[Westheim]

Raccoons (41-56) vs. Thunder (51-49) – July 24-26, 2035

The homestand of horrors threatened to continue with three games against Oklahoma starting on Tuesday. The Thunder were third in the South, but almost twice as far behind the leaders as the last-place Critters in the North. They ranked third in runs scored, sixth in runs allowed, and had won only one of the first three games between the two teams this year.

Projected matchups:
Gilberto Rendon (7-7, 3.32 ERA) vs. Joe Robinson (8-9, 3.44 ERA)
Colt Willes (8-8, 3.36 ERA) vs. Ignacio del Rio (8-7, 3.92 ERA)
Bernie Chavez (6-9, 4.69 ERA) vs. Paul Peters (8-6, 3.83 ERA)

Robinson was the only southpaw in that rotation. The Thunder had one good bat (Drew Olszewski) on the DL, but they still packed four guys with double-digit dingers, including Danny Cruz (20) and Luis Sagredo (17), first and third in the CL, respectively.

Game 1
OCT: SS C. Miller – CF Riffer – RF Celaya – 1B D. Cruz – C Burgess – LF Sagredo – 3B Schmit – 2B A. Rojas – P J. Robinson
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Stalker – C Wall – CF Fowler – LF Wallace – RF Salgado – 1B Maruyama – 3B Zeltser – P Rendon

The Raccoons managed two hits and a double play (Maruyama) the first time through, but at least Rendon was pretty, pretty sharp, retiring the Thunder in order to begin the game, and whiffing six through four innings, including five consecutively at one point. Robinson got five Critters in four innings, but also conceded a run in the bottom 4th. He walked Kurt Wall, threw a wild pitch, and Justin Fowler doubled in the catcher for a 1-0 score. Danny Cruz’ leadoff single in the fifth dispelled Rendon’s perfect bid, and before long the Thunder also overcame their crushing deficit when Luis Sagredo bombed his 18th on a 3-2 pitch. The Thunder loaded the bags one inning later; Chris Miller and Lorenzo Celaya hit singles, Cruz walked on four pitches with two outs, and then somehow Mike Burgess didn’t put the dagger in, but popped out to Berto at short.

When Rendon retired to his chambers after seven innings, he held a new 3-2 lead. Stalker had opened the bottom 6th with a single, but the Coons didn’t get the tying run off first base for a while. Wall lined out, and Fowler hit into fielder’s choice that got Stalker forced out at second base. Wallace and Salgado, though, would slap ground balls between either corner infielder and their respective base, both just barely fair, and both just barely getting a run home; Wallace had an RBI double to right, and Salgado an RBI single to left to take the lead. After Kulp and David Fernandez retired the top of the order in the top of the eighth without giving me more incentive to throw myself off a bridge into the Willamette, the bottom of the inning saw Oklahoma lefty Tony Gallardo in trouble. Kurt Wall hit a 1-out double. The Thunder wanted no part of Fowler, who was put on intentionally, but then Wallace singled to center to load the bases. Hugo Salgado pushed a grounder through the left side for an RBI, but Preston Pinkerton batted for Maruyama, which was righty-for-righty, but everybody knew why the Coons were doing it. He struck out, still, and Marsingill batted for a hitless Bob Zeltser and flew out to center, stranding three for good. It didn’t matter – Ed Blair struck out two and got Luis Sagredo on a grounder to finish the game as quickly as possible. 4-2 Coons. Stalker 2-4, 2B; Wallace 2-4, 2B, RBI; Salgado 3-4, 2 RBI; Rendon 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (8-7) and 1-2, 2B;

Preston Pinkerton had not seen action at all the entire prior week. Now I know why.

We were still a man short on the pitching side and needed a starter by Friday. Livingston hadn’t done the VERY worst job in his spot start (not good at all, but it wasn’t three innings, six runs…) and we might survive pitching him once more. We did need a seventh reliever, though. Edgar Barrios and his .184 bat were bumped back to St. Petersburg and we brought back left-handed specter of doom, Jason Gurney (0-1, 5.19 ERA with Portland; 4-0, 2.84 ERA with St. Pete).

