[Westheim]

Raccoons (65-77) @ Loggers (80-63) – September 9-12, 2002

From the second-best to the third-best offense in the Continental League, and one that the Raccoons had little hope of taking the season series in this last confrontation, which stood at 6-8. The other former strength of the Loggers, strong starting pitching, had deserted them though this season, as their rotation had a 4.00 ERA this year.

Projected matchups:
Carl Bean (13-12, 3.76 ERA) vs. John Miller (13-13, 4.05 ERA)
Nick Brown (9-8, 2.43 ERA) vs. Martin Garcia (16-7, 2.28 ERA)
Randy Farley (7-14, 4.43 ERA) vs. Millard Wilson (12-6, 5.55 ERA)
Ramón Meza (4-2, 5.30 ERA) vs. Marc Padgett (8-9, 4.33 ERA)

Poor Brownie drew the one beast that the Loggers had remaining, although his main attraction was coming in with 192 K and a real chance to not only shatter Saito’s mark of 193 for a season, but also become the first Raccoon to 200 this Tuesday.

Game 1
POR: 2B Palacios – 3B Sharp – CF Torrez – 1B Martin – RF Brady – SS Guerin – LF Parker – C Fifield – P Bean
MIL: SS B. Hernandez – 1B Nava – RF Mashiba – LF Hiwalani – CF C. Ramirez – C L. Ramirez – 3B Cavalleri – 2B K. Scott – P J. Miller

The Coons took a bat to Miller in the first inning, plating three runs on a pair of 2-out doubles by Brady and Guerin, with the score 4-0 by the second after a run-scoring wild pitch. Soon enough, however, we found somebody actively working against the team, and it was Martin, hacking out twice with four men on in total, and then losing Miller’s grounder in the bottom 3rd that soon escalated into two unearned runs. While the Raccoons unwound 13 hits off Miller in five innings, they also left plenty of those runners on base, scoring only five runs from the dozen-plus knocks. How could this not hurt the team? In the bottom 5th Vitantonio Cavalleri continued his late-season dominance of Raccoons pitching with a solo homer, giving the Loggers three runs on just four hits. Bottom 7th, two out, back-to-back doubles by Hernandez and Nava put the tying run in scoring position and got Bean removed in favor of Perez against the lefty Mashiba. Martinez came in to face Hiwalani, gave up a double to him, and another one to Ramirez, and and and. 8-5 Loggers. Palacios 4-6, 2B; Sharp 3-4, BB; Torrez 2-5; Parker 3-4, BB, 2B; Fifield 2-5, RBI;

Us: 16 hits. Them: 12 hits. Them: 7 men left on base. Us: 15 men left on base. Capitally ****ing ass team.

Game 2
POR: 3B Sharp – SS Guerin – 2B Ingall – 1B Martin – CF Roberson – RF Brady – C Fifield – LF Parker – P Brown
MIL: SS B. Hernandez – 1B D. Love – LF Hiwalani – C L. Ramirez – 3B Cavalleri – CF Fletcher – RF M. Smith – 2B Bowling – P M. Garcia

Brown went to two strikes on the first three batters. All three singled. It was not only one of those games. It was THE game. Whatever could go wrong for Brownie, went wrong. The Loggers picked up two runs in the first, before Bowling hit another 2-strike single in the bottom 2nd. Then came Garcia, bunted and legged it out for a single on Fifield. Bowling and Garcia, also known as Slow and Slower, then double stole two bases – for both it was their first of the year – on the hapless battery. Hernandez walked, Love hit a sacrifice, and while Brown then struck out Hiwalani to reach 193, nobody was giving a **** anymore. Brown set a new record by striking out Garcia in the third, then left the game, which by then was a 5-0 rout with two men waiting in scoring position. Sharp’s hero play on Bartolo Hernandez’ first-pitch hammer throw at his face, surrendered by Sergio Vega, closed Brown’s line at 2.2 innings and five runs, with two strikeouts. **** the record. **** life.

