[Westheim]

Raccoons (60-70) @ Aces (53-77) – August 31-September 2, 1998

There was no hope for the Aces to have a decent finish to their season, despite them being not particularly bad in any one area.

Projected matchups:
Manuel Movonda (9-11, 2.94 ERA) vs. Carlos Guillén (2-2, 5.00 ERA)
Randy Farley (11-5, 2.93 ERA) vs. Ruben Prado (0-0)
Miguel Lopez (8-12, 4.12 ERA) vs. Jou Hara (9-12, 4.54 ERA)

The first two Aces starters combined for 73 years of age, but they had missed most of the season to injuries. There was certainly experience there on the mound, but how would they fare against the anemic Raccoons offense?

Game 1
POR: 3B Crowe – SS Guerin – CF Reece – C Turner – RF Brady – 2B McLaughlin – LF Newton – 1B Castillo – P Movonda
LVA: C Manuel – LF Erickson – RF Mashiba – 3B J. Vargas – 2B J. Zamora – 1B Granados – CF R. Green – SS Moreno – P Guillén

Humiliation had many different faces, as the Raccoons got to learn once more in the series opener. While the Coons took a 2-1 lead in the early innings when Ricardo Castillo’s homer counted for two, and Javier Vargas’ only for one run, eventually something had to happen to Movonda, who struck out eight, but ran into ex-Suckoon Sixto Moreno and his 2-run homer in the fifth inning, which flipped the score to 3-2 Aces. Luke Newton tied the contest with a home run of his own, but Movonda walked Mauro Granados in the bottom 7th and was running out of juice. In this world of wonders, Antonio Donis collected two outs without hanging Movonda onto a permanent hook. Clyde Brady drew a 2-out walk with the bases loaded in the top 8th, pushing in the go-ahead run, but De La Rosa blew the game in the bottom 8th, allowing three hits, including two doubles, and two runs in the blink of an eye. The Coons would have the go-ahead runs on base in the ninth, but – as usual – failed. 5-4 Aces. Newton 2-4, HR, RBI; Castillo 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

Chris Parker came into the game as pinch-hitter, and stayed in left, but not for long, twisting his ankle on a difficult catch. He will be out for a week.

And with that, it’s September 1. Marvin Ingall comes back from his “rehab”, while we also added pitchers Day Grandridge (reluctantly) and Bob Joly, catcher Ron McDonald, infielders Mark Kowalchuk and Samy Michel, and outfielder Jason Kent. This fills the 40-man roster.

Bob Joly is going to make his debut in the rotation on the weekend. He’s a 22-year old right-hander with a changeup and curve, who went 11-7 with a 3.35 ERA in AAA this year. He was the second piece we got from the Warriors in the Gabriel Rodriguez trade. The other was of course Werner Turner.

Game 2
POR: 2B Ingall – RF Brady – CF Reece – C Turner – 3B Crowe – SS Guerin – 1B Wedemeyer – LF Kent – P Farley
LVA: 1B F. Encarnación – C Manuel – RF Mashiba – CF J. Vargas – 3B Moore – 2B Granados – LF R. Green – SS Lammond – P Prado

Neither pitcher made a good impression, as both surrendered four runs in three innings, and the Coons added a fair share of runners left on. The Raccoons also surrendered their centerfielder, as Neil Reece left the game after a tumbling catch, where his head hit the ground. Up 5-4 in the bottom 5th, the bottom fell out of Farley’s barrel for good, as he walked Mashiba and Vargas to start the inning, and then allowed a single to call-up Steve Moore. Tamburrino was thrown into the lion’s den, and two minutes later came back with the heads of Granados (sac fly) and Green (double play). Royce would ground into another double play his next time up, then saving Iván Costa from being eaten by beasts. The Raccoons took the lead with a 2-out RBI bloop single with the bags full, hit by Guerin against Qi-zhen Geng. Daniel Miller held the fort in the eighth, but Wade put the first two men on base in the ninth and succumbed to a 2-out RBI single by that friggin’ Steve Moore eventually. Wade took the loss in the 10th with another two singles allowed. In between, Samy Michel dropped an easy pop up to ensure further humiliation for the Suckoons. 7-6 Aces. Ingall 2-4, BB, 2B; Reece 1-2, 2 RBI; Turner 4-5, BB, RBI; Guerin 3-3, BB, RBI; Tamburrino 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Wade keeps losing games, and blowing leads. That is not exactly to my liking.

But then, who doesn’t fail spectacularly on this team of born losers?

To make things even worse (there’s always a way for things to get so much worse here), Neil Reece was diagnosed with concussion-like syndromes and would be checked further over the next few days, and of course wouldn’t play, listed as DTD.

