Did the Coons pick him up? Don’t be silly, of course not. They got but one run in the second, and stopped hitting altogether after that safe for a few 2-out singles that didn’t help anybody. 3-1 Condors. Dawson 2-3, 2B;

Another chance to score in the rubber game with Tijuana’s Dave O’Neill on a 5.40 ERA. One hit for the Coons became three runs in the first after walks to Armando Sanchez and Daniel Hall, when Mark Dawson sent one out into the wilderness. Scott Wade pitched six shutout innings before he got nailed by John Fleury and a 2-run home run in the seventh, which cut the Coons’ 4-0 lead in half. Wade got Sakaguchi, then left. Moss came in, put a runner on, and exited. Bentley came in, put a runner on – and stayed, getting out of the mess. Cunningham put two on, but nobody scored in the top 8th, and West got the save. 4-2 Raccoons. Dawson 1-2, HR, 4 RBI; Wade 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (2-0);

Six series, all 2-1 wins.

Raccoons (12-6) @ Aces (12-7)

Somehow the Aces appeared in the lead in the CL South. They were motored by Claudio Garcia, Mark “Icon” Allen, and Barry Miller with the bat, and enjoyed great support from their staff, especially the bullpen.

The Aces took the lead in game 1 on a passed ball by Dadswell in the first inning. Well done, Sammyboy. The Coons came back to tie that one but left two on in the second and third, while a 2-out walk to Ira Houston in the bottom 3rd broke up Venegas completely. The next four Aces all reached base and they took a 4-1 lead. Houston homered for two in the fifth, removing the incapable Venegas from the game. The bullpen was just as much overpowered and surrendered a few more runs in a demoralizing 8-3 loss. Osanai 3-4, 2B; Thompson 2-4, BB; Perez 2-4, BB, 2B;

The offense can’t get anything done, Venegas and Gonzalez can’t get anything done, and the bullpen is crumbling at the slightest provocation. To add injury to insult, Gustavo Quintanilla went down with an aching shoulder and would be unavailable for a few days.

Logan Evans held the Aces at bay until the fourth, when they squeezed in a run. Slowly, control began to elude him, and the sixth became a nightmare with a single under Thompson’s glove and an error by Sergio Martinez contributing to a 3-run inning for the Aces. The Raccoons had been blanked out through six by a strong Jarrod Schroeder. They remained blanked out. Schroeder tossed a 6-hit shutout, fanned seven, and only allowed two Coons into scoring position all day, Hall in the fourth and Osanai in the fifth. 5-0 Aces and the first series loss of the season. Hall 2-3, BB; Osanai 2-3, BB;

Finding a lineup gets increasingly impossible with Itchy out, Quinty out, Dadswell cold, Dawson cold, Martinez cold, Jose Sanchez useless, Weber ice cold, and Flores dead cold. Osanai has an 11-game hitting streak; apart from that we’re in trouble.

With Carlos Gonzalez facing young Japanese phenom Jou Hara in the last game, we faced a certain sweep (and with the Crusaders only half a game behind, certain demotion from the division lead). It was a wild night early on with Hara. He walked Thompson, our leadoff man du jour, nailed Armando Sanchez, who winced on the way to first base, and walked Hall. The Furballs scored four on him and had him out of the game by the fourth inning. But while Hara was terrible, Gonzalez was not exactly good. He had two wild pitches in the first three innings, one scoring a run, and was easily hittable throughout his day. Tetsu Osanai hit a 3-run homer in the top 5th, which broke the game up, 10-2 Raccoons. At least it appeared that way. The Raccoons bullpen collapsed once again. Two runs in the seventh, two runs in the eighth, suddenly a much more intimate 10-6 score. Juan Martinez pitched a shaky, but scoreless ninth. 10-6 Raccoons. Osanai 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; J. Sanchez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Costello 3-5, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (13-8) @ Indians (11-11)

The Indians continued to rely on pitching. Their bullpen sported a 1.61 ERA at the end of April. That was … most awesome. So the Raccoons would do good to score some runs early on? For comparison. Apart from Cunningham’s ERA of nuthin’, no Coons pitcher had an ERA better than 2.25 (Dirk Campbell).

But before anybody scored anything, the Raccoons had the next outfielder go down in the series opener. Marcos Costello, starting a game in right, got his hand entangled between the bat and a blazing Robert Vazquez pitch, which didn’t end too well, especially for the hand. The next batter up was Gustavo Flores, and he took his team mate being hurt personally, and knocked a 2-run triple off Vazquez. Kisho Saito sac flied to center to score Flores and the Coons led 3-0 after the second inning. The lead did not hold up. Saito had a terrible bottom 3rd, with a walk, a few hit, a hit batsman (unintentional, I swear), and the Indians tied the game. Saito pitched into the eighth, and was defeated on a sixth inning home run by Gilberto Alaniz. The Raccoons did exactly zero past the second inning. This becomes a recurring theme. 4-3 Indians. Dawson 2-4, 2B;

Costello’s hand is broken, will be sewn back together, but he will go to the DL. Daniel Dumont, who was signed this winter as a free agent from Canada, was added to the roster. He started his professional career batting 16-60 with 2 HR and 20 RBI in AAA ball and that should be an indicator on his batting potential. Unfortunately his defense was average at the very best. With Quintanilla still ailing and Kelly Weber batting sub-.100, Dumont was slated to start in right for game 2 already.