In any case, nobody got his feelings hurt on Wednesday, which saw a rainout and postponement into a Thursday double-header. Imagine that – the Coons had gone three consecutive days without losing horribly!

Game 2
OCT: SS C. Miller – CF Riffer – RF Celaya – 1B D. Cruz – C Burgess – LF Sagredo – 3B Schmit – 2B A. Rojas – P del Rio
POR: SS Ramos – RF M. Fernandez – LF Wallace – CF Fowler – C Morales – 2B Vickers – 3B Zeltser – 1B Maruyama – P Willes

Since getting booted out of Portland, del Rio had started and won twice, but gave up the first run in the first leg of the double header, walking Fowler in the bottom 2nd and surrendering the run on Rich Vickers’ single. The Thunder got even right in the following half-inning, Celaya doubling home Chris Miller, who had singled and taken an extra base when Jimmy Wallace had shown off that cursed glove of his again and had overrun the ball when there was no particular hurry to the play. The run was earned, though, and it was 2-1 Thunder an inning later. Willes walked Sagredo and Andy Schmit in full counts to begin the top 4th, always such a boon in a double header… and while Alfredo Rojas popped out and del Rio bunted foul until the disgusted umpire sent his bum back to the dugout, Chris Miller dropped an RBI single in leftfield. Ben Riffer flew out to Wallace, who made a solid catch thanks to not having to move at all. That was only the start; Celaya hit a 430-foot bomb to lead off the fifth, and it was straight into the waste bin from there. Cruz singled, Burgess singled, Sagredo bunted them over. Andy Schmit grounded to Vickers, who threw the ball away, while a run would have scored anyway. Rojas and del Rio (ARGH!!) hit doubles to plate another three runs, and at that point Willes was sent into the darkened room to think about what he had done. Somehow Antonio Prieto managed to not surrender another five runs in a 7-1 losing effort…

Straight 2-out singles by Maruyama (!), Prieto (!!), and Ramos plated one run in the bottom 5th, but, eh, come on… Burgess homered off Prieto in the sixth to get the run back, and after that the Raccoons parked Jason Gurney on the mound (double-switching out Fowler as a white flag) and expected him to find nine outs before his arm would fall off. He didn’t. The Thunder mauled him for two runs in the seventh and left another three batters on base after getting two hits and three walks off Gurney, who was useless even in mop-up duty. Another run scored in the eighth when the Coons couldn’t turn two behind Gurney with runners on the corners, one out, and Chris Miller grounding to Berto. Preston Pinkerton pitched the ninth inning, allowing on runs on two walks and a single, then hit a 2-run triple over Ben Riffer in the bottom of the inning, and yet it was all in vain once again… 11-5 Thunder. Salgado 1-1, RBI; Stalker (PH) 1-1; Vickers 2-4, 2B, RBI; Maruyama 2-4; Pinkerton 1-2, 3B, 2 RBI;

Well, I knew someone who’s bum was back on the waiver wire tonight, his bum and his 6.97 ERA…

Game 3
OCT: SS C. Miller – CF Riffer – RF Celaya – 1B D. Cruz – LF Sagredo – 3B Schmit – C L. Riley – 2B A. Rojas – P Bojorques
POR: SS Ramos – RF M. Fernandez – LF Wallace – CF Fowler – C Wall – 2B Stalker – 3B Zeltser – 1B Marsingill – P Chavez

We needed a solid effort from Bernie in this game given that our long relief options were mostly gone and if we had to use Livingston in a relief role we’d have to call up the next-best dumb thing from AAA to fill in on Friday, in this case 2029 second-rounder Bob Thomson and his 4.22 ERA with the Alley Cats. Opposing the Coons was right-hander Mario Bojorques (5-3, 3.93 ERA), who surrendered a leadoff double to Ramos in the bottom 1st, but then coaxed three ****ty outs from the next three Raccoons. In the second, Portland got a chance without any merits of their own, Wall reaching on a Miller error and Stalker getting nailed. Zeltser grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base, but Marsingill banged a ball off the fence for an RBI double, the first run in the game. That was all in the inning, though. Bernie fanned, Berto walked, and Manny Fernandez’ fly to center was caught by Riffer, stranding three. Stalker had runners on the corners in the third and hit into an inning-ending double play. About there I knew in the cavity of my heart area we’d lose.

