[Westheim]

Trade

The Raccoons were off, but not idle, on Monday. They reunited with a Critter from a few years back, trading for switch-hitting shortstop Tony Hunter (.243, 2 HR, 26 RBI) from the Pacifics to upgrade on the infield and perhaps give the recently foundering offense a nudge towards purring again. Hunter, who was on a 1-year, $1.32M contract, cost the Raccoons relatively little. The Pacifics received 27-year-old AAA SP Angelo Montano (8-19, 5.13 ERA for his major league body of work) and a 20-year-old AA lefty, Gustavo Chapa, who had signed in July 2040 for all of $6,000 and projected more of a reliever.

Omar Gutierrez (.218, 1 HR, 5 RBI), coming out of nowhere to hold a roster spot for two-and-a-half seasons, was sent to St. Petersburg. Jonathan Dustal and his broken knee were moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Raccoons (59-38) vs. Bayhawks (57-43) – July 26-28, 2044

Half a game back in the South, the Bayhawks were another contender, even though nobody quite knew how. They were sixth in runs scored, seventh in runs allowed, and had a -4 run differential (Portland: +107). They were … almost pedantically average in many categories, ranking sixth or seventh in the CL in most major categories. Exceptions were batting average (fourth), bullpen ERA (tenth), and defense (ninth). They also led the season series, 2-1, so what does it all mean after all?

The Bayhawks had also added a bat coming into this series, trading for Washington’s LF/CF Jamie McGuigan (.290, 5 HR, 58 RBI), a defensively challenged 27-year-old. They parted with CL Andy Hyden (5-8, 5.15 ERA, 23 SV) and a prospect.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (9-5, 3.06 ERA) vs. Eric Weitz (7-4, 3.64 ERA)
Brent Clark (7-10, 4.14 ERA) vs. Jesse Bulas (3-5, 4.58 ERA)
Jake Jackson (9-4, 3.89 ERA) vs. Kevin Nolte (2-3, 5.68 ERA)

Only right-handers in that preliminary draw, but if they used the common off day on Monday for anything, they’d skip southpaw Noe Candeloro (6-8, 3.72 ERA) into the series on Thursday.

Game 1
SFB: 2B Quiroz – 3B Sifuentes – 1B N. Duncan – CF McGuigan – LF S. Martin – RF Platero – SS K. Saito – C J. Hill – P Weitz
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – 2B Waters – SS Hunter – C Kilmer – P Mathers

The Raccoons scored first when Maldonado was brushed by a pitch and moved around on Toohey and Manny singles in the first inning, but San Francisco tied it on singles by Scott Martin and Jose Platero, then a sac fly by Kenichi Saito in the second; they then went up 3-1 in the third as Mathers labored unsuccessfully. Sergio Quiroz singled, and both Nick Duncan and new arrival McGuigan doubled to center and left-center, respectively, each driving in a run. The Critters didn’t get another base hit until the fifth inning when Ayala hit a 2-out single to center. Maldonado doubled him in, beating Martin to the base of the fence in left, and Toohey singled to left to score Maldonado to tie the game. Manny grounded out – all even at three through five.

The Raccoons had Tony Hunter on base with one out in the bottom 6th, hitting his first single since returning to the team (quicker than Phinazee if nothing else…), after which Kilmer grounded to the right side. Quiroz intercepted the ball, looked to second, then decided otherwise and threw to first, but this was now also late, and his throw was a bit wide, making Nick Duncan reach into the stomping catcher’s path. They collided with great noise – Kilmer was ruled safe, but also had his paw jammed into Duncan’s hulking body and was removed from the game by the trainer. The Raccoons tried to be wicked; Arturo Carreno would run for him, while second catcher Jose Zarate would bat for Mathers, who was on 90 pitches. Zarate still managed to hit into an inning-ending double play… The Raccoons would pick up four outs from Nate Norris, who in turn got in line for the win on an Ayala homer to center in the bottom 7th, a solo shot. Maldonado drove a gapper after that, but it was snatched by Platero on the run. Jones followed on Norris, completing eight. Phinazee batted for Jones in the #8 hole after the first three Coons had reached base in the bottom 8th and Hunter had already driven in Manny Fernandez. He hit into a fielder’s choice, but Zarate found an RBI single to left. Baskins and Ayala hit flies to center, but both were retired by McGuigan, and thus the save opportunity remained alive for Josh Rella. Saito hit a 2-out, 2-strike double to left, but that was all, John Hill popping out to end the game. 6-3 Raccoons. Ayala 2-5, HR, RBI; Maldonado 2-3, 2B, RBI; Toohey 1-2, 2 BB, RBI;

