[Westheim]

Raccoons (21-15) @ Crusaders (16-21) – May 17-19, 2044

After an off day on Monday, it was time for the first meeting of the year with the Crusaders, who were eighth in both runs scored and runs allowed, who couldn’t hit for power (bottoms in homers, extra-base hits and slugging percentage), but had a stingy pitching staff that did not yield walks and kept it in the ballpark. The defense on the other hand… We had beaten them to years in a row, 10-8 each time.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (3-1, 2.81 ERA) vs. Rich Willett (2-4, 4.11 ERA)
Sadaharu Okuda (4-3, 2.51 ERA) vs. Aaron Hickey (2-3, 3.03 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-1, 4.66 ERA) vs. Ernie Quintero (3-4, 3.91 ERA)

Only right-handers expected here. But things soon enough got complicated when it rained all of Tuesday, giving us a double-header on Wednesday, while behind us the Titans won two from the damn Elks to begin the week, moving to within one game by Tuesday night. The Raccoons stuck to their rotation as originally scheduled, but we’d have to get creative by the weekend.

Game 1
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – C Kilmer – LF Fernandez – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson
NYC: SS Adame – 1B Riley – C Alba – 2B Briones – LF A. Montes – RF J. Davis – CF Salek – 3B Riario – P Willett

The team that didn’t hit for extra bases or for homers, hit for both of them right in the first inning, which saw Jackson shuffle the bases full with a double by Alex Adame, a Dan Riley single, a walk to Fernando Alba, and then saw them emptied by a Mario Briones blast to left. That was four runs in a stroke, and I stoically marked an L in my pocket schedule… Maldonado pulled a run back with a solo homer in the second inning, but the Crusaders waffled Jackson for four hits and two runs in the bottom 2nd. At that point, the aforementioned creativity kicked in. Jackson, the dumb ****, was to lead off the top 3rd at the plate, but was hit for with Omar Gutierrez, while Brent Clark was sent down to the pen to warm up as quickly as possible, while we’d waste Nate Norris in a holding pattern move.

It didn’t get much better, though; Rich Willett, ex-Coon, hit Maldonado in the paw with a pitch, and Maldonado tried to cure the searing pain with excessive shaking. At least Willett seemed to be genuinely sorry for mauling Maldo, but he still had to come out of the game in favor of Derek Baskins, who was stranded on base. The fifth inning, however, began with a Jimenez double to center. Clark popped out, but Matt Waters hit a jack to get the Coons back to 6-3. Ayala singled, Kilmer walked, and suddenly the tying run was at the plate. Manny dropped a bloop single to load the bases before Willett balked in a run at 2-1 to Baskins, who hit a single on the next pitch, narrowing the gap to 6-5 with Manny at third base as the tying run. “D.P.” Toohey was at the plate, though – but we had already gone through two bench players, so pinch-hitting was utterly not an option, plus it was the middle of May, not Game 7. Toohey hit a liner to left for a game-tying double, knocking out Willett, and I was sort of stunned by it all. Right-hander Jeff Frank however stalled the remaining runners, getting a pop from Carreno an a fly to left from Jimenez.

The game got more … bizarre? …stupid? …when the Raccoons kept Clark around in the vain hopes he might actually retire somebody without a heroic play on defense, he was still pitching in the bottom 6th with Alba on base after a 1-out single. Clark went on to loudly bean Mario Briones, who went down at once, and remained down for five minutes before being picked up and walked off slowly by the trainer. With concussions being a thing, Jared Kahn ran for him, while the Raccoons had seen enough of Clark (six runners in 2.1 innings), and went to Zack Kelly, who conceded the go-ahead run on an Andy Montes double to right. Kahn was thrown out at home plate by Toohey, aiding the Critters out of the inning, then hit a leadoff jack off Mike Lynn, left-hander, to tie the game in the eighth. Carreno singled, Jimenez singled, and PH Jose Cruz drew a full-count walk off Lynn. Three on, no outs, a deep sigh by the Raccoons GM, who was soon treated to sharply spanked grounder by Matt Waters to Vittorio Riario. Carreno was out at home, and Waters stumbled out of the box and was out at first base. Ayala walked. Kilmer struck out. Nobody scored.

