[Westheim]

Raccoons (17-14) vs. Stars (13-18) – May 7-9, 2024

After squeezing into first place on Saturday, the Raccoons would face a pair of losing teams this week, although neither of them were necessarily pushovers. The Stars had been through a rough patch that had begun approximately in 2010, with their fate rapidly worsening after the Hugo Mendoza trade a bunch of years back (not that the Critters got anywhere with him), but there was some young promise on the roster, at least from a hitting standpoint. Their pitching was abominable; considering their shoe box of a park, even an awesome staff would probably never put up top three numbers for them, but they were struggling to find a staff that could pitch to even a sub-5 ERA right now. This included both the rotation and the pen, separately as well as combined, with both ranking in the bottom three in ERA in the Federal League, and overall they were allowing the most runs, close to 5.8 per game. This series, however, would take place in Portland, so Omar Alfaro would have to jumpstart himself rather than wait for the friendly inspiration of the outfield fence being within arm's reach from home plate. This was the third straight year the teams would face another, with both teams taking one set in the last two years. The Coons had won two of three from Dallas in '23.

Projected matchups:
Rico Gutierrez (3-2, 4.40 ERA) vs. Jeff Dykstra (2-2, 4.28 ERA)
Travis Garrett (3-0, 2.80 ERA) vs. Ernesto Lozano (1-3, 6.37 ERA)
Dan Delgadillo (2-1, 3.82 ERA) vs. Alex Contreras (1-3, 6.82 ERA)

Now, both teams had Monday off, so the Stars could in theory skip a guy there, but they would merely get to a 5+ ERA pitcher rather than a 6+ ERA pitcher. I'd claim the difference between 5+ and 6+ is less than between 2+ and 3+ and it basically doesn't matter… anyway, all their starters are right-handed.

Game 1
DAL: SS Bowman – RF Collins – C J. Vargas – 3B C. Padilla – 1B Getchell – LF F. Santos – 2B O. Casillas – CF Contino – P Dykstra
POR: LF Carmona – SS Stalker – 2B Walter – 1B Jon Gonzalez – CF Mora – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – RF Alfaro – P Gutierrez

Flaying Rico Gutierrez right in the first inning for four hits and four runs, the Stars announced their existence and validity. Sean Bowman, Ryan Collins, and Jose Vargas all hit firm singles to begin the game, with Mike Getchell's 1-out, 2-run blast to left also hinting at Gutierrez probably not being valid as a pitcher after all. The Coons also put their first two batters aboard, but then Shane Walter found another double play to hit into, so he did, and that was already most of their half of the first inning. Drilling John Contino to begin the second didn't let the skies come down immediately, but the Stars would leave another mark in the third. Collins hit another single leading off, advanced on Vargas' grounder to second, then on a passed ball. Carlos Padilla singled him in, 5-0, and then Getchell reached on an error by Cookie Carmona in leftfield. Former Raccoon Frank Santos hit a ball to short for a fielder's choice only, but Walter made a nice play on Oscar Casillas' grounder to end the inning after all…

Dykstra, a sad team's version of an ace, held the Coons to one hit the first time through the order, and when he walked Stalker to begin the fourth, Shane Walter was on call again to hit into another double play. Way to kill rallies before they even are a rally! Abel Mora hit a single to right to begin the Coons' half of the fifth, and then Nunley hit into a double play. Great successes, everywhere: bottom 6th, leadoff single by the pinch-hitter Cory Briscoe, then a walk drawn by Cookie. Oh, here's the groove! And there's Stalker, hitting a bouncer to short for two. Having no double play to hit into for himself anymore, Walter reluctantly singled to center, plating Briscoe for the first Coons run in what was now a 5-1 game. If there was one thing that could give the faintest glimmer of hope in this ruckus game, it would be Omar Alfaro actually dipping his bat in the power sauce, finally, cracking a leadoff jack in the bottom 8th after 105 homerless at-bats to begin the season. And, you know, creep ever closer to that tall .200 mark again. Dykstra went a depressing eight, and John Waker, the Coons' 2016 first-rounder from some New York ghetto that went to Dallas in the aforementioned Mendoza trade in 2017, ended the Coons in the ninth. 5-2 Stars. Carmona 0-1, 2 BB; Briscoe (PH) 1-2;

Somehow, anyhow, the Coons were STILL in first place after that stinker, albeit tied with the ELKS.