-.-

The Raccoons were thoroughly Garcia’ed, the only run scoring on a Hiwalani error. 7-1 Loggers. Sharp 2-4; Martin 2-4, 2B; Matthews (PH) 1-1, 2B; Joly 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Game 3
POR: 2B Palacios – 3B Sharp – CF Torrez – 1B Martin – LF Roberson – RF Brady – C Thomas – SS Matthews – P Farley
MIL: C L. Ramirez – 1B Nava – RF C. Ramirez – 3B Cavalleri – CF Fletcher – SS Buchanan – LF Mashiba – 2B K. Scott – P M. Wilson

The third game started with a bang off Palacios’ bat and a subsequent triple by Sharp, leading to two quick runs. The main question was how quickly Farley would falter and collapse. Sharp drew a bases-loaded walk in the second to make it 3-0 before Torrez struck out, then had one of his brain fart moments in the bottom 2nd. Runners on the corners, one out, he received Wilson’s bunt, then for reasons never to be fully determined (because I beat him to death after the inning) went to second with the ball – and Mashiba, coming from first, was safe. Leon Ramirez drove in two with a single, the tying run scored on a wild pitch, and soon enough somebody (Cavalleri, with his disgusting horse face) hit a triple. The Loggers put six on Farley, and usually this would constitute a rout if it hadn’t been for Millard Wilson to suck equal amounts compared with Farley. Albert Martin thundered his 30th homer of the season to tie the score at six in the top 4th. No pitching, much hitting. Farley still found a way winding up with the loss after allowing a Ramirez single and a Cavalleri double to start the bottom 4th. Cavalleri drove home Ramirez for a 7-6 score, and in case you weren’t numb yet, Sergio Vega appeared to make things much, much worse. Both Vega and Perez were skinned in a 5-run fifth. It was so outrageously terrible, by the sixth inning the Loggers had two players an inch away from major feats, as Cristo Ramirez was on five hits, and Cavalleri a homer shy of the cycle. With the way the Raccoons were going, they’d face spare outfielders by the eighth inning and have good chances. Ramirez came up with one out and Nava on first in the bottom 8th, facing Bruno, but didn’t get anything to hit and walked eventually. Cavalleri hit into a force at second. 12-6 Loggers. Palacios 3-4, BB, HR, RBI; Miller 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Bloody…

Game 4
POR: 2B Palacios – SS Guerin – CF Torrez – 1B Martin – LF Roberson – 3B Ingall – RF Parker – C Fifield – P Meza
MIL: SS B. Hernandez – RF C. Ramirez – LF Hiwalani – C L. Ramirez – 3B Cavalleri – CF Fletcher – 1B Sparks – 2B K. Scott – P Padgett

Meza waited until the third inning to truly suck, blowing a 1-0 lead with a bases-loaded 2-out single by Cavalleri. The go-ahead run came in for the Loggers when Fifield failed to make a play on Jerry Fletcher’s grounder right in front of his big ugly nose. Roberson led off the fourth with a double which he thought was triple, but which the Loggers were in disagreement on. When Ingall doubled behind him, there was no Roberson left on base to be scored, and Ingall was left on third base as the Raccoons continued to trail 2-1. Meza’s day went to **** soon enough, loading the bags in the fifth and then forcing in two runs on additional walks. He offered six freebies on the day. The Loggers scored another run off Bruno in the sixth, but the Coons got two on bloop hits in the seventh, getting back to 5-3, and then left the tying runs idling on the bases in the eighth. Robbie Wills was up for the ninth, facing Torrez, Martin and the pitcher’s slot, which meant that Brady grabbed a bat. Three lefties to counter Wills, resulting in a pop, a single, and a walk to put the tying runs on with one out and Ingall next. Marv grounded out to first, leaving it to Parker with the runners in scoring position. He flew to center, and that ended the game. 5-3 Loggers. Torrez 2-5, RBI; Martin 2-5, RBI; Roberson 2-4, 2B; Ingall 3-5, 2 2B; Parker 3-5; Lyon (PH) 2-2;

The Pooshirts had 16 hits. They left 14 men on, which has become a routine exercise now.

Guerin stole his 20th base. Last year he was leading the league in steals at this point. This year he doesn’t even have half as much as the leader, a certain Bartolo Hernandez, two stole #40 and #41 in this series.

After the game we found out that Meza hadn’t felt well in the first place and now had an inflamed shoulder.

Amputate that ****ing arm, it ain’t good for nothing anyway.

Raccoons (65-81) @ Bayhawks (75-71) – September 13-15, 2002

The Bayhawks were not as good as they had been, mainly resting on the mound beast Tony Hamlyn, but they were at least average, and average was at least two worlds better than the Raccoons could hope to be on one of their slightly less hellish days. And they also led the season series 4-2.