How about extra innings? The Coons stranded Baskins and his 1-out double in the ninth inning (Toohey was walked intentionally), and Jon Craig pitched two flawless if futile innings to extend a 7-7 tie into overtime. Jose Zarate batted for Craig to begin the 10th, was nailed by Luis Villagomez, then bunted to second by Waters, from where Jonathan Dustal would run for him… or rather stand around until the Raccoons made enough ****** outs to end the inning. Alex Ramirez got the ball in the bottom 10th, retiring Salek and Riario before giving up a single to Villagomez, reliever by day, and stepping stone at night. Ramirez got rightly undressed for that misdeed and the two walks he issued to Adame and Riley after that. Elliott Thompson ended the game with a ******* duck snort behind Carreno for a walkoff single. 8-7 Crusaders. Ayala 2-4, 2 BB; Maldonado 1-1, HR, RBI; Baskins 2-3, 2B, RBI; Toohey 3-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Jimenez 2-5, 2B; Craig 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Well, wasn’t that a delightfully **** game?

Ups and downs: down – we have to play another one before sunrise. Down – we’ll play it without Maldo, who was cooling his paw (but might be available for pinch-hitting later on… or the paw might fall off, knowing our luck…). Down – we had obviously ******* lost. And down: we only had three relievers left (Rella, Jones, Moreno).

Also down: another loss would hand first place to Boston, with the Titans winning three straight from the faltering Elks.

Sorry, no ups. Nothing here was ever up.

Game 2
POR: SS Waters – 3B Cruz – 1B Ayala – LF Fernandez – CF Dustal – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 2B Gutierrez – P Okuda
NYC: 3B Riario – SS Adame – 2B Kahn – LF D. Martinez – RF J. Davis – 1B Riley – C E. Thompson – CF Salek – P Hickey

New York went up in the first again, getting leadoff singles from Riario and Adame, then a sac fly from Kahn. When the Raccoons got two leadoff singles from Manny and Dustal in the top 2nd, they also got another double play from Toohey, and didn’t score.

The first two Fritt- … Critters were on base again in the fourth inning, Cruz and Ayala in that case. Manny ran a 3-1 count against Hickey, which I loathed, because three on, no outs, no runs was creeping up on me again, raising the fur on my back. But Manny swung at three-and-one, and hit a ball to left-center for an RBI double, tying the game at one. Dustal was out on a pop in shallow left, but Toohey found a hole for a 2-run single, with a 2-out grounder not readily available, getting the Coons up 3-1. An extra run would be driven in by Ayala the inning after, bringing in Waters, who had forced out Okuda (leadoff single), then had stolen second base, with two outs, 4-1. Manny singled, but Dustal grounded out, ending the inning.

Okuda did not get a walk or strikeout through three innings, then piled up a bunch of both in the middle innings, running up his pitch count. He got through six with only the one run on the board, though, which was already halfway decent considering the scant relief available yet. Also – Okuda was used to pitch all day from Japan. He retired the 6-7-8 in order in the bottom 7th, and got over 100 pitches in the process, but claimed to have plenty left in the tank. He got two outs on two pitches in the bottom 8th before walking Adame in a full count. Kahn grounded out, leaving only three outs to be collected. Okuda was pinch-hit for to begin the ninth, but Jimenez grounded out in his spot. With two outs, Maldonado batted for Cruz indeed and walked, then was run for by Baskins to prevent him from jamming his paw into a base. An Ayala K ended the inning anyway. Thus it was Rella with a 3-run lead in the bottom 9th. Dave Martinez and John Davis both struck out before Riley drew a 2-out walk. Elliott Thompson, who had ended the first game of the double-header, also ended this one – with a K. 4-1 Raccoons. Cruz 2-4; Ayala 3-5, RBI; Fernandez 3-4, 2B, RBI; Toohey 2-4, 2 RBI; Okuda 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, W (5-3) and 1-3;

Thus, first place was retained, and some pen was left over for Thursday. Only Craig and Kelly had thrown more than one inning among the fulltime relievers on Tuesday, so five pen dwellers were available no questions asked. And then there was Brent Clark (0-6, 6.44 ERA) – too many questions needing answering here.

