[Westheim]

Raccoons (54-51) @ Knights (64-40) – July 31-August 2, 2056

The Knights were in second place in the South, 3 1/2 games out, and needed the wins, and here were the Raccoons. We looked at a +119 run differential against the #4 offense and #2 pitching in the league, including the best rotation. I was so devoid of confidence, despite having gone merely 2-4 against them so far this year, that the Raccoons did not make another effort to grab another player at the deadline. It wasn’t gonna work out anyway…

Projected matchups:
He Shui (10-7, 3.66 ERA) vs. Terry Herman (10-5, 2.77 ERA)
Rafael de la Cruz (1-3, 2.90 ERA) vs. Austin Wilcox (7-8, 4.26 ERA)
Craig Kniep (6-8, 3.72 ERA) vs. Esteban Duran (10-6, 3.25 ERA)

Only righty starters for the Knights.

The Raccoons put Josh Mayo (6.00 ERA) on waivers to get back Raffy, who had gone through a rehab assignment in St. Petersburg that was best described as “catastrophic”, posting an 8.55 ERA and walking 18 batters in 20 innings across five starts. He was now inches away from the dumpster.

Game 1
POR: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – RF Callaia – 1B Ramsay – LF Kirkwood – CF Puckeridge – C Fiore – 2B Allred – P Shui
ATL: LF Fink – CF Alade – 2B W. Acosta – 1B E. Moreno – RF D. Rivera – C Almaguer – SS A. Aguilera – 3B Ri. Jimenez – P Herman

Shui gave up two singles in the first inning, but struck out Eddie Moreno and Danny Rivera, the highly-experienced coonskinners, to keep Atlanta off the board ahead of Chris Kirkwood’s solo homer to left in the top 2nd that gave the Coons a 1-0 lead. The 4-5 batters got their revenge in the bottom 3rd though after Willie Acosta hit a 2-out single and stole second base. Moreno hit an RBI single, Rivera bopped an RBI double, and the Knights flipped the score to 2-1 in their favor. Herman struck out the side from Callaia to Kirkwood in the fourth inning for a bit of a statement, but the Raccoons would have an answer they brought up the top of the order the next time in the sixth. Venegas singled, and while he was forced out on Lonzo’s grounder to ex-Coon Ricky Jimenez, Gaudencio Callaia then socked a score-flipping 2-run homer to left-center, 3-2 Critters, but hits by Rivera and Alvin Aguilera in the bottom 6th evened the score again rather briskly. Shui pitched only six innings, getting knocked around for ten hits.

Herman went seven, while scoreless innings by Lillis and Lane on one side and David Hardaway on the other side kept the score even into the ninth inning. Ruben Mendez still retired the Raccoons’ 2-3-4 batters in order. Bottom 9th, Eloy Sencion struck out Dave Lee, walked Jimenez in a full count, but then got another K on Mike Roberts, and John Fink grounded out to Venegas to send the game to overtime. The Coons made two quick outs against Mendez in the tenth before Matt Fiore snuck a single through the middle, and Ryan Allred drove in the catcher from first base with a long double into the left-center gap, breaking the tie. Royer popped out to Jimenez, and Matt Walters got the baseball. Chris Baker, Acosta, and Moreno went in order. 4-3 Critters. Fiore 2-4;

Game 2
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Caballero – 1B Ramsay – LF Kirkwood – 3B Venegas – C Fiore – 2B Hannoush – P de la Cruz
ATL: LF Fink – CF Alade – 2B W. Acosta – 1B E. Moreno – RF D. Rivera – C Almaguer – SS A. Aguilera – 3B Ri. Jimenez – P Wilcox

The Knights did not **** around with Raffy; let alone that he offered three walks in the first inning *after* John Fink opened with a single (but was caught stealing) and *whilst* Eddie Moreno banged a 2-run homer, even Wilcox, with a 3-0 lead and the bases loaded launched a drive to right that required Callaia to lay out and make a daring headlong dive across the foul line and dangerously close to the sidewall to end the goddamn inning. The Coons in the top 2nd put their 4-5-6 batters on without making an out, plinking Wilcox for three straight singles, but Fiore hit into a 4-6-3 double play. While that scored a run, and Tommy Hannoush’s single added another, Raffy struck out to remain 3-2 behind. Then he walked the bags full in the bottom 2nd, although the Knights didn’t get a hit and stranded the bases loaded; but Fink doubled home Jimenez in the bottom 3rd for a 4-2 lead. That was the last inning for de la Cruz. 91 pitches. Nine outs, barely.

