[Westheim]

Raccoons (23-19) @ Aces (19-23) – May 25-27, 2049

Off to the wilderness again, the Raccoons would have to contend with the Aces in a 3-game series starting on Tuesday. And the Aces on paper really weren’t very good. Second from the bottom in runs scored, just a sliver over 3.5 runs a game, and barely eighth in runs allowed, with a -46 run differential (Critters: +14). They were not getting on base, they were not hitting for average, and both their starters and their relievers managed to be in the bottom three in ERA in the CL. Add to that injuries, including to some players that could be quite useful like the hitting folk Josh Landstrom, Brent Cramer, Felix Rojas, and closer David Williams. How bad was it precisely? Coons castoff Ben Coen was third on the team with a .260 batting average, for example. Not that the .260 bit was the trouble – that he qualified to for a rate stat was the problem to begin with…

Projected matchups:
Victor Merino (3-2, 3.80 ERA) vs. Pablo Paez (5-2, 2.93 ERA)
Jason Wheatley (3-4, 3.47 ERA) vs. B.J. Brantley (3-4, 5.40 ERA)
Bubba Wolinsky (2-3, 5.66 ERA) vs. Sadaharu Okuda (4-4, 4.63 ERA)

Like the Critters, the Aces had been rained out on Sunday, and thus had been off for two days in a row, allowing them to go wild with their rotation. Our best guess was that they’d open with the right-handed Paez, then throw the two southpaws. Last year’s season series had been a 4-5 loss for the Coons.

Game 1
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 2B Waters – RF Preble – 1B Gurney – SS Adame – C Gonzalez – P Merino
LVA: 2B Huber – 3B M. Lopez – C Weese – RF Austin – CF J. Harris – LF Encarnacion – SS Villalobos – 1B Witherspoon – P Paez

Just when I was ready to muse aloud that the Aces lineup looked really not that impressive at all, they gave Merino two in the snout right in the opening inning. Miguel Lopez doubled to left, sophomore hope Aubrey Austin doubled to right for his 18 RBI while battling the .200 mark, and Jonathan Harris snuck an RBI single up the middle. Paez meanwhile, continuing a recent trend of the Raccoons just not hitting anything whatsoever, except for the buffet three times a day, faced the minimum into the fifth inning. He had walked Matt Watt to begin the game, but Herrera had found a double play right away. Mike Preble took he no-hitter off with a shy single in the top 5th then, when the score was still 2-0, but felt like 9-0, and of course Preble was also stranded with great consistency. Merino got stuffed another four singles and two runs in the bottom 5th, then was hit for in the sixth. Eddy Luna walked in the spot, and the bags filled up with an infield single for Watt and Maldo getting nicked on a 3-2 with two outs. And then Waters, the tying run, fanned. And that was already the ballgame. Harris homered off Norris in the eighth, and the Raccoons never flicked a tail again. Or ever. 5-0 Aces. Preble 2-4;

While it is pretty obvious that we’re doomed, I would like to at least try and pretend that I’m still coming up with strokes of genius to pump the water out of the sinking ship. Or Matt Waters, who was a sturdy 0-4 with 3 K in this game.

Our catchers were hitting .182 between them, both as bad as the other, and our ho-hum rightfield platoon was hardly any better, around the .209 mark. Both pairs had one homer between them.

Since my previous stroke of genius had been to stuff $5.2M up Ruben Gonzalez’ furry *********, Justin Brooks bit the dust, while 2045 fifth-rounder Jeff Raczka was promoted from AAA. He was more of a glove-first catcher, so expectations were low, but had at least batted .256 with a homer in 15 AAA games this year. He was also a rare left-handed hitting catcher.

The outfield thing was not as easily fixed. Without reason, I longed to keep the lefty stick of Zurita, and Avila would refuse the assignment to AAA. Then again, what was Zurita hitting again? So he found himself on the waiver wire, while the Raccoons brought back Matt Glodowski (ignores the moans in the background) as an interim solution while trying to get a cheap left-handed corner outfielder somewhere else.

