[Westheim]

Raccoons (44-49) vs. Indians (37-56) – July 22-24, 2042

After a common off day on Monday, the decimated Raccoons would host the fifth-place Indians, who had not had any fun all year, either, and especially not against the Critters, who led the season series, 7-2. Indy were bottoms in runs scored and in many individual categories, too, and eighth in runs allowed, with a -69 run differential (Coons: +22, somehow).

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (6-7, 3.45 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (4-9, 4.22 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-6, 4.99 ERA) vs. Ayden Cobb (7-4, 2.58 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (6-7, 5.26 ERA) vs. Orlando Altreche (6-9, 4.32 ERA)

Neither team had a left-handed starter available at this stage – although the Raccoons would preserve Brent Clark for a potential spot start on Saturday. He would be available in the first two games, though.

Game 1
IND: RF Crocker – LF D. Rivera – 3B Hutson – 2B Sanderfer – CF de Santiago – 1B J. Diaz – C Custello – SS Russ – P A. Flores
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – CF Nettles – SS Gutierrez – P Jackson

Nick Crocker belted Jackson’s first pitch of the game over the fence in right, so that was a nice start. (picks up both Honeypaws and a bucket with fudge bars for comfort) The Raccoons erased the deficit in the same inning, though, getting their first bunch of batters on base. Flores walked Cosmo, who scored on singles by Miguel Reyna and Jesus Maldonado. Manny whiffed, Kilmer walked, loading the bases, Flores went 3-1 on Shuta Yamamoto, who then shot a grounder into a double play to kill the effort. Jackson gave himself the lead in the second inning, finding Stephon Nettles and Omar Gutierrez on the corners and hitting a sac fly to go up 2-1. Cosmo then forced out Gutierrez with a grounder, but Reyna reached, and Maldonado crushed a 3-piece to left-center to extend the gap to four runs, 5-1. After two uneventful innings, Jackson would piss away all of that lead in the fifth inning, getting whacked around for six hits and four runs; Andrew Russ was thrown out on the bases, but otherwise the comeback was capped by a 2-out, 2-run homer by Danny Rivera, that Nettles didn’t even run after because it was so obviously outta here. Dan Hutson singled up the middle, knocking out Jackson after 4.2 innings. Travis Sims replaced him, gave up a double in left-center to Alex Sanderfer, but Manny Fernandez hammered out Hutson at home plate to end the bedeviled inning.

Then it became about double plays – Jeff Kilmer killed the bottom 5th with two on and a 6-4-3, and the Indians had two on against Brent Clark in the seventh, ended when Hutson chopped a bouncer into a 5-4-3 double play. Facing right-hander Mike Iannone in the bottom 7th, Van Anderson drew a pinch-walk in the #9 hole, then raced for third base on Cosmo’s single. Well, Honeypaws, that looks like a fat chance! (proactively shoves another fudge bar in his snout) Reyna popped out, Maldo hit a sac fly to go up 6-5, and then Iannone walked the bags full before bringing up an 0-for-3 Yamamoto. We were tempted to pinch-hit, then remembered that we weren’t playing for wins anymore. We were just playing for the last 69 games of the year to somehow go into the record books, and besides, the kid’s gotta learn! The kid got the count to 1-1, then hit a loud, high liner to left that seemed to rise and rise and rise even more and it rose and rose until it was ******* outta here…! GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!

Ryan Van Campenhout then got whacked around a bit as the Indians made up a run on two hits and a walk in the eighth, but with Jeff Diaz and Andrew Russ aboard, one run in, and two outs, Zack Kelly came on and struck out PH Keith Thomson. With more lefty hitters atop the order, Kelly just remained in for the ninth inning then. He retired Crocker, Rivera, and Hutson in order to put the game away. 10-6 Raccoons. Reyna 3-4, 2B; Maldonado 2-2, BB, HR, 5 RBI; Yamamoto 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Kelly 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, SV (2);

Game 2
IND: RF Crocker – LF D. Rivera – 3B Hutson – 2B Sanderfer – CF de Santiago – 1B J. Diaz – C Custello – SS Russ – P A. Cobb
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Nettles – SS Gutierrez – C Wilson – P Mathers

Maldonado hit a jack for the second day in a row to give Portland a 1-0 lead in the bottom 1st. While Mathers struck out four and allowed one hit the first time through, the offense gave him another run in the bottom 3rd. Cosmo reached base leading off, and Manny Fernandez slapped him in with a 2-out double to centerfield. Yamamoto also hit a long fly to center, but his was caught by Carlos de Santiago, a 24-year-old rookie and .070 hitter.

