[Westheim]

David Vinson came off the DL as the Raccoons came off their horrendous road trip to return home to a city that couldn’t believe what had become of their World Series heroes. Bob Armstrong was sent back to AAA.

Daniel Hall would come off the DL early in the following week, somewhat improving our outfield situation. More splendid news may be contained in this update.

Raccoons (28-27) vs. Crusaders (24-31) – June 7-10, 1993

This was to be the bigger part of a 7-game home stand that would seamlessly glide over into interleague play against the Scorpions. Their 220 runs scored had the Crusaders rock bottom in the CL. Which team was only 11 runs ahead of them? The Inepticoons.

Jason Turner, somehow 2-6, had to get things going in the opener. He faced a 5-5 John Woodard, the stronghold in the Crusaders rotation with an ERA just over 3.10. The game could best described as offensive drab. No score through six, not even close to anybody scoring. In the seventh, the Crusaders had two on with two out and Woodard up, left him in, and he singled between Allen and Baldivía to bring in a runner. Bottom 9th, Vinson singled to lead off, and was replaced with Moreno to run. With one out, Alejandro Lopez singled to right and Moreno went to third. Higgins came up in the #9 hole and closer Ivan Lopez scored Moreno with a wild pitch without Higgins ruining everything beforehand. But we don’t want to be unfair to Higgins: he ended the game with a walkoff RBI double to deep left, sending the Raccoons off more-than-lucky winners. 2-1 Coons. Vinson 3-4, 2B; Higgins 1-2, 2B, RBI; Turner 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K; Miller 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (3-2);

With the Thunder trouncing the Falcons, 10-4, we slid down to 11th in runs scored in the league. Oh, the humanity.

Would things get better with Hall coming back for game 2, bouncing Chih-tui Jin to St. Petersburg? Oh, please…

On bad news, Tetsu Osanai cleared waivers. No team as much as thought about taking him.

Game 2. The Raccoons didn’t get a hit off callup Jorge Ramón until the fifth inning, when with one out and Daniel Hall on second base, as Kinnear singled to right. Ramón walked Baldivía to load them up, but Scott Wade came to bat in the scoreless game. Wade was batting .181 lifetime, and 1-22 this year. He blooped to shallow right, but neither RF Alfonso Rojas, nor 1B Martin Limón got to it, and Hall scored on the single. O-Mo made it 2-0 with a sac fly. The Crusaders got a run back from Wade in the top 6th, which the Coons countered in the bottom 6th and then had the bags full with Baldivía batting and one out. The youngster popped out to second and this time Wade struck out. Some knot finally became untied then in the seventh, as the Raccoons scored five runs, most of them through a 2-out grand slam by Vern Kinnear. The bottom fell out of the Crusaders’ bullpen now, and they couldn’t get through the eighth inning, either. With two runs in, the bags full, and two outs, Kinnear came up again. He wouldn’t do it again, right? Kinnear took Hatt’s second pitch to deep right, just where he had taken Ramón the last time up. The park didn’t hold this one either – TWO GRAND SLAMS for Kinnear!! 14-1 Raccoons!! Reece 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Vinson 2-4, BB; Kinnear 4-5, 2 HR, 9 RBI; Wade 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (4-3) and 1-3, RBI;

VERN KINNEAR!! Well, this lifted us *some* in the runs scored table, all the way from 11th to 6th. Squeal.

The only hit Miguel Lopez surrendered early on in game 3 was a home run to Ruben Melendez that got the Crusaders 1-0 ahead in the third inning. The Raccoons came back with Neil Reece and the power of the long ball just as well in the bottom 3rd, when Reece dinged for two runs and a 2-1 lead, that O’Morrissey extended to 3-1 in the fourth. Solo home runs by Dan Joyner for NYC and Alejandro Lopez for POR ran the score to 4-2 in the sixth, but the Furballs missed the chance to break up the game in the seventh when Hall and Alejandro Lopez both whiffed with two men on. Miguel Lopez still became the first man to double-digit wins this season, holding on through eight innings, and West pitched a 1-2-3 save. 5-2 Coons. O’Morrissey 2-4, RBI; Reece 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; A. Lopez 1-2, HR, RBI; Higgins 1-2, 2 BB; Rodriguez 2-4, 2B; M. Lopez 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (10-2) and 1-2, HR, RBI;

Now, Alejandro Lopez, this late-bloomer as a Raccoon, hit his first home run for the team in the sixth inning. Why was he even in the game with Kinnear, Reece, and Hall all assembled? Because Vern Kinnear, the day after his pair of slams, was hurt on a defensive play early in the game and had to be replaced. He tumbled over on a catch and fell on his hand, but came out lucky. While his thumb and wrist were very sore after the spill, he merely had suffered a bruised thumb and would be DTD for a few days. We would still sit him out as a precaution at least for game 4. And I still came home with my face white that night, for when Kinnear fell onto his hand and had his ouch thumb, I fainted momentarily on the top step of the dugout and fell onto the chalky right foul line.

