[Westheim]

The end of the string is in sight! The Raccoons still had a chance to finish at or above .500, but also still had a chance to dawdle away a protected first-round pick by winning excessively. Oh, I'm sure all will be fine.

Raccoons (76-79) vs. Crusaders (81-74) – September 23-26, 2024

Two teams defeated would play a meaningless series here in the final week. The Crusaders held an 8-6 lead in the season series while ranking seventh in runs scored and second in runs allowed in the CL.

Projected matchups:
Josh Whitaker (0-6, 4.14 ERA) vs. Lance Legleiter (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Jack Sander (9-9, 4.12 ERA) vs. Ben Jacobson (7-6, 4.34 ERA)
Jesus Chavez (7-15, 4.23 ERA) vs. Tim Dunn (3-9, 4.03 ERA)
Mark Roberts (11-9, 3.43 ERA) vs. Jonathan Toner (5-3, 2.70 ERA)

A few more injuries to the staff had washed the 27-year-old replacement Legleiter into the rotation. Like the well-known Jonny Toner he was throwing from the right side, other than the two guys in the middle of the series.

Jonny Toner had made 12 appearances (6 starts) since returning from seemingly endless injury and an extensive rehab program in AAA Lexington, pitching 53.1 innings in the majors. The ERA was pretty, the rest really wasn't all that much. In those 50-some innings, he had allowed six homers and had walked 30 against 38 strikeouts. This was not the Jonny Toner we knew and loved anymore, and it saddened my heart gravely to see him, our 4-time Pitcher of the Year, getting moored like that.

Sentimentalities aside – boys, go out there and kill him.

Game 1
NYC: SS S. Valdez – CF Douglas – 3B Schmit – RF Ellis – C Asay – 2B Oosterom – 1B A. Diaz – LF J. Williams – P Legleiter
POR: CF Mora – 2B Walter – C Tovias – 1B Gonzalez – RF Kopp – 3B Nunley – LF Carmona – SS Stalker – P Whitaker

The Raccoons managed to strand pairs of runners in each of the first three innings without ever scoring, which was very helpful for Winless Whitaker to keep his unfortunate moniker given that the Crusaders were less picky. Lance Douglas singled, stole, scored on Andy Schmit's single in the first, and in the second the Coons were aiding the Crusaders in loading the bases with shoddy defense (Jon Gonzalez was charged an error; Shane Walter was not), leading to an unearned sac fly for Lance Legleiter to get the score to 2-0. Highlights for the Coons included Terry Kopp popping out with Mora and Gonzalez on the corners in the first, Mora popping out with Cookie and Sam Armetta in scoring position in the second, and Nunley flying out to Jake Williams with Tovias and Gonzalez in scoring position in the third. Elias Tovias grounded out to short in the fourth to strand runners on the corners again, but by then the Raccoons had put up a run as Cookie had hit a leadoff single, had advanced on Armetta's groundout, and had scored on Whitaker's single past Angel Diaz. Yay, the thrill of raking pitchers!

Said raking pitcher was done after five because the Raccoons loaded the bases in the bottom 5th through Nunley singling and Cookie and Armetta drawing walks, all with two down. Omar Alfaro batted for Whitaker – and stalwartly grounded out to Legleiter himself. While the Raccoons got four mostly spotless innings of relief from Barzaga, Morales, Corkum, and Kipple afterwards – except for a solo home run by Jake Williams off Hector Morales in the seventh inning – they also kept their rallying mostly to themselves until the ninth inning and Steve Casey arrived. Tovias and Gonzalez hit a pair of quite soft singles with one out that put the tying runs aboard. Terry Kopp flew out to left to stretch his personal futility in the game to 0-for-5, pulling up Nunley, who had already fulfilled his personal quota for home runs in a season, and thus struck out. 3-1 Crusaders. Tovias 3-5; Gonzalez 2-4, 2B; Whitaker 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, L (0-7) and 1-2, RBI;

Well, Whitaker, that is some ****ty kinda loss. Do better next time!

(sigh)

Not much longer, and we will compare Omar Alfaro unfavorably to Luke Newton. And then Clyde Brady, because we are all grown up and know that he will get another 3,000 at-bats before I realize he's a turd.

