[Westheim]

Raccoons (8-16) vs. Indians (11-14) – May 5-8, 1997

Somehow, the second-best offense in the league, coupled with an average rotation and a lights out bullpen (0.66 ERA!) wasn’t cutting it for the Indians, and they were three below .500, which puzzled anyone. Portlandians were sure they would turn it around sooner rather than later.

Projected matchups:
Jose Rivera (2-1, 1.69 ERA) vs. Rubén Prado (2-1, 3.41 ERA)
Kisho Saito (1-1, 1.60 ERA) vs. Les Browning (0-0, 45.00 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (2-2, 3.81 ERA) vs. Robbie Campbell (3-1, 3.72 ERA)
Scott Wade (0-1, 4.84 ERA) vs. Chang-se Park (1-3, 4.38 ERA)

Game 1
IND: CF Maguey – LF Sakaguchi – 1B Brown – RF A. Roldán – SS J. Martinez – 3B Alarcon – C Cardenas – 2B Duarte – P Prado
POR: 2B Brewer – CF Newton – 3B Ingall – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – SS Salazar – RF Lacombe – P J. Rivera

Tomas Maguey reached on an error by Lacombe and Rivera’s pride was then pierced by a colossal home run by Sakaguchi, which Newton just watched, hands in his sides, as it vanished behind the batter’s eye. And that was that. Kinnear in left made a few parade level catches in the early innings that at least held the difference at two runs, including a huge catch on a Jose Martinez fly ball into the corner that would have plated two if not caught, to register the final out in the third. The Raccoons had a runner on base every inning and never moved him around. In the bottom 6th then, Prado allowed a bloop hit to Ingall and walked Wedemeyer with no outs. Kinnear grounded into a force at second, but Vinson walked to load the bags with one out. However, a sac fly by Salazar was all there was to this inning. Both sides scored one run in the seventh, and the Raccoons left the go-ahead runs on base again. That was it. No Raccoon set another foot on base. 3-2 Indians. Newton 2-5, 2B; Ingall 2-4, 2B, RBI; Vinson 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Rivera 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, L (2-2);

And it continues. It will always continue, I guess.

Game 2
IND: LF G. Flores – 2B Carter – C Cicalina – RF Sakaguchi – CF Maguey – SS J. Martinez – 1B Alarcon – 3B Whaley – P Browning
POR: CF Newton – 2B Ingall – 3B O’Morrissey – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – C Kondo – RF Lacombe – SS Salazar – P Saito

Of the first four Coons to bat, three got on against Les Browning, who had surrendered five runs in one inning pitched this year. Kinnear drew a bases-loaded walk, 1-0. Kondo drove in a pair with a double, 3-0. Now it was up to Saito, and the Indians’ lineup was free of any left-handed batters. And Saito struggled, not getting his stuff to really bite, and was relying on Kinnear and Newton to make a few great plays behind him. It was all well through seven (while the Coons did zero to sink Browning early, or at all), but the first two men reached in the eighth, and Saito surrendered a run on Urbano Cicalina’s groundout. De La Rosa came in to face Sakaguchi with a runner on second base and two down, and got him to ground out, so the score was still 3-1. The Coons had another chance in the bottom 8th, failed again, and De La Rosa remained in the game for the ninth with Ban – let’s not talk about him. De La Rosa faced Maguey, Martinez, and Francisco Alarcon. He struck out the first one, Martinez grounded out, but Alarcon doubled into the gap in left center. Matt Whaley was hit for by Matt Brown, who was put on intentionally, which prompted Angelo Duarte to hit for pitcher Jim Durden. Duarte grounded out gingerly. 3-1 Raccoons. Newton 3-4; Kinnear 0-1, 3 BB, RBI; Kondo 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Saito 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, W (2-1); De La Rosa 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, SV (1);

Kishoooo!! Not a great display of offense, but Kishoooo!!

