[Westheim]

Raccoons (65-52) vs. Rebels (70-46) – August 18-20, 2048

The last meeting with the Rebs had taken place in ’46, when the Raccoons had won two out of three from them. Now the teams met in Portland after a common off day on Monday. The Rebels were fourth in runs scored and fifth in runs allowed in the Federal League, with the second-most homers as their best rank in any major category.

Projected matchups:
Bubba Wolinsky (4-1, 2.98 ERA) vs. Zach Tubbs (14-4, 3.07 ERA)
Victor Merino (10-8, 3.78 ERA) vs. Marc Hubbard (8-6, 3.80 ERA)
Jake Jackson (5-11, 4.01 ERA) vs. Omar Lara (13-7, 2.66 ERA)

Righty, righty, lefty from the Rebs. They only had a reliver on the DL in Gustavo Chapa, while the Coons fought with a short bench once more, with Alex Adame expected to miss the entire series with the iffy quad.

The Coons sent Matt Glodowski back to AAA and brought up Josh Floyd as extra middle infielder.

Game 1
RIC: RF C. Morris – 3B R. Sifuentes – CF G. Cabrera – 1B W. Hernandez – 2B L. Harrison – SS Lujan – LF Mills – C J. Jimenez – P Tubbs
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Preble – 2B Waters – 1B Gurney – C R. Gonzalez – SS Martell – P Wolinsky

While the Coons had no hits the first time through and nothing beyond a walk drawn by Al Martell altogether, the Rebels were on base in every inning against Bubba Wolinsky. They only reached with two outs in the first two innings, didn’t score, then twice put on their first two batters in the third and fourth – in the former inning with a Gurney error to begin things – and still didn’t score, somehow. They eventually broke through in the fifth inning as Wolinsky kept failing to deliver proper pitches. Chris Morris and Gil Cabrera singled, Willie Hernandez smashed a homer to center, and it was 3-0 Rebels. The Coons got two singles of their own in the bottom 5th, putting Martell an Watt on the corners, but Armando Herrera made the final out to Lance Harrison when he came up as the tying run. Waters would hit a single and steal second with two outs in the sixth before getting stranded by Gurney, and the Rebels put the game away the half-inning after that. Wolinsky put Morris on base with a 1-out single, got yoinked, and Bob Ibold was slapped around for three hits and two runs (one charged to Bubba) as the Rebels went up 5-0. The Coons didn’t score until the eighth, when Maldonado doubled home Watt for a token run, also knocking out Tubbs, who had been working on a 4-hit shutout so far. The next play saw Chris Morris take a tumble as he caught a Mike Preble drive into the right-center gap, leaving the game with an injury, replaced by Nick Crocker. That was as close as the Portlanders got to hurting the Rebels in the game; nobody after Maldonado reached base anymore. 5-1 Rebels. Watt 1-2, 2 BB; Martell 1-2, BB;

Game 2
RIC: RF P. Gonzalez – 3B R. Sifuentes – CF G. Cabrera – 1B W. Hernandez – 2B L. Harrison – SS Lujan – LF Mills – C J. Jimenez – P Hubbard
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Preble – 2B Waters – 1B Toohey – C R. Gonzalez – SS Martell – P Merino

Hitting in appreciable amounts remained absent for the Raccoons on Wednesday, although they did scratch out a 1-0 lead on little more than a soft single and stolen base by Martell in the bottom 3rd, the runner coming around to score on groundouts by Merino and Watt. Merino was off with his control, walking three in the first three innings while giving up only one hit, but he had already thrown 49 pitches. He then struck out Lance Harrison in the fourth, with Harrison objecting and talking back to the umpire, who gave him multiple chances to shut up and retreat to the dugout before finally tossing him. This was not great – he was replaced by prominent scratch-out Coons scare Ken Wiersma… With one out, Merino then filled the bases, allowing a single to T.J. Lujan, a double to ex-Coon Ken Mills, and flatout drilled the current FL Player of the Week, Juan Jimenez. Hubbard then flew out to Herrera, Lujan went for home – and was thrown out at the plate to end the inning…!