I HATE THE ELKS.

Game 2
DAL: SS Bowman – RF Collins – 2B Maldonado – C J. Vargas – 3B C. Padilla – LF F. Santos – 1B Melgar – CF Contino – P Lozano
POR: LF Carmona – SS Stalker – CF Mora – 1B Jon Gonzalez – RF Alfaro – 3B Nunley – 2B Spencer – C Delgado – P Garrett

If I trusted one Raccoons pitcher fully and whole-heartedly to do even worse than Gutierrez in the opener, it sure was "Tragic" Travis. Yes, his ERA is under three. He is still tragic despite that.

Tragedy struck in the fourth, Garrett issuing leadoff walks to Raul Maldonado and Jose Vargas, also throwing a wild pitch in between. Carlos Padilla's RBI double was the first tally in the game (although that had not been Garrett's first leadoff walk), and after that the Coons were lucky as hell that Frank Santos flew out to shallow center and Willie Melgar bounced back to the mound. Both plays kept the runners that were lurking in scoring position pinned to their spots, and after an intentional walk to Contino, Garrett managed to strike out Lozano, who was a terrible batter even for a pitcher, keeping three aboard. The Coons through three had two hits and one double play, so the game could still go either way, although in all likelihood they were already doomed given how Gonzalez, Alfaro, and Nunley all hit balls hard to right in the bottom 4th, and all of them ended up either with Melgar or Ryan Collins.

While Tony Delgado would tie the game with his first clonker of the season in the bottom 5th, Garrett was habitually running 3-ball counts in truly tragic fashion at this point. Garrett's best idea to compete was to serve up a doozy to Melgar to begin the sixth, which was never seen again and gave the Stars a new 2-1 lead. Santos and Contino got on base in the inning, and Garrett was yanked with them in scoring position and two outs. Vince D whiffed Sean Bowman to end the inning and keep the Coons a bloop and a blast away from tying the series. They just got the ordering mixed up quite a bit in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Abel Mora leading off with a triple into left-center. He scored on Gonzalez' game-tying single, and never hit that home run at all. Devereaux gave the Coons a scoreless seventh in his first decent outing in a while, and David Kipple retired three right-handed batters in Paul March, Trent Pierce, and John Contino in the eighth.

Bottom 8th, Tim Stalker hit a single to left to begin in the inning on what was only Lozano's 82nd pitch of the game. This team had absolutely zero patience at the plate, and it clearly showed in every single box score… When March, Melgar's replacement at first, couldn't quite stop a Mora grounder from making it into rightfield, the Critters were in business; Stalker went to third, and there was nobody out. Jon Gonzalez' hard single to right gave Portland their first lead in the series, 3-2, and while the Stars never removed Lozano, the Coons got additional runs on RBI singles by Alfaro (also to right) and then with two outs by Delgado (up the middle). Graves grounded out to end the inning, bringing in the bag of wonders that was Brett Lillis at this point. Mike Getchell lined out to Alfaro, Bowman struck out, and Gonzalez handled Collins' grounder to end the game and level the series. 5-2 Coons. Mora 2-3, BB, 3B; Gonzalez 2-4, 2 RBI; Delgado 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

Garrett walked six, tragically. His ERA is still under three, and I still find him worsening my various aches. Slappy, will you please hand me the ethyl alcohol?

The Elks lost at least against Sacramento, so there was that. We were now half a game ahead of New York again.

Game 3
DAL: 1B Melgar – RF Collins – 2B Maldonado – C J. Vargas – 3B C. Padilla – LF F. Santos – SS O. Casillas – CF Contino – P A. Contreras
POR: SS Stalker – LF Briscoe – 2B Walter – 1B Jon Gonzalez – CF Mora – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – RF Alfaro – P Delgadillo