Game 3
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – LF Brady – C Turner – 3B Crowe – CF Newton – 1B Michel – RF Villegas – P M. Lopez
LVA: RF Ghiberti – 1B Erickson – 3B J. Vargas – CF R. Green – LF Hartley – C Manuel – 2B Waller – SS Heart – P Hara

The Raccoons scratching out a run in the top of the first inning turned out entirely meaningless once Miguel Lopez took the mound and surrendered four hits to the first four batters, including three doubles. Jou Hara struck them out in droves early in the game (and eight in total), but also issued a few walks, which ended up costing him in the fourth, when Concie hit a game-tying 2-run double. The Raccoons would even take a lead briefly in the sixth, but Iván Costa was instantly drubbed with a Jimmy Erickson leadoff double in the seventh inning, and Erickson was brought in to score. We went to extras again once De La Rosa narrowly avoided walking the Aces around the horns, where Ingall got on, and Guerin came through with a triple to break the 4-4 tie. So, Guerin was on third base with no outs – and wasn’t scored. Turner and Newton popped out, sandwiching Mike Crowe, who whiffed enough to receive a golden sombrero in this game. Scott Wade for a welcome change chose not to nuke the game intentionally and got the Aces in the bottom 10th, 1-2-3. 5-4 Raccoons. Ingall 3-6; Guerin 3-4, 2 BB, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Turner 3-5, 2 RBI; Newton 2-5, BB, 2B; Michel 2-5;

Raccoons (61-72) vs. Canadiens (61-71) – September 4-6, 1998

In our inevitable rock-like fall into oblivion and the bottom of the division, the Canadiens and their super-inept pitching staff had just passed us in the standings as we had made a mockery of the game of baseball and nature in general in Las Vegas.

Projected matchups:
Bob Joly (0-0) vs. Jose Marquez (11-13, 4.34 ERA)
Jose Rivera (12-7, 2.46 ERA) vs. John Collins (7-16, 5.04 ERA)
Kisho Saito (5-11, 2.91 ERA) vs. Joe Hollow (1-0, 2.25 ERA)

Game 1
VAN: 3B Sutton – 2B Corona – RF H. Givens – CF Ledesma – 1B Valenzuela – C J. Lopez – LF Moore – SS Duarte – P Marquez
POR: 3B Crowe – SS Guerin – RF Brady – C Turner – LF Utting – 2B McLaughlin – CF Newton – 1B Kowalchuk – P Joly

In the eighth, the Raccoons loaded the bags with an Ingall single and two walks, nobody out, and didn’t score. Fortunately for Bob Joly in his debut, this was not how the whole day went by. The Coons socked Marquez early for three in the first and another run in the second, and Joly was in cruise mode from the start. Apart from a solo job by Jorge Lopez, the Canadiens failed to mount anything against the Joly, and once he left after eight innings, the Raccoons were up 6-1. Kelly Fairchild pitched around a 1-out triple by Henry Givens in the ninth to deliver a scoreless frame. 6-1 Raccoons. Guerin 4-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Brady 2-5, RBI; McLaughlin 2-4, 2 RBI; Kowalchuk 1-2, BB; Ingall (PH) 1-1; Joly 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (1-0);

So, after dropping behind the Canadiens on Wednesday, we pulled right past them by half a game. This was also our 200th win against the Elks all time, although they are closing in on dumping us for the 200th time at rapid speed.

Game 2
VAN: 2B B. Butler – 3B Sutton – RF H. Givens – CF Ledesma – 1B Valenzuela – C J. Lopez – LF Moreno – SS Duarte – P J. Collins
POR: 2B Ingall – LF Brady – 1B Michel – C Turner – 3B Crowe – CF Newton – SS Caddock – RF Villegas – P Rivera

Offense was over already in the next game. In addition to that, Rivera was not sharp and was knocked out in the fifth inning, having allowed eight hits and three walks. He was 3-1 behind when replaced by Tamburrino, who got Juan Moreno to ground to Crowe – who dropped the ball. Bases loaded, Tamburrino walked Angelo Duarte before getting the pitcher. At 4-1, the game seemed pretty much over. The Coons had left two on in the fourth, and Crowe left Turner and Brady in scoring position by striking out to end the fifth. Two more were left on in the sixth, and another runner in the seventh. The Canadiens stayed put, too. Then, bottom 8th. Newton doubled to start the inning, and then Caddock and Villegas both hit singles. That brought the Coons within two, with the tying runs on and nobody out. Kowalchuk had entered in a double switch and was up to bat, but gingerly flew out to left. Ingall also flew out, and Brady was retired on a soft liner to Duarte. These Suckoons. The Raccoons even loaded the bags in the ninth inning. And left them loaded, when Villegas grounded out. 4-2 Canadiens. Turner 2-5, 2 2B, RBI; Newton 3-5, 2B; Caddock 2-4; Villegas 2-5, RBI; Utting (PH) 1-1; Grandridge 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Out-hit the Elks 14-8, yet left 16 men on base. Stupid collection of brain-damaged roadkill on this roster, I can tell you.

Neil Reece was cleared to play again on Sunday. But … next it’s Saito, so you know who’ll be fourth once everybody goes to sleep on Sunday.