Projected matchups:
Ralph Ford (12-8, 2.80 ERA) vs. Henry Selph (8-14, 5.24 ERA)
Carl Bean (13-12, 3.77 ERA) vs. Tony Hamlyn (20-8, 2.18 ERA)
Nick Brown (9-9, 2.63 ERA) vs. Dani Alvarado (8-11, 4.41 ERA)

We will be assured of a losing record Saturday at the very latest. No way we chew up Hamlyn. We might get dumb AND lucky on Selph, but that will be it. After that, Brownie, getting torn up again.

The AAA season ends tonight, so we can call up a few more players like Beairsto and two arms or so.

Game 1
POR: 2B Palacios – SS Guerin – RF Brady – 1B Martin – CF Roberson – 3B Sharp – LF Parker – C Fifield – P Ford
SFB: CF Walls – SS J. Perez – C G. Ortíz – RF Black – LF Brulhart – 1B I. Navarro – 3B Comte – 2B Bulco – P Selph

Ford walked two in the first inning to load them up, but somehow the Bayhawks failed to score. They did score in the second, with Justin Comte leading off with a single, Bulco walking, and then Fifield making a capital and instantly fatal throwing error on the bunt. Three unearned runs scored. Selph would be safe on his next bunt, which Sharp failed to dig out in due time, putting runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom 4th. Bulco scored on Walls’ sac fly, making it 4-0. Meanwhile, the Decrepicoons were still looking for their first base runner. Henry Selph, 35, ancient enough to be a dusted relic telling the story of a fallen civilization, was perfect twice through the Raccoons’ lineup. Top 7th: Palacios bounced back to Selph for an out, Guerin struck out in a full count, and Brady grounded out to Bulco. Top 8th: Martin K’ed. Roberson K’ed. Sharp grounded to the side of the mound, and Selph made the play himselph. Eight innings, 24 Decrepicoons up, 24 Decrepicoons down. Ford went 7.2 before running out of what little steam he had come into the game with, with Joly collecting the last out in the eighth. Top 9th, Selph still out there, still old, still the only pitcher to have multiple no-hitters to his name.

Parker up. Selph got him to 2-2 before Parker put the ball in play. It was grounded past Selph, but more or less right to Trystao Bulco. Out.

Fifield was hit for by Eddie Torrez. 1-1 pitch, taken to center, high, so not deep, and caught leisurely by Tom Walls. Out number two.

Another pinch-hitter came up. Never had we longed more for an INGALL SINGLE than right now, so Marv hit for Joly, getting the choice between saving us from complete and total disgrace, or going down as the last out in the ABL’s first perfecto. He took the first pitch on the outside corner. Strike one. The next two pitches were high, and called balls. The next one was lower, and Ingall took a hack, knocking a grounder past the mound, and past the reach of Bulco. As that lonely grounder hobbled into centerfield, the park cried out in shock.

INGALL SINGLE!!!

Raccoons lost, though.

4-0 Bayhawks. Ingall (PH) 1-1;

Oh my dearness.

The following players were called up:
SP Felipe Garcia (mainly to take over for Meza, who will miss at least one start)
MR Domingo Moreno (who had no place to rehab anymore and had not allowed an earned run in 5.2 innings)
MR Kaz Kichida
C Pablo Fernandez
INF Miguel Ramirez
OF Chris Beairsto

And only NOW comes Hamlyn!

Game 2
POR: SS Guerin – CF Beairsto – 1B Ingall – LF Roberson – RF Brady – 2B Matthews – 3B M. Ramirez – C Fernandez – P Bean
SFB: LF Walls – C G. Ortíz – RF Javier – 3B Foster – SS J. Perez – 1B Bulco – CF Black – 2B I. Navarro – P Hamlyn

