[Westheim]

Raccoons (18-6) vs. Indians (14-10) – May 3-5, 2055

The last time the Coons had played the second-place team in the division, they had brushed the Crusaders aside without much effort, but very elegant handling of the broom. Now the Indians were in for three games, bringing with them the #4 offense and #3 pitching in the CL. Well, the rotation was good – the bullpen had a 5.30 ERA, but you had to get there first. This has been a 12-6 series for the Raccoons in 2054.

Projected matchups:
Kyle Brobeck (0-1, 7.32 ERA) vs. Chris Edwards (0-3, 3.63 ERA)
He Shui (4-0, 2.41 ERA) vs. Tan Brink (2-2, 3.66 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (4-0, 0.81 ERA) vs. Bill McDermott (2-1, 3.11 ERA)

That would be three right-handed pitchers.

Matt Waters was registered as unconcussed and activated from the DL and Naughty Joe returned to AAA. Luis Silva claimed that he was as good as new, but I had my doubts. – Matt, your tongue is… – No, your tongue is hanging out all the time. – What do you mean, is it better now? You look exactly the same as before!?

Game 1
IND: CF M. Ceballos – 2B A. Rios – 1B B. Quinteros – 3B B. Anderson – C Poindexter – RF Kokel – LF French – SS Ed. Ortiz – P C. Edwards
POR: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Munn – C Gowin – CF Puckeridge – 2B Waters – 1B Rojas – P Brobeck

While Brobeck increasingly not even hit like a batter, but also pitched like one, the Indians went down in order in the first three innings. The Raccoons had Pucks on with a single in the second, but really put the pressure on in the bottom 3rd, even though Pedro Rojas was forced out on a bad bunt after drawing a leadoff walk. Our fault – why bunt with Brobeck to begin with? Venegas and Lonzo then quickly filled the bases with a single and walk, respectively, bringing up Trent Brassfield with three on and one out, and he shot a 2-run single through the right side past a diving Antonio Rios. Danny Munn added a run with a single to center, as did Pucks with two outs after Chris Gowin had flown out. Waters whiffed, ending a 4-run third inning.

Chaz Kokel ended the no-hit bid with an infield single on a 3-2 pitch in the fifth inning, but also tore out a leg when he stamped on the bag awkwardly. Even to the medically untrained eye, that was a hammy and a month on the DL. Jason Perry replaced him and scored when Bobby French socked a home run to right, 4-2. The Coons left runners on third base in both the fifth and sixth innings, which along with leaving Kyle Brobeck on the hill came back to hurt them in the seventh inning. Edwin Ortiz and Dan Sandoval hit 2-out singles off Brobeck in the seventh, but he remained in to face Mario Ceballos, who had looked nothing but silly in his first three attempts against Brobeck. Here, he socked a 2-run double to center, and who was the silly one now? The game was tied, Brobeck was gone, and before long, the tie was gone as well, as Hyun-soo Bak allowed a single to Antonio Rios and then a 2-run double to Bill Quinteros. Bobby Anderson popped out, but now the Indians had a 2-run lead… briefly. A 2-out rally consisting entirely of a Munn double and Gowin RBI single in the bottom 7th reduced the gap to one, and in the eighth the Coons had Waters on with a leadoff single and moved him to third base and… left him there when Venegas flew out to Ceballos. Hitchcock kept the Indians close in the ninth, after which Rich Knowles came in to face the Raccoons in the bottom 9th. Lonzo flew out to center, but Brassfield walked, which put the tying run on base. Munn grounded up the middle, second baseman Nick Fernandez had a play – but bobbled it! Error, and the winning run was on! Manny Poindexter then lost the first pitch to Chris “Double Play” Gowin, taking off the double play and moving the runners into scoring position. The Indians half-arsedly walked Gowin from there, loading them up for Pucks. Knowles was out of sorts by now, walked Pucks, and the game was tied at six! Comeback boy Waters popped out to shallow center, which didn’t allow for going bananas at home plate – but Pedro Rojas laying off four balls and drawing a walk sure did! 7-6 Critters! Munn 2-5, 2B, RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, BB, 2 RBI;

