[Westheim]

May is slowly turning into June. The sun was shining brightly over Coon City, nestled between Willamette and Columbia. What could possibly go wrong now?

(music builds up)

Raccoons (33-15) vs. Bayhawks (31-15)

The Bayhawks had scored the most runs in the Continental League through 7 1/2 weeks of baseball, and ranked second behind the Raccoons in runs allowed. Everybody ready for division leaders squaring off?

Boy, did Scott Wade look awful in the opener. Through the first three innings, there was nothing the battery couldn’t have been accused of, including armed robbery and mental rape. That the Bayhawks didn’t lead 9-0 after three was more their fault than anything else, but two bad throws by Vinson and a wild pitch, a hit batter, and so-so stuff by Wade created a 2-0 deficit that the Raccoons struggled to tackle with 7-1 Wilson Moreno dealing. That same Moreno seemed to come unglued in the bottom 4th, led off by Hall with a full count walk. So did Osanai. So did Quinn. Bases loaded, nobody out. Higgins grounded to Pedro Villa at first, but a run scored, the Bayhawks getting the out at second base instead. Neil Reece laid down a poor grounder that a slow defense didn’t convert. Infield single – bases loaded again since Osanai had to hold. Vinson would have to get things done. Full count. Come on, David take that wa- STEEEERIKE THREE. Wade up with two out, in a 2-2 count. Liner to short – OVER MIKE POWYS!! Osanai scored and the game was tied, and with a tidy knock by O’Morrissey now we – STEEEEERIKE THREE. Wade held the Bayhawks there, somehow, at 2-2. Bottom 6th, leadoff single by Higgins, stole second, went to third on Reece’s single. Vinson could not land a hit, but walked THIS time. Wade up with the bags full and nobody out, we wrestled the bat away from him. Johnston pinch-hit, struck out, and I felt a scornful look from Wade. O’Morrissey came up with a tie-breaking single then. The Bayhawks replaced Moreno with Luis Molina, who balked in Reece. Now the Coons broke it up: Salazar singled to right for two runs (ex-BOS coonskinner Zahid Mashwanis didn’t look good there), and then Hall jacked out of center. The game was moved away from the Bayhawks. Carrillo came in, had a quick seventh, a quick eighth, and eventually went the rest of the way, even hitting a double and scoring in the eighth. 9-2 Coons! Salazar 2-5, 3 RBI; Hall 1-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Higgins 2-4, BB, RBI; Reece 3-5; Carrillo 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (1) and 1-1, 2B;

Bobby Quinn went 0-3 with two walks and thus lost a 10-game hitting streak. Wade got the win, moving to 5-4, which leaves only Berry with an unpleasant record. And he’s next.

Game 2 was not a pleasant one. Period. Scoreless after one inning, Dave Burton led off the second inning with a rocket to deep left. Daniel Hall was hustling, launching, catching – but he couldn’t slow down anymore and made hard contact with the wall, then remained on the ground, numb. Of course, he had to leave the game, and this didn’t look good at all. The park was dead silent as he was carted off. Tetsu Osanai tried to make fans smile with a 2-out, 3-run double in the bottom 3rd, but the success was more so-so. Berry somehow went six innings of 1-run ball despite walking five batters in addition to six hits. Beyond the sixth, the Bayhawks had only two more base runners, and Osanai’s key hit was the difference. 3-1 Raccoons. Osanai 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Gonzalez 2-3;

Dan The Man rans into the outfield wall at full steam and is not diagnosed yet. I am obviously disturbed. I am really disturbed. Bob Arnold would get some AB’s for the next few days. And if something major is – now, happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

Game 3. Kisho Saito was heavily ineffective, needing 60 pitches through the first two innings, and fell 2-0 behind, stranding four. The Raccoons failed to bail him out in the bottom 3rd, when they had runners all around and no outs, and scored only one. But they did better in the fifth. Quinn, who had brought in the only run in the third, found O-Mo and Salazar on the corners with no outs. He drilled an offering from Rafael Espinoza into center, just shy of being a dinger, for a 2-run triple. Osanai scored Quinn, who would hit the homer he just missed there later in the game. Saito left after six (the latter four much more effective) with a 4-2 lead, which eventually grew to 6-2, and was kept there by the pen. 6-2 Raccoons. O’Morrissey 1-2, BB, 2B, RBI; Salazar 2-4; Quinn 3-4, HR, 3B, 4 RBI; Saito 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (8-2) and 1-2;

And we swept the Bayhawks!! If it just wasn’t for that numbing feeling that … (blinks)

Coon City in a state of shock

Everybody’s worst fears came true on Monday morning, when the management of the Portland Raccoons announced that outfielder Daniel Hall had suffered a concussion after slamming into the outfield wall in a game against the Bayhawks on Saturday. He is anticipated to miss several months, if not the rest of the season.

The team placed Hall on the 15-day disabled list today. A roster move should happen today while the rest of the team has already arrived in Oklahoma City.

That roster move was to call up LF/RF Ennio Sabre from AAA, who had been .308 with 7 HR and 27 RBI in 35 games since signing on.

