[Westheim]

As we hit the road to see the Thunder, we were in a disastrous pitching situation. With the double header to start the series, and Dickerson involved as a starter, and the depressing 16-inning loss to the Aces on Sunday, we had to make a move and get pitching from St. Petersburg, and one arm wouldn’t do. Dickerson was starting, Sugano had pitched three days in a row, with exceedingly longer outings, and Mathis had pitched five futile innings on Sunday. This left only four relievers, and all of those had pitched on Sunday. Thrasher had pitched four of five days coming in. If you assumed Brownie to pitch his usual seven, and Dickerson to live through five, we were still two or three innings short of making it to Tuesday (except if we lost; losing the double header would ease so many pains – ironically).

No, we needed relievers. Not one, but TWO. Where the heck to make room on the roster!?

Well, I came up with stuff…

Raccoons (51-51) @ Thunder (55-46) – August 3-5, 2015

The Thunder had lost three in a row, just like us. Their offense was not clicking, ranking only eighth in the league with 4.2 runs per game, but they had the best pitching outright, leading the league in runs allowed with just 3.9 runs coming across per game. The Raccoons were actually t-2nd in that regard, but in the bottom three in offense. What else did the Thunder have? Oh, a swath of injuries, big and small. Besides the really big pains of not having Emilio Farias and Will Bailey in the lineup (which partially explained their offensive weakness), they were also down their #5 and #6 starting pitchers, Korean duct tape Myeong-keun Kim, and a few more guys. They would actually open the series with a relief pitcher on the mound. The Thunder held the edge in the season series, 3-2.

Projected matchups:
Daniel Dickerson (0-6, 6.20 ERA) vs. Bryan Robbins (1-1, 4.01 ERA)
Nick Brown (11-5, 2.72 ERA) vs. Curtis Tobitt (10-9, 3.37 ERA)
Jonathan Toner (11-4, 2.17 ERA) vs. Bob King (10-7, 2.67 ERA)
Bill Conway (4-10, 5.26 ERA) vs. Ed Michaels (8-9, 3.61 ERA)

Robbins, a swingman last year who would make his first start of this season, and Michaels are left-handers. Tobitt and King will pitch on short rest unless they can draw something out of a hat.

The double header opens the set, and against my usual way of working these things, the better pitcher would have the night cap, with Dickerson in the day game. No roster moves were made ahead of the first game, although we had Juan Gallegos and George Youngblood ready in Oklahoma after throwing them out of bed in Florida at four in the morning to take a charter flight to Atlanta and then the first flight west from there.

Game 1
POR: CF Carmona – LF Sambrano – SS McKnight – 1B Murphy – RF Bednarski – C Margolis – 3B Hudman – 2B Bergquist – P Dickerson
OCT: RF Reese – 2B A. Rodriguez – LF E. Clark – 3B J. Soto – SS Janes – 1B T. Cardenas – C B. Harris – CF S. Young – P Robbins

Dickerson, who would only come out if his pitch count closed in on 120, no matter the score, wasted 30 pitches in the first inning right away, two hits, two walks, one run for the Thunder, and most counts were to his disadvantage. So that didn’t work out for a long outing, and of course we were talking about Dickerson. Ultimately, his outing lasted only three innings. Then he told the Druid that his back hurt and retired to his locker. The Raccoons, still down 1-0 and showing no intentions to attempt a comeback, were left trying to figure out how to make it through another five innings.

Zack Entwistle had nothing, quite obviously, and made it through two innings mainly for the Thunder hitting rockets right at the defense, plus two pop outs, and for good measure drew a walk in the fifth inning because we didn’t know any better anymore than to absolutely flat-out kill our pitchers. Another two innings came from Marcos Bruno, although he walked two in the bottom of the sixth. When Cookie hit a 1-out single in the top 8th, he not only became the go-ahead run behind Bergquist, but this was also only the Coons’ second hit in the game (the other being Margolis’ in the second). Now wait for them to score one and go to extras! (crazy laugh) Robbins threw a wild pitch, and when Sandy singled up the middle in a full count, two runs scored – the Coons had a 2-1 lead. And they were quite definitely running out of pitching. Mathis and Sugano were completely unavailable. Thrasher had pitched four out of five days, and Angel three out of five, but had thrown 24 (awful!!) pitches on Sunday. At least Thrasher had never thrown more than ten in any recent outing. He was going to warm up and came in for the bottom 8th. This could barely go well, and hardly didn’t. He would walk the bases loaded, threw a wild pitch in between, and then Sandy Sambrano almost overran Blair Harris’ pop to left that got the Coons out the inning – STILL ahead. It took him 30 pitches, and he had nothing left to give – the bottom 9th would be Angel’s. And if we’re skipping through the tops of innings here, rest assured, you ain’t missin’ anything. The bottom of the ninth saw Jalen Parks leading off in the #9 hole, and he grounded out to Bergquist. Casas then walked Tom Reese on four straight, and Armando Rodriguez singled to left. Earl Clark, batting .320 with only four homers and still the best all-around batter on the team that hadn’t dropped dead, struck out. That left things to Jesus Soto, who kept flailing and missing until he had struck out. 2-1 Blighters. Entwistle 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K; Bruno 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, W (3-1);