So, Hall played left in the last game, batted in his old #3 slot, and Allen sat out a game for Higgins to play second base, too. “Pooky” was charged with securing the sweep. Holding the game scoreless through four, he came up with bad luck in the fifth, which started with two soft singles by the Crusaders, who just managed to push the 1-0 run across. Beato pitched into the eighth, still being on the hook, and was removed once he put a man on. The Raccoons struggled to land hits at all, being held to two H’s by Gary Nixon in the first seven innings. Baldivía got on to lead off the bottom 8th and Salazar just barely shoved a single into left with two out to score him and take Beato off the hook. O-Mo doubled, giving Hall two runners in scoring position, but his shot into the gap in left center was caught by Tyler Burch, ending the inning in a 1-1 tie. As the game went into overtime, we still broke out Kinnear for a lefty bat against closer Ivan Lopez. He led off the bottom 10th with a single to left, but was eventually starved on third base when O-Mo struck out. Burch returned the favor, whiffing with two out and two in scoring position against Daniel Miller in the 11th. O’Morrissey was again in the center of the creaking wheels of offense, when he hit a 1-out double in the 13th. Hall grounded out, bringing up Reece with O-Mo still on second base. Reece singled a liner into left, and O-Mo was determined to end it here, blowing through third with huge strides – and he was safe by a good distance for the second walkoff win in the series: 2-1 Coons! Salazar 2-6, 2B, RBI; O’Morrissey 2-6, 2 2B; Baldivía 2-3; Kinnear (PH) 1-1; Beato 7.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K; Lagarde 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; Miller 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K;

Christian Proctor secured the sweep in his first win for the Raccoons, facing only right-handers in the top 13th. Whew.

On a stathead note: with this sweep we went to 146-149 all time against the Crusaders, removing them from the bottom of the table against CL North opponents. Our new worst CL North opponent are the Canadiens (142-149). In turn we closed the gap to the Canadiens this season to three games, since they were swept by the Indians.

Raccoons (32-27) vs. Scorpions (33-27) – June 11-13, 1993

Last season, a streak of five straight series taken against the Scorpions came to an end when we lost two of three. Before that we lost four series straight to them. Let’s end this streaky stuff right now. The Scorpions were an offensive powerhouse, ranking 2nd in the FL in runs scored, but their rotation had a 4.40 ERA between them.

Kisho Saito faced only right-handed batters in game 1, and ageless Billy Robinson (4-2, 4.83 ERA) on the mound. Well, actually Robinson was 38 and was getting rustier. The Coons hit three straight 1-out singles off him in the bottom 2nd, before Robinson walked Vinson on four straight balls to force in the first run of the game. Robinson went to 0-2 on Saito, before Saito lined into right to score another run. Salazar and O-Mo flew out then to end the inning. While the Scorpions tied the game in the top of the fourth on a 2-run homer by German Roldán, Saito faced Robinson again with two in scoring position and no outs in the bottom 4th, and again singled into right to score Bob Arnold. O’Morrissey drove in a run, and Neil Reece then had the plates full with one out and emptied them with a 3-run double to deep center, ending Robinson’s day. Kisho Saito was not one to give back a 7-2 lead – everybody thought. The Scorpions knocked him out after five innings by scoring three runs in the fifth. As the bullpens took over, a difference in qualify was clearly identifiable. Between Tony Vela and Jackie Lagarde, the Coons allowed only one base runner in the final four innings, while the Scorpions pen was torn up further. The Raccoons had 20 hits in the game and won 11-5. O’Morrissey 2-6, 2B, RBI; Allen 2-5, BB; Higgins 2-5; A. Lopez 4-5, HR, 2 RBI; Arnold 3-4, BB; Hall (PH) 1-1; Vela 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K and 1-1, RBI;

It was a day for relievers at the plate, too, since Vela was one of three relievers to land a base hit. Sixto Pacheco and Javier Macias had hits for the Scorpions, the latter accounting for the only hit off our bullpen.