Scott Wade was ineffective, to put it short. The Coons went up 2-0 in the top 1st, but trailed 3-2 after three due to Wade not getting people out. Angelo Duarte, Forest Hartley, and Raúl Vazquez knocked him to a pulp and Wade was gone after putting the first three Indians on in the fifth, down 5-3 with a runner on second. Moss surrendered a triple to R.J. Stinton instantly to score that run, as the Raccoons demolition continued, and they trailed 7-3 after five. Daniel Hall started the top 6th with a double to deep left, and soon after that Terry Reynolds left the mound with an injury. Now the Indians went down the drain. Daniel Dumont’s first big league hit was a 2-run double in this inning, and Dani Perez added a 2-run double hitting for Dirk Campbell. Hall came up again with the game tied, the bags full, and walked to get the Coons ahead. Osanai singled, 9-7. Dawson doubled, 12-7. Sergio Martinez popped to second – and Jorge Salazar dropped it for an error. Dumont then flew out to left to end a 9-run charge. The Indians then took it out on David Jones for two runs in the bottom 6th. That game was far from finished, apparently. Both teams came close to scoring in the eighth, but Hall flew out to end the top half and Cunningham held on to two runners on base to end the bottom half. The Coons put three men on with nobody out in the top 9th. Thompson lined out hard, but Armando Sanchez and Daniel Hall came up with 2-run doubles to break the game up (once more). Cunningham went to bat with two on and two out and singled in another run. Cunningham went back out to pitch the bottom 9th – four Indians reached base against him, giving him an ERA on April 30. The Indians continued to score against Grant West, but he managed to hold on to a messful 17-12 win. A. Sanchez 3-5, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Hall 3-5, BB, 3 2B, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-5, BB, 2B, 5 RBI; Dumont 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Dadswell 1-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Perez (PH) 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI;

Battered bullpen, hot core of the Indians lineup, and Venegas to pitch the rubber game – all of these made for a recipe for disaster. The Indians’ Jesse Carver was perfect the first time through the lineup, but Sergio Martinez, back in leadoff out of no special reason, singled to start the fourth, but was stranded, and he was just as stranded when he got on in the sixth. Venegas fell behind in the sixth, but the Coons’ Kelly Weber tied the game again in the top 7th with a 2-out single. Armando Sanchez pinch hit for Venegas, but fouled out. The Coons missed their chances in the eighth, the ninth … and Gilberto Alaniz homered off Cunningham to walk off the Indians in the ninth, 2-1. S. Martinez 2-4; Dadswell 2-4; Dumont 2-4, 2B; Venegas 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K;

This loss dropped the Coons out of the division lead, which was now held solely by the Crusaders, and into a tie with the Canadiens for second.

Raccoons (14-10) @ Titans (10-15)

The 4-game series started off perfectly: Logan Evans came down with a nasty cold on game day and could not pitch. In hope that he might be better the next day, he was swapped in the rotation with Carlos Gonzalez and Gonzalez was sent out for the opener. Quintanilla was back in there again, too, but with righty Jose Garza pitching, sat on the bench with Dumont in right.

An error by Ernesto Ruíz, a bad misplay by Salvador Vargas, and the Coons capitalized big with a 4-run first inning in the opener. While Carlos Gonzalez struck out the side in the bottom 1st, he did so with a walk and two singles around showcasing his stuff. He continued to be terrible. The Titans scored an unearned run (Dumont throwing error) in the third, then two runs in the fourth to bring the Raccoons lead to the minimum quickly. Things continued messy in the top 5th. The Raccoons loaded the bags with nobody out on a walk, Hall singled, and pitch to Osanai’s back. Dawson hobbled to third for Thompson getting forced at home. Jose Garza then threw a wild pitch for Hall to score. A Sergio Martinez sac fly made it 6-3. Gonzalez went 5.2 innings on 101 pitches, leaving two in scoring position. David Jones was lucky that a vicious grounder went right to Martinez, who ended the inning. The Furballs scored on a sac fly in the seventh and on a no-outs double play in the eighth, and the Raccoons managed an 8-4 win. Dawson 2-4, BB, RBI; Dumont 2-3, 2 BB; S. Martinez 1-2, 4 RBI; J. Sanchez 1-1;

Logan Evans felt good to go in the second game and was sent out to the mound thus. The Coons led 1-0 after the top 1st. An error by Winston Thompson started calamity in the bottom 1st. A fly ball to left eluded Daniel Hall and scored two runs, and a wild pitch and fly ball past Dumont scored another run. Down 3-1 with three unearned runs against him, Logan Evans left the game with back pain. The bullpen was already eaten up and would not be able to cover eight innings (or seven, which was far more likely). And as if they were not miserable enough, the heavens came crushing down in the second inning, removing Jason Bentley after two walks and two outs. Jones came in, and the Titans got an infield single and a Martinez error to score another run. The Raccoons got four innings out of David Jones, who then crawled off the mound exhausted. The rest of the pen, aching as it was, collapsed with two more runs on Cunningham and a home run off Grant West. 7-2 Titans. Dawson 2-4, RBI; Jones 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Reveal of the day: first the flu, now the back, Logan Evans is actually a girl, always complaining about something…