Talk about a Pyrrhic victory. Now we don’t have anybody left for Brownie’s start!

Except… we did.

Dud Dickerson was filed away onto the disabled list for some mild back discomfort that would only take a fraction of the 15 days’ minimum assignment to heal up with the right drugs – and that squelching noise you hear is the Druid turning a living frog into a soothing ointment – but it optioned a roster spot and was thus dandy. Also, Brock Hudman was optioned to AAA but didn’t actually go that far. In turn, George Youngblood and Juan Gallegos were added to the roster, and they would be our only bullpen for the night cap. Well, Jonny Toner and Hector Santos took seats in the pen, but we would not use them unless things got EXTREMELY DIRE.

Cookie, Sandy, and McKnight would be the only guys in the lineup for both games. They would get off days as soon as possible – especially Cookie who usually never sat for any reason, and only left games if one of his paws was dangling off oddly.

Game 2
POR: CF Carmona – 3B Nunley – SS McKnight – RF Reya – LF Richards – 2B Sambrano – 1B Ochoa – C Alexander – P N. Brown
OCT: RF Reese – 2B A. Rodriguez – LF E. Clark – 3B J. Soto – SS Janes – 1B T. Pena – C B. Harris – CF S. Young – P Tobitt

Brownie fell behind 1-0 in the first when both Tom Reese and Earl Clark reached on balls that dropped into the shallow outfield for singles, and Reese in between stole a base in an attempt that saw Dylan Alexander throw the ball back to the net, somehow. The Coons didn’t trail for long, with Brownie opening the third with a single before being forced by Cookie’s grounder to short. Carmona however went to third on Nunley’s single to right, and scored on McKnight’s single to left. A passed ball charged to Blair Harris moved the runners into scoring position, but Reya and Richards put up a strikeout and a grounder to second, respectively, showing the usual sparkle.

Old foe Tobitt then took a turn south in the fourth inning. After a leadoff walk to Sandy Sambrano, Ochoa and Alexander found holes on the infield to hit singles through, the latter scoring Sandy. Nick Brown had runners on first and second with no outs, but with a 2-1 lead we could go a bit more aggro, and a HARD single to center loaded the bases for Cookie, who sadly struck out looking, and the Raccoons didn’t amount to more than a 3-1 lead after Nunley’s sac fly once McKnight’s drive to right was caught on the warning track. While Tobitt bowed out of one very closely here, he would have less luck in the sixth inning. First, Brownie was on base for the third time in three plate appearances, this time with a 1-out walk. Cookie floated one to center that Sean Young dropped, putting two on for Nunley, who crashed a breaking ball to slightly-to-right centerfield and it was just GONE. As was Tobitt. The Thunder, down 6-1, resorted to sending the endless gum with rhubarb flavor, Sergio Vega, in his second appearance of the season. His first had been scoreless, this one wouldn’t be: McKnight belted a shot right away, 7-1. Heck, even the completely skill-free Dylan Alexander managed to meet a meatball in the seventh, belching a 2-run homer out of rightfield and into the upper rows of the stands there. Vega was gone afterwards, with the barbarous slugger in the #9 hole meriting the appearance of a new pitcher, righty Julio Munoz, who finally managed to contain Nick “Knock-Knock” Brown. We don’t want to overlook however that for all his batting displays (he should bat second, really), Brownie ran into troubles on the mound in those mid-to-late innings. He had two on in the sixth and got a double play, same in the seventh. With a more vital pen he might have been out in the seventh already, but could you trust Youngblood and Gallegos with a lead bigger than the number of outs to collect? But then the Thunder further disintegrated for another three runs in the top of the eighth, with a 2-run triple by Ron Richards quite important to the effort, and with a 12-1 lead, you could stop being picky. Nick Brown returned to the bottom 8th on the shortest leash, but Cookie retired to the showers to spare him the last two innings (he had already gotten a hit to lead off the game). Brownie retired the side in order in the eighth, but would not get the ninth, having approached 110 pitches. In the top 9th, the Thunder kept disintegrating. D-Alex led off with a double, Murphy had a pinch-hit single, and Bergquist walked – three on, no outs. Robert Parsons walked in TWO runs against Nunley and McKnight before Reya hit a sac fly and Bednarski hit into a double play. George Youngblood completed destruction with three quick outs in the bottom 9th. 15-1 Brownies!!! Nunley 2-4, BB, HR, 5 RBI; McKnight 3-5, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Richards 3-5, 3B, 2 RBI; Ochoa 2-5; Alexander 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Murphy (PH) 1-1; Brown 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W (12-5) and 2-3, BB;