Jeff Kilmer had to go on the DL with sprained thumb, which a) sucked, but b) allowed us to get a glimpse of 23-year-old Ruben Gonzalez, the #88 prospect in the league, and #5 in the system. He had been signed for $18k in the July 2038 IFA period, and had steadily moved through the system, usually taking 100 games to really get acquainted to a level. This year he was hitting .294/.357/.455 in AAA with 12 HR and 37 RBI. He was a righty hitter.

Jordan Gonzalez was DFA’ed to free a spot on the 40-man roster (Gonzalez was not yet rule 5-eligible last year).

Game 2
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 2B K. Saito – RF Platero – 3B Sifuentes – LF S. Martin – C J. Wilson – CF McGuigan – 1B N. Duncan – P Bulas
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – 3B Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Fernandez – SS Waters – C Zarate – 2B Carreno – P Clark

Sal Ayala took Bulas deep to right in the first for a quick 1-0 lead after which Maldonado singled and Toohey doubled. Manny walked to fill the bases, but Waters struck out and Zarate grounded out to short, stranding everybody. In turn, Ramon Sifuentes opened the second with a single and former Critter Jeff Wilson opened my booze with a homer to left-center, flipping the score to 2-1 Bayhawks. McGuigan worked hard on becoming CL Player of the Week, tripling after the longshot, but was stranded on strikeouts to the 8-9 hitters. Ayala and Maldo would be on in the bottom 3rd, but Manny hit into a double play to kill that effort, and in the fourth Matt Waters reached on balls to get the inning going, stole second, moved to third on Zarate’s groundout, and then Carreno grounded right back to Sifuentes, keeping him pinned at third base. Clark struck out to end the inning. The run scored anyway – on a passed ball.

Clark was dominating almost everybody but Wilson, striking out eight against three hits and one walk in the first five innings, but just couldn’t get no run support. Whiffing up Scott Martin gave him 10 K to begin the seventh inning, and he also rung up McGuigan after Wilson flew out to center. That put him over 100 pitches and he was hit for by Phinazee in the bottom 7th, which led absolutely nowhere, and he had to settle for a no-decision in the 2-2 game.

Starter Mike Mihalik (10-4, 3.98 ERA) then appeared in relief in the bottom 8th, which struck me as odd, but you go, Bayhawks. Ayala doubled into the rightfield corner to begin the inning, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. Hunter pinch-ran for him, but Maldo’s single to center was almost picked out of the air by McGuigan and there was no way to score after he had to hold halfway. And then Toohey whiffed, Manny walked, Waters popped out, and Zarate flew to center… and into the third out, stranding three. (groans!) After that disaster, Hunter remained in the game over Waters, who made way for Nelson Moreno to potentially pitch two innings. Maldo moved to first, with Ricky Jimenez batting ninth and playing at third base. Moreno pitched two indeed, spilling only another McGuigan double in the 10th, but no runs. Well, neither did the Baybirds’ staff. The top 11th saw Preston Porter retire the 1-2-3 batters in that order, while Manny hit a leadoff single off right-hander Joe West in the reliever’s second inning in the bottom 11th. This was where Ruben Gonzalez made his major league debut, hitting for Porter with the winning run on base, first on first, then on second after another passed ball on Wilson. Gonzalez struck out, Zarate grounded out, but Carreno snuck a single through the left side, and that was enough to score Manny to end the game…! 3-2 Blighters. Ayala 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Maldonado 2-5; Clark 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K; Moreno 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

A bit more vigor in RISP situations, boys?