Game 2
NYC: 1B X. Garcia – 2B S. Valdez – 3B Schmit – RF Ellis – LF J. Williams – C Asay – SS Doering – CF Douglas – P Jacobson
POR: LF Spencer – 2B Walter – C Tovias – 1B Gonzalez – RF Graves – 3B Grigsby – SS Stalker – CF Borg – P Sander

On the bright side, Jack Sander faced the minimum the first time through the order and struck out the side in the third inning (even if that was just the bottom of the order…), but on the other hand the Raccoons managed to strand more and more runners, landing four singles in the first three innings and plating absolutely nobody. Xavier Garcia hit a first-pitch double to begin the top 4th, but was stranded at third base eventually, and while Jake Williams hit a leadoff single in the fifth, Jason Asay found his way into a double play to get rid of that particular runner. The Raccoons would actually find a run in the bottom of the inning thanks to Greg Borg's leadoff single, Sander's bunt, and then the Crusaders walked Jarod Spencer intentionally, which said something about the hitting prowess of a guy that was as powerful as a fly larva. Shane Walter punished the Crusaders anyway, singling into center to score Borg for the first tally in the game. There were still two on for Tovias, but Elias hit one to short for an inning-ending double play.

Sander pitched six shutout innings, then was broken up in the seventh. The Crusaders tied the score with leadoff doubles that Sergio Valdez and Andy Schmit hit past either side of Jarod Spencer in left, and Jake Williams and Jason Asay chipped in singles to take the lead with one out, 2-1. Sander was removed when the left-handed Jamie Richardson appeared to pinch-hit for Blake Doering, with Billy Brotman coming on. Brotman got Richardson, but surrendered a 2-out single to Piet Oosterom that brought in the Crusaders' third run before Ben Jacobson struck out to end the top 7th. Other than Whitaker, Sander was spared the loss thanks to a pair of solo home runs off Jacobson in the bottom 7th. Shane Walter hit the game-tying shot, following the first career dinger for Justin Gerace, pinch-hitting for Brotman with one out. Tovias hit a deep drive to left after the game had been tied already, but Jake Williams robbed him of a double on the track. Ceaseless horrors saw Kevin Surginer allow a single to Sergio Valdez in the top 8th, with Brett Lillis replacing him with two outs and Nate Ellis up. Ellis grounded to first, Jon Gonzalez crapped out for another error, and then right-hander Felipe Delgado singled to left. Gerace had gotten onto the field out there, and fired home voraciously when Valdez was sent for home plate … and was thrown out to keep the game tied. The game subsequently went to extras where both teams continued to struggle offensively. The Raccoons got Jon Gonzalez on with a leadoff single in the 11th, and then had Zach Graves smack into a double play right away. Oosterom was on base with Kipple pitching in the 12th, but that inning ended on a strike-em-out-throw-em-out. Bottom 13th, Jon Ozier pitching. Spencer singled up the middle leading off, then was bunted over by Jon McGrew, who somehow had wound up in the #2 spot. Tovias and Gonzalez were still around, and still not helping. Tovias struck out, Gonzalez grounded out to short, and the game continued for one more inning. Jason Asay's homer off Juan Barzaga in the 14th turned out to be the game-winner, with the Raccoons getting Zach Graves on via the hit-by-pitch in the bottom 14th, and then stranding him as Grigsby flew out to deep left, Cookie Carmona grounded out, and Alfaro flew out to deep center. 4-3 Crusaders. Spencer 2-5, BB; Walter 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Grigsby 3-6; Gerace (PH) 1-3, HR, RBI; Kipple 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

(lies motionless, face-down, on the couch)

Game 3
NYC: 1B X. Garcia – 2B S. Valdez – 3B Schmit – RF Ellis – LF J. Williams – C Asay – SS Vacarri – CF Douglas – P Dunn
POR: 2B Spencer – C Tovias – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – RF Alfaro – 3B Grigsby – LF Gerace – SS McGrew – P Chavez

Chavez coughed up a run in the first, walking Xavier Garcia and allowing a single to Valdez that sent the runner to third base before Schmit hit into a run-scoring double play. The Raccoons moved in the second; Jon Gonzalez reached on an error while Omar Alfaro found a single in his bat. Grigsby flew to deep center, and Lance Douglas made a running catch in full retreat, but stumbled, tumbled into the fence, and lost the ball, while the Raccoons came up with a 2-1 lead on what ended up being a triple for Grigsby. Mike was probably hoping to dislodge Matt Nunley from third base soon, and every little bit helped his cause. He scored on Justin Gerace's bloop single to shallow left, giving Chavez a 3-1 lead that was to be blown instantly. Top 3rd, Valdez singled, Schmit laced a line drive homer, and we were tied again.

