[Westheim]

While I would really love to grasp why every season in Portland is beginning in the most horrible way one can imagine (like, being 3-hit on Opening Day, lose 1-0, PLUS lose Neil Reece) … well … I would really love to grasp why …

That bein’ said, here’s that .300-some team you can’t stop watching.

Raccoons (5-13) @ Falcons (8-11) – April 24-26, 2000

The Falcons had suffered extraordinarily from an explosive pitching staff through the first three weeks of the season, surrendering 96 runs in 19 games, a mark that sat second-worst in the CL. Their offense was average at best.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (1-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Terry Wilson (3-1, 3.60 ERA)
Scott Wade (1-2, 5.63 ERA) vs. Manuel Hernandez (1-2, 6.38 ERA)
Randy Farley (2-2, 2.74 ERA) vs. Troy Watson (0-2, 7.31 ERA)

Game 1
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – LF Richardson – 3B Gonzalez – C Mata – RF Brady – 1B Michel – CF Taramillo – P Ford
CHA: 2B H. Green – 1B J. Jackson – RF Lugo – SS M. Hall – LF Morton – 3B M. Munoz jr. – C McDaniel – CF A. Rodriguez – P Wilson

Ingall single, Guerin triple, and Wilson was adrift, surrendering three runs in the top 1st. While Guerin hit another triple, tying the franchise record with a pair in a game, Ralph Ford had his own struggles, liking walking three batters in the bottom 2nd. However, since Mark Hall got thrown out stealing after drawing the leadoff walk, the Falcons failed to score. That changed in the third. Ford was still horribly inaccurate and after giving up a sac fly to Jose Lugo, he also allowed a 3-run double to Munoz and the Falcons took a 4-3 lead. Samy Michel would take a soon-departing Ford off the hook with a game-tying leadoff jack off Terry Wilson in the top 6th, and we started back at square one. The Coons then had to dodge a bullet in the bottom 6th as a throwing error by Marvin Ingall put the go-ahead run on second base for the Falcons in form of Wilson – but the pitcher unwisely got himself thrown out trying to make it to third. Top 8th, the Coons got Mata and Brady into scoring position with one out. Taramillo, 0-3, was replaced by Fifield to counter southpaw Leonard Williamson on the mound. Fifield sent an exceptionally poor grounder to third base, which was sure to keep the game tied – unless Manny Munoz jr. threw it away. Jackson was nowhere near the throw, which itself was nowhere near first base, and vanished in the stands, as the Coons were awarded two runs. Orlando Blanco sure-handed put the tying runs on base to lead off the bottom 8th then. Miller came in, did nothing to defuse the situation, and the Falcons danced to their clubhouse as winners after a Hubert Green grand slam, and the following Tom Brooks 1-2-3 ninth. 8-6 Falcons. Ingall 2-5; Guerin 3-5, 2 3B, 2B, RBI; Mata 2-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Michel 2-4, HR, RBI; Meeks 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

How they are finding ways to ruin EVERYTHING, really EVERYTHING – is utmost miraculous!

The sorry remains of our assumed battery, Richardson and Gonzalez, went a combined 0-9 again, with a .100 OBP clip – Richardson was drilled by Wilson once.

Every five years, a Raccoon hits a pair of triples in a game. Guerin did it for the first time, and the feat had been achieved in 1990 and 1995 before, both times by Neil Reece. More on strange franchise records in the complaints section.

Also, with the Aces idle, and the Capitals overcoming five singles by Denver’s Zak Davidson to win 7-5, the Raccoons dropped to the worst record in the ABL.

Why don’t we hit game-winning grand slams anymore?

