[Westheim]

Raccoons (72-46) vs. Rebels (57-61) – August 17-19, 2010

The Rebels are still the team that has handled the Raccoons by far the best over the history of the ABL. We have fared miserably in the regular season against them with a .278 clip since 1977, despite winning two of three in ’07 in our last meeting, but before that f.e. we had been swept three times in a row. And don’t forget that 1996 World Series…

That all said, they were a pretty miserable team. They were in the worst three in both runs scored and runs allowed in the Federal League and their run differential was almost -100 (Coons: +99).

Projected matchups:
Nick Brown (15-5, 2.69 ERA) vs. Tim Winston (8-9, 4.56 ERA)
Gil McDonald (4-1, 2.97 ERA) vs. Johnny Collins (7-8, 4.92 ERA)
Jong-hoo Umberger (12-7, 3.35 ERA) vs. Bill Conway (5-12, 5.00 ERA)

And here we get another series entirely with right-handed pitchers. Not that I am complaining too hard.

Game 1
RIC: CF Enriquez – C B. Campbell – LF E. Clark – RF W. Jones – 1B Valenzuela – SS Nichols – 2B J. Miller – 3B Yu – P Winston
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Alston – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – SS Howell – P Brown

Nick Brown had his first pitch of the game clubbed all the way to Costa Rica by Victor Enriquez, giving the Rebels an instant 1-0 lead. The Raccoons didn’t do much at all the first time through, held to a Nomura infield single, while Brown struck out four in three innings, then allowed a leadoff triple to Earl Clark in the fourth. The Rebels looked like they would build on their lead, but Winston Jones fouled out, Jose Valenzuela whiffed, and Brian Nichols lifted one out to Castro in center, and Clark was left on third base. The Raccoons then also got a good start to their half of the fourth, with Quebell and Pruitt going to the corners with a double and a single, respectively. Ron Alston mostly killed the effort with a 4-6-3 double play, but at least the run scored and the score was tied. Offense was very slow overall, with the score still 1-1 in the bottom 7th. Both teams had only had three hits with Yoshi on first base and Bowen batting with two outs against reliever Matt Ruffin. Bowen was about to get the fourth hit for the Coons, and a mighty big one, cracking a homer to slightly right of center, putting the Raccoons ahead 3-1. Brownie struck out Min-tae Yu at the start of the top 8th, but then gave up a double to Lou Jenkins and was removed for Rockburn, who got Enriquez on a fly to center before Brian Campbell grounded out to third base. Pat White batted for Rockburn to start the bottom 8th, walked, stole second and made it to third on Campbell’s throwing error, then was stranded when Castro bounced out to Ruffin, Quebell was walked intentionally, and Pruitt hit into a double play. Angel Casas had to face the 3-4-5 guys, with Winston Jones (who entered with 90 RBI) hitting a blooper to shallow right for a 1-out single, but was nevertheless stranded at first base by his teammates. 3-1 Brownies! Bowen 1-3, HR, 2 RBI; Brown 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W (16-5);

At this point, Nick Brown tied for the CL lead in wins again, and took over the strikeout lead by one over Rod Taylor. The ERA lead is still old man Antonio Donis’, who’s 38 and the best he’s ever been.

Game 2
RIC: CF Enriquez – C B. Campbell – LF E. Clark – RF W. Jones – 1B Valenzuela – SS Nichols – 3B Yu – 2B J. Miller – P J. Collins
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Alston – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – SS Howell – P McDonald

The Rebels had three hits off McDonald in the top 1st, yet scored nobody and left runners on second and third, with Enriquez being thrown out on the bases by Ron Alston, who would drive in the first run of the game in the bottom 1st, plating Castro with a single. The Coons hit seven singles in the first two innings, plating a total of three runs against Johnny Collins. Both teams then scored unearned runs in the third inning. Howell made an error with two out and nobody on in the top half, after which McDonald surrendered two hard hits to Clark and Jones and an unearned run before Valenzuela grounded out to short. Bottom half, we had two in scoring position with two outs and McDonald batting. He floated the ball to right, where Winston Jones came on and snagged it, then stumbled and dropped it, and both runners scored for a 5-1 lead. McDonald was giving up quite a few hits and hard balls that were taken by our corner outfielders with above-average effort required, but when he was to bat again in the fifth, we again had two outs and runners on the corners, and he managed to ground a ball over the second base bag into center for an RBI single as Yoshi scored and Howell went first-to-third, Castro walked after that, but Quebell grounded out.