Game 3. First pitch, Eric McCullough to Armando Sanchez, swung on, knock, soar, home run, and Daniel Hall opened it up a bit more with a 3-run homer in the third, 4-0. Sanchez didn’t want to be outdone by Hall and fought back, with a 2-shot in the fourth, 6-0. The balls were flying well that day, Osanai also homered, in the seventh. What the Coons needed most, however, was a solid start – and they got it from Kisho Saito, who went eight frames of 2-run ball, getting them into the bottom 9th 8-2 ahead. Then came Juan Martinez and the Titans bombed him to pieces. Three runs across, tying run in the on-deck circle, Grant West had to be hurled out there in a hurry. He got Hjalmar Flygt to bounce out to Dawson. 8-5 Raccoons. A. Sanchez 3-5, 2 HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Hall 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-4, 2B; Saito 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (3-2);

One more in this series as the top 3 in the division had fallen into a 3-way tie.

Daniel Hall got a day off for the series finale as the Raccoons tried to stop the trend of not winning series. The Raccoons made do without him in the first inning, scoring three runs against ex-Coon Charles Young. Scott Wade helped his own cause with a 2-out RBI single in the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, he got in trouble the first time with a 2-out balk putting Zahid Mashwanis on second base. Mashwanis raced home on a single to right, but he was nailed by a first class rocket brought in by Quintanilla to Dadswell to keep a shutout intact. Armando Sanchez and Tetsu Osanai homered back-to-back in the fifth, but the Titans also broke up said shutout with two runs in the bottom 5th, but Wade was rather innocent. Dawson’s throw on a force play at second pulled Thompson off the bag for an error, and one run scored on a passed ball to Dadswell. Sanchez and Osanai produced three more runs in the top 6th, 9-2. Wade was then wrecked in the bottom 7th. The Titans gobbled up an infield hit, a scratch hit between fielders, and a walk to load the bags with one out, but Campbell got the final two outs without allowing anybody to score. But even that game tumbled out of control again, despite a 7-run lead with six outs to collect. The Titans smashed Campbell, Martinez, and Bentley for five runs in the eighth inning. And so a fairly tired Grant West had to come out in the ninth. Flygt was up first and walked. West went to 3-1 on Mashwanis, who launched at the next pitch, sharp grounder to Dawson, who got Flygt forced at second base. That was the key play, as West struck out Chad Fisher and retired Shotaro Ono on a hobbling comebacker. 9-7 Raccoons, and as usual it was not pretty. A. Sanchez 3-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Osanai 3-5, HR, 3B, 3 RBI; Dawson 2-5, 2B, RBI; Wade 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (3-0);

In other news

April 23 – The twice defending world champions Blue Sox are in a boat load of trouble. SP Chris Lacy (1-2, 3.29 ERA) has torn his flexor tendon and will be out for upwards of a year. He won the Blue Sox 20 games last year.
April 25 – The Falcons beat the Loggers, 1-0, on a 4-hitter by Bastyao Caixinha, but the main story is Alfonso Aranda, who logs his 2,000th big league hit in the game. Aranda, 35, was just traded to the Falcons in the first week of the season, coming from Oklahoma City, where he’s got 1,786 of his now 2,001 base hits.
April 25 – SFW OF Alex White (.278, 1 HR, 7 RBI) will miss over a month with a torn meniscus.
April 30 – DAL Jake Wallace (3-0, 2.22 ERA) 2-hits the Gold Sox in a 2-0 Stars victory.
May 2 – The Canadiens romp over the Crusaders in a 10-0 smashing, with Raimundo Beato (3-2, 2.74 ERA) turning in a 1-hitter.
May 3 – A torn thumb ligament will put Sacramento’s Tommy Norton (.411, 2 HR, 13 RBI) on the DL for a couple of weeks.
May 4 – Scary seconds in Milwaukee, as IND SP Robert Vazquez (3-1, 3.27 ERA) is beaned by the Loggers’ John Fowler. Rolling through the dirt and howling in pain he is carried off. He will miss quite some time with a fractured cheekbone.
May 5 – DEN SP Wilson Martinez (1-5, 4.53 ERA) 2-hits the Scorpions in a 1-0 win. Martinez won 16 or more games each of the last three years. This season has not been his so far.

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons led the power rankings after the second-to-last week of April and generally were the team with the best record (or very close to it). Then came the first week on the road and they crashed into 10th in the power rankings on May 2.

Mark Dawson led the Continental League driving in 21 runs in April. Not bad for a guy unable to bat more than .240 for years.

A simple description for the current situation would be just to say that they can’t get ANYTHING done. The starting pitching carried the team the first few weeks, but by now all five starters are awful or worse. As a result, the bullpen comes crashing down as well. And the offense is, well … the offense has never been good in the first place. Scoring 17 on the Indians doesn’t help crap if you need four games to score 17 again, combined.

The last week however, Daniel Hall, Tetsu Osanai, Mark Dawson, and Armando Sanchez all have started to get warmer and actually hot. Those four make for an impressive battery if they are able to combine. Sanchez actually leads the league in home runs, and Dawson in RBI’s. Dumont has been a pleasant surprise so far.

Next: interleague in Nashville, against the Stars. The Loggers, Canadiens, and Falcons are up after that.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (17-11) @ Blue Sox (17-10)

The Blue Sox had already turned in 127 runs, 2nd in the Federal League, and their pitching ranked 2nd as well. This, despite some losses in the off season, was still a tough cookie to bite into.