Game 2
POR: SS Adame – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 2B Waters – LF Preble – 1B Toohey – RF Avila – C Gonzalez – P Wheatley
LVA: 2B Huber – CF J. Harris – 1B Witherspoon – RF Austin – 3B M. Lopez – LF F. Torres – C DeFrank – SS Villalobos – P Brantley

One of the other 35 problems we had on the roster was that Wheats had finally found first-half form in May, meaning that he hadn’t won a game since Easter, and his Wednesday had started by drawing the “All-Raisins Gnaw” in the “I feel lucky” breakfast lottery. Having two grounders go by Maldonado in the bottom 2nd surely didn’t help either, with Ray DeFrank singling home Austin for a 1-0 Aces lead. It only got worse from there, with Brantley (…) and Dustin Huber lobbing singles to begin the bottom 3rd, and both being doubled home by Sam Witherspoon with a ball crammed into the rightfield corner. As if being down 3-0 was not enough, the Coons (again) did not get a base hit the first time through, but then Jesus Maldonado opened the fourth inning with a double to right himself…! Except that he didn’t, having blatantly missed first base without realizing as he turned the corner at hazardous speed given his age, and was thusly called out while still sitting in the dirt next to second base, panting. It was not a game for old men.

Because baseball is a cruel thing and hates its children, the Coons then filled the bases with the next three batters. Waters and Preble singled, Toohey walked, before the unpurged half of the problem children came to the plate. Eduardo Avila was ahead 3-1, then chose to pop out to Witherspoon. Ruben Gonzalez ran a full count, then popped out to the youngster Austin in shallow right. Three Raccoons runners retreated to the dugout, Wheatley punched over a pyramid out of drinking cups somebody with too much time on their paws had built in the dugout, and I wondered whether it was too late to go back to college and get an actual degree in something other than herding third-rate squirrels.

Waters socked an unexpected solo homer to left-center in the sixth, but DeFrank stuck that run back into Wheatley with a 2-out RBI double in the same inning, and Wheats was gone after that unhappy sixth. Glodowski batted for him. He struck out. Had he reached base, he would have been the Raccoons’ final base runner on the day. 4-1 Aces. Herrera 2-4; Waters 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;

Jeff Raczka made his major league debut – and also the final out of the game, batting for Avila and grounding to second.

Game 3
POR: CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 2B Waters – LF Preble – 1B Toohey – RF Glodowski – SS Adame – C Gonzalez – P Wolinsky
LVA: 2B Huber – 3B M. Lopez – C Weese – RF Austin – CF J. Harris – LF Encarnacion – SS Villalobos – 1B Witherspoon – P Okuda

One day we’d find out what happened to Bubba last winter, but he met the Aces’ right-handed lineup (all but Witherspoon) and the results were grim. There was persistent loud contact the first time through, most of which somehow ended up with outfielders, except for a homer by Danny Encarnacion to right-center. Come the bottom 4th, the Aces hit three straight singles to begin the inning. Austin drove in a run, and Wolinsky walked Harris to fill the bases with nobody out. Encarnacion struck out, Mario Villalobos brought in a run with a grounder, and somehow Waters snatched a liner from Witherspoon to strand a pair in scoring position. Not only was Wolinsky pitching like stale arse, he also bunted into a force at second when Ruben Gonzalez actually did ******* reach base for once, and thus shortcircuited the fifth inning. And yet, somehow, he lasted seven innings, whiffing just as many. Nothing made sense anymore, but when he was hit for to begin the eighth, he was still in a 3-0 hole, because the team had mentally surrendered the season already, and was vehemently encouraging their GM to do the same.

The Coons loaded the bags in the eighth, unearned as it was, though. Herrera and Preble reached on merit, while Waters got on when Austin dropped his fly ball for an error. It was tying runs aboard, two out, and Toohey batting against Okuda – here were two people that knew pretty much every single hair in the other guy’s ears. Toohey prevailed, singling to left on an 0-1 pitch to drive home two, but Glodowski grounded out to Al Martell (sigh) to end the inning. After Porter and Lynn held the fort in the bottom 8th, the Coons were up against lefty Dave Saldivar in the ninth inning, having the impossible task to make up a run with the bottom of the order. Adame, in a bitter slump, grounded out to Miguel Lopez. Avila batted for Gonzalez, and grounded out to short. Watt had remained in the #9 hole after pinch-hitting for Wolinsky earlier, and now grounded out to Martell to complete the sweep. 3-2 Aces. Gonzalez 1-2, BB, 2B;

Raccoons (23-22) @ Knights (15-32) – May 28-30, 2049

The Knights were pretty dismal. They were giving up the most runs in the league (5.2 a game), and were scoring in the bottom quarter themselves, for a rough -78 run differential before the end of May. Thankfully, the Coons were here… We led the season series 2-1, but I had a hunch…