And the offense kept producing runs! Collins was gone after five, allowing six runs on 11 hits and a couple o’ walks, and his replacement Jean-Christophe Fernandes allowed a home run to the first guy he faced, Matt Pruitt, in the sixth. Alston got on with a single, Merritt was plunked, Bowen singled to load the bases, and then Rob Howell singled to left center. McDonald came up with the bases full and one out, but hit into a double play to end the inning at 8-1. McDonald didn’t get through the top 7th, allowing a 1-out double to Enriquez and reaching 100 pitches in the progress. McDonald’s stamina wasn’t good in the first place and now we went to Ray Kelley, who struck out Campbell and Clark to get out of the seventh. The score was still 8-1 after eight, and Josh Gibson made his major league debut in the ninth inning, facing PH Mike Desan as his first career batter. Desan was a 24-year old rookie batting .171, struck out, and Gibson had a clean 1-2-3 inning. 8-1 Coons. Castro 3-4, BB, RBI; Quebell 2-5; Pruitt 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Alston 3-5, RBI; Bowen 2-5, 2B; Howell 2-4, RBI; McDonald 6.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (5-1) and 1-4, RBI; Kelley 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

We made a last minute flick on Thursday morning. Baldwin was flipped with Umberger for game 3, moving the potentially sucking Baldwin into the Rebels series, where a defeat will hurt much less than in our weekend series against the Crusaders.

It’s not personal, it’s maths. If Baldwin blows the Rebels game, the Crusaders gain one. If Baldwin blows the Crusaders game, the Crusaders gain two (compared to the Coons winning the game).

Game 3
RIC: CF Enriquez – C B. Campbell – LF E. Clark – RF W. Jones – 1B Valenzuela – 3B Nichols – 2B J. Miller – SS Yu – P Conway
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Alston – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – C Owens – SS Guerin – P Baldwin

The Rebels had a good chance in the third inning, which started with a Jon Merritt error and Baldwin walking Yu to have two on and nobody out. Conway bunted to first, where Quebell made a daring play and hurled the ball to third base, where Concie tagged out Miller to erase the lead runner, and Baldwin struck out Enriquez en route to wiggling out of the jam. Bill Conway retired the first ten Critters in order before Quebell drew a walk, which was followed by soft singles from Pruitt and Alston to load the bases with one out in the fourth. Conway sort of got out of there with a scratch, allowing only a sac fly to Jon Merritt before Yoshi hit another soft single, but there was no way for Pruitt to score. Owens flew out to centerfield then. That one measly run was not worth a lot once Pruitt overran Nichols’ leadoff single in the fifth, giving the Rebels’ runner that extra base that he used to sneak home to tie the score in the top 5th. The bases were then loaded again with one out in the bottom 5th after singles by Baldwin and Castro, and Quebell drawing another walk. Pruitt grounded to James Miller and hardly legged out the relay throw from Yu to stay out of the double play, as the Coons took a new 2-1 lead, but Alston flew out to center to end the inning, and that lead wouldn’t be enough either. Yu’s 2-out double in the top 7th plated the tying run for the Rebels. Baldwin was hit for with Ayers in the bottom of the inning, and Ayers walked before being left on base.

Top 8th, Rockburn struck out the first two batters, Enriquez and Campbell, before putting the next three on, with Valenzuela’s single driving home Earl Clark with the go-ahead run. The Rebels now turned to their pen and struggled to get results. Ron Sakellaris started the bottom 8th and walked Alston, being swiftly removed for Matt Ruffin, who walked Nomura. Keeping the pattern of matching hands, lefty Aurelio Hernandez now came out to face Yoshi, and here we sent Bowen to pinch-hit, but he fouled out. The Rebels brought the fourth pitcher of the inning, Fernandes, who nevertheless walked Travis Owens on four pitches. Concie was next, singled to right to tie the game, but Merritt was held at third base against Winston Jones’ Arm of a Thousand Deaths. Fernandes was still in there as Pat White batted for Rockburn and singled to center to give the Coons a 4-3 lead, after which Tomas Castro blew the score open with a first-pitch, bases-clearing double, which was finally the end of the road for Fernandes. Our old friend Ed Bryan, the third lefty out of their pen, would finally get the inning over with, but Ted Reese was flawless in the ninth, and the Raccoons sealed their second ever sweep of the Rebels! 7-3 Raccoons! Castro 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Quebell 0-1, 4 BB; White (PH) 1-1, RBI; Baldwin 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K and 1-2;

The first sweep? In 1986.

Raccoons (75-46) vs. Crusaders (69-52) – August 20-22, 2010

First in runs scored, fourth in runs allowed. The Crusaders had found their swings again, but the rotation was not getting locked in and continued to bleed runs, posting a 4+ ERA. The bullpen was rock solid, though, despite the closer exodus they had suffered last winter. The Crusaders had just swept the Blue Sox, so they stayed six games out. We are 6-5 against them this season.