Willie Hernandez shrugged and doubled home Cabrera with two outs in the fifth instead, tying the game at one after all. The offense was held to three hits in six innings, leaving Merino to fend for himself. He made it into the seventh, retiring Hubbard and Pablo Gonzalez to begin that, but then allowed a triple to Ramon Sifuentes on his 109th pitch, which turned out to be the final one. Ibold replaced him, walked Cabrera, and then got Hernandez to ground out to Maldonado after all, keeping the game tied.

Al Martell appeared to be the only piece that functioned in the lineup. He singled again to begin the bottom 8th, but then was doubled off by Chris Robinson, who pinch-hit for Jake Bonnie. Watt and Herrera then clipped 2-out singles, but were left on when Maldo grounded out to Ramon Sifuentes. Nelson Moreno followed on Ibold and Bonnie with scoreless relief in the ninth, still giving the Critters a walkoff opportunity against Hubbard, who had thrown 92 pitches through eight. Preble, Waters, and Toohey made sad outs in order, sending the game to extras. Moreno continued in the 10th, allowed a leadoff single to Hernandez, who was then doubled off by Wiersma (!), then walked Lujan. Toohey then grabbed a Josh Frazier bouncer to end the inning. And then we were STILL up against Hubbard in the bottom 10th…! The bugger kept surviving, pitching around a Gurney single in the bottom 10th before getting hit for with Crocker as the Rebels took Lynn apart for an unearned run in the 11th. Ruben Gonzalez made a throwing error on the Crocker grounder, which moved Jimenez to third base with nobody out. Pablo Gonzalez struck out, but a Sifuentes groundout plated the go-ahead run. Lynn held them there, after which Josh Rella (sounds familiar) appeared for the bottom 11th. Groundouts by Herrera and Maldonado were not exactly soul-soothing. Preble singled to right with two outs, then gained a base on a passed ball. Waters then walked onto the open base in a full count. Toohey also reached 3-2, then grounded out to short. 2-1 Rebels. Preble 2-5; Martell 2-4; Gurney (PH) 1-1; Merino 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K; Moreno 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

Maud, can we call the league office? – I need to trade for yet more offense! – Because it kinda sucks when other teams then claim good players on revocable waivers…!

Game 3
RIC: RF P. Gonzalez – 3B R. Sifuentes – CF G. Cabrera – 1B W. Hernandez – 2B L. Harrison – LF Mills – SS Lujan – C J. Jimenez – P O. Lara
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Preble – 2B Waters – C Wilson – 1B Toohey – SS Floyd – P Jackson

Jackson loaded the bases in the top 1st without allowing as much a base hit, walking Sifuentes and Harrison, while nailing Hernandez in between. No runs scored, Mills grounding out harmlessly to kill the effort for Richmond. The Coons got two walks to begin the bottom 1st, then a K from Maldo and a 6-4-3 mood dampener from Preble… But we took the lead in the bottom 2nd, which began with Waters singling. Wilson doubled, Toohey hit a sac fly to left for a 1-0 lead, an Josh Floyd walked. A soft Jackson single loaded the bases with one out and brought back the top of the order, with additional runs scoring on Watt scratching out a bases-loaded walk, and then Herrera legging out the return throw on a grounder to short to break up a double play. Maldo grounded out to strand runners on the corners, and Harrison singled home a run in the top 3rd against Jackson. Preble’s leadoff double and Waters’ single put runners on the corners with nobody out in the bottom 3rd, and Lara continued to melt, giving up an RBI double to center to Wilson and another sac fly to Toohey.

While Jackson wobbled on, allowing another run on two sharp hits in the fifth, that was already way beyond Lara’s time at the controls in this game, as he was pinch-hit for in the fourth. Replacement Jimmy Anderson didn’t last long either before leaving with an injury, while the third pitcher in line, righty Carlos Vasquez, gave up a leadoff jack to right to Matt Waters, #22 for the slugging infielder, and gave up another RBI hit to Waters an inning later, when Waters came up with Watt and Herrera on the corners, two outs, and singled home Matt Watt, 7-2. Wilson then grounded out.