Alejandro Venegas was up first and we faced the longtime Wolves starter Carlos Lopez. He was holding the Coons sharp early on. Venegas loaded the bags in the first inning even after Daniel Hall threw out a runner at the plate on the second play of the inning. The Blue Sox again left the bags full in the fourth without scoring, when Venegas struck out Lopez to escape his most recent nightmare, which lasted seven innings with only that one K. Nashville finally got to the struggling Venegas in the fifth with one run, but it was perhaps the worst 7 IP, 1 R outing we had seen in a while. Lopez hurled eight frames of 1-hit ball, a Thompson single, before yielding to Matt Sims in the ninth. Thompson walked with one out and Sanchez singled into left. Go-ahead runs aboard, Daniel Hall struck out and Osanai grounded out. 1-0 Blue Sox. Venegas 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, L (1-2);

We faced Jose Arroyo, a quad-A player for some time, in the middle game. Called up when Chris Lacy went to the DL, Arroyo had turned in 6.1 innings of 1-run ball in his first game of the year. Compared to Carlos Gonzalez … while the Furballs scored a quick run in the first after a walk to Sanchez to start the game, a stolen base, and a Dani Perez double, and Dadswell added a run with a second inning home run, Gonzalez was wobbling back and forth. The command was poor, the stuff not there, but he managed to hold a 3-1 lead through five. The Coons broke up the game with a sixth inning parade in which they sent 12 batters to the plate, including eight straight reaching base with two outs, including a bases-clearing double by Tetsu Osanai and a subsequent 2-run homer by Mark Dawson, breaking not only Arroyo, but also the game wide open, 11-1. Now, everybody in Portland waited for that collapse with a 10-run lead, and it came INSTANTLY. A Winston Thompson error on a harmless grounder by John White got things moving, and Gonzalez was knocked out of the bottom 6th after conceding three runs. Juan Martinez got that inning over with, but the misery continued in the seventh with two quick runs on Tim Moss. Cunningham got out there, but failed to navigate the eighth in turn. Ronaldo Cabrera took him deep, shooting his ERA from 0.00 to 5.11 in about a week. David Jones somehow patched the final four outs together. Osanai drove in two in the top 9th, 13-7 Raccoons in a mess of a game bullpen-wise. A. Sanchez 3-4, 3 BB, 3B; Perez 3-5, BB, 2B, 4 RBI; Osanai 3-6, 2 2B, 5 RBI; Dumont 2-5; Dadswell 2-5, HR, RBI; Jones 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, SV (1);

At this point, we have a MAJOR bullpen issue. While our rotation has some flaws, it combines for a 3.48 ERA, 4th in the league, but our relievers rank LAST in the Continental League with a 4.48 ERA and it is time to look at options at AAA. Emerson McDonald and Robert Vazquez perform quite well, but there was no left-handed option down there. Besides, Tim Moss was out of options and a 10/5 veteran. We were also looking at outside options now, but there were virtually no left-handed relievers on the market.

But you know you’re in trouble anyway if you get your first two guys on in the rubber game and then the meat of the lineup (Hall, Osanai, Dawson) strikes out in unison. Salvador Fierro killed the Coons at a rapid (rabid?) pace, and when he did load the bags with two out in the top 4th, Gustavo Flores popped out on a 3-1 pitch. Fierro struck out ten in his outing, while Logan Evans worked quickly for the Raccoons as well. But he also worked for the wrong team. Two walks he issued were costly, since both scored, and he found himself on the losing end of a 3-0 shutout. The Coons threatened exactly once in the game, and botched that up as well. Osanai 2-3, BB, 2B;

Backup catcher Gustavo Flores (4-31 at the plate) was placed on waivers (out of option) to be demoted to AAA. We called up our off-season acquirement David Vinson, whose bat had shredded AAA pretty good.

Raccoons (18-13) vs. Stars (16-15)

The Stars had problems with pitching just like the Raccoons. Getting shut out twice against them would be even more insulting than it was against the Blue Sox.

3B Claudio Ayala tattooed Kisho Saito with a 2-run homer in the top 2nd of the opener. The Raccoons trailed 3-0 before ever getting close to scoring. Dadswell homered in the bottom 5th, 3-1 down. Dani Perez got on to start the sixth, but was erased on a fielder’s choice with Hall batting. Osanai then launched a pitch into deep right, where Gabriel Cruz misplayed it, turning a double into a triple for Osanai, and he was able to score on Mark Dawson’s groundout. Tied game. But not for long, as Saito surrendered a 2-run homer to pinch hitter Raúl Flores in the top 7th right away. The Coons went down without as much as raising the tail once more, 6-3 Stars. Dadswell 2-4, HR, RBI;

The Pacifics claimed Gustavo Flores before the middle game, so we had to turn to the free agent market for another catcher for our system.