Game 2
IND: LF J. Garza – 2B A. Rios – 1B B. Quinteros – 3B B. Anderson – C Poindexter – CF M. Ceballos – RF French – SS Ed. Ortiz – P Brink
POR: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Munn – C Gowin – CF Puckeridge – 2B Waters – 1B Rojas – P Shui

The Coons made another mess out of situations with runners in scoring position. They left a pair in scoring position in both the second and third innings, wasting walks for Munn and Gowin, then hits for Venegas and Brassfield, respectively. Rojas flew out to center to end the second, and Munn grounded out to Quinteros to curtail the third.

The middle innings were a real pitchers’ duel; the Coons didn’t reach base, while the Indians had one of their three total hits off Shui through six innings, but they also had two double plays on their ledger and hadn’t reached third base yet. Shui looked fine at 73 pitches, walking one and striking out five, but then Bobby Anderson began the seventh inning with a double to left-center, and scored on Poindexter’s groundout and Ceballos’ sac fly to Danny Munn. Pucks singled in the bottom 7th, but was also caught stealing, and that didn’t get the Raccoons any closer to a run. Pedro Rojas hit a leadoff single in the bottom 8th. Brent Cramer batted for Shui, zinged one to Rios for a double play, and that was it for that inning. Top 9th, the Indians threatened with two hits off that Japanese import I could never remember the name of, it wasn’t Saito, though. Quinteros and Anderson went to the corners with one out, bringing on Brett Lillis jr. with one out – now that was a name I could remember! – and getting two strikeouts against Poindexter and Ceballos to prevent the Indians from getting an insurance run. No Rich Knowles in the bottom 9th today – Brink would try to finish his shutout, facing the same part of the lineup that had started the ninth the day before… at least until Lonzo singled to left. Off the hill was Brink, on was right-hander Mike Mensch. Lonzo, in a bit of a slump, had a huge urge to steal second base, but didn’t take off… but he caused Mensch enough disruption that he walked Brassfield on four pitches, so that was that. So the winning run was on again and here was Dan- the runners take off!! Poindexter’s throw was late! Double steal!! …and then came the agony. Munn struck out. Gowin popped out. Pucks drew another walk to prolong the misery. Waters batted with a full buffet and two outs. The count ran full, and then he popped up a ball on a defensive swing that refused to get away from the plate. Poindexter positioned himself under it – and made the catch. 1-0 Indians. Shui 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, L (4-1);

Arf.

The Raccoons then were to give the slumping Lonzo (that hit in the ninth was his only hit in three days) and Gowin a day off on Wednesday, stacking with the scheduled off day on Thursday, but it turned out everybody got a day off when the weather turned Oregonian and it rained all Wednesday long.

Raccoons (19-7) @ Rebels (14-14) – May 7-9, 2055

The Rebs were third in the FL East, scoring the fourth-most runs but also giving up the second-most markers in the Federal League. Their rotation was solid, their pen was cruddy, and their defense was woeful. They didn’t steal bases, and they didn’t hit homers, and they were bottom three in OBP, and yet they were scoring runs. Sounded like they had the odd gypsy curse laid on the opposition – we needed to be alert. This series had taken place in both 2052 and 2054, each time with the Raccoons sweeping the Rebels.

Slightly unfair: the Raccoons came in on two days’ rest, while the Rebs had not only played, but had also seen their pen getting run through the cotton gin in a 12-5 loss to the Wolves on Thursday.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (4-0, 0.81 ERA) vs. Jerry Cruz (1-0, 4.10 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (3-0, 2.06 ERA) vs. Pablo Paez (0-3, 7.11 ERA)
Rafael de la Cruz (1-3, 5.60 ERA) vs. Eric Braley (4-1, 1.84 ERA)

Another set with only right-handed pitchers – looked like we had used up our allotment of southpaws for the year.