Brobeck pitched two innings after that, being limited more than coming in on three days’ rest than anything else, but also surrendered another run to the Knights. The Raccoons then found another three straight singles to lead off the top 6th; the three straight singles to begin the second and these three aside, we had only one other hit so far against Wilcox. Lonzo singled and stole second, Caballero singled, and Rams shortened the score to 5-3 with another single, but then the inning fizzled out rapidly. The bases were loaded again in the seventh; Espinoza (who entered in a double switch with Bravo) and Callaia singled, Caballero walked, and Rams was up with two outs against Wilcox – and the Knights fumbled their lead when Wilcox got to 1-2, then threw a teaser inside that Rams lunged over the middle infielders and into shallow center for a game-tying 2-run single. Right-hander Matt Weber replaced Wilcox, but gave up the go-ahead run on Kirkwood’s single to left. Bravo, intended to go multiple innings, was next, but obviously hit for with Pucks – who was down 1-2 when Kirkwood got picked off first base, ending the inning……

Tanizaki had a good seventh inning, while Alade and Acosta hit 1-out singles off Eloy Sencion in the bottom 8th. Moreno flew out to Caballero in left-center, advancing the tying run to third base, but Danny Rivera grounded out rather calmly to Hannoush to end the inning. Facing lefty Amari Walker in the ninth, the Coons got Espinoza and Callaia on with leadoff singles. Lonzo grounded out, having both insurance runs in scoring position for Caballero, who was walked with intent. Ramsay was having a *great* day, but he was not a good matchup with Amari Walker, he was a constant double play menace, and we *really* wanted that extra run(s). Steve Royer batted for him, even though Sencion was in the next spot and the only other bat on the bench now was Ryan Allred, and Brobeck was no longer available either. The latter bit was at least not an issue anymore once Royer hit into a ******* double play… But hey, at least Matt Walters saw off another three in a row…! 6-5 Critters. Callaia 2-4, BB; Lavorano 2-5; Ramsay 3-4, 3 RBI; Kirkwood 2-4, RBI; Venegas 1-2, BB; Espinoza 2-2;

First career win for Reynaldo Bravo in 32 outings.

Another fringe guy was sent back to AAA after this game, with Tommy Hannoush (.200, 0 HR, 1 RBI) going back to make room for Adriano Chavez, who rejoined from the DL.

Game 3
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Caballero – 1B Puckeridge – LF Kirkwood – 2B Allred – 3B Espinoza – C M. Chavez – P Kniep
ATL: SS Wartella – C Almaguer – 2B W. Acosta – 1B E. Moreno – RF D. Rivera – CF Alade – 3B Ri. Jimenez – LF Fink – P E. Duran

With little bullpen available, the fool Kniep walked three batters in the bottom 1st and was taken deep by Eddie Moreno for a 3-piece, too, flushing 37 pitches in the first frame alone. The Coons got a solo jack from Marcos Chavez in the third inning; and “Clownshoes” Kniep issued another three walks, two hits, and two runs in the bottom 3rd. The game was in the toilet anyway given the lack of relief available, so Kniep got a real chance at breaking that long-standing Coons record for most walks by a starting pitcher in a game. A free pass to Matt Wartella made it seven in the bottom 4th, but Almaguer hit into a double play after walking twice before and that ended the inning. Bottom 5th, leadoff walk to Acosta. THROW A ******* STRIKE!!! Moreno hacked out, then a wild pitch and Rivera’s groundout moved Acosta to third base. Kirkwood caught a fly to left from Alade, completing five innings, and Kniep was sent to bed without dinner after that abysmal appearance, giving the Knights a 5-2 lead on two base hits.