The Stars could have had their own first inning from hell in this one, but the Coons would only get one unearned run. Stalker initially reached on a gross throwing error by Oscar Casillas, then scored on Walter's 1-out single. Gonzalez whiffed, but Mora singled and Nunley got drilled to load the bases, but Tovias' shyly grounder to short was not good enough to get any more runs in. Delgadillo however struggled with location and stuff and was entirely relying on the defense to keep him together. The first five Stars hit into outs, but Santos singled up the middle with two outs in the second, stole a base, and then came home on Casillas' double, getting at least the Stars and their own shortstop kinda even. Delgadillo at least whiffed Contreras after an intentional walk to Contino… The Coons reclaimed the lead with a 2-out single by Stalker and Briscoe's subsequent RBI triple in the bottom 2nd, but the Coons' young gem(?) continued to struggle. Melgar and Maldonado hit hard singles in the third, he walked the veteran Jose Vargas, who had seen his share of struggling pitchers in his career, but then Carlos Padilla hit into an inning-ending double play.

The bottom 3rd gave the Coons three base hits, a run, a balk, and then a capital gaffe to short-circuit their efforts. Alfaro was batting with one out and Nunley and Tovias in scoring position when he hit a 1-2 pitch to shallow right. Ryan Collins made the catch, Nunley retreated, but Tovias had forgotten how many outs there were and was found way astray of second base and easily doubled off by Collins for a 9-6 double play. Up 3-1, Delgadillo got three groundouts to left in the fourth, but Melgar would hit a huge double to center with one out in the fifth, then swipe third base from Tovias. Delgadillo crucially whiffed Collins, and then still was lucky that Nunley was alert at third base and made a quick swipe on Raul Maldonado's liner to end the inning.

The Coons added a pair on an Abel Mora homer in the bottom 5th, but the Stars would shake those back out of Delgadillo in the sixth, getting the score to 5-3 on 2-out RBI base hits by Casillas and Contino before Getchell grounded out to end the inning, which was also the last batter that Delgadillo – still not awesome – faced. Contreras had only lasted five, allowing the Coons early access to that weak-sauce bullpen, which yielded results in the bottom 7th. Robby Gonzalez, a right-hander with an ERA north of six, allowed singles to Walter and Gonzalez. Mora struck out trying too hard, but Nunley got a present and blasted it some 420 feet for a 3-piece, and his first dinger of the season. This jumped the score to 8-3, also bopping Gonzalez from the game, which had also seen its last runs. Jimmy Lee and Adam Cowen would retire the Stars in order from here, throwing just 20 pitches between them for six outs. 8-3 Raccoons! Stalker 2-4; Walter 2-4, RBI; Gonzalez 2-4; Mora 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Nunley 2-3, HR, 3 RBI;

That makes three players on this team that hit their first home run of the year off the Stars' staff, in early May. Make of that what you want, but in any case I regret that they are not in our division.

The Loggers, though, are.

Raccoons (19-15) @ Loggers (11-23) – May 10-12, 2024

After going 2-1 against the Stars, the Coons would travel to see those Loggers in Milwaukee, so far also being at 2-1 against them this year. They were worst in the league in terms of runs scored, plating just 3.3 runs per game (lemme tell ya briefly that that ain't much and I know how that feels very well…), while also sitting second from the bottom in runs allowed. They were currently on pace for well wose than a -200 run differential, sitting at -49 already (Coons: +12).

Projected matchups:
Mark Roberts (2-2, 2.42 ERA) vs. Pedro Hernandez (1-3, 2.70 ERA)
Jesus Chavez (1-4, 4.33 ERA) vs. Michael Foreman (1-1, 1.91 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (3-3, 4.93 ERA) vs. Ian Prevost (2-4, 5.17 ERA)

While the Raccoons would go this week without seeing a left-handed pitcher, the Loggers also had a few injuries; Ron Thrasher was out for the season, and they were also without Brad Gore, who always liked seeing Raccoons pitching. Gore was on the DL with a pinched nerve, but was eligible to come back any day, and was expected to rejoin the team during the weekend.