Please?

For now, we got the southpaw in the finale, maybe because the Baybirds figured that would work better against us.

Game 3
SFB: 2B Quiroz – 3B Sifuentes – 1B N. Duncan – CF McGuigan – LF S. Martin – RF Platero – SS K. Saito – C J. Hill – P Candeloro
POR: 2B Waters – 1B Ayala – CF Maldonado – RF Toohey – LF Baskins – SS Hunter – C R. Gonzalez – 3B Jimenez – P Jackson

Sifuentes and Duncan got first-inning singles off Jackson before Ruben Gonzalez, in his first starting assignment in the majors, threw away the ball on the double steal, conceding a run and moving Duncan to third, from where McGuigan inevitably scored him with a single before also stealing a base. Not the greatest of starts! The Raccoons had to make another injury adjustment in the bottom of the inning, when Toohey doubled to send Maldonado to third base with two outs, but also limped off with a hip ailment and was replaced with Mal Phinazee, who took over center, Maldo to right. Derek Baskins grounded out to short to strand the tying runs…

Those tying runs were on again in the bottom 2nd, Gonzalez (double) and Jimenez (single) being on the corners for Jackson, who struck out, and Waters, who singled to center to make up a run. Ayala’s fly to Jose Platero ended that inning. Cursed Jamie McGuigan’s answer was a solo homer in the top 3rd, while the only Raccoons reply to that was Maldonado sending Scott Martin into the fence in left in pursuit of a fly ball. The ball was caught, but Martin was also shaken up good and left the game for Bobby Hennessy. And that was about the extent to which the Raccoons rallied. Jackson threw seven fair innings, but left 3-1 behind, and the first thing Jon Craig did upon entering from the bullpen was to serve up a bomb to Sifuentes in the eighth, 4-1. Phinazee answered the homer call in the bottom 8th, hitting a solo shot to left-center, but it just wasn’t enough, was it? Top 9th, Nate Norris came on, was up on Kenichi Saito 0-2, then struck him in the knee, enough for the third player of the game to retire with an injury. Jorge Gonzalez ran for him, but never got off first base. So it was a 4-2 deficit in the ninth against righty Jeremy Mayhall. Also, the bottom of the order. Ruben Gonzalez struck out. Jimenez popped out. Manny hit for Norris and singled to center, keeping the team alive … until Waters struck out. 4-2 Bayhawks. Toohey 1-1, 2B; Cruz (PH) 1-1; Fernandez (PH) 1-1; Jackson 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (9-5);

The good news was that Bryce Toohey was day-to-day with a mild hip strain, but would be hobbled for at least the weekend. He’d not be in the lineup on Friday at the very least.

Raccoons (61-39) vs. Falcons (52-50) – July 29-31, 2044

Fourth in the South, fourth in on this homestand, and fourth in runs scored were the Falcons. The fours stopped at that point. They were eighth in runs allowed, with a middling rotation, a middling pen, and a middling defense. We held the edge in the season series, 4-2.

Projected matchups:
Sadaharu Okuda (11-5, 2.61 ERA) vs. Evan Henshaw (1-2, 2.90 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (5-3, 4.65 ERA) vs. Oscar Flores (8-9, 3.57 ERA)
Corey Mathers (9-5, 3.13 ERA) vs. Jerry Felix (13-6, 3.15 ERA)

Only right-handers coming up here.