Maldonado got one day off on Thursday to rest the paw, but was available for pinch-hitting again. Baskins was plugged into centerfield for the rubber game.

Game 3
POR: SS Waters – CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – RF Toohey – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley
NYC: SS Adame – 1B Riley – C Alba – RF A. Montes – 3B Riario – CF Salek – LF J. Davis – 2B D. Myers – P Paris

While Wheats pitched opposite right-hander Paul Paris (3-0, 4.74 ERA), Derek Baskins hit a solo jack in the first for an early lead that was immediately blown when Adame and Riley hit singles and Montes found a sac fly in the bottom 1st. It was 3-1 New York the following inning, both runs unearned thanks to Jimenez fudging a grounder by Rich Salek to begin the inning. Salek stole second, and hits by ex-Coon Dave Myers and Alex Adame both drove in a run in the inning. Wheats hit a double in the top 3rd, but was stranded, before the top 4th began with Ayala walking and Manny lining a double to right. The tying runs were in scoring position, and we still had a few guys coming up that were actually able to hit a baseball. Kilmer shoved the first pitch he got through the hole on the left side for an RBI single, 3-2. Toohey did basically the same, tying the score. Carreno became the third Critter in a row to hit a single through between Riario and Adame, loading the bases with nobody – oh, ****. Jimenez shook things up by singling to center (!), bringing in Kilmer with the go-ahead run. Wheats struck out (excusable), Waters lined out to short (bad luck), but Baskins landed a 2-run single with two outs before Ayala fouled out to end the inning – a 5-spot for a 6-3 lead. Now Wheats just had to keep his stripes sorted.

Well, there were two ends to that… one being Jimenez throwing away Davis’ grounder in the bottom 4th for two bases, and Wheats conceding the run on a base hit, narrowing the score to 6-4 again, with now three New York runs unearned. Jimenez was now dangerously close to being left in New York, but scrambled for a 2-out RBI single to score Kilmer in the fifth, 7-4. And yet – there would be no W for Wheats. Alba hit a 1-out jack to right in the bottom 5th, and then Riario hit a 2-out triple to center. Salek flew to left, Manny dropped that ball, and that was the end for Wheats, somehow, 4.2 innings on 106 pitches and endlessly sabotaged by the eight mooks behind him – the only consolation being that he could not be hung a ****** loss, leaving with a 7-6 lead and “only” Salek aboard. Norris came in and struck out Davis to end the damn inning.

The game calmed down after that, when both teams found competent relief, and the Raccoons’ left side of the defense stopped ******* up for more than five minutes at a time. Norris, Kelly, and Moreno navigated the 7-6 lead through the end of eight innings. Maldonado batted again with two outs in the ninth, and with Kilmer and Carreno on the corners against lefty Mike Lynn. He grounded to Myers, Myers through the ball past Dan Riley, and now the Raccoons got an unearned run. Waters grounded out, sending Rella to the mound. Jimenez handled a very difficult grounder by Adame for a first out. Riley struck out, but Alba singled on a 2-2 pitch, extending the game. Again, that was all the New Yorkers got, Dave Martinez going down on strikes. 8-6 Raccoons. Baskins 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Kilmer 2-4, BB, RBI; Toohey 3-5, RBI; Carreno 2-5; Jimenez 2-5, 2 RBI;

Sheesh!

Raccoons (23-16) vs. Condors (13-27) – May 20-22, 2044

This looked like a sweep … for Tijuana. We had lost the season series two years in a row, 3-6 each time, while they were busy losing 92 games on average. Don’t be fooled by their record – they had won four games in a row. Yes, they were in the bottom three in both runs scored and runs allowed and had a -57 run differential in May, but we all know the Raccoons’ talent in fumbling this sort of series.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (5-1, 2.77 ERA) vs. Tommy Kubik (1-5, 6.40 ERA)
Brent Clark (0-6, 6.44 ERA) vs. Ryan Porter (2-6, 4.58 ERA)
Jake Jackson (3-1, 3.92 ERA) vs. Adam Howell (1-2, 4.82 ERA)

“Kitten” Kubik looked like he was on Clark’s career trajectory… he was also the only southpaw we expected to see in this set and week.

