[Westheim]

Raccoons (19-22) @ Bayhawks (17-28) – May 23-25, 2006

Tenth-ranked starting pitching was soiling all of the Bayhawks’ efforts, which included the best bullpen in the Continental League. Their average offense couldn’t keep up with the 4.69 ERA the rotation was piling up. They also had just gotten bad news that OF Jerry Fletcher (.265, 0 HR, 16 RBI), the former Logger, was out for the season with a ruptured achilles tendon.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (5-2, 2.77 ERA) vs. Jose Dominguez (2-5, 4.89 ERA)
Felipe Garcia (1-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Carl Bean (2-6, 7.47 ERA)
Ralph Ford (3-4, 3.34 ERA) vs. Marc Padgett (1-2, 4.36 ERA)

No clue what’s wrong with Bean Boy. His walks already shot up last season, and he was ineffective in 2004 in general. We traded him right at the height of his ability, it seems. Of course, our reward is now stowed away in AAA so I don’t need to see him mucking up while his enormous belly is jiggling.

Game 1
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Sharp – LF Brady – 1B Quebell – SS Flores – RF Mays – C Wood – CF Trevino – P Brown
SFB: CF Hudson – SS J. Barrón – C Campbell – LF Beairsto – 3B J. Perez – 1B C. Parker – RF Hartley – 2B M. Valdés – P Dominguez

How scary could a lineup with Chris Beairsto (.243, 6 HR, 17 RBI) and Chris Parker (.235, 0 HR, 11 RBI) in key positions be? The Coons know a story about that, maybe even two. But in all cases, the Raccoons’ lineup had to out-score even the most ex-Coons-laden opposing orders first. Yet, in this particular instance, they tried really hard to out-suck the Bayhawks…

Two singles in the bottom 3rd were enough for the feathered beasts from the Bay to score a run off Brownie, who had come south without the ability to get pitches past anybody. The Bayhawks made contact constantly, and Brown would be held to two strikeouts over seven innings. Granted, he only allowed four hits, all singles, yet that was enough to fall behind – and not get picked up. The Raccoons had NOTHING. With Trevino on first and one out, Brown was hit for in the top 8th, with the right-handed part of our rotten meat rightfield platoon getting assigned to the job. He struck out while Trevino swiped second base. Nomura lined a ball up the middle, but Manuel Valdés caught it. And that was really it. 1-0 Bayhawks. Nomura 2-4; Brown 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, L (5-3);

I hate those ****tards. I hate them all. You know what? All those ****ing free agents this year – NONE of them are going to get another dime from me. They can all go to ****ING HELL!!

Wednesday the Agitator wrote that Brown had not gotten any support from a lineup composed of bystanders, but hadn’t helped himself either. Yeah, right, he didn’t hit a 3-run homer, that sucking bastard. Pseudo-journalist ***holes. Writing **** for 30 years and it won’t ever stop!

Game 2
POR: 2B Nomura – 3B Sharp – LF Brady – 1B Quebell – SS Flores – CF Crespo – RF Greenman – C Bowen – P F. Garcia
SFB: CF Hudson – SS J. Barrón – C Campbell – LF Beairsto – RF L. Alonso – 1B C. Parker – 3B J. Perez – 2B Da Silva – P Bean

Garcia allowed the #2 through #5 hitters on base in the first inning, which helped the Bayhawks to only one run once Chris Parker whiffed. The bottom 2nd was led off by Maxime Da Silva, who made it 2-0 with a leadoff jack in his fourth major league at-bat … ever. Bottom 3rd, Beairsto doubled, prompting Garcia to load the bases with two walks. Perez grounded to Nomura, who mishandled the ball rather than end the inning here and now, scoring a run, and Bean came up with two outs, he singled past Daniel Sharp to plate two more runs. Another run was waved in by Garcia before he was yanked with two outs in the fourth inning. The Coons’ pen would pitch scoreless ball for the next 5.1 innings, which was of no particular help to anybody, since the offense was all but silenced by Carl Bean, a pitcher with an ERA over seven and almost as many walks as strikeouts. Here, however, Bean struck out eight while walking only three, and carried a shutout into the ninth inning without EVER being endangered, before Greenman hit a double into the gap in left center to break up the SHO. The offense died down soon enough again, and the Raccoons lost soundly. 6-2 Bayhawks. Mays (PH) 1-1; Lucas 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Moreno 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