Game 1
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – C Kokoszka – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – 1B Haertling – CF Case – 3B Farfan – P Henshaw
POR: CF Baskins – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Zarate – 2B Waters – SS Hunter – 3B Jimenez – P Okuda

Both teams had a pair on with one out in the first, but neither could get anybody home. Tony Aparicio hit into a 6-4-3 double play, while Manny and Zarate just made boilerplate bad outs. The game’s first run came on a leadoff jack to right by Waters in the bottom 2nd, his 10th longball of the year, and Tony Hunter went back-to-back with him, 2-0. Hunter was involved in another run in the fourth, singling with one out, stealing second, and only coming around when Okuda (!) doubled through Jose Farfan with two outs. Baskins whiffed after that, but it was 3-0 through four, with Okuda having allowed three hits while striking out only Henshaw against an overwhelmingly right-handed lineup.

The fifth was calm, but the sixth began with a leadoff single by Henshaw, which I found poop and promptly said so, being also as promptly admonished by Maud and having my cookie bowl taken away. In harsh times, Miguel Martinez, the Falcons’ boy-faced phenom, hit a comebacker that saw the pitcher forced out at second, but Martinez just stole his way there and now the Falcons had a quick guy in scoring position rather than a slow guy. There was no scoring for Martinez on Chris Kokoszka’s scratch single, and they were on the corners for Joe Besaw, who grounded to Waters at second, to Hunter, to Ayala – inning over, again! The seventh mainly saw Baskins hit a 2-out triple with nobody on and Ayala not getting him home, either, while Okuda retired the Falcons orderly until he arrived at 1-2 to Henshaw with two outs in the eighth, when a crappy looking Raccoons mascot stormed onto the field. At first I yelled out Chad’s name in anger, but the costume was obviously homemade, and the occupant ran straight for Tony Hunter to give him a hug before willingly being led off the field by Amos and Olaf, or two experienced old guards, both around since the inaugural season. Okuda finished the strikeout of Henshaw, his fourth of the game. The Raccoons didn’t tack on in the bottom 8th, but the Raccoons stuck to Okuda anyway, as he had needed 100 pitches to get this far. Martinez flew out easily to left. Baskins barely had to run for Kokoszka’s fly for the second out. Besaw – to left again, Manny over, ballgame! 3-0 Raccoons! Baskins 2-4, 3B; Hunter 2-4, HR, RBI; Okuda 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W (12-5) and 1-3, 2B, RBI;

First career shutout for Okuda!

Game 2
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 1B Haertling – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – C Kokoszka – CF D. Vasquez – 3B Farfan – P O. Flores
POR: SS Waters – 1B Ayala – RF Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 2B Carreno – CF Phinazee – C Gonzalez – 3B Jimenez – P Wheatley

Straight hits by the 2-3-4 batters put the Raccoons up 1-0 in the bottom 1st, and Carreno came through for an RBI double to actually tack on for once. Phinazee fell to 1-2, then hit a bomb to right for a 3-run homer that opened the scoreline all the way to 5-0 …! Gonzalez walked, but was left on, as the Raccoons batted through the order. Wheats now had to cover his furry bum, because a lack of run support would not count as an excuse for not getting a W this time around, especially since the Critters tacked on two more runs in the second inning on a leadoff jack by Waters and then Manny’s sac fly that got in Ayala. He faced the minimum through three innings, which was at least something, even though that included two sharp singles and two more sharp grounders that became double plays.

The main problem soon became more injuries – Ricky Jimenez hurt himself on a defensively play in the fourth and was replaced with Jose Cruz. Wheats, though, motored, reaching the sixth on just 47 pitches and with a 3-hit shutout going. It was all a bid TOO perfect, wasn’t it? So he walked reliever Matt Schwartz with two outs, Waters bobbled a Martinez grounder for an error, and then Ed Haertling legged out a roller near the mound for an infield single. A mound conference, some verbal encouragement, and a pat on the bum later, Wheatley got a bouncer from Besaw to Cruz to end the inning. He issued a leadoff walk to Aparicio in the seventh, but that runner, too, was doubled up, now by Archie Turley’s 6-4-3. The only rational explanation was that Wheats had been hit in the head by a loose horseshoe this morning. The Coons’ offense took some time off after going up 7-0, only scoring again on the pen in the eighth inning with Carreno’s leadoff triple, and Ruben Gonzalez’ first career RBI on a grounder to short. Wheats entered the ninth on 93 pitches, facing the top of the order. Martinez doubled to left, which was not great. Haertling hit an RBI single to right, which was not much better and took away the shutout. Porter was up in the pen, but we’d give him one more chance. Besaw popped out to Phinazee in shallow center. And Aparicio found the 600th double play of the game, ending it. 8-1 Critters. Ayala 2-2, 2 BB, 2B; Maldonado 2-4, 2B; Carreno 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; Wheatley 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (6-3) and 1-3;