Offense was much slower in game 2 between Jason Turner and David Castillo (4-6, 4.89 ERA). The Scorpion was dominant, striking out nine Furballs over 7.2 innings, before a walk to Daniel Hall on his 130th pitch ended his day. Turner had been gone after six, but the game was still tied 2-2, with Allen and Hall on base for Matt Higgins, but he flew out and neither starter got a decision. The Raccoons walked off in the ninth, which was started by Alejandro Lopez with an infield hit. With two out he was at third base, from where Ben O’Morrissey drove him in with a single that got just past SS Cal Smith. 3-2 Coons. Salazar 2-5; A. Lopez 1-2, 2 BB; Turner 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K and 1-2, RBI;

Vern Kinnear was fine enough to play again as a starter in game 3, where Scott Wade took on Domingo León, whose 7-2 record with a 3.50 ERA also showed well how proficient Sacramento’s offense was. Two batters in, Scott Wade was already 1-0 behind, while the Raccoons showed their skills in grounding into double plays, hitting into two of those in the first few innings. Alejandro Lopez tied the game with a solo home run in the fifth inning then. Bottom 6th: Salazar led off with a single, and O’Morrissey grounded to 2B Roldán, but Roldán was caught on the wrong foot and instead of a double play Roldán only managed a very awkward pair of twists to either base and didn’t get anybody. Roldán looked increasingly bad when Kinnear singled past him to load the bases and then Reece grounded to him and he couldn’t make any play again. Salazar scored, 2-1 Coons. After Higgins hit a sac fly, Baldivía hit into that double play everybody had been waiting for. The Coons loaded the bags again in the seventh, but Kinnear grounded out (no slam? Something wrong with him?). Up 3-1, the Raccoons had a man on with two out in the bottom 8th and Grant West was getting ready, but then Lopez mashed another homer, and Vinson followed with his first home run of the year. 6-1, and Wade was left in, but the first three batters in the top 9th reached base, and West now had to come in with trouble brewing badly. He got Roldán, who somehow turned out the scapegoat every which way, to ground into a run-scoring double play, but then was taken deep by 3B Rory Gorden, which brought the Scorpions within two runs of a major upset, but West finally ended the game against pinch-hitter Pat Graham. 6-4 Raccoons. Salazar 3-4; O’Morrissey 2-3, BB; Kinnear 2-4; Reece 2-4, RBI; A. Lopez 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Wade 8.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (5-3);

For those not counting, we now have an 8-game winning streak. We are also eight games away from breaking even with our franchise record, which currently stands at 1,323-1,331. Our deficit to the Canadiens remains at three games, since they swept the Blue Sox, but the Loggers and Indians have now peeled off some, ranging both at 31-32, 7.5 games out of the lead.

Raccoons (35-27) @ Rebels (38-24) – June 14-16, 1993

The Rebels had the best record in the league and were somehow leading the mighty Capitals by two games at this point. They nursed a 5-game winning streak, and their team was built very similarly to the Raccoons, who ranked 5th in runs scored and 1st in runs allowed in the Federal League, while the Rebels in their league ranked 6th and 2nd, respectively.

While Esteban Baldivía flew with us to Richmond, he had to board another plane to Florida. Tetsu Osanai had cleared waivers, refused assignment to St. Petersburg, and could not be released due to insufficient funds, and as such had to be placed on the 25-man roster again. Yikes.

Dominators faced each other in game 1, as Miguel Lopez (10-2, 1.73 ERA) had to cope with Russ Ewing (8-2, 3.34 ERA). The Raccoons failed to capitalize on two walks and wild pitch in the first, and Lopez fell behind in the bottom 2nd, 1-0. Ewing’s control remained off, though, and after a few timely hits in the top 4th, which tied the game, Ewing threw another wild pitch that scored Matt Higgins for a lead for the Coons. When Lopez issued his first walk of the game to 3B Tim Benson in the fifth, that led to the game-tying run again. Sigh. Benson took another leadoff walk in the bottom 7th, and Lopez couldn’t hold him on this time, either. The Rebels took a 3-2 lead, Lopez came out, Lagarde cleaned up, and in the eighth O-Mo with a double and Reece with a 1-out RBI single took Lopez off the hook. Reece stole second base, his first bag of the year, and then scored when Higgins singled to right. Another turnaround – the excitement! Would it be the last one? Lagarde allowed a leadoff double to Robert Carney in the bottom 8th, but Carney was stopped on third base when Lagarde punched out SS Nathan Turner. West also put his first man on in the ninth, but got out of the inning unscathed. 4-3 Raccoons!! Higgins 2-4, RBI; Lagarde 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1-3);

Neil Reece needed a day off at one point and got it in game 2 of the series. Alejandro Lopez played center.