Harry Ramsay was hitting .393 in 8 games of AAA rehab. The opener here would be the last game for Pedro Rojas before he’d be switched back with Rams, but he had at least generated some awareness for himself.

Game 1
POR: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Munn – C Gowin – CF Puckeridge – 2B Waters – 1B Rojas – P Adkins
RIC: LF Velasco – SS Henriquez – 3B D. Espinosa – RF W. Sanchez – CF Cooke – 1B Leal – C J. Ortiz – 2B Malkus – P J. Cruz

Rojas singled home the tying run in the second inning, getting Munn across with two outs. Both Munn and Gowin had hit singles. The inning ended with Adkins flying out to Willie Sanchez, who had driven in Andres Velasco in the bottom 1st, with Adkins having walked Velasco on four pitches to begin the bottom 1st. Velasco drew another walk with one gone in the third inning, but was left on base then, while the Raccoons loaded the bases with three soft singles by Gowin, Waters, and Rojas – the latter hitting an infield single even. All that did was bring up Adkins with one out, so I didn’t have an unhealthy amount of hope, and he hit a comebacker for a force on Gowin at home plate. Venegas grounded out to Danny Espinosa, and all three runners were left on base. Another leadoff walk by Adkins to Willie Sanchez instead set up the Rebs for a 2-1 lead in the bottom 4th. Pedro Leal drove in the runner with a 1-out single to right.

Lonzo’s leadoff single in the fifth put the tying run on base. Lonzo was antsy to go again, but didn’t get a move on before Danny Munn peppered a jack to right-center, which flipped the score to 3-2 Coons and was also good enough for me. Cruz didn’t see out the fifth inning, and right-hander Casey Spinney gave up a single to Adkins in the sixth when there were already two outs. Spinney ticked Venegas with a ball, and Lonzo singled to left-center. Adkins didn’t take prisoners and went on contact, scoring from second base, 4-2. Brassfield grounded out to leave on two. Another pair was stranded in the seventh when Pucks and Waters were left on as Rojas grounded out to short. Adkins meanwhile didn’t give up a lot after the fourth inning. Jacob Alaimo singled off him in the seventh, but mostly the Rebs went down with little prowess; Adkins racked up his K count to 11 in seven innings, including Velasco and Jorge Henriquez after the Alaimo single to end that inning. Ricky Lamotta singled in Adkins’ place in the eighth inning, but was left on base.

Hitchcock got the ball in the eighth. He retired Espinosa and Manny Cooke, but gave up a double to Willie Sanchez in between. When a left-hander, Jason Noble, pinch-hit in the #6 spot, the Coons sent Lillis, who got a fly to Lamotta in centerfield to end the inning. Tommy Gardner then got the ball for the ninth inning. Jose Ortiz singled. Alex Murillo was nailed. Alaimo struck out, but then he walked the pesky Velasco and the bases were loaded in the 4-2 game. He got a bit of a yelling-at from the pitching coach, then struck out Henriquez for the second out. Espinosa was at 2-2 before grounding up the middle – and the bloody thing went through. Two runs scored, another lead blown, and I was also ready to blow a fuse. Gardner was yanked at one, and Eloy Sencion gave up a walkoff single to Willie Sanchez on the only pitch he threw. 5-4 Rebels. Lavorano 2-5, RBI; Munn 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Waters 2-4, 2B; Rojas 2-4, RBI; Lamotta (PH) 1-1; Adkins 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K and 1-3;

Getting closer to the “this team sucks” stage.

Rojas (.279, 0 HR, 6 RBI) was then exchanged with Rams, because that would totally fix the pitching.

