[Westheim]

On Monday the Elks beat the Aces, 5-3, while we were off, which moved them into a virtual tie with us. I don’t like that. I don’t like them.

Raccoons (26-16) @ Bayhawks (19-26) – May 27-29, 2008

Already sinking rapidly in the South, the Bayhawks had a leakage in their rotation and couldn’t get it fixed. Their starting five put up an ERA of almost as much, and the bullpen was average at best. The offense didn’t keep up, and this was a perfect recipe for a .422 team that wasn’t going to get any better. They are the last CL team we hadn’t played against so far this season. Watch out for 3B David Lopez, who has taken over the lead in the home run race with 11 dingers, batting almost .340;

Projected matchups:
Jong-hoo Umberger (5-2, 2.15 ERA) vs. Harry Wentz (2-4, 4.06 ERA)
Colin Baldwin (1-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. Tyler Sullivan (4-1, 3.64 ERA)
Javier Cruz (2-2, 5.32 ERA) vs. Angel Romero (2-2, 5.76 ERA)

Yes, THAT Angel Romero. He’s 37 now. He was 35 when he stunk in Portland. We are sliding Cruz into the #5 hole utilizing the off day on Monday that would have been his usual turn in the rotation. That doesn’t mean he’ll get skipped regularly from now on, but this is a measure to separate the left-handed B-Boys in the rotation, Baldwin and Brown.

Game 1
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – 3B R. Martinez – RF Black – LF Pruitt – C Bowen – SS Barrón – 2B Nomura – P Umberger
SFB: LF Ware – RF Hudson – 3B D. Lopez – 1B I. Gutierrez – RF Keshishian – C P. Fernandez – 2B J. Perez – SS Nakayama – P Wentz

Both starting pitchers hurt another with singles in the third inning. While Wentz plated Jose Perez with his 1-out RBI single, the Coons’ Korean jewel had reached base with a single to start the top 3rd. Quebell also got on before Castro reached a 12-game hitting streak with a 3-run home run, the first tally in the game. Ivan Gutierrez’ homer in the bottom 4th further shortened the score to 3-2, but the Raccoons came back in the sixth. Barrón’s leadoff single was followed by a liner off Yoshi Nomura’s bat that escaped Tirgen Keshishian for an RBI triple, and while Umberger became the first of the two pitchers to not reach base safely in five attempts in the game, his groundout at least scored the runner from third to get the Raccoons to 5-2. The Raccoons had already stranded men on third twice (and had Black thrown out at home to end another inning) when Umberger was sent to bat with runners in scoring position and two outs in the seventh. Wentz struck him out on three pitches, but Umberger came back with a scoreless bottom 7th to make it not a bad move at all. He struck out pinch-hitter Urbano Cicalina at the start of the bottom 8th before leaving for Ed Bryan to face the lefty Stephen Ware, who hit a triple. Raw Lockburn struck out John Hudson before David Lopez, hitless in the game, grounded out to Nomura, and Angel saved the game without too much fuss. 5-2 Raccoons. Martinez 2-5; Bowen 2-4, BB, 2B; Barrón 3-3, BB; Umberger 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, W (6-2) and 2-4, RBI;

Game 2
POR: 1B Quebell – 3B R. Martinez – CF Castro – RF Black – C Bowen – SS Barrón – LF Crespo – 2B J. Gutierrez – P Baldwin
SFB: CF Hudson – 2B J. Perez – 3B D. Lopez – RF Keshishian – 1B Nakayama – C P. Fernandez – LF M. Rodriguez – SS McCullough – P Sullivan

We probably knew what to expect from Baldwin once he took the mound for the bottom 1st and faced to the wrong side, staring at Tomas Castro far out in centerfield. Castro stared back with a blank expression. Baldwin’s start soon descended into chaos, with the leadoff man reaching in every inning, and there was another black hole, defensively, at third base, where Martinez did not only not make the extraordinary plays, but not even the basic plays. Somehow the picture remained hanging on the wall through four innings of only one run scoring (and one cut down at home by Crespo), and the Raccoons even took a 3-1 lead in a 2-run top 5th featuring a Martinez RBI triple (he scored on a passed ball), but in the bottom 5th Baldwin loaded the bases with no outs, featuring two walks, and it just blew up. Pablo Fernandez’ RBI single made it 5-3 Bayhawks with still only one out, and Baldwin was yanked. Watkins retired Manuel Rodriguez and Brandon McCullough to end the inning, but the damage was immense. Also considerable: the number of runners the Raccoons left in scoring position. One each in the first two innings, and two each in the fifth and seventh. Duke Smack’s leadoff jack in the eighth then had impressive length, yet insufficient weight to make up the difference, but he got another chance with two outs in the ninth of the 5-4 game, facing ex-Coons farmhand Salvadaro Soure, who had just allowed 2-out singles to Martinez and Castro, but here the Duke was too eager and got blacked out. 5-4 Bayhawks. Quebell 2-5, 2B; Martinez 3-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Castro 2-5; Black 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Watkins 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Tom Watkins’ elbow was balking after this game and it wasn’t better the following morning. We had him examined, but couldn’t find any structural deficiencies. The medical staff shrugged and filled in the form with the official ailment of “tender elbow”, which would render him diminished for the next week. The question was whether we would want to run around with a diminished pitcher for that long, or go to a replacement for two weeks. We have been using the DL quite aggressively so far this year and I’m not intent on changing that. Watkins was disabled, and a replacement was shipped in from Florida in the Alley Cats’ closer, Matt Cash. Now 25 and still walking people, it will certainly be a temporary assignment.