Kirkwood also doubled home Caballero with two outs in the sixth, shortening the score to 5-3, but we were on Bravo again in another attempt to have him pitch multiple innings before inevitable disposal to St. Pete. He really took one for the team, pitching three innings and giving up three runs to the bottom of the order; John Fink hit a solo homer to right in the bottom 6th, and in the eighth when he was obviously losing cohesion, he put runners in scoring position before facing PH Mike Roberts with two outs. Roberts dinked a ball behind Adriano Chavez at second base to cash the runners, but it wasn’t like the Coons had rallied any closer in the meantime. Bravo even finished the inning, being abused for 47 pitches, but at least saved the rest of the pen for the upcoming Loggers series. 8-3 Knights. Lavorano 2-4; Caballero 2-3;

Bravo (1-2, 4.62 ERA) was indeed returned to the Alley Cats. Have you heard about our savior, Ryan Harmer?

Raccoons (56-52) @ Loggers (47-60) – August 3-6, 2056

The Loggers had lost seven in a row to finally sink out of “well maybe everybody else dies in a fire” contention. They ranked eighth in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed with a -59 run differential. They led the league in stolen bases, but were mediocre to crummy in literally everything else. Still held a 4-3 lead against the Coons this year, though…

Projected matchups:
Seisaku Taki (9-10, 3.32 ERA) vs. Tyler Riddle (10-0, 1.99 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (10-6, 3.03 ERA) vs. Brad Blankenship (8-6, 4.06 ERA)
He Shui (10-7, 3.70 ERA) vs. Jamie Kempf (6-7, 4.30 ERA)
Rafael de la Cruz (1-3, 3.53 ERA) vs. Julian Dunn (7-5, 3.41 ERA)

Riddle, undefeated, was the only southpaw starter for the week. But one felt like plenty currently…

The Loggers had half a lineup on the DL, with Perry Pigman, Gil Cabrera, Eric Miller, and a helping of bit players, all out and injured. And never mind that we snatched Callaia. He wasn’t in the lineup on Thursday, but that was mostly down to Riddle being the only southpaw anywhere near in this long string without an off day, so what better time to give Callaia a day off? Everybody else had already been rotated pretty neatly, except for Lonzo, so Lonzo would get a day off perhaps on Friday.

Game 1
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – RF Caballero – LF Kirkwood – 3B Venegas – 1B Ramsay – C M. Chavez – 2B A. Chavez – P Taki
MIL: SS Gaxiola – CF Okano – 1B D. Robles – LF D. Encarnacion – 3B Triplett – C Dye – RF Garmon – 2B Sheehe – P Riddle

Robby Gaxiola was a pest from the start, doubling to left against Taki in the first inning, but was stranded with a crucial K to Dave Robles and two groundouts otherwise. That was the only Loggers hit in the early innings, with Taki striking out a total of five Loggers in three innings, including all of the 8-9-1 slate he faced in the bottom 3rd. The game was still scoreless; Caballero had hit a double in the top 1st, but had been left aboard by Kirkwood, but then hit a single to begin the fourth inning. This time, Kirkwood came through, belting a giant homer to center for a 2-0 lead. Rams and Adriano Chavez hit singles to continue the inning, but Taki grounded out to Eric Sheehe to leave them aboard.

By the fifth, Caballero knocked a 2-out triple and was stranded again – Kirkwood walked, but Venegas grounded out – and was thus a bomb away from a cycle, while Corey Garmon’s single made it two base hits for the Loggers, but he was stranded as well. Dennis Starnes batted for Riddle in the bottom 6th and hit a leadoff single. Gaxiola grounded out, and Yukinari Okano grinded out a walk against Taki, whose pitch count was now exploding. The Loggers pulled off a double steal, but still stranded the runners; Robles grounded out to Venegas at third base, and Danny Encarnacion popped out to shallow right, although Caballero had to make a sliding catch to get there. Taki got two outs to begin the bottom 7th, then was knocked out with straight singles by Garmon (of the infield variety…), Sheehe, and Marvin Torres, who drove in the Loggers’ first run and erased half the Coons’ lead. Lillis came in for Gaxiola, who was hit for with Angel Montes de Oca, but the righty batter still struck out to end the inning.