We weren't tied for long. Jake Williams cracked a go-ahead homer in the fourth, and Chavez didn't retire another batter, or any batter in the fourth inning. Asay singled, Giacobbe Vacarri tripled, and here came Brett Lillis, obviously unhappy to pitch in the fourth inning of a garbage game. He struck out Lance Douglas, then got the runner removed from the bases when Vacarri was convinced he could steal home, but slid into Tovias' planted body and was out. That still left Chavez on a well-deserved 5-3 hook. That score would grow bigger with time; the Crusaders plated two runs off Hector Morales in the sixth inning, including a solo homer by Asay, and the Coons looked defeated down 7-3 until the eighth inning rolled around. Tovias reached on Vacarri's error, and Abel Mora hit a double, putting runners in scoring position with one out. Jon Gonzalez – of course – cocked it up again, grounding out to Tim Dunn himself, but Alfaro came through, singling between Vacarri and Schmit to bring in both runs and close the score to 7-5. Grigbsy grounded out to end the inning, making room for a horror show in the top of the ninth. Jimmy Lee allowed four base hits and was charged with three runs when Jonathan Snyder – not needed as closer, and not helpful as anything else – eagerly waving around the runners until Mora made a running catch on Piet Oosterom with three aboard to end the inning. Bottom 9th, Gerace hit a leadoff single, Cookie Carmona pinch-hit for McGrew and straight into a double play, and the Coons died in style once more. 10-5 Crusaders. Alfaro 2-4, 2 RBI; Gerace 2-4, RBI;

Game 4
NYC: 1B X. Garcia – SS S. Valdez – 3B Schmit – RF Ellis – 2B Oosterom – CF Murillo – C F. Delgado – LF J. Williams – P Toner
POR: 2B Spencer – 3B Nunley – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – RF Kopp – C T. Delgado – LF Carmona – SS Stalker – P Roberts

Raccoons fans were entirely intent on turning this game into a Toner Lovefest, and they shall be forgiven. The diehard crowd – excessively thin in awful weather including light rain and whipping wind – was more rooting for the out-of-town hurler than their own. They did appreciate a Cookie single in the second inning, but they really roared on the previous non-play, Tony Delgado going down on strikes, Toner's first K in the game, and #2,273 overall. Toner bunted badly in the third inning after Felipe Delgado and Williams had hit singles to begin the inning, getting the Crusaders' Delgado forced out at third base. That cost them a run in the inning, because on Garcia's fly to right, even Delgado could have scored easily from third base. Valdez fouled out, keeping the game scoreless. Bottom 4th, Toner was in trouble after Gonzalez' leadoff single, a walk to Terry Kopp, and a 3-1 count to Tony Delgado, at least until Delgado poked at the 3-1 and grounded to short for a double play. When Cookie clipped a 3-2 pitch past a diving Garcia to bring in Gonzalez from third and give the Raccoons a 1-0 lead, it almost broke the crowd – they didn't know whether to cheer or sneer at that point. Toner lost Tim Stalker to a walk, then allowed a full-count, blooping RBI single to shallow left to Mark Roberts that brought in Cookie with the second run before Spencer popped out. The crowd was displeased. Weird game.

It got weirder. The rain got worse by the sixth inning and soon sent the game to a rain delay that lasted north of an hour and obviously wiped out both starting pitchers, with Roberts so far not having missed a beat with a 2-hit shutout. Vince D effortlessly blew the game in the seventh inning, allowing a leadoff single to Andy Schmit, an RBI double to Nate Ellis over the head of his former Wolves mate Abel Mora, and then the game-tying RBI single to Felipe Delgado.