The problem was that while Bernie was still shutting out the Thunder, he was doing so in as inefficiently a manner as possible, leaking six batters on base and running a handful of full counts in the first four innings alone, enough of getting him up to *80* pitches. The Raccoons scratched out two runs in the fifth, Fowler getting an RBI single and Wall chipping in a sac fly after Manny and Wallace had already hit singles, giving Bernie a 3-0 lead, but Cruz opened the sixth with a single, and the bullpen had to spring into action. He nailed Sagredo in a full count, then got a double play out of a Schmit grounder. Liam Riley spanked an RBI single on Chavez’ 106th pitch and that was hit – here came the hook. Dusty Kulp replaced him, got a comebacker from Alfredo Rojas, and threw it away. Left-handed .139 batter Carlos Rosa would hit for Bojorques, the Coons stuck to Kulp, and somehow we avoided a 12-run homer. Rosa grounded out, ending the inning. Bottom 6th, a Riley throwing error put Zeltser (single) and Marsingill (the thrown-away roller) into scoring position for Rich Vickers, who had entered with Kulp in a double switch, and with nobody out against right-hander Marcos Ochoa. He popped out, and Berto would also have failed to get anybody in, but his roller disappeared under Cruz’ glove for another error, allowing Zeltser to scamper home, 4-1. Ramos stole second, Fernandez hit the next ****ty pop, but Jimmy Wallace romped a fastball into the rightfield corner for a 2-out, 2-run double. Okay, maybe we wouldn’t lose after all…? Justin Fowler’s blast on Sean Bastone’s 0-2 offering put the Coons up 8-1, with five runs in the bottom 6th. Wall doubled, but Dusty Kulp was sent to bat, whiffing, because we needed more outs from him more than we needed another run, or so we thought.

In the event, the Coons got neither. Kulp retired nobody, getting yanked with Miller and Riffer on the corners and nobody out after a pair of sharp singles to begin the top 7th. David Fernandez took the baseball, gave up an RBI double to Celaya, then somehow remembered that the goal was not for him to cause the greatest fireworks, and retired the next three in order on two pops and a K. Wallace would plate Fernandez in the bottom 8th for a run, but even before that Oklahoma got an unearned sac fly out of Chris Wise in the top 8th – another Vickers error playing into their cards – then waffled him for more in the ninth. Cruz walked, Sagredo homered, it was 9-5. Ed Blair was the last available reliever not named Livingston. He retired the next three Thunder in order. 9-5 Coons. M. Fernandez 2-5, 2B; Wallace 4-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Fowler 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Wall 2-4, 2B, RBI;

No major league debut for Bob Thomson, but still a roster move. Gurney went onto waivers (like anybody would take that…) and we brought up… well, it was more complicated than that.

Trade

The Raccoons picked up 31-year-old left-hander Steve Gowan (2-4, 4.70 ERA, 1 SV) from the Buffaloes. Gowan, a lifelong struggler with ill control, would fill the hole of garbage disposal man just as well as any other. He would not become a future burden, his contract being up at the end of the season.

We parted with 24-year-old minor league 1B Justin Hatcher, who had been a second-rounder in 2032, and had been brought in with the promise of homegrown power. Like countless others before him, he had become a colossal disappointment. He had hit 14 homers in the minors… in the three years since being drafted combined.