Game 2
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – C Mata – 1B Michel – 3B Andresen – LF Parker – CF Newton – P Wade
CHA: 2B H. Green – RF Mashiba – CF Lugo – SS M. Hall – LF Morton – 1B J. Jackson – 3B Fugosi – C M. Castillo – P M. Hernandez

Guerin got on, was thrown out stealing. When Newton got on, Wade popped up a bunt. Mata hit a single, but never got past first base. That was already half a game’s worth of Raccoons offensive action, which frankly, was offending any decent Raccoons fans. Wade was wild once more, and despite not giving up actual hits through four, he was still 1-0 behind after three walks and a sac fly in the bottom 4th. Wade followed to bat after Newton’s 2-out triple in the fifth, but lined out softly to Joe Jackson. Miguel Castillo ended an unlikely no-hit bid with an infield single – not blaming Guerin, who almost knotted himself up undeknottably in an attempt to keep the ball in the infield. Guerin was thrown out once more, and that was it for the Raccoons’ offensive efforts, as they let the most marginal of pitchers in Miguel Hernandez pitch a 5-hit shutout. 2-0 Falcons. Newton 2-3, 3B; Wade 8.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, L (1-3);

The indignity.

Game 3
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Michel – C Mata – LF Richardson – CF Newton – 3B Caddock – P Farley
CHA: 2B H. Green – RF Mashiba – CF Lugo – SS M. Hall – LF Morton – 3B M. Munoz jr. – 1B Fugosi – C M. Castillo – P Watson

Steve Caddock made himself a valuable alternative to Cesar Gonzalez in this game, first tying the score with an RBI double in the top 2nd, and then by ejecting Troy Watson the next inning, when he hit a 3-run homer to shoot the score to 6-1. That wasn’t all in the inning, as Brady drove in two more, but stumbled turning first base and fell flat on his face after a prolonged struggle against gravity. Barely managing to drag himself to second base, Brady was out of the game, which by now was 8-1 Coons. Like anybody else on the staff, Farley struggled with control. He issued three walks in the first four innings, but ultimately was able to remember how to through a pitch into the zone, and was able to go deep into the game. In the eighth then, TWO errors by Caddock managed to knock out Farley in a very decent effort. Schaefer replaced Farley, but only surrendered an RBI double to Mark Hall. Collins faced Morton, gave up an RBI single. Then, Donis came out in the vain hope to collect five outs. After a poor grounder by Munoz that kept the runners pinned, Donis struck out Fugosi to quell the uprising. In the ninth, the Falcons didn’t even reach base. 8-4 Raccoons. Ingall 3-6, 2B; Guerin 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; Brady 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Michel 2-5; Richardson 2-5; Caddock 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Farley 7.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (3-2); Donis 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (5);

Caddock. Why is he here? For the glove?

We had another off day after this game, which gave Miguel Lopez, who threw a bullpen session during the late innings without big problems, to come back in time for the opener back at home against the Loggers. Whether that would be good thing, we’d have to find out.

Clyde Brady in the meantime had banged his wrist in the third inning, but had only bruised it. He was listed as day-to-day.

Raccoons (6-15) vs. Loggers (15-6) – April 28-30, 2000

Is it worth the breath to explain why the Loggers will dump us to .250? While their starters had been struggling a bit so far (at least everybody not named Garcia), their bullpen had scarcely allowed any runs to score. Overall they were 5th in runs allowed, but their offense had stomped the league to the tune of 4.8 runs per game and that ranked tops in the Continental League.

Projected matchups:
Miguel Lopez (0-3, 5.89 ERA) vs. Roberto Herrera (2-2, 4.55 ERA)
Jose Rivera (0-3, 4.98 ERA) vs. Rafael Garcia (0-0)
Ralph Ford (1-1, 5.09 ERA) vs. Martin Garcia (5-0, 1.18 ERA)

Game 1
MIL: RF C. Ramirez – SS B. Hernandez – LF Hiwalani – 1B J. Cruz – 2B Morales – CF Fletcher – C L. Ramirez – 3B J. Perez – P Herrera
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – LF Richardson – 3B Gonzalez – 1B Michel – RF Newton – C Mata – CF Taramillo – P Lopez