The Raccoons retook the lead on a Tony Delgado single in the bottom 8th, but Delgado didn't get an RBI. Delgado batted against right-hander Kevin Woodworth with Kopp on first and nobody out, singled to center, and Kopp made for third. Jake Williams thought he had a play, really hadn't, threw wildly, and Kopp scored on he error, breaking the 2-2 tie. Woodworth went on to walk Stalker, after which Omar Alfaro batted for Billy Brotman, and hit right into a double play. Top 9th, Snyder led off against Andy Schmit, who hit a scorcher into the gap in left-center, exactly what you need with a slim 1-run lead. Schmit turned second and raced for third, but there arrived Cookie's throw, beating him by a few feet and Nunley tagged him as the Crusaders made the first out at third base, the cardinal sin of base running, and it probably cost the Crusaders a chance at a rally. Snyder struck out nobody, so a leadoff man at second would have been gold. 3-2 Raccoons. Carmona 2-4, RBI; Roberts 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K and 1-2, RBI;

Raccoons (77-82) vs. Indians (60-99) – September 27-29, 2024

The Indians were up against the perfect team as they tried to avoid 100 losses and needed a final-weekend sweep to stick at 99. They had lost seven in a row, though, were 6-17 in September after an 8-20 August, and they were bottoms in the CL in runs scored AND runs allowed, and really should be 52-107, pythagorean style. Their run differential was a crazy -270. We led the season series, 9-6.

Projected matchups:
Rico Gutierrez (15-8, 2.98 ERA) vs. Alvin Smith (6-9, 5.14 ERA)
Josh Whitaker (0-7, 3.91 ERA) vs. Tom Shumway (12-10, 3.40 ERA)
Jack Sander (9-9, 4.12 ERA) vs. Juan Ortega (1-5, 5.94 ERA)

Right-left-right to end the season. Let's see whether we can make it without another torn up knee, shredded elbow, or broken neck.

Game 1
IND: 1B Duling – 3B J. Jackson – C T. Perez – 2B Ri. Mendez – SS Folk – LF Linnell – CF Coffman – RF Faulk – P A. Smith
POR: CF Mora – C Tovias – 2B Walter – 1B Gonzalez – RF Kopp – 3B Nunley – LF Gerace – SS Stalker – P Gutierrez

Coons scored first, Justin Gerace singling in Terry Kopp, who had walked and advanced on Nunley's groundout, in the second inning. Stalker also singled, but Gutierrez flew out to right to end the inning. Gutierrez sprinkled three base hits in the first three innings without too much terror arising, but that changed in the fourth with a leadoff single by Rich Mendez and then two walks to Brody Folk and Richard Linnell right away. That loaded the bases with no outs, but the Indians would not score more than the tying run. Nick Coffman struck out, A.J. Faulk hit a sac fly, and Alvin Smith grounded out to Stalker. On the other side of the coin, the Raccoons got Gerace (walk) and Stalker (single) aboard to begin the bottom 5th, and then Gutierrez bunted into a terrible double play, third-and-first, to completely tear that inning apart. One inning further down the road, singles by Walter and Gonzalez with one out created a chance, and then Terry Kopp spontaneously struck out. This was not the way to go about things, even on the last weekend of the season and playing a rancid sand bag of a team. The buck stopped there, though, with Matt Nunley taking command and singling determinedly to rightfield, breaking the 1-1 tie with Shane Walter scoring. Gerace singled to center, plating Gonzalez from second, and Smith lost Stalker to the walk. That loaded the bases for Gutierrez, who was at 90 pitches anyway. Jarod Spencer batted for him, turned an 0-2 pitch around and knocked it past the ex-Elk Folk into left-center for a two more runs' worth of damage! Kyle Lamb replaced Smith afterwards, ending the inning when he got Abel Mora to pop out foul. But the Coons were now up by a slam and expected their pen to hold that lead for three innings against the absolute worst offensive team in the land. Vince D and Surginer got the seventh and eighth over with just fine, but Richard Linnell hit a leadoff single off Morales in the ninth. Morales was hooked instantly, with Ryan Corkum coming on. Coffman singled to center, Linnell trying for third, only to realize that he had messed up and he was now caught in a rundown. The Coons not only tagged him out, but also kept Coffman at first base, and got out of the game without too much trouble. 5-1 Coons. Gerace 3-3, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Stalker 2-2, BB; Spencer (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; Gutierrez 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (16-8);