Dr. Padilla processed Ricky Jimenez with a diagnosis of back spasms, but wouldn’t tell whether they would be transient or crippling for life. For now he moved to the DL, although the 15-day minimum stay should be enough to get him re-twerked.

The stars almost aligned to give Victor Merino a spot start in the open roster slot, but he was on three days’ rest and we’d have a three-and-a-half-men bench with Toohey still hobbled. So instead fan favorite, and without a doubt future president of Aruba, Jay de Wit was called up. He was hitting .292 in AAA.

Game 3
CHA: 2B M. Martinez – 1B Haertling – LF Besaw – SS Aparicio – RF Turley – C Kokoszka – CF D. Vasquez – 3B Farfan – P Felix
POR: LF Baskins – 1B Ayala – SS Waters – RF Maldonado – 3B Cruz – CF Phinazee – C Gonzalez – 2B Carreno – P Mathers

The Falcons scored three runs in the first inning in what could only be described as the baseball gods’ warning not to get cocky. First, Martinez grounded out on 3-0, but Haertling walked and Besaw singled to go to the corners. Aparicio hit a sac fly before Turley struck out, but a nervous Ruben Gonzalez bumbled the ball and kicked it down the third base line while a run scored and everybody was safe – with two outs. Kokoszka’s RBI single was followed by a Mathers error on David Vasquez’ grounder, before somehow Farfan grounded out to Ayala to end the dismal inning. This was with the Raccoons’ relievers – on the heels of consecutive shutouts by the starters – spending the first few batters of the game holding up a sign reading “We want to play, too!” in the pen. It quickly vanished after that.

The Raccoons then pissed away four runners in the first two innings, hitting into double plays each time, before Ayala tripled home Baskins in the third to put the team on the board. Waters scored him with a grounder to Martinez, shortening the gap to 3-2. No runners went to waste in that inning, but Phinazee and Gonzalez were on in the fourth, yet both Carreno and Mathers flew out to Archie Turley to leave them on thoroughly. Martinez reached base with singles in the third and fifth innings, stole second base both times, and also was stranded on third base both times by an equally unproductive Falcons lineup. The Falcons DID get another run in the sixth, which Turley opened with a bloop double to right before coming around on two groundouts.

The Raccoons answered the same inning, Phinazee finding the rightfield corner for a 1-out triple, and Felix finding the space between Kokoszka’s legs for a wild pitch that got him in. Replay showed the slider to Ruben Gonzalez bouncing sharply upwards into Kokoszka’s cup, hindering the catchers subsequent pursuit of the wayward baseball. Gonzalez singled to right once Kokoszka could crouch down again without fainting, moved up on a Carreno grounder, and then the Raccoons sent Bryce Toohey to pinch-hit for Mathers, who was on 89 pitches. He grounded out. The Falcons would get their wild pitch run back in the eighth, Nate Norris conceding a triple to Aparicio and then throwing a wild pitch to Kokoszka to score him, 5-3. That was the score into the ninth. Chuck Jones held the Falcons short, while the Raccoons were up against righty Brad Blankenship. Hunter batted for Carreno in the #8 hole to begin the inning, but grounded out. Manny Fernandez batted for Jones, and lobbed a homer to right, 5-4! Alas, Baskins flailed out, which made Ayala the last string. He singled, bringing up Waters as the winning run. His 1-0 fly to left was no challenge for Besaw. 5-4 Falcons. Baskins 2-5; Ayala 2-4, BB, 3B, RBI; Waters 2-5, RBI; Gonzalez 2-4; Fernandez (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI;