Someone pinch me, I can’t believe this actually happened.

But – pitching-wise we’re far from being out of the woods. Thanks to game 1 in the set, the pen is still shot. Bruno, Entwistle, and Thrasher were all off limits for Tuesday. The extra relievers thus stayed on the roster as we hoped from a long outing from Jonny Toner to reset the pen, for the most part at least. Cookie played, because we still expected to see a left-hander on Wednesday and would give him that game off. Sandy was used to rest McKnight instead.

Game 3
POR: CF Carmona – SS Sambrano – 3B Nunley – RF Reya – LF Richards – 1B Murphy – C Alexander – 2B Bergquist – P Toner
OCT: RF Reese – 2B A. Rodriguez – LF E. Clark – 3B J. Soto – SS Janes – 1B T. Cardenas – C B. Harris – CF S. Young – P B. King

Cookie opened with a single, stole second, and made home on Sandy’s single, 1-0, textbook. Further offense was subtly undermined by double plays hit into in the first (Nunley) and second (Alexander) innings, but the Thunder weren’t showing their offensive abilities, either. They had a hit in the bottom 1st, Tom Reese singling on the first pitch Toner threw, but by the second pitch the bases were empty again, with Armando Rodriguez doubled up on a grounder to Sandy. The Thunder wouldn’t get another hit until the bottom 5th, with Erik Janes’ leadoff double threatening the Coons’ 2-0 lead. Tomas Cardenas struck out before Harris flew to right, with Janes caught far astray from his base after a terrible read. He ended up doubled off by Luis Reya’s accurate throw to second, ending the inning. Sean Young hit another leadoff double in the sixth, but after King’s bunt both Reese and Rodriguez struck out.

Top 7th: after singles by Richards and Murphy to start the inning, D-Alex did the Thunder a favor with his second 6-4-3 double play of the day. That left Richards on third for Bergquist, who was thankfully protected by the much better .240 batter in the #9 hole and was pitched to by the Thunder (just like they had pitched to D-Alex ahead of Brownie in the previous game). Bergquist hit a sharp single to left on the first pitch, and the lead was up to 3-0. King ended up going seven-plus and was removed after Carmona’s leadoff triple in the eighth. We will skip how he was left on third base and go to the bottom 8th, where Jonny Toner tried to get a 3-0 lead to the ninth, but Cardenas and Harris hit singles to start the inning. When Young’s grounder to the mound yielded only a force at second base, Toner looked in trouble – especially with what was left in the pen. If he could somehow get out of this inning, maybe we could patch the ninth with the reserves. He conceded one run on a grounder by PH Jose Rivera, but then struck out Reese. That was it for him, 114 pitches thrown. The Coons failed to tack on, and it was on Juan Gallegos, who started the bottom 9th with a 3-1 lead and a 7.20 ERA. Aaaand he walked Rodriguez. However, Earl Clark hit one right at Bergquist, and that was turned for two, but the third out would have to be Youngblood’s, who came in with the left-hander Jesus Soto stepping in. Aaaand … he walked him. The Thunder sent right-handed pinch-hitter Chris Delaney for Janes, but there was no right-hander we could currently hope to pry an out from. On 0-2, Delaney hit an infield single, and the next right-hander was coming right up, Tony Pena. How about, Chris “Five Frames” Mathis? He threw only one pitch that Pena hit high to right – but hardly for any length. Bednarski made a comfy last out there. 3-1 Raccoons! Carmona 2-4, 3B; Richards 2-4; Murphy 2-4, RBI; Toner 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (12-4);

Most guys felt better by Wednesday, but we kept the extra pitcher around for another day.