Raccoons (43-57) vs. Condors (68-34) – July 27-29, 2035

The Condors were off to another CL South title, leading the division by double digits in July and having both the best offense AND best pitching in the Continental League. Their run differential was a crisp +168 (Coons: -3), and we had no hopes to not get smothered. This was the last set of the season with them at least, and they had already taken the season series in swift fashion, having won five of six games so far.

Projected matchups:
Josh Livingston (2-0, 2.29 ERA) vs. Ethan Jordan (12-2, 2.30 ERA)
Raffaello Sabre (5-4, 4.13 ERA) vs. Juan Garcia (13-4, 2.38 ERA)
Gilberto Rendon (8-7, 3.28 ERA) vs. Jimmy Driver (8-7, 3.85 ERA)

Two southpaws of death to begin the series, and if they liked they could skip Driver and throw George Griffin at us, too. That righty had a modest 11-5 record and a 1.82 ERA…

Interestingly enough, Steve Gowan, the newest Critter on the chopping block, had spent most of his career with the Condors.

Game 1
TIJ: RF C. Murphy – 1B Zuazo – CF J. Williams – 3B Sanks – C J. Flores – LF Palbes – 2B Bensinger – SS Bunyon – P Jordan
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Vickers – C Wall – CF Fowler – LF M. Fernandez – 3B Marsingill – 1B Maruyama – RF Pinkerton – P Livingston

Kurt Wall tripled to drive in Vickers for a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and to anybody’s surprise Livingston wasn’t unconscious and bleeding on the mound, with vile birds ripping bits of flesh from his many wounds within minutes. The Condors didn’t score through four, although Jimmy Wallace’s off day probably secured the 1-0 lead through that fourth inning. Disgusting skunk weasel Shane Sanks hit a 1-out double, the third base hit off Livingston, moved up on Jose Flores’ groundout, then was stranded on a fly, mid-depth and near the leftfield line that Manny Fernandez caught to rob Juan Palbes. Whether Wallace would have gotten there was very much in doubt. It didn’t matter too much, ultimately, with Donovan Bunyon and Chris Murphy both dropping doubles in the fifth to get even.

Come the bottom 5th, the Raccoons were very much trying to un-even the game. Vickers drew a 1-out walk. Wall flew out, but Fowler and Fernandez both dropped 2-out singles behind infielders, with Vickers scampering around third base to score the go-ahead run on Manny’s hit. Jordan leaked a 4-pitch walk to Marsingill that was not outright intentional, but it still brought up Chiyosaku Maruyama, the death of all things offensive in Portland. Oh, me and my big mouth – Maruyama chopped a 1-0 pitch into shallow right-center, nobody nearby, and two runs scored to run the tally to 4-1. Pinkerton flew out.

Livingston did not allow another runner while completing seven innings. The 4-1 lead went to Garavito when the Condors sent lefty batter Josh Turley to hit for Jordan at the start of the eighth inning. He allowed nobody on base – but Vickers did with another error, bringing Murphy to first with one out. Alvin Zuazo and Justin Williams made the last outs in order, though. Vickers would then be on the other end of an error in the bottom 8th. Julio San Pedro had loaded the bases with Maruyama (double), Wallace (pinch-walk), and Tony Morales (pinch-hit single). After Ramos whiffed, there were two outs and Vickers rolled over to Bunyon. Oh, I rolled my eyes – another chance swimming down the Willamette while slowly taking on water. Bunyon’s throw to first base went past Zuazo, however, and two runs scored in the ensuing mayhem. Wall grounded out, and in the ninth Dusty Kulp got around a Jose Flores single to finish the game. 6-1 Critters. M. Fernandez 2-4, RBI; Maruyama 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Pinkerton 2-3; Morales (PH) 1-1; Livingston 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (3-0);

Game 2
TIJ: RF C. Murphy – 1B Zuazo – CF J. Williams – 3B Sanks – C J. Flores – LF Palbes – 2B Bensinger – SS Bunyon – P J. Garcia
POR: 2B Vickers – RF Salgado – C Wall – CF Fowler – LF Wallace – SS Stalker – 1B Maruyama – 3B Zeltser – P Sabre