Game 1
POR: LF Carmona – SS Stalker – 2B Walter – 1B Gonzalez – CF Mora – RF Graves – C Tovias – 3B Bullock – P Roberts
MIL: 2B Stewart – 1B Gershkovich – CF Coleman – SS Tadlock – C Wool – 3B A. Velez – RF de Santiago – LF Tesch – P P. Hernandez

Here was another series that began with the Coons' starter being wackoed. Like the Stars on Tuesday against Gutierrez, the Loggers on Friday began to rip four base hits off assumed ace Mark Roberts, plating two on Mike Gershkovich's homer, but also stranding two as after Ian Coleman and Ron Tadlock's singles, Josh Wool flew out to center and Alberto Velez hit into a double play. Roberts also struggled to throw strikes, and was in even more trouble in the second inning. Carlos de Santiago led off with a single through Jon Gonzalez. Pedro Hernandez was ordered to swing, which was already a huge warning signal, and grounded to third where Bullock bungled the ball for an error. Stewart walked to load the bases, and Gershkovich hit a sac fly to Zach Graves in right, 3-0. Ian Coleman's grounder was not played by anybody, especially not Shane Walter, loading the bases for Tadlock, who hit a blast over the leftfield wall. The slam ran the score to 7-0, the five runs being unearned for the inning, which wasn't even over. Mark Roberts was out of control now, threw the very next pitch awkwardly enough that it seemed to rise into Wool's head. Wool dove, knocking himself out with his own bat after being hit in the shoulder, which put backup catcher William Jones at first, as Wool complained about blurred vision, with Velez grounding to short to end the bedeviled inning.

In a properly lost effort, the Coons put only one man aboard in the first three innings, with Hernandez whiffing five in a laugher for the battered home team. Roberts dragged his sorry ass into the fourth before being yanked after a walk to Gershkovich. That runner and plenty more scored on Adam Cowen, who allowed a single to Coleman, then a 2-run triple to Tadlock, and an RBI single to the .050 batter Jones. The Tadlock triple into the rightfield corner was significant, as it put the Loggers shortstop a double away from the cycle be the fourth inning. He didn't get the double his next time up in the fifth inning, flying out to Cookie in then an 11-0 game. Adam Cowen threw 39 pitches over 1.2 innings, allowing six hits and a walk in addition to three runs charged to him in this derelict effort. Tadlock's last chance – and yes this was all that we still played for in this rout – came in the bottom of the eighth inning when he grounded out to third base against Jimmy Lee, who surrendered a homer to William Jones after that, the final blip in a ghastly box score. 12-0 Loggers. Mora 1-2, BB; Spencer (PH) 1-1, BB;

Hernandez lasted seven innings, nursing a 2-hitter with 10 K. Mike Kress did the rest, allowing only one more base hit (Spencer's), while Tadlock drove in six in what was so far well the shortest outing of Roberts' stint as a Raccoon, and it also cost the team the lead in the North, dropping behind the Crusaders, who beat the Indians, 4-2, behind Ozzie Pereira.

We also made the first(!) roster change of the season, banishing Adam Cowen, who was now unable to even pitch mop-up. He ended up on waivers the same night. The Raccoons called up right-hander Juan Barzaga, who had 15 walks and 15 strikeouts in 15 innings in AAA, but we could not be picky right now.

Game 2
POR: LF Carmona – SS Stalker – 2B Walter – 1B Gonzalez – CF Mora – 3B Nunley – C Tovias – RF Alfaro – P Chavez
MIL: SS Tadlock – 3B A. Velez – CF Coleman – RF Gore – C Wool – LF Munn – 1B Gilmor – 2B March – P Foreman

Seeing a lineup with only two right-handed batters (Tadlock and former Raccoon Michael Foreman) approach Jesus Chavez instantly depressed me, yet somehow he retired them in order the first time through. However, that had to be qualified, because 'somehow' indeed meant 'somehow'. He struck out nobody, and it was all D behind him, including three scorched liners hit right at infielders. The fourth saw three more outs, two grounders to short by Tadlock and Velez, and then Ian Coleman flying out to Cookie. Through four, the Raccoons did have three base hits, but they had not exactly established a scoreboard presence. They had stranded Stalker on third base in the opening inning when Jon Gonzalez' drive was spoiled by the returning Brad Gore, and had been mostly cute and clumsy since then. The misery only grew; Tovias was eliminated in a rundown between second and third base after hitting a leadoff double to center to begin the fifth, and that was all the action through six innings, with Chavez still unbothered by base runners, nor the pressure of defending a potential W…

