[Westheim]

As Jesus Palacios came off the DL in time for the opener in the Loggers series, we sent Chris Roberson back to St. Petersburg. This was not because it was Roberson’s fault. It was a “no options” thing for some guys we had around here, and then there were rule 5 guys, and so on. As soon as we weed out the excess pitcher on the roster, Roberson will come back, which should happen by the weekend, I guess.

Raccoons (46-66) vs. Loggers (72-40) – August 6-8, 2001

The Loggers and Titans were neck-to-neck, and do we really want to interfere with them after getting sliced wide open by the Titans? Do we want to mess with the CL’s best hitting and third-best pitching? Or will we just curl up, close our eyes and pretend everything smells roses?

Projected matchups:

Cipriano Miranda (4-12, 4.19 ERA) vs. John Miller (11-6, 2.51 ERA)
Nick Brown (0-0) vs. Millard Wilson (3-8, 4.92 ERA)
Carl Bean (8-9, 4.03 ERA) vs. Vernon Robertson (15-7, 3.23 ERA)

The task for the Issuecoons: don’t get soiled as badly as against the Titans. That was a horrible series…

And of course we will get the big league debut for Nick Brown on Tuesday. I sense that horrible, horrible things are going to happen…

Game 1
MIL: C L. Ramirez – 2B J. Morales – RF C. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – 3B M. Hall – 1B J. Cruz – CF J.J. Villa – SS B. Hernandez – P J. Miller
POR: SS Guerin – RF Cavazos – 2B Palacios – 1B Martin – 3B Sharp – CF Kent – LF Parker – C Thomas – P Miranda

John Miller pitched three innings, surrendering two runs on three hits in the bottom 2nd, and then left due to an injury. That put him on the hook since Miranda did not allow a hit through the first three innings, and while Jose Morales hit a leadoff single in the top 4th, the Loggers didn’t score after Cristo Ramirez hit into a double play. The Loggers got a pair into scoring position with no outs in the fifth and then were held to a sac fly, but that still made it a 2-1 game. The Critters were asleep at the plate and barely managed to cash in on a Loggers error in the bottom 5th, with Miranda hitting a 1-out RBI single, 3-1. In the next inning, Martin led off with a double, and the Loggers walked Sharp intentionally before Juan Gomez threw a wild pitch to make the point kind of moot. Kent hit an RBI single, and we loaded the bags on an infield single by Chris Parker, but the only other run we got in was a sac fly by Miranda, who was kind of carrying the team on both sides of the ledger. Through six, he held the Loggers to three hits and that one run, and they didn’t see any land in the next two innings. Miranda batted in the bottom 8th for an out and potentially killing the inning then, leaving the score at 5-1, then re-appeared for the top 9th as he faced the top of the lineup. While Leon Ramirez sent a deep fly to center, which Kent caught, he then struck out Morales, and Concie made good work of Cristo Ramirez’ easy grounder. 5-1 Critters. Martin 2-4, 2B; Kent 2-4, 2B, RBI; Parker 2-3, BB, RBI; Miranda 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (5-12) and 1-3, 2 RBI;

Jose Morales was put on waivers after this game. Oh noes. Now we have made them angry, and we will sent to the mound the smallest cub in the litter. That can’t go right, right?

Game 2
MIL: RF C. Ramirez – C L. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – 3B M. Hall – 1B J. Cruz – CF Fletcher – 2B R. Morales – SS B. Hernandez – P M. Wilson
POR: RF Cavazos – 3B Sharp – 2B Palacios – 1B Martin – LF Parker – C Thomas – CF Kent – SS McLaughlin – P Brown

Nick Brown struggled in the first inning, walking a pair and loading the bases before he escaped with making Jerry Fletcher his first career K victim. Two innings later, Mark Hall became the first player to hit a homer off him, and it counted for two. The Raccoons were still looking for a hit through three innings, and this game was not about to become a sparkling debut. Brown was eaten up in due time by the Loggers and didn’t get past the fifth inning, surrendering four runs in total. The Coons only had one hit to show in the time frame Brown surrendered seven, and walked three. It didn’t get better, either, with Wade surrendering two runs in the sixth, while the Raccoons were wholly terrible at the plate, racking up just four hits as Millard Wilson pitched a complete game shutout, fanning eight. 6-0 Loggers. Martinez 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Way to kill the least little bit of euphoria.