Game 3
IND: LF G. Flores – 2B Carter – C Cicalina – 1B Brown – RF Sakaguchi – CF Maguey – SS J. Martinez – 3B Whaley – P Campbell
POR: 2B Brewer – 1B Ingall – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Newton – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – SS Salazar – RF Crockett – P M. Lopez

Kenny Crockett had his first major league hit, a leadoff single in the third inning, and scored the first run of the game on an Ingall sac fly. That was before the dark skies opened and doused the park, also chasing the starters in the fourth inning. O’Morrissey grounded out to leave the bags full in the fifth, and we had the bags full again in the sixth, then with one out, after a Newton double, intentional walk to Kinnear, who was forced out by Vinson, and then a walk drawn by Salazar. Crockett, 2-2, came up, grounded out, but allowed Newton to score. I needed another inning from Jose Ramos, but he grounded out, and while he did pitch another inning, he came out with some sort of discomfort. Aided by a Kinnear error (his third already on the year), Cesar Salcido loaded the bags, which was not a great plan with a 2-0 lead. Tzu-jao Ban came out to face Sakaguchi as the last right-hander available except Grandridge, and Kinnear made up for his mistake by ending the inning with a nice grab on Sakaguchi’s fly ball to deep left. The highly valued Indians bullpen collapsed in the bottom 8th, with an untimely error by Jose Martinez contributing. Kevin Rhodes and Charles Woodbury surrendered five runs between them, and now Ban had a 7-0 lead to protect in the ninth. He just HAD to blow the shutout and conceded two runs, with Matt Whaley’s RBI triple figuring big in the crumble. 7-2 Raccoons. Ingall 0-1, 2 BB, 1 RBI; Newton 2-5, 2B, RBI; Crockett 3-4, 2 RBI; Lopez 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; Miller 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, W (2-1); Ramos 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Jose Ramos was found out to have suffered a mild oblique tweak and was officially listed as DTD for the final game of the series, but after pitching two frames here would not likely have entered that game anyway.

We can now clinch our first series since that 2-set against the Canadiens that opened our season.

Game 4
IND: CF Maguey – LF Sakaguchi – 1B Brown – RF A. Roldán – C Cicalina – SS J. Martinez – 3B Carter – 2B Duarte – P Park
POR: 2B Brewer – CF Newton – 3B O’Morrissey – 1B Wedemeyer – SS Ingall – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – RF Crockett – P Wade

Wade was winless in ’97, and was sunk right in the first inning with four runs on him, and one more that was unearned after a Brewer error. So much for winning a series. Wade was completely dissolved in acid in the second, and left down 7-0 with two on and two out. Grandridge came in, ****ed up the game for good by allowing both runners to score – which included walking Chang-se Park to push home the ninth run – and it was best at that point to just resign oneself to crying silently. Grandridge walked four in the third inning in an attempt to create an even bigger blowout – which he succeeded in. Ironically, the Raccoons would take advantage of Park being almost as bad as Wade and once Salazar hit a pinch-hit 3-run triple in the sixth were back within slam range. Of course, Salazar was not scored to slow down an unlikely comeback before it could become actually likely. We left two more on in the seventh. In the bottom 8th, Guerin hit a pinch-hit single, and Brewer walked, entering Jim Durden, who walked Newton to load the bags with no outs. Tying run at the plate, a passed ball on Cicalina brought Guerin home. O-Mo walked, bringing up Wedemeyer against lefty Jason Leonard. He flew out to left for a sac fly, and Ingall grounded out. Kinnear, batting all of .196, came up with the tying runs in scoring position. He grounded out. Comeback: successfully aborted. In turn, De La Rosa was impaled for three runs in the top 9th, and that was that. Vinson, Crockett, and Guerin all reached in the bottom 9th, and there were no outs. But we were down by five, and Javier Navarro came in. His stats: 12.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 K. An error by Martinez on Brewer’s grounder brought Newton up as the tying run. Navarro uncorked a wild pitch, 15-12, then walked Newton. O-Mo was next. He lined a 3-1 pitch to Whaley, and to make things worse, Weeds had been already removed. Kondo batted for De La Rosa, and struck out, and Ingall found himself down 1-2 when he grounded to Martinez – WHO MUFFED IT AGAIN!! 15-13, two down, bases loaded. Kinnear up. KINNEAR!! He grounded back to Navarro, WHO MISSED IT, UP THE MIDDLE, PAST MARTINEZ!! Brewer in to score, Newton in to score!! WE ARE TIED!!!! Next was Vinson. Get them! GET THEM!!! Vinson hit at a 1-1 pitch that went to left, and fell in. Ingall raced around third, Sakaguchi brought the ball back in – WAY PAST CARDENAS, THE COONS WIN IT!!!!!