Projected matchups:
Jong-hoo Umberger (12-7, 3.35 ERA) vs. Mike Collins (7-5, 3.51 ERA)
Javier Cruz (11-6, 3.01 ERA) vs. Kelvin Yates (11-10, 3.28 ERA)
Nick Brown (16-5, 2.63 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (11-8, 4.01 ERA)

Three more right-handers for us to nibble on.

Alright boys! It was all fun and games until now, but now it counts!

Game 1
NYC: C G. Ortíz – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – 3B Bond – CF Talamante – SS Brantley – P M. Collins
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Alston – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – SS Guerin – P Umberger

The Crusaders had three base runners in the first two innings combined, but left them on, before the Raccoons got three base runners all to start their half of the second inning. Alston walked before Merritt and Yoshi singled, bases loaded with nobody out, with Craig Bowen hammering a pitch for a liner to right. It was just a few feet inside the rightfield line and Stanton Martin didn’t get to hit! The ball bounced in and all the way to the wall as the bases emptied on Craig Bowen’s 3-run double! Bowen would also score in the inning on a sac fly by Tomas Castro to give Umberger an early 4-0 lead. Mike Collins appeared to have already lost all his stuff, then also lost his command in the third inning as he walked Pruitt, threw a wild pitch in the process of walking Alston, too, and then also walked Merritt. Three on again with nobody out, but this time the Coons were held to one run as Yoshi tried to hit something big and struck out, Bowen patiently drew the bases-loaded walk, Guerin popped out and Umberger whiffed.

But it might be a 5-0 game and they are in their pen already, but don’t discount the offense. Umberger walked a pair and allowed two hits for two runs in the fourth inning and they were right back in striking distance at 5-2. Old friend Ricardo Huerta was doing long relief for the Crusaders, and was in a spot of bother in the bottom of the fifth. Alston had drawn another walk to start the inning, and yet had to log an actual at-bat, and Merritt and Yoshi reached on singles, putting Bowen up there again with the sacks full and no outs. This time Bowen struck out, and Guerin rolled into a double play, and we didn’t score… and I got haunting thoughts of impending doom. Bottom 6th, Umberger led off with a single off Huerta before Castro popped out on a 3-0 pitch and Quebell hit into an inning-ending double play. Oh, this is gonna hurt…

When Ron Brantley hit a leadoff jack in the seventh, Umberger was instantly removed. Ray Kelley came in, walked Baden Speed, then got a double play from Gabriel Ortíz. Caraballo singled, but Martin Ortíz’ hard grounder to first was played real good by Adrian Quebell and the inning ended. Alston drew his fourth walk in the bottom 7th before Merritt hit into another double play. Kelley remained in to face Stanton Martin leading off the top of the eighth and struck him out before Ron Thrasher was assigned to the left-handers Manfull and Bond. Strikeout, groundout, done. Meanwhile the Coons hit into ANOTHER double play in the bottom of the inning, denying any insurance run. At least we had a rested Angel Casas coming in, facing the bottom of the order, how bad could it get? Well, for starters Angel struck the leadoff man, Carlos Talamante, with a pitch, and while he struck out Brantley after that, had to face veteran slugger Paco Batlle, a lefty as well, as the tying run then. But this one wasn’t going away. After the early miscue, Angel would strikeout the side, and give the Raccoons a 7-game lead in the North! 5-3 Raccoons!! Alston 0-0, 4 BB; Merritt 2-3, BB; Nomura 2-3, BB; Bowen 1-3, BB, 2B, 4 RBI; Kelley 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Yes! Come on boys! Don’t let up!

Game 2
NYC: C G. Ortíz – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – 3B Bond – CF Talamante – SS Brantley – P Yates
POR: CF Castro – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF Alston – 3B Merritt – 2B Nomura – C Bowen – SS Guerin – P Cruz

When Pruitt hit into a 4-6-3 to end the bottom 1st, the Raccoons had managed to flick into double plays for five consecutive innings. Kel Yates drove in the first run of the game with a 2-out single in the top 2nd. Bond and Talamante had reached on entirely measly singles that barely made it past the right side of the infield alive, and Kevin Bond scored on Yates’ rather brisk and clean single off Cruz. Bottom 2nd, Alston drew his fifth consecutive walk before Merritt doubled, putting two in scoring position with no outs. Outrageously, the Raccoons didn’t score. Nomura fouled out, Bowen popped out to Bond, and Guerin’s line to left was easily caught by Martin Ortíz.