Game 3
MIL: C L. Ramirez – CF Fletcher – RF C. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – 3B M. Hall – 1B J. Cruz – 2B R. Morales – SS T. Johnson – P Roberson
POR: SS Guerin – LF Cavazos – 2B Palacios – 3B Sharp – 1B Martin – RF Flores – C Thomas – CF Kent – P Bean

Bottom 1st, Guerin doubled, moved to third on Cavazos’ groundout, and was left on. Top 2nd, Bean drilled Hiwalani, and eventually faced Tom Johnson with two on and two down. Johnson couldn’t kill a fly with his bat, but booked a 3-run dinger on Bean, and it was a no-doubter. The Raccoons would soon find themselves in a two on, two out situation, in the bottom 3rd, and were lucky enough to have Albert Martin batting, who tied the CL lead with his 20th home run, and it tied the score. While Bean was struggling, the Raccoons picked up the pace in the bottom 4th, when Thomas and Kent led off with back-to-back homers off Venerable Vernon to make it a 5-3 game, and in the next inning Gil Flores hit his first dinger as a Raccoon, 7-3, knocking Vernon out, and the inning went on to allow Concie to hit a 2-out, 2-run double, 9-3. Home runs weren’t over, however none were hit as long as Bean remained in the game, and he completed seven. Bob Joly was tasked with the final two innings, didn’t even get the first one over with, and instead was taken deep by Hiwalani. Miguel Lopez appeared in relief, ended the eighth, but was shelled in the ninth. The Loggers got as far as loading them up and sending the tying run to the plate – and it was Hiwalani. I didn’t want to, but I had to go to Nordahl. And Danny sucked balls. He walked Hiwalani in a full count, then got Mark Hall to 0-2 before surrendering a 2-run single. I had lost all trust in the kid by now, and went to – Marcos Bruno. Another reliever, another walk to Jorge Cruz, and the bases were loaded again in the 9-8 game. Rodrigo Morales then cut into the first pitch he saw and grounded hard to Sharp – and at least THAT kid did his job. 9-8 Suckoons. Guerin 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Sharp 3-4; Thomas 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Kent 3-4, HR, RBI; Bean 7.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, W (9-9) and 1-3, 2B;

What a fudge squad. How they HAVE to FUDGE UP EVERY SINGLE GAME.

AAHH!!

Bob Joly was annihilated from the roster for what felt like the 18th time this season, and Chris Roberson was recalled. Also, Cavazos and Palacios aren’t doing anything anymore, and went a combined 0-10 in this game.

Raccoons (48-67) @ Wolves (52-63) – August 10-12, 2001

These two teams have been in better shapes when meeting up for Oregon Brawls. Like in 1989. Now, the Raccoons were outright dismal, and the Wolves had their issues with the third-worst pitching over in the Federal League. Rotation and bullpen were equally horrible for them, and the offense was merely 8th and not helping much at all.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (7-11, 3.90 ERA) vs. Billy Lawson (0-2, 3.74 ERA)
Randy Farley (4-8, 4.63 ERA) vs. Manny Guzman (4-8, 5.03 ERA)
Cipriano Miranda (5-12, 3.97 ERA) vs. Seiichi Sugiyama (12-5, 3.95 ERA)

That’s three right-handers, and nothing really special about them. Sugiyama is the “ace” of their staff.