Game 4
POR: 3B Nunley – CF Sambrano – SS McKnight – 1B Murphy – RF Bednarski – LF Richards – C Margolis – 2B Bergquist – P Conway
OCT: RF Reese – 2B A. Rodriguez – LF E. Clark – C Parks – 3B J. Soto – SS Janes – 1B T. Cardenas – CF S. Young – P Michaels

The Coons’ lineup didn’t maintain shape for long, as Michaels struck Bednarski square in the paw in the first inning. Bednarski seemed to know right away that he was done and headed straight for the dugout and into the tunnel. Reya replaced him as the bases were ready to be left loaded on Richards’ easy fly to left. Then came Conway and basically didn’t retire anybody. The Thunder started with Reese walking, a RBI double by Rodriguez, another walk drawn by Clark, and worked their way through their order, but what really hurt was Bergquist borking Ed Michaels’ grounder that would have ended the inning. Instead, up 4-0, the Thunder had the bases loaded for the top of the order coming up again, and Conway only got out of the inning after 45 pitches when Reese grounded out in a full count. And how do you go about and not want to shoot them all the time?

Conway, who had been blown out of the park in his last game facing Ed Michaels as well, didn’t make it through three innings. The Thunder got a run in the second after Conway issued eight straight balls with two outs and nobody on, then allowed a first-pitch single to Janes, but in the bottom 3rd he got completely stuck. Youngblood replaced him with the bases loaded, two outs, and a 6-0 deficit, facing Soto. (Gallegos didn’t replace him because in the last Michaels/Conway rout Gallegos had allowed the second grand slam in the second inning – TO ****ING ED MICHAELS). Youngblood couldn’t end the inning without fudging up, either, and allowed a 2-run single on his first pitch before Janes bounced out. Youngblood bunted into a double play in the top of the fourth, which didn’t matter all that much since a) this game was lost and b) we wouldn’t take him to New York anyway. In the fifth, the Coons got two runs, which scored on an error and a balk, respectively, while once they had the bases loaded with one out, Margolis’ **** fly to right and Bergquist’s soft pop to third didn’t get anything done. The Thunder would get a run back in the bottom 5th as Sugano walked three, then drilled Young. They got pretty close to negating the rout from the Monday nightcap once they shat three runs over Juan Gallegos in the eighth inning … at least until they dragged Vega out of the bushes again for the ninth inning. D-Alex hit a leadoff jack, and generally people reached base, but the Coons made up only two runs total before leaving the bases loaded when Margolis struck out. 12-4 Thunder. Alexander (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI;

Yikes. Well, we ended up handing back both replacement relievers after this game, princely because we had a new long reliever. Bill Conway (4-11, 5.75 ERA) was an endless annoyance, and out of the rotation.

Bednarski was out for a month with a broken thumb, which caused additional roster movement. Overall, we removed Bednarski (to the DL), Gallegos (to St. Pete), and Youngblood (waivers to get him to St. Pete) from the roster, and added Brock Hudman and Jimmy Fucito, who wasn’t doing much good at all in AAA, and was 27 and all, but I needed a right-handed bat quite badly.

That’s only two, and there’s a pitcher still missing. While I was debating about whether I would want Enrique Guzman up, who had a 4.40 ERA despite a .255 BABIP in AAA – typical of something Whitebread had dragged through the door – and then cry over it, I decided to go with by heart and declared Magnotta Time to have arrived. The first round pick in 2012 had been 4-11 with a 3.73 ERA in St. Pete, which was not entirely fair. The strikeouts were not there for him, at all, but he managed to fool guys quite a bit to get poor contact and grounders, so perhaps that would help him out. But: Magnotta had pitched on Wednesday, so would not make his debut until Monday in Elkland.

Raccoons (54-52) @ Crusaders (67-41) – August 6-9, 2015

The Crusaders were amazing and all, had won five straight, and were first in offense and still not remotely good as far as their pitching was concerned. But they continued to motor towards October despite the worst rotation in the league, thanks to being first in runs scored. The best pen in the league might have its perks, too. The Raccoons so far held a 4-3 edge over them in 2015.