Game 2
POR: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Munn – 1B Ramsay – CF Puckeridge – 2B Waters – C Philipps – P Taki
RIC: SS Henriquez – C J. Ortiz – RF W. Sanchez – 3B D. Espinosa – LF Leal – CF Cooke – 1B Malkus – 2B A. Murillo – P Paez

Taki had another one of his first innings, giving up a sharp single to Henriquez and a double to Ortiz to begin his game, although the Rebs held themselves to one run, with Willie Sanchez grounding out hard to Ramsay. Espinosa’s groundout did get home a run, but Leal flew out. While Taki was the only runner the Coons put on the first time through against a pitcher with a 7+ ERA, the Rebels swamped with again in the third inning. Henriquez and Sanchez singled, as did Espinosa, driving in a run. Leal walked, Cooke’s groundout plated another run, and ex-Coon Travis Malkus flew out to deep right, making it 3-0 Rebs after three innings.

Henriquez’ homer extended the Rebels’ lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning, while the Raccoons remained completely hapless. When Taki hit a leadoff single in the sixth, he had half of the team’s four hits against Paez. Venegas popped out, and Lonzo hit into a double play in a staggering display of collective incompetence. Taki was done after six when the Raccoons actually got on the board in the seventh inning on singles by Brassfield, Rams (who was forced out by Pucks), and Waters; then loaded the bases once Paez walked Philipps. Ed Crispin batted with two out and the tying runs on base, Paez balked in a run, but Crispin flew out to Sanchez in right… Paez added another scoreless inning, and Mike McLaughlin killed off the Coons for good in the ninth. 4-2 Rebels.

Shambolic.

Game 3
POR: RF Puckeridge – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – C Gowin – 1B Ramsay – 2B Waters – 3B Crispin – CF Cramer – P de la Cruz
RIC: SS Henriquez – C J. Ortiz – RF W. Sanchez – 3B D. Espinosa – LF Leal – CF Cooke – 1B Malkus – 2B Butts – P Braley

The good: Raffy didn’t allow a hit the first time through. The bad: he walked two Rebs. The ugly: somehow this amounted to 53 pitches. Just as bad was the Raccoons’ offense, which generated a Pucks single to begin the first inning and a double by routinely useless Brent Cramer to start the third inning, and didn’t manage to bring any of the two runners across.

The Coons finally broke through in the fifth inning. Cramer hit a 1-out single, was bunted to second base by Raffy, and then driven in when Pucks sent a ball to carom off the sidewall in rightfield on the first bounce for an RBI triple. It was the first run in the game, and Lonzo struck out to keep it at one. The Rebs were still without a base hit at that point, but got Jose Ortiz on base with a 2-out double in the bottom 6th. Sanchez grounded out to Rams to end the inning, however. Raffy hung around for the seventh, at least until Pedro Leal singled on an 0-2 pitch. Bak struck out Cooke, while Noble batted for Malkus, but popped out against Lillis, ending the inning.

Top 8th, Lonzo singled and stole second off Ryan Bolin. The left-hander then walked both Coons catchers, Philipps hitting for Ramsay, to load the bases for Matt Waters, who snuck a single up the middle to send home Lonzo, 2-0. Venegas batted for Crispin and hit a terrible bloop for an RBI single, 3-0. Cramer struck out, while Knight was struck by a fastball in Lilils’ spot and that forced in another run, as well as Bolin out of the game. Pucks faced another lefty in Omar Anaya, grounded to second base, and John Butts fumbled the ball, allowing another run to score. Lonzo crowned the crooked-number inning with his second single and a pair of RBI’s in centerfield, while Brassfield flew out. Kevin Hitchcock got the ball for the eighth and stuck it into Butts with a K, before giving up a single to Alaimo, but that was all the Rebels put out there in the eighth, although hits by Velasco and Espinosa would plate a late run in the ninth against Matt Walters. 7-1 Critters. Puckeridge 2-4, BB, 3B, RBI; Lavorano 2-5, 2 RBI; Philipps (PH) 1-1, BB; Venegas (PH) 1-2, RBI; Cramer 2-4, 2B; de la Cruz 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, W (2-3);