Game 1
POR: SS Guerin – 3B Sharp – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – 2B Palacios – C Thomas – LF Parker – RF Kent – P Ford
SAL: 3B Quintero – RF J. Flores – LF Wales – C J. Lopez – 2B Metting – SS Hutchinson – CF Summers – 1B Phillips – P Lawson

The Wolves bowled over Ford in the first inning already, hitting three straight 2-out RBI knocks off him, taking a 3-0 lead. The Coons scored single runs both in the second and third innings, yet both times left a pair of runners in scoring position when Guerin and Parker had poor grounders, respectively. Ford continued to be full of crap, plunked Dale Wales, balked, walked Lopez, and surrendered two more runs in the bottom 3rd. He didn’t make an appearance beyond that, instead being thrown from the bell tower. Palacios pulled a hamstring in the fourth, Parker left two more on base in the fifth, and McLaughlin hit for Wade in the seventh and struck out to leave the bases loaded. And even THAT was topped in the eighth, when Gil Flores hit a triple leading off, and the Wolves’ Momsilo Plavsic then came back to get lucky on Guerin’s foul pop, but then whiffed Sharp and Roberson. Flores was not scored. This raw amount of incompetence could not be remedied by any medicine, nor measure. They were bound to lose, and bound to lose hard. 6-2 Wolves. Palacios 2-2; Flores 1-2, 3B; Lopez 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K;

Palacios, barely back from the shelf, pulled his hamstring in this game, and while it was not all bad, it was still bad enough. The medical staff listed him as DTD and it would take a good couple of days for him to be back to one hundred percent. Well, we lose with him, we lose without him, who gives a crap?

Game 2
POR: SS Guerin – 3B Sharp – CF Roberson – 1B Martin – LF Cavazos – 2B Heart – RF Kent – C Defrese – P Farley
SAL: 3B Quintero – 2B Metting – LF Wales – RF J. Flores – C J. Lopez – CF Edwards – SS Hutchinson – 1B Fleming – P M. Guzman

Jesus Flores napped Roberson at home plate to end the top 1st on Martin’s double, then drove in the Wolves’ first run off Farley in the bottom 1st with a 2-out RBI single up the middle. The Wolves only plated two this time in the opening frame, but that was possibly enough against the Issuecoons. The score got to 3-0 soon enough in the bottom 2nd when Farley gave up Tom Fleming’s first big league home run. Farley was soiled, went 4.1 innings and was charged with five runs, while Manuel Martinez just barely escaped the fifth with the bases loaded. Wade surrendered two more runs in the sixth, while the Raccoons really were doing absolutely nothing at the plate. It took a wild pitch by Manny Guzman himself to break up the shutout against the brown-clad team that offered the saddest sight. Before this particular, particularly dispiriting loss could be put into the books, Chris Roberson got hurt in the eighth, shagging a deep fly surrendered by Nordahl. The Wolves pulled Guzman before the ninth, and then tried to cobble three outs together with the shallow end of their bullpen. Max Heart got on. Parker hit for Defrese and doubled. Thomas grounded out for Nordahl, scoring Heart, and Concie walked. When Sharp got on, the Wolves went to closer Avtandil Tarakhanov, who walked Gil Flores in Roberson’s vacated spot. And here, two out, three on, Albert Martin came up as the tying run and countered the right-handed Tarakhanov. The count ran full as Tarakhanov didn’t throw close to Martin’s happy zone, but that cost him a walk and a run. It also brought up Cavazos, who wasn’t getting the bat up at all. And he fouled out. 7-4 Wolves. Guerin 2-4, BB; Parker (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Chris Roberson, .352/.365/.577 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 71 AB, strained a rib cage muscle, was DL’ed and replaced by the switch-hitter Jesus Taramillo, and he might be out for the balance of the month, possibly a bit less. That’s as bad as it sounds. We got some very unexpected, yet not unwelcome production from him.

Not that it helped this burning, runaway, brakeless train wreck any. Which has derailed and is tumbling down an embankment. It’s heading straight for an orphanage, by the way.