Game 3
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Crespo – 1B Sharp – LF Brady – 3B Searcy – C Bowen – RF Greenman – SS Ingram – P Ford
SFB: CF Hudson – SS J. Barrón – C Campbell – RF L. Alonso – LF Beairsto – 3B J. Perez – 1B C. Parker – 2B Sheehan – P Padgett

When the Raccoons took a 2-0 lead in the top 1st on hits from Crespo, Brady (double), and Searcy, a state of emergency was declared in California. Obviously, at the very least aliens must have had invaded and infiltrated the Raccoons’ squad. Ford handed one run right back, but Brady came up with two men on base in the top of the third and this time wasn’t confident with a two-baser, but hit a 2-run triple! The Raccoons, as they beat up on Marc Padgett, wasted chances in the next two innings, including a leadoff double by Ingram in the fourth on which he was tagged out trying to make it three. Craig Bowen would get the score to 5-1 with a leadoff jack in the sixth inning, and every run was precious since Ralph Ford was virtually without any stuff and just hoped that everything put into play would be suckered up by somebody. That strategy worked well for a remarkable stretch. In the top 7th we had Nomura on third base with two outs and Brady batting. The Bayhawks didn’t bite and walked him intentionally, then brought William Henderson, who erased Steve Searcy to get out of the frame, and in the bottom of the inning Brad Sheehan(!) hit a home run off Ford to get back to 5-2. Ex-Raccoons were in the focus in the bottom 8th with a 1-out double by Beairsto. Jose Perez popped out to second, bringing up Parker, in any case Ford’s last batter. He ran the count full, then struck him out, only his third victim on the day. In the bottom 9th, up by three, Angel Casas went to three balls on the first three batters, walking Sheehan, getting a double play from another former Furball in Pablo Fernandez, then allowed a double to John Hudson, before the pitching coach went out and threatened to stick a knife up Angel’s cuddly toy bear’s throat if he didn’t end this mockery instantly. The next pitch was a sinker that Juan Barrón couldn’t get anything on and grounded out easily to Sharp and Mr. Fluffles lived for another day. 5-2 Coons. Crespo 3-5; Brady 2-3, BB, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI; Ford 8.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (4-4);

I talk to our pitching coach regularly, y’know?

Raccoons (20-24) vs. Condors (20-27) – May 26-28, 2006

The Condors were virtually the same as the Bayhawks, with a teeny bit more offense (5th in CL), but the worst rotation anywhere in the league, just a bit under five earned runs a game. Their bullpen was not as crisp, though, and ranked only fifth. We had swept them in our first 3-game set of the season, and we still got them without their awesome centerfielder Ramón Perez, who was due back in one week.

Projected matchups:
Kelly Fairchild (2-2, 3.61 ERA) vs. Paul Kirkland (4-2, 5.61 ERA)
Kenichi Watanabe (3-4, 3.81 ERA) vs. Kelvin Yates (4-4, 3.04 ERA)
Nick Brown (5-3, 2.59 ERA) vs. Jorge Silva (2-7, 4.37 ERA)

We will not see a left-hander all week. Not that our platoon options are offering anything but double pain.

Game 1
TIJ: SS B. Boyle – CF Crum – 2B J. Diaz – LF B. Román – C Estrada – RF J. Thomas – 1B C. Solís – 3B R. Harris – P Kirkland
POR: 2B Nomura – CF Crespo – 1B Sharp – LF Brady – SS Flores – 3B Searcy – RF Mays – C Wood – P Fairchild