David Vinson made his major league debut in the middle game, batting 8th, getting a switch-bat into the lineup for the first time in a few years. Both teams scored single runs in the second inning, and Wade was taken deep by Cruz in the fourth. Daniel Hall’s RBI double tied the game again in the bottom 4th and we now had two runners in scoring position with nobody out. The Coons got both of them in with a single up the middle by Dumont and a double play grounder that scored Hall from third by Jose Sanchez. Wade went six, going out once he was to face Cruz again. The Stars scratched one run off the lead against Bentley in the seventh, but Cunningham and West held on late. 4-3 Raccoons. Dawson 2-3, BB, 2B; Osanai 2-3; Hall 2-3, 2 2B, RBI; Wade 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (4-0); Cunningham 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Game 3 saw Venegas being crushed quickly for five runs through 2.1 innings and six overall in 5.2 innings. The Raccoons never even threatened, being 3-hit by Neil Ford, who won his first game of the season. 7-0 Stars, out-hitting the Hemiplegic Badgers 14-3. There is *really* not more to report about that mess.

Raccoons (19-15) @ Loggers (10-24)

A lot of things went wrong in the second inning of the series opener. First, the Coons had bases loaded, nobody out in the top of the inning – and wasted it entirely. Bottom 2nd: Daniel Hall made a huge grab for the second out, then grabbed his foot and was carried off. Carlos Gonzalez then surrendered a 2-run homer to Luis Gonzalez. The Coons plated four in a big top 3rd, but Gonzalez came back loading the bags with two out and facing Cisco Banda in the bottom 3rd. He struck him out to escape disaster this time, but then didn’t make it through the fifth. Banda was his last batter, worked a walk, which put on two runners with two down and a 4-3 lead, and Gonzalez was gone. Jason Bentley surrendered a 2-run double to Charlie Justin to create the perfect ending to Gonzalez’ outing. The Loggers added to that with four runs in the bottom 6th around Bentley and Jones being unable to do anything and a Jose Sanchez error at short. The Coons brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh and scored three. The game was still 9-7 into the ninth, and the Raccoons loaded the bags in the top 9th with two out and Grant West in the #2 slot next. Sam Dadswell came out to pinch hit, but grounded out. 9-7 Loggers. Dumont 2-4, 2B; Dawson 1-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Thompson 2-5, RBI; J. Sanchez 3-4, BB, 2 RBI; Vinson 2-4;

Isto Grönholm helped the Raccoons to three unearned runs in the top 1st in the middle game. Home runs by Armando Sanchez in each of the next two innings gave Logan Evans a comfy cushion, 6-0. Emilio Roman homered off him in the bottom 3rd, but it was still a 5-run lead. Bottom 6th: the mother of all collapses went off. Logan Evans allowed three runs with a 2-run triple by German Roldan, then put another two runners on. Cunningham came in, and Charlie Justin hurt the Coons again with an RBI single. Cunningham could not get anybody out, and Roman hit his second homer of the day. 8-6 Loggers now. The Coons left the tying runs on base in each of the last two innings. 8-7 Loggers. A. Sanchez 3-4, BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Thompson 2-4, BB, RBI; Perez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Weber (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Amidst all the agony, the Raccoons left runners on third base in the first inning, and in the second inning, left a runner on in the third, and had two on with two out and Kisho Saito to the plate in the fourth. Scoreless game. If Saito wanted a shot at a W, he had to do it himself. He did, a 2-run double to deep left. Of course, Saito was subsequently stranded in scoring position. They left TWO in scoring position in the fifth, and it was all about waiting for Saito to walk a guy and give up a stray long ball. The bottom 5th started with a walk to German Roldan. Three hits for the Loggers after that, three runs in. Top 6th, 1-out triple by Sergio Martinez – STRANDED. They actually did not leave a runner in scoring position in the seventh, Osanai homered to center to cut a 4-2 deficit in half. In the eighth, a runner was on second base, and Jose Sanchez lined into an inning-ending double play, so technically they did not leave a runner in scoring position there either. Dani Perez was left on first in the ninth. 4-3 Loggers. Perez 3-5, 3B;

Daniel Hall was diagnosed with a herniated disc and will be out for another week. In addition to that, Sergio Martinez was hurt in the last game.

In other news

May 6 – A herniated disc will keep Oklahoma’s Scott Strong (.253, 1 HR, 12 RBI) out of the game for a month. The 24-yr old outfielder hit .309 last season.
May 7 – Oklahoma City deals MR Morton Jennings, 35, with a 3.77 career ERA, to Tijuana for 3B Jose Moreno and a minor leaguer. (Even really big contracts can apparently eventually be shipped)
May 8 – Another youngster goes down in ATL 1B Marcinek Wodaj (.237, 3 HR, 15 RBI). He suffered a fractured thumb and will miss up to a month.
May 8 – RIC OF Manuel Doval (.391, 3 HR, 20 RBI) will miss one to two weeks with a foot contusion.
May 8 – IND INF Jorge Salazar (.331, 1 HR, 12 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak put together. The streak would end the next day already.
May 11 – Las Vegas’ outfielder Claudio Garcia (.364, 4 HR, 28 RBI) will miss the rest of the month with a strained hamstring.
May 11 – NAS CL Matt Sims (10 SV, 0.63 ERA) will miss a few weeks with a sore back.
May 11 – SFW David Castillo (2-4, 2.18 ERA) spins a 2-hitter in a 1-0 win over Atlanta.
May 14 – DEN SP Hisanobu Higuchi (1-1, 4.21 ERA) 1-hits the Wolves in a 7-0 win by Denver, undoubtedly the highlight in an undistinguished career.