We also exchanged Jose Gutierrez and Ryan Miller again. Gutierrez’ novelty factor had worn off, and Miller had batted .320 with gap power in St. Pete, so we welcomed him back.

Game 3
POR: 2B Barrón – 3B R. Martinez – LF Castro – RF Black – 1B Pruitt – C Bowen – SS R. Miller – CF Trevino – P Cruz
SFB: LF Ware – CF Hudson – 3B D. Lopez – 1B I. Gutierrez – C P. Fernandez – 2B J. Perez – RF M. Rodriguez – SS McCullough – P Romero

Angel Romero only logged eight outs before leaving with some tweak or other, and the Raccoons plated zero runs off him in their allotted time. Meanwhile Cruz tried to allow runs really hard, issuing two leadoff walks to Gutierrez and Fernandez in the second, from which Martinez dug him out by starting a double play, and then with a leadoff single to relief pitcher Lance Tinker in the bottom 3rd, which also dissolved in a double play with Barrón stretching to intercept a grounder, hauling it to the middle bag, and returnee Miller taking care of Ware at first.* No runs after three dissolved in a leadoff home run by David Lopez in the fourth, and this was not a deep one – it was an inside-the-parker. The park went completely nuts on the play, which was the only offensive highlight the attendance got to see the entire day. Cruz was unconvincing, but not tagged again, and the Raccoons firmly remained with their stance of not hitting anybody, no matter how scrawny they were, which obviously culminated in an ex-Raccoon pitching in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game: Rémy Lucas facing Castro, Black, and Pruitt. Castro struck out, as did Pruitt, and Black’s single was no help in staying out of another sour defeat. Bowen popped out to shallow center to end the game. 1-0 Bayhawks. Black 2-4; Cruz 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L (2-3);

5-hit by a collection of marginal pitchers. Angel Romero for 2 2/3 innings, Lance Tinker from there through seven. Ken MacKenzie and Javier Montés-Ortíz (who??) in the eighth, and then … Rémy Lucas.

Losing always hurts, but this one was brutal. We also dropped to third in the division.

Raccoons (27-18) vs. Condors (21-26) – May 30-June 1, 2008

We are 2-1 against the Scavengers this year, and their league-worst pitching might provide an opportunity for our struggling offense to regenerate and find a way to score again. Their rotation was getting slaughtered outright to a 5.76 ERA, with a second-to-last 4.36 ERA mark on the pen. Scoring average runs was not a distinction either, and they had somehow been lucky so far to rank only five below .500.

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (5-2, 3.34 ERA) vs. Jimmy Sjogren (2-2, 3.54 ERA)
Kelvin Yates (5-0, 3.93 ERA) vs. Micah Kirchberg (3-2, 4.37 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (6-2, 2.19 ERA) vs. Jorge Silva (3-5, 7.50 ERA)

We get their two best starters in the set, plus their worst (by ERA). At least we can bring the A Team, so if the hitters don’t feast on the Condors, maybe our own guys can survive their lineup. “A Team” should come with an asterisk, though, since they have all had their struggles in May…

Game 1
TIJ: CF R. Perez – RF Tanner – 2B J. Diaz – C P. Estrada – 1B R. Morris – SS Ybarra – LF Ward – 3B George – P Sjogren
POR: 1B Quebell – 3B R. Martinez – LF Castro – RF Black – C Bowen – 2B Barrón – SS R. Miller – CF Trevino – P Brown

We got our third straight southpaw to open the set, but before Jimmy Sjogren took the mound, the Raccoons attempted to destroy themselves in the first inning. After Ramón Perez grounded out, Brown drilled Rowan Tanner pretty square, then walked Juan Diaz. Paco Estrada’s single loaded them up, and while Ricardo Martinez never had a chance for two on Rob Morris’ grounder to third, his throw to Quebell was uncatchable and WAY over the first baseman’s head for two unearned runs. The Condors’ Ybarra and Ward got no more off Brown in that inning, but that was some early damage and Brown was as annoyed with Martinez as he was with himself. While Sjogren was perfect the first time through the Coons’ order, the self destruction continued in the fourth, following two innings of seven up, six down for Brown. Pancho Ybarra led off with a blooper to right that not only Barrón didn’t get, but that went through Black’s legs for another error. While Ybarra moved to third on a grounder he then stole home against a completely discombumbled battery that was not in sync with the universe, nor with another.