As soon as Kelly Fairchild started the game with a walk to Bruce Boyle, I felt the headaches coming. Fairchild allowed only one more runner in three scoreless innings before J.C. Crespo cracked a massive home run in the bottom of the third to give the Raccoons a 1-0 lead. That lead was short-lived. Johnny Crum hit a leadoff single in the top 4th, and Bartolo Román flipped the score with a home run of his own. Paco Estrada doubled, Fairchild walked the next two guys, and how in hell he escaped that jam will remain a mystery, but the Condors didn’t score again in the inning, and also wouldn’t touch a dull Fairchild again afterwards. But Kelly ran up his pitch count quickly with his ill control, although he only walked three in the entire game, and was replaced in the seventh. Lucas and Bruno each got two outs to move us the bottom 8th still down by a single marker, and then Trevino hit for Wood against Kirkland, who had whiffed eight and walked none, and lined a double to right to become the tying run with no outs on second base. And to nobody’s surprise at all, the suckers didn’t get him in. Quebell walked, Nomura erased a pair, Crespo walked, and Sharp grounded out. Kaz Kichida walked a pair in the top 9th, without the Condors getting that hit needed to score, and we faced Ricardo Huerta in the bottom 9th, and between Brady, Flores, and Ingram, nobody reached base. 2-1 Condors. Crespo 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Trevino (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Game 2
TIJ: SS B. Boyle – CF Crum – 2B J. Diaz – LF B. Román – C Estrada – RF J. Thomas – 1B T. Mullins – 3B R. Harris – P Yates
POR: 2B Nomura – SS Flores – 3B Sharp – LF Brady – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – RF Greenman – CF Trevino – P Watanabe

And a leadoff walk by Bruce Boyle – how refreshing! Boyle came around to score on a Diaz double, and oh noes, we’re down 1-0, we’re done. The Inepticoons couldn’t capitalize on a Robbie Harris error in the bottom of the first, and two singles weren’t enough to score in the second either, while Watanabe would walk Diaz in the third and then give up a long one to Román to fall behind 3-0. Yates had struck out 76 in 68 innings so far this season, and showed no intentions to stop, but mixed in a close pitch here and there, including one right smack into Yoshi Nomura’s hand to start the bottom of the third inning. Nomura went down and had to be walked off the field and out of the game.

THE RACCOONS WILL NOT BE PLAYED LIKE THAT! We might be the dirt on everybody else’s soles in the entire sport, but you WILL NOT THROW OUT YOSHI!!

There was some faint movement from the bats in the inning. Brady singled, and then Quebell and Bowen each drove in a run before Greenman became an obvious K to stop the rally at 3-2. Watanabe retired Yates to start the fourth. His first pitch was right into Bruce Boyle – and he went down, and had to leave. Both benches were warned, as there were players hollering on every set of steps into the dugouts. In a perfect world, Watanabe would now outpitch the ugly scavengers, but he was wasting pitches left and right and needed over 90 pitches through five innings. However, when he left, he was due for the win – Adrian Quebell exacted revenge on Yates with a score-flipping 2-run homer in the bottom 5th. That gave us a 4-3 lead, and while Yates had been deadly, striking out eight in six innings before being hit for, the Raccoons unveiled the sinister toys of their bullpen which hacked the Condors to pieces in the next few innings, Bruno and Moreno whiffing five between them in the seventh and eighth. Bottom 8th, Quebell singled to right off Jorge Escobar to get going. Bowen singled up the middle, and Crespo – hitting for Greenman – singled to right as well to load them up with no outs. C’mon, we need a hard shot! It surely looked like it might be a bitter inning at first: Trevino grounded to first, Román fired home, and the unhurried Quebell was out at home. Searcy hit for Moreno, and at least scored a man with a groundout. Ingram hit in the #1 slot, grounded to right – and past Diaz! Crespo scored, 6-3 Coons! And there came Angel, and that meant the pillow that was firmly pressed onto the Condors’ faces was not going to get lifted again. 6-3 Raccoons! Quebell 4-4, HR, 3 RBI; Bowen 4-4, 2B, RBI; Crespo (PH) 1-1; Bruno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

YOU … WILL NOT THROW OUT YOSHI!!!

Yoshi had dislocated a finger, and would be seriously hampered for a couple of days, which he would best spend resting. Bruce Boyle (.259, 6 HR, 25 RBI) certainly got the worse end of it, ending up on the DL with a bruised wrist.

Watanabe has now won three of four after a 4-game spill in which he lost every start. He has no stuff, can’t go deep into games, and is a long shot for the back of even a bottom dwelling team’s rotation, but he is one heck of a little soldier.

Now for the rubber game, with both sides well equipped with bats, spikes, a few knifes on each side, our Japanese players providing a couple of nunchaku, and Brownie was hiding a hand grenade under his cap. Let’s go to war.