Miguel Lopez was basically sunk by Bakile Hiwalani alone. The black-hatted malice struck him for three RBI by the fifth, which was the difference in a 4-1 game. Lopez was removed with a man on first and two down in the top 6th. Schaefer almost managed to have the run score, loading the bags with a single and a walk to Jose Perez, before Herrera made a groundout to Ingall. The Raccoons somehow carved out two runs against a tiring Herrera in the seventh, with Nuno Andresen delivering a pinch-hit RBI single for his first run driven in as a Coon. But they still trailed by one. Miller managed a scoreless eighth, but when Collins entered into the ninth, facing two left-handed batters to get started, the bases were loaded with Loggers in no time. Jorge Cruz sealed the deal with a grand slam off Elliott Meeks, who managed to load the bags AGAIN after that, issuing two more walks (in addition to the pair Collins had given to charity), and the Loggers didn’t turn it into a total rout solely for Román Reyes’ soft pop to Richardson that ended the inning. 8-3 Loggers. Andresen (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Game 2
MIL: SS B. Hernandez – CF Fletcher – RF C. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – 2B Morales – 1B Baker – C M. Vela – 3B J. Perez – P R. Garcia
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Michel – C Mata – LF Richardson – 3B Gonzalez – CF Newton – P Rivera

Our battery had a first inning for the ages, as Rivera issued three walks, a balk, and Mata contributed a passed ball to give the Loggers a leisurely achieved 2-0 lead. Although the Raccoons had no problems to hit the 37-year old Garcia, they also had no problems hitting into rally-killing double plays in both the second and third innings. Rivera was removed when he started hitting batters, with two on and one out in the top 6th of a game that was then actually tied 3-3 after Gonzalez had singled home the tying run in the bottom 4th. Elliott Meeks took over, allowed an RBI single to Miguel Vela, an RBI double to Jose Perez, and another two runs later, Blanco came in to face Cristo Ramirez. The Logger’s grounder was lost in translation by Michel, the bases were loaded, and Blanco would issue two walks before Baker flew out to Brady. Fairchild entered for the seventh, walked Vela, hit Perez, walked Reyes, and I took my eyes off as a Loggers-branded coal train crushed right through the middle of a Raccoons logo-bearing orphanage somewhere in a forgotten corner of the desert of deceased dreams. 11-6 Loggers. Guerin 2-4, BB, RBI; Mata 3-5; Richardson 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 3-5, HR, 2 RBI;

Raccoons pitching walked ten and struck out four in this game. For the week they have walked 31 and struck out 25, with only Farley’s game tilting the score slightly in favor of the strikeouts. It’s impossible to work with this corps of catastrophes.

With Martin Garcia starting the Sunday game, we’re 0-5 against the Loggers on the year.

Game 3
MIL: RF C. Ramirez – SS B. Hernandez – LF Hiwalani – 1B J. Cruz – 2B Morales – CF Fletcher – C L. Ramirez – 3B J. Perez – P M. Garcia
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – LF Richardson – 1B Gonzalez – C Mata – RF Brady – 3B Andresen – CF Newton – P Ford

Ford was mainly fighting for his ERA here, since a drop to 1-2 was inevitable for him unless he managed to shut out the coal train. He walked Cristo Ramirez to start the game, and the Loggers appeared to go from there, but left two on without scoring in the first. But then something strange happened. Richardson on first with two gone in the bottom 1st, Gonzalez slapped a grounder in front of home plate in an effort of basic bat-meets-ball technique. Leon Ramirez jumped out and threw wildly over Cruz at first, putting two Raccoons in scoring position. Mata slapped a single to left, Gonzalez was waved home in some frantic scoring frenzy – you know, with a Triple Crowner on base it’s urgent – and was barely safe before Hiwalani’s throw home. Mata went to second, and HE was sent when Brady slapped a single up the middle, and HE beat Fletcher’s throw! The Patheticoons had just put three unearned runs on Triple Crown winner Martin Garcia, and now sent the rookie back to the mound. The rookie struggled badly with control, even hit Jerry Fletcher in the fourth, but the Loggers couldn’t cross the plate. Meanwhile the Coons loaded the bags in the fifth but didn’t score when Newton hobbled out to Hernandez. Ford had quick fifth and sixth innings making up for extended ball-throwing earlier. In the seventh, Leon Ramirez singled with one out. Then Perez bunted, which meant that the Loggers were taking out Garcia. Mark Smith flew out to shallow center, and the Loggers remained shut out through seven. Cristo Ramirez’ leadoff single in the top 8th put new pressure on Ford, who was closing in on 120 pitches and was being relieved. However, three of our right-handed options had been used extensively the last two days, leaving either Schaefer, the dork, or going to Donis directly. No, let Schaefer pitch for his job here. Two groundouts moved Ramirez to third, and then Cruz singled up the middle to plate the run: Schaefer had successfully soiled Ford’s line. Fifield delivered a pinch-hit single in the bottom 8th to plate Newton against lefty Bubba Cannon that put the just lost run back onto the board, giving Donis a full 3-run lead in the ninth and now we were actually confident. After Fletcher grounded out, Leon Ramirez singled to right, and Perez took Donis behind the moon with a towering home run.