Game 2
IND: 1B Duling – 3B J. Jackson – LF D. Morales – C T. Perez – 2B Ri. Mendez – SS Folk – CF Stevenson – RF Faulk – P Shumway
POR: 2B Spencer – 3B Grigsby – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – RF Alfaro – LF Gerace – SS Stalker – C Burrows – P Whitaker

Jake Burrows made a throwing error on the first play of the game, firing wildly past Jon Gonzalez to place Mike Duling on second base to start the contest, from where Whitaker – not possessing any means to hold runners aboard, ever – allowed him to score on a Danny Morales double. The run was unearned, but that was little consolation for a guy with a sub-4 ERA and an 0-7 record. For a while, we had a typical game on our hands as they transpired in late September with 182 losses already on the field. Few did much, many did little, and soon we were in the fifth and saw Whitaker walk the bags full with one out, starting with the ****ing pitcher. That brought up Morales, a 2-0 count, and then a fly to center that ended up with Mora, but brought in Shumway with the game's second run. Tony Perez grounded out to Stalker to strand two. It got worse in the sixth, with Mendez reaching on a walk, and Brody Folk doubling the tally with a shot to right-center. Josh Stevenson reached on a blooper that fell for a single, and Whitaker walked Duling with two outs to end his season. Ryan Corkum replaced him and got Justin Jackson to ground out, keeping the score at 4-0. And while the Raccoons had to contend with Tom Shumway, who was undoubtedly the best player left on that Indians team, their own pitching was messy, and their offense was non-existent. Shumway pitched eight shutout innings, whiffing seven, and against Nick Salinas in the ninth they disappeared quietly into the night. 4-0 Indians.

Game 3
IND: SS Folk – 2B Ri. Mendez – C T. Perez – 1B M. Rucker – LF D. Morales – CF Linnell – RF Staebell – 3B Duling – P J. Ortega
POR: CF Mora – C Tovias – 2B Walter – 1B Gonzalez – RF Kopp – 3B Nunley – LF Carmona – SS Stalker – P Sander

Sander walked the bases full in the second, then conceded a sleeper over the middle of the plate that Ortega knocked for a 2-out, 2-run single. Brody Folk struck out after that, giggling the entire time at the plate. In a season finale not for the ages, Sander was on five walks by the fourth inning, but at least the Raccoons found their way onto the scoreboard in the bottom 4th. Tovias doubled to begin the inning, then scored on Gonzalez' single. Jon moved up on the throw, as well as on Kopp's groundout, but with two down Nunley got robbed of a maybe-double by Danny Morales in left-center, and the Indians maintained a 2-1 lead through four.

Sander lasted five and two thirds before getting stuck; Mike Rucker hit a 1-out single in the sixth inning, but underestimated Abel Mora in right-center as he tried to make it a double. Mora held him to a single and the second out at second base, after which Morales hit another single. Kipple replaced Sander and got Linnell to ground out to short in his 70th appearance of the year. John Staebell drew a leadoff walk from Kipple in the seventh, then moved up on Duling's groundout. That put Ortega in the box again, Kipple was still out there … and allowed an RBI single to center. That made it 3-1 Indians, and 3 RBI for the pitcher. The Indians could actually have somebody else drive in a run, though; Bob Reyes hit a 2-out RBI double off Billy Brotman in the eighth. The run was unearned thanks to an error in the inning, but that was not offering a whole lot of consolation overall.