And all this was happening on Sunday, live, and in color.

Game 3
POR: SS Guerin – CF Cavazos – 3B Sharp – 1B Martin – RF Kent – C Thomas – LF Parker – 2B Heart – P Miranda
SAL: 3B Quintero – 2B Metting – LF Wales – RF J. Flores – C J. Lopez – CF Edwards – SS Hutchinson – 1B Patel – P Sugiyama

In an odd twist of events, the Raccoons were not slamdunked in the first inning, and rather TOOK A LEAD in the top 2nd, with a 2-run double by Chris Parker. Miranda drove in a run as well (and remember what he did Monday), but coughed up a run in the bottom 2nd. However, we also had a hospital themed weekend. In the next inning, the Wolves had two on and two out when Jesus Flores hit a fly to medium depth, but extreme outside leftfield. Parker sold out on a headlong dive, made the catch, but jammed his other hand under his body and was in some kind of pain afterwards. So, another player down, and Gil Flores replaced him. We had Cavazos on third base with one out in the fifth, but Cavazos was starved, while Miranda could use a few more runs. He was NOT in Monday’s shape, and couldn’t strike out anybody, and was in his defense’s and the Wolves’ offense’s mercy. Miranda batted leading off the top 7th, singled, and was left on third. He managed another scoreless inning, and the Martin hit a leadoff single in the top 8th, and Kent doubled after him. Two in scoring position, no outs. Thomas struck out. Flores struck out. Palacios hit for Heart and flew out gingerly. Miranda did not come back this time, and Daniel Miller got the assignment for the eighth. He surrendered a single to Kurt Metting right away. Wales got him forced, but McLaughlin – now at second – couldn’t turn the double play. Diaz was called on to face the left-handed Jesus Flores, and drilled him in the back.

Okay, we’re gonna lose.

Martinez replaced Diaz right away, facing Jorge Lopez, and surrendered an RBI single up the middle. Cavazos went home with the throw, and the runners moved into scoring position. Drew Edwards grounded to the pitcher for an easy second out and although former star slugger Corey Patel was batting just .140, I didn’t trust his numbers and had Martinez go after Dave Hutchinson. One strike, two strikes, a knock, a liner to the left side and Sharp launched and picked it! Top 9th, McLaughlin was Sugiyama’s eighth strikeout victim, and then Guerin lightened up an 0-4 day with a double to center. He stole third, his 27th bag of the year, re-tying for the CL lead, and then FINALLY SOMEONE AMONGST THE CRAPSHOTS CAME THROUGH – kind of. Cavazos hit a sac fly. Better than nothing. Regardless, here came Nordahl, up 4-2, and walked the wrecked Patel. The next batter, Barry Summers, hit a game-tying home run.

Yeah, we’re gonna lose.

Nordahl somehow got Quintero, and then Metting and Wales singled. Just to keep the impression of actually trying up, Miguel Lopez replaced Nordahl to face Flores, and struck out both him and Jorge Lopez. That sent us to extras, with Albert Martin replaced by Jorge Defrese for defense, which was cynical in the light of Nordahl not even giving the fielders a chance to defend in the process of blowing up YET AGAIN. Stunningly, Defrese, who was first up in the top 10th, took Momsilo Plavsic deep, making it 5-4 Uttercoons instantly. There was only Marcos Bruno left in the pen, so we tried to have Lopez pitch a scoreless tenth now, but Bryan Andrews’ pinch-hit leadoff double made things … complicated. Hutchinson flew out, advancing the runner, making Lopez face – not Patel, but pinch-hitter Jeremiah Mullins, also a southpaw, who popped to shallow center and Cavazos just barely made the play. Here came Summers again. His single tied the game for the second time. Quintero singled. Metting singled. Bases loaded for Dale Wales, and everybody knew what was going to come: oops, no, he grounded out. Top 11th, Tarakhanov pitching. Taramillo hit for Lopez to get going, emptying our bench for good, and walked. McLaughlin singled. Concie whiffed, Cavazos walked, bases loaded, one out for Sharp, who ran a full count, and eventually worked a checked swing walk that was fiercely protested by the Wolves. That was all we got from having the bags full. Marcos Bruno came in for the bottom half of the inning, and put the first man, Flores, on with a single. With two out, Flores was on second, and Hutchinson singled up the middle. McLaughlin couldn’t get it, Flores was of the quick kind, and the game was tied for the third time.