Projected matchups:
Kenichi Watanabe (5-8, 4.29 ERA) vs. Colin Sabatino (6-6, 5.54 ERA)
Hector Santos (6-6, 2.86 ERA) vs. Jaylen Martin (11-4, 3.16 ERA)
Nick Brown (12-5, 2.63 ERA) vs. Fernando Cruz (9-5, 5.17 ERA)
Jonathan Toner (12-4, 2.12 ERA) vs. Pancho Trevino (7-7, 4.49 ERA)

Left-handers will oppose another on Saturday. All other starters in this series are right-handed.

Just as we came in, the Crusaders had been triple-whammied by injury news, all including outfielders, more or less. CF/RF Amari Brissett (.294, 3 HR, 19 RBI) had broken his elbow and was out until next year, and makeshift-centerfielder Jose Paraz (.327, 3 HR, 35 RBI) had to undergo Tommy John surgery for a partially torn UCL, but they had more importantly also lost RF Stanton “Clockwork” Martin (.300, 18 HR, 74 RBI), who could have a more fitting nickname in “Brittle”. He had crashed into a wall on Monday and had broken his shoulder blade. He was expected to return in late September.

Game 1
POR: CF Carmona – 3B Nunley – SS McKnight – RF Reya – LF Richards – 1B Murphy – C Alexander – 2B Hudman – P Watanabe
NYC: CF A. Ruiz – C Lowe – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – 2B Caraballo – 3B Walter – SS Paull – RF Ware – P Sabatino

Sitting out on Wednesday hadn’t slowed down Cookie a bit; he singled on Sabatino’s first pitch of the game, extending his hitting streak to 17. In a pseudo-pitching-duel, the Coons had two hits and two double plays the first time through, and the Crusaders laid down in disinterest as soon as Abe Ruiz singled in his first at-bat of the year. It was Watanabe to create excitement in all the wrong ways in the bottom 5th. The Crusaders had Shane Walter on second base after a single to right, and two outs. Stephen Ware, a left-handed batter, was walked intentionally to get to Sabatino, only for Watanabe to throw a wild pitch. Sabatino had actually singled in his first at-bat of the game, but now struck out, causing me to glue Watanabe’s paycheck back together.

Francisco Caraballo’s often shoddy defense would then cost the Crusaders in the sixth. His error allowed Cookie on base with one out, and Nunley soon added himself to the runner category after reaching on an infield single. Cookie then took off with Nunley following in his slipstream and Drew Lowe didn’t get either one. Both then scored on McKnight’s liner to right, the first runs of the game. Watanabe didn’t get out of the seventh. Shane Walter erased his leadoff walk to Caraballo with a sharp bouncer that Hudman took for two, but Watanabe then also walked Eric Paull and seemed to have lost it at 95 pitches. Thrasher and Sandy appeared in a double switch. While Thrasher got out of the inning, Sandy hit a leadoff double in the eighth and scored on Cookie’s following double. Nunley walked, but the 3-4-5 batters made 1-2-3 outs. Angel Casas appeared in the ninth inning to save the 3-0 game, and he faced the 3-4-5 section. He walked Martin Ortíz, threw two wild pitches, and walked B.J. Manfull. When the pitching coach inquired whether he was alright he seemed to be puzzled what could have incited that stupid question. When Caraballo bounced a ball back to Casas, he threw it wildly to centerfield, which was about the point where I started to see blue spots. One run scored, and Walter then bunted over the tying runs. Paull singled to left, Manfull scored, Caraballo was sent, Ochoa with the throw, McKnight with the relay – OUT at home! Paull went to second as the Crusaders pulled a Keith Ayers, but Angel was not out of the woods yet, having to face Ware, a .182 batter. That count ran full, Ware grounded sharply to right, but Sandy Sambrano was in the way and made the play. 3-2 Critters. Carmona 2-4, 2B, RBI; Sambrano 1-1, 2B; Watanabe 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K, W (6-8) and 1-2;

Angel, I have a very simple question. WHY, THE ****, WHY???

