[Westheim]

Much text, few games for this update. Warning: includes self-pity, tears, and two bangs.

The All Star break gave me the chance to shape the rotation a bit. Pennington and Powell switched in #1 and #2, and Evans and Romero switched #3 and #4. Simmons remained #5. We had ended with Romero before the break, but now would start with Pennington again. With the next series being another 4-game stint against the Canadiens, all but Simmons would get their turn. Quiet, Gary! You already have your share of losses!

As much as I wanted to change the lineup … I had no idea. Daniel Hall’s bat was missing everywhere. Simon, Bocci, Johnston – all are down considerably from last year. Johnston has even replaced Hoyt Cook again, who proves unable to repeat his .300 season from last year, and even worse, is batting around .220 this season. With Matt Workman waiting at the AAA level, this could spell doom for Cook. There was also no production from 3B, and Green was now down on the DL, so we didn’t even get his solid defense.

More trouble brewing. Many of the best Raccoons are in contract years and I already see on the horizon that I will not be able to retain them all. Or do I even want to retain them all? All of them were asking for way too much money, in any case.

Raccoons (36-52) vs. Canadiens (45-42)

Six losses in a row, and here came the Canadiens again. I can not say I was too happy. But then again, the Raccoons lost against everybody, why bother against whom they lost?

The Raccoons got up 3-0 early after two innings, but still could have scored much more with eight hits in those two innings. Bocci made a costly throwing error in the third that plated two unearned runs and cost Pennington a shot at a W. He left in the seventh in a 4-4 game. Bowling tripled to lead off the bottom 8th and Henderson sacrificed to score him, 5-4. Enter Wally Gaston. He gave up a leadoff homer to Miguel Guzman and the game was tied again. Gaston surrendered another run and the Raccoons entered the bottom 9th trailing, 6-5, and needless to say, didn’t get anybody in, although Simon and Johnston led off with a hit and a walk. They had out-hit the Canadiens 14-7. Seventh consecutive loss.

Ken Clark went down with a bruised thigh in that first game and Trey Scott replaced him in the lineup, but of course this took out about the only guy one could fittingly describe as leadoff hitter. He would miss about three days.

The Raccoons then scored first and lost again in game 2, 5-2. Sánz hit a home run, apart from that it was another poor game.

With that piss poor hitting, it took a pitcher’s effort to stop the 8-game slide. Logan Evans stepped in and delivered, tossing a 4-hit shutout with 2 BB and 4 K in game 3. Opposite pitcher Hubert Gaines also pitched a great game, surrendering three hits. The Raccoons squeezed through to a 2-0 win, both runs unearned after a Rich Johnson error that allowed Nixon to reach in the second. Sánz doubled him in and then came around on flyouts.

Ken Clark was able to return early in game 4, taking leadoff again. Bowling and Johnston batted #2 and #3 for three lefties on top of the lineup. But against Robbie Campbell that was not really important. He was hard to hit, and the Raccoons had a hard time hitting.

This was Romero’s game and he remained wonky. The Canadiens loaded the bags in the third with two out and Miguel Guzman up. He rocketed a Romero pitch to dead center that missed the wall by two feet at most and just barely tipped into the glove of Ken Clark to end the inning. Ultimately it didn’t help either, because Nicholas Castillo bashed a 2-run shot in the fourth. Why did I trade that guy again? I can’t remember. The Raccoons were just barely able to avoid being shutout thanks to Wyatt Johnston RBI double, but lost 4-1 against a viciously dominant Campbell.

Raccoons (37-55) @ Indians (57-36)

Gary Simmons lasted 2.1 innings to open this series, surrendering a 3-run double to Luis Camacho in the first, and a 3-run home run to Jose Encarnacion in the third. The Raccoons lost 7-0. Ken Clark and Jayson Bowling each had two hits. That was pretty much it.

After the game, the Portland Raccoons released Ben Jenkins after working with the reliever since the league’s inception. Jenkins was 0-3 with a 7.23 ERA in 39 games this season. He refused demotion, exercising 10/5 rights, and with his trips to the mound not improving, the Raccoons saw themselves forced to show him the other door. Jenkins had pitched in 270 games for the team with a 16-24 record and a 4.33 ERA.

We called up Jason White to take over Jenkins’ spot. White’s ERA this season was 6.11 in the majors, but he had since pitched 11 innings in AAA ball with a 1.64 ERA and good control over his pitches.

The Raccoons were shut out again the next day, 2-0, while Pennington whiffed seven to no avail. Game 3 was a 4-0 loss, and thus the Raccoons were shut out, 13-0, over the 3-game series.

Words can not describe what I feel.

In other news:
July 19 – The Scorpions keep drawing injuries. After Rod Fields and Pete Ross another key member of the team is out, as Glenn Williams breaks his thumb in a game against the Stars. The .300+ hitter with 13 home runs will miss about six weeks.
July 19 – As the Blue Sox recover from their horrible first two months, their CF Raul Herrera now also has a 20-game hitting streak on the line.
July 21 – The Buffaloes beat the Blue Sox, 4-1. They also beat the streak of Herrera, which stops at 20 games.

We had an off day and I used it to a) cry, b) look at my roster, c) look at my potential free agents’ demands, and d) cry some more. Then I picked up the phone, and by late evening of this July 23, this happened:

The Raccoons trade SP Jack Pennington (7-7, 3.11 ERA) to the Topeka Buffaloes and receive infielders Mark Dawson (.268, 6 HR, 61 RBI in 93 games), Edgardo Gonzalez (.234, 0 HR, 23 RBI in 72 games, but currently at AAA with .341, 1 HR, 8 RBI in 21 games), and $48,000 in cash to cover the difference in contracts for the over-budget Raccoons!!

I will let that sink for a second.

Reason behind this: we acquired Jack Pennington in a trade with the Cyclones for Pedro Hermundo and three other players this off season. I was happy with what I got, period. He would have 12 wins by now for a team that actually scored some runs. However, Pennington is also in a contract year. He is demanding a 9-year, $1M per year contract, and I just can not pay that. Not for nine years, not for three, and not even for one year. Period.

Gonzalez is just a filler in there, trying to get all I can, but Mark Dawson is a major force at the plate. He is having a down year (like Pennington had one in 1980), but he has smashed 19 or more home runs each of the last three season, with a high of 27 in 1980. He is a .250 hitter, but is producing over 25% doubles in his hits.

I would have lost Pennington anyway for a dubious draft pick or two. Better get something substantial now, because this season has another 67 games and if this overall sucking of the team continues I will for sure snap before even half of those are over. Dawson will play corner infield, most likely 3B to start with. Gonzalez is assigned to AAA until at least August 31. Outfielder Dale Armstrong was sent to AAA, and MR Tony Lopez was called up to be long man in the pen. Carlos Moran will slide into the rotation at #4 or #5.

There are another seven days till the trading deadline. More unloading highly likely.