And the lineup didn’t fare any better. Bowen drew a walk in the fifth, but – the sign of a wannabe team one fraction of a second before shattering into a .500 outfit – the team didn’t get a hit until BROWN singled with one out in the bottom 6th. Quebell softly lobbed another single to right, and Martinez was safe on a pathetic grounder back to Sjogren. Bases loaded with one out for Castro, who drew a walk to push in the team’s first run. Black grounded to third, where Will George forced Martinez, but his throw to first was late and the Raccoons still had runners on first and second for Bowen, down 3-2. Bowen singled past Ybarra to tie the game when Castro easily went home from second base. A completely bewildered Sjogren, whose looks should have signaled every sane manager to sent him to the showers, walked Barrón to reload the sacks, only for Ryan Miller, hitless since his return, to line out to short. Brown went seven without logging a decision, with Rockburn and Sims holding the Condors at bay throughout regulation. The Condors’ manager seemed to have fallen asleep: Sjogren was back on the mound for the bottom 9th, entering play at 112 pitches. Didn’t matter – Coons couldn’t score.

Extras resumed with Sims, who was skinned when Nate Thompson hit a leadoff double and Perez walked. Rowan Tanner, another lefty, grounded out to first, but the outlook was dire. We sent for Bruno, who got a sorry bouncer in front of the plate from Diaz that Bowen converted for an out, and then obliterated Estrada to leave two runners in scoring position. We had to cope with Charlie Deacon, and did so quite poorly. Through 11 innings, the team totaled four hits, all in the sixth inning. Once Bruno yielded for Ed Bryan in the 12th, left-handed Johnny Crum hit a gigantic home run to get the Condors into the lead. Bowen’s leadoff double off ex-Critter Ricardo Huerta kept hopes above the “none” mark, but pathetic outs by Barrón and Nomura were followed by Wilton Walker’s miraculous play on J.C. Crespo’s pinch-hit grounder, and ended the game. 4-3 Condors. Bowen 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Brown 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K and 1-2; Bruno 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

5-hit again. Last week was obviously a fluke, and something has gone completely wrong. The team has been bad the entire month and now they are actively starting to lose games in droves. The ****ing Elks are already 2 1/2 games ahead. THE ****ING ELKS!!

Game 2
TIJ: SS Ybarra – RF Tanner – 2B J. Diaz – CF R. Perez – LF Crum – C P. Estrada – 1B Ward – 3B I. Reed – P Kirchberg
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – 3B R. Martinez – RF Black – LF Pruitt – SS Barrón – 2B Nomura – C Rios – P Yates

The Raccoons’ efforts started with Quebell’s fifth home run of the year, and they scored two more runs in the inning on Barrón’s 2-out single that drove in Castro and Martinez. Too bad that Yates sucked colossally and gave back two runs instantly in the top 2nd, and general had no concept of the strike zone whatsoever. He still struck out nine, somehow, mainly attributable to the Condors loving to swing at crap, but there would not be a happy end at all. The Raccoons held a 5-2 lead after five, but blew it entirely in the top 6th. Yates was yanked after Ramón Perez tagged with him a 1-out, 2-run homer, and when Ed Bryan came in, Crum homered as well, taking him deep for the second time in two days. The Coons got Castro on in the bottom 7th only for Martinez to end the inning with a two-for-one grounder to Will George at third base, before the Duke hit a leadoff double off Jayden Reed in the bottom 8th. Pruitt was walked intentionally before Reed’s first pitch to Barrón was in the dirt and bounced off Estrada’s mask, allowing both runners to advance. They had to hold on Barrón’s poor grounder to the mound, however, and Nomura was walked intentionally to load them up for Rios, who was 2-3 on the day. Crespo hit for him anyway and lined a pitch to Ramón Perez in center. Black tagged and scored to break the tie before Bowen grounded out to largely waste a splendid chance. Our plight continued when Angel Casas allowed singles to Estrada and Ward as the ninth inning got underway. After George and Thompson struck out, Pancho Ybarra stepped in, hitless on the day. He tried hard, maybe too hard, to change his line, and Casas ended the game with his third K. 6-5 Coons. Castro 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Rios 2-3;

Donald Sims logged his first win as a Raccoon, while Juan Rios not only threw out his first base stealer (after not succeeding four times), but also stole a base himself! He scored on a Kelvin Yates double, but Yates’ line soon drowned.