And where’s your ****ing confidence now? Say! Where is it!?

Not having any alternatives at this point, Donis was left in to surrender Miguel Vela on a grounder, then faced Cristo Ramirez. The park was rocking after the Vela groundout and when Ramirez put the ball in play, and it grounded harmlessly to Guerin’s waiting glove, the party was on. 4-3 Raccoons. Brady 3-3, BB, RBI; Fifield (PH) 1-1, RBI; Ford 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (2-1)

And yet, we have still not won a series all year long.

Raccoons (7-17) vs. Canadiens (12-12) – May 1-3, 2000

Facing everybody’s favorite team was the harder the more terrible the Raccoons were. Could we stand the humiliation of losing to the Canadiens as well? Well, the fans gotta get used to it. Lots o’ more losing to come this season.

The Canadiens were really run of the mill, ranking in the middle of the CL in runs scored and runs allowed, with a -4 run differential.

Projected matchups:
Scott Wade (1-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. Daniel Dickerson (1-2, 4.10 ERA)
Randy Farley (3-2, 2.37 ERA) vs. Paul Kirkland (0-1, 9.53 ERA)
Miguel Lopez (0-4, 6.00 ERA) vs. Jose Dominguez (4-0, 2.10 ERA)

Game 1
VAN: SS A. Simon – LF J. Durán – 1B Valenzuela – CF Ledesma – 2B B. Butler – C J. Lopez – RF J. Maldonado – 3B Sutton – P Dickerson
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 3B Gonzalez – LF Richardson – C Mata – 1B Michel – CF Newton – P Wade

The Coons scored first, an RBI groundout by Gonzalez in the bottom 1st, while Wade allowed only one hit through four innings. What appeared to be a strong Wade-esque control start escalated in spectacular (or in 2000 terms: usual) fashion in the fifth. The Canadiens reeled off five hits off Wade, scoring three times, before Jorge Durán unloaded a 3-run home run to right center. Another game in the dust bin. While the Elks scored runs off Schaefer and Collins (business as usual), the Raccoons made their own pathetic attempts to get back into the game, plating four runs between the fifth and seventh, twice driven in by Cesar Gonzalez. In the bottom 8th, the Elks’ pen began to crumble, and when Arthur Simon made an error on a grounder by Nuno Andresen that could have ended the inning, and Fifield then drew a walk off new reliever Pedro Alvarado, the tying runs were on base with one out. Ingall did what he did best, slapping a Texas Leaguer into no man’s land, plating Michel. Guerin wore out Alvarado to work a walk, and now the tying run was on third in Fifield. Brady WAS looking for a decisive blow, but Alvarado failed to offer anything worth hitting at – and Brady walked. The game was tied, the bases were still full, and Gonzalez came up. And yet, this were the Raccoons. Gonzalez struck out, and Richardson went to 0-5 on the day with a grounder. Blanco pitched a clean ninth, and Mata singled to lead off the bottom 9th. However: our bench had been emptied. Michel and Taramillo had to get this done, because there was nobody to hit for Blanco in the #9 hole. However, Michel struck out, and while Taramillo singled, that didn’t get us any closer to scoring. Blanco was up, and there was a story around the league that he had once bunted a ball square up into his face, breaking his nose in high school. Was it true? Regardless, Blanco was told to swing away – can’t rely on Ingall singles forever. Blanco struck out, Ingall grounded out, and on we played. Blanco struck out the side in the tenth, and in the bottom of the inning, Gonzalez hit a 2-out triple. Richardson flew to deep center, but Maldonado caught the ball. Orlando Blanco pitched FOUR no-hit innings in relief – and in the bottom 12th it was again on Richardson to walk the team off with two out and Guerin on third. Juan Bello was pitching well in his second inning, and Richardson was about to set a new mark of futility on an 0-6 day. He took a strike, then swung and hit a ball to center – and this was gonna dink in! Guerin chugged home. 9-8 Raccoons!! Guerin 2-6, BB, 2 RBI; Brady 2-5, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Gonzalez 3-6, BB, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Michel 2-5, BB, 3B, RBI; Newton 2-2, BB, RBI; Blanco 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, W (1-0);