Javier Cruz then let up pretty hard in the third inning. After a walk to Caraballo he plunked Martin Ortíz and also walked Stanton Martin. Three on, no outs, the Crusaders made it pretty clear that they didn’t approve of Friday’s result and desired an adjustment of the division table. B.J. Manfull’s 2-run double and Kevin Bond’s 2-run single put them 5-0 ahead and pretty much put the game away. Cruz was yanked when he put two more runners on base in the fourth, Gabriel Ortíz with a walk, and Caraballo with a single, and when Luis Beltran replaced Cruz, he absolutely didn’t provide relief. The Martin Brothers amounted to an RBI single and a sac fly, and as Ron Alston rocketed Stanton’s fly back in to try – entirely in vain – to get Caraballo at home, he – on top of all the other misery in this 6-2, soon 7-2 game – hurt himself and left the game with a core injury to be replaced by Keith Ayers. Despite a 2-run homer in the third and a sac fly in the fifth by Adrian Quebell, the game was deemed lost and Greenhorn Gibson was put in to hopefully pitch three or four innings and preserve the best relievers for Sunday and the rubber game, but Gibson was turned inside out in a horrendous 3-run seventh as the rout was on. Jose Ramos was pitching in the bottom 9th with a 10-3 lead when the Coons loaded the bases on a Bowen walk and singles by White and Castro, with one out and Quebell batting. He increased his output with a 2-run double to right, but that was the end of the line here as Pruitt and Alston’s replacement Ayers struck out to end this icky game. 10-5 Crusaders. Castro 2-4; Quebell 3-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Owens (PH) 1-1; White (PH) 1-1; Reese 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

That leaves us to discuss Ron Alston’s injury, which is a terrible knock before you even figure out what’s wrong with him. In this case, we got off easy: Alston had strained an abdominal muscle and was out for a week, but it could have been much worse.

Maybe he can look at some video of his home runs (69 as a Coon) and figure out how that’s done. He’s had only five dingers since the All Star Game, and only two in August. Walks are nice, but you’re batting fourth, Ronnie.

Game 3
NYC: C G. Ortíz – 2B Caraballo – LF M. Ortíz – RF S. Martin – 1B Manfull – CF Talamante – 3B Bond – SS Brantley – P Trevino
POR: CF Castro – 3B Merritt – 1B Quebell – LF Pruitt – RF White – C Bowen – SS Howell – 2B M. Gutierrez – P Brown

Brownie started the game with a walk to Gabriel Ortíz, and whenever Brownie starts a game with a walk, you better get the tissues ready. The Crusaders didn’t score in the first, leaving Ortíz on second base when Stanton Martin went down swinging, but it was too late, panic was already building up.

Yet it was the Coons to score first, getting to Trevino in the second inning (the first ended on a Quebell double play…). Pat White singled with one out, stole second, and went to third on Ortíz’ errant throw. Bowen also walked before Howell beat out a very slow bouncer that went just past Trevino and about died before either middle infielder could play it, infield single, White scored, 1-0. Brownie batted with the sacks full after Gutierrez drew the third walk off Trevino, and hadn’t hit safely in a while, and wouldn’t here. He struck out, and Castro stranded the runners for good with a fly to center. While Brown was taken deep by Caraballo in the top 3rd to almost instantly negate the run the Coons had just scratched out, Trevino continued to scuffle and walked Merritt and Quebell to start the bottom 3rd. While Pruitt hit into a force at second, and White struck out, Craig Bowen would hit a liner into the gap in right center to plate the surviving runners and give Brown a 3-1 lead. That lead was immediately in trouble again when Stanton Martin lined a pitch to deep left for a leadoff double in the fourth, but Martin pulled into second base lame and had to leave the game. Ming Kui replaced him as pinch-runner and came home on Carlos Talamante’s home run to left, tying the score at three.