Projected matchups:
Dave Hils (4-2, 4.78 ERA) vs. Kodai Koga (2-5, 5.56 ERA)
Chris Crowell (0-1, 5.18 ERA) vs. Marc Hubbard (2-6, 4.97 ERA)
Victor Merino (3-3, 4.13 ERA) vs. Enrique Duran (0-7, 6.80 ERA)

An all-righty rotation here; they had already struggled before they had lost Brian Buttress and Adam Capone for the season, and it wasn’t likely to get better. Having a defense like nine little Maldos didn’t help them either…

Game 1
POR: LF Watt – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – 2B Waters – 1B Gurney – RF Preble – SS Luna – C Raczka – P Hils
ATL: LF Hester – RF van der Zanden – SS A. Venegas – CF Alade – C Cass – 2B J. Lopez – 1B Swift – 3B A. Ramires – P Koga

The Coons scattered three hits and a double play, but no runs in the top 1st, Armando Herrera being the main culprit there. The Knights by contrast opened with a Billy Hester double to left, then ripped into Knave Hils to the tune of five hits, a walk, and four runs as they batted through the order in the first inning. Jon Alade and Tyler Cass both hit RBI singles; T.J. Swift singled home two. But they didn’t hit a triple! Mike Preble hit a triple to open the second inning! And Mike Preble also … didn’t score, thanks to a pop, another pop, and a strikeout on Hils, whose .313 batting average entering the game had been his foremost contribution to the team’s 2049 excess of success.

From there, the Knights beat another four hits and two runs out of Hils, who at least had the decency to absorb the blows for a full six innings while getting no support whatsoever until the seventh when Gurney got on base and Eddy Luna walloped a 2-run homer over the wall in left, as if it still mattered. Ponce had a scoreless bottom 7th, after which Watt and Herrera lobbed singles off Koga to begin the eighth. Maldonado flew out to Arnout van der Zanden in shallow right, runners holding. There was on holding Waters, though – he ripped into a breaking ball for a noisy 3-run homer to left, shortening the score to 6-5. Alade then reached on an infield single against Ponce to begin the bottom 8th. Porter took over, with Alade being thrown out by Raczka trying to steal second base, and the Knights didn’t tack on. Top 9th, then, with the Coons up against righty David Hardaway and his 2.41 ERA. Luna and Raczka made poor outs, but Adame singled in the pitcher’s spot. And then Matt Watt struck out. 6-5 Knights. Watt 2-5; Herrera 2-4; Waters 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Preble 2-4, 3B; Adame (PH) 1-1;

I think it will be enough to trade for a stick that will go its ways by himself after September ends.

Game 2
POR: LF Watt – SS Adame – CF Herrera – 2B Waters – 1B Gurney – RF Preble – 3B Luna – C Gonzalez – P Crowell
ATL: LF Hester – RF van der Zanden – SS A. Venegas – CF Alade – 2B J. Lopez – 1B Swift – C Whitley – 3B A. Ramires – P Hubbard

Three soft singles and a T.J. Swift error allowed the Critters to score two runs in the top of the first, and Ruben Gonzalez added a run with a solo homer in the second, 3-0, before an Adame single and a throwing error by Dan Whitley put two in scoring position for Waters, but he grounded out to end the inning. The Knights tied the game back on their first base hit then, a 3-run homer by Whitley, after Crowell, the useless pelt, had issued leadoff walks to Jon Lopez and Swift in the bottom 2nd.

Portland was up 4-3 in the top 3rd then, when Ruben Gonzalez hit an RBI single with Gurney and Luna aboard already. Crowell struck out and Watt flew out to center to strand a pair, and Crowell then walked another two Knights in the bottom 3rd, setting up Eddy Luna to surrender the tying run when he fumbled Whitley’s 2-out grounder for an error. It was that kind of game, the kind that makes you wanna quit baseball. Antonio Ramires popped out to short, stranding Knights on the corners. It was a 4-4 game, with the Coons somehow ahead 7-1 in hits.

Top 4th, the Coons took the lead for the third time when Waters whacked a 2-out double to left, then scored on a Pat Gurney single to right-center. Crowell tried to get pushed over again, conceding singles to Hester and van der Zanden. Venegas flew out to center for the second out, but that was it for Crowell. 95 pitches for 11 outs – yay! Lynn got a groundout from Alade to keep the Coons up 5-4, then walked one and struck out two in the fifth. Hubbard was also gone by the fifth. Lefty Tony Rosas put Adame and Herrera on base in the sixth, but Waters popped out, and after Gurney walked, Preble popped out too, stranding a full set in a 5-4 game. It was no longer 5-4 in the bottom of the inning, when Kevin Hitchcock got rolled over for four straight base runners, a walk and three hits, the hit being a 2-out, 2-run single for Jon Lopez that flipped the score.