For once, the other time scored first. Donovan Bunyon’s leadoff triple into the corner in rightfield would have led to a run sooner or later, but that Juan Garcia had to single him in made me salty once again. Worse, Bob Zeltser fudged a Murphy grounder and added another runner with nobody out, but then Sabre whiffed Zuazo, Williams grounded out, and the skunk weasel popped out to Maruyama. In an attempt to get back at Garcia, Sabre slapped a leadoff single in the bottom 3rd, and Garcia was so disgusted he lost composure and walked the bags full, bringing up Wall with nobody out. Kurt hit a 400-footer to the part of the park where it was 410’, but that was still a 2-run double and a lead for the Critters…! It was also all they got in the inning with Garcia issuing one more walk (Stalker) and whiffing the other three batters, so we left three stranded. Garcia walked Zeltser to begin the fourth, but the Critters couldn’t get him in… The lead then disappeared in the top 5th on a leadoff double by Bunyon into the corner again, a bunt, and Murphy’s sac fly.

The sixth inning then saw Sabre soundly dismembered by four Condors each beaking into a different paw and pulling him apart for four hits and three runs. Key piece was Juan Palbes’ 2-run triple past Wallace (…), followed by Jason Bensinger’s RBI single. Down 5-2, Steve Gowan made his Coons debut, and conceded another triple to Bunyon, and into the same dumb rightfield corner as the last two extra-base knocks. Just bean him, for ****’s sake! Garcia hit a sac fly, burying the Coons five deep, and that turned out to be plenty for the last few innings. The Raccoons never put more than one runner on base again, and none of those would score. 7-2 Condors. Wall 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; D. Fernandez 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Can we please salvage a winning week?

Please?

Game 3
TIJ: 2B Bensinger – RF Turley – CF J. Williams – 3B Sanks – C J. Flores – LF Palbes – 1B Kramer – SS Bunyon – P Griffin
POR: SS Ramos – RF M. Fernandez – LF Wallace – CF Fowler – C Morales – 2B Stalker – 3B Zeltser – 1B Maruyama – P Rendon

After a few innings of scattering singles for both teams, the bottom 4th looked like it was go time for the Coons, who saw their bid for a winning week suffocated when the Condors indeed moved in Griffin and his sub-zero ERA. But in the bottom 4th, Griffin issued a leadoff walk to Fowler, then served up Tony Morales’ second double of the game, which placed runners in scoring position for Tim Stalker, who popped out on the first pitch. Weak move for a veteran for sure! Zeltser plated Fowler with a groundout, and four intentionally wide ones to Maruyama and three vicious sinkers to Rendon ended the inning. A Ramos special with a Wallace RBI double made it 2-0 in the bottom 5th, and the Condors walked Fowler with intent to get Morales up. The rookie was on two hits and four bases and saw no point in stopping there, cracking a ball up the middle for an RBI single. Tim Stalker singled to load the sacks, and we hoped for a knockout from Zeltser. It was delivered on a 2-2 pitch that he mashed to right – GRAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAMMM!!!!

Up 7-0 and with Griffin getting pulled off the field with a sling around his ankle, it was entirely up to Rendon for how long he’d pitch – it wouldn’t be long though. While he had only allowed four runners in five innings, he had somehow expended 85 pitches doing so and it was hard to imagine him getting further than through six. He got three Condors in order in the sixth – which was followed by Adam Moran being branded with a 3-run homer by Justin Fowler in the bottom of the inning – but Zeltser fumbled Jose Flores’ grounder to begin the seventh and that was the last batter that Rendon would face. Gowan conceded the (unearned) run on a Ken Kramer longshot to left. Fowler almost hit another one in the eighth off Jose Ornelas, but Palbes picked the ball off the fence. Instead, Chris Wise allowed another run in the ninth, but at that point we were counting outs rather than runs… 10-3 Raccoons! Ramos 3-5; Morales 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Zeltser 1-4, HR, 5 RBI; Rendon 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (9-7);