Oooooooh, Blancooooo!

While Orlando Blanco (whose name by the way presents a sour taste to me after that failed first round pick we once made in Orlando Lantán – it still stings 18 years later) pitched a bear of a game here, it was over for Schaefer and Collins. I was sick of them.

Collins was demoted to St. Petersburg, while Schaefer was out of options and was designated for assignment. As replacements, Dan Nordahl and Juan Diaz were called up. Diaz was our 1996 third round pick and at age 25 it is time to jump into the water and see if you’re gonna swim.

Game 2
VAN: SS A. Simon – LF J. Durán – 1B Valenzuela – CF Ledesma – 2B B. Butler – RF Velasquez – C Clemente – 3B Sutton – P Kirkland
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Gonzalez – LF Richardson – C Mata – 3B Andresen – CF Taramillo – P Farley

Neither team did much through three innings, going down silently to the opposing pitcher. The Raccoons in fact didn’t get a hit until the fourth, a Gonzalez single. Richardson singled as well, and then Mata drummed a long fly to the gap in left center. Nobody got it, it was a double, and two runs were on the board. Mata would be scored by Taramillo, giving Farley a handy 3-0 lead. Mata would come up twice more with two out, two on, but wouldn’t be able to plate anybody. Farley looked unbeatable through five, before he issued a leadoff walk to Durán in the sixth, and the Canadiens chained up three singles while making only one out. The go-ahead run on first with the bags full, relievers were scattering in the bullpen, while Farley would be tasked with one more right-hander in Clemente, who sent a hard grounder to Ingall. Ingall collected it on the run to second, ran over the base, and had enough left in his body to turn and fire to first for the double play – AWESOME!! The park was up and cheering! Farley kept going, batting for himself in the bottom 6th, and hitting an eventually useless double, and pitched in the seventh, and eighth, where an error by Andresen with two out almost spelled doom. Bob Butler’s liner to deep center was caught by Taramillo, however, and the Coons escaped potential devastation. The Raccoons had their first two men on in the bottom 8th, but didn’t score, evoking Donis for the ninth. Velasquez reached on another Andresen error, and then Clemente singled. No outs. Jorge Lopez bunted the runners over, and Shaw and Simon both drove in single runs. Farley’s effort had just gone down the drain. Top 11th, Ingall made an error to put Maldonado on second base with no outs, with Nordahl pitching. The run was on third with two out and Durán up, who had knocked out Wade the day before. While his stroke off Nordahl certainly had the height for another homer, it didn’t have the length, and Taramillo got it to escape. That still didn’t make the Inepticoons score themselves, and Nordahl was back out there for the 12th, offering a leadoff walk to Valenzuela. Doom was approaching fast, until Mata took a 1-1 pitch to Ledesma to first, where Valenzuela had strayed off and Gonzalez nipped him out. Nordahl still couldn’t save himself and loaded the bags with two out for Maldonado. I needed an out here, and I turned to Blanco, who had pitched four innings the day before. Maldonado singled up the middle, and the Raccoons went down. 5-3 Canadiens. Guerin 2-6, 2B; Richardson 2-5, BB; Taramillo 2-3, BB, RBI; Farley 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K;

Did you hear that popping sound? Those were all my hopes.