Then Mathers imploded – with help from his friends. Rivera and Hutson went to the corners to begin the fourth, Gutierrez bombled a 6-4-3 by Sanderfer to get no out at all, while Rivera scored, 2-1. Mathers then walked de Santiago to load the bases with nobody out, then went about unloading them, starting with a wild first pitch to Jeff Diaz that tied the game. Diaz struck out, but Roger Custello lined a 2-run single to left. Andrew Russ doubled, Cobb hit a sac fly, and Mathers hit the bunk after 3.0 good and 0.2 outlandish innings. Derek Barker replaced him and got a soft fly to Reyna to end the dismal inning, now down 5-2. The gap only grew from there with two innings’ worth of Ryan Van Campenhout, who had a scoreless fifth, then walked three in the sixth inning, all of whom came around some way or other. The details were grim, the Indians led 8-2 on five hits for either team, and I was more concerned that Honeypaws was eating more than his due share of the precious fudge bars…! The Raccoons’ offense went into slumber mode, and the bullpen had to piece it together somehow. The Indians added a run in the ninth inning against Chuck Jones, but it was unearned thanks to a Maldonado error. The Raccoons countered with an earned run, Eric Cox hitting a single as pinch-hitter and scoring on a 2-out double by Reyna… but that meant we still lost by six. 9-3 Indians. Maldonado 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Cox (PH) 1-1; de Wit (PH) 1-1;

Van Campenhout (7.71 ERA) was sent back to AAA after the game. The Raccoons recalled left-hander Jake White for long relief – or if Cory Lambert had another clunker on Friday to slide into the rotation. White had clunkered himself with the ’41 Coons, going 0-2 with a 6.41 ERA in five games (three starts), walking 14 batters in 19.2 innings. White was not available on Thursday, though, having started as late as Monday.

Game 3
IND: RF Crocker – LF D. Rivera – 3B Hutson – CF Sanderfer – 1B J. Diaz – C Custello – SS Russ – 2B Peets – P Altreche
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – CF Anderson – SS Gutierrez – P Moreno

Like a church choir boy, I naively kept hoping for decency with Moreno on the mound, but my little world was dashed as early as the first inning, and it wasn’t even Moreno’s fault for the most part. Throwing errors by Cosmo AND Maldonado led to a run even before Moreno put somebody on himself, but then they got him for an RBI double (Diaz) and an RBI single (Custello) with two outs to go up 3-0 – all runs unearned. The two runs the Indians beat out of Moreno in the second inning on three sharp hits were earned, though, and now it was 5-0, and I looked skywards and I wondered whether I should just go for a walk to the nearest bridge over the Willamette and hug a concrete slab before casting myself into the cold, unloving floods.

The Indians had three more runners and another run in the third inning, extending their lead to 6-0, and I kept wondering why exactly I had thought that Nelson Moreno would be even a borderline useful pitcher in the major leagues, because he wasn’t that – and whether his pelt could be a borderline useful doormat. Because that was Option B at this point. Cosmo tripled home Gutierrez for a token Portland run in the bottom 3rd, before it was back to Moreno, who tumbled through to the fifth, loaded the bags with one out there, and was yanked after Altreche made it 7-1 with a sac fly. Zack Kelly punched out Crocker to stop the bleed. He’d get the Coons through the seventh inning of a pointless game, in which the offense didn’t even fake a pretend-rally. The Indians’ Orlando Altreche made it into the ninth inning before being knocked out with two outs to go thanks to loud extra-base knocks by Manny and Yamamoto that scored the Coons a *second* run. Jay de Wit flew out. Eric Cox singled home Yamamoto. Jordan Gonzalez popped out to end the misery. 7-3 Indians. Trevino 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 3B; Yamamoto 2-4, 2B, RBI; de Wit (PH) 1-2; Cox (PH) 1-1, RBI; Kelly 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

Raccoons (45-51) vs. Thunder (56-41) – July 25-27, 2042

The Thunder topped the South and had a 2-1 edge in the season series. Second in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed, they had a +40 run differential, but their rotation was actually rather wobbly with an ERA quite a bit over four. Their pen, though, was the best in the game.

Projected matchups:
Cory Lambert (0-3, 5.35 ERA) vs. Bryce Sparkes (7-9, 4.42 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-2, 2.57 ERA) vs. Raymond Pearce (1-5, 5.06 ERA)
Jake Jackson (6-7, 3.68 ERA) vs. Eunice Suyumov (7-8, 4.94 ERA)

Be so kind and ignore the Raccoons’ botch job of a rotation. Turn your attention instead to the joys of Southpaw Sunday!