Bottom 8th, Ortega drilled Tim Stalker to begin the inning, then walked Omar Alfaro, who had entered in a double switch with Brotman earlier. That brought up the tying run and made plenty of room for more heartbreak, too. Juan Ortega remained in there for now, with Abel Mora hitting one behind second base. Folk cut it off, but couldn't do anything with it and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Tovias sent a soft fly to left that Danny Morales dropped for an error, advancing everybody a base and plating Stalker, 4-2. Walter popped out, very helpfully, with Ortega still hanging in there. Jon Gonzalez worked a run-scoring walk, 4-3, after which Grigsby batted for Brotman. He flew out to shallow right, Staebell scaring Mora back to his base, and then Nunley lined out to Morales… again. Snyder retired the Indians in order in the ninth, giving the Coons another chance to turn this one around. Nick Salinas retired Cookie on a grounder to second base, but then walked Jarod Spencer, batting in Stalker's spot. Alfaro struck out, and Abel Mora lifted one to shallow right that Rich Mendez caught going backwards, and this season was over. 4-3 Indians.

In other news

September 23 – The hitting streak of Denver's Cory Briscoe (.281, 2 HR, 43 RBI) ends after 26 games in a 5-4 loss to the Pacifics, but a new 20-game hitting streak is born for SAC INF Trey Rock (.302, 1 HR, 59 RBI) with a 1-for-5 day in the Scorpions' 10-0 romp over the Stars.
September 24 – LAP SP Matt McCabe (15-10, 3.29 ERA) got the bad news that he is headed for Tommy John surgery after tearing his UCL. The 33-year-old right-hander is expected to miss all of 2025.
September 24 – In a 17-3 thrashing of the Indians, the Canadiens score in each of their first seven innings, including six crooked numbers. Five Canadiens land three base hits each, and Tony Coca (.251, 11 HR, 64 RBI) leads the team with three hits and 4 RBI.
September 24 – The Wolves beat the Warriors, 1-0, on a home run by rookie RF/CF Nelson Colon (.258, 2 HR, 7 RBI).
September 25 – A badly sprained wrist will probably render BOS CF/LF Adrian Reichardt (.284, 14 HR, 68 RBI) unavailable for the rest of the season and the playoffs, throwing a wrench into the Titans' gearbox.
September 25 – BOS SP Jeremy Waite (11-3, 2.90 ERA) throws a 2-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over the Loggers.
September 25 – DEN OF Armando Martinez (.330, 14 HR, 72 RBI) has manufactured a 20-game hitting streak with a 3-hit day in an 8-4 win over the Pacifics.
September 26 – WAS SP Danny Arguello (10-11, 4.41 ERA) spins a 3-hit shutout against the Miners, whiffing five in a 5-0 game.
September 26 – SAC INF Trey Rock (.301, 1 HR, 59 RBI) has his hitting streak end at 22 games after going empty in a 4-1 win over the Stars.
September 27 – The Knights become the last team to punch a playoff ticket with a 6-3 win over the Falcons, eliminating the last remaining contenders, the Condors, mathematically from reaching the postseason berth in the CL South.
September 27 – And the third 20-game hitting streak of the week ends as well, as DEN OF Armando Martinez (.327, 14 HR, 73 RBI) goes hitless in a 4-0 loss to the Stars.
September 29 – OCT SS Lorenzo Rivera (.328, 1 HR, 45 RBI) ends the season with a cast, having broken his kneecap. The Thunder hope to have the 25-year-old back for Opening Day in '25.

Complaints and stuff

Third straight losing season. Protected draft pick - #10 if I can count that far without accident. I am not sure I can… I just know our players can't count to ball four without getting a headache.

There are many measures for futility, but Josh Whitaker has to be right up there with a 3.99 ERA and an 0-8 record.

Rico Gutierrez won 16, which is enough to tie for the lead in the CL, which is slightly odd, especially given that Chris Sinkhorn won 22 for the Gold Sox in the FL. Gutierrez also finished third in ERA behind Jorge Villalobos and Luis Flores. If there is some positive to draw from this season, it's probably his emergence as a worthwhile pitcher. Let's not get into that .274 BABIP now.

Fun Fact: Of all Raccoons pitchers with zero franchise wins, Josh Whitaker (0-8) now has the most losses.

He replaces "Brenda" Teasdale at the top of that list. Teasdale went 0-7 with a 6.39 ERA from 2008 to 2010, making ten starts in total, the same amount as Whitaker this season. Teasdale would go on to win elsewhere, as many as 13 in a season with the 2014 Gold Sox, but overall ended up a pretty rotten 54-99 with a 4.81 ERA in a 12-year career.