In other news

July 25 – RIC LF/RF Pablo Gonzalez (.342, 23 HR, 76 RBI) has his season end in great pain and tears, as he breaks his leg in an on-base collision.
July 25 – The Thunder acquire corner guy Pat Gurney (.274, 13 HR, 54 RBI) from the Aces for two prospects.
July 26 – The Thunder score 11 runs in the second inning of their game against the Canadiens, and barely manage to win the game, 15-12. VAN 2B Dan Schneller (.287, 15 HR, 66 RBI) has the most productive day, driving in five runs.
July 27 – Shoulder inflammation ends the season of NYC SP Paul Paris (6-6, 5.47 ERA).
July 27 – RIC 1B Manny Liberos (.224, 8 HR, 49 RBI) is out with a broken kneecap and will miss the rest of this season and potentially the start of the next.
July 27 – Blue Sox SP Tim Steinbach (10-8, 3.85 ERA) walks five, but allows only three hits in a 4-0 shutout of the Pacifics.
July 30 – SAC LF/RF Mike Preble (.378, 15 HR, 51 RBI) is out until the middle of September, having suffered a strained abdominal muscle.

FL Player of the Week: SAL CF Armando Herrera (.299, 2 HR, 32 RBI), hitting .481 (13-27) with 1 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL 1B Doug Levis (.285, 20 HR, 72 RBI), batting .444 (12-27) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DAL OF/1B/3B Ricky Correa (.309, 5 HR, 43 RBI), hitting .403 with 2 HR, 17 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: ATL 1B Doug Levis (.285, 20 HR, 72 RBI), firing .358 with 4 HR, 20 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: DAL SP Orlando Leos (15-4, 2.54 ERA), pitching for a 5-0 mark with 2.04 ERA, 34 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: CHA SP Jerry Felix (14-6, 3.20 ERA), hurling for a 5-1 record with 2.34 ERA, 25 K
FL Rookie of the Month: DAL LF/RF/1B Govaart van Eijk (.410, 5 HR, 31 RBI), batting .640 with 3 HR, 10 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: POR SP Sadaharu Okuda (12-5, 2.43 ERA), pitching for a 4-1 record with 1.19 ERA, 23 K

Complaints and stuff

Maud, we’ll write a strongly-worded letter about Okuda not also winning the Pitcher of the Month. Get the angry red letter paper!

4-2 week, but with great annoyance I register that we just can’t go on a run right now. It’s more listlessness with runners in scoring position and near-comical cavalcades of errors than actual ineptitude that costs us games, which is consoling. Other teams make stupid errors, too.

While the Titans have collapsed this week, the damn Elks are now up to second place. They’re also merely .500, so that’s that.

Friday saw the third complete game, first shutout for technically-a-rookie-although-he’s-28-and-has-a-50-year-old’s-beard Okuda. This after the narrow disappointment of last week against the Knights, when he pitched a 3-hitter (as opposed to this week’s 5-hitter), but gave up a homer to Adam Horner in the ninth inning to take the shutout away.

As far as international free agents are concerned, we signed three kids to a total of $70k early in July, and since then have been engaged in a heated bidding war for the services of our main interest, outfielder Victor Magana, 17 by now, but 16 when the signing period began, from the Dominican Republic. A right-handed hitter with some of all tools, he has many suitors, and the price is up to $490k. The Raccoons will not go *much* further than this – he’s the guy you can blow half a million of your owner’s money on, but not the guy you want to blow half a million of your owner’s money on AND incur signing restrictions for next year… so he’s more an A- kid. Cristiano says B+, but Cristiano is no fun and one day we’ll replace his round wheels with square ones and leave him in a dark room if he doesn’t stop being no fun.

Fun Fact: Sadaharu Okuda now leads the league in ERA.

So at least those millions weren’t thrown onto the pyre. (glances over to Ricky Jimenez, sitting in his food bowl, confusedly, while also being on the DL)