Game 1
OCT: 2B C. Vega – RF Wade – C Adames – CF Kinder – LF E. Moore – SS O’Keefe – 3B Martell – 1B Stedham – P Sparkes
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – RF Nettles – CF Anderson – P Lambert

Former Raccoon Bryce Sparkes gave up a run in both of the first two innings, and on the same pattern – first a double (Cosmo, Nettles), then an RBI single (Cox, Anderson). Lambert didn’t allow a base hit the first time through the order, then surrendered five straight 2-out knocks in the third inning to further annoy people with his mere presence. Adrian Wade and Jesus Adames singled, Matt Kinder tied the game with a triple, scored on Ethan Moore’s single, and Chris O’Keefe dumped another single before Al Martell mercifully popped out. Ugh, Cristiano – *you* could have gotten a hit off Lambert in that sequence!

Sparkes wouldn’t be able to hold on – Jeff Kilmer got him for a leadoff jack in the bottom 4th to get the teams even at three. The score remained three-all into the seventh inning. Lambert was turned through the meat mincer for 111 pitches, ending his day on a 2-out walk to Jesus Adames. Derek Barker and Miguel Reyna entered in a double switch – Yamamoto was out – and Barker walked Kinder before getting Moore to ground out, ending Lambert’s day with a no-decision. Outside that dismal third inning, he allowed only four runners. Sparkes was still going, got around a leadoff single by Van Anderson in the bottom 7th, but not around Manny getting on base in the bottom 8th. Kilmer hit his second homer of the day to left, breaking that 3-3 tie, and the Raccoons continued to file no base afterwards, with Sparkes being knocked out. Anderson, Reyna, and Cosmo were on base with one out, with righty Brad Blankenship facing Eric Cox, who shoved a single through the right side to tack on two runs…! Oh, what a clutch hit! I like Cox! – What is there to giggle, Cristiano? … Maldonado singled in a run and the inning dragged on for Kilmer to get back to the plate, but he was denied a third homer and instead made the third out. But somebody had to leave a sour taste in the snout after a 6-run rush, and it was Chuck Jones, coming out for the ninth inning. He retired all the left-handers he faced… but the problem was that all the right-handers that came up really bobbled him. Ex-Coon Matt Kilgallen singled, Adames doubled him in, and Kinder smacked a homer with two outs in the ninth… 9-6 Coons. Trevino 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Cox 2-5, 3 RBI; Maldonado 2-5, RBI; Kilmer 2-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Nettles 2-4, 2 2B; Anderson 2-3, BB, RBI;

Cristiano, stop laughing! What’s so funny about Cox??

Game 2
OCT: 2B C. Vega – 3B J. Allen – C Adames – CF Kinder – SS O’Keefe – LF E. Moore – RF Heskett – 1B Kilgallen – P Pearce
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – RF Nettles – CF Gonzalez – P Clark

200th career appearance, first start for Brent Clark, who retired the Thunder in order in the first two innings before walking Brian Heskett and the opposing pitcher (!) in the third, but bailed out on grounders by Carlos Vega and Jim Allen. O’Keefe drew a third walk in the fourth inning, but the Thunder couldn’t get anything to fall in, while the Raccoons scattered four hits in four innings, and couldn’t do anything with those. Clark stretched his no-hit bid into the sixth inning – still in a scoreless game – until Adames flicked a 2-out single to center. Kinder walked, the fourth free pass given up by Clark, but O’Keefe fanned to end the inning. That was all for Clark, who threw 97 pitches and struck out six in his first career start. No W came even near him, with Maldo, Manny, and Kilmer making outs in order in the bottom 6th, keeping the game scoreless. Instead Jake White got lined up for the W in the seventh, retiring the Thunder in order before the Coons got an extremely unearned run gifted to them in the bottom 7th, Nettles reaching on a 2-base throwing error, advancing on Gonzalez’ groundout, and scoring on a 2-out wild pitch. Jon Craig put two on in the eighth, but got out of the jam himself, while the Coons put Maldo and Manny aboard with two outs in the bottom 8th, but Kilmer struck out. The 1-0 lead went to Josh Rella, who allowed a leadoff single to O’Keefe. Moore struck out, Heskett grounded to second base for a force on the lead runner, and Cosmo also handled PH Adrian Ringel’s grounder for the final out. 1-0 Raccoons…! Yamamoto 1-2, BB; Nettles 2-3; Clark 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K;

To exact revenge on our naughty ways, the Thunder called off Southpaw Sunday and instead sent right-hander Alan Fleming (9-1, 2.97 ERA) into the Sunday game.

Game 3
OCT: RF Wade – 3B J. Allen – C Adames – CF Kinder – LF E. Moore – SS O’Keefe – 2B Kuhn – 1B Stedham – P Fleming
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Reyna – CF Anderson – C Wilson – P Jackson

Fleming also drove in a run his first time up, singling home Jimmy Kuhn with two outs after Kuhn and Moore had already hit a pair of doubles in the second inning. This made it 2-0 Thunder in the second inning. The Thunder doubled that with another three hits in the third inning, “Mastodon” Allen getting it started with a double, and Moore, who stole second, and O’Keefe landing a pair of 2-out RBI singles. So, Jackson had another rancid day, and the offense also hadn’t showed up. The Coons were still being shut out by Fleming when Jackson concluded his day with 101 pitches in five confused innings, allowing eight hits for four runs, but also whiffing seven and walking nobody.