In other news

May 3 – WAS SP Sean Fowler (4-1, 1.63 ERA) throws a 3-hit shutout with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts against the Rebels. The Capitals don’t win 3-0, which would have been too poetic, but 5-0.
May 4 – OCT 3B/SS/RF Ed Soberanes (.256, 3 HR, 10 RBI) is expected to be out until August with ruptured finger tendons in his throwing hand.
May 5 – LAP C Todd Eaton (.350, 0 HR, 9 RBI), a 24-year-old waiver claim and rookie, bangs out four hits and drives in five runs against the Gold Sox, but the Pacifics still lose 9-7.
May 7 – DEN OF Bill Ramires (.387, 5 HR, 27 RBI) has put together a 20-game hitting streak with a first-inning single in a 3-2 win over the Aces.
May 9 – The Falcons acquire 1B Jason Schaack (.319, 2 HR, 14 RBI) from the Warriors in exchange for C/1B Esteban Sanches (.340, 0 HR, 8 RBI).
May 9 – The hitting streak of DEN OF Bill Ramires (.373, 5 HR, 27 RBI) ends in a 4-2 loss, as he goes hitless in four at-bats against Aces pitching.

FL Player of the Week: WAS OF Dan Martin (.304, 6 HR, 19 RBI), hitting .480 (12-25) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: IND 1B/LF/RF Bill Quinteros (.292, 4 HR, 19 RBI), smacking .500 (9-18) with 2 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Losing week. (glares at Tommy Gardner)

The rainout against the Indians on Wednesday would be made up in the most cruel way possible, with a double header squat in the middle of what already was 17 straight games without an off day in the run-up to the All Star Game in July.

We will host the Scorpions to begin next week, and then have a road trip to Milwaukee and Elk City upon us. The Elks started quite badly, but are now 9-4 since the last week of April, and 7-2 in May, so that series could be all the wrong sorts of “interesting”.

Lonzo had a bit of a slump from last week into this week, and he merely tied with three other players for the CL and ABL lead in stolen bases (including the Loggers’ Robby Gaxiola, so maybe we should start to keep that guy off base…?), but he still keeps storming up the career leaderboards in stolen bases, nipping eight bags since the last times we looked at it, jumping four spots!

35th – Ed Soberanes – 345 – active
t-36th – Bartolo Hernandez – 344 – HOF
t-36th – Danny Zarate – 344 – HOF
38th – Chris Navarro – 343 – active
39th – Dave Heffer – 341
40th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 334 – active
41st – Willie Ojeda – 332 – HOF
42nd – Clement Clark – 331
43rd – Felix Rojas – 330 – active
44th – Angel Montes de Oca – 329 – active
45th – Felix Marquez – 328 – active

The four new players on Lonzo’s radar include active, but now injured Ed Soberanes, along three retired guys, two of whom started their careers in the previous millenium. Bartolo Hernandez was a Loggers standout with several Gold Gloves that led the CL in hits a few times besides all the stolen bases, while Dave Heffer played with the Warriors for a decade, got three Gold Gloves, but in the second half of his career was handed around a bit and played on a different team for 11 consecutive seasons, including two more stints with the Warriors, and two stints with the Titans. Finally, there’s catcher (!) Danny Zarate, who retired just over a decade ago, and was most prominent as a Condor in relation to us, although he also had a few productive years with the Gold Sox.

After that group, the gaps start to grow bigger in between players on the list, f.e. there’s 21 stolen bases between 26th and 27th on the list, which is where Lonzo would most likely end up if he has a “normal” season. There are ten active players ahead of Lonzo now.

Fun Fact: Kevin Hitchcock ties for the lead in wins in the CL.

When the Raccoons had their comeback win against the Indians on Monday, the W went to Hitchcock, who was then (and still is now) 5-0 … tying for the league lead with San Fran’s Milt Cantrell, the Pitcher of the Month. Nobody got added to that duo all week long, either. “Hitch” (or would he prefer “Cock” for a nickname…?) even had the better ERA (0.zilch!), so – MOVE OVER, MILT!!

Cristiano, why are you cackling with glee?