Raccoons (36-15) @ Thunder (27-24)

For reasons unknown, I was barely able to read the scouting report with all the tears in my eyes. The Thunder were so-so in some category, a bit better in this, and a bit worse in that. The first series post-Daniel Hall-concussion was to go underway.

Game 1 had Jason Turner, who led the league in ERA, and the Thunder tried to master the beast with six left-handers atop their lineup, which worked only partially well. While the Raccoons scored steadily in the game, and six times overall, including long balls by Osanai in the second inning and Salazar in the eighth, Jason Turner was dealing and was almost, but just almost, untouchable. He went the distance, conceding only one run the whole game. When Glenn Johnston botched a ball in right field to start the bottom 9th, putting Pepe Padilla on second base, Turner upped his game once more and punched out (left-handers) Will Jackson and Dave Browne to do all the hard work himself. 6-1 Raccoons. Salazar 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Quinn 2-5; Osanai 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, RBI; Vinson 2-5; Turner 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, W (8-2) and 1-4, 2B;

Ennio Sabre made his Furballs debut in game 2, playing recently orphaned left field and batting seventh. Vinson and O’Morrissey had days off, meaning Flores and Dawson were playing (and Dawson was batting fifth in the vain hope he might get an extra base hit someplace). His first time up, Dawson double-played the Raccoons out of a potentially big inning, and the Coons scored only two in the first. The Thunder left a number of runners on base early, when Kevin Williams led off the bottom 5th with a single. Williams was the opposing pitcher. Vázquez could not get to Jose Sanchez’ bunt, and Osanai in vain tried to get an out at second base, throwing the ball away completely. And the Thunder blew that one, too, never advancing any further with three soft fly outs. Top 6th, still up 2-0, Osanai singled up the middle just barely through the middle infielders with two down. Dawson came up. He figured, if he was not getting much playing time, he better hurried to get his annual triple – and did so here, lining past LF Will Jackson for a three-bagger. For how amazing it was, the next time he came up in the eighth, there were three men on, one out, and Dawson ended the inning for the second time on the day. Sabre got his first hit as a Furball in the ninth, a double, but was stranded. Vázquez went eight, West put the thing away. 3-0 Coons. Reece 3-4; Osanai 3-4, 2 RBI; Vázquez 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, W (8-0);

The top 3 of our rotation are crowding the CL pitching leaderboards. Saito, Turner, and Vázquez all tie for the lead in wins (8), Turner leads in ERA (1.82) with Vázquez third (2.27) with Will Rodgers between them, whom we missed in the Bayhawks series, Turner is t-2nd in strikeouts (67) behind machine Carlos Asquabal (73), and Saito and Turner are t-2nd in WAR (2.4) behind Asquabal (3.5).

By the way, the annual triple story for Mark Dawson is no longer true. He did not hit a triple last year, rupturing a 13-year streak of 20 triples in total. But it has always made for a nice throw-in story.

One more in Oklahoma, Wade’s call. The first time through, he handled the Thunder’s lefty barrage pretty well, but they loaded the bags in the third, starting with a bunt base hit by Jose Sanchez. Vonne Calzado banged the ball to deep center, but Reece intercepted it for the final out. The Coons took a 2-0 lead on a 2-out Higgins double in the fourth then, and O’Morrissey added a 2-run double in a 3-run seventh. Wade went seven on just three hits, and was spared going through the left-handers another time. Ken Burnett came in and had his perfect ERA messed up after 14 innings with a pinch-hit leadoff homer by Hector Roman. That was all they managed, and the Coons won 6-1. Salazar 2-4, BB; Reece 3-4; Wade 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (6-4);

That’s three straight sweeps, and a 9-game winning streak now!

Raccoons (39-15) @ Crusaders (19-33)

There was not much to say about this team. They had zero offense, and they had no rotation to speak off, both ranking last in the CL.

Game 1 started rough on the Crusaders with a 3-run first by the Coons, although in all fairness, it was mainly SS Manuel Flores’ fault, throwing away a grounder from Neil Reece, and we led 4-0 after the top 4th. Berry got himself yanked in the bottom 4th. With two out, the Crusaders had already scored three runs and two men were on. Berry walked pitcher Luis Andrade and was gone. Burnett got out of the inning (although I’d credit Reece for a strong catch). Top 5th: bases loaded, no outs. It became ugly – for the Crusaders, as the Coons scored five, including two bases-loaded walks, with a few singles sprinkled in between. That made for a 9-3 lead, but the pen still had to cover five frames. However, we got Osanai out of the game early for defense and to conserve him a bit. We got three innings from Carrillo to cover distance, and the rest of the pen did not give away any presents, either. The Raccoons added three runs late, including Ennio Sabre’s first Coons RBI in the ninth, and won by a 12-3 drubbing. O’Morrissey 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-3, BB, RBI; Johnston (PH) 1-1; Gonzalez 2-5, RBI; Higgins (PH) 2-2, 2B, 3 RBI; Carrillo 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

We’ve won 10 in a row, have a .727 percentage, and our run differential is +102 at the end of May (flipping over to June for the rest of the series). We have had only one *whole* season where we reached +100 or more: 1989 with 789-614 runs.