And the pendulum swung right back. Bottom 4th, Brownie hit a leadoff single and Merritt shot a bouncer through Kevin Bond for a double with one out. Quebell singled between Caraballo and Manfull, plating Brown, 4-3 Coons, and we went to 5-3 on Matt Pruitt’s sac fly to left. That was it for Trevino, who was hit for to start the top 5th, with Paco Batlle striking out, Brownie’s seventh victim on the day, and Brown managed to not instantly blow a lead the inning after he received it on his third attempt, getting through the fifth despite a walk to Caraballo. Two quiet innings followed, and then, a dilemma. Brown was at 100 pitches in this 5-3 game as we had to send somebody to pitch the eighth. The Crusaders had the top of the lineup coming, so two righties first, then three left-hander (with the righty Stanton Martin replaced by the lefty Kui). If we had been closer to the left-handers here, I would have left Brown in. But we weren’t. Rockburn would get the first two, with Thrasher appointed to the left-handers. Law struck out Gabriel Ortíz before he nicked Caraballo, forcing the rookie Thrasher to pitch to Martin Ortíz, who weighed 22 HR and 76 RBI as the tying run. In a nerve-wrecking inning, Thrasher struck out Ortíz, then allowed a blooping single to wicked Ming Kui, before striking out B.J. Manfull to escape the jam. But now we had them right where we wanted them and Angel got into the 5-3 game once the Raccoons had gotten a runner in the bottom 8th on a Caraballo error and also a balk by Huerta, and yet didn’t score. Angel Casas struck out the side, and this series went into the Coons’ account! 5-3 Brownies!! Bowen 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Howell 3-4, RBI; Brown 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (17-5) and 1-3;

Brow-nie! Brow-nie! Brow-nie!

In other news

August 17 – SFW INF Oliver Torres (.301, 3 HR, 36 RBI) chucks five hits and drives in three, missing the cycle by the home run, as the Warriors beat the Bayhawks 7-6 in 10 innings.
August 17 – SAC LF/RF Rodrigo Lopez (.299, 5 HR, 53 RBI) might miss the rest of the season with a broken foot.
August 18 – Charlotte’s SP Jesus Hernandez (2-8, 4.30 ERA) has to undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL and will be out for 12 months.
August 20 – CIN 1B César Gonzalez (.288, 12 HR, 58 RBI) logs his 2,000th career hit in a 4-1 Cyclones loss to the Buffaloes. A career .271/.398/.454 batter with 270 HR and 1,164 RBI, Gonzalez goes 2-4 in the game, homering off Jim Baker in the second inning for hit #1,999 before knocking a single off Baker in the eighth for the milestone.

Complaints and stuff

Brownie fell to third in ERA behind Curtis Tobitt on Sunday, but has the lead or a share of it in the other two triple crown categories. But this isn’t much about Tobitt. In the first place, Antonio Donis would need to blow up real bad a couple of times. His ERA is 1.98, almost three quarters of a run better than Brownie’s.

But the triple crown aside, Brownie has matched last year’s win output with 17, which was his best since winning 20 back in 2004 (for a rotten team, then). Right now, he’s maintaining a 10.0 K/9 pace, which he never has in a full season, but instead has pitched just a sliver below that for his entire career. He had a 10.8 K/9 in 2001 in his debut, when he only pitched 41.2 innings, but while he has never topped 9.8 K/9 in a full season, his career mark is 9.7 K/9! He has been outside the 9.5-9.8 band only once, in his first full season in 2002.

Not a good week for rightfielders in the CL North. Ron Alston might miss the entire next week, and there is no diagnosis on Stanton Martin so far. If Stanton, a Jeremiah Carrell type glass ballerina, goes down for the season, this could well do in the Crusaders, who already have Roberto Pena on the DL.

Anybody remembering still that César Gonzalez was a Raccoon before? He still played some corner outfield then, 1999-2000. That was that phase where we signed so many technically good players that just came in and failed hard before going elsewhere and racking up silverware again. Daniel Richardson was also with the Coons then. In terms of first basemen, when Gonzalez was purged in 2000, the job became permanently open for Al Martin, who held onto it before being traded to the Titans after the 2005 season. He hasn’t been a regular on a major league team since…

Of course, Martin was chased to get Adrian Quebell into the starter’s role, even though the haul we got for Martin turned out largely negligible, with J.C. Crespo and Ricardo Martinez having a good half season before turning to mush, and Cássio Boda’s good half season must have been in winter at some point. There was a minor league dealt to the Titans along with Martin, 12th-rounder Glen Barnes, who made only four appearances in AAA ball and is currently unemployed. By the way, Crespo is an unproductive extra with the Warriors right now.

César Gonzalez was the guy we acquired from the Stars for Gabby De La Rosa, then turned him into Manuel Reyes when we were sick of him. That’s a pretty steep downgrade as far as right-handed relievers are concerned. Although Reyes is still pitching and his career output (so: outside Portland) is pretty solid. Which roster is he on? Crusaders. He didn’t pitch in any meaningful spot in the weekend series.

The Raccoons will face the Loggers, Falcons, and Aces to finish the month. Our September program will be much more meaty. We have four more with the Crusaders in the final week of the season (at home), but before that we also get the Thunder, the Knights, three games apiece in Indy and Boston, and seven games total against the Elks. And the Elks have always had a knack to sink us.