Game 2
POR: CF Carmona – 3B Nunley – SS McKnight – RF Reya – 1B Murphy – 2B Sambrano – LF Ochoa – C Margolis – P Santos
NYC: 2B Caraballo – CF Ware – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – SS Paull – 3B Walter – C Durango – RF P. Brown – P J. Martin

If it wasn’t for the melodic name of Mr. Barnabas Jupiter Manfull, you could actually wonder whether these were actually the Crusaders…

In another offensively hopeless early game, Santos imitated Watanabe from the previous night when he wild-pitched runners into scoring position in the fourth inning. However, for him there were still TWO outs to collect. Other than Watanabe he knew how to blaze guys, however, rolled up Paull for a K and then had McKnight catch a soft line by Shane Walter to end the inning in a scoreless game. Both pitchers were on the opposition’s neck: through six either nursed a 2-hitter, but Manfull hit a leadoff single in the bottom 7th. Paull grounded out to first, Walter flew out harmlessly to left, but Durango unleashed lightning to center. Cookie hustling back, jumping at the wall – he had it! it was the end for Santos though, having run out of pitches. Sandy hit a leadoff single in the eighth, but was caught in Margolis’ double play to end the frame, giving Santos a thankless no-decision. Bruno replaced him for the eighth, and failed. He issued a leadoff walk to Jorge Ortega, who ended up caught stealing, but with two outs still allowed a hit to Caraballo and walked Ware. Sugano had to come in, allowed a bases-loading single to Martin Ortíz on a 1-2 pitch, before the made-fun-of Manfull tried to choke the Coons once and for all with a hard liner to right – RIGHT AT SANDY AND HE CAUGHT IT!!

In the top 9th it was Salvadaro Soure. Ron Richards (having appeared along with Sugano, with Ochoa out of the game) led off and grounded out, and it wasn’t until here that Cookie Carmona got a streak-extending hit with a single to left. He stole second base, which prompted the Crusaders to walk Nunley intentionally. McKnight grounded out, Reya struck out. Nobody scored. Entwistle got throught the bottom 9th thanks to a double play, and when Sandy drew a 1-out walk from Soure in the top 10th was asked to bunt. Bunting he did, and Eduardo Durango threw over Manfull to give the hopeless Coons runners on second and third with one out. D-Alex hit for Margolis to counter Soure, but walked, which was not helpful at all as it set up a double play for Richards, who came up with a rocket hit to right center, rising, rising, up, up – GRAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!! Mathis quickly shut down the Crusaders in the bottom of the inning to end the game. 4-0 Raccoons. Richards 1-2, HR, 4 RBI; Santos 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K;

By now, our bullpen was finally completely rested again and there was nobody that was flat-out unavailable for the Brownie start on Saturday. Now watch something else go colossally wrong and he stubs his big toe on the top step of the dugout before the first inning.

Game 3
POR: CF Carmona – SS Sambrano – 3B Nunley – 1B Murphy – LF Richards – RF Fucito – C Margolis – 2B Hudman – P N. Brown
NYC: 3B J. Ortega – RF P. Brown – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – 2B Caraballo – C Durango – SS Walter – CF A. Ruiz – P F. Cruz

Three runs were on the board by the time Fernando Cruz got an out; Cookie had hit a single right away, and Sandy’s single and Nunley’s walk had filled them up. Murphy had plated two with a double to left, while Richards plated a run with a groundout. Fucito walked, but he was the last Coon to reach in the inning. The Coons lost one or more runs in the second inning when they greedily sent Cookie from second base on a Nunley single to right. Phil Brown threw him out at home, and they only scored one additional run on another Murphy liner to left that plated Sandy for an RBI single. Up 4-0, Nick Brown allowed only one hit through three innings, but also struck out nobody and the Crusaders had made good contact a few times. They made more contact in the fourth inning. Manfull hit a sharp single to right, and Caraballo walked, putting two on with one out. Durango was absolutely robbed of a base knock by Fucito who snagged his liner off the top of the grass, but Brownie still allowed a run on Shane Walter’s single before Abe Ruiz grounded out to Hudman, leaving the Coons ahead 4-1.

The opposing pitcher led off the bottom 5th. Brownie had Cruz at 1-2, then hit him. No, there was something off here. The Crusaders wouldn’t score in the inning, playing very-small ball when Ortega bunted over Cruz, who was not even a good runner. Phil Brown grounded out to short, and Fucito robbed Ortíz as well, who flew towards right center, fairly deep. Brownie didn’t get a strikeout until after Caraballo’s 1-out double in the bottom 6th, but then whiffed Durango and Walter back-to-back. Ruiz also struck out to start the bottom 7th, an inning that ended with another drive to right shagged by Fucito, this time to Ortega’s detriment. While the line didn’t look that bad, everybody including Nick Brown were glad that this start was over with. The game wasn’t, however. First, Luis Reya hit for Brownie with two on and two out in the top 8th, and was erased coldly by Helio Maggessi. Marcos Bruno was then assigned one batter, Phil Brown, to start the eighth. He struck him out quickly, Brown disagreed loudly, and was tossed. Bill Miller replaced him. Thrasher ended that inning, and would probably also pitch the ninth with two more lefties coming up there. Before we got there, however, Cookie and Sandy had back-to-back hits for the third time in the game to start the ninth inning. Nobody scored, since everybody saw the double steal coming and Cookie was dead out at third base. Nunley and Murphy did their best to kill the inning for good after that. Thrasher didn’t get through the ninth, allowing a single to Durango, but Angel got Ruíz to end the game. 4-1 Brownies! Carmona 3-5; Sambrano 3-5; Murphy 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Richards 2-4, RBI; Hudman 2-4; Brown 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (13-5);