ABSOLUTE UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

16-15 Critters. Wedemeyer 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Vinson 1-2, 4 BB, RBI; Crockett 2-5, RBI; Salazar (PH) 1-1, 3B, 3 RBI; Guerin (PH) 2-2; Miller 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; Salcido 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Needless to say, some kind of frenzy broke out at the ballpark after Marvin Ingall scored the 31st run of the game. A total of 15 plastic seats were looted as memorabilia from this memorable knight. None were retrieved again.

Yet, there is always something negative to adress. The disfigured afterbirth that was Day Grandridge was banished to AAA after the game. I don’t want that sucking abomination around here anymore. He walked five batters in this game, while registering all of two outs. Enough is enough. Out with you!

Iván Costa was called up to replace Grandridge. He had been 1-1 with a 4.19 ERA in six starts at AAA, but he would be used as the guy to pick up the trash from the bullpen here. He made three appearances (one start) with abysmal stats for us last season. Adding his numbers with the Crusaders from 1995, he is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in six games (four starts) in the majors.

Raccoons (11-17) @ Capitals (18-11) – May 9-11, 1997

Just like the Raccoons, the Capitals were not the offensive powerhouse anymore they had put together earlier in the decade. Their offense was 10th in runs scored in the FL, but they were also allowing the second-fewest runs.

From the team we battled three consecutive years in the World Series, only very few names remained: SP Ramón Ortíz, INF Nuno Andresen, OF/1B Jeffery Brown, and that was about it. They were still playing .600 ball.

Projected matchups:
Antonio Donis (0-4, 4.44 ERA) vs. Rafael Serrano (2-0, 3.33 ERA)
Jose Rivera (2-2, 1.87 ERA) vs. Takeru Sato (2-1, 4.88 ERA)
Kisho Saito (2-1, 1.52 ERA) vs. Frank Pierre (0-0, 3.46 ERA)

The latter two were left-handers we had not seen so far. Sato looked like being capable of much more than his ERA suggested, but was having a walk issue so far.

Game 1
POR: 2B Brewer – CF Newton – 3B O’Morrissey – 1B Wedemeyer – SS Ingall – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – RF Crockett – P Donis
WAS: LF Fukushima – RF McFarland – 1B Matsumoto – 3B Ayala – 2B Ito – CF Golunski – SS Andresen – C A. Moreno – P Serrano

Boys, if you could score half the runs of last night, Donis might just barely manage to win a game! The weather in any case was horrible and it drizzled early on in the game. Vern Kinnear hit his first home run of the year (bad enough!), a 2-shot in the second, to get the Coons ahead. Donis instantly blew the lead with a homer to ex-Logger Gates Golunski and then allowing three straight 2-out singles, including one to pitcher Serrano. Because fighting ineptness is not enough of a task for me, I also had to cope with stupidity, when Vinson was tossed by the home field umpire for arguing strike three in the fourth inning. Kondo came on. That was not all for a day, so Donis blew up the game just before a rain delay in the fifth inning, and once play resumed, Luke Newton was hurt on a play. Iván Costa came in and conceded Golunski on second base, because he was just as inept and useless as anybody else. Of course, a 5-2 was hard to make up if your entire lineup was constructed of suckers and suckers’ replacements, and so we didn’t come back. Honorary mention to Kinnear, who hit another dinger. Dishonorary mention to Ban, who loaded the bags in the bottom 8th even in a losing game and no pressure applied and only bailed out thanks to Brewer starting a double play. 6-4 Capitals. Kinnear 2-2, BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Crockett 2-4;