Game 3
TIJ: 1B T. Mullins – SS Brantley – 2B J. Diaz – C Estrada – LF B. Román – 3B R. Harris – RF B. Wilson – CF Crum – P J. Silva
POR: SS Flores – 3B Sharp – LF Crespo – RF Brady – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – CF Trevino – 2B Ingram – P Brown

Ted Mullins let the bat speak and hit a leadoff homer off Brownie. The Coons got two on in the bottom 1st, but Johnny Crum made an inspiring catch on Crespo’s drive to center in between and that kept them from scoring, but Bowen came up with a homer to start the second inning for the Coons and that tied it up. Starting with Bartolo Román in the first inning, Brownie struck out SIX in a row until Ron Brantley managed to fly out to shallow right on an 0-1 offering to end the top 3rd. A leadoff single in the fifth made Robbie Harris the first Condor to touch first base safely since Mullins’ rocket, but he was erased on a double play and Brown struck out Crum for his eighth K while barely getting over 60 pitches. He just needed a little help from his friends. He didn’t get any with another soul-stabbing double play hit into in the bottom fifth, but the Condors got three hits, including two silly singles, in the top of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead on him. Bottom of the sixth, Brady singled to left, Quebell singled to left. No outs. Bowen grounded to right, double play. OH COME ON!!! I WILL SKIN YOU OF YOUR PATHETIC PELTS!!

There was still Clyde Brady on third and Trevino batting. The youngster grounded hard to right, where the ball eluded Mullins, and Brady came home to tie the score. On the first pitch to Ingram, Trevino stole second base. The Condors did not put Ingram on intentionally, probably figuring that Brown, who had needed 26 pitches in the top of the inning, would probably be pinch-hit for. Ingram got hold of a good pitch, doubled to left, and Trevino scored easily, before Brown lined out to short. 3-2 Coons, and Brown axed down Wilson, Crum, and Silva for three more strikeouts in the top 7th. Brown reappeared for the eighth on 102 pitches, struck out Mullins, got Brantley on a grounder, and then STRUCK OUT DIAZ!! Angel got warmed up. The Coons got Brady on in the bottom 8th, but another double play hit into by Quebell.

Angel in the ninth. So cometh upon us to save us from blowing Brownie’s lead, for he is the blessed one! And Angel struggled. He got Blair Harris to ground out to Ingram (who had made an error earlier in the game), then walked Bartolo Román. That brought up left-hander Jeff MacGruder to pinch-hit, but MacGruder was not the feared slugger anymore and went down whiffing. Another deep count on Josh Thomas, the third pinch-hitter of the inning, who grounded hard to the right side – to Ingram – he gets it – to first – BALLGAME!!! 3-2 Brownies!!! Brady 2-3, BB; Brown 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 13 K, W (6-3);

BROWNIIIIEEE!!!!

Goodbye scavengers! Don’t hit your fat, ugly butts on your way out!!

In other news

May 22 – The Crusaders deal OF Paco Javier (.245, 2 HR, 15 RBI) to the Indians for 3B Ian Burns (0-for-8), and AA 3B/SS Walt Canning, who is not a ranked prospect.
May 23 – The Indians will skip SP Curtis Tobitt (6-2, 1.57 ERA) at least once due to a dead arm.
May 25 – LVA SP David Estrada (4-5, 4.08 ERA) will be out for the next year with a torn rotator cuff.
May 26 – Sophomore CIN OF Jose Silva (.246, 3 HR, 16 RBI) is out for about six weeks with a quad strain.
May 28 – CHA LF/RF Jesus Flores (.321, 4 HR, 38 RBI) will miss a month with a herniated disc.

Complaints and stuff

Nick Brown added another stake in the tie for second place in most strikeouts in a game with 13 for the Raccoons. He holds that tie with Nick Brown and Nick Brown. The record is held by Nick Brown with 14. Only eight times has a Raccoon struck out 12 batters. Honors were done by Steven Berry, Kisho Saito, Ralph Ford, Nick Brown, Ralph Ford, Nick Brown, Nick Brown, and Nick Brown.

Now for an anti-stat, Nick Brown has not received more than three runs of support in ANY of his last six starts. Overall, he has received 31 runs of support in nine games (3.44 R/G), going 6-3 with a 2.54 ERA. He is 2-3 with a 2.59 ERA during his last six starts, while getting 1.66 R/G in support. This team…

Eddie Fernandez will go to rehab early next week and might be back with us by the weekend.