Steven Snyder (7-2, 2.45 ERA) dominated the Raccoons in the middle game, while Raimundo Beato was more so-so and allowed four straight men to reach base with two out in the bottom 4th, which gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead. While this was all the damage the Rebels did against Beato in six innings, it was enough. In the seventh, Vela and Proctor were collectively raped for four runs and the game was over, as was the winning streak of nine games. 6-1 Rebels. Higgins 2-4;

Interlude: roster stuff

Bobby Quinn reported back from a sprained ankle at this point. To give ourselves a few more days to sort out our outfield situation, we assigned him for “rehab” at AAA. This got a string of events going.

We got a trade proposal the next day from the Pacifics, principally trading Bobby Quinn (they seemed to be very hot on him since he had just come off the DL) for 1B Glenn Adams. Adams, 25, was scouted well by Vicente Guerra, but didn’t live up to it. Ultimately, the trade had it’s upside, but we had enough first basemen that didn’t live up to their scouting report already. Most of them made a million a year.

But what if we offered Tetsu Osanai instead of Bobby Quinn? Would they bite? Would OSANAI bite? It turned out, Tetsu was really pissed after being designated for assignment, and wanting to get outta Portland, he WAIVED his 10/5 rights! And the Pacifics? They were willing to take him, in exchange for Adams and third-string prospects!!!

I could not sign off on that deal far enough, and still in Richmond I signed a fax that completed the deal. Tetsu Osanai and AA INF Santiago Sanchez were sent to L.A., while we received 1B Glenn Adams and AA SP Steve Herring.

Tetsu Osanai’s contract was off the books! OH THE BRUTAL, UNTARNISHABLE JOY!!!

We sent away a 219 career HR burden (which sounds strange enough in our league) for a box full of “???” labels in Adams, but our books were clear! (Fan interest took a nasty hit, but what do those hot dog munchers know after all …?)

HUZZAH!!!!

Raccoons (35-27) @ Rebels (38-24) – June 14-16, 1993 (cont.)

We could get crushed 13-1 in the final game, I wouldn’t cry. Adams had yet to get here from Los Angeles, so we played a man short as Saito took on Harry Griggs (6-7, 2.88 ERA), who had tossed a 6-hitter his last time out. Daniel Hall made his debut at first base, not fitting into an outfield mounting Kinnear, Reece, and Lopez at this point. The Coons took a 2-0 lead by the third inning on home runs by Lopez and Vinson, of which Saito gave one run back in the bottom 5th when he couldn’t beat Alarico Violante, the backup catcher. There was some light rain coming down at various times throughout the game, but it never became interrupting, while Saito pitched a gem this time, allowing only four hits and one run over eight innings. He was pinch-hit for with two out in the ninth, but Higgins flew out. With Grant West a bit tired, we called upon Jackie Lagarde to save a 3-1 lead. Lagarde was taken deep by Carney with one out, but with nobody on, survived the onslaught. 3-2 Coons. A. Lopez 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Saito 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W (5-5) and 1-3;

Violante was a Coon a few years ago, albeit shortly, and never came up big for us. Sigh.

Raccoons (37-28) @ Loggers (34-32) – June 18-20, 1993

1B Glenn Adams was on the roster the first time. Scouted 12/10/9 with a bit higher potential, and batting .250/.330/.417 so far in only 84 AB this year, it was not yet clear whether he would get us much further in our quest for repeat titles. You know, I’m actually pulling for the Loggers to finally post a winning record, but with us still being 2 1/2 games behind the Canadiens, I couldn’t allow them any wins in this series.

As if I had a say in this.

The Raccoons had another one of their we-refuse-to-hit games. Higgins flew out to end the first with the bags full, and their next real chance came in the sixth with a leadoff triple by Lopez, who was then left on base by Higgins, Adams, and Turner – Vinson had been walked intentionally. Bottom 6th: Turner was shredded with four hits and a bases-loaded walk without registering any outs, as the Loggers laughingly conquered this game. They scored five runs in the game, three of them being unearned after Salazar lost grip of a double play ball. Things looked dim, down 5-0. Top 7th, suddenly sparks: Vern Kinnear hit a 2-shot and Higgins doubled in Reece as the Raccoons scored three in the inning. Vinson got on leading off the top 8th, and Hall pinch-hit for Juan Martinez facing Jerry Ackerman (rings a bell?). A home run would be nice for Hall to break out of a slump, but he hit into a double play, slumping even deeper. That, right there, was the game. 5-3 Loggers. O’Morrissey 2-4, BB; Reece 4-5; A. Lopez 2-5, 3B;

Raccoons: 13 hits, 3 runs. Loggers: 9 hits, 5 runs. Great stuff again.