The Coons pushed Jackson to 110 pitches, which meant he gave up singles to Gonzalez and Sifuentes in the top 7th without getting an out, then left anyway. Porter took over and got two grounders to Maldonado from Cabrera and Hernandez, the first of them turned for a double play, and the other one to end the inning. Vasquez put Toohey, Floyd, and Robinson all on base with nobody out in the bottom 7th to set up a chance for a knockout blow. Lefty Ricky Contreras inherited the unhappy mess, who got pops from Watt and Herrera that didn’t drive nobody in before melting for bases-loaded walks to Maldo and Preble. Waters, unretired in the game heretofore, then hacked out aiming for a slam. The Rebels were defeated though, and would not reach scoring position against Kuo and Bonnie in the last two innings. 9-2 Raccoons. Herrera 2-4, BB, BI; Waters 4-5, HR, 2 RBI; Wilson 4-5, 2 2B, RBI;

We lost a game on the Indians here, who beat the Buffos, two out of three, and would go to Elk City up by two-and-a-half.

This was without Josh Floyd, who had bettered his season average from .080 to .100 in three days – whee. – but was sent back to AAA with Adame back in the lineup by Friday night. Glodowski returned for no really good reason.

Raccoons (66-54) @ Canadiens (58-63) – August 21-23, 2048

The damn Elks could still sniff the playoffs with a spirited rally, with the Raccoons the perfect team to start it against. Down 8 1/2 and in fourth place in late August, they still had a shot, especially with seven games left against the Critters. Their pitching was a major problem, though, with the second-most runs allowed in the CL for their staff. They were sixth in runs scored, with a -83 run differential. The Coons were up 7-4 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Jeremy Baker (7-5, 3.61 ERA) vs. Mario Godinez (5-11, 5.16 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (10-5, 3.77 ERA) vs. Bill McMichael (12-8, 4.16 ERA)
Bubba Wolinsky (4-2, 3.23 ERA) vs. Ayden Cobb (3-9, 3.94 ERA)

One more southpaw in this set, that being McMichael. Hisami Furuya was the only player on the DL for the Elks.

Game 1
POR: SS Adame – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – LF Preble – 2B Waters – RF Robinson – C Gonzalez – 1B Toohey – P Baker
VAN: 2B I. Jaramillo – LF F. Rojas – 3B Burgos – RF Outram – 1B Mancini – C Julio Diaz – CF Escobido – SS R. Price – P Godinez

Adame returned with a single, stolen base, and a run on two groundouts in the top 1st on Friday. He then drove home Toohey in the second inning for a 2-0 lead before Baker broke into a million pieces in the bottom 2nd. He had already given up two hits in the first, then gave up two more to begin the second, a Julio Diaz single, then an RBI triple into the leftfield corner to Angel Escobido. Rick Price’s groundout tied the game. Baker then walked Godinez, which made me yell in agony at home on the couch loud enough to be heard where they were playing in Iceland. Israel Jaramillo doubled home his pitcher, getting the Elks up 3-2, but was then caught stealing third base, which was about the only thing that prevented him from scoring two, with Felix Rojas singling behind him. the inning ended with a Jesus Burgos groundout…

Maldo, Preble, and Robinson loaded the bases in the third on two singles and a walk, bringing up Ruben Gonzalez with a thick chance. He popped out, but Toohey with two outs laid off the garbage for a moment, drew a walk, and tied the game. Better yet, Baker flicked a 2-out, 2-run single to right-center. Hey, our pitchers can do damage, too!? I didn’t know that! Godinez was fully ablaze then, walked Adame and dinked Herrera, which forced home another run, 6-3, before the inning ended with Maldonado – not that the didn’t come through, he whacked a 2-run double, but Herrera was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score as well. That curtailed a 6-spot, and the Coons were now up 8-3, hesitantly giving the ball back to Baker. He remained completely awful, gave up a solo homer to Jerry Outram on the way to somehow being dragged through five innings by the pen, and was then mothballed without another word to be lost about that shambolic outing, with nine hits, two walks, and only one strikeout on his ledger, but at least with an 8-4 lead maintained through five.