Clark and Jackson had thrown only 93 pitches between them in the ghastly Wednesday opener. If Clark had another bad outing, he was likely going to meet his maker. Or at least get sent somewhere silent, like St. Petersburg…

Game 1
TIJ: LF Rossi – 1B A. Zacarias – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Espinoza – CF Reidinger – 2B Cothern – 3B C. Rose – C Pasko – P Kubik
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – RF Toohey – SS Waters – 3B Jimenez – P Mathers

Mathers started off awfully, behind to every batter, and conceded a run on a Nate Rossi single, a walk to Alex Zacarias, and finally a sac fly for Ricky Espinoza. Marty Reidinger also walked before the damn inning ended with Travis Cothern’s grounder to short. Mathers kept conceding an absurd amount of runners, three in the second, one in the third, and three more in the fourth, in which Zacarias broke through with a 2-out, 2-run double to left to score Chris Rose and Mark Pasko. The Raccoons? Five hits through three, no runs, but two double plays. They were just boilerplate annoying again. They also loaded the bases in the bottom 4th on a single and two walks, bringing up Jimenez in that spot, batting with one out. He got in a run with a groundout, Mathers ending the inning with a fly to Willie Ojeda.

The Condors romped Mathers for another four hits and two runs in the fifth inning, which was the end of the road for him. Down 5-1 at that point, I looked over to Maud without saying anything with my snout, but my black googly eyes told her “told you so, this will be a sweep”. She rolled her eyes. The rest of the team rolled over and conceded the game, stopping any offensive attempts after the abortive fifth inning. Even a 2-base throwing error by Espinoza, which put Jimenez on second base with nobody out in the bottom 7th, didn’t come close to amounting to a run. Chuck Jones conceded an extra run in the top 9th, mainly by hitting people, and then the Raccoons in their persistently pestering ways loaded the bases against Ricardo Marquez in the bottom of the ninth. Toohey walked, Waters singled, Jimenez walked. Right-hander Andy Pedraza came into the careless save situation, which meant Derek Baskins batted for Jones. He also struck out. Carreno plated a useless run with a groundout. Ayala singled for another run, and only now did the tying run make it to the plate in Maldonado, 0-for-4 in his first lineup assignment since getting hit in the paw. He hit a pop to shallow right, near the line that neither Zacarias nor Jerry Aguilar managed to meander to, and the stupid baseball fell for an RBI single. Manny was the winning run now, but flew out to Nate Rossi. 6-4 Condors. Carreno 3-5, RBI; Ayala 2-5, RBI; Toohey 2-3, BB;

(hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe) (hits head against doorframe)

Game 2
TIJ: C J. Guerra – 1B A. Zacarias – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Espinoza – LF Rossi – 2B J. Matos – CF J. Aguilar – 3B C. Rose – P R. Porter
POR: 2B Carreno – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Zarate – 3B Jimenez – SS Gutierrez – P Clark

Three on, nobody out in the bottom 2nd, and that with Clark at the plate, so at least there was no temptation to even get excited. Ryan Porter still managed to walk him on four pitches, which pushed home the game’s first run. After that, Carreno singled home a pair with a ball to left, Ayala found a double play, and Maldo scored Clark with a single to center, stole second base, but was left on when Manny grounded out to first base. So, that was a 4-0 lead for Clark, who had not allowed a hit and only one walk in the first two innings. I still felt the need to embrace Honeypaws as tight as possible while he was on the mound, even though he didn’t allow a hit until Espinoza singled with two gone in the fourth inning and Rossi struck out after that. He drilled Jerry Aguilar out of the game in the fifth, which was not great, but got through the inning without blowing up.