Matt Nunley's incidental 2-out single in the seventh did not lead to anything major, with Tovias readily striking out against Foreman, probably to avoid another baserunning embarrassment. Bottom 7th, Nunley handled Tadlock's grounder, Velez flew out to Cookie, and Coleman whiffed. Cookie would double with two outs in the eighth, getting a ball past Gore, who had robbed Alfaro of extra bases to begin the inning. Too bad that Tim Stalker's come-through magic had expired and he shattered a bat while grounding out to Velez, stranding the runner on second base. Chavez' perfect bid fell apart to begin the bottom 8th as he walked Brad Gore, the second of six consecutive left-handers in the lineup. This was still a dicey path to toe along, although given that the Raccoons hadn't scored in a while, and probably never would again, it was also save to leave Chavez in for the time being. What's the worst he can do? Lose? Josh Wool broke up the no-hitter on the very next pitch, singling hard to right, then was banged up again on the next play, Danny Munn grounding to the mound. Chavez zinged to second, where Walter and Wool collided, with the worse end for the Loggers' catcher, who was once more replaced by William Jones. Nick Gilmor hit into an inning-ending double play on the very next pitch, while Chavez continued into the bottom of the ninth inning. Dan March grounded out, but Carlos de Santiago didn't. His walkoff blast could not be measured, but was estimated at 490 feet, which probably included at least a couple o' dozen na-nana-nanah-na feet to really rub it in. 1-0 Loggers. Nunley 2-3; Chavez 8.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, L (1-5);

Just when I thought, we had some kinda weird spark… no.

For Sunday, an era in Portland ended. Cookie Carmona batted SIXTH after dropping his slash line to .241/.309/.323. Nobody remembered the last time Cookie had not batted FIRST in the order…

Game 3
POR: SS Stalker – CF Mora – 2B Walter – 1B Gonzalez – 3B Nunley – LF Carmona – C Tovias – RF Alfaro – P Gutierrez
MIL: SS Tadlock – 2B Stewart – CF Coleman – RF Gore – 3B A. Velez – 1B Gershkovich – LF de Santiago – C T. Williams – P Prevost

Cookie in sixth hit a single in the second, giving the Coons two singles and no outs in the inning on the heels of being shut out for 20 consecutive frames. That run ended with Elias Tovias' double into the leftfield corner, which scored both runners, with Tim Stalker singling home Tovias with two outs, giving Rico Gutierrez a 3-0 lead he was surely gonna blow in the most stupid fashion. The Loggers were sure seeing him well; Gershkovich and de Santiago both hit real rockets in the bottom 2nd, with Cookie and Alfaro making catches of replay value, respectively. Tovias offered more offense, homering in the fourth, and the Coons also got Alfaro on base with a single. Gutierrez bunted him over, and Stalker hit his second 2-out RBI single to plate another runner, extending the lead to 5-0. That was the score through five, with Gutierrez maintaining a shutout while giving all outfielders a real workout as they held the Loggers to two base hits and no runs.

Tim Stalker cracked his third RBI hit in the game in the sixth inning. Facing Alex Hichez with two outs, he singled hard to left center, allowing Alfaro to score. Omar had reached on Tyler Stewart's error, the Loggers' second in the game. Mora would hit another single, but Walter grounded out to keep it at 6-0. Despite the sizable lead, a complete-game shutout was not in the cards for Gutierrez, who allowed almost no base runners, but still managed to run up 108 pitches in seven innings. But at least the Loggers were still off the board! Maybe they could get on in the eighth? Stewart doubled off Surginer with one out, and Billy Brotman was not a huge obstacle for Ian Coleman, who ripped an RBI single to left. Brotman went on to strike out the next two, and Juan Barzaga struck out three in the ninth around a de Santiago single. 6-1 Furballs. Stalker 3-5, 3 RBI; Walter 2-5; Carmona 2-4, BB; Tovias 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Gutierrez 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, W (4-3);