Complaints and stuff

Did I say that Sanchez, Hall, Osanai, and Dawson were getting hot the last time around? How did they fare in the interleague week?
Sanchez: 6-22 (.273), 0 HR, 0 RBI
Hall: 3-22 (.136), 0 HR, 1 RBI (12 K!!)
Osanai: 8-22 (.364), 0 HR, 6 RBI
Dawson: 3-20 (.150), 1 HR, 3 RBI
Osanai is excused. The rest was scheduled for extra whippings on the off day following the Milwaukee series.

And, OH MY GOD, it is … they … they SUCK SO HARD. They are TERRIBLE. They are so TERRIBLE. They are NO FUN and they are TERRIBLE.

Aaaaahh!!

We have signed Wally Gaston to a 1-yr contract on the last day of the Loggers series. I have a vague imagination of where to put him on the roster.

I need something against this headache. I hate this team. I hate this team. I hate this team…

[Questdog]

Is offense up in the league overall, or did our Coons' arms just all fall off?.......tough stretch.....

[Westheim]

Not a bit. In both leagues, the ERA is 3.60 at this point, which is the lowest it has been in the Federal League ever, and the lowest in the Continental League in six years.

By contrast, the Coons have had ERA's for the team of 3.12 to 3.13 in three of the last five years, including 3.13 last season. This year?

4.05!!

That is WORSE than in 1979 (4.01), and if you have successfully forgotten how many games they lost back then, it were 107.

To make things worse, they have a BABIP of .303, so the offense is artificially inflated somehow.

The last few years, the Furballs pitching's biggest bane was the number of long balls allowed (they were worst in that category last season).

Through 37 games this year:
ERA: 4.05 (10th)
Starter's ERA: 3.93 (7th)
Bullpen's ERA: 4.31 (12th)
RA: 164 (10th)
HA: 336 (9th)
OAVG: .265 (10th)
BABIP: .303 (8th - same as mine? Is the number on the history screen actually opponent's BABIP??)
HRA: 23 (11th)
BB: 99 (2nd)
K: 210 (t-7th)

So, they are bad across the board, except for walks, which after a dozen years are finally contained. Well, even LOGAN EVANS, the master of walks for so long (his 798 BB lead the Coons all-time by FAR and ranks 17th overall) has a K/BB ratio of almost 3:1 this season. But of course he was blown up for six earned runs in the last game.

This month alone, in 14 games, the Coons staff has allowed six or more runs in HALF the games, which is so out of the ordinary.

Sometimes, you know, sometimes, I think this game is plain forking me over. And over. And over.

Sometimes (and I am incredibly paranoid) I think the game just says "Ah, Loggers, 10-24. Them Coons gonna get swept, ha-ha, that's gonna be fun. For me at least. Of course, the most fun are 1-run and 2-run losses once them Coons have led by six." The game actually says "I'll let him lose by one. Now, oops, his team leads 6-1? Better get a few unbelievable infield doubles with 3-base throwing errors for an unearned grand slam in order."

I can actually hear that. And I can hear it laughing, too.

Well, the last part was mad man talk, but you get the impression that it is a Raccoons-only problem. Problem... collapse doesn't describe it, disaster doesn't either. Opposing batters against the Coons bullpen... it's more like the Ostrogoths invading Italy.

(sob)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (19-18) vs. Canadiens (23-13)

With ailing pitching, on-off offense, and two men short with the hurting Daniel Hall and Sergio Martinez, we went home to face the resurging Canadiens, who were rather hawt coming in.

We made a roster change on the off day preceding the series, demoting Juan Martinez to AAA. In turn, Wally Gaston, who had signed a 1-yr, $130k contract a day earlier, was put on the roster. Had there been reasons nobody had dared to sign him? Don’t matter. Coons are desperate.

Scott Wade started off the series for us, and somehow had managed to dodge a loss so far. In fact, he had the best ERA in the rotation now (and that’s where you know you’re in trouble). An error by 1B Fred Rodgers helped the Raccoons to score two unearned runs in the bottom 1st of the opener. One run got away in the second already, and Ramon Gonzalez sunk Wade with a 2-run homer in the fourth. The Canadiens upped it to 4-2 in the fifth and Wade left in the seventh, leaving a guy on second base, who promptly scored on an RBI double by Hector Atilano given up by Tim Moss. If little has been said so far about the Coons offense in this paragraph it fits the picture well. They were cancelled out by Tia Fa, and didn’t factor again until the bottom 7th, leaving the tying runs on base. Wally Gaston pitched the last four outs, surrendering a homer to Hokichi Endo, and the Coons had the tying run at the plate in the bottom 9th, but struck out repeatedly there. 6-4 Canadiens. Dadswell 3-4, 2B, RBI; Quintanilla (PH) 2-2, 2B, 2 RBI;

So much for Wade not losing and leading the rotation in ERA. That latter title was back to Kisho Saito with a – for a rotation-best miserable – 3.47 mark.

Sergio Martinez’ ailment was finally determined to be a sore ankle. He was placed on the 15-day DL. After much deliberating, Daniel Hall was also put on the DL with his back problems. Glenn Johnston was hurt at AAA, so he was no option to call up. We turned to two infielders, 1B Billy Mitchell and 1B/3B Joe Jackson. Dawson could play in the outfield, giving Jackson plenty of time at third for the next two weeks. Mitchell had no room but pinch hitting every day. He was batting .347 at AAA, but by now we have learned to what that translates in the big league. Mitchell was a 1984 supplemental round pick, and Jackson was the 1985 first round pick by the Coons. Of course, 1B-only players had no chance with Tetsu Osanai on the team, so we routinely looked to ship them out now.