Farley’s, too.

Good news: Neil Reece is in full workout mode now and we think we can activate him early next week.

Game 3
VAN: C J. Lopez – SS Sutton – 1B Valenzuela – 2B B. Butler – RF Velasquez – CF Ledesma – LF H. Givens – 3B Shaw – P Dominguez
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 3B Gonzalez – LF Richardson – 1B Michel – CF Newton – C Fifield – P Lopez

Richardson’s 2-out RBI single gave the Furballs a 1-0 lead in the first, but it didn’t live past Jose Valenzuela’s solo shot in the fourth. Lopez had been okay through three, but now lost control, allowing a single and walking a pair to load them up. Shaw grounded out shyly to him to end the inning just in time. Lopez came back with a quick fifth though, and then bunted Newton and FIfield into scoring position after their singles in the bottom 5th. Ingall whiffed, but Guerin hit a single to left that dropped a few feet in front of Henry Givens to plate Newton. Brady hit a huge fly to right that eluded Velasquez (who had made two sparkling plays in the game already) and bounced onto the warning track to plate both runners. Gonzalez singled home Brady, 5-1. Gonzalez then misfielded Givens’ grounder in the sixth – which wasn’t scored an error for miraculous reasons – and the Canadiens used the opportunity to claim two runs right back from the Raccoons. Leadoff man Arthur Simon reached on an infield single to be blamed on Ingall in the seventh, and that exited Lopez. Meeks came in, to provide actual relief for a change, while Simon was thrown out stealing third by Fifield. The Raccoons left the bags full themselves in the seventh, and with the way our bullpen was aching, we were facing the outlook of Fairchild pitching a 6-out save or go bust. The Elks got two on before Givens grounded out to Michel to end the eighth, but the middle infield did its job in the ninth, and the Raccoons actually took a series in 2000. 5-3 Furballs. Guerin 2-4, 2B, RBI; Brady 2-3, BB, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Fairchild 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, SV (1);

Back to .333 – yaaaay. On our off day following this arousing series win, the Loggers and Indians played 13 innings in Milwaukee, eventually resolved in favor of the home team with a walkoff single by Cristo Ramirez. This actually lifted the Raccoons into fifth place, as the Indians plunged below them.

Raccoons (9-18) @ Buffaloes (14-14) – May 5-7, 2000

The Buffaloes had won their last five games, despite barely hitting their way out of a paper bag. Their offense ranked 11th in the Federal League, scoring 3.8 runs a game. At least they had the pitching staff to match that pace. Their hurlers ranked fourth in runs allowed, with the rotation even being second in ERA.

Projected matchups:
Jose Rivera (0-4, 5.00 ERA) vs. Dan George (2-2, 2.95 ERA)
Ralph Ford (2-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. Manny Ramos (2-1, 4.36 ERA)
Scott Wade (1-3, 5.59 ERA) vs. Chris York (2-2, 3.29 ERA)

George will be the only left-hander we are going to face this week. York, 22, is described by Vince as the real deal. Also, after the Buffaloes will have stampeded over us, the Warriors are going to pick our sorry remains apart, so we didn’t draw too luckily for the first round of interleague games.