And what about Bryan? God, he sucks! Our pen has allowed ten home runs this year. He has four all by himself. Dan Parker is really close to getting called up here…! In the short run, the battle plan for Sunday is for Matt Cash to face Crum in a tight spot. Why? Well, can he actually fare worse against him than Bryan??

Game 3
TIJ: SS Ybarra – RF Tanner – 2B J. Diaz – CF R. Perez – 1B R. Morris – C P. Estrada – LF W. McCormick – 3B George – P Carter
POR: 1B Quebell – CF Castro – 3B R. Martinez – RF Black – LF Pruitt – SS Barrón – C Bowen – 2B Nomura – P Umberger

The Condors moved up Ron Carter (4-3, 5.13 ERA), not to our amazement. He didn’t give the Raccoons anything. And while the box score would say that Umberger was perfect the first time through the order, the Condors got sound contact off him from the start, but it took until Ybarra’s turn at bat in the fourth for them to hit one out of the park. That shot was the difference in a game in which the home team kept flailing and failing in embarrassing manner against a guy that usually walked more than he struck out, but now had a field day. Umberger was hit for in the bottom 7th after Yoshi Nomura’s 1-out triple, and the best Crespo could manage was a sac fly. Quebell’s 2-out double evaporated into nothing, and another guy wound up with nothing to show for a decent outing. When the Condors had Tommy Ward at second with two out in the top 8th, and Johnny Crum came out to pinch-hit, Rockburn remained in the game, getting Crum to foul out in the vicinity of first base.

Martinez stole second base after a leadoff walk in the bottom 8th, to which the Condors responded with an intentional walk to Black. Pruitt hit a ball well to left, but had it caught by McCormick, while Martinez tagged to go to third base, from where he scored as the go-ahead run on Barrón’s following single. Nomura would draw a bases-loading 2-out walk from Carter to finally get him out of the game. Nelson Chavez hit for Rockburn with Huerta in as new reliever, and McCormick sucked up another potential double to end the inning. Angel struck out Tanner and Diaz before Perez flew out to Black. 2-1 Furballs. Quebell 2-4, 2B; Nomura 2-3, BB, 3B; Umberger 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K;

In other news

May 26 – It’s season over for LVA SP Joe Hollow (1-2, 6.11 ERA). The 32-year old is going to be shut down with ever worsening shoulder inflammation.
May 26 – Also out for 2008 is DEN INF Jose Correa (.285, 0 HR, 20 RBI), who won the Federal League’s Gold Glove at second base four out of the last six years. He has broken his elbow.
May 27 – The Titans are dealt a crippling blow when SP Jorge Chapa (6-2, 2.49 ERA) is diagnosed with a tear in his triceps. He might miss most of the remainder of the season.
May 29 – Another long term injury is reported for DAL SP Elwood Spurrell (6-2, 2.20 ERA). The 33-year old right-hander has suffered a fracture in his elbow and should be out for 2008. The 2.20 ERA is the best he’s ever had in his career – no wonder for a pitcher that led the Federal League in home runs allowed four straight years at one point.
May 31 – IND OF Robbie Luxton (.243, 7 HR, 21 RBI) needs to hit the DL with a knee sprain. The Indians hope that he’s going to be back by the second half of June.

Complaints and stuff

I think I know why the Capitals waived legit star Adriano Lulli two weeks ago. I *heard* - I don’t know if it’s actually true – that Lulli was caught with the hand in the cookie jar of the Capitals’ president’s youngest daughter, who’s scarcely 17 years old.

She had baked those brownies for a fundraising event and things escalated quickly.

Sergio Esquivel was sent on a rehab assignment to the Alley Cats this Wednesday. He’s recovered well so far from the beaning and now it’s time to test those old reflexes (which weren’t very good even before…).

Overall, it’s not going well. The lineup is lame. Black and Pruitt aren’t getting anything done right now, and Bowen and Barrón aren’t big helps further down. The bench is comatose at best. Overall, we’re dangling by the thinnest of threads.

Sole good news come from the monthly awards front, where Ricardo Martinez has been named Rookie of the Month for May (after already winning in April), with a .343, 1 HR, 17 RBI output. Thank heavens they don’t keep track of errors.

Odd stat: Of all pitchers against whom Bakile Hiwalani has more than 50 AB, he has the lowest batting averages against the following: Never-Coon Whit Reeves (.191), ex-Coon Randy Farley (.203), always-Coon Nick Brown (.224), and Brownie is the only one who has not allowed a home run to him, which is the more wonderous when you take into account that Hiwalani is a right-handed batter.

*Even I would normally abstain from “taking care of Ware”, but that was the PBP came up with and I couldn’t resist… I’m weak that way.