With this game, shoddy as it was, Nick Brown re-entered the top 3 in ERA in the Continental League. He also holds the lead in wins, tied with Indy’s Dan Lambert. Dan Who? Right.

Wait a minute. We took the first three in Oklahoma, then were slaughtered in game four. Now we’ve taken the first three in New York, and … nah, what’s gonna go wrong with Jonny Toner?

Game 4
POR: CF Carmona – 3B Nunley – SS McKnight – RF Reya – LF Richards – 1B Murphy – 2B Sambrano – C Alexander – P Toner
NYC: 2B Caraballo – CF Ware – LF M. Ortíz – 1B Manfull – C Lowe – SS Paull – RF B. Miller – 3B Walter – P Trevino

Cookie walked to start the game before getting swept up in Nunley’s double play. Toner also walked the first man he saw in the bottom 1st. And the second. And Ortíz singled in a 3-2 count. What is it now, Jonny…? The Crusaders got only one run on Manfull’s sac fly and Drew Lowe’s double play, but that was not the Jonny Toner we knew. The deficit was temporary thanks to a Reya double and Murphy’s 10th homer of the season in the second inning, which gave Toner a 2-1 lead, but with his first pitch in the bottom 2nd he smacked Eric Paull quite good. The Crusaders didn’t score, and neither did they score when Toner hit Ortíz in the third… Drew Lowe would tie the score with a real moonshot leading off the fourth, though.

What to do? Jonny claimed no physical ailments, so he remained in the game for now, which was now tied at two. Ron Richards was hit by Trevino in the top 6th, which certainly was just a funny accident (and who could grumble with the Crusaders, who had lost half their good batters to injury and Toner was now working on reducing the rest to rubble?), and the Coons didn’t score here, either. Jonny somehow made it through six and was hit for to start the seventh despite being 2-for-2 so far, but the Coons went down 1-2-3 in the inning, leaving him without a decision. Instead, Sugano came apart and allowed a run in the eighth, starting with a walk to Phil Brown and then an Ortíz double. Soure got another swing at things in the ninth, but walked Sandy on four pitches to put the tying run on base. D-Alex tried to bunt, almost hit himself in the black poky nose with a ball, and eventually struck out. Bergquist grounded sharply to short, but Jorge Ortega had a slight bobble, which cost the Crusaders the double play, which was GOOD, because we had an 0-for-3 batter coming up that needed a hit direly. Cookie met the 1-1 pitch and drove it up the rightfield line – IN! – and it went to the wall. Bergquist ignited the afterburners and scored from first, while Cookie slid in with a streak-extending, loss-avoiding RBI double!! COOKIIIIIEEE!!! Nunley left him on, though, and when Chris Mathis got three outs on four pitches in the bottom 9th we went to extras again.

In the top 10th, Reya hit a 1-out single. Mathis was next and bunted him to second base to have Murphy do something. Soure was still pitching, and got a tricky bouncer from Murphy that hit him on the foot and before he could make a play the Critters had runners on the corners for Sandy … who struck out. By the bottom 12th the Raccoons arrived at new long man Bill Conway, which was probably going to be the end of things, but at least he managed to get through the 8-9-1 batters, which included reliever Helio Maggessi as the Crusaders were out of bench players. As the Raccoons remained completely irrelevant in extra innings against high-octane relievers like Maggessi, Conway was nearing extinction the following inning. Abe Ruiz made the first out, but Ortíz doubled. Manfull grounded out, moving the winning run to third base, and here we walked the dangerous lefty Durango to bring up right-hander Juan Diaz, batting .111 (3-for-27). Conway ran a full count, then struck him out, and continued to wiggle through trouble afterwards. Abe Ruiz hit a 1-out double in the 15th – and the big guys stranded him at third base. The Raccoons had been completely irrelevant until here, outside of two Matt Nunley singles. The 16th inning opened with a D-Alex double off Alex Ramirez. Bergquist flew out to center, but Cookie singled to left, moving the slow Alexander to third base. Nunley came up and at 2-2 hit a sorry snort to center that nevertheless dinked onto the grass in front of Ruiz and broke the tie that had lasted for two hours. McKnight grounded out (going to 0-8) before Margolis hit for Conway against left-hander Ken McKenzie, who had just come in to get McKnight. Margolis remained mired in a black hole and struck out, leaving Angel without a cushion. He didn’t fuzz around for long. K to Durango, K to Diaz, and Bill Miller grounded out. 4-3 Blighters. Nunley 3-7, BB, RBI; Murphy 4-6, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Mathis 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K; Thrasher 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Conway 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (5-11);