Luna and Gonzalez hit leadoff singles off Rosas to begin the top 7th, after which Maldonado batted for Hitchcock, but his high fly to right was caught by van der Zanden and didn’t advance Luna, either. Watt then found Lopez for a 4-6-3 double play. Once Nate Norris was exploded for three runs in the bottom 7th, this game was in the bin as well, with the first runs coming on a 2-run homer by Daniel Hertenstein. Four hits in total off Norris, as if there was a reward for giving up as many as possible. Top 8th, Brad Santry in. Herrera singled, stole second, and Waters walked. Gurney slapped a 1-out single to right, and Herrera beat van der Zanden’s arm to score, allowing the trailing runners into scoring position as Preble came up as the tying run, but was held to a sac fly, 9-7. Santry then lost Luna to a 2-out walk, then brought up Gonzalez and drilled him with the first pitch. That filled the bases with two gone for Bryce Toohey, batting for Norris, although honestly I was kind of annoyed with them for plucking my heartstrings again only to come up, inevitably, with nothing. Santry lost Toohey on balls, forcing home a run to make it 9-8, then was replaced with righty Matt Simmons for Watt. Despite an .442 OBP, Swatt watted away at the first pitch, I shrieked, but the ball went up the middle for a single, and two runs scored – Coons took the lead!!?? … Adame added an RBI single, 11-9, before Herrera grounded out to end the 6-run rush.

But don’t you dare think an easy win would be next. The Raccoons had already burned a good chunk of their pen and had to go to Orlando Altreche in the bottom 8th, which didn’t go too ******* well. Swift doubled, and Ramires and Tyler Cass drew 2-out walks, bringing up Hester again. The Raccoons went to Nelson Moreno, who had spent all week snoozing. He gave up a fly to shallow left, Watt raced in, made the catch, and kept the ruckus game with its bogus score in one piece for the ninth. Caleb Martin held off the Critters, while van der Zanden, the old Elks pest, drew a leadoff walk from Moreno. Venegas struck out, but Alade drew another walk. Moreno was then yelled at by the pitching coach, who also threatened him to take off his shoe and slap him with it. Jon Lopez flew out to Preble for the second out. Swift came up with runners on the corners, ran a full count, then hit a loud howler to deep left – but Watt caught it on the run…!! 11-9 Raccoons. Watt 2-5, BB, 2 RBI; Adame 3-6, RBI; Herrera 2-6, RBI; Waters 2-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Gurney 3-5, BB, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Toohey (PH) 0-0, BB, RBI;

It’s a win that felt like a loss and a half. Rarely have I been less enthused about them scoring eleven runs. They left another FIFTEEN runners on base…!

And the PITCHING…!!

Interlude: Trade

But one after another.

The Raccoons exchanged left-handed outfielders with the Capitals on Saturday night, sending Angelo Zurita (.188, 0 HR, 4 RBI) to Washington in exchange for RF/CF Brian Nigro (.266, 0 HR, 17 RBI). The 28-year-old Nigro had a murder arm, but not that much range. He was also not exactly hitting like a corner outfielder, with all of ONE homer to his major league career in some 1,400 at-bats.

Matt Glodowski, 0-5 with 2 K, was returned to AAA to make room on the roster.

Raccoons (23-22) @ Knights (15-32) – May 28-30, 2049

Come Sunday, the Knights had just earlier signed right-hander Steve Huffman, who had made all of 20 innings in the last two years due to various ailments and issues, and threw him at the Critters in the rubber game.

Game 3
POR: CF Watt – SS Adame – 3B Maldonado – 2B Waters – LF Preble – 1B Gurney – RF Nigro – C Raczka – P Merino
ATL: RF van der Zanden – 3B A. Ramires – SS A. Venegas – CF Alade – C Cass – 1B Hester – LF Hertenstein – 2B S. Davison – P Huffman

Merino fell behind in the first, allowing a walk to Ramires, then singles to Venegas and Alade, with Venegas even caught in a rundown to help him out. The Coons tied it up in the third, when Jeff Raczka hit his first career single to right with one out, got bunted to second, and then scored on a Watt single to right. Two outs, Adame also singled, Maldo walked in a full count, and then Waters hit a floater to shallow left-center that dropped in between absolutely everybody – Hertenstein, Alade, Venegas, King George VII of England – they were all on the ball, but couldn’t quite reach it. Waters drove in two runs on it, grabbing a 3-1 lead. Preble then unraveled Huffman’s season debut further, smashing a 3-run homer to right, 6-1. The Knights kinda wanted more length, but wouldn’t get it. He filled the bags with the 6-7-8 batters, but wasn’t removed until after Merino poked an RBI single to left…! Watt then grounded out against Adam Brady, ending the 7-run onslaught.