Luke Newton had another surprise for us, he had sprained his ankle and would be out for six weeks. That’s another outfielder that – and this is tough to say in case of *Newton* - can’t be replaced. That’s Green on the DL, Reece on the DL, and now Newton on the DL, and Kinnear failing to bat out of his .200 pants, AND Buell still suspended for the rest of the series!

With Reece’s 15 days on the DL not over until the middle of next week, we had to call up another player, and added Mike Crowe. That’s a third baseman. There were no outfielders batting even their (admittedly, in some parts obesity-indicating) weight at AAA. If you count them, we now have Kinnear, Lacombe, and Crockett, and – nobody. O-Mo is our emergency outfielder now, and maybe if you throw Ingall at the wall in center field, he will stick there, too.

What else? Oh right, another game on Saturday. The Who Will Get Hurt Bingo continues, I need either an infielder, or a player with a number ending in 5 to win.

Game 2
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Ingall – 1B O’Morrissey – LF Kinnear – 3B Crowe – RF Crockett – C Kondo – CF Lacombe – P J. Rivera
WAS: 3B Ayala – 1B McFarland – SS Matsumoto – RF Calzado – CF J. Brown – LF J. Munoz – C G. Rivera – 2B Andresen – P Sato

Crowe’s first AB of the season at the major league level was a 2-out RBI single in the first inning, giving Rivera an early 1-0 lead. The fourth inning saw the Raccoons put their first two men on, then leave the bases loaded, before Rivera, who was erratic and pitched behind in the count the entire day, surrendered a 2-run homer to Juan Munoz. Rivera was exploded completely in the sixth inning by the Capitals, conceding three runs and leaving two on. Santana, the useless dirtbag, came in and waved those runners home, and the Raccoons were soundly blown out after that 5-run sixth. 9-4 Capitals. Brewer 3-5, BB; Crowe 1-3, 2 BB, RBI; Crockett 2-5, 2B, RBI; Guerin (PH) 1-2, RBI;

Game 3
POR: 2B Ingall – RF Crockett – 1B O’Morrissey – LF Kinnear – 3B Crowe – SS Salazar – C Vinson – CF Lacombe – P Saito
WAS: SS Andresen – 2B Ito – 1B Matsumoto – 3B Ayala – CF Golunski – RF J. Rivera – LF Calzado – C A. Moreno – P Pierre

Yoshihito Ito’s 2-run homer in the bottom 1st set the game straight. There really was not much more to tell and write about. Ito and Matsumoto, the Japanese duo, wore out the Japanese pitcher they opposed almost single-handedly. All the trouble Saito encountered in the game came from them. Saito went eight innings, conceding three runs, while Frank Pierre pitched into the ninth on a 4-hitter before a 1-out double by O’Morrissey evicted him in favor of Jesus Longoria. Kinnear doubled to drive in O-Mo and bring Crowe to the plate as the tying run. He grounded out, and in place of Salazar, Brewer struck out. 3-1 Capitals. Crowe 2-4, 2B; Saito 8.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, L (2-2);

Saito’s ERA of 1.82 is second in all of baseball, trailing only that of San Francisco’s Tony “Ratface” Hamlyn (a former #1 prospect), whose mark is a too-good-to-be-playing-for-a-different-team 1.22!

Next: another week at home, so we will get extra mocking from the Agitator, and I will be heckled and thrown at with popcorn, popsicles, and PERHAPS … just PERHAPS … by Popeye.

Raccoons (11-20) vs. Stars (14-17) – May 13-15, 1997

The Stars offense was 6th in the Federal League with 155 runs scored (Critters: 129), while they had conceded the third-fewest runs. That did not translate into a winning record for them, mainly because their rotation had a terribly hard time, struggling to a 4.80 ERA as opposed to their bullpen, which led the FL in ERA with a 2.48 mark.