Two more in New York. Game 2 was Kisho Saito’s start, and Sean Bergeron quickly showed him that the Crusaders still had some life, by nailing a 2-run homer in the first. The Raccoons had their struggles with Hector Lara, who was dealing for New York, but Osanai got to him in the fourth with a massive 2-run homer himself. The Coons got two unearned runs to take the lead in the fifth after an error by 1B Martin Limón that prolonged the inning. Saito still was not sharp (and his K’s were down recently) and the game was 4-3 after five. Dawson was playing at third in this game, and after two poor outs, socked a 2-run homer himself in the sixth to support Saito, who went 6.2 innings before putting another runner on second base and with the fat part of the lineup due up and that consisting of right-handers, Lagarde was brought in, but he allowed a single to Diego Rodriguez and the run scored. But things got even tighter. Matthews and Cordero could not clear the eighth. With one out, the Crusaders had the bags full, and we went to Grant West in the 6-4 game. He had not blown a save all year. Benjamin Butler’s sac fly got the tying run to third base. Charlie Foster came to the plate. Poor grounder in front of the plate, Vinson all over it, to first – OUT!! An insurance run in the ninth was not in the books and West faced the 2-3-4 batters in the bottom 9th. Rodriguez popped out foul, before Antonio Esquivel singled his way on. Bergeron grounded to Higgins. 4-6-3, outta there with a 6-5 win! Higgins 3-4; Quinn 3-5, RBI; Dawson 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; West 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, SV (19);

That was a close one, but we had 11, and Saito had nine wins, now leading the CL on his own. He trails Washington’s Archie Dye, who has ten wins already.

In the last game, the Crusaders got the first chance to score, with two in scoring position and two outs in the bottom 2nd. Jason Turner fell to 3-0 on Horace Simpson in the #8 hole. With the pitcher coming up, Simpson was reaching for it, grounded to Turner, and was out at first. In the top 4th, we had Vinson and Reece on base with two outs. Higgins singled into right center, and Vinson was sent second-to-home. Ball, runner, and catcher all arrived at roughly the same time, and while Vinson was safe, he was also out – with a twisted ankle. Flores took over. The inning was however still going on. Bob Arnold was put on intentionally to get to Turner, who took a 3-1 pitch into right field and brought in two runs. The Coons extended the lead to 6-0 by the seventh, in the bottom of which Turner crumbled a little bit. The Crusaders filled the bags with one out and up came – Simpson. Turner tried to punch him out, but Simpson put the 1-1 in play. Salazar to Higgins to Osanai, inning over. A late rally of the Crusaders consisted solely of a 2-run homer by Ray Burnett off Ken Burnett. 6-2 Furballs! Vinson 2-2; Turner 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, W (9-2) and 1-3, 2 RBI; all starters had one hit with the exception of Vinson who had two, and who won a bandaged ankle for it.

David Vinson has been listed as day-to-day for about four days, which will include an off day on the way home. We will host the Canadiens in Portland with Flores behind the dish. I really don’t want to jeopardize Vinson’s health by playing him. At the same time, we don’t really have a roster spot available to call up a third catcher. So we just have to hope that the offense carries us with a .194 batter catching and that nobody bowls over Flores. However, as I know the Canadiens …

In other news

May 24 – LAP Greg Cain (7-2, 3.26 ERA) tosses a 3-hitter, mesmerizing the Miners in an 8-0 rout.
May 28 – SFB INF Roberto Rodriguez (.384, 1 HR, 21 RBI), who was hurt on a play in the Raccoons series, got the diagnosis: he will miss five weeks with a bruised kneecap.
June 1 – NYC SS Manuel Flores (.271, 0 HR, 11 RBI) knocks his 2,000th career hit in the middle game to the Raccoons, a sixth inning single against Kisho Saito. He is the 10th player to reach that plateau.
June 2 – DEN CL Juan Miranda (2-4, 6.11 ERA, 5 SV) has not the season of seasons, that much is clear, but he at least notched his 300th career save by holding the Stars at bay in a 5-2 Gold Sox win.
June 2 – NAS Luis Guzman (7-3, 2.88 ERA) masters the Cyclones in a 3-hit shutout. The Blue Sox win 5-0.

Complaints and stuff

I’m numb. What if our franchise poster boy never comes back? Everything feels so pointless now… and he won’t come back, the game doesn’t give a rat’s ass about him: BNN didn’t even give him a news story. It’s like he’s already gone. All that is left is a gigantic cavernous void.

Daniel Hall (1978-1991): 1,636 G, 1,585 H, 189 HR, 800 RBI, 97 SB, .264/.335/.441, 130+ OPS;

What is going to happen?

Jason Turner won the Pitcher of the Month award in the Continental League, going 5-0 with a 1.21 ERA and 34 K in five starts in May. That’s some awesome numbers here. It’s his first major league POTM award, he one won such piece of mantelpiece bling in the minor leagues before we traded for him in a 5-player deal with the Knights at the deadline in ’87. Steve Walker went over to Atlanta in that trade. Walker was a valuable piece of the Raccoons around our first peak centered on 1983, but I’d say that was one of my better trades.