Who needs a rested pen? **** rested pens. Monday on the roster: Steve from Accounting.

The Raccoons struck out only three times in eight innings against Trevino (Brownie likes this!), but the pen hung 12 K on them in another eight innings.

In other news

August 4 – LAP SP Brad Smith (8-7, 2.52 ERA) will miss at least one start with elbow inflammation.
August 5 – The next casualty for the Pacifics is 3B Jens Carroll (.290, 8 HR, 59 RBI) who could be out until late September with a fractured thumb.
August 5 – The Knights will be without LF/CF Marty Reyes (.307, 11 HR, 51 RBI) for about two weeks. The 27-year old has come down with knee inflammation.
August 6 – TOP OF Bill Adams (.298, 15 HR, 60 RBI) has to seek treatment for a herniated disc and is out for the rest of this month.
August 6 – Indians and Titans play a 19-inning game that ends on a single by Nick Gilmor (.245, 11 HR, 38 RBI), giving the Indians a 3-2 win. August 7 – LAP SP Brad Smith (8-7, 2.52 ERA) aggravated his elbow injury working out and will miss at least one additional start.
August 7 – DEN LF Victorino Sanchez (.375, 4 HR, 54 RBI) will have his chase after the career hits crown delayed by a strained hamstring, which could cost him most of the remaining season.
August 8 – No-hitter! After losing 33 games between 2013 and 2014, CHA SP Steve Kreider (11-9, 3.90 ERA) has things turned around and displayed his pitching prowess on Saturday with a sparkling display against the Bayhawks. Kreider yielded two walks and no hits to no-hit the Bayhawks in a 1-0 shutout, the lone run batted in by Steve Huibregtse (.245, 3 HR, 32 RBI). The 33rd no-hitter in ABL history is the second for the Falcons, and both have been 1-0 no-hitters. Brian Patrick’s no-no in 2013 had been the most recent 1-0 no-hitter, but PIT Fred Dugo no-hit the Cyclones last year in the most recent incident of a no-hitter.

Complaints and stuff

I had my money on rather Stephen Hawking being able to walk again, but the Coons won a ****ing extra-inning game in 2015. Isn’t life wonderful??

In the last ten no-hitters, the winning team scored more than three runs only thrice. The highest-scoring game was Alex Lindsey’s no-hitter in 2008, a 6-0 win of the Thunder over the Bayhawks. The last no-hitter with a score higher than 6-0? Hah! Bob Joly’s no-hitter against the Crusaders! 8-0.

Bob Joly!

Okay, now for real, here, under us sisters of the sorority. I mean, this is confidential, right. Don’t blab. The *actual* plan going into Monday was as follows: start Dickerson, wait for the inevitable (though not THAT inevitable), and then waive and DFA him after the game. That was the plan. But since he left with an injury, the league would not allow DFA’ing him and the only way to get him off the roster was to put him on the DL. Would he have been added back to the roster after his waiver window? – (silence; except for an owl calling in the distance)

Another option would have been to hand Ochoa back to AAA temporarily. [Since the AI does not respect the 10-day assignment rule, I don’t give a blip either]

With a 5-2 week, we can reach 3,200 regular season wins next week.

This week Tomas Castro was on the waiver wire. He’s bounced around a fair bit the last few years since being booted out of here, and this year batted .321 in limited action for the Stars before hitting the wire.

I wanted to be in bed an hour ago. -.-

As Jeff Gordon aficionado I dig that Jeff Magnotta picked #24. Now watch the Elks rubble him to dust on Monday.