Projected matchups:
Miguel Lopez (2-2, 3.34 ERA) vs. Manny Ramos (2-4, 4.70 ERA)
Scott Wade (0-1, 7.50 ERA) vs. Lewis Donaldson (1-1, 5.60 ERA)
Antonio Donis (0-5, 5.28 ERA) vs. Judd Montgomery (4-1, 3.16 ERA)

Those were all right-handers we could expect to face. That was at least slightly consoling since all of our available outfielders batted left-handed. Add Brewer, Weeds, and maybe Salazar to that… Nah, we still won’t score.

We expect Neil Reece back for the final game of the series. That will send Mike Crowe back to AAA, since we don’t need another corner infielder on the roster. He will get another start in place of O-Mo after playing two games with Wedemeyer out of the lineup.

Game 1
DAL: 2B Cardona – RF D. Rodriguez – C James – 1B Woods – CF MacDonald – 3B Robertson – LF D. Franklin – SS Waller – P M. Ramos
POR: 2B Brewer – SS Ingall – 3B O’Morrissey – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – RF Crockett – C Vinson – CF Lacombe – P M. Lopez

Vern Kinnear had a big hand in our 2-run second with an RBI triple. Both teams added a run in the third inning, with Kinnear plating the Coons’. Lopez struggled through the innings and blew the 3-1 lead in the sixth, as RBI singles by Eugene MacDonald and Markus Robertson tied the game. Lopez left after the seventh and in the eighth we were treated to another bullpen cockup. De La Rosa retired Rob James and Mac Woods before walking left-handed pinch-hitter Darren Allison. The Stars sent their next left-hander, Jean-Claude Monnier, whom Salcido was sent against and whom he walked on four pitches. Next was Daniel Miller against Dan Franklin, and walked him. George Waller then singled in the winning run for the Stars. 4-3 Stars. Kinnear 2-3, BB, 3B, 2 RBI;

Bloody collection of dumb nuts …

Stephen Buell had sat his 10-game suspension now. Meanwhile, Jose Ramos was unavailable with a bout of migraine…

Game 2
DAL: 3B Robertson – CF D. Rodriguez – 1B Woods – RF Allison – C James – LF Monnier – 2B Waller – SS C. Boyle – P Donaldson
POR: 2B Brewer – RF Buell – LF Kinnear – 1B Wedemeyer – 3B Crowe – SS Salazar – C Vinson – CF Lacombe – P Wade

The Stars weren’t even close to hurting Scott Wade the first three innings and he struck out four. Then, in the top 4th, something suddenly was switched, he walked Allison and James, and instantly Monnier hit a double over Lacombe and we were down 2-0. As bitter facts would have it, Wade would only surrender one more hit in the game, a solo homer to Chris Boyle, while pitching seven, but sometimes three hits and three runs, and while the Raccoons had double those hits through seven, they only cobbled one run together, and continued their godforsaken sucking ways. Iván Costa came into the game in the eighth inning, issued walks for free and was loaded with four runs. And that was the story of this game. 7-3 Stars. Brewer 2-5, 2B; Wedemeyer 2-4, 2 RBI; Salazar 2-4, 2B;

Next, Iván Costa was told to break his 15.00 ERA in half, and then take one half and shove it down his throat, and shove the other half up his colon, and not dare to come anywhere close to a Raccoons facility until both halves would have met again in his filthy, rotten stomach.

Nobody was called up for the moment, as Mike Crowe stayed for another day or two. We added Neil Reece off the DL. With Ramos ill and ailing, we only had six men in the bullpen for game 3.