In other news

July 23 – LAP RF/LF Oscar Mendoza (.268, 6 HR, 25 RBI) goes on the DL with torn thumb ligament. He is expected to be back at the start of September.
July 24 – The Buffaloes out-homer the Gold Sox, 4-3, but lose a 15-12 see-saw battle in Denver. DEN INF Orlando Nieblas (.311, 7 HR, 50 RBI) hits two homers, a single, and plates six runs.
July 26 – The first major league home run of 25-yr old CHA INF/RF Javier Guevara (.176, 1 HR, 13 RBI) is a walkoff grand slam off BOS MR Wyatt Hamill (3-1, 2.66 ERA, 1 SV) in a heretofore scoreless game, and in the 12th inning, giving the Falcons a 4-0 win.
July 26 – The Rebels deal SP Eric Peck (7-7, 3.94 ERA) to the Wolves for promising outfield prospect Alex Pidgeon.
July 26 – In a special pitching display, the Buffaloes played 18 innings in a double header against the Gold Sox and came up with nothing but goose eggs on the board. Both DEN SP Mike Hodge (15-3, 2.69 ERA) and SP Matt Diduch (8-5, 4.20 ERA) shut them out, Hodge on two and Diduch on three hits, respectively.
July 27 – IND CL Tim Thweatt (0-3, 2.77 ERA, 19 SV) is expected to miss a month with a torn meniscus.
July 28 – It takes 10 innings to score a single run in the Aces-Crusaders game, and when the Crusaders finally walk off, 1-0 winners, that run scores on an error by LVA LF/RF Graciano Salto (.269, 12 HR, 42 RBI).
July 28 – The Knights get C Adam Horner (.303, 3 HR, 26 RBI) and a minor leaguer from the Aces for a prospect.
July 29 – The Loggers deal SP Ernesto Lujan (6-10, 4.29 ERA) to the Aces for 1B Justin LeClerc (.386, 1 HR, 6 RBI in 57 AB).

Complaints and stuff

Sunday dawned with the Raccoons only eight games back in the division. Normally that would be a sign to buy another bat and another arm (maybe even a full set with two legs, another paw, and a snout to gobble cake into). They were also 14 games under .500 and last in the division. It was a weird division. The Crusaders began the day 52-51, half a game off first place.

Oh what could have been!

We got trade offers all week, but everybody wanted the goods and nobody offered proper prospects to sway me. Not that I was entirely idle, but f.e. nobody’s into Jimmy Wallace, who has a decent enough bat, but … well, the rest of the package is a bit stinky, I’ll admit. Ed Blair and unranked prospect Jose Agosto seems to be a popular package to fleece from us. Agosto, 21, from Panama, was signed for $170k in the July IFA period five years ago. Agile middle infielder, singles slapper, could steal some bases (but not on a Berto level), but also has a curious tendency to lose orientation on the basepaths and run into stupid outs. He had started the season in Ham Lake and was still there, batting .275 with three homers. Of his 101 hits, only 19 had gone for extra bases.

Justin Fowler is back up to a tie for second place in RBI in the league, being level at 68 with the skunk weasel. Luis Sagredo has 73, four of those having come in Portland this week…

Coming up, 4-city road trip with three locations east of the Mississippi (ATL, IND, NYC), then a stop in L.A. on the way home. We’ll have the last-place Buffos in for the final interleague matchup of the season after that.

Fun Fact: Tony Morales’ RBI single in the fifth on Sunday was his first RBI in 22 days.

Well, that comes with a couple of *s, doesn’t it? First, there was an All Star Game in between. Second, yeah, his OPS dropped, but nobody expected him to hit for a .930 OPS as a rookie and they hardly ever continue to have a BABIP near .400… he was also cheated out of at-bats by the weather this week, which would have been split three-three between him and Wall, but the rainout on Wednesday moved two right-handed Thunder hurlers into a double-header. I think this is a good kid, and with time he will also draw more walks and hit more homers.