Caballero grounded out in the eighth, which was not helping in terms of the cycle, and the Coons went in order, which wasn’t helping with bloody anything. Lillis and Lane kept the Loggers in their lane in the bottom 8th, and while Callaia pinch-hit and doubled off Ryan Dow in the ninth inning, the Coons still couldn’t get unstuck and tack on a run or three. Walters got his third 1-run lead of the week, and his third save as well, although this time Garmon hit a single off him. He was stranded like (almost) everybody else in this game. 2-1 Raccoons. Caballero 3-4, 3B, 2B; Callaia (PH) 1-1, 2B; Taki 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (10-10);

And that was the first skinny loss on Tyler Riddle this year. Chris Kirkwood wouldn’t get another Christmas card from him any time soon.

Milwaukee flipped the starters for the middle two games around, which wasn’t going to cause us any headaches. They were all right-handed.

Game 2
POR: CF Royer – RF Callaia – LF Kirkwood – 1B Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Fiore – SS Espinoza – P Sweeton
MIL: SS Gaxiola – CF Okano – 1B D. Robles – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – C Dye – LF Garmon – 2B Sheehe – P Kempf

Sweeton annoyed me more than necessary with two walks to begin his day. Robles hit into a double play, but Ryan Bishton tripled home Gaxiola for a 1-0 Loggers lead before Doug Triplett struck out. Gaxiola was walked again in the bottom 3rd (…), stole his way to third base, and then was still stranded with a K to Okano and a pop to Brobeck by Robles.

Through five innings, the Bishton triple was the only Loggers hit against six strikeouts for Sweeton, while the Coons had a Callaia double and a Brobeck single, but no runs. Kempf struck out three in five innings, but walked two, and then walked two more with one down in the top 6th, putting Callaia and Kirkwood on base. Pucks singled narrowly past Sheehe, but since he almost made a jumping catch, Callaia had to retreat to the base, and then only made it to third base afterwards. Brobeck batted with the bags stacked, and got the game-tying RBI when Kempf leaked another walk…! …and then Allred and Fiore struck out to leave the bases loaded… Josh Costello walked Espinoza and Callaia in the seventh, but the Coons couldn’t get a hit or a run from that. Instead, the Loggers broke through when Sweeton crapped out in the bottom of the inning, walking Triplett, nailing Dye, and finally giving up a 2-run double to Sheehe, the 29-year-old rookie.

Sencion got out of the inning, and Pucks got a first-pitch single from right-hander Dan Bell in the eighth. Brobeck knocked a screaming RBI double to right, 3-2, and the Loggers went to left-hander Sam Webb, prompting Portland to empty the bench. Lonzo singled in Allred’s spot, moving the tying run to third base with nobody out. Caballero grounded out in Fiore’s spot, but Espinoza tied the game with a single; this, too, only narrowly escaped the grasp of a middle infielder, though, and so Lonzo had to hold at third base. Marcos Chavez batted for Sencion, drew right-hander Al Munoz, and hit into a double play… and then a leadoff double by Okano off Tanizaki, and not one, but TWO errors by Chavez and Callaia crammed two unearned runs up the Loggers’ wooden bums.

The Coons weren’t dead yet, though. Ryan Dow invited Callaia on base with a 1-out walk in the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate. Kirkwood hit into a fielder’s choice, which didn’t help, but Pucks drove a ball into the right-center gap when down to the last out. The RBI double narrowed the score and presented Brobeck with a RISP situation, but he struck out… 5-4 Loggers. Callaia 1-2, 3 BB, 2B; Puckeridge 3-5, 2B, RBI; Brobeck 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Lavorano (PH) 1-1;

That felt like such an unnecessary loss.

Game 3
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – CF Puckeridge – 1B Ramsay – 2B Allred – 3B Venegas – C M. Chavez – P Shui
MIL: CF Valenzano – SS Gaxiola – 1B D. Robles – LF D. Encarnacion – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – C Dye – 2B Sheehe – P Blankenship

The Raccoons had a single and three stolen bases in the first inning and didn’t score a run; Callaia singled, stole second, and after Kirkwood was nicked by Blankenship, the pair pulled off a double steal, but neither Pucks nor Rams managed to get the ball to dink in somewhere. But Shui held up early, and the Coons took the lead when the top of the order was back at the dish. Straight 1-out singles to left or left-center by Callaia, Lonzo, and Kirkwood gave Portland a 1-0 lead, and then Pucks and Rams hit useless grounders to kill another inning.

Milwaukee had the leadoff man on in the second and third inning without scoring, but Bishton doubled with a ball caroming off the fence in centerfield – along with Pucks – with one gone in the bottom 4th. Triplett flew out, but Shui lost Jonathan Dye on balls. Sheehe then singled to center, Bishton made a bid for home plate, Pucks’ throw was absolutely wild, and the tying run scored. Dye and Sheehe went into scoring position, but Blankenship popped out to strand them. The Coons recovered with Lonzo’s single, stolen base, and Kirkwood’s RBI single in the top 5th, 2-1. Pucks found a double play, digging himself an ever-deeper hole.

So did the rest of the team. Shui nailed Steve Valenzano to begin the bottom of the fifth. Gaxiola popped out, and so threatened Robles to do, but Lonzo dropped the ball and now there were two on base. Now the Loggers got through with a double steal, Encarnacion’s sac fly tied the game, and Bishton singled home Robles to give them a 3-2 lead, both runs in the inning being unearned. Triplett grounded out to short while I was chewing on my coonskin cap.

Blankenship got the first two batters out in the sixth inning, then stumbled against the right-handed bats at the bottom of the order. Venegas singled. Chavez singled. Shui was NOT hit for and batted for himself – AND SINGLED TO CENTER! Venegas around to score, and we were even *again*, three-all! …and Callaia flew out to Encarnacion, stranding two more. Blankenship got revenge on Shui right away, though; with nobody on base, he hit a single in the bottom 6th, and another single by Valenzano and a walk drawn by Gaxiola made the patience for us run out. Lane came in to face Robles, Robles popped out in foul ground, and the score remained 3-3 in this game that nobody seemed all too keen on winning.

The Coons had the bases full in the seventh, because why not. Kirkwood singled, Rams got punched with a fastball, which also punched Blankenship’s ticket for the bench, and then Costello walked Allred on five pitches. Anton Venegas broke through – crashing a screamer through a diving Triplett, over the bag, and down the leftfield line for a bases-clearing double…! Chavez grounded out, and Lane walked Bishton, balked, and allowed the runner to score on Dye’s 2-out hit, getting the Loggers back to 6-4 in the bottom 7th in this game that kept on giving. Headaches, mostly.

(big breath) Top 8th. Royer struck out against Costello in the #9 spot to begin the frame, but then Callaia singled to left. Lonzo did the same, and Encarnacion overran that ball for an extra base for the runners, who were now in scoring position. Kirkwood shoved the very next pitch through the right side for a single. The ball bounced off Bishton’s chest, and the Coons scored two on the single and second consecutive error. Espinoza pinch-hit for Pucks when lefty Sam Webb appeared again. Webb threw a wild pitch, which moved Kirkwood to third base and allowed him to score on Espinoza’s groundout to Gaxiola. 9-4, in case you were struggling to keep track. Harmer and Tanizaki then finished off the Loggers with RELATIVELY little additional panic. 9-4 Furballs. Callaia 3-5; Lavorano 3-5; Kirkwood 4-4, 4 RBI; Venegas 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI;

15 hits, 14 singles. And I sure hoped that this wouldn’t be the day and game I’d have to relive endlessly, Groundhog Day-style.

Game 4
POR: RF Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Kirkwood – CF Puckeridge – 1B Ramsay – 2B Allred – 3B Venegas – C Fiore – P de la Cruz
MIL: CF Valenzano – SS Gaxiola – 1B D. Robles – RF Bishton – 3B Triplett – LF Starnes – C M. Torres – 2B Sheehe – P Dunn

Raffy had to show something, even if it was just five innings with a relatively modest runs total for the Loggers, but we couldn’t keep going with what he had done on Tuesday. He was a pawful right out of the gate, though. Valenzano singled and was caught stealing in the first, while Bishton hit an infield single to begin the bottom 2nd, which was still not something I’d be mad about. But Raffy then walked Triplett on four pitches, fell to 3-1 on Dennis Starnes before the outfielder hit into a fielder’s choice to Lonzo, and then was ALSO caught stealing. With Marvin Torres at 0-2, Raffy then uncorked a *wild* pitch that bounced about 12 feet from the plate went over a confused Fiore, hit off the umpire’s face mask, and then bounced away, allowing Bishton to score after all. 1-0 Loggers. And more headaches. Torres struck out on the next pitch…

Dunn got 11 outs before Ramsay snuck a single, so no offensive relief was available soon, but defensive relief was called in from the pen in the same inning when the Loggers took the axe to de la Cruz. Gaxiola doubled. Robles walked on four pitches. Bishton doubled, Triplett singled, running the score to 4-0. With two down, Torres singled home Triplett, and then Sheehe doubled in Torres, 6-0. Dunn grounded out, and then Kyle Brobeck replaced Raffy, who probably knew that he was not going to get another start, slouching off head hanging and covering his stripey face with his glove.

Meanwhile, Brobeck threw 27 pitches before he got the ******* third out in the inning, by which point he had offered two walks, three hits, and four more runs to the Loggers’ 9-spot and 10-0 lead. Starnes finally grounded out. The only thing that kept Brobeck from getting abandoned in Wisconsin was that he added three more garbage disposal innings for the cost of another run, which Gaxiola manufactured while stealing a base in a 10-0 blowout. If he had come to bat again in the bottom 8th, Gaxiola might have had a fastball coming at his face, but Lillis retired Sheehe, Dunn, and Garmon in order in the inning because he had a hunch that the “finish him” sign (right paw, index claw extended, moved vertically across the front of the neck) from the dugout. The Coons meanwhile scored two runs in the eighth when Pucks hit a bases-loaded single to right-center, then had the bags full with Royer, Fiore, and Espinoza in the ninth and nobody out (although there was already a Triplett error involved in that). Callaia singled to left, shortening the gap to eight, but Lonzo popped out and Kirkwood grounded out, which added a fourth run and finally knocked out Dunn in favor of Dan Bell. Pucks flew out to center. 11-4 Loggers. Puckeridge 2-5, 2 RBI; Espinoza (PH) 1-1;

In other news

July 31 – Denver OF/1B Jake Frederick (.287, 8 HR, 46 RBI) lands a sixth-inning single in a 3-2 loss to the Rebs, but gains a 20-game hitting streak.
August 1 – The Pacifics and Buffaloes fight to a draw for 13 innings before L.A. breaks through with five runs in the top 14th for a 9-4 win. LAP C Chris Maresh (.280, 6 HR, 30 RBI) has four hits and four RBI’s to lead his team.
August 2 – L.A. OF Jesus Espinoza (.300, 2 HR, 26 RBI) will have to sit out six weeks with a strained ACL.
August 3 – Hard hit for the Falcons, who will be without RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.365, 9 HR, 69 RBI) for at least a month; the 25-year-old had suffered a torn abdominal muscle on Monday.
August 3 – A torn back muscle ends the season of Condors SP Juan Juarez (3-7, 5.05 ERA).
August 4 – The Wolves and Gold Sox play a double-header, with both games going to extra innings. The Wolves take the opener, 2-1 in 10 innings, but the Gold Sox walk off in the 11th on a 3-run homer by Ivan Villa (.283, 19 HR, 78 RBI) for a 9-6 win. The hitting streak of Denver’s Jake Frederick (.282, 8 HR, 48 RBI) ends at 22 games in the first game.
August 4 – The Crusaders had ten base hits, but fail to score a run in a 2-0 loss to the Indians.
August 6 – LAP RF Matt Diskin (.356, 2 HR, 12 RBI) has his injury-riddled season be riddled with more injuries, now a shoulder strain that would cost him six more weeks.
August 6 – TOP INF Alex de los Santos (.247, 18 HR, 56 RBI) hits a home run for the only base hit for Topeka in a 2-1 loss to the Miners.

FL Player of the Week: PIT OF Josh Abercrombie (.341, 6 HR, 74 RBI), churning .515 (17-33) with 1 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: OCT 3B/SS/RF Ed Soberanes (.290, 14 HR, 54 RBI), hitting .483 (14-29) with 1 HR, 5 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DAL INF Steve Diaz (.317, 10 HR, 41 RBI), scorching .408 with 8 HR, 24 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: ATL 2B/SS Willie Acosta (.310, 12 HR, 59 RBI), clipping .390 with 2 HR, 16 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: PIT CL Ross Mitchell (5-3, 4.70 ERA, 25 SV), saving 11 games with a 3-1 record, 3.86 ERA, 18 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: CHA SP Art Schaeffer (17-3, 2.77 ERA), hurling for a 5-0 mark, 1.59 ERA, 36 K
FL Rookie of the Month: CIN RF/1B/LF John MacDonnell (.355, 4 HR, 25 RBI), hitting .417 with 3 HR, 15 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: OCT LF/CF Tim Weant (.292, 8 HR, 39 RBI), batting .295 with 3 HR, 14 RBI

Complaints and stuff

We give up.

Raffy (1-4, 4.60 ERA) will be outrighted to the Alley Cats on Monday. He has the right to refuse the assignment. If he does, he gets his papers. He’s toast. The absolute mountain of injuries, and 8.0 walks per nine innings, regardless of the level he’s pitching at. We’d be willing to have him try and sort his **** out in the minors, even for seven figures in arbitration next year, but we’re only three games behind the damn Elks and we can’t piss every fifth game away by starting him.

Or generally letting him anywhere near the mound in Portland.

11-12 with a 3.32 ERA in 2052, and 5-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 2053 before everything came apart. Now 33-36 with a 3.74 ERA for his career, but that was rapidly getting worse.

I’m not crying, Honeypaws!! YOU’RE CRYING!!

Another week spent sobbing on the road then with Elk City and Dallas on the schedule. Off day on Thursday, then again on Monday, which means we won’t need an actual fifth starter for a while and can use Brobeck where he can do the least damage – in games that are already in the bin.

At least Lonzo had a renaissance this month. He rushed opposing batteries for 14 bases (in five weeks) after just four in June (give or take a day here or there), passing Hall of Famer Cristo Ramirez and former Coons darling Cookie Carmona for 18th on the all-time leaderboard:

13th – Martin Ortíz – 457 – HOF
14th – Omar Gonzalez – 455 – active
15th – Alex Adame – 449 – active
16th – Alex Torres – 445
17th – Chance Bossert – 437
18th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 433 – active
19th – Ricardo “Cookie” Carmona – 428
20th – Cristo Ramirez – 424 – HOF
21st – Daniel Silva – 417
22nd – Ronnie Thompson – 414 – active
23rd – Danny Flores – 413
24th – Chris Navarro – 411 – active

We’ve clipped off Jose Rivas and Andrew Russ here, but Navarro stole 11 bases in these five weeks, and would probably find the top 20 before the end of the year. Alex Adame stole just two bases, remaining in 15th spot, while another active player appears on the horizon in Sacramento’s Omar Gonzalez.

The 33-year-old has taken 12 bags this year. His career-best was 56 with the ’49 Stars, but he never led the FL in stolen bases, but has won a batting title and three times led the league in triples. He also missed some 40 games this year, so he still had speed, though not as much as Lonzo.

And then there’s Martin Ortiz, who is always a bit of a surprise near the top of this leaderboard because you remembered Ortíz more as the guy that just punched the ball out of the park altogether and as a driving force behind the Crusaders’ impressive success in the 2000s and 2010s with two instances of three championships in a row. Ortíz was one of the best players in the league, hands down; a six-time Player of the Year with more Gold Gloves, Platinum Sticks (which were not awarded until he was already in his late 20s), and All Star Games than one could fit on a standard-sized baseball card. He won a batting title, a homer crown, and five times led the CL in WAR, twice with double-digit values. He stole more than 33 bases only once, but he stole 20+ for almost 20 years, which also works out to 400+.

And he’s also known as the Loggers’ folly, because he was actually theirs and they lost him to New York on waivers when he was 21. Oops.

Fun Fact: Craig Kniep to great fanfare joined the list of Raccoons starting pitchers to offer eight walks in a single game.

It’s not even that long ago that it happened before, less than 14 months in fact. Three of the pitchers – nine total – were named Brown, including a Hall of Famer:

Juan Berrios (1980)
Ramon Ocasio (1981)
Logan Evans (1981)
Nick Brown (2002) – HOF
Chris Brown (2015)
Travis Garrett (2024)
Darren Brown (2034)
Jared Ottinger (2038)
Jesus Guzman (2055) – major league debut
Craig Kniep (2056)