Somehow I felt, 300 miles away, that this game was far from one and pressed Honeypaws even tighter against my chest. It was a bit of a relief when Matt Waters singled home Mike Preble, who had hit a 2-out double off lefty Jordan Calderon, in th sixth inning, extending the lead to five again. A wild pitch moved Waters to second, and he scored on a scratch single by Robinson, 10-4, who was then double-switched out after Gonzalez ended the inning with a grounder, so that Kevin Hitchcock could go longer than an inning with 12 outs to get and the pen having been all busy bees against the Rebels before. Hitchcock promptly loaded the bases with 10 pitches in the bottom 6th before getting an inning-ending double play, 5-4-3 from one third-sacker to the other. Hitchcock got torn up in the seventh instead, walking two and giving up a 1-out triple to Escobido to get the damn Elks into slam range. Kuo replaced him and struck out both Price and Antonio Peralta to strand Escobido on third base, which might yet turn out huge for the Coons. Porter had an uneventful eighth, though, and the Coons brought Lynn out for the ninth, which began with Outram. He popped out to Maldo, but Bob Mancini singled. I winced, but was able to unclench my fuzzy bum cheeks just a minute later when Diaz spanked a ball to Adame, who started a game-sealing 6-4-3 double play. 10-6 Raccoons. Adame 3-5, BB, RBI; Maldonado 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Preble 4-5, 2B; Waters 2-5, 2 BB, RBI;

So maybe it would all be well after all?

Nah.

First thing Saturday morning, Dr. Padilla called me from Elk City. Apparently Al Martell had tried to pat a cat in front of the hotel in Elk City. In the darkness, apparently, what looked like a cat was a panther escaped from he Elk City zoo that objected to being touched in any way, touched back, then chased Martell up the nearest tree, and back down again on the other side. Martell escaped with scratches all over, but was in no condition to play for at least a few weeks.

The panther was fine, allegedly.

I sighed, arranged for Martell to be put on the DL, and then called Maud to have Ben Coen’s bum shipped to Elk City pronto. Coen was 1-for-15 this year with the Coons, but had hit .286 in 105 at-bats in ’47.

Game 2
POR: SS Adame – CF Watt – 3B Maldonado – LF Preble – 2B Waters – C Gonzalez – 1B Toohey – RF Glodowski – P Wheatley
VAN: SS R. Price – CF I. Jaramillo – 3B Burgos – RF Outram – 1B Mancini – C Julio Diaz – LF Escobido – 2B DeMarco – P McMichael

Four singles in the first were barely enough for a run for the Coons, with Watt doubling off Adame before the 3-4-5 batters all chopped 2-out knocks and Gonzalez stranded two floating out. Wheats’ first pitch then almost tore off Rick Price’s foot. The shortstop limped off the field and was replaced by Chris Walley, who got intimately involved in Jaramillo’s 5-4-3 grounder. McMichael then nailed Toohey, who was also doubled off by Glodowski. It was quite a forgettable baseball game in the early goings…

Except that after the Glodowski double play, Wheats singled, McMichael walked the bags full, and Maldo drove home two with another 2-out single. Preble grounded out to leave two aboard. Waters was drilled in the third, but wouldn’t score, but Adame did after a leadoff double in the fourth. Maldo singled him to third base, and Preble got him in with a sac fly to Escobido, 4-0. Did I feel good, with Wheats pitching rather decently – two hits, four strikeouts through five shutout innings, but with an elevated pitch count – at the same time? No. It was Elk City. The place was cursed, and normal laws of physics and baseball did not apply there.