Given that Clark was on two days’ rest after an abortive relief appearance, we were going to be very cautious with him here; plus, better bank a basic good outing before it turns into an extended crummy one. Nevertheless, he was sent back out for the sixth, and in quick succession allowed two hits and an Ojeda sac fly. Craig and Dustal came into the game in a double switch that also sent Bryce Toohey to the showers, and Craig got out of the inning with a soft liner to Jimenez and a foul pop, still up 4-1. Craig collected five outs in total before his spot was up with Maldo and Manny on second and first, respectively, and one gone in the bottom 7th. Baskins grounded out to first, but that advanced the runners, and Jose Zarate hit a single to left-center that plated the both of them…! The Condors went to the pen, brought in left-hander Tim Abraham, and by the third pitch he had hung one to Jimenez that was mashed into the stands in leftfield, 8-1. Another run was tacked on in the eighth, Matt Waters bringing it home with a pinch-hit groundout. The bullpen never allowed a run, bringing this one home gracefully. 9-1 Raccoons. Carreno 2-5, 2 RBI; Ayala 2-4, BB; Maldonado 2-4, BB, RBI; Jimenez 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Gutierrez 3-4; Clark 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1-6); Craig 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

This set, too, saw the opposition bring a different pitcher for the rubber game, in this case right-hander Marc Hubbard (1-5, 5.49 ERA).

Game 3
TIJ: CF Reidinger – 2B J. Matos – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Espinoza – 1B Gibbs – C Pasko – LF Cothern – 3B C. Rose – P Hubbard
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Toohey – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson

The rubber game got off to a GREAT start! Just GREAT. Just … just … (stands at the big windows and shakes fist and yells at the brown-clad players on the field below) … Jackson conceded hits to Reidinger and Matos to begin the game, putting both in scoring position. From there they scored on errors by Maldonado and Manny Fernandez, and Kilmer managed to mix in a passed ball that sent Ojeda to third base, from where he scored on Ron Gibbs’ sac fly. That made for a 3-0 lead for Tijuana, on two hits and literally nothing else. The runs were unearned on Jackson, who from there pitched almost flawlessly until Ojeda singled in the sixth, with two outs, and he walked Espinoza. Gibbs struck out. The score was still 3-0, with a Maldonado single and nothing else in the Raccoons’ side of the box score.

Pitching on short rest, Jackson was lifted when his spot led off the bottom 6th, him having thrown 79 pitches. Baskins singled to left in his place, Waters struck out, Baskins was picked off, Ayala walked, and Maldo… struck out. Both Moreno in the seventh and Jones in the eighth struck out every batter they faced for no greater good. Jimenez hit a single in the bottom 8th. Cruz ended the inning with a pinch-hit 6-4-3 special. Rella pitched a scoreless ninth that was a combined case of “everybody else could use a day off” and “you have yet to earn your salary this week”; while Hubbard was back out there for the bottom 9th, entering on 104 pitches and facing the top of the order. Waters grounded out to second, but Ayala singled to left. Maldo singled to center. The Condors had endless faith in Hubbard, with Manny being the tying run at the plate. He also struck out. Toohey ran a full count, then walked – and that was finally the end for Hubbard, replaced with Pedraza with the whole thing mighty close to collapsing. Jeff Kilmer was the batter with the tying runs on and two down. He struck out. 3-0 Condors. Maldonado 2-4; Baskins (PH) 1-1; Jackson 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (3-2);