Game 1
POR: SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – RF Brady – 3B Gonzalez – C Mata – CF Newton – 1B Michel – LF Parker – P Rivera
TOP: RF E. Sanchez – C C. Ramos – 2B Spinu – 1B Echevarría – LF Horn – CF Perri – SS Merritt – 3B De Jesus – P George

Brady threw out Eduardo Sanchez at home in the first to keep the Buffaloes off the board, but it was merely preventing the inevitable. Rivera sucked big time – once more – and had given up six hits and two runs by the second inning. The Coons got a run in the third, and former Indian Dan George loaded the bags with no outs in the fourth when Gonzalez doubled, Mata singled, and Newton walked. Michel struck out, and Parker almost hit into a double play, but the Coons scrambled to get at least the tying run home. Not that it helped Rivera any. He still sucked, and the Buffaloes took a new 3-2 lead in the fifth. He labored through six and was replaced with Andresen to hit leading off the top 7th. Andresen singled, and Guerin followed suit. Ingall fought reliever Ryan O’Quinn until he hit a game-tying double to right. Although Brady was up, the Buffaloes had southpaw O’Quinn put him on intentionally – because everybody knows the best way to shut down the Coons is to give them three on, no out, and let it roll – but by now the Buffaloes battery was in disarray. O’Quinn walked the go-ahead run in with a free pass to Gonzalez, before Carlos Ramos was guilty of a passed ball plating another run. The Buffaloes entered Hoshi Watanabe after O’Quinn put Mata on intentionally, reloading the bases, but Watanabe uncorked a wild pitch while pitching to Newton! Newton fought for a walk, reloading the bases AGAIN, but we were still holding out hope for an actual hit, you know. That never happened, but another walk and another wild pitch by Watanabe still gave the Raccoons a spacious 9-3 lead after allowing them seven runs on three hits. It was the death knell for this game – the Buffaloes only got one runner on against Nordahl and Miller on the way to the showers. 9-3 Coons. Guerin 2-5, 2B, RBI; Andresen (PH) 1-2, RBI;

For a 9-run game, the Raccoons did precious few at the plate. In essence, they were willingly accepting the walks offered by O’Quinn and Watanabe.

Game 2
POR: 2B Ingall – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 3B Gonzalez – LF Richardson – C Mata – CF Taramillo – 1B Michel – P Ford
TOP: CF Perri – SS Merritt – 2B Spinu – LF Horn – 1B Echevarría – RF Gusman – 3B Hitchcock – C Hurtado – P M. Ramos

Gonzalez doubled home Ingall in the first inning to give Ralph a 1-0 lead. After that, the Raccoons masterfully left all chances to score additional runs unused, like leaving them loaded in the fourth. Ford pitched well, but eventually got into trouble, when he allowed three singles to the Buffaloes in the sixth, then balked in the go-ahead run with two out to fall 2-1 behind. Ford was removed in the seventh with Pedro Hurtado on second base, and while Meeks served up a high fly to Perri, Taramillo caught it on the warning track. The Raccoons couldn’t get anything going, until Mata drew a walk off closer Sancho Rivera to put the tying run on base with no outs. Parker ran for Mata, but was forced out by Taramillo’s weak grounder to second base. Rivera struck out Michel and Newton to end the game. 2-1 Buffaloes. Mata 2-3, BB, 2B; Ford 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, L (2-2) and 1-1, BB; Meeks 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Good news: Taramillo’s lackluster bat had stifled the last rally. He was sent back to St. Pete as we flew Neil Reece to Kansas to appear on Sunday. Our training staff had cleared the way for that during another examination on Saturday. Neil was alive and well, and wanted to play.

Game 3
POR: SS Guerin – RF Brady – CF Reece – 3B Gonzalez – LF Richardson – 2B Ingall – C Fifield – 1B Michel – P Wade
TOP: RF E. Sanchez – C C. Ramos – 1B Echevarría – CF Perri – SS Merritt – 2B H. Henry – LF Gusman – 3B De Jesus – P York