In the rotation, Venegas was skipped this time through and we went to Carlos Gonzalez right away. Although Mark Dawson lifted the Raccoons with his sixth homer of the year in the bottom 2nd, Gonzalez fell in the fourth to a leadoff walk to Melvin Greene, a fluke single to short left, and then a 1-out 3-run bomb by Atilano. Gonzalez delivered a good game overall, eight innings, seven runners, but was bitten by that one hard shot. The Raccoons, as usual, did nothing to bail him out. They were held to four hits. Both youngsters made their debuts as pinch hitters, both made outs. 3-1 Canadiens.

Jackson started at third with Dawson in right in the third game. Logan Evans and Vernon Robertson zeroed for three innings. In the bottom 4th, Osanai got on with a double, and Jose Sanchez added a single. Two down, runners on the corners for Joe Jackson in his third big league at bat. He tripled to right, so the Raccoons scored first in all games in this series. Can at least Evans hold on? The Coons upped to 4-0 in the fifth, while Evans zipped through six frames in 54 pitches. The seventh took him some more, and Quintanilla threw out a runner at the plate from left field to end the inning. The last two innings went by quickly – Logan Evans turned in a 6-hit shutout to end a 6-game losing streak. 4-0 Raccoons. Osanai 2-4, 2B; J. Sanchez 3-4, 2B, RBI; Jackson 2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Evans 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (4-4);

Evans pitched his ninth career shutout, and maintains a streak of six consecutive seasons with a shutout. Evans trails Chris Powell now by one shutout for most for the Raccoons all time.

ILogan Evans not only pitched a shutout, but also struck out to end the fourth inning. How is that significant? It was the 10,000th strikeout for the Raccoons ever at the plate. (Raccoons pitchers have racked up 9,251 K’s themselves this far)

Raccoons (20-20) vs. Falcons (19-22)

In the Falcons we met the team that had the next-worst bullpen ERA in the Continental League at 3.58. That was almost three quarters of a run better than the Coons’ 4.26. Shocking.

Kisho Saito managed to fall behind in record speed in the opener: double, balk, double, 1-0 Falcons. Saito nailed two batters in the first four innings, while his opposite Bastyao Caixinha only gave up hits to Tetsu Osanai the first two times through the lineup. Osanai scored in the fourth after a double and a subsequent throwing error by Justin Reader on a poor grounder by Dani Perez. Armando Sanchez singled the Coons ahead, 2-1, in the fifth. Saito had not given up a hit since the first inning, but continued to hit batters, adding a plunk to Alfonso Aranda in the sixth, in the bottom of which the Coons got another unearned run across to make it 3-1. Saito went seven without surrendering any more than the two doubles at the start of the game, and Bentley and West closed the deal as Caixinha (7-2, 2.16 ERA before the game) was defeated by his own defense. 3-1 Raccoons. Osanai 3-4, 3 2B; Saito 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (4-4);

Batters leading off the inning reaching base was a common theme for the Falcons stepping in against Scott Wade in the middle game. The first three times they got on and in the top 3rd finally caused damage, two runs. Wade reached on an error to start the bottom 3rd and two singles through the seams between infielders by Thompson and Armando Sanchez loaded the bases with nobody out. Dani Perez – K; Osanai – sac fly; Dawson – pop out; Embarassment ’88, the new attraction in Portland. The Coons left the bags loaded entirely in the fourth, and a Thompson error helped the Falcons to score in the top 5th. Wade exited after seven, trailing. The Coons were 3-2 behind into the bottom 9th. The Falcons sent closer Ricardo Medina, who walked Thompson to start the inning. Sanchez grounded to force Thompson at second, but Dani Perez doubled down on the right side to put the winning run (himself) on second base with one out and Osanai and Dawson next. Osanai flew out to left, and Sanchez went home to tie the game, but Dawson left Perez on third. Extra innings. Bottom 10th, Weber walked and Dumont singled off Medina. Next was Cunningham in the #8 spot, and Joe Jackson was sent to pinch hit (with only Jose Sanchez left on the bench) and flew out. Vinson struck out. Thompson walked. Bases loaded, two down, Armando Sanchez next. That hadn’t worked in the fourth inning. But it did this time: Sanchez singled up the middle on a full count to walk off the Coons, 4-3. Thompson 2-3, 3 BB; A. Sanchez 3-6, 2B, RBI; Dumont 3-4, BB; Weber 1-1; Cunningham 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (3-2);

This was the first series win for the Furballs since they took three of four against Boston 2 1/2 weeks earlier.