Bottom 7th. Leadoff single for Burgos, who was then caught stealing. Outram grounded out. Looking good, Honeypaws, huh? Why are your whiskers twitching? Mancini hit a 2-out infield single. Then Diaz was given pointers to first pace by the umpire after one pitch to him, courtesy of Gonzalez pawing into his swing and being called out for catcher’s interference. Suddenly the tying run was not all that far away. Wheats was on 96 pitches, but remained in to face Escobido – who struck out! Maybe it would still all be fine!? It was certainly for Wheatley, who tacked on another 1-2-3 inning to relief the bullpen some more, which … technically made him a reliever-reliever…? Honeypaws, why do you visibly frown? …

Bottom 9th. Ibold came in, struck out Jaramillo, then allowed a single to Burgos. Outram cranked another homer, just like in the olden days. It also narrowed the score to 4-2, and the Raccoons quickly flicked in the nearest available left-hander, which was Mike Lynn. He got grounders to second base from both Mancini and Diaz to end the ballgame. 4-2 Raccoons. Watt 2-4, BB, 2B; Maldonado 3-5, 2 RBI; Preble 2-4, RBI; Waters 2-4, RBI; Wheatley 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, W (11-5) and 1-4;

Ibold getting a few in the snout here or there, this W secured at least a split in the season series against the damn Elks, with five games to spare.

Don’t let up, boys! Keep the hindpaws on their throats!!

Game 3
POR: SS Adame – SS Herrera – 2B Waters – LF Preble – RF Robinson – 1B Gurney – C Wilson – 3B Coen – P Wolinsky
VAN: 2B I. Jaramilo – LF F. Rojas – RF Outram – 1B Mancini – C Julio Diaz – CF Escobido – 3B Higareda – SS R. Price – P A. Cobb

Some things never change – like Jerry Outram homering in every game against the Critters, ever. He did so right in the first against Bubba, but at least Jaramillo had by then been caught stealing after a leadoff single and the homer only made for a 1-0 deficit. Still annoying, as I was hoping for a sweep, although that target receded into the distance pretty quickly. Robinson doubled in the top 2nd, but was left on, and a Diaz homer and another three singles off a sucky Wolinsky made it 3-0 in a real hurry in the bottom 2nd.

But there was a comeback – a single by Herrera began the fourth rather inauspiciously, but the Coons then cranked back-to-back homers with Waters and Preble, both to center, to tie it all up at three! I jubilated, tossing Honeypaws into the air, for which he hissed at me. Robinson had a drive to left caught, while Gurney singled and stole second, but was then left on; Wilson popped out, Coen was not pitched to despite a .063 average, and Wolinsky popped out to Adrian Higareda, then probably only escaped more flogging in the bottom 4th because Escobido was thrown out trying to steal third base after drawing a leadoff walk and taking second on Higareda’s single to center. Alex Adame stole second base after a leadoff single in the top 5th, however, and two productive outs got him around on a Waters sac fly, 4-3. But there was no way around it – Bubba sucked, hard. He blew the lead with another walk and two hits in the bottom 5th, the last a 2-out RBI double by Diaz, then was yanked with runners in scoring position. Preston Porter inherited the situation, bailed out on a grounder to short by Escobido, and the game would begin anew with the score even at four.

Cobb was still struggling in the sixth, giving up leadoff singles to Robinson and Gurney. Robinson bid for third base on Gurney’s single to right, drew a bad throw from Outram, and that allowed Gurney to second. After Wilson popped out and Coen struck out, Maldonado batted for Porter while I was already ready to tear a few bushels of my fur out. Maldo popped out to Jaramillo, getting me dangerously close to an aneurysm, but for now I settled for a screaming attack that only subsided when Preble sent Herrera around to score from second base with a 2-out single in the top 7th, which was also finally the end for Cobb. The lead was in danger in the bottom 7th; Julio Diaz singled off Bonnie (in his second inning of work), and before Hitchcock solved the situation with two outs, he allowed a single to Escobido that sent the tying run to third base. Burgos pinch-hit for Higareda, but was out on a comebacker to keep it 5-4 Critters. Bottom 8th, leadoff single for Rick Price, then an RBI double by PH Andy Graham. Who? Anyway, tied ballgame. I sobbed, while Graham advanced on a Jaramillo fly to left-center. Kuo came in for the lefty Rojas, but the Elks countered with right-handed Antonio Peralta as pinch-hitter, who brought home the go-ahead run with a groundout up the middle. And then Outram singled and scored on a Mancini triple to center. (bites into clenched fist) The ninth brought right-hander Sam Gibson, and once Herrera drew a leadoff walk, the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Herrera stole second when Waters whiffed on a hit-and-run and would eventually strike out altogether, but Preble singled to put the tying runs on the corners in the 7-5 game. Kuo was in the #5 hole, and there were only double play threats left on the bench. The Coons went with Gonzalez, who ran a full count, grounded to short, and only escaped the double play shame because Preble took out Nick DeMarco with a slide that could have been classified as a crime against humanity. Herrera scored, but we were down to our final out, which turned out to be Gurney on strikes. 7-6 Canadiens. Herrera 2-4, BB; Preble 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Robinson 2-4, 2B; Gurney 2-5;