Game 3
DAL: 2B Cardona – RF D. Rodriguez – C James – 1B Woods – CF MacDonald – 3B Robertson – LF D. Franklin – SS Waller – P J. Montgomery
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kinnear – RF Crockett – C Vinson – SS Guerin – P Donis

The game was tied 1-1 through four, with the Stars’ run driven in by Montgomery, who would face Donis three times in the game and reached base three times with two singles and a walk. Donis had another awful outing, failing to retire anybody in the fifth inning, where the Stars went on to score four runs, and that was after Neil Reece threw out Robertson at home plate. Another game was out of the window. Miller inherited two runners from Donis, walked the bags full and only got out of that hole due to a strong play by Guerin. The Stars would just casually add to that 5-1 lead whenever they saw fit. A throwing error by Vinson was a contributing factor in Miller surrendering two unearned runs in the seventh inning, and Santana, useless against left-handers AND right-handers was ravaged for three runs in the ninth. Judd Montgomery tossed a complete game on six hits allowed. 10-2 Stars. O’Morrissey 2-4; Wedemeyer 2-3, BB; Ban 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K;

Raccoons (11-23) vs. Crusaders (20-14) – May 16-18, 1997
What exactly the Crusaders were looking for at the top of the division was anybody’s guess. Their run differential of -3 however suggested that their appearance there was fraudulent and that they had no place in the upper half of the division. Their offense was weak (10th in CL), but you know who their opponents are, so them coming out 23-14 here was the most likely outcome.

Projected matchups:
Jose Rivera (2-3, 3.46 ERA) vs. David Ramirez (0-4, 6.28 ERA)
Kisho Saito (2-2, 1.82 ERA) vs. Dan Barnes (2-2, 5.54 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (2-2, 3.44 ERA) vs. Anibal Sandoval (6-2, 4.37 ERA)

Game 1
NYC: 3B Rigg – 2B Wilson – LF P. Jenkins – C Melendez – CF Latham – RF C. Clark – 1B Delgado – SS J. Vega – P D. Ramirez
POR: 2B Brewer – 1B O’Morrissey – CF Reece – RF Buell – 3B Crowe – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – SS Guerin – P J. Rivera

This game was over quickly, with the Crusaders stuffing Rivera for three runs in the second inning. Their own offensive ineptitudes prevented them from cashing in more runs in the fourth inning when O’Morrissey threw away a bunt by Ramirez and the Crusaders got two on with one out. Stephen Buell hit a solo home run in the bottom 2nd, 3-1, and the Raccoons loaded the bags in the bottom 4th. With two out, Guerin lined into deep right – caught by Clement Clark. Brought out the Crusaders for the fifth, Ruben Melendez hit a 2-run homer off Rivera, so instead of tying it, we fell four behind, and as things were with this assortment of losers, they’d lose. De La Rosa gave up a run in the sixth. Larry Wilson hit a 3-run homer off Ramos in the seventh. 9-2 Crusaders. Crowe 2-2, 2 BB, 2B; Kinnear 3-4; Crockett (PH) 1-1; Santana 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Mike Crowe returned to AAA after this game, and we brought up right-handed reliever Manuel Díaz, 24, our 1994 sixth round pick. Chances were not too bad that he would be next guy tarred and feathered.

Game 2
NYC: SS Rigg – 2B Wilson – RF A. Johnson – C Melendez – CF Diéguez – LF Latham – 1B J. Vega – 3B Delgado – P Barnes
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Buell – LF Kinnear – SS Ingall – C Kondo – P Saito

Ed Rigg’s leadoff double led to a run in the top 1st, but Neil Reece countered with his first hit off the disabled list, which turned out to be a 2-run home run. The Crusaders cobbled the tying run together in the third, and all came crashing down for Saito in the fifth, with two walks to start the inning and then every ball fell in, including a bases-clearing triple by Ruben Melendez. Saito was ravaged and torn, loaded with six runs, and the runner he left on was graciously allowed to score by Ramos. Melendez killed Raccoons pitching single-handedly. After going 3-3 with 5 RBI off Saito, he hit a 2-run bomb off Ramos in the sixth. That Wedemeyer and Buell had driven in three runs with back-to-back doubles in the bottom 5th was entirely irrelevant for the course of this game. Another game ****ed up. Another pitcher ****ed up. 9-5 Crusaders. O’Morrissey 2-4, BB, 2B; Reece 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Wedemeyer 2-5, 2B, RBI; Kinnear 2-5, 2B; Salazar 1-1; Díaz 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

We have to lose another one to get this obviously way overestimated New York team out of our rundown back lot.