York had the Coons in his bag until he got hurt in some form or other, as he surrendered a single to Richardson in the fourth. Gonzalez went to third on the play mainly because York, who was to be the cut off man on the throw back in from Sanchez, couldn’t field the ball. Ryan O’Quinn reappeared and plated Gonzalez with a wild pitch, which was the first run of the game. The Buffaloes failed to immediately counter despite a leadoff double by Echevarría. To be fair to O’Quinn, he would strike out four batters over the next two innings, as the Raccoons completely failed to mount anything meaningful. Wade was left to fight for himself – but did so well. He came with the 1-0 lead into the ninth, and was to faced three right-handers. Scotty would remain in there, especially with Donis coughing up pairs of runs each of his last two outings. Perri grounded out to Guerin before it actually started to drizzle. Merritt ran the count full before he popped out to second, which left the venerable Horace Henry, who took Wade’s 106th pitch of the game to left for a single. That brought up Javier Gusman, and got Daniel Miller and Donis throwing in the bullpen. Javier Gusman singled, and with the right-hander Alfredo De Jesus up, Daniel Miller entered the game. He fell behind De Jesus, fell to three balls, came into the zone, and De Jesus hit a liner to left that bounced far enough away from Richardson to walk off the Buffaloes. 2-1 Buffaloes. Wade 8.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, L (1-4) and 1-3;

This team.

In other news

April 26 – OCT 1B/3B Takahashi Higashi (.260, 7 HR, 24 RBI), the reigning CL Rookie of the Year, will miss the next three weeks with an elbow sprain.
May 1 – History is made in Las Vegas, where Aces outfielder Wes McCormick (.316, 6 HR, 18 RBI) hits for the cycle while his team goes down rather silently as a whole in a 9-3 loss to the Bayhawks. It is the 28th cycle in ABL history, and the second by an Ace. Mark “Icon” Allen achieved the feat in 1984, also against the Bayhawks. It is the fourth time in history someone goes for the cycle against the Bayhawks, tying them for most with the Knights.
May 1 – OCT SP Vaughn Higgins (6-0, 1.52 ERA) is on pace for a fantastic season. While having won every start this year, he has now also delivered a 3-hit shutout of the Knights, as the Thunder win 6-0.
May 3 – Another shutout is pitched against the Knights, as OCT SP Lou Corbett (4-0, 3.13 ERA) stays undefeated in style with a 2-hitter.
May 4 – DEN SP Ramón Ortíz (1-4, 5.08 ERA) is out of order: the 32-year old has been diagnosed with shoulder inflammation and should be out for three months.

Complaints and stuff

All Martin Garcia fans can sleep well – despite getting drawn a nose by the Raccoons in general and his own catcher in particular, he ran away with Pitcher of the Month for April, hurling to a 5-1, 1.02 ERA tune.

Scott Wade informed me already that he wants to extend his career beyond 2000. Also, Nuno Andresen would love to play more. I would love Andresen to hit more.

In more bad news, I can give you that pitching prospect Scott Boone is out for the season after surgery to relief radial nerve compression in his pitching elbow.

As promised, the franchise single game records in all 12 recorded categories:
AB: 7 – Greg Swift (1977), Matt Higgins (1995), David Brewer (1996)
H: 6 – Freddy Lopez (1977), Daniel Hall (1989)
R: 5 – Winston Thompson (1985), Ben O’Morrissey (1992)
2B: 4 – Glenn Johnston (1989)
3B: 2 – Neil Reece (twice, 1990 + 1995), Conceicao Guerin (2000)
HR: 3 – Ben Simon (1977)
RBI: 9 – Neil Reece (1990), Vern Kinnear (1993)
SB: 3 – Daniel Hall (1979), Matt Higgins (five times, 1989 + 1990 + 1991 + 1992 + 1993)
BB: 4 – Ed Sullivan (1977), Daniel Hall (thrice, 1981 + 1984 + 1994), Ramón Borjón (1982), Spencer Dicks (1983), Winston Thompson (twice, 1985 + 1988), Mark Dawson (1989), Ben O’Morrissey (twice, 1993 + 1995), Vern Kinnear (1994), David Vinson (twice, 1997 (2))
K: 5 – Mike Crowe (1998)
BB/P: 8 – Juan Berrios (1980), Román Ocasio (1981), Logan Evans (1981)
K/P: 12 – Steven Berry (1989), Kisho Saito (1995)