In other news

August 17 – ATL SP Jay Carroll (8-7, 3.45 ERA) fires a 1-hit shutout against the Gold Sox, taking a 3-0 victory. DEN INF Ronnie Thompson (.276, 0 HR, 28 RBI) singles in the third inning for the Sox’ only hitting success.
August 17 – A broken thumb could cost CHA OF/1B Mike Allegood (.285, 7 HR, 57 RBI) the rest of the season.
August 21 – The Loggers pick up 2B/3B Travis Malkus (.264, 6 HR, 42 RBI) in a deal with the Blue Sox, who receive INF/LF/RF Alfredo Napoles (.300, 3 HR, 28 RBI).
August 22 – SAC SP Adam Messer (9-6, 3.64 ERA) will get cut up for Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with a partially torn UCL and is expected to miss up to 12 months. *

FL Player of the Week: DAL LF/CF Juan del Toro (.347, 19 HR, 71 RBI), batting .500 (13-26) with 3 HR, 12 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL LF/RF/1B Billy Hester (.251, 13 HR, 58 RBI), swatting .375 (9-24) with 3 HR, 10 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Trying week. 3-3 (the Indians made up a game eventually), and in every game it seemed either the offense or the pitching was shoddy. The exception could have been Saturday, and then Bob Ibold chose to get outrammed in the ninth… Jerry Outram in this series? .357 with three homers and four RBI. Please don’t tell me he’s gonna be a ******* 23 again…!

Speaking of 23, Matt Waters reached that many dingers, which actually ties for the lead in the ABL right now, even with Sean Suggs of the Baybirds, who might yet go yard off our hickory staff in the CLCS if we can somehow hold off these Arrowheads. Suggs was also second in batting average in the CL, but was 18 RBI behind Danny Rivera and thus not really a triple crown threat going into September.

Gene Pellicano is still in AAA. He didn’t hit a lick in the majors this year, and after months in AAA, he’s still not hitting a lick there.

The team returns home for a 6-game homestand now. Monday will be off, and then it’s the Titans and Condors in our cozy four walls. We’ll go on the road after that, hitting Vegas and New York, with roster expansion hitting during the former series. Seven left with the Indians in September/October, so the division is still wide open.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons have four of the top 10 players in batting average in the CL.

But none in the top 5; Adame is sixth at .320, and Preble, Herrera, and Waters grab the last three spots in the top 10. Preble and Waters are 2nd and 4th in slugging, though, and Waters is also top 5 in OPS, WAR, and wOBA, whatever the heck that is.

More and more it looks like that 2040 trade with the Knights that sent the brittling Ryan Bedrosian and three other players over for Wheats and Waters was a *massive* W for the Raccoons.

Bedrosian won another ring before coming apart entirely, but with the 2042 Wolves. The two other established major leaguers in the deal were Rico Sanchez (who is still actively pitching) and Brad Ledford, a neat platoon outfielder that retired a few years back. The fourth player was an unranked, toss-in prospect, right-hander Willie Morales, who erred from town to town in the last eight years, but finally broke into the majors this year with the Titans at age 30. He’s 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA and six saves in 21 games (3 starts). He actually made his debut *against* the Coons on June 24, tossing a garbage inning in an 8-4 loss for the Titans.

+++

*Another pun for like two people; Messer means knife in German.