BOTH pitchers were perfect once through the opposing lineup. Hamlyn whiffed four, Bean only whiffed Hamlyn, but neither team had been on base. The first thing that properly happened was Matthews tweaking something in his neck on a play in the fourth and having to be replaced with Palacios. Bean then walked Javier, but still had a no-hitter. Hamlyn was perfect through four, but Roberson singled to start the fifth. Things rapidly unraveled for Hamlyn with Palacios hitting a single and then Pablo Fernandez came in and hit an RBI single to left. Once Bean was brushed on the thigh, Guerin doubled home a pair and we were up 3-0. Bean had yet to be tagged, but with two out in the sixth, Tom Walls hit a double. Once more, things developed rapidly, with two more hits plating two runs and running the score to 3-2, while Hamlyn was on 10 K and the Coons couldn’t hope to add on. Hamlyn made it a dozen on Ramirez and Fernandez to start the bottom 7th, but then Bean hit a double, Guerin got on, and Sharp hit for Beairsto and hit an RBI double. Hamlyn plated another run with a wild one, giving us a 5-2 lead. Bean dropped another run while going 7.2 innings and left for Moreno to pitch to Paco Javier. That AB resulted in a single, and Martinez appeared to retire Foster with a K. We actually got to break out Dan Nordahl, who faced the 5-6-7 part of the lineup. He went to two strikes on everbody he faced, whiffing Perez before Bulco singled, but a K to Navarro ended the game in due time. 5-3 Coons. Sharp (PH) 1-2, 2B, RBI; Palacios 2-3; Bean 7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (14-12) and 1-2, 2B;

How, why! The Raccoons actually ARE able to win a game and not fudge up capitally from the first pitch onwards!

Game 3
POR: SS Guerin – CF Beairsto – 1B Ingall – LF Roberson – RF Brady – 2B Matthews – 3B M. Ramirez – C Fernandez – P Brown
SFB: CF Walls – SS J. Perez – C G. Ortíz – CF Black – LF Brulhart – 3B Foster – 1B I. Navarro – 2B J. Diaz – P Sato

Takeru Sato was freshly signed by the Bayhawks after sitting all year on the fence. A struggling Brown was chopped to little crumbs starting with Sato hitting a 2-run single in the bottom 2nd. That single came in a full count, and a full count means three balls, and that was about where Brown was in every single at-bat the entire game. Unsurprisingly that made for a very short outing, 4.1 innings, and only four strikeouts, leaving him at 198 for the season. Huerta came in with a man on and ended the fifth with a grounder by Black and a whiff to Jim Brulhart. The game was still 2-0 Hawks. While the pen was shaking without falling, Sato had the Coons in his death grip. Martin hit a pinch-hit single in the eighth, but we never made it past first base. Johnny Smith replaced Sato in the ninth, having 67 K in 62.1 innings this season. It was still a 2-0 game, so when Ingall led off with an INGALL SINGLE, we figured we’d have a chance. Roberson singled. Brady flew out to right center, before Palacios walked the bags full. Parker hit for Ramirez, dished a shot to deep center, but Tom Walls made an admittedly fantastic play. Ingall scored, the other runners held, while Torrez hit for Fernandez, fell 0-2 behind, then grounded weakly to second, but the Bayhawks had no play! Bases loaded, two out, we’d need a run, and Daniel Miller was hit for by Gary Fifield (there were no more promising options left on the bench). Fifield swung for the fences, one strike, two strikes, CONTACT, high, to deep center – and to Walls. 2-1 Bayhawks. Martin (PH) 1-1; Torrez (PH) 1-1;

Matthews was hurt again, tearing an abdominal muscle this time. He’s out for the year.

And yes, I did mess up the lineup when the Bayhawks brought in Sato.

In other news

September 9 – LAP SP Raúl Chavez (9-18, 5.26 ERA) has a nice day, 3-hitting the Gold Sox in a 7-0 Pacifics win.
September 10 – CHA SP Terry Wilson (11-14, 3.96 ERA) is out for the year with a torn labrum.
September 13 – Boston wins 4-2 in Oklahoma, and then they have to wait for the Loggers’ extra inning contest in Tijuana to end. After Robbie Wills issues a bases-loaded walk to Bartolo Román in the bottom 11th, walking off the Condors, the Titans have clinched the CL North. This is the Titans’ fifth playoff appearance, all in the last six years, and they will try to defend their 2001 title.
September 13 – Vancouver’s Joe Hollow (11-11, 2.75 ERA) has his season end with shoulder inflammation and might take half a year to recover.
September 14 – BOS LF/RF Chih-tui Jin (.269, 8 HR, 54 RBI) announces his retirement after suffering a complete tear in his labrum. Jin was the Raccoons’ fifth round pick in 1988, debuting with them in 1993, but had his most success with the Gold Sox. He only appeared in Boston this year. He was .295/.406/.445 for his career, with 74 HR and 487 RBI.

Complaints and stuff

WORST week … in a LONG time. The team at its ABSOLUTE WORST. What a … a … there are no words.

No family friendly words at least.

We will now crown our LONE hero of the week: