Quote:
Originally Posted by CHOWDERHEAD
What a great detailed, well-presented dynasty. I have really enjoyed reading though the pages. Look forward to more.
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Oy. People are still reading through this? Through
all of it?
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Here we go to break down the Elks' place. Let's see whose boss in the Northwest! (No, we don't need the Wolves to actually take part in such a contest, the Wolves are pathetic, and everybody knows it)
Raccoons (57-23) @ Canadiens (48-32) – July 2-5, 2007
Time to rectify that 0-3 record we have so far against the stinkin’ Elks. Taking three out of four twice from them would suffice but I wouldn’t be opposed to a double sweep, either. No matter how you raked them, they had a 5-game winning streak, and had the fifth-most runs scored in the league, despite the highest batting average of all teams. They also ranked fifth in runs allowed. Their rotation had a slightly better ERA than their bullpen.
Projected matchups:
Cássio Boda (1-1, 3.78 ERA) vs. David Peterson (4-7, 4.36 ERA)
Raúl Fuentes (7-3, 3.51 ERA) vs. Jose Marquez (6-6, 3.71 ERA)
Jose Dominguez (3-5, 5.09 ERA) vs. Juichi Fujita (8-4, 3.13 ERA)
Nick Brown (9-4, 2.70 ERA) vs. Rod Taylor (9-4, 2.69 ERA)
Marquez is a left-hander, which might be a good point to rest Castro and Quebell.
Game 1
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – 3B Sharp – LF Pruitt – RF Black – C Bowen – SS R. Miller – 2B Nomura – P Boda
VAN: RF E. Garcia – CF Fletcher – 1B T. Ramos – LF J. Gonzalez – 3B Suzuki – C G. Ortíz – SS Rodgers – 2B Palmer – P D. Peterson
After Castro and Pruitt had already hit the ball hard and far, but had been denied on the warning track, Black and Bowen gave the Raccoons a 2-0 lead in the top 2nd with back-to-back home runs off Peterson. The ball was certainly travelling well: Jose Gonzalez hit a jack off Boda to start the bottom 2nd, and in the bottom 3rd a single by Enrique Garcia and a double by Jerry Fletcher, the ex-Logger, was enough 2-out oomph to get the game tied. The lead was retaken on a 2-out RBI triple by Tomas Castro that brought in Miller in the fifth, and Ryan Miller would come up big in the seventh inning, following Bowen’s walk with his first major league home run to get the score to 5-2. Boda didn’t strike out anybody through five, then two in the sixth, then was run from the game in the seventh with three singles against him. Ed Bryan had the tying runs on the corners in a 5-3 game, facing Enrique Garcia, and surrendered the fourth single off the inning, 5-4. Law Rockburn was tasked with Fletcher, and another fail for another single tied the game through seven.
The Coons were almost out of the ninth when Miller’s grounder was bobbled by rookie Michael Palmer. Nomura singled, which brought up J.C. Crespo as pinch-hitter against Pedro Alvarado, but he looked at strike three and the runners were stranded. Ex-Raccoon Miguel Ramirez was batting 1-for-17 when he was sent to pinch-hit against Ward Jackson in the bottom 9th and almost hit one out, but had it snared by Luke Black at the wall. In the bottom 10th Kaz inherited a runner from Jackson before Ryan Miller put another one on with an error. Kaz got fed a hopper from Mitsuhide Suzuki after that and used it to turn an inning-ending double play. His defense let up significantly in the next inning. While the Raccoons couldn’t get through the infield anymore, the Elks didn’t need to. Kichida walked Ortíz, then threw away Ramirez’ bunt to put the winning run at third base with no outs. The Raccoons survived a grounder by Palmer to third, but Ramón Trinidad singled to right center to end it. 6-5 Canadiens. Miller 2-5, HR, 2 RBI;
Ack. Daniel Sharp went 0-5 with two inning-ending double plays to lead the team in futility. That was not a good game at all. Suddenly I have a bad feeling about this series…
Game 2
POR: CF Crespo – 1B Sharp – LF Pruitt – RF Black – C Bowen – 3B R. Miller – SS Sato – 2B Nomura – P Fuentes
VAN: 2B Palmer – 3B Suzuki – CF Fletcher – LF J. Gonzalez – 1B T. Ramos – RF Denunez – C F. Diéguez – SS Rodgers – P J. Marquez
While the Raccoons kept masterfully utilizing the double play to not score any runs, this time with Luke Black at the forefront, Fuentes blew up in marvelous ways in this second game. The Canadiens had it won by the fourth, in which a 2-out RBI double by Marquez – his second double of the day – eventually led to three runs, following up a first inning in which the Canadiens had enjoyed a Suzuki single followed by Fuentes pitching squarely into Fletcher’s thigh, then threw a wild pitch. Two runs scored on Jose Gonzalez’ single then. That didn’t mean the collapse didn’t continue after the fourth. Fuentes basically quit trying and left trailing 7-1 with Diéguez on first and one out. Okay, that’s a slow runner, maybe Ward Jackson can get a double play from that left-handed shortstop of theirs – or maybe Jackson would surrender a mammoth home run to that left-handed shortstop to make it 9-1. After killing his team’s chances all day long, Black would hit a meaningless 3-run home run with two down in the ninth. 9-4 Canadiens. Quebell (PH) 1-1; Pruitt 4-5;
The twat Jackson was squeezed out into the eighth inning, pitching three innings and walking four, then was banished to St. Petersburg. Luis Beltran, at 27 years of age hardly a prospect, was called up to replace him. Beltran had been our seventh round pick in 2007, and had pitched to a 1.40 ERA in 19.2 innings in St. Pete this year. Kenichi Watanabe was transferred to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster. Beltran’s days might be limited to five; Marcos Bruno might join us right out of the All Star break.
Game 3
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – C Bowen – LF Pruitt – RF Black – SS R. Miller – 2B Nomura – 3B M. Gutierrez – P Dominguez
VAN: RF E. Garcia – CF Fletcher – 1B T. Ramos – LF J. Gonzalez – 3B Suzuki – C G. Ortíz – SS Rodgers – 2B M. Ramirez – P Fujita
Chances weren’t in our favor to stay out of going down to 0-6 against the smelly beasts, but Dominguez was even worse than usual. The Elks had two hard singles in the first inning, didn’t score, so Dominguez made absolutely sure in the second inning. Besides making the final out with two on in the top 2nd, he allowed leadoff singles to Suzuki and Ortíz in the bottom of the inning, then casually walked both Ken Rodgers and Miguel Ramirez. Fujita hit into a double play, but the second run scored, 2-0.
Dominguez was an accident that just kept on crashing. The Elks got another run in the bottom 3rd before Nomura made a great play to end it, and he walked two in the fourth before Nomura started a saving double play. For the Raccoons, offensively, nothing worked. There was a double play that killed them once, and then they had Pruitt thrown out at home to end another inning. Ryan Miller proved unable to steal a base, and when they had two on with one out in the seventh, Quebell and Bowen made the ****tiest outs possible outside of impaling themselves with their sticks. On making his major league debut close to retirement age, Beltran’s first batter was Enrique Garcia to start the bottom 7th, and he gave up a triple and then a run right away before John Bennett was taken well yard by Mitsuhide Suzuki in the eighth. The Coons hit into another double play (Gutierrez…) in the ninth before being defeated by Fujita in an unlikely 9-hit shutout. 5-0 Canadiens. Castro 2-5, 2B; Nomura 2-3, BB; Gutierrez 2-4;
Umm, guys? Guys? They’re … they’re getting closer. You see them coming, right?
Brownie. Brownie, listen. You need to stop them. YOU need to stop them. You will probably not get any support, so you need to hit a home run AND spin a shutout. Can you do that for me? Pretty please?
Game 4
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – 3B Sharp – LF Pruitt – RF Black – SS R. Miller – 2B Nomura – C Wood – P Brown
VAN: 2B Dobson – RF E. Garcia – CF Fletcher – LF J. Gonzalez – 1B T. Ramos – C G. Ortíz – 3B Suzuki – SS Rodgers – P R. Taylor
Before Brownie could try to rip one, Duke Smack went deep to start the second inning. That was about the balance of the teams’ offense for a while. Brown was left to fend for himself, which went remarkably well for a while until Bobo Wood actively stabbed him by completely missing a 1-2 pitch with two outs and a runner on third base in the fourth inning. That passed ball tied the score at one. The Raccoons then got a break (and they needed it) in the sixth. Castro had led off with a single and then Quebell grounded to first. Tony Ramos came in and had to hurry his throw to first base, but Dobson couldn’t come up with a low feed and the Raccoons were handed two men in scoring position with no outs on the error. We took a lead on Sharp’s sac fly before Pruitt was walked intentionally and Black not quite so intentionally to load them up, but Miller and Nomura both struck out.
Through six, Brownie was all ace. In the seventh, it all came crashing down. Walk to Ortíz, wild pitch, walk to Suzuki. Trinidad struck out, and then he really, actually walked Rod Taylor. That filled the bags with one out in a 2-1 game. Law Rockburn appeared to face Jerry Dobson, who hit a sac fly to tie the score, and from there Rockburn didn’t retire anybody. Garcia singled, Fletcher singled, Gonzalez doubled. The Elks plated five runs in the inning, and laughingly completed their second sweep of the year over the Raccoons. 6-2 Canadiens. Black 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;
Well, it’s all going to ****. By my calculation, the ****ing Elks will lead the division by next Friday.
Raccoons (57-27) @ Titans (45-41) – July 6-8, 2007
13 games out (but only eight behind the Canadiens), the Titans were seventh in runs scored and third in runs allowed in the league. Their bullpen was especially strong with a 2.33 ERA against them, but they so far had lost six of nine against the Critters on the year.
Projected matchups:
Kelvin Yates (11-0, 2.16 ERA) vs. Ray Conner (7-2, 4.18 ERA)
Cássio Boda (1-1, 4.63 ERA) vs. Jason O’Halloran (9-5, 4.19 ERA)
Raúl Fuentes (7-4, 4.05 ERA) vs. Jeremy Peterson (4-6, 4.66 ERA)
We miss their best two guys by ERA, Jorge Chapa (3.16) and Bryce Hildred (2.86). Whether that helps us depends on whether the team can simply stop ****ing up. We start the series with two left-handers opposing us.
Game 1
POR: LF Castro – CF Crespo – 1B Pruitt – RF Black – C Bowen – 3B Sharp – SS R. Miller – 2B Sato – P Yates
BOS: 2B D. Silva – SS Hutchinson – 1B A. Munoz – C Suda – RF G. Munoz – LF Cavazos – CF Garrison – 3B M. Austin – P Conner
Undefeated Kelvin Yates was tasked with stopping the misery, which did not include surrendering singles to the miserable Daniel Silva and Hutchinson, then allowing a double steal and both runners to score on groundouts to fall 2-0 behind in the first. Duke Smack reconquered half the deficit instantly in the top 2nd with his 14th homer of the year, but Conner then retired the next nine without much fuss – including the Duke. All the while Kel sat on more walks (2) than strikeouts (1) … Success seemed not exactly right around the corner despite Sharp singling in the fifth to finally get on base again. Sato batted with him at second and two outs, but was hit by Conner to bring up Yates. Oh yay. Kel however hit a liner down the rightfield line, plating Sharp with a double to tie the score. In a perfect world, Castro would not have struck out, but eh, what are you gonna - …
The Titans got runners onto the corners with Hutchinson and Munoz singles in the bottom 5th, but finally Yates found the stuff that made him undefeated and struck out Quasimodo and that other Munoz to escape. That didn’t stop the Titans, though. They had two on again in the sixth, two more singles, and then the hack face Silva drove in the go-ahead run with a 2-out single. ******** Silva would drive home another run in the eighth off Bryan, and Kel was undefeated no more. 4-2 Titans. Nomura 1-1;
Okay, it’s a collapse. It’s all coming down, and really quickly, too.
But at least Vic Flores rejoins the squad now after getting warm with a few swings in AAA the last two days. Manuel Gutierrez was designated for the void. Vic would still lead the CL batting race if he had not dropped off the table for insufficient plate appearances.
Game 2
POR: 2B Flores – CF Castro – 1B Quebell – RF Black – LF Pruitt – 3B Sharp – C Bowen – SS R. Miller – P Boda
BOS: 2B D. Silva – SS Hutchinson – 1B A. Munoz – C Suda – RF G. Munoz – LF Cavazos – CF Garrison – 3B M. Austin – P O’Halloran
The Raccoons actually took an actual lead in the middle game when Castro singled in Miller in the third inning, 1-0. Both pitchers did very well in generating poor contact, and in fact the most trouble that Boda was in for five innings was when he made a throwing error himself. Daniel Silva was a constant pest on the base paths, but remained contained and didn’t get past second base his three times up and three times on. All went well into the bottom 7th, when Gonzalo Munoz led off with a single, and Boda then walked Rudy Garrison in a full count, which was also the end of his day. Ed Bryan came out with left-handers to be retired, but Freddy Rosa hit for Austin, and almost, but not quite, beat Castro in center on a 3-1 pitch. The double avoided, Munoz moved to third as the tying run, and Jim Brulhart hit for O’Halloran. Bennett replaced Bryan and got a foul pop behind the plate to end the inning. We got Vic Flores to second in the eighth, only for Castro to line out to Silva to end the inning. The Critters failed to score even after a leadoff double by Quebell off Manuel Martinez in the ninth inning, and the score remained 1-0. And who’s that chick jogging in from the pen? Have we seen him before? Quick, check whose #28. Whoever that black kid with the white wings was, he mowed down the Titans in short order in the inning. 1-0 Critters. Flores 2-3, BB; Boda 6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (2-1);
We haven’t scored more than five runs in a game this month, and we have scored five total in the last four games. Guys? A bit more effort, please!
Game 3
POR: SS Flores – CF Castro – 3B Sharp – LF Pruitt – RF Black – 1B Quebell – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – P Fuentes
BOS: 2B D. Silva – SS Hutchinson – 1B A. Munoz – LF Brulhart – CF Garrison – C Rosa – RF Cavazos – 3B Watts – P J. Peterson
While Castro and Pruitt had their fly balls die on the warning track (and inside gloves) in the first inning, the ****ing pest Silva led off his half of the first with a home run off Fuentes, who crumbled in record pace as the Titans put up another five hits and four runs total in the first inning. Second inning, the ***hole led off with a single, another single, a double steal, and the Raccoons were watching with open eyes, eager to find out what happened next. They were down by five after two innings, and all hope and all confidence was all gone. Rosa singled off Fuentes to start the bottom 3rd before Cavazos sent a rocket out of the park, 7-0. Next, Fuentes was loaded into a catapult and sent out on the same trajectory.
The Raccoons were outright miserable in this game. The sole high note was Kaz with scoreless long relief. As soon as he departed, Adam Riddle got lit up by Brulhart with a long ball. The Raccoons didn’t get onto the board until the ninth, when Matt Pruitt hit a half-unearned 2-run homer off Peterson. 8-2 Titans. Flores 3-4; Pruitt 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Quebell 2-4; Kichida 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;
In other news
July 2 – The Knights acquired CL Francisco Rodriguez (3-5, 6.23 ERA, 17 SV) from the Scorpions in exchange for two prospects, including #80 CL Ron Carroll.
July 2 – The Scorpions also send SP George Allen (1-11, 6.22 ERA) to the Bayhawks for 3B Stan Whitley (.308, 0 HR, 6 RBI in 78 AB) and a minor leaguer, and the Bayhawks fare even better with a trade for CIN SP Jeremiah Bowman (8-5, 3.30 ERA), which costs them #55 prospect SP Johnny Krom.
July 3 – The Indians pick up OF Robbie Luxton (.258, 8 HR, 38 RBI) from the Wolves, sending them three prospects, all unranked.
July 3 – ATL LF/RF Rodrigo Lopez (.325, 1 HR, 22 RBI) has his hand broken by a pitch and might miss most of the remaining season.
July 4 – With trade season in full flight, the Stars picked up CL Charlie Deacon (6-7, 6.08 ERA, 12 SV) from the Aces in exchange for #79 pitching prospect B.J. Wilbanks and another minor leaguer.
July 4 – CHA SP Carl Bean (2-3, 4.67 ERA) was out for the season with radial nerve compression.
July 5 – SFW CF/LF Earl Clark (.336, 4 HR, 40 RBI) might miss more than a month with a broken foot.
July 6 – The Cyclones pick up SP Juan Garcia (5-9, 4.18 ERA) from the Miners for three prospects, and CL Lorenzo Flores (2-5, 3.03 ERA, 19 SV) from the Condors for just one.
July 7 – DAL INF Armando Rodriguez (.305, 4 HR, 41 RBI) has suffered a hamstring strain and is out for a month.
July 8 – 22-year old New York hotshot OF Roberto Pena (.272, 3 HR, 21 RBI) will miss three weeks with a tear in his hamstring.
July 8 – The Knights shut down their young stud OF Jose Morales (.325, 17 HR, 61 RBI) with shoulder inflammation. He might be done for the year.
Complaints and stuff
****ing Elks.
Then we lost #2,500 in franchise history on Friday when Kel had absolutely nothing.
Clyde Brady had something: five hits in a game this week, all singles, scoring nobody, in a 5-2 Gold Sox win over the Wolves.
The Raccoons will send four players to the All Star Game. Kel, Angel, Vic, and Castro. Why Nick Brown is excluded while the old bone Aaron Anderson (6-5, 4.22 ERA) gets to go is beyond me. On the other hand that works perfectly for Brownie to start the first game after the break.
Nah, I’m still mad.