Enter Merino, trying to blow it all at once. He filled the bags with a 1-2-3 batters in the bottom 3rd after retiring Brady to begin the inning, indicating the Knights had internally retired to their wingback chair in front of the fireplace. Alade plated a run with a groundout, but Merino just walked Cass to fill the plates again. Waters denied Hester with a lunging pick and flip to Adame to end the inning, it was still 7-2, and I couldn’t help but see an L coming. A crushing one.

Watt singled home Gurney and Nigro, and Adame singled in Merino, who had drawn a 2-out walk in the top 5th that saw Brady come apart to extend the lead to 10-2. Maldo walked to fill the bases, Waters walked with the bags already filled, and that got Brady out for Mike Lechowicz, who had Preble at 0-2 with two outs, then gave up a bases-clearing triple in the left-center gap. That already gave the Coons their second 7-spot of the game (!!), but they made it eight … or Hester made it eight, fumbling a Gurney grounder that should have ended the inning, but instead got Preble across, 15-2. Venegas countered with an RBI double against Merino in the bottom 5th, with Merino eventually going six and a third, departing with PH Chris Kirkwood on base in the bottom 7th. Norris got a double play grounder to end the inning, after which Avila – in to preserve Preble for days to come – opened the eighth with a leadoff jack off Tony Rosas.

Of course somebody down the road had to **** the nest, and it was Ponce, who gave up three runs on five hits in the bottom 8th. Admittedly, three of the hits were infield singles, which fit in nicely with the “can’t field” / “have no luck” Coons of ’49. On to the ninth, Caleb Martin pitching, and loading the bags with Watt, Adame, and Luna to begin the inning. Hertenstein spoiled a Waters drive to deep left while bouncing off the wall, holding Waters to a sac fly. Avila hit another sac fly to center, and Toohey singled to center. Nigro grounded out to end the inning. The 12-run lead actually stood up in the bottom of the ninth, too. 18-6 Raccoons. Watt 4-6, 3 RBI; Adame 3-6, RBI; Preble 3-4, HR, 3B, 6 RBI; Avila 1-1, HR, 2 RBI, Nigro 2-6; Raczka 2-4, BB;

In other news

May 26 – Miners catcher Giampaolo Petroni (.313, 4 HR, 22 RBI) ends a heretofore scoreless game against the Warriors with a 2-run walkoff homer in the ninth inning, Pittsburgh thus winning 2-0.
May 30 – DAL SP Mike LeMasters (10-1, 2.77 ERA) 2-hits the Rebels in a 3-0 shutout.
May 30 – Quad-A veteran IND OF Brian Oliver (.375, 1 HR, 5 RBI) hits a walkoff grand slam in the 11th inning to beat the Bayhawks, 7-3.

FL Player of the Week: PIT INF Victor Corrales (.404, 1 HR, 6 RBI), batting .480 (12-25) with 1 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN 1B Sterling Henderson (.414, 3 HR, 19 RBI), slashing .636 (14-22) with 2 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Coons scored 37 runs this week, including 32 in a series against the Knights, and somehow they managed to even lose one of THOSE games after getting swept by the Aces to begin with. Every day it’s becoming more obvious that we ain’t got nothing, and we’re not gonna make it six in a row for the division.

The rotation is getting shredded – Wheats is now best in class with a 3.70 ERA that is persistently growing. Merino is treading water; the other three guys are drowning. Being second from the bottom in D of course helps nothing and nobody. The only thing that might still help was to trade both Toohey and Gurney, salvage the rest of Maldo’s generous contract at first base, and try to keep the rebuild to under a decade…

Next week: Falcons, Indians at home. Off day on Thursday, and that will be the last off day for three weeks. Great time to have no pitching.

Fun Fact: Matt Waters is leading the CL with 45 RBI.

Ahead of Preble, too. But Waters keeps raking, .304 with 10 homers, and I feel like he’s just getting warm. At least we still have him, while everything else is crumbling down.

Until he breaks a leg or so…