Salazar and Kinnear being able to use a day off coincided neatly with us facing a left-hander in Martin Garcia (6-2, 3.86 ERA) in game 2. Lopez was the only left-hander in the lineup against him. With or without any of them, the offensive ineptitudes continued. Wade allowed a run in the second inning, and the Coons spent all afternoon chasing after that insurmountable 1-0 deficit, leaving runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth. Hall started the seventh with a walk and Sixto Moreno looped a single to center. Jose Rodriguez couldn’t bunt with the pitcher behind him and singled up the middle as well. Bases loaded, no outs, but Wade was now up. He had been good so far. What terrible things could happen if he batted? He struck out, O-Mo had an RBI groundout, and Adams flew out to left. Oh my. Wade put two on in the bottom 8th and was replaced with Lagarde. With two out, the bases were loaded. Lagarde got Jim Stein to bounce to Mark Allen, who threw leisurely to Glenn Adams, who dropped the ball. Not enough that the go-ahead run scored on the play, but Gates Golunski followed it up with a bases-clearing double. 6-1 Loggers. Hall 2-3, BB; Wade 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (5-4);

Bloody hell.

Adams was benched right away until he learned that we value defense very highly around here. Higgins appeared at first again in the final game. How embarrassing would a sweep by the Loggers be?

The Loggers took a 1-0 lead against Miguel Lopez in the third inning after the Raccoons had blown up two chances to score already. In the top 6th, a 1-out triple by Vern Kinnear represented the fourth time the Raccoons had a man in scoring position in the game, and when Neil Reece grounded to short, Kinnear inexplicably failed to go home. Higgins came up with two out and grounded up the middle, just through the infielders to still tie the game. The inning was not over. Higgins stole second base, and Hall walked, bringing up Vinson, who FINALLY had a clutch hit – UNHEARD OF FOR THE RACCOONS. He doubled over Jerry Fletcher to score both runners. With the bases loaded in the top 8th, and one out, Miguel Lopez was sent batting instead of using a pinch hitter. Double play. Lopez then put the tying runs in scoring position with one out. Juan Martinez faced Golunski, who tripled to left center to tie the game. I probably deserve these things. Top 10th, one out. Hall walked, Vinson singled, Allen walked. Alejandro Lopez hit for Martinez, but struck out. Salazar then drew a tie-breaking walk off Raúl Ramirez, and Ramirez also walked O-Mo. Grant West was brought in for the bottom 10th and sat down the Loggers in order. Sweep avoided, 5-3 Raccoons. O’Morrissey 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Vinson 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Allen 2-3, 2 BB; M. Lopez 7.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K;

In other news

June 7 – 33-year old WAS CL Domingo Rivera (3-1, 1.59 ERA, 18 SV) saves his 400th game by finishing off the Miners in a 6-4 win.
June 8 – ATL SP Jim Harrington (6-4, 5.09 ERA) will be out for a year with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.
June 16 – LAP RF/LF Anibal Rodriguez (.332, 11 HR, 36 RBI) knocks two hits in a 10-4 drubbing of the Knights, completing a 20-game hitting streak.
June 20 – Rodriguez is held dry by the Gold Sox and has his hitting streak come to an end at 22 games.

Complaints and stuff

Tetsu Osanai is gone! HUZZAH!!! Please light a candle for those sorry Pacifics, who just crashed their franchise for years to come.

Despite being hurt and playing only three full games, Vern Kinnear somehow wound up CL Player of the Week ending with the Scorpions series. He batted 8-17 with 3 HR and *11* RBI during this span. Well, two slams will have you go a long way towards POTW for sure. Kinneeeeear! (squeals)

As we are on the topic of outfielders, Glenn Johnston will come off the DL in the next few days, and Bobby Quinn can’t be rehabbing forever. At best, we can carry six outfielders. Dan The Man is untouchable despite a deep slump, and Kinnear, Reece, and surprise impact player of the year Alejandro Lopez are forming a terrible bash in the heart of the lineup. That leaves Bob Arnold – the man who cost us the draft pick – expendable, but that frees only one spot. Johnston will have to pay for back-to-back terrible seasons, despite a strong World Series showing last year.

Both Johnston and Arnold have options available, but Arnold also has 10/5 rights. Quinn has no options – that’s how we got him in the first place. By the way, that wash-on first baseman Adams also is out of options.

Overall, the offense remains very spotty and continues to hurt our efforts. We were within 2 1/2 games of the Canadiens, but the Loggers threw us back a country mile here. I feel much less sympathy for them at this point.