Or maybe we will never lose. And this game will go on forever.

This game in the seventh circle of hell.

Nothing happened the next two innings, except Bruno going over 50 pitches. In theory, Wade was still in the pen, but he had gone almost every day this week and was untouchable. Next was a starter, and unfortunately it would be Nick Brown. But first the Raccoons had to bat in the 14th, and went down 1-2-3. Oh great. The Wolves still had a reliever available, but no pinch-hitters anymore and Brown was lucky enough to get to reliever Aurelio Garcia with two down to survive the first inning he tossed. At least somebody got on in the top 15th, Flores with a walk. McLaughlin joined him with two out, and Guerin faced a new reliever, Kilian Carrier, who surrendered a single to left to Concie. Never mind our luck, Flores was speedy and would run, and he scored from second base. Cavazos grounded out in time to avoid a big inning. Now Brown had to pitch another scoreless frame to get this nightmare over with. He struck out Metting, but Wales singled, and then he plunked Jesus Flores. Lopez struck out. Fleming, who had hurt Farley the day before, was up with two on, two out. One strike, two strikes, three strikes. 7-6 Raccoons. Parker 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; Miranda 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K and 2-3, RBI; Brown 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W (1-1);

Well. Sometimes you gotta pick up your first career win in relief.

In other news

August 6 – The 2,000 hits mark is reached by 32-year old DAL INF/LF Salvador Mendez (.321, 2 HR, 42 RBI), who has three hits in a 6-3 win over the Scorpions. He hits the key knock, a fifth inning single, off Joe Mann, and adds two more H’s later in the game. Mendez was the Canadiens’ first round pick in the 1990 amateur draft, made his debut the next year and stayed in Vancouver through 1997 before playing for Sacramento and now Dallas. He is a .339/.393/.411 batter with just 15 career home runs compared to 37 triples.
August 7 – Boston’s Bryce Hildred (3-4, 2.90 ERA) 2-hits the Crusaders, taking a 1-0 complete game win.
August 7 – SFW INF/CF/RF Ramón Garza (.273, 6 HR, 61 RBI) fractured a rib and should miss about a month.
August 12 – It’s season over for Oklahoma’s INF Bob Grant (.314, 14 HR, 74 RBI) who was severely sprained his ankle.
August 12 – Milwaukee’s Marc Padgett (13-4, 3.53 ERA) 3-hits the Pacifics in a 6-0 shutout.

Complaints and stuff

Spot the anomaly. RBI’s by Raccoons this week:
Albert Martin – 4
Conceicao Guerin – 3
Jason Kent – 3
Cipriano Miranda – 3
Chris Parker – 3
Gil Flores – 2
Daniel Sharp – 2
Mark Thomas – 2
Ramiro Cavazos – 1
Jorge Defrese – 1
Chris Roberson – 1

If not for Al Martin’s 3-run shot in the third game against Milwaukee, we have a starting pitcher tie for the most ribbies this week. Note how the ostensible 2-3 batters, Cavazos and Palacios, have combined for one RBI and pulled hammy apiece. Now combine all that with a 15-inning game where the team blows the lead in the ninth inning or later THREE $%§$/& TIMES!!

It is all extremely horrible, and prescription drugs don’t help anymore in coping.

Coping could be helped by Neil Reece being back from the DL around the next weekend. I don’t think we need an extensive rehab assignment for him.

(cue dramatic music)