In other news

May 16 – TIJ SP Adam Howell (1-2, 4.82 ERA) and MR Ricardo Marquez (1-1, 3.52 ERA) pitch a combined 1-hitter against the Falcons or a 6-0 Condors win. CHA LF/CF Joe Besaw (.288, 2 HR, 13 RBI) hits a single off Howell, but that is all for Charlotte.
May 17 – IND SP Sal Chavez (4-4, 4.03 ERA) 2-hits his former team, the Loggers, in a 3-0 shutout that only takes him six innings of effort on account of bad weather bringing the tarp on in the middle of the sixth.
May 17 – The Condors beat the Falcons, 12-11 in 16 innings, in a wicked see-saw battle during regulation, then no scoring until both teams get a run in the 15th. The Condors walk off in the 16th on a single by OF Nate Rossi (.209, 3 HR, 18 RBI), who goes 3-for-9 in the game. Despite the extended length of the contest, no player lands four base hits.
May 17 – Blue Sox SP Rick Haugh (0-4, 5.23 ERA) is out for the season, suffering from shoulder inflammation.
May 19 – Salem’s INF/RF Frank Mujica (.305, 1 HR, 14 RBI) and SS/3B Josh Jackson (.248, 2 HR, 20 RBI) both go 4-for-6 with 5 RBI in a 13-2 rout of the Stars.
May 19 – OCT SP Juan Ramos (3-6, 3.92 ERA) has a sore wrist in his throwing arm, which might bother him for a few more weeks. The Thunder have yet to put him on the DL, listing him day-to-day.
May 20 – The Loggers acquire swingman Jordan Calderon (0-2, 4.85 ERA) from the Rebels for two meager prospects.
May 21 – ATL INF/RF Joe Crim (.319, 4 HR, 26 RBI) both reaches a 20-game hitting streak and has it end on the same day in a double-header against the Crusaders. The day overall is also a split, with the Knights taking the first game, 8-0, before falling in the nightcap, 3-1.
May 21 – Sacramento will be without LF/RF Mike Preble (.346, 8 HR, 25 RBI) for a few weeks; the 30-year-old was out with a fracture in his foot.
May 21 – Walkoff balk! Pittsburgh’s Rich Kappel (1-2, 2.40 ERA, 9 SV) commits the ultimate sin, bringing home L.A.’s OF Ed Hooge (.270, 0 HR, 4 RBI) for a 2-1 Pacifics walkoff in the 10th inning.
May 22 – The Miners’ #3 spot goes 3-for-3 with three walks, two home runs and 8 RBI in 16-4 rout of the Pacifics. Troy Greenway (.252, 5 HR, 22 RBI) has all the walks and a home run with 3 RBI before being injured on the basepath. Rusty Dirks (3-for-6, 1 HR, 5 RBI) finishes out the day for him, going 2-for-2 with a home run and 5 RBI.

FL Player of the Week: WAS SS Chris O’Keefe (.259, 2 HR, 17 RBI), hitting .591 (13-22) with 1 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR RF/LF/1B Bryce Toohey (.301, 3 HR, 19 RBI), slashing .524 (11-21) with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

(lies rolled up on the tallest cupboard in the office) If you’re not stupid yet, this team will help you get there.

After a very exhausting week in which we more or less treaded water, but at least gained ground on everybody relevant but the Titans (4-3), the Raccoons look at a potentially tear-jerking trip to San Fran next week, then a homestand featuring the Aces and Falcons after that. And then it will be June already. Isn’t time flying?

No, Maud, I will not admit that life is beautiful. – No, Maud, I will also not come down from the tall cupboard. – Well, I can’t! I’m scared, and I’m not sure how I got up here in the first place. You’ll have to get the fire brigade.

What else? Starting pitching is wonky, although Okuda leads the CL in ERA now. The offense picks its days. But it’s hard to find quick improvements. We already went over the AAA starting pitching, which leaves lots to be desired, and besides a few infielders that can both hit and field I don’t know a lot of instant fixes… Carreno was leading the CL in stolen bases, though, despite hitting for the lowest OPS+ on the club.

We’ll play it by ear for the next few series and then see whether we need to make trades in June. Meanwhile, Van Anderson came off the DL, but was sent right back to St. Pete.

Fun Fact: Yoshi Yamada hit for a 41 OPS+ while running away with the CL stolen base crown in 2005.

That was the “oh shucks, let’s just have a Double Yoshi middle infield” of Year 9 of the Decade of Darkness. Yoshi Nomura made the Hall of Fame, while Yamada only made the trivia column. He stole 54 bags in 76 attempts, reaching base safely only 135 times. It was the only full season of his career; as the Raccoons trended upwards in 2006, he was quickly sieved out and never caught up anywhere else, either. For his career, he hit .198/.231/.252 with 3 HR, 39 RBI, and stole 68 bases.

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Stats page taken on Monday, because I’m crap