Fleming allowed only two hits through five, while the Thunder reached five when Jesse Stedham in his old hunting grounds hit a homer off Derek Barker in the sixth. The Coons also got on the board in the inning, PH Stephon Nettles getting nicked, reaching third base on a Cosmo single, and scoring when Cox went hard and deep to left – but was caught by Moore. That sac fly stood alone in the Coons’ R column, while the Thunder managed their lead, only tacking on another run in the ninth inning with three hits off Kelly. The Raccoons, it has to be assumed, conserved runs for next week… 6-1 Thunder.

In other news

July 21 – The Canadiens’ SP Alexander Lewis (11-3, 2.59 ERA, 1 SV) throws a 1-hitter in a 5-0 shutout over the Titans. The only Boston hit is a single by 1B Alex Zacarias (.265, 10 HR, 40 RBI).
July 23 – The Bayhawks pick up 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.284, 8 HR, 44 RBI) from the Crusaders, who receive 2B Sergio Pena (.305, 1 HR, 27 RBI) and #65 prospect OF Eddie Baker.
July 23 – The Wolves are obliterated in Dallas, 16-0, despite being out-hit only 12-8.
July 24 – The Capitals trade for INF Cody St. Peter (.331, 7 HR, 36 RBI) from the Cyclones, parting with INF Chris Strohm (.280, 2 HR, 28 RBI) and a prospect.
July 24 – Recent Bayhawks acquisition RF/1B/LF Carlos Cortes (.292, 10 HR, 46 RBI) goes 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBI in a 13-5 takedown of the Condors.
July 24 – The Knights and Aces play another for 15 innings before Atlanta squeezes out a 3-2 win.
July 26 – The Stars pick up SP Marcos Nabo (7-5, 3.58 ERA) from the Falcons, who receive two prospects, including #19 SP Carlton Harman.
July 26 – Another Charlotte starter is dealt to Washington, as the Caps receive SP Corey Booth (7-7, 4.28 ERA) for 1B Mark Cahill (.291, 7 HR, 48 RBI) and a prospect.
July 26 – NYC INF Randolph Nash (.239, 3 HR, 25 RBI) has a big day with three hits and six RBI in a 13-1 trouncing of the Bayhawks.
July 26 – As the Aces whip the Canadiens, 14-1, six runs are drive in by OF/3B Nate Rossi (.272, 8 HR, 55 RBI), and another five by 3B/2B Doug Richardson (.237, 6 HR, 37 RBI).
July 27 – The Falcons deal another starter, with SP Ernie Quintero (.312, 10 HR, 36 RBI) and a prospect off to New York for MR Mike Gutierrez (3-4, 3.07 ERA, 1 SV), LF/CF Joe Besaw (.312, 10 HR, 36 RBI), and cash.

FL Player of the Week: PIT CF/LF Kevin Burch (.283, 11 HR, 45 RBI), hitting .579 (11-19) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL 3B/2B Jared Paul (.300, 1 HR, 29 RBI), poking .522 (12-23) with 1 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Ho-hum week. Some ups. Some downs. Some wins. Some losses. Nelson Moreno keeps getting beaten like a sandbag. Jake Jackson filed two depressing starts. The highlight of the week was thus probably Brent Clark having two appearances, a start and a relief outing, and pitching seven innings of 1-hit ball (never mind the six walks) without allowing a run, and taking a win (but not in the start). Clark allowed five runs in a wonky April, and has since conceded only five runs total, most recently on July 6 in the game with the 4-0 lead against Boston that with a little help from Sandbag Moreno and a multitude of relievers turned into a 12-8 loss.

Eddie Baker was also offered to the Raccoons in the Carlos Cortes trade, but we preferred Casas – so of course Baker will have the better career, and maybe torture the Raccoons by next season…

In the minors, Matt Waters went on the DL with a sprained elbow this week. Our assumed shortstop of the future isn’t hitting at all in AA, and now he’ll miss most of the rest of the minor league season. Great. We might try out Justin Waltz in rightfield soon-ish. He just turned 24 this week and is hitting .298/.397/.459 combined between two minor league systems.

Fun Fact: 24 years ago today, Dave Garcia hit for the cycle in the Bayhawks’ 14-0 rush of the Crusaders.

The often injured Garcia made the Hall of Fame after all, wining two Player of the Year awards, a batting title, and a home run crown, hitting .287/.353/.478 with 338 HR and 1,320 RBI in his career.