Game 3
NYC: SS Rigg – 2B Wilson – RF A. Johnson – LF P. Jenkins – C Melendez – 1B T. Mullins – CF Diéguez – 3B J. Vega – P Sandoval
POR: 2B Brewer – 3B O’Morrissey – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – RF Buell – LF Kinnear – C Vinson – SS Salazar – P M. Lopez

The Crusaders got a run off Lopez with three batters reaching with two out in the third inning, and two more in the sixth, including an Avery Johnson home run. Brewer had left a pair in scoring position in the bottom 5th, and when Kinnear found a pair in scoring position with one out in the bottom 6th he only managed to ground out and we only scored one run. Somehow, the Crusaders did not extend their lead against Lopez, who went eight, or Miller in the ninth, and Dane Sanders came out to close a 3-1 lead. Wedemeyer flew out, but Buell walked. Ingall batted for Kinnear, and got Buell forced out. That left .207 Vinson to lose it for good, but he walked, and Crockett batted for Salazar. And he flew out. 3-1 Crusaders. Lopez 8.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, L (2-3);

In other news

May 5 – The Buffaloes’ Carlos Ramos (.373, 1 HR, 19 RBI) manages to extend his hitting streak to 30 games. He has one single in a 7-3 win over the Miners.
May 5 – SFW OF Ramón Castenada (.326, 0 HR, 6 RBI) will miss four months with a concussion.
May 7 – SAC SP Steve Rogers (1-2, 6.75 ERA), a strong keystone to the Scorpions’ rotation the last few years, is out for the season. The 24-year old has suffered a torn flexor tendon.
May 8 – Carlos Ramos has his hitting streak end at 31 games with an 0-3 day, while the rest of his team defeats the Miners, 3-0.
May 11 – DAL 1B/LF/3B Cesar Gonzalez (.316, 7 HR, 18 RBI) is out for a month with a quad strain.
May 16 – History is made in the Capitals’ 7-6 win over the Cyclones: WAS OF/1B Jeffery Brown (.320, 3 HR, 25 RBI) logs two hits, including a fifth inning single off the Cyclones’ Vicente Perez. That hit was the 3,000th base hit of Jeffery Brown’s 16-year career. Brown, the 10th overall pick in the 1979 draft, has spent his whole career with the Capitals, amassing 233 HR and 1,283 RBI and a slash line of .330/.398/.473.
May 16 – RIC INF Jack Burbidge (.229, 1 HR, 14 RBI) has suffered a strained oblique and will miss about three weeks.
May 17 – DEN LF/RF Chih-tui Jin (.330, 5 HR, 20 RBI) should miss three to four months with a broken hand.
May 17 – The Gold Sox trade RF Salvador Vargas (.328, 0 HR, 15 RBI) to the Falcons for C Antonio Escobedo (.211, 1 HR, 14 RBI).
May 17 – NAS SP Javier Cruz (4-1, 2.75 ERA) spins a 2-hitter in a 3-0 win of the Blue Sox over the Buffaloes.

Complaints and stuff

After O’Morrissey was out of the lineup for one game during that Stars series, he immediately left me a note that basically stated that he was the alpha dog around here and was to play every day. Well. Yo, listen, bitch. You play when I state so, and whenever I don’t state so, you don’t play. Now quit your whining and get your average over .260, else I will explore my opportunities to trade you to Georgia. No, not Atlanta. The Georgia that is closer to Turkey and Azerbaijan. So, stop being such a princess, get your fricking cleats on, and shut the heck up!

It may be an understatement to say that I wished this season was over.

Why can’t it just be over …