In other news

May 8 – SAC C Errol Spears (.227, 0 HR, 8 RBI) reaches the 2,000 hits plateau in a 3-2 win over the Canadiens. The 38-year-old Spears collects to hits, including the milestone, a second-inning single off VAN SP Greg Becker (2-3, 4.43 ERA). Spears is a former Rookie of the Year (2009), three-time World Series champion (all of the Pacifics' titles in the 2010s), 6-time All Star, and has batted .285 with 193 HR and 1,117 RBI over his 18-year career.
May 10 – The Cyclones batter the Capitals relentlessly in an 18-3 slaughter, scoring in all but one of their eight batting innings, with OF/1B Terry Kopp (.225, 4 HR, 31 RBI) landing four base hits, including three doubles, and driving in five runs.
May 10 – The Stars send 33-yr old C Jose Vargas (.284, 4 HR, 13 RBI) to the Aces in exchange for interesting, but unranked prospect 3B/LF Eric Thun.
May 11 – IND 1B Mike Rucker (.236, 9 HR, 22 RBI) knocks his 300th home run in a 4-2 win over the Crusaders, the game-winning 3-run shot off NYC SP Mike Rutkowski (3-4, 3.25 ERA). On his fourth team, the 37-year-old Rucker has batted .254/.348/.461 for his career and has driven in 1,020 runs. He was the 2013 CL Rookie of the Year, led the CL in home runs (2021) and slugging (2017) once each.
May 11 – The Stars beat the Warriors, 3-2 in 11 innings, as Carlos Padilla crossed home plate on a walkoff balk by SFW MR Pat Okrasinski (1-3, 2.00 ERA).
May 11 – CHA 1B Pat Fowlkes (.316, 5 HR, 21 RBI) hits the DL with a hip strain and is expected to miss six weeks.

Complaints and stuff

Another walkoff balk! They make me merry!

I am so glad I signed Cookie to that 4-year deal *before* last season, after which he instantly turned into a turd at 31. Portland is beaten once more and will never rise again, at least as long as I'm alive…!

Next week the pain could be for real, when we'll face the Elks at home. Also the Falcons.

The Raccoons released Brian Perakis this week; the 2015 first-rounder had appeared in 19 games for Portland in 2022, batting .171 with a homer and 6 RBI. By now he had sunk to Ham Lake, where he was batting .071 as a 26-year-old in AA, which was one red flag too many.

Side note, in the middle of May the Panthers are our only winning minor-league team.

Fun Fact: The June 25, 2017 trade that sent John Waker to the Dallas Stars for Hugo Mendoza also included Chris Schmitt and Ricky Cruz, who between themselves have amounted to three lineup entries in major league ballgames.

Those are all Schmitt's by the way. Cruz never made the majors and is currently unemployed at 28.

Waker is the Stars' closer right now after a few trying years. He went 8-7 with 17 saves and a 4.16 ERA last year, pitching 84 innings between the pen and rotation. He lacks a great third pitch and enough control to be a good starting pitcher, although you could probably make him work in a pitcher's park like San Francisco. He should be better in relief than he is; this year he's 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA and 8 SV, walking almost five per nine innings. He is 26 now; he will probably not get much better.

(In the background Maud can be seen holding up Antonio Donis' photo)

So, the Coons probably won the 2017 Mendoza trade, although I was grumpy for years with him. The hype was so huge that a .296/.377/.507 slash with 144 HR and 551 RBI in four full and two partial years just wasn't enough. He started his second season with Cincy now; last year he batted .310/.356/.460 in 154 games, but went deep only 18 times and racked up 100+ K for the first time in his career. He's only 33, but it seems we might have made the right move by kicking him in '22.

Evaluating the yield of the 2022 Mendoza trade is a wee bit difficult right now. We got Chris McKendrick (on the DL for most of the year) and Jonathan Shook, who has since been shipped off to San Fran, where he's pitching out of the pen to a 4.91 ERA. And yes that was the Mark Roberts / Jon Gonzalez for pitching scraps deal. Matt Huf is 2-4 with a 2.76 ERA in their rotation, so yay me, but at least they didn't strike gold with Reese Kenny, too, who is getting lit up in AAA for them as well. And yes, that's our second first-round pick that got entangled in the Mendoza trades around one or two corners.

It's actually three first-rounders including Huf (by the Blue Sox); also, Shook was a supplemental-round pick (by the Cyclones), as was Chris Schmitt.

You know who wasn't a first-round pick amongst all these players? Mark Roberts. The Falcons picked him in the *12th* round in the 2012 draft with the #294 pick. That is one pick lower than Nick Brown was drafted in 1995.