Game 3
VAN: 3B B. Butler – LF Hudson – RF H. Givens – CF Ledesma – 1B Valenzuela – C J. Lopez – SS Pyatt – 2B Darke – P Hollow
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – CF Reece – C Turner – 3B Crowe – RF Brady – LF Utting – 1B Michel – P Saito

Saito lost the game in due time, two runs in the second inning on three singles. The Raccoons didn’t even get on base until Ingall hit a bloop leading off the fourth. Ledesma tried to catch it, but missed it completely, giving Ingall a double. Not that the Suckoons ever moved him somewhere else. Bottom 5th, down 2-0, Crowe walked against Hollow to start the inning. Hollow, whose career ERA in limited action was over six, then threw a wild pitch, and the Coons again never moved Crowe somewhere else. While Saito was quietly milling about in the top halves of innings, the Raccoons continued to be an embarrassment to the Willamette Institute for the Limbless and the Blind’s school team. Bottom 7th, Crowe hit a 1-out double, and McLaughlin hit for the useless Utting. He singled to left and we ACTUALLY had a man on third base NO LATER than with eight outs to spare. Michel then hit into a double play. A grounder through McLaughlin and two more singles skinned Saito for good in the eighth, not that it changed anything. Bottom 9th, 3-0 down, Enrico Gonzalez pitching. Turner got on to start it. With one out, Brady singled, moving Turner to third. McLaughlin made the second out, before Caddock hit for Kent and singled, plating Turner. Newton hit for Scott Wade, and also singled, plating Brady. Ingall came up with Caddock on second as the tying run, and Newton on first as the winning run. An Ingall single to take Saito off the hook here, and Ingall – walked, giving responsibility to Guerin, who was 0-4 on the day, but the bench was full of automatic K’s like Wedemeyer. So Guerin batted for the fifth time in the game. And grounded out to Randy Darke. 3-2 Canadiens. Ingall 2-4, BB, 2B; Brady 2-4, 2B; Caddock (PH) 1-1, RBI; Newton (PH) 1-1, RBI; Saito 7.1 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, L (5-12);

****ing **** team.

In other news

August 31 – Salem’s Roberto Quintero (.329, 8 HR, 60 RBI) extends his hitting streak to 25 games with a late single in a 5-4 win over the Capitals.
September 3 – WAS C Alejandro Moreno (.274, 3 HR, 54 RBI) is out for the year with a broken elbow, and could well miss time beyond Opening Day in 1999.
August 5 – Roberto Quintero is getting up there. Batting .332, with 8 HR and 62 RBI, the 25-year old Wolf collects an RBI single in a 7-4 loss to the Scorpions, extending his hitting streak to 30 games.

Complaints and stuff

Saito by now wishes he never signed that new contract. Saito, last five games: 35.1 IP, 38 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 6 BB, 24 K, for a 2.80 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Doesn’t sound bad, right? Yeah, but nine runs of support and a 0-3 record do. Last 14 games: 101.2 IP, 100 H, 41 R, 37 ER, 20 BB, 65 K, for a 3.27 ERA and 1.18 WHIP … with a 2-6 record. He is STILL FROZEN IN PLACE with 231 wins! GODDAMN SUCKER BUNCH!!!!

Can anybody actually feel my pain with my favorite pitcher on the team being tortured like that??

(breathes into a paper bag for a minute)

I won’t lie to you, it is no fun at this point. They suck too badly. Being poo is one thing. Being THIS poo is … poo.

The only category our batters are not in the bottom half for the CL, are stolen bases(!!!), and that is not exactly a *batting* skill. If you remember, a few years back we were top 5 or so in everything BUT stolen bases. They are 6th in pilfered plates, 7th in homers, 8th in K’s, 9th in hits, and in the bottom 2 in every other category.

And Saito has been here for so long, I WANT HIM TO GET THAT 250TH WIN!! However, it seems like even with two more years, he will never get there. He will end up losing 200 though. Only 22 left to go THERE.

And … as we slowly head for the good news section … most ironically, Conceicao Guerin, who left Saito impaled on the stick the Elks were holding to roast him over the fire, was named CL Batter of the Week, batting .500 (11-22) with 4 RBI.

Yeah, c’mon, more of those sick jokes!

That was quite a debut for young Joly. We are still looking for an idea of composing our rotation next year. Should I make an offer to Movonda? He will probably look for a retirement deal. It seems like Rivera can hold his own on the major league level and Randyboy had a magnificent rookie season. Kisho is signed, too, as is Miguel Lopez. So there is really only one opening for next year. Will it be the Colombian Beauty’s?

Does it really matter? Let’s face it. 3.6 R/G ain’t gonna cut it. At the speed this team is going at, we will quabble with the atrociously bad Indians for last place sooner rather than later. Still four weeks left, y’know? We need offense first.

The Aces’ Javier Vargas, who primarily mans the corner infield spots, has no contract past this season. He will be 29 next year, and has batted for an .840 OPS each of the last four seasons. Needless to say whom between Crowe and Wedemeyer he’d replace. I am having my eye on him. We will have plenty of flush to add at least one high caliber free agent (most likely one, two won’t fit the budget, which might not get much bigger, rather smaller). Of course this calculation assumes Movonda does not re-sign.

So it’s offense or Movonda.

I know what Kisho’d be pickin’.