Oldie Joe Ellis engaged in a low-key and unanticipated pitching duel with Alejandro Venegas in the last game of the homestand, and the game was tied 1-1 through five. Venegas jammed in the sixth and was removed. Bentley cleaned house to keep the tie alive. Ellis jammed as well in the bottom 6th after singles to Thompson and Armando Sanchez. Osanai lifted the Raccoons with a 3-piece shot out to center. Top 7th. After a leadoff single to Jose Rivera, Bentley and Dadswell fell completely apart. A wild pitch was instantly followed by a passed ball, adding up to a 4-pitch walk to Reader. Ellis was removed for Keith Lake to pinch hit. Bentley went out, Jones went in, and the Falcons scored four runs in the inning. Wally Gaston collected four outs with no catastrophes in between, setting the table for the bottom 8th. Dawson doubled to left, Osanai singled to right, and Perez walked. Nobody out, bases loaded, as always. Dadswell flew out to center, but Dawson scored to tie the game. Billy Mitchell came out to pinch hit for Gaston – and knocked his first big league hit over CF Rich Tracy, a 2-run triple that lifted the Coons once more. 8-5 into the top 9th, the Coons sent Grant West, who almost blew it. 29 pitches did the job, leaving the bases loaded after a K to catcher Kyae-sung Park. 8-5 Coons. Thompson 2-3, 2 BB; Osanai 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Perez 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Mitchell (PH) 1-1, 3B, 2 RBI; Weber 2-4, 2 RBI;

Some Portland newspaper caught me hanging half dead over the railing in the top 7th of the last game, head and arms dangling downwards in agonizing disbelief with the undertitle “Look what nature’s washed ashore”. Them journalists were quickly sued.

Raccoons (23-20) @ Knights (24-19)

Good news: The Coons would not face electric Carlos Asquabal in the series. Bad news: they were to face Kiyohira Sasaki, Juan Correa, and Xavier Mayes.

It didn’t matter who was pitching for *Atlanta* in the opener anyway. Carlos Gonzalez pitched for Portland, and was out of the game by the second inning, with six runs in and two runners on base. Armando Sanchez’ 2-run homer in the third was merely cosmetic, and Sasaki countered with a triple off Tim Moss (and scored) in the bottom 3rd. Joe Jackson hit his first major league home run in the top 4th, but was not necessarily ecstatic while circling the bags. The Knights just kept adding massively. Lowlight from a Coons viewpoint was a 2-run home run by Sasaki against Jason Bentley in the sixth. The Raccoons were clobbered, 12-5. Jackson 3-3, BB, HR, RBI;

Juan Correa (4-4, 2.85 ERA) had a rather human season so far, but at age 37 still looked more than ready to wipe the dirt with the Furballs. Looking further, his 37/17 K/BB ratio almost matched him up with Logan Evans (4-4, 2.89 ERA, 37/14 K/BB). It never became a pitching duel. Correa scattered a few hits here and there, while Evans was at his worst control-wise. He walked pairs in the first, second, and fourth innings, while only falling 1-0 behind. Evans didn’t get out of the fifth inning at all. A walk to Dimian Barrios was picked up by Michael Root, who homered to center. That was it for Evans, but not for the bullpen. Campbell and Gaston surrendered pairs of runs and Cunningham was also hit in the eighth. Correa pitched as he always had against the Raccoons, eight shutout innings in an 8-2 rout. Dawson 3-4, 3 2B; Weber 2-3, BB;

Osanai in the first and Dawson in the second had RBI singles in support of Kisho Saito in the last game. Saito attempted to throw the stop on the romping Knights and fared quite well in the early innings. After a solo shot by Osanai in the top 5th, Saito got in trouble in the bottom of the inning, putting two in scoring position with one out. But popping up 1B Emilio Rosa for an easy out brought the pitcher, Mayes, to the plate and he was easy prey, and the zero stood. Saito sacrificed in a run in the sixth to further bolster his lead. Then he crashed in the sixth, bases loaded, one out, after his first two walks of the game. Eddy Bailey up, a shot into right, Mark Dawson with a bear of a catch, and only the lead runner tagged up and scored. But that was only the second out. Gary Helton singled up the middle and Root scored from second base. Saito’s day was over. Bentley came in. Walk to Carl Vickers, and a bases-clearing double to Rosa. Game over. Raccoons lost, 6-4. Osanai 3-4, HR, 2 RBI;

In other news

May 17 – The Wolves beat the Scorpions 3-2, as Andres “Beagle” Ramirez logs his 300th career save.
May 17 – NAS 1B Mike Grimes (.280, 0 HR, 13 RBI) is hurt in an on base collision and will miss a few weeks with a back injury.
May 19 – Although not a full time closer for a few years, 40-yr old Jon Butler notched his 300th career save in a 7-4 win of his Condors over the Thunder.
May 19 – On the day Logan Evans shut out the Canadiens, he didn’t even receive top billing in the headlines, as Terry Murphy of the Wolves 2-hit the Scorpions in a 6-0 win. Murphy, 22, is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA on the season.

Complaints and stuff

That’s it. I’ve had it. I can’t stand the daily raping by this game anymore. Screw this. Screw this.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Some Portland newspaper caught me hanging half dead over the railing in the top 7th of the last game, head and arms dangling downwards in agonizing disbelief with the undertitle “Look what nature’s washed ashore”. Them journalists were quickly sued.

A new entry in the "best quote" sweepstakes.

[ShaneCarson]

Missing the updates! Hope everything is well Westheim.

[Questdog]

He quits every so often when things are not going peachy......he always comes back eventually......

he better....I need my Tetsu fix.....

[Charlie Hough]

If nothing else, Wally Gaston got in some appearances and picked up a win before the end.

It's been nearly 10 days ...

[Charlie Hough]

Originally Posted by Orcin

A new entry in the "best quote" sweepstakes.

No, I think THIS one takes the accolades:

I